Hey guys. I am TheNovelover. Literally. As I love novels (or books. Whatever). And I am a huge fan of the HoO series and Uncle Rick. Sadly I have read only the HoO series till now (emphasis on till now) but I am intending to read the other series as well – as soon as possible. This is my first fanfic. And it follows the events of TBM. I know I know, I haven't read it but I have read the summary (Sorry… not really hehe) and a huge number of fanfics (don't judge me). Yes. I am the kind of person who reads summaries and plots and stuff. I am weird in that way or as I like to call myself Unique. But that never makes me feel less excited or bored to read a book. So it doesn't matter.

This fanfic is inspired by another fanfic (told you I am weird). I read this fanfic "Leo Valdez and the Inescapable Curse" by MermaidMarie on ao3. And I loved it. If you haven't read it yet you should totally check it out. Also it has got Leo and Nico friendship bonding which is awesome. So go read it.

This fanfic is about friendship. I am a huge Leo-Jason-Piper friendship shipper. To me friendship is the greatest love. And that is a long intro. Sorry for that (again not really ;))

This is my first attempt at writing so I apologize in advance for any mistakes (this time, really). Please review and let me know how you felt about this fanfic. A special thanks to MermaidMarie. You are awesome.

Disclaimer: I check myself in the mirror everyday and nope I am still myself. So guess Uncle Rick owns the Percy Jackson and The Heroes of Olympus universe. (Oh God! WHY?)

And so it begins…..

Leo felt like he had died again and was given a hundred doses of Physicians cure at once. It hurt so much that he felt numb with pain. Pain and an Olympus load of guilt.

How could he have done this to his best friend? How could he have been so selfish? Jason was dead. Gone forever. And the last time he had seen him was months ago, when Festus had dropped Jason and Piper to save them from the blast. Then Leo had so selfishly left them to drown in guilt and grief over his death, while he went away to rescue his girlfriend and then on a happy journey on "Happy the Dragon". How could he have given them so much pain? Leaving them to blame themselves for his death? He, who knew exactly how it felt. And now he couldn't even apologize.

He had planned a grand comeback. A big surprise. All that felt pathetic now. He felt sick. What kind of a hero was he if he couldn't even save his best friend? His brother? The heck! He wasn't even there for him when he needed him the most. Leo was the world's worst best friend.

Ha! Worst best friend.

"Shut up me" Leo said to himself. "You don't even deserve to be called just a friend".

Festus made a long creaking sound. "No Festus, I've been a terrible friend. I left my friends to fight and die alone while I went on a Vacation. Jason and Piper were always there for me. They fought by my side and saved my life so many times. They stayed with me through thick and thin and helped me through ups and downs. They trusted me. But when they needed me I wasn't there. What a great friend I am!" he said bitterly.

Tears silently ran down his cheeks. He remembered all the good times he spent with Jason. The Wilderness School (though those memories were never real), his first quest, how Jason had trusted him even though he barely knew him. He had trusted him with his past and more than his own sister. He remembered how much Jason had loved him, cared for him. How guilty and pained he looked after the Medea incident. Leo usually forgot to eat or sleep while working on the Argo ll and Jason would get into "Big brother mode" and bring him food and drag him back to his cabin to rest. Jason was the only one who never got annoyed at the names Leo made up for him. After the eidolon incident Jason and Piper were the only ones who trusted him without any questions. He remembered the look of pure joy and relief on Jason's face when he found Leo on Malta or that of absolute terror when Asclepius looked at Leo as if he was a dying man. Jason cared about everyone and he had given his life to save them. Leo had never felt so much pain since his mother had died.

He slowly drifted off to sleep, exhausted from crying, and was instantly transported to Morpheus' realm. He dreamed of Jason and piper, of the times they were together. He dreamed of Tempest bringing Jason to them. Jason soaked in blood and covered in arrows. Leo felt like throwing up. Then the dream shifted to Camp Half-Blood. Leo saw the seven demigods seated around the ping pong table. Percy and Annabeth were crying silently. Nico looked pained and somewhat angry. Frank and Hazel were sobbing almost uncontrollably. But what broke Leo's heart the most was seeing Piper and Jason. Piper had literally collapsed on Jason's chest and was crying her heart out. And Jason… Gods! Jason, who was always composed and stood strong no matter what, looked broken. Leo knew the look. He was blaming himself, wishing it was he who died. Wishing it was the storm.

Then he saw Jason and Jason and Piper on the roof of Zeus Cabin. He heard Jason say that they had to believe Leo was alive. He saw the desperate hope in Jason's eye and a silent plea. The dream changed to show Jason and Piper riding Tempest and looking for him. Then Leo saw Jason asking Tempest to search harder, while Piper looked on sadly. It was clear that she had given up hope.

Then the dream shifted again to the Zeus Cabin. Leo saw Jason kneeling in front of the Hippie Zeus statue. He heard Jason praying "Please Dad! I know that I might have angered you and I am sorry. But please, please help me this once. Bring Leo back. Please Dad. After all he DID save the world. He saved Olympus. You are the Lord of the Universe," – at this Jason's mouth turned up in a smile _ "bring him back safely or at least show me some sign of where he is. I swear that I will not ask you anything for myself. Just help me find him". Jason's voice cracked at the end and he sat down heavily.

Leo jolted awake from his sleep, eyes stinging. He felt like his heart was thrown into a shredder. He didn't deserve a friend like Jason. Jason deserved the best. He deserved much more than dying at the hands of a stupid, psycho emperor. And Leo was going to make sure that he did. He owed Jason at least that much. Leo made up his mind just as Festus landed near Bunker 9.

-So there's the first chapter and I hope you enjoyed it. Please share your views on it. I will try to upload every week. Thank you so much everyone. Till next time. Have a good time.

Yours in demigodishness, and all that. Peace out!