A/N: I think this story will actually have eight chapters rather than ten. Looking at what I have written so far, chapter eight I can't quite write any more but we'll see. Thank you for sticking with me this far. It means a lot.

Also, apparently I'm going on a trip with my family, and it probably won't have wi-fi there :/ so I have no idea when I can have the next update.


Chapter Six: LEO

what is with all of these questions?

It took about two weeks before I came to think about the conversation again. When Jason comforted me. For once, he looked—and this may sound crazy—really hot. I mean, he was always good-looking: it was a fact. But it seemed to make me appreciate it more.

When I had entered his cabin, his blue eyes seemed to shine and his cheeks flushed from sleeping. His light hair was tousled, some strands sticking up comically but seemed to suit. The son of Jupiter was usually tense and trying to be the leader because nobody wanted to play it. But all seriousness aside, he was the best person you could hang out with.

I couldn't help but grin to myself. Whoa, why was I thinking about this, even? He's, like, my best friend - I shouldn't have these types of thought. It was crazy, right? I walked out of my cabin, feeling pretty well despite it being early in the morning.

I suddenly frowned when I noticed Calypso walking out of the Hermes cabin, racing to some person near Cabin Ten. Being the person I am, I assumed she had a motive to get another guy.

I guess the Aphrodite children could be good matchmakers, but I thought Calypso wanted to be single for a longer time. Or maybe she was trying to make me jealous? The speculation was pretty crazy, because she was the one who broke up with me.

Gods, get it through your thick head! She doesn't want you anymore. I shook my head, muttering to myself. Did you think that since you rescued her she'll be by your side forever?

I was not the type to get any girl, or heck, even guy. But truth be told, Calypso and I don't really seem to be connected in the first place. It was more like infatuation; the type of hero-rescues-princess relationship. It seemed to make sense that we'd end up together, but beyond the rescuing, it was just two people who felt the need for company. Calypso was not a Princess, and I wasn't a Hero. It was just a role that needed to be played.

Maybe Calypso already thought of this before me. She wanted me to realise that the attachment was not at all attraction. And, well, maybe she was right. Like usual. But there were also a few selfish reasons. Calypso had been stuck on the island for, like, eternity, so of course she wanted to meet other people and explore the world. I was fifteen; she was like eons old, technically the same age—we probably wouldn't have lasted in the future anyway.

I bit my lip, walking to Bunker 9. It seemed that whenever I wanted to think, it was always that place. It was also where the Argo II ship was thought of, a close place to where I met Festus—great memories, really. The malfunctioning robot I had previously set up was luckily turned off, so I had no problem being stalked.

My thoughts went to Jason for the millionth time of the day. Why can't I get him out of my head lately? It was weird. I shouldn't think of him in a way like this; like thinking how his perfect smile lit up his entire face, or blue eyes look so blue and face—well, he was perfect. Despite his need for perfection and control, he admitted to me once how he was tired of living up to the expectations. Being the son of Jupiter, he had to be powerful, and had to be a role model.

I remember I'd said, 'Don't worry about that. Just be yourself' like the original guy I am. He was still ever-so-stony, but whenever I managed for him to break the façade, he acted chill. It was nice that he acted like that towards me.

Am I, like, bi-curious? I thought. Since Jason said he was bisexual, I started to wonder who I was attracted to. Girls were always in my head – but maybe there was an exception for guys, like. . . Jason? But that didn't make any sense.

These crazy thoughts about crushing on Jason made me so confused, and I didn't like it. Emotions are complicated; people are complicated. We weren't machines to perform simple things; we all had wants and needs. An obvious fact was how easily you could get hurt.

Why does my chest hurt whenever I think of Jason? It was painful, because there's hope but despair. Jason was like the first person who stuck by me, along with Piper. I usually drove people away with my serious ADHD and talking. I knew I acted all annoying, but I don't want people to forget about me.

Taking a scrap of paper (which was actually a set of blueprints) and using a pencil, I began to draw a simple list: the pros and cons of Jason. Reasonably, I thought of it like a test: to see if I liked Jason more than a friend. It was probably not best for deducting what my sexuality was, and face it, it doesn't really help. But desperate times call for desperate measures.

Jason Grace

Pros:

- Taller Than Me

- Bluest eyes

- Best friend

- Has no girlfriend

- May like guys

- Hot (around six degrees, which is impossible)

- Smart(ish)

Cons:

- Taller than me

- Best friend

- Out of my league

- May be straight

An afterthought, I wrote in the cons section, Doesn't like me back.

Wow, I sound so pathetic. I crumpled the blueprints and threw it on the ground. It really wasn't going to solve anything.


Later today, Jason came by to visit me. I was surprised that he knew where I was, but then again, he might have asked my siblings.

"You weren't at breakfast," he said. "Or lunch."

I shrugged.

He sighed, sitting beside me on the bed. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah."

"You're not talking that much."

I wanted to ignore how my heart was racing, how my hands became sweaty. Damn, my reaction scared me. Why was I becoming more self-conscious? Why could I not stop glancing at Jason and resist the urge to giggle?

"At least people won't mind."

"What are you talking about?" Jason leaned closer in to me.

"Let's be obvious. I'm annoying," I said, thinking once again of how I drove people away.

Jason bumped his shoulder against mine gently. "Gods, you're not annoying. I love spending time with you, especially talking about machines."

"Even though you have no clue what I'm saying?" I raised an eyebrow, or at least tried to, but both of them always go up.

"Yeah, I learn something every day." Jason gave his usual picture-perfect smile, but it looked genuine. "Let's get you something to eat."

I reluctantly got up. "You better sit beside me."

"Of course." He laughed, and then paused. "Hey, what's that?"

I glanced over to where he picked up a crumpled sheet of paper. Slowly, horror sank in my expression as I realised what he was about to read.

"Wait, no!" I shouted desperately, putting my hands up as if surrendering. "Don't open it—it has my top-secret blueprints for taking over the world!"

Jason nodded his head, as if understanding. "Hey, don't worry, we'll both dominate together."

Sometimes I wondered if he realised what came out of his mouth. He probably wasn't dirty-minded, though. I lunged towards him unexpectedly, which caused us to crash to the floor. He froze, as I ripped the paper out of his hand. "Ha!"

"Leo," he said, flustered, "could you get off me?"

"Right, sorry." I flattened my hands against his chest, feeling the tense muscles and then I nearly blinked, embarrassed. That was an accident—I didn't mean to touch him. What was I even doing? For a moment, I didn't move at all. Jason let out a shaky breath, bringing my attention to his lips.

What in the Hades—Why was I—I can't think at all!

"You okay? You look kind of feverish." He smiled beatifically, and we both made our way to our feet.

"I'm, uh, okay." I wrung my hands nervously. "Totally fine."

"Great," he said, and then quickly took the paper from my hands.

Oh gods, I thought. I knew I should have torn it when I had the chance! Wait, maybe I could escape? Or at least find a good distraction. Instead, I watched nervously, dreading the moment I would get rejection.

His eyes skimmed my horrible handwriting, face no longer smiling.

I swallowed. He hates me, he hates me. "Jason, look—"

He ignored me, dropping the paper back to the ground. "Leo, what is this? Why are you listing what you like and hate about me?"

"I-I just wanted to know. . ." I took a deep breath. "I like you?"

"'Like me'?" The son of Jupiter repeated in disbelief. I wasn't sure if he was mortified already.

I looked down at the ground in embarrassment. "You're, like, my best friend. I like you more than one. Can I go eat some tacos now?"