a/n: genuinely forgets to post a chapter for a fic that's already been finished lol. the next chapter is the last one, sorry for making you all wait for this.
n
Leo almost forgets about prom until there's a knock on his bedroom door and Drew and Rachel come bustling in looking like the belles of the ball.
"Why aren't you dressed?" Drew's pulling him out of bed. Rachel carefully steps around Leo's clutter to peer into his closet. "Get up, Valdez."
"Ugh," Leo mumbles, rubbing his eyes. Perhaps he should stop sleeping in his boxers because no one in his life knocks. He sits up and yanks his arm away from Drew. "How'd you get into my room?"
"Harley." Drew scowls. "Go brush your teeth, your breath smells."
"Yes, ma'am." Leo trots to the bathroom. He can hear Drew and Rachel whispering and running around in his room.
"Whare you doin'?" Leo peeks his head out. Toothpaste dribbles from his mouth and he catches it with his other hand. Oh wow, this might be the first time Rachel's been in his room actually. She keeps messing with the LEGO models on his desk, being particularly interested in the rather tall Empire State Building that had been covered with a pair of dirty jeans.
Rachel's wearing a lady tux. Her bowtie is the same green as Drew's dress, which is a short thing with lots of tulle and sparkles. Leo assumes it's not easy finding a pretty green dress.
"Ew! Go wash your face or something. And hurry up!" Drew waves him away from her seat on his bed. She's been watching Rachel straighten out the tuxedo that Leo had thrown in his closet.
"Ew! Go wash yer fave or somefine. Am hurry upf!" Leo spits out the toothpaste. He spends five minutes staring at his acne, wondering if there's anything too horrifyingly white on his face. Pimples are a risky business.
When he gets back, Drew is fussing over Rachel's hair. Her hair…
"Did you get a haircut?" Leo tilts his head. He slides on his white shirt, buttoning it up slowly.
Rachel's hair used to be a mass that reached her back, but now it's gone into an ear length curly mess. A bob? Who the hell knows the name of hairstyles?
"Nah," Rachel says, even though it's obvious that she cut her hair. "I think you're going crazy."
Drew rolls her eyes and claps her hands. "Chop chop, Valdez! We haven't got all day!"
"I still don't understand why you're in my room." Leo fumbles with his tie.
"Well, I don't understand why you think suspenders are cute." Drew snaps one, hitting Leo's chest. He rubs the sore part with a roll of his eyes.
"He looks fine." Rachel slides her arm over Drew's shoulders. "Could do something about his hair."
"It's too late to cut it." Drew sighs. She adjusts Leo's bow tie so it properly sits in the center. "Not bad, Leo."
"'Not bad, Leo'," Leo rolls his eyes again. "The highest of compliments coming from you."
Drew folds her arms. "Where's your date? Is he not picking you up?"
"Nah, we were going to meet at the thing." Leo kicks some of his clothes to the side. "Almost forgot though."
Wait, did she just say he? How did she know?
"Unbelievable." Drew throws her hands in the air. She has a pretty white corsage on her wrist. "You were going to leave Travis at the dance by himself."
"Wait, I'm not-"
"Come on, we're burning daylight," Rachel tugs on Drew's arm. "Let's go."
"But I'm not-"
Drew pushes him out the room.
Nyssa needs to take pictures, despite the fact that neither Rachel nor Drew are Leo's date.
"It's for the memories!" Nyssa yells at him, pulling at his clothes this way and that. "Come on, Leo."
That tone is not something to mess with, so Leo stands still.
"He's not even wearing shoes." Jake pauses the TV. Harley sits up and starts cackling. "Ah, prom, huh? I remember when-"
"You look stupid!" Harley points at Leo, who squints at him and mimes a noogie. That quiets Harley down to a soft whine and as he complains to Jake. Their older brother doesn't say anything, just looking fondly towards the drama Nyssa was creating.
Rachel's on her phone and chewing gum by the time Leo comes back down with shoes on. With her leaning on the banister, Leo can sort of see the conversation she's having with someone, in addition to some odd reflection of Rachel's face. She's so pretty.
Nyssa is relentless with the camera clicking, to the point where Leo's positive that there's not enough storage and she's clicking the button solely to mess with him. Then she grabs Drew and Rachel's phones to snap a few more pics. She also makes a grab for Leo's ugly phone, but he holds her at bay.
"I'll just take a selfie or something."
"You don't even have a front-facing camera," Drew says with unveiled disgust. Leo still tries, squeezing in his entire family, and holding his phone like an idiot.
The picture isn't bad- Harley's left arm is cut out, and Rachel isn't looking at the camera because she's laughing. Drew's big head cuts off part of Nyssa's chin, and Leo looks a bit cross-eyed. Jake looks pretty good actually.
He kisses Nyssa goodnight and makes a promise to be home by 12 or 1 at the latest. Leo doubts he's going to want to stay that long anyway.
Rachel is the one who drives, despite it being Drew's car. Well, not really Drew's car, but it's her mom's.
"So you drove to Rachel's house, and then all the way back here to pick me up?" Leo leans forward in his seat. "And you say you're not in love with me?
Drew turns her head. "Shut up and put on your seatbelt, before we get into an accident and you hit the windshield."
That effectively shuts Leo up and makes him put on a seatbelt. Drew tuts at him, and goes back to her phone.
"My driving's not that bad," Rachel says. She slows to a stop at the traffic light. "Ugh, I'm so hungry. What're you in the mood for?"
"Not that hungry," Drew doesn't look up.
"McDonald's." Leo stares out the window at the fluorescent golden M across the street.
"Ew," Drew groans when Rachel flicks on her turn light. "Do they have salads?"
"Who the heck gets a salad at McDonald's?" Leo is only now realizing he has the entire back seat to himself and is stretching his limbs everywhere. "Just get chicken nuggets."
"Gross." Drew turns to Rachel. "See if they have a salad or something healthy." Rachel gives her a look that Leo can't quite comprehend, and it causes Drew to tug at her own hair. "Please?"
Rachel knows Leo's order, after a year of ordering (has it really been so long?) and hesitantly orders a cheeseburger instead of a salad per Drew's request. The betrayed look the girl has is akin to the murder of puppies but Rachel doesn't seem to care.
"Uh, can you get Sprite?" Leo cuts in like it's not awkward for him to exist in the car of two girls who seem to have something personal going on.
"Yeah, sure, whatever." Rachel taps the wheel, finishing the order. She groans and hits her head on the wheel. "Should've gotten a milkshake."
"Shit, you're right," Leo agrees with pity.
Drew rolls her eyes and flicks lint off her car seat.
"This is disgusting." Drew mumbles into her cheeseburger. "It actually tastes processed."
"The fries are good," Leo leans forward to offer a bright red container. "I think they were just made cause they're super hot."
"Oh snap, gimme some." Rachel awkwardly twists her arm to reach, eyes glancing cautiously at the road. "Nice."
"Y'know, for something so processed, you're still eating the cheeseburger," Leo smirks when he notices Drew sipping on her drink (water, of course) with the burger in her hand. Her phone balances on her thigh, alit with an Instagram feed (Rachel's- Leo recognizes the curly red hair and the artwork).
Drew swallows. "It's not that bad."
"Yeah, but you made it seem like it was trash-"
"Leave me alone you piece of-"
Rachel turns on the music louder to drown out their bickering.
The entrance is a giant archway littered with stars. Silver and black tinsel are woven through the wooden arch, and to its side is the table checking off names for those who paid.
"Hi Lacy!" Drew's voice is high pitched and sickly sweet. She bends down to kiss the cheeks of one of the girls sitting at the table. "You're on the committee?"
"Yep!" Lacy's head bobs up and down. She smiles brightly, all big teeth and pink braces. Her blond ponytail jumps at the movement. "I hope my prom is as pretty as this."
"It is beautiful." Drew peeks through the arch. "Even for a high school gym." She digs through her bag and waves her student ID. "Need this?"
"Right!" Lacy begins scanning her clipboard. She checks something with a red pen and looks up to Rachel with a gasp. "And you must be Rachel! So glad to meet you."
"Uh, thanks?" Rachel offers her a hesitant smile. "Didn't think I was famous."
"Of course!" Lacy babbles. Her hand flips over to cover her mouth from Drew's view as she leans in. "Drew talks about you all the time. It's like totally crazy! She's so in lo-"
"Lacy, you need to sign Leo in, hon." Drew taps her nails on the table. "Don't want to miss our prom by standing here."
"Right, right, of course!" Lacy's head nods so fast that it's a blonde blur. She beams at Leo and checks his ID. "Don't forget to vote for prom king and queen!" She throws two big thumbs up. "I've got my fingers crossed for you, Drew!"
"Thanks, doll, you're the best." Drew blows a little kiss and pulls the other two into the gym.
"Who was that?" Leo blinks at the encounter.
"Better question, how much coffee did she have, and where can I get it?" Rachel snorts. She smirks and bumps her hip to Drew's. "You talk about me a lot, huh?"
"Don't think highly of yourself." Drew's cheeks are visibly pink even in the dark lighting. "Lacy just happens to ask a lot of questions. It's annoying, actually."
"Yikes. Kinda rude to say that about your adoring fan." Leo says.
Drew sighs and steers them away from the door, pushing them further into a mass of teenage bodies. "She's a good person though. I boss her around a lot, but she's loyal. Hopefully, next year she'll make those bitches I call friends better people."
"How sweet," Rachel rolls her eyes. "No way- look at Lou Ellen!" Rachel drags Drew through the crowd with intertwined fingers, leaving Leo by himself surrounded by hanging stars.
The decorations are neat, Leo takes a step back to admire them. The DJ's station has a giant and beautifully painted yellow full moon, as pounding pop (or rather trap music, because that's what's popular now) beats through the speakers into a mob of jumping teens. Right. No one knows how to dance.
Glitter lightly coats the room, as glow in the dark stars shine from the walls, and the occasional flash from a photographer blinds those nearby. Paper mache planets and star cutouts hang from the ceiling, while a giant cardboard sun sits on the makeshift stage. There's a giant spaceship booth with people asking for prom votes, while the refreshments table is tucked away under a glossy shooting star.
There's a lot of people, Leo's slowly starting to realize. He then thinks the space prom idea is stupid, because the whole room is sucking the breath out of his lungs.
Okay, maybe it's not that stupid. It's perfect, because Leo is very alone and can't breathe or hear or really feel.
Props to the prom committee then.
While Leo's biting into a cupcake with an aluminum wrapper, he spots Connor Stoll in a light gray tux with a blue tie leaning on one of the tables pushed towards the walls of the gym.
"Hey," Leo has to yell, "how'd you get in here? Aren't you a sophomore?"
"Yeah," Connor fiddles with the black and silver table topper. "Just told them I was Travis and they let me in. He's looking for you, by the way."
"Right," Leo moves out of the way as people push by. He falls back against the wall. "So you're just standing here then?"
"Pretty much?" Connor shrugs. "How'd you know it was me anyway? Most people assumed I was Travis."
"You guys look different." Leo eyes the crowd. He thinks he saw the kaleidoscope colors of Piper's eyes from across the room but he's not too sure because of the distance and lighting. "You both look stupid, but one of you looks more stupid."
"Heh!" Connor nods at someone who waves at him. He looks tired, with hair all messed up and shadows under his eyes. One of his buttons were put into the wrong hole at the bottom of his shirt. "Sounds like something my brother would say!"
"Travis?"
"No! My other brother, Luke!" Connor moves closer, so Leo can hear. "He works at 7-Eleven like a loser."
"I think I know who you're talking about." Leo nods. "Yeah- I think he bought me a pack of cigarettes once. He seems cool."
Connor laughs. "He's a dick. My family is literally just a bunch of losers. It's fine though, I think Trav' is gonna break the cycle next year. Otherwise? Shit!"
Leo frowns. Something about the way Connor speaks is weird. Has he always been this weird? Not that Connor's weird or anything, but it's just… off-putting. Sad, really.
"Ugh, it's going to suck when he goes to college!" Connor groans, head tossed back. He pats Leo's arm. "Ugh, it's going to suck when you go to college! Don't forget us small folk back home."
Leo fist bumps him. "I'll try not to."
"Heh, yeah." Connor stuffs his hands in his pockets. Leo hears the very soft jingle of car keys underneath the heavy music. "I'm going to get something to drink, want anything?"
"Sure." Leo steps away from the wall and back towards the table a few feet away. "I'll just be over here."
Leo scans the room. Drew is hovering by the doorway leading to the hallway with bathrooms. She's listening to some pretty girl with brunette curls who is going on and on about something. Rachel is somewhere on the outskirts of the gym, laughing with people who Leo recognizes from the Gardening Club.
Clovis leans on another table, listening to his friends. Leo hadn't known Clovis was so popular- he's a bit entranced with the way a bunch of dudes (Lacrosse Boys, Leo's mind supplies) shove each other and hype each other up around Clovis.
Hell, even Annabeth is here. She dances with Percy, arms around his neck, all smiles and starry eyes. They're wrapped in their own little world, not seeming to mind the fact that they're slow dancing to a poorly remixed version of Bodak Yellow. It's sweet, if not really strange.
"Leonidas, am I right?" Leo turns his head to a very fine woman coming his way. A long purple dress with lovely curves and a neckline that does not seem to adhere to dress codes is making its way to a suddenly more alert Leo, who has no clue who the lady adorning such a thing is.
"It's Leo. And you are…"
"Reyna." Reyna has a very nice deep red lipstick on. Very nice. "We've met before, actually."
Leo snaps his fingers, memories slipping together at the words. "Yeah, yeah, Reyna! Where's grumpy ass Draco?"
"Octavian is in the bathroom, actually." Reyna smiles. Her face doesn't look like it's very accustomed to smiling, but it looks good doing it. "I actually came here because of Jason. He and uh, his date were looking for you."
"Jason and Piper looking for me? I'm honored to have the royal couple request for their jester." It was supposed to be a joke, but it didn't feel very funny leaving his lips.
Regardless, Reyna laughs- a tingling sound humming pleasantly in Leo's ears. "They are indeed the royal couple. I hadn't realized how close they were, even with all of Jason's messages until I saw them in person."
"Yep. They're perfect for each other." Leo rolls his eyes. He makes eye contact with Connor heading back to the table. "No offense, but why are you here? Isn't your prom next week?"
Reyna looks away. "It's silly."
"Who cares? Tell me."
"Ah," Reyna cracks her knuckles. "Just a little promise me and Jason had during freshman year. We both expected to go to prom together, but when he realized he was transferring we promised to go to each others' proms no matter what happened after he left. I had expected it to end up… differently. But this is fine too."
"Ha," Leo thanks Connor for the drink. Connor stands awkwardly but doesn't intrude on the conversation, finding company in his phone. "You totally got sucker punched into liking Jason. Heh- not even SPQR elite is immune to him."
Reyna laughs. Laughs really long and really hard. "I don't like Jason. Not anymore at least. It took some time but I got over him." Her hopeful eyes fall towards the middle of the gym. Towards Percy and Annabeth, who were both embarrassingly jerking their limbs in strange movements that could not be called dancing. Whether she's looking at Percy or Annabeth, Leo has no clue.
"But yes," Reyna lets out another fleeting chuckle. "Not even SPQR elite is immune to Jason Grace. Who is looking for you, by the way."
"Yeah-" Leo chokes and spits out his drink. It tastes like Kool-Aid without the sugar but substituted with the sweetness of old gym socks. "Oh gross, don't drink this stuff, I think it might be bad for you. And the environment, actually."
Reyna giggles again and pats the table. "I see Octavian- I still don't understand why he even volunteered to join me when he hates people. But friends try to be there for you, am I right?" Reyna nods at Leo. "It was very nice talking to you Leon- Leo. I hope to see you again, in the near future."
"Pleasure was all mine," Leo says because he has no idea what to say to a girl like that.
Connor gags and slams his cup on the table. "That was disgusting. Why didn't you warn me?"
"Dude!"
Leo finds Jason and Piper on the roof. They're sitting on the floor, drinking the piss-juice served downstairs and eating cookies.
"Your Puerto Rican ex is back there." Leo thumbs towards the door, as he tugs on his tie. His shirt's fallen out of his pants and the wind messes with his hair. He feels warm and surprisingly comfortable in his tuxedo jacket. "She's crazy hot, man."
"Hey, Leo." Jason mumbles. Piper grins at him.
"You look good, Beauty Queen." She does. She's wearing the same blue dress that she had tried on a few weeks ago. The blue one that matched her and Jason's eyes. It's off the shoulders look and thigh length cut opened the world to see more of Piper's flawless skin. Piper's legs are crossed as they stick out in front of her. Her sparkly shoes have been tossed to the side in a pile.
"Oh God, you haven't called me that in months. And not too bad yourself." Piper muses. "Though suspenders? Really? I don't think you know that they're not cute."
"Drew said almost the same thing." Leo sits carefully on the ground. Now that he's closer and he's sitting, Leo can now see that the two were playing cards- Uno actually. "Oh snap, let me play."
Jason collects all the cards to shuffle them again. He's really good at shuffling- Jason's got this kind of technique where he manages to get the deck into one neat pile by the end of his extravagant card moving. Leo's good with his hands, but not even he can shuffle cards without making a mess.
Piper's more of a Connect-4 kind of girl.
"No stacks, or whatever BS rules you guys like to cheat with." Jason flips over the first card. "Order is left of the dealer." Jason Leo Piper. Cool.
"So Leo," Piper finally says after a few boring turns. "How's your prom been so far? Did you see the chocolate fountain?"
"It's been okay." Leo puts down a Reverse card. "And you guys?"
"We got bored and came up here," Jason says. "It's pretty warm right now, and when you sit you can't feel the wind."
"Yeah." Leo's turn gets skipped. "So like, you're just going to stay here all night or…?"
Piper shrugs and picks up a card. "I'll probably come down to see if Drew actually wins prom queen. I think afterward we're going to the arcade-" she looks to Jason for confirmation, who shrugs, "-so if you're up to it, you can tag along."
"I'll think about it."
Jason stretches and shakily stands up. "I'm going to the bathroom. You guys want anything?"
"Unfair!" Leo calls him out. "You just wanted to get out of picking up cards!"
Jason smugly shrugs, and with a kiss to Piper's cheek, he's gone. Piper pulls the cards into a pile and slowly tries to shuffle them.
Leo's watch only says 9:30. Apollo should be coming soon, and Leo would have to tell the check-in table that Apollo's his plus one. Heh. Leo's actually going to prom with Apollo.
"You hate me, don't you?"
Leo frowns, looking at Piper. She's still moving the cards around, but her hands are trembling and her head is down. Her hair conceals any expressions that Leo might've normally caught. "What?"
"You hate me, right? 'Cause of what I did?"
"I'm so confused- what'd you do?"
"I took Jason from you." Piper looks up with watery eyes. "I'm such a shitty friend."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Leo delicately peels the deck of Uno cards from her hand and shifts closer. He isn't sure where this entire outburst is coming from. "You definitely did not take Jason from me."
"I shouldn't have done it. It wasn't right."
"You didn't know, it's okay."
Piper clenches her dress in her hands. "But I did know. I kind of always knew. Like, there was just this voice in my head that kept saying that you and Jason were just so close-"
"We're best friends."
"Yeah, but we're best friends, and I don't think you ever liked me. Not like that, at least."
"Oh."
Piper wipes at her face. "I was so excited because Jason said 'Okay' after I confessed, that I forgot that maybe you liked Jason too. And then at some point, I was just rubbing it in your face, because you get everything and this- Jason was mine."
Leo swallows and sits back. He doesn't touch her because something in him might burn her with his suppressed emotions. Everything he feels is dirty and something he shouldn't say out loud.
With as long as Jason's absence is, Leo's starting to suspect that this was planned. Reyna was wrong. Jason wasn't the one who wanted to talk. It was Piper.
"I'm really sorry, Leo." Piper's crying gets louder as she tries to breathe through the mucus trembling down her face. "I love Jason, and I didn't understand you two. I swear- I didn't want to mess up our friendship. You just- you're just so-"
"-Piper, I-"
"-Fucking amazing. I don't get it." Piper drops her head into her hands. "You're so freaking smart, and everyone likes you, and you don't even care about- about anything! I was just so happy that Jason was such a win for me, that I didn't think about what it meant to you."
Piper's shoulders shake violently and she violently scrubs at her face. Leo has a lot of things running through his mind (mostly confusion and the slight bit of disgust and betrayal) but he lets her cry. He thinks that maybe she needs this.
When Piper seems to have quieted down, Leo speaks.
"I don't hate you, you know. I can't hate you." He doesn't hate her, no, but he definitely does not feel extremely good about her right now.
"I thought you were going to tell me."
"Tell you what?"
"I would've-" She hiccups. "I would've broke up with Jason. If you had told me you liked him so I could've been sure. If- if that was why this year was so- so-"
"So fucked up?"
"Yeah. I would've done it for you. I swear, Leo, I just-" Piper's knees slid up, and she lays her cheek on her knees. Her makeup is a bit smudged. "I don't know. I really am sorry."
Leo gets to his feet. The wind has died down, so he sits on the edge of the building. Below him are some teenagers joking around cars, pushing and laughing. He longs to just be one of them. Only for a night. So he can feel normal.
"Yeah." Leo says. "I know."
Piper stands too, a shaky and awkward stumble. She sits next to him and folds her arms around herself like she's cold. Maybe she is. He thinks of offering her his jacket but decides against it.
"You're such a good person, Leo."
"I'm not."
"But you are. I meant what I said- you're really amazing."
"Stop saying that. I'm really not."
Piper keeps quiet for a moment. "Jason thinks it too. He always talks about you."
Leo bites his lip.
"He said it wasn't my fault." Piper continues. Her fingers softly skirt the stone of the building. "He said it was both of our faults. But not yours. We almost broke up because of you a while back. Some argument over why you weren't talking to us."
"Right." Leo didn't know this, and he almost feels bad.
Almost.
"And it was so stupid. You had all these new friends, and it was like you outgrew us. Like, it wasn't us three facing the world anymore, because it was you who had already conquered it."
"That's ridiculous."
"But that's what it felt like." She hesitantly puts her head on his shoulder and relaxes when he doesn't move away. "I broke your heart and you thrived."
"I was definitely not 'thriving'." Leo wants to laugh, because Christ, if only Piper knew. His phone vibrates, and he looks over his shoulder to the parking lot. He sees the Sunshine Mobile that Apollo drives and sighs. "I guess I should've told you I liked guys too. I just couldn't."
"Yeah," Piper mumbles, "I wasn't entirely sure but yeah, I had strong suspicions. Sometimes you said Jason's name in your sleep."
"Oh... well that's embarrassing."
Piper laughs. "Gosh, Leo, you really are the best."
He doesn't know why she said that. "Okay. Hey, can you lift up your head? I have to get up."
Piper lets him go. As Leo is about to leave, he hears a sharp intake of breath and then a strange laughing noise come out of Piper.
"Oh God," Piper is borderline hysterical. "I can't believe I ruined our senior year over a guy."
Leo shrugs. "He's one hell of a guy."
"Jason ain't shit." Piper rolls her eyes with a grin. "Best friends like you are what really matter."
"Right." Leo tugs at his collar. "I'll see you around, Pipes? Catch a movie or something?" He doesn't know why he offered, because after tonight the only thing he actually wants to do is graduate. It just felt polite. He thinks Piper needed the offer at this point.
It's odd but Piper (and quite possibly Jason) needs him. It's even more bizarre that Leo doesn't quite feel the same way.
"I would like that. I would like that very much." She's all genuine big smiles and the stars in her eyes glow just a bit brighter.
Leo jumps on Apollo the moment he sees him. His hands hold Apollo's face tightly, and he smashes his face into the other. It's painful and not as romantic as Leo originally had thought, but Apollo smiles against his lips and wraps his arms around Leo's waist.
"You're happy," Apollo says when Leo falls back.
"Not really," Leo admits. "I just really needed to see you right now."
"Well, I'm here." Apollo looks around. "In my old high school's parking lot. Wow, this is weird."
Leo laughs. Simply Apollo's presence was making him feel good. This is great- fantastic even. They start walking towards the school entrance. "You think this is weird? I literally got outed in front of the entire school, and now I'm openly bringing my boyfriend to prom."
"At least he's a cute boyfriend." Apollo winks and then pulls on Leo's arm. "Wait- outed? How- who- I swear, I'll hurt whoever did it-"
"I'll tell you about it later." Leo pulls Apollo through the doors. The line isn't too long. "You're not allowed to kill my friends."
"Whatever you say, Leo. Though I can't say that they're your friends," Apollo grabs Leo's hand and interlaces their fingers with a slight squeeze. His hand is very warm. Despite the confidence Leo had a few moments ago, his heart is now ready to break out of his chest, and his breathing is getting too fast.
Jeez, he's about to go to prom with his boyfriend. In front of all his classmates. In front of his friends. In front of his teachers.
Apollo squeezes his hand. "I'm so nervous. Haven't been to prom in years. What's everyone going to think of me?"
Leo feels comforted by Apollo's nervous ramblings. Right- this isn't just a Leo thing, this is an Apollo&Leo thing.
"You'll be fine, that was like, uh, three or four years ago," Leo says. "Or you could get arrested because I'm underage."
"I looked it up, actually." Apollo looks down at him. For once, Leo didn't mind his average height. Apollo isn't that much taller than him, though. "Your birthday is in 3 months, right? You're old enough to make your own decisions."
"Besides," Apollo whispers into Leo's ear suddenly. "It's not like we're doing it."
Leo bursts out laughing. "You mean sex?"
"Shh!" Apollo's face is going red. "Don't say that!"
"Why?"
"I don't want to talk about s-e-x with a minor during his own prom! That's when all the teens have s-e-x!" Apollo throws his hands in the air, forgetting that his fingers are still clasping Leo's.
Leo snorts. He's not exactly getting Apollo's point. Everyone talks about sex, and everyone is aware of the whole "going-to-a-hotel-afterwards-and-giving-the-school-year-a-last-bang." Leo's thought about sex with Apollo (in fact, he thought about it when he first saw Apollo in his black tuxedo and yellow tie). He'd probably be gentle, always making sure that Leo's okay and everything is fine. Leo's definitely still not ready to have sex with him though, thoughts aside.
"I know how to spell!" Apollo and Leo both jump at Lacy's voice. She holds a pout, but it falls apart to reveal her bright smile. "You guys are just too cute!"
"Uh, thanks." Leo is acutely aware of the way the girl is staring at his hand in Apollo's. She looks happy, so this sends a flurry of good butterflies into Leo's stomach. He hasn't had good butterflies in a while, so the nervously giddy energy makes him smile back. "Uh, how do I fill out the guest information?"
After Lacy is done with helping Leo out, she slaps a neon orange band on Apollo's wrist.
"For safety," She winks and happily waves them off. "Have fun!"
Apollo tugs at the wristband. "Huh."
They stand at the doorway, peering in.
"What's 'huh'?"
"It's just- it's funny, right? The wristband?"
"How is that funny?"
"It's like when we met. You were wearing one because you couldn't drink at a mini concert."
"Huh. That is funny."
"Yep…"
"Are we?" Leo looks at him and laughs. "Are we stalling?"
"Yep." Apollo giggles like a kid. "You go in."
"No, you go in."
"No, you."
"How about we both go?" Leo grabs his arm. "On the count of three?"
"Why not? One."
"Two."
"Three."
Leo Valdez is officially and now properly out to his peers. And it fucking feels good.
It's totally crazy, but Calypso came to prom. He assumed that something like prom 'wouldn't be her thing'. She and Travis enter together, both looking disheveled and wild. If Leo didn't know any better, he would say they were hardcore making out.
But Leo does know better, and the reason why becomes apparent when Travis gets himself punch. Leo excuses himself from his dance partner (Apollo is somehow even worse than Percy and Annabeth, and he's doing the ugliest moonwalk Leo's ever seen) to talk to them.
"Hey, what's up with your hand?" Leo doesn't even hesitate to comment on the bandaged appendage. Travis ignores him, pushing Leo aside to grab a napkin. Rude.
Calypso gives Travis a look and talks for him. "Found him fighting a tree. He nearly broke his hand if I hadn't stopped him."
Leo squints at her face. "Your cheek is swollen." He touches it and Calypso winces.
He realizes what actually happened, and shoves Travis. "Dude, you don't fucking hit women!"
"I didn't hit her!" Travis yells back and pushes Leo, who stumbles and falls on his ass. "Just leave me alone!" He storms off towards the bathroom.
Leo sits, dumbstruck and staring at Calypso. She sighs and helps him up. "Don't mind him."
"What's his deal?" Leo wipes off the dust from his clothes. "He's never like that."
"You're his deal," Calypso says. "Cute suspenders, they're really working for you."
"Thanks, but what do you mean 'I'm his deal'?" Leo says, incredulous. "This is the first time I saw him tonight."
"I think you know what I mean." Calypso rubs her cheek. She's wearing makeup- only mascara and thick eyeliner to create a beautiful line that points upward making her eyes look cooler. She must be suffocating in the leather jacket and black dress though. "Let him cool off, and then talk to him."
Leo nods but doesn't heed her advice. He marches to the bathroom. Travis stood at the farthest sink and was breathing hard. His knuckle were white from gripping the ceramic and red from scrapes. He was an animal.
"What's up with you?" Leo folds his arms.
"What's up with you?" Travis glares and turns back to the mirror. He's fixing his hair which is streaked with sweat. "You normally keep boyfriends a secret, or do you just kiss men in parking lots?"
Ouch. He must've seen him and Apollo in the parking lot. "Man, can you chill?"
"Can you chill?" Travis whirls around to face Leo. He points an accusatory finger at him, blue eyes looking wild. "I thought we were friends, I thought you would've told us about- whoever he is!"
"Us?"
"Me! Us! The gang! Who cares!" Travis yells wildly. "Why didn't you just say you had a boyfriend!"
Leo pushes him back again. Travis slams into the bathroom stall door. It bangs open, Travis nearly falls into the toilet. "Stop yelling! I just couldn't, okay?! I don't tell everyone about my life because shit like this happens! People get angry, and it fucking sucks!"
"Well, fucking suck it up buttercup, because the world sucks! Everything sucks and we're supposed to make it better."
"Travis, I can't do that," Leo kicks the stall door. "Damn it! I can't do anything right!"
Travis stares at him with wide eyes. Leo can only stare back. The stall door creaks back and forth over the sound of their breathing.
"Sorry," Leo says, finally. "Shouldn't have accused you of attacking Calypso. Or yelled at you either."
"No, I did." Travis lets out a giant breath and sits on one of the bathroom sinks. It groans under his weight. "I was mad and she tried to stop me from breaking my hand, and my elbow hit her face."
Leo winces. "Jeez. Why the hell were you fighting a tree?" Leo thinks he knows the answer. Maybe he's like Piper that way- he already suspects, but just wants to truly hear Travis say it for himself.
Travis looks away. "I'd rather not."
"Come on," Leo teases. "I'll tell everyone you lost a fight with a flower."
Travis looks at him, slight amusement in his eyes and a hint of a smirk. "It wasn't a flower, it was a tree."
"But no one else knows that, right?" Leo raises an eyebrow. "My, oh, my, how the great Travis Stoll was defeated by a daisy- mmp."
Travis kisses him. Leo doesn't know what do, so he just stands there, until Travis leans back against the mirror.
"God," Travis sighs, licking his lips. "I've wanted to do that ever since I met you."
Leo opens his mouth to say something, but he can't find the right words, so he closes it.
"I didn't think it would hurt," Travis says. He looks at Leo and touches his own chest. "Physically, I mean. Seeing you kiss him actually broke my heart. I thought I was going to die."
Leo knows the feeling. He says this, in the form of: "I know."
"And I got really angry. I was so mad that some other guy got to you and I was just your friend with some dumb crush." Travis stares at his hand. "And all I kept thinking was that maybe if I could actually hurt physically, it wouldn't hurt, like, inside here." He taps his chest again.
"I know."
Travis looks tired now. He slides off the sink and aggressively rubs his eyes with his palms. "I'm not going to lie and say I wish you luck, 'cause I honestly hate the guy right now. But I hope you're happy, you know. With him I guess. I don't know what I'm supposed to say."
"You think you'll be okay?" Leo asks.
"I'm not going to be depressed or anything. Connor's depressed, and like, he's all messed up mentally and takes meds and stuff. But this is just, you know, a crush." Travis has a strained smile. "I'll get through it. Pretty soon it'll just be 'Remember when I liked that kid and he had a boyfriend? Crazy.'"
There's certainly a lot to dissect from all that. Leo decides to leave it for another day, however.
"His name's Apollo." Leo elbows Travis. "Just so you have a name to a face you hate."
"I don't hate him. I know I just said I did, but it's like," Travis' hands move around before dropping. "I don't know, man."
"It's cool." Leo knows and understands.
"Ugh," Travis slaps his head. "Apollo. Sounds like a douchebag."
"And Travis doesn't?"
"Hey!" They start heading back to the gym.
Before they enter again, Leo stops Travis. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yeah, fine." Travis gives him a thumbs up. "Why?"
Leo highly doubts Travis is okay, but he doesn't want to intrude too much. He hopes he'll be fine though. Who knows how deep his feelings were? Leo makes a mental note to tell Connor to watch out for him.
"Just checking." Leo pats him on the back. Travis grabs Leo's arm.
"You're not useless, Leo. You know that, right?" Travis looks him in the eye. For once, Leo felt seen. Travis understood more than Leo expected. "You said something about not doing things right. But I've seen you do a lot of good this year."
"Thanks." Leo nods, not wanting to talk about it more. "Come on, let me show you the worst pair of dancers ever."
"EXCUSE ME, YOU HOOLIGANS! SHUT UP OR I'LL MAKE YOU ALL DO LAPS!" Coach Hedge efficiently manages to quiet the entire room of teenagers, without the assistance of his megaphone.
"Who's that?" Apollo whispers to Leo.
"A menace to society," Leo whispers back.
Hedge reaches for his megaphone. "I AM-" Rather than words coming out, glitter and confetti spurts out, spraying the entire first row of people in front of him.
Hedge somehow makes eye contact with Leo through the crowd in a split second and bellows his infamous "VALDEZ! DETENTION!" After years of this, none of the other seniors or juniors are surprised.
Leo is, in fact, actually surprised as he chokes back laughter. "Sorry, Coach, wasn't me! Haven't messed with you in months!"
Hedge swears and mumbles something about FRESHMAN WHO NEED MORE PUSH UPS, before coughing loudly. "Alright, cupcakes, now I'm here to introduce this year's prom king and queen. Will the candidates get up here?"
Leo hears Drew's move it's from across the room. He can barely see Rachel moving up along with her, as Drew storms upstage. To Hedge's right stood the girls: Drew, a slightly irritated Annabeth, and a meek and sweet looking Juniper.
"She smokes weed, right?" Leo asks Connor, who shrugs and then nods. Calypso says something that Leo can't hear.
On the other side of Hedge were the boys: a nervous Grover, some kid Leo doesn't know, and freaking Clovis, who Leo is starting to realize is a lot more popular and well-liked than Leo originally thought despite being The Kid Who Is Always Asleep.
"Votes are in, yadda yadda yadda. Speech about courage and opportunity. Speech about friends and kindness. Blah blah blah." Hedge waves his hands wildly for two freshmen to bring up crowns, flowers, and sashes. Leo can practically feel Drew salivating.
"Who'd you vote for?" Apollo whispers again.
"I forgot."
"So who should we clap the loudest for?"
"Drew," Leo says. "And Clovis, I guess."
"Without further ado," Hedge carries on, blank with emotion. "Your runner-ups are Drew Tana-"
"NO!" Drew screams. She frantically reaches for Hedge's card. "Read it again!"
He does, and when the cautious freshman tries to give her a tiny tiara, Drew screams again and runs off stage. Leo ignores the hesitant applause when the actual king and queen were called (Annabeth and Grover, neither seeming particularly pleased) and pulls Apollo along with him to find Drew.
As they leave, Leo bumps into Jason and Piper. Piper nearly goes after her sister but decides against it. Jason waves towards Leo, who nods back.
They find her sitting on the curb of the street with Rachel. Travis and Connor trail along, giving the girl sympathetic looks. The six of them sit on the curbside together, not really saying anything besides the slight whines coming from Drew, and Rachel's quiet muttering.
"She really wanted it that much? It's plastic." Apollo says quietly to Leo. Their hands were linked together between them.
Leo gives a one-shouldered shrug. "I don't know. It's just not plastic to her."
"Oh. Yikes."
"Yeah, exactly."
Rachel stands up, pulling Drew to her feet. "There's not really a reason to stay anymore. Let's get some ice cream and go home. We can even get you low fat ice cream."
"Mhm." Drew reaches up to her bun and lets her hair down. Her voice is shaky and frail. "That sounds good."
"Hey!" Lacy and Calypso burst through the doors. Lacy makes a quick zip to Drew, nearly causing them both to fall when she hugs Drew tightly. Calypso rolls her eyes.
"I'm so so so so sorry! You should've won! I'm sure if we all asked for a recount, it'll be fine." Lacy says confidently.
"No," Drew clears her throat, standing taller than she did before. She wants to make Lacy believe she's strong. Make her believe that Drew isn't a scared little girl inside. "It's fine."
"Well, actually," Calypso waves around her hand. She's holding a tiara- not the baby one that Drew was offered but the real one. The plastic catches the light as Calypso tosses it. "Annabeth said she didn't care about it and figured you'd have more use for it."
Drew hugs the crown to her chest. "Wow." Her hands tremble as she places the crown on her head. Leo has always known Drew to be a spoiled princess, but she looks like a real-life princess now.
Until Rachel grabs the crown from her head. And snaps it in half. Drew's breath cuts off at the sound.
"This is stupid." Rachel snaps the halves apart. "I'm so tired of hearing you talk about this stupid crown all the time. You don't need it, you're already a freaking queen. High school is so lame, this is so lame."
Drew's jaw drops. And then she laughs. And laughs. She keeps laughing until she starts crying again, but this time it's good tears. Her arms wrap around Rachel, who rolls her eyes and pats her head. She kisses her cheek again and again, leaving lipstick smudges and two giggly and happy girls.
"It's so beautiful," Lacy sobs. "Everything is so beautiful tonight!"
Drew starts laughing harder.
"I never got to ask you to dance." Apollo nudges Leo.
Leo points a spoon at him. "It's too late now, we already left. Man, I love ice cream."
"Hmm," Apollo nods. He points to the side of the building where a speaker hanged playing pop. "Come on Leo, it's romantic."
"I am not dancing with you to What Makes You Beautiful at 11 o clock in front of Häagen Dazs while you have chocolate ice cream on your face."
Apollo wipes the dessert away. "Now you have to do it because it's not on my face."
Leo scoops up the last of his ice cream and drops the spoon. "Fine."
They stand up, surprising their friends. Leo's hands loop around Apollo's neck and Apollo's hands settle on his waist.
"This is dumb," Leo says, though he doesn't feel dumb but rather very nice and warm.
"Okay," Apollo's nose bumps against Leo's. "But I like being dumb with you."
From the corner of his eye, Leo can see Connor and Travis whispering to each other. Drew and Rachel laugh with each other, absorbed in their own universe.
Leo closes his eyes and drops his head onto Apollo's shoulder. He inhales the smell of fresh dryer sheets and feels grounded. At the same time, he feels like he can float. He would drift away like a cloud as he'll get moved wherever life takes him.
"My face hurts."
He feels Apollo's shoulders mover when he takes a breath. "Is that the name of the song, or are you hurt?" Apollo takes Leo's face in his hands to scrutinize it for any bruises. Instead, he finds a giant smile.
"What? Why are you smiling?"
"'Cause I can."
"Okay..."
"It's 'cause I like you. And you like me back. It's crazy."
Apollo kisses him. "I think about that all the time."
Leo nods. "Out of this entire universe, I met you. Some giant dork who likes me."
"Lots of people like you."
"Yeah," Leo rests his chin on Apollo's shoulder. His eyes glance from Travis to Rachel to Connor to Drew. He thinks of Piper and Jason. He thinks of Calypso, Annabeth, and Clovis. "But not like you do. I'm going to miss you so much."
"Miss me? I'm right here."
Leo leans back. "Apollo, I'm graduating in a few weeks. I'm leaving the state."
Apollo's lip twitches downward, but only slightly. "I figured. I've thought about it for some time."
"Are we going to-"
"Shh," Apollo pulls Leo into a tight hug. "Let's enjoy this right now. Think of the now, not whatever's going to happen later."
Leo yawns. "Alright, Prince Charming. Stop being too good with words or I might just fall in love with you."
"That's the point," Apollo blows air in Leo's face. "Though I'm not so sure anymore with the number of times you've stepped on my shoe in the past 5 minutes."
"Oh, like you can talk." Leo mocks. "You're a terrible dancer."
Apollo gasps and steps away. "That's it, we're breaking up."
"Oh no! My feet being perfectly normal and not deformed from some other weirdo's feet? The horror!"
Apollo cackles and Leo joins him not soon after that.
The now. Leo's living in the now. And it feels so amazing.
He never wants this night to end.