Hello, here's another chapter! I am on fire this week.

Disclaimer: I own nothing

WARNINGS: SOME MINOR VIOLENCE AND A SAD ENDING

The screen displayed a dark alleyway, and Leo and Molly were sitting on some old blankets.

Leo sighed as he went from a sitting position to a kneeling one.

"Okay, Molly," he whispered. "I have to go get some supplies, okay? I want you to hide in the blankets, and if anyone tries to hurt you, use this."

Leo handed Molly a pocket knife.

"He's giving a four year old a knife?" Annabeth squawked.

Words scribbled themselves across the screen:

It was necessary. If Leo hadn't given Molly a knife, she could've been kidnapped or killed or hurt or... I'm sure you can fill in the rest of the blanks.

Annabeth blushed. "She's right. Sorry."

Molly gripped the handle and held it close to her chest as she burrowed into the pile of ratty blankets.

"Okay, Molly, don't leave this pile. If I'm not back by midnight, you go to the street family hideout. You stay there for a day; if I'm not there by midnight tomorrow, assume something happened and fend for yourself until I can get back to you. Don't use the knife unless you absolutely need to," Leo instructed.

Molly nodded.

"Good. I'll be back soon."

Leo stood and exited the alleyway, keeping his backpack close to him as he walked through the streets of New York and entered a store.

The son of Hephaestus wandered the aisles before stopping in the junk food section, and he glanced left and right before stuffing several bags of chips, cookies, and crackers into his backpack.

"He's stealing..." Annabeth muttered before her gaze softened as Leo's face turned towards the screen, revealing his gaunt cheeks and sunken in eyes. "I guess it was necessary."

Leo moved on, and after looking around the nearly empty store (it was obviously late), he tore open a pack of water bottles and stuffed a bunch into his backpack, followed by a package of juice boxes.

The Latino walked, casually, to the clothes section and tossed three outfits (two girl, one boy) into his backpack.

"Is that thing bottomless?" Frank asked, trying to lighten the mood.

The six laughed.

"Yeah. Reminds me of my stepmom's purse," Annabeth chuckled.

Percy nodded. "I remember the last time I saw her stepmom. She had that purse, and I swear she could knock somebody out with it."

Leo grabbed two candy bars, a bag of chips, and two bottles of soda before walking up to the counter and placing them there.

The clerk rang him up, and Leo paid with a ten, getting a few quarters in return before heading for the door.

Leo grabbed a bag of chips off of a shelf and discreetly dropped it into another woman's cart just as she was walking out. The machine beeped, and a man had the woman come back through before smiling at Leo as the boy continued out of the store.

Leo ran through the streets, and he arrived at the alleyway, where he called for Molly to come out of her bundle.

Molly crept from the folds of fabric, and she stared at Leo, hopefully.

"Now, Molly, I know you're hungry, but we need to make this food last, okay?" Leo said. "Half a candy bar each for tonight."

Molly nodded, and Leo broke one of the candy bars into two even pieces.

"Eat slowly, Molly. It'll make it last longer," Leo advised.

Molly nodded as she took a bite and chewed, slowly.

Molly finished her's first, and her stomach still growled loudly in the silence of the night.

Leo smiled and handed her half of his piece, which Molly excepted, gratefully, and devoured.

"He's so selfless," Hazel muttered.

"I can't believe we didn't realize that sooner," Piper mumbled, sadly.

The image changed.

"Some brats are gonna die today," a boy with crooked teeth smirked, patting his baseball bat against his palm.

He towered over Leo, who stood in front of Molly.

"John, we didn't mean any harm," Leo was saying.

John tutted. "And yet, you did harm. You stole from us."

"John, I needed to feed her-"

"I don't care. That fifty bucks was ours!"

"No, it wasn't," Leo snapped. "You stole it from that man on the street. Pick pocket."

John rolled his eyes. "Pay us back, and we'll forget this whole thing ever happened."

"John, I only have twenty," Leo said, desperately. "You can check."

"Well, I guess you'll have to pay the other thirty with your bones," John said, taking a menacing step forward and raising the bat.

"Wait, John. At least don't make Molly watch!" Leo cried.

John stopped. "Twenty seconds," he settled on.

Leo knelt in front of Molly and hissed in her ear.

"Go, Mol. Go to the old hide out and hide in the blankets until I get there. Go!"

Molly looked like she wanted to protest, but her fear won her over. She ran like her shoes were on fire.

Leo turned back to John.

John smirked. "I'm going to enjoy this."

He raised the bat, and the screen went black.

"He risked his life to protect Molly," Jason murmured.

"Did you expect any different?" Percy asked.

"Nope," Jason responded.

The image flickered to life.

"Leo, what happened to your mommy? Did she leave you like mine did?" Molly questioned, curiously.

Leo sighed, leaning against the brick wall behind him.

"No," he replied. "My mama died. She... she was wonderful."

"Could you tell me a story about her?" Molly asked, yawning and rubbing her eyes.

Leo laughed. "I will, but only if you promise to go to bed after I'm done."

Molly nodded, eagerly, scrambling onto Leo's lap.

"Okay... how about... the story about my 'special' tests? It sounds boring, but trust me, my mom was hilarious."

The image changed to display a huge room with tons of toys. Leo was currently in the corner, building a fortress out of Legos.

"Ms. Valdez-" a stout man with very little hair on his head and a mustache began.

Leo's mom shook her head. "No, Mr. Watson. I agree that Leo should be in some enrichment classes, but sending him to Sherrad?" (Sherrad is a totally made up place by the way)

Annabeth's jaw dropped.

"What is it?" Percy asked.

"Sherrad," Annabeth said, slowly, still trying to wrap her head around this, "is one of the best schools in the country. Only the smartest kids go there. I've never met one person at camp who has, not even my siblings. Mathematicians, doctors, scientist, famous authors... a lot of them go there, and that's only the tip of the ice berg."

"So... you're saying Leo's a genius?" Jason asked.

"If they're considering sending him to Sherrad, yes."

The image resumed.

"He'd be on scholarship!" Mr. Watson added.

Esperanza sighed. "It isn't the money. I have nothing against Sherrad; it's a great school, but Leo needs the chance to be a kid. This school teaches people to compete from day one, and most of the kids are middle school age or higher."

"Ms. Valdez, we gave your son some tests to make sure he was at grade level. It was on the computer, so it got harder as the test went on. It went all the way to college level, not that we expected anyone to get there. Your son's history is a little rusty, and his English score is below grade level. However, his science score was that of someone in their junior year in high school, and his math... he's a six year old doing Calculus! You must reconsider."

"Well, I'm sorry, Mr. Watson, if I'd rather have my son be a genius surrounded by kids who he can actually talk to than be an overworked boy talking about formulas and quadratics with a bunch of old guys. Sue me."

Mr. Watson sighed. "Let's make a compromise."

Esperanza leaned back in her chair. "Fire away, Mr. Baldson."

The six were rolling.

Mr. Watson raised an eyebrow before continuing.

"Leo skips one grade. If he doesn't tell anyone, no one will know his real age. Therefore, they'll treat him like any other classmate. Leo takes math and science enrichment classes at the high school in the morning. After he's finished with both classes, you can pick him up and drive him to the elementary school."

Esperanza smiled. "You have a deal."

The two shook hands before Esperanza turned and went to get Leo.

She stopped beside a fortress nearly as tall as her made of several Legos.

"Mijo," she called, "It's time to go."

"Coming, mamá," Leo replied from within.

A moment later, the front half of the fortress swung open, like a door, and Leo slipped out of it before closing the door.

"How did he..." Mr. Watson muttered. "What did he use as hinges?"

"Legos!" Leo replied.

Mr. Watson blinked in shock.

Esperanza shrugged. "I'm a mechanic; his father was a blacksmith; it's in his blood."

She took Leo's hand, and Mr. Watson was left standing at the impossible creation of a six year old.

"Do you guys know what this means?" Piper said.

"Leo's a genius?" Percy asked.

"Mr. Watson is kind of a jerk?" Jason added.

"Leo's mom is awesome?" Frank said.

"Well... yes, but I mean, if Leo skipped a grade, does that mean he's a year younger than us?"

The others blinked.

"Oh my gosh, you're right," Annabeth mumbled before marking that down on the quiz.

The image changed back to Leo and Molly.

"How'd you like the story, Mo-" Leo was interrupted by Molly's loud snore.

Leo laughed. "Good night, Molly."

The image transformed.

Leo sat in a plastic chair with Molly in his lap.

Words typed across the screen:

Leo and Molly got picked up by social services while walking past the old hide out.

"Leo, I'm sorry," Martin sighed, standing in front of them. "We found a home for Molly, but they only house girls."

Leo looked up. "What? You can't just separate us! After all we've been through?"

"Leo, I'm sorry," Martin whispered as a woman pried Molly from Leo's arms.

Molly went berserk. She screamed and cried and shouted Leo's name, kicking and hitting the woman to the point where a red haired female had to come help.

"LEO!" Molly shouted as she was carried down the hall.

"Molly!" Leo yelled, fighting against Martin as the social worker held him back. "Please, she's all I have!"

"LEO!" Molly repeated as she was carried farther and farther away.

"I WILL FIND YOU, MOLLY! I PROMISE!"

Molly disappeared down the hall, and Leo collapsed into Martin's arms.

"I promise," Leo reiterated, although Molly could no longer hear him. "I promise."

And if there was one thing the rest of the seven knew about Leo Valdez, it was that he always kept his promises.

On a scale of 1-10, how was this chapter? (I said don't be surprised if I ask you this a lot)

Next chapter... get your tissues and your baseball bats ready. Clear your schedule because you will spend at least an hour cursing me for doing this to Leo.

Bye!