Heeeeeyyyyy everybody!
(ducks onslaught of rotten vegetables and fruit)
I'm sorry for the late update! But to make up for the sadness of the last chapter (sorry not sorry) this chapter is going to be pure hilarious fluff!
Disclaimer: I own way too many books, including copies of PJO and BOO, but sadly, I do not own the PJO franchise.
3rd person P.O.V
As the memory paused, Jason gently drew Leo against him in a sideways hug. Everyone else sat there, unsure of what to do to comfort their friend.
And then the sad atmosphere was shattered when Hera poofed on top of the table again.
Frank was so surprised he fell out of his chair to land on his butt. Jason jerked backward with a rather high-pitched squeal. Percy, Piper, Hazel, and Annabeth jumped.
Leo just sat there, idly tracing patterns onto the tabletop with his fingernail.
"Hello, my heroes." Said Hera, perfectly composed. Frank appeared over the edge of the table, his face just-ate-a-ghost-chile red with anger and embarrassment. Jason fixed a glare at the Queen of Heaven. Annabeth's hand was resting on her dagger. Everyone except Leo, who still hadn't looked up, was tense.
"I trust you have been enjoying yourselves?" Hera said, meaningfully glaring at the top of Leo's head. He still didn't look up.
SPLAT.
A spoonful of mashed potatoes flew through the air and landed on top of Hera's head. A line of gravy trickled down her forehead.
"What on earth…!" Hera shrieked, spinning to look behind her, where, to everyone's surprise, Hazel sat with a huge spoon in her hand, scooping up another load of mashed potatoes. She glared at Hera and catapulted the projectile forward, this time hitting Hera square in the chest.
War was declared.
Aided by the magically refilling plates, the demigods began to launch any food that appeared at Hera. Percy flung blue pizza and blue pie. From Frank came orange chicken and barbecue wings. Piper flung her PBJ and salad. Jason contributed with a mustard-and-ketchup-smeared hamburger and a goblet of Coke. Annabeth launched a strawberry smoothie and a black-bean-and-corn quesadilla. Hazel threw more mashed potatoes and, when she ran out, the gumbo that appeared in its place took its turn to decorate Hera's dress.
Hera shrieked and tried to dodge, but it was practically impossible. Even Leo, who had looked up at the first splat, had gotten into it. He threw tacos, a plate of spaghetti that made a lovely starburst pattern on the skirt of Hera's dress, and even copied Hazel's trick with a spoon, this time with applesauce instead of mashed potatoes. Basically, if it was nearby and messy, the demigods threw it.
When they finished with one last splash of Sprite from Frank's goblet, the demigods stopped, plates empty, and examined their handiwork.
Hera's fancy hairdo tilted to one side like a collapsed cake. Her makeup was smeared. Her dress showed streaks of its original white between the myriad of other colors streaking it. Applesauce, ground beef, ketchup, mustard, tomato pulp from Piper's salad, mashed potatoes, and gravy made tattoos on her skin. A lettuce leaf stuck up at the back of her head like an Indian feather.
It was a thing of beauty.
Hera glared at all of them before disappearing. The lettuce leaf that had been in her hair fluttered down to land on the table like a calling card.
"Why was she even here?" Annabeth asked.
"Who cares?" Hazel asked.
The next memory started.
Leo and Anni were sitting in a classroom, desks grouped together to make groups of four. Anni and Leo were next to each other in their own little group, though no one else sat near them.
They both still looked homeless. Anni's hair was in a mangled braid down her back and it looked like it hadn't been properly washed or brushed in a while. She was wearing filthy jeans and a purple T-shirt that looked to be slightly too small. Her sneakers were falling apart.
Leo's hair was messy and too long, almost past his chin. They both looked older, maybe eleven instead of ten. Both were a little taller, though still small for their age. There was a new, faint scar on Anni's arm.
The usual questioning looks were aimed Leo's way.
"We were still on the streets, but you'd be surprised how safe a school can be. We pretty much just walked in and sat in a class room that had enough room for us, and we went there as often as we could. Whenever we didn't feel like it, we just didn't go."
Satisfied with this explanation, the demigods turned back to watch.
Anni appeared alert and was watching the teacher, but Leo looked like he was going to drop off at any moment, his dark eyes glazed over. After a moment of staring into space, his eyelids seeming to grow heavier every time he blinked, he finally put his head on his desk and promptly went to sleep.
After a few minutes of him sleeping, Anni glanced over and noticed. She rolled her eyes and very gently shook his shoulder.
"Leo." She whispered, obviously trying not to catch anyone's attention. "Leo, wake up."
Leo didn't move. He didn't even grunt or make any sort of noise that indicated he was anywhere close to waking up. Anni rolled her eyes again and shook him a little harder, whispering "Leo" more insistently.
Then Leo did move, but not in a waking-up way. He shifted in his seat, grabbed Anni's wrist, pulled her hand from his shoulder and proceeded to snuggle her hand and arm close to his cheek.
The demigods burst out laughing while Leo turned red.
Anni blinked down at him for a moment, clearly surprised, before looking up and looking around to make sure no one was watching before trying to pull her hand away. Leo gripped it tighter, made a soft, discontented noise, and continued to sleep. Anni rolled her eyes, yanked her hand away, then grabbed Leo by the hair, lifted his head, and smacked it down on the desk.
She didn't smack his head hard enough to hurt him, just hard enough to startle him awake. It worked. Leo sat up, suddenly alert. He rubbed his forehead and glared suspiciously at Anni, who was sitting beside him and staring straight ahead. The only thing to indicate that she might be responsible for his injury was the tiny smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.
Leo rolled his eyes in a very Anni-like way and settled in to listen to the teacher.
The demigods were still giggling.
"I hug things in my sleep. Don't judge me." Leo muttered, his face and ears bright red.
Piper and Percy were both laughing so hard they were crying and had progressed to silent laughing. Annabeth and Jason looked at each other and shook their heads. Leo shrunk lower in his seat as the next memory began.
"You. Need. A. Haircut."
"NO!"
Anni and Leo were in an alley, apparently behind the school. A door hung open behind them, revealing a glimpse of a sunny room full of long tables. Shelves full of Tupperware bins lined the wall, the bins full of markers and glitter and paint and glue. There were even a few right near the door that appeared to be full of Play-Doh.
Leo was holding a pair of scissors and chasing Anni around the alley. She was running around with her hands over her ears, and every time Leo started to talk, she yelled "NO!"
"Anni, come on." Leo pleaded, stopping and speaking over Anni's continued yells. "You know we both need one. It'll make it easier to keep clean so we don't have cops constantly after us."
Anni glared at him, her hands protectively over her hair, then let out a long sigh and marched over. She turned her back on Leo and crossed her arms.
Leo breathed a sigh of relief and raised the scissors. Anni's hair, still in that messy braid hung down her back almost to her waist. Leo settled the scissors at the nape of Anni's neck and cut.
SNIP.
The scissor blades were too short to reach to the other side of Anni's hair, so one half of her braid, cut off, dangled crazily from her head. Leo moved the scissors over.
SNIP.
The long golden braid fell to the ground, leaving Anni with short hair that instantly fell out from behind her ears. Leo had cut it longer in the front than in the back. But it was much shorter, and already Anni looked slightly less scruffy, more like a kid who liked getting messy and less like a kid who lived in the streets. She lifted her hand and ran it through her hair, pausing when her fingers reached the back of her head. Then she turned to face Leo.
"Not as bad as I thought it would be." she said calmly. She snatched the scissors from Leo and grinned easily. "Your turn."
Leo's hair was not as long as Anni's had been, so Anni gently gathered handfuls of his hair to the side of his head before snipping. Leo's curls landed in a sort of semicircle around Anni's braid. Once Anni was done, Leo's curls were sloppily cut, but he ran his hand through the shortened curls and grinned like he was pleased. They returned the scissors to a bin near the door before closing it and heading off towards the street.
Present-day Leo ran his hand through his hair the same way his past self had, staring up at the image, which had paused with Anni in mid-laugh. Past Leo was grinning roguishly at her, like he had just made a joke. Present day Leo heaved a soft sigh and ducked his head as the next memory began.
Leo, dressed in a new-looking red shirt and jeans, was standing alone in what looked like a school gym. Posters saying "GO WILDCATS!" hung around the walls, half obscured with red balloons hung up all around the room, interspersed with white crepe paper.
(No it's not a Valentine's Day dance, those are the school colors.)
Leo didn't appear too focused on the mayhem around him. He was far too busy stuffing his face. A long table set up at the side of the gym was covered in several plates of cookies and cupcakes, bowls of chips, bottles of soda and punch and water, and a few boxes of pizza. Leo was munching away on a cookie, with a couple of cupcakes in his hand, when he glanced over to his left and saw Anni, who was sitting in the corner, wearing a green shirt that looked way too big. Her jeans were slightly cleaner, and the purple high-tops she wore looked new too. Apparently the two had been to Goodwill recently. Anni looked undisturbed, but two girls kept giving her looks and whispering to her. Then they both turned and headed off to go to Anni, still sitting in her corner with a book on her lap and a water bottle by her side, completely oblivious to the world. Leo's eyes narrowed and he shoved the rest of his cookie in his mouth before walking over himself.
The girls reached Anni first. They stood there in front of her for a moment before one cleared her throat, causing Anni to look up.
"Hi Annaliese." Said the girl with long brown hair and the lacy white dress. She looked like a young fashion model, her hair silky and shiny, flowing to the middle of her back, the front pulled back and pinned with a crystal flower. Her dress was strapless and fitted, reaching to a few inches above her knees: one of those dresses intended to make young girls look older than they actually were. She wore black heels and a shiny black belt around her waist.
Her friend had platinum blonde hair that she wore in loose curls, held back from her face with a pearl clip that matched her necklace. She was wearing a floaty lavender dress and white flats. She stood behind the lacy white girl, her eyes flicking to her every now and then. She looked uncomfortable. One arm wrapped around her waist and she lifted her hand to her mouth, chewing on her thumbnail.
"Hi Brittany." Anni returned, addressing the girl in white. "Hi Heather." She added to the girl in purple. Heather gave a small wave and a tiny smile, but Brittany acted like Anni hadn't even spoken.
"We were sitting way over there and smelled something, like, really bad." Brittany went on. "We were wondering if you smelled it too? Its somewhere over here…" She leaned closer and made a huge production out of sniffing the air. "Can you smell anything, Annaliese?"
"It's Anni. And no, I can't." said Anni calmly. "Unless your smelling yourself, because that perfume is about to kill me."
Brittany flushed red and her voice grew sickeningly sweet. "No, this is more like BO and stale food… oh, sorry, sweetie, it's you. I didn't mean to be rude." She giggled. When Heather didn't join in, Brittany shot a glare over her shoulder. Heather jumped, pasted on a grin, and gave a very fake "Ha!"
Anni rolled her eyes. "Ha ha. You're hilarious. Really, so funny. It was so damn funny I forgot to laugh." She lowered her head to her book again. Brittany scowled.
"What are you doing here reading, anyway? It's a dance, dummy. You're supposed to dance with cute boys all night. What are you reading anyway?" She snatched the book out of Anni's hands. "The Outsiders?" It appeared Anni was only a few pages into the book, and Brittany smirked. "How long did it take you to get this far, hmm? Few weeks? Few years?" She giggled again. "Do you need help?" She looked down at the book and began to very slowly sound out words. "Dally…was…waiting…for…Johnny…and…me…"
"Oh, knock it off." Anni snapped, pulling the book away from Brittany and holding it against her chest protectively. "I'm dyslexic, not stupid."
"Suuurrrreeee." Brittany sneered. "The word dyslexic rhymes with stupid."
Anni's left eyebrow crept up. "Ummm… okay Brittany. Whatever you say."
Heather barely held back a snicker as Brittany flushed red. Leo, who had been standing at a distance watching the whole thing, was grinning like a loon from ear to ear.
"Whatever." Brittany snapped tossing her hair. "Who gave you that book, anyway?"
"Mrs. Nelson." said Anni calmly, distracted again by the book.
"Really? If someone should be giving you books, shouldn't it be your mom?"
At the word 'mom' Anni's shoulders stiffened. Brittany saw this and pressed.
"Oh yeah, that's right. She's gone. Probably ran away, huh? Didn't care about you enough to stick around?"
Anni was staring at the pages, her eyes practically burning holes in it. Leo began to march over, eyes blazing. Brittany, not noticing Leo, continued.
"Awww, poor Annaliese, her mommy didn't want her. Now you have to live in the streets like a disgusting pig. That's what you are, you know, a pig. Pigs don't wash themselves or comb their hair. Pigs don't have an actual home. Pigs smell really bad…"
Leo tapped her shoulder with a fake grin. "'scuse me?"
When Brittany turned, Leo shoved the chocolate-frosted cupcake he was holding right into her face, He then proceeded to shove the other one on top of her head, sending crumbs and bits of frosting everywhere. Anni, who had looked up at this, snatched up her water bottle and took off the cap.
"Here, Brittany, let me help you clean that up." She said, deceptively mildly.
Then she poured the contents of the water bottle over Brittany, completely soaking her. The cupcake crumbs washed away, but it also appeared that Brittany had not worn waterproof makeup, her mascara and eyeliner smearing into thick black circles around her eyes. Leo marched up to Anni, slung an arm around her shoulders, and grinned at her. "Come on, Anni. Let's go. This is boring."
Anni wrapped her arm around his shoulders and they started to walk over to the exit, before Leo suddenly stopped, stepped away from Anni, and gave a huge, exaggerated bow.
"May I have this dance, my lady?"
Laughing, Anni tucked her book into the waistband of her jeans and curtsied. "You may, good sir."
Leo grabbed her hand and her waist, she put a hand on his shoulder, and off they went, dancing toward the exit and laughing while a crying Brittany ran for the bathroom, Heather in close pursuit.
"See ya tomorrow, Raccoon Face!" Anni yelled after her as she and Leo left.
Outside in the hall, they laughed before beginning to leave the school, Anni holding her book again. Leo nudged her.
"Haven't you read that thing already?"
Anni nodded. "Yeah."
"Why read it again?"
Anni was silent for a second before she answered. "You remember how I told you about Dally? The hood who died under the streetlight?"
Leo nodded.
Anni sighed and held the book close to her chest, staying quiet for a few more steps before saying, so quietly it was hard to hear her "I think I'm gonna die that way. Violent, young, desperate. I'm gonna go too far someday and get shot beneath the streetlight and the stars." She glanced up, saw Leo's face, grinned, and socked him in the arm. "See, that's what reading does to me. It makes me think deep thoughts and freak you out."
Leo grinned and said "Well then, perhaps I should…" He snatched the book and ran.
"Leo Valdez, you bastard!" Anni laughed, and ran after him.
I don't own The Outsiders either. That belongs to S.E. Hinton.
Love you guys!