It sure didn't take me long to write a hurt/comfort chapter! I hope you all enjoy!
Harsh Words and Usher
"I'm gonna kill him," Hedge muttered, stomping across the grassy area between the cabins, a few campers instantly going in the opposite direction when they saw him coming. They knew better than to mess with the satyr when he looked that angry, and right now, he looked furious.
The coach reached the Hephaestus cabin and hammered on the door. Seconds later, Shane answered.
"Hey, Coa-"
"Where is he," the middle-aged satyr demanded, pushing past the demigod. "Where's Valdez?!"
"H-He should be on his way back from the Big House," Jake Mason spoke up from his bunk, now back in bandages from a recent forging accident [after healing from his previous injury a week ago].
"I'll wait here, then," Hedge said, sitting down in a nearby chair, setting his megaphone on the table.
The Hephaestus siblings exchanged worried and confused glances, noticing how irate the satyr appeared to be. They had no idea what Leo could have done to upset him, but they did not want to stick around to find out. Thankfully, Leo walked in through the front door, oblivious as to the storm waiting for him.
"Hey guys," the fifteen-year-old counselor said cheerfully. "How's it-"
His question was cut off as Hedge chucked his megaphone at him, and the demigod barely had any time to duck as it hit the door, breaking into smaller pieces.
"Coach Hedge," Leo said, gaping at the satyr in shock. "What are y-"
"How many times have I told you to STOP MESSIN' WITH MY MEGAPHONE," the coach shouted, stomping over to him and pointing a finger in his face. "Halfway through my drilling session it starts blasting some Usher song! The campers started singin' and dancin' along, and by the time I finally turned it off, my trainin' mojo had been thrown off!"
"What are you talking about," the half-blood asked, a confused and scared expression on his face. "I didn't mess with your- Wait, how did you recognize the song? Usher's a little too recent for some your ag-"
"That's not important! Stop messin' with my stuff!" The middle-aged satyr shook his head. "I thought bein' a counselor would make you more responsible, but you're still an immature pranker! If Chiron had any sense, he would make someone else head counselor again, since anyone would be a better choice than you!"
Leo stared at Coach Hedge with shock for a few moments, too stunned to come up with a witty reply. Then, his face hardened, and he shoved the satyr out of the way, storming off towards his bunk. Hitting a button on the side, a set of stairs appeared in the floor, and he stomped down into the basement. It must have been their imagination, but they could have sworn they heard a sniffle come from the teen before the floor closed over his head.
"Uh…" Jake and Shane exchanged a quick look. Hedge ignored them, stepping over the broken megaphone and exiting the cabin.
Seriously, when is it enough for that kid, the middle-aged satyr thought, stomping towards the woods. Now I gotta order a new megaphone; maybe more, for when he messes with one again. Good to have backups.
"Coach Hedge!"
He turned to find Chiron galloping towards him, a young camper on his back.
"I need to talk to you about your training session this morning," the centaur said. "I heard it was… interrupted, to put it nicely."
"You could say that," the satyr said irritably. "But I took care of it."
The activities director blinked with surprise. "You did?"
"Yeah. I just told Valdez off, and if he knows what's good for him, he'll keep his hands off my stuff from now on!"
"Leo?" Chiron shook his head. "Leo didn't rewire your megaphone."
"And also, I-"
Coach Hedge stopped mid-rant, the centaur's words processing in his head. A few moments later, his fists unclenched.
"... What," he asked. "Valdez didn't-"
"That's what I wanted to talk to you about," Chiron continued, turning and grabbing the kid on his back, setting him on the ground. The middle-aged satyr recognized the boy as another Hephaestus kid, and the young demigod had a guilty expression his face.
"Apparently, Harley here thought it would be funny to turn morning drill into a dance party," the centaur explained. "Says he was inspired by Leo, but that he knew nothing about it." He looked down at the boy. "Is there something you wanted to say to Coach Hedge?"
"I'm sorry," Harley said, finally looking up at the satyr. "I was just trying to make people laugh, like Leo always does."
"But there's a time and a place for that, and does not involve tampering with other people's property," Chiron informed the boy. "And Leo knows this."
Hedge did not reply, a wave of guilt coming over him. He thought back to what he had said to Leo, and recalled the quick sniffle he had heard from the teen before he vanished into the basement. Instantly, he knew that he had screwed up.
"As for what you said about Leo-" Chiron turned back around to find that the satyr was gone. "Coach Hedge?"
Hedge was quickly trotting back towards Cabin Nine. Once again, campers scattered as they saw him approaching, still wary of earning his wrath. This time, he did not knock on the cabin door, but walked right in. Jake and Shane gaped at him, and the satyr walked over to Leo's bunk and hit the button he had seen him hit earlier. The stairs opened up in the floor, and after a moment of hesitation, he climbed down the steps.
This underground workshop was a lot smaller than Bunker Nine, and only consisted of a few work benches. It still had plenty of tools, as well as half-finished swords, shields, and pieces of armor. In the corner of the room sat Leo, his back to the satyr.
"Whoever it is, go away," the demigod said in a hollow voice. "I wanna be alone right now."
Hedge sighed. "Valdez-"
Leo whirled around, yelping a little upon seeing the satyr. However, it was quickly replaced with a glare, and the coach felt another pang of guilt when he spotted a few tears in the teenager's eyes.
"What do you want," the half-blood said, turning aside and wiping at his eyes. "You wanna chuck something else at my head?"
"I… Chiron just told me that Harley had…" Coach Hedge shifted from hoof to hoof. "I'm sorry, Valdez. I shouldn't have accused you of messin' with my megaphone without proof."
"Yeah, right," the teen said, turning back towards him and rolling his eyes a little. "You always jump to conclusions, and as soon as something goes wrong, you blame me!"
The middle-aged satyr blinked with surprise. "That's… not true."
"Really? Every time a toaster doesn't work or a sword blade snaps, you think I'm responsible for it! Even back at the Wilderness School, you always blamed me whenever someone put shaving cream in all the gym lockers or changed the P.A. system to play reggae music on repeat." He paused. "Okay, that last one was me, but you get the picture!"
"I… I never-"
"Just leave me alone and go yell at someone," the teen muttered, turning away from him. "It's what you're good at."
Coach Hedge sighed, realizing that apologizing would be harder than it seemed. While he was not a touchy-feely person, he felt that he needed to do something. He sat down on a nearby chair, trying to think of something to say.
"Leo," he said, using the half-blood's first name. "I really am sorry. I shouldn't have acted the way I did, and I shouldn't have said the things I said. And what I said about Chiron choosin' another head counselor… I didn't really mean it."
"Sure," the demigod said sarcastically. "I'm just an immature pranker; why should I be a counselor?"
"Because you're smart, you're strong, and you're capable of leadin' others," the satyr coach replied. "Kid, I've watched you become more responsible since I first met you months ago back at that Wilderness School. And that quest you went on to rescue Hera and Piper's dad proves that you've got what it takes to be a hero." Leo turned to look at him, not smiling, but not frowning, either.
"I… have a temper," Hedge continued. "I've always been quick with my words and actions, and it's gotten me into trouble a couple of times. But that doesn't excuse me for gettin' upset at you, and I'm sorry for upsettin' you." He looked down at his lap, ashamed. "I don't expect you to forgive me, and I can't blame you if you don't want to."
The demigod was silent for a few moments, taking in everything the satyr had said. Coach Hedge sat there, waiting to be forgiven, kicked out… whatever the demigod elected to do.
"I forgive you."
The middle-aged satyr looked up with surprise.
"It's just…" Leo looked down at his hands. "I've been trying to be responsible, but I still feel like I come up short sometimes. I was even at the Big House today, talking with Chiron about if I deserved to be head counselor. And then you showed up, and…" He sighed. "I guess it's a clear sign that I'm not head honcho material."
"Sure you are," Hedge assured him. "Look how much you've done for this cabin in the past few months; you found Bunker Nine, repaired Hephaestus, and lifted the so-called curse." A loud bang from overhead, followed by Jake crying out with pain reached their ears. "... Mostly. Even Beckondorf couldn't do all that."
The teen looked over at him.
"You really think I should still be head counselor," he asked.
"I'll swear it on the River Styx if you want me to," the satyr replied.
Leo finally smiled, that elfish grin lighting up his face like a Christmas tree.
"Thanks, Coach," he said. "And of course I forgive you; you probably would've made me do lunges around the camp if I didn't!"
"Yeah," the satyr agreed, chuckling a little and standing back up. "I gotta go; I have a date with M- I mean, I gotta get ready for afternoon trainin'."
"Yeah, and I've got Ancient Greek with Piper and Jason," Leo said, getting up as well. "Though I'll find out who messed with your megaphone."
"Chiron already figured it out; it was Harley."
"Harley?!" The demigod smiled with pride. "They grow up so fast!"
"So long as he doesn't do it again."
"I'll make sure he doesn't. But Coach, you still didn't answer me earlier when I asked if you knew who Usher was. I mean, I thought you hated modern music."
"... I gotta go."
"Oh my gods, Coach Hedge is an Usher fan, everyone!"
"SHH!"
"I must tell everyone!" Leo ran past the middle-aged satyr, out of the basement and through the cabin. "Hey everyone! Guess what I just learned!"
"VALDEZ," Hedge roared, chasing after him with a furious look on his face.
Twenty minutes later, Chiron was playing the diplomat as the satyr struggled to climb a tree, Leo a few yards above him as he blasted 'Yeah!' from his phone's speakers, a crowd of concerned and snickering demigods beneath them.
I know it's kinda short now, but I plan on writing more stories in the future. I hope you enjoyed it!
I do NOT own Usher or 'Yeah!' at all.