Chapter 3

POV: Piper

Oh, I absolutely know that Seaweed Brain is Percy Jackson. He is one of Jason's best friends and I see them constantly together whenever I happen to see Jason around campus. No, I am not stalking him. Besides what Annabeth thinks, Percy seems like a great guy from the few interactions I've had with him and Annabeth needs to get out more. I know she hates him but this would be good for her.

I left for class around 7:00 in the morning. Annabeth was still asleep and Thalia was just waking up to get ready for work. I hated having early morning classes, but this was the only time the school had for Minority Representation in Film, and I had heard this class was worth it. As I made my way to NYU walking down the snowy street, my mind wandered to the party at Silena's.

I had tried to make conversation with Jason multiple times throughout the night, but he seemed distant and preoccupied most of the time. When I had asked him what was wrong he mumbled something about someone not being here who should have, and when I pressed the issue he got weird and left. Lost in thought I accidentally walked right into someone, knocking us both over in the process.

"Oh shit, I'm so sorry, here- Piper?!" The man I had knocked over rambled.

"Wait how did you know-," I looked up and gasped," Leo?"

"You know I prefer Bad Boy Supreme, Beauty Queen."

I jumped and quickly tackled the tiny elf man in a hug. "Oh my gods, when did you get here? Where have you been? What happened?" I pulled away from the hug and looked at the face of my long lost best friend.

"Do you want to go get some coffee?" Leo offered. Yes I had class but I hadn't seen Leo in almost 8 years. I can miss one class.

"Only if you drink decaf and answer all my questions." I was so excited I didn't even notice Jason and Percy approaching.

"Leo, there you- O-Oh hey Piper," Jason said. He was dressed casually today, wearing a pair of black joggers and a hoodie. Percy on the other hand looked like he was sleepwalking, wearing sweatpants, an undershirt, and a pair of house shoes that looked like sharks eating his feet. I was suddenly very aware that I was holding Leo very close and put a little space between us. Didn't want Jason to get the wrong idea.

"Hey Jason," I mumbled, a light blush forming on my cheeks. Leo seemed to notice as he gave me a We'll talk later look.

"Sorry Jason. I got lost and ran into Beauty Queen here." Leo said, taking the attention off me mostly. "I'm actually going to get coffee if y'all want to join."

Suddenly Percy seemed to wake up and declared, "Coffee? You should've led with that. Let's go!"

Jason chuckled at Percy, "We can't go get coffee, we have to get to class."

"Oh Golden Boy Jason can't miss one class," Percy teased. Jason glared at him but muttered a fine and we started walking to the coffee shop on campus. I was kind of annoyed that Percy and Jason were butting in on my reunion with Leo, but when Jason looked behind him and smiled at me on the walk over, I decided I could forgive him.

After ordering our drinks we sat down at a round table in the corner of the shop. "Alright Leo, just because we have company I'll go a little easier on you." Leo seemed to relax for a second before I reached across the table and slapped him. "Where in the fuck did you go?"

Jason and Percy seemed stunned at my reaction. I heard Percy whisper to Jason, "That was easier?" Leo on the other hand just grinned at me.

"I missed you too Pipes. As to where I've been, I'm sorry. I had to leave. CPS found my dad, my real dad and he agreed to take me in. I didn't get the chance to say goodbye," he lamented. "I missed you a lot Piper, I'm really glad to see you again. Now can I answer all your questions later but for now I kind of just want to hang out with my best friend again."

I couldn't help myself. Despite my anger at him just leaving me without saying goodbye, my face split into the widest grin possible. "I missed you too Leo," I turned towards the other boys who had been almost completely quiet up to this point and inquired, "How do you guys know Leo?"

"Oh uh, we met Leo when he moved to our high school in junior year. You're the famous Piper he talks about constantly?" Jason asked before a crestfallen look took over his face. "Are you guys like a thing?"

At that Leo and I burst out laughing. "Me and Piper? A thing? Oh man you're a riot! Piper and I are just friends. We've known each other for forever and she's like a sister to me." I nodded along with him agreeing with what he said. I love Leo but never once had either of us had feelings for each other.

"Oh! Oh cool. I mean cool that you guys are like brother and sister. Cool…" Jason mumbled, seemingly lost in thought. After that awkward little interaction we continued to chat for hours at the coffee shop. Jason and Percy left after a bit to get to their next class but Leo and I spent the entire morning catching up. It turns out that he had moved to New York when he left and met Jason and Percy at Goode High School. They became fast friends and spent the last bit of high school together. After that Leo had been accepted into MIT and had recently graduated which is why he was back in New York.

Around Noon the two of us left the coffee shop and made our way back to my apartment. "I can't wait for you to meet Annabeth and Thalia. I've known them forever and they were my first friends before I moved to California. They knew how to stay in touch though," I said giving Leo a pointed glare.

He chose to ignore the look I gave him and started rambling about this machine he designed for NASA. We made our way up to my apartment and settled down in the living room. No one else was there so we settled down and turned on the TV. We spent hours on the couch just laughing and messing around.

After a while we faded into a comfortable silence. I don't know what was running through Leo's head but my mind was running a million miles an hour with questions. He had disappeared for eight years and suddenly was back. It was like nothing had changed but my mind kept bringing back my high school insecurities. Did he leave because of me? Did he not want to deal with my issues anymore?

Silent tears started to roll down my cheek in spite of my struggles to stop them. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Leo turn with a concerned look on his face. He opened his mouth to speak but before a word could come out I broke down, unable to hold the tears back anymore, and asked, "Why-why did you leave me?"

Leo's eyes widened and a look of guilt formed on his face. He slowly made his way over to me and pulled me into a hug. "I'm sorry Pipes. I'm so sorry. I wish I could have stayed but I had no choice. I thought about you everyday. Now that I am done with school I was going to come find you Beauty Queen. I can't live the best years of life without my best friend."

Silence pervaded the air after that. Neither of us knew what to say, so we continued to sit there, hugging each other while I stopped my crying. I was glad he was back but all I could think about is when I would lose him again, just like I had lost my mother and sister. I lifted my head to look him in his eyes. "Just don't leave me again Repair Boy."

A small smile tugged at Leo's lips, "Wouldn't dream of it." And with that I knew that I found my best friend again. I would never lose him again if I had anything to say about it.