LEO'S POV
To say that today sucked would be an extreme understatement.
As a demigod I've gotten used to having some pretty craptastic days, but this one definitely hit different. For starters, I've stubbed the same big toe on four separate occasions today. Four. Frank's gym socks got in my mouth when I fell into the communal dirty laundry bin, and I feel like I'll never be the same again. Plus, I accidentally smashed my thumb when hammering some nails— and that almost never happens to me! Like, back at Cabin Nine everybody knew me as the guy who almost never smashed his thumb when hammering stuff. Well, aside from the whole pyrokinesis thing, that was what people associated me with.
Whatever— okay, fine! I'm the fire guy, and the guy who doesn't hit his fingers when hammering stuff. No, I will not elaborate. An unexpected frosty wind blowing from the west made me curse and bundle into my jacket even more.
And another thing! Don't even get me started on this strange cold weather. It was an affront to the gods if you ask me, and that's not just because I'm from Houston. Jack Frost was becoming a huge pain in my ass. Everyone else was complaining to me about the lack of hot showers like it was my job to be their personal water heater or something. They should've just burst into flame in the shower like I did. Idiots.
I caught a glimpse of my reflection in the Archimedes sphere and grimaced. I looked as exhausted and high strung as I felt. Last night I didn't sleep a wink. All I could think about was my fight with Peri and how poorly I handled the whole situation. I definitely overreacted, but did she really have to be such a hothead?
Who am I kidding? That's one of the things I love most about her crazy ass.
But it seemed like things were over for good between us this time. There's no way that Peri would want anything to do with me after I yelled in her face like that. And who could blame her? She was a catch, and I was the fish that always got tossed back in the water.
Not even worth keeping.
I shook my head roughly, scattering those thoughts of despair that have been hounding me incessantly for the passed couple of days. It was easier to bottle up my feelings rather than face them head on. That's why I drowned myself in broken doodads and spare parts all day, fixing anything and everything that I could get my hands on. Except for the shower. I left that broken just to spite the others.
Somehow though, Peri and I kept bumping into each other. Every time our eyes met, my mind would go into a system shutdown. I couldn't think straight, got flustered, and blurted out something argumentative to cover my tracks. Every. Time. Thanks to my ingenious outbursts, the situation went from bad to catastrophic. I was starting to think my brain was really trying to sabotage me.
But a more optimistic part of me thought that we kept seeing each other because it was a sign from the universe that I had to man up and fix things between the two of us. It would be so stupid to let something so petty ruin the love that we have for each other. And if this feeling that I have... to want to protect her, make her smile, take her pain away.
If that wasn't love, then what the hell was?
Sighing deeply, I took a break from decoding the Archimedes sphere and looked up at the sky. The horizon was bathed in a myriad of warm tones, and I allowed myself the luxury of gazing wistfully at the scenery for a while.
Was the sun really setting already? Gods, where did my day go?
Something shiny and golden caught my eye, and I had to squint to see the outline of a girl climbing up to the crow's nest. Upon further investigation, it wasn't just any girl either. This one was mine. Yikes, that came out wrong, let me try again. This one belonged to me. That's even worse, Valdez! Forget it, I'll just tell you— it was Peri. But why was she climbing up there? The only other person I've seen lurking in the crow's nest was di Angelo...
"Maybe the Prince of Darkness can really rock my world," I quoted her with a snarl.
It sounded like a joke when she'd said it, but perhaps there was some truth to Peri's words. My blood boiling, I reached into my tool belt and produced a spyglass. For a moment, I just stared at the tool, trying to decide whether or not I should do this.
Is this who I am now? Am I really going to resort to spying on this girl?
Fuck it.
I put the spyglass to my eye and aimed at the crow's nest. Sure enough, there was Peri and Nico together— at sunset, no less! Everyone knows that sunset is the most romantic time of the day, second only to midnight. Did they plan a date? Is he trying to steal her from me? Why can't I read their lips?!
Note to self: invent a spyglass with audio surveillance capabilities.
Despite the cold, a thin layer of sweat was quickly forming on my temple. Each second that passed, my mind went more and more wild with accusations. I couldn't hear what the pair were saying, so my brain was filling in the gaps with the worst possible scenarios.
Peri's gotta be up there talking shit about me to Nico, I just know it! He's going to console her, tell her that he'd never yell at her like I did. She'll probably do that annoyingly cute laugh of hers and say that she'll believe it when she sees it. He'd better keep his pale, ghostly little fingers to himself. If he kisses her I'm going to lose control, I swear it. There'll be nothing anyone can do about it either. I'll burn so hot that everything on this ship turns to ashes.
Somewhere along the way of my undercover work though, I got lost in staring at her. It simply didn't make sense how even after the sun went down, her hair still shined like gold. And it's like her skin reflected the starlight, as if they were made just for that purpose alone. Peri frowned suddenly, and my eyes were helplessly glued to her pouting lips. There was a sadness in her butterscotch eyes, and my anger resurfaced full force. Did he do something to make her sorrowful? Did he say something to bring her woe? I'd kill him—
Peri wrapped her arms around Nico then, burying her face in his neck and shattering my whole world in an instant. I wondered how it was possible that I was still standing if my heart was just ripped out of my chest and stomped on, leaving a bloody mess on the floorboards. My senses were dulled. The colors around me faded, the sea didn't smell the same, and the choppy waves below sounded faint and distant.
The spyglass slipped from my hands and fell to the floor, my ears barely registering the lens cracking on impact. Another gust of icy winds hit me, but I was shaking already. A cynical part of me noted how there weren't any wayward flames sprouting from my body.
I wasn't angry, I was heartbroken.
Peri's small form could be seen descending from the crow's nest. My feet carried me towards her on their own, completely disregarding the fact that I had no clue what I was going to say to her. Her boots landed on the deck with a thump, and when she saw me, her nose scrunched up in distaste.
That was the killing blow.
The callous look in her eyes only made me more upset and unstable. My emotions were filled to bursting, and I knew the bubbling in my stomach meant that the word vomit was about to flow forth. If only I'd known how bad it would be this time; I would've made a muzzle for myself in advance.
"Y-you, you hussy!" I blurted out.
Peri arched a brow before looking down at herself. "My outfit isn't even that revealing, you prude. If you're going to make a dress code, then just do it—"
"What?" I blinked in confusion. "No, not your clothes!"
"What the hellhound are you on about then?"
I clenched my fists, thoroughly pissed off that she was trying to play me for a fool. "I saw you and him."
"Who?" Peri asked. "Nico?"
I shook my head and scoffed, "Wow, and you're not even denying it."
"Boy, bye," she waved me off and began to walk away.
I was hurt before, like a wounded puppy, but now I was filled with rage. Now, I felt my blood boiling and the threat of spontaneous combustion just around the corner. Who did she think she was? After everything we've been through, I'd be damned if she thought that I was just going to watch her throw herself on another guy and not say anything about it.
Angrily, I stormed after Peri and grabbed her by the wrist, turning her back around to look at me. This was the first time I've touched her in so long, but I didn't get a chance to enjoy the electric feeling that ran through my body due to our contact. Her brown eyes that used to hold so much adoration for me now had a murderous intent. An Imperial Gold dagger sliced through the air in a shiny blur, stopping short just centimeters from slitting my throat. It floated there on its own, daring me to make a move. My eyes flitted between the blade and Peri's merciless expression.
"Unless you have a death wish," she growled through gritted teeth, "you'll take your hands off of me."
So this was the Peri that so many monsters saw right before they met their end.
I released my grip, and Peri rubbed her wrist tenderly. Whatever was left of my heart squeezed. Did I hurt her in my haste? What's wrong with me? Why do I always fuck it up?
"I-I'm sorry," I fumbled over my words hopelessly. "I didn't mean to—"
"Whatever," she snapped, muttering insults about my intelligence under her breath.
As quickly as it had jumped to action, the dagger zipped around my head before tucking itself back into the pocket of her fuzzy cardigan. Peri turned on her heel to leave once more, and my body reacted on its own accord.
"Wait!" I uttered suddenly.
What am I doing?
"Wait for what?" She called over her shoulder.
"For, uh, you to get... a brain."
Moron! Why'd I say that?
Peri stopped mid stride. "Excuse me?"
"Uh, yeah, you heard me. You need a brain!"
Seriously, cut it out before she ends me.
"Oh, I need a brain?!" Peri stomped towards me with fury in her eyes. "You're going to need a body bag when I'm through with you!"
"I know you are, but what am I?"
That didn't even make sense!
"That doesn't even make sense!" She shouted in my face. "You are so insufferable! Don't ever speak to me again, you short little Santa's elf looking ass wipe. I-I... I fucking hate you!"
"I hate you more, you psychotic blonde bimbo!" I fired back intensely. "I should've never let you set foot on this ship to begin with."
It's not true, I love you.
"Oh, I'll show you psychotic—"
"HEY!" Coach Hedge boomed from the staircase. "Some of us are trying to watch the wrestling highlights, so either you two kill each other or shut the hell up!"
Peri clenched her fists tightly before eyeing me up and down. I think she was seriously considering Coach's suggestion of teen on teen murder. Finally, she shook her head.
"Forget it," Peri muttered. "You're not even worth the trouble."
Ouch.
Peri stomped off belowdecks without me attempting to stop her this time. Reality hit me like a freight train as I stood on the deck alone. Again. Forever alone. There was no escaping my fate. How foolish of me to think for a moment that I wasn't destined to be the seventh wheel. I'll always be the odd man out.
It was then that I decided to give up on love, to give up on this far fetched idea that I was meant to be happy in that way. It's fine. I've always been better at understanding machines than people anyway.
I made my way back to the Archimedes sphere and felt the energy radiating off of the lost relic. The Celestial Bronze spoke to me. It understood me, even if I didn't yet fully understand all of the sphere's inner workings. I wasn't broken, so I didn't need Peri or any other stupid girl to fix me.
"Yeah," I muttered to myself as I set to work. "I'm the one who does the fixing around here."