Disclaimer: I don't own the Percy Jackson or Heroes of Olympus series, RR does.
Suggested listening: Stephen Jerzak - Cute (plays a part in the story)
CHAPTER 8
Reyna turned to the other side for the umpteenth time that night. She couldn't sleep and wouldn't be able to break the annoying spell of insomnia in the upcoming hours, she was certain of that. What she wasn't sure of were the reasons for her organism's raised nightly activity. Her body itched all over but she didn't know if it was because of stress or just the result of the new washing powder she'd purcharsed that weekend. And if it wasn't such a down-to-earth matter, than what..? It was actually quite rare for her body not to go along with the schedule...
She closed her eyes, trying to calm down her breathing and quicken the arrival of Morpheus. Immediately, a certain image displayed itself on the inside of her eyelids and she got the awaited answer for the question of why she couldn't fall asleep.
She opened her eyes hastily, desperately trying to cope with her racing heart and the strangely pleasant twitches in her gut. "It is nothing" she drawled quietly through gritted teeth, hopelessly trying to stay cool and not let herself drop off into the ridiculous lane of thoughts she knew all to well and despised.
After all, getting sleep was much more important than senseless dreaming about a guy, even more if it was about Leo Valdez! Damn it, she wasn't twelve anymore! And, either way, how illogical was it to even think about falling for him? He was certainly not her type! What did he even have in himself to try and impress her? Not a thing to jump above the long list of average..!
Well, he actually was funny... Sometimes, it wasn't like his every jokingly-made comment made the corner of her lips jerk up, even a tiny little bit. Certainly not true.
Oh right, he was intelligent too... He had won a couple of contests in chemistry and mechanics... Or so she heard, she hadn't been paying attention to what they were saying about him, after all.
One couldn't deny his courtesy either... The teachers loved him, especially women. She'd been once wondering (but only once and it was an accident, why would she have done it otherwise?) why the females their age weren't paying attention to him... But it didn't mean she was!
Ok, so maybe he was a good specimen for a colleague... But a boyfriend material? No way!
Well... As much as she felt like doing that, she couldn't deny his good looks... Because he wasn't a tiny bit unsightly, that she had to admit. Although it wasn't of any pleasure to her, of course. He had those black, so unusually dark, curles dancing on his head and above his forehead in a lovely way... His eyes sparkled, the unparalleled hue of bitter chocolate catching her sight all too often... And his physique... He was no Jason or Percy, that was certain, but he wasn't a total scrag and-
Her breath hitched when a sudden realisation of just what she'd been doing hit her. She growled, covering her head with a pillow, her cheeks hot and her heart thumping loudly.
Reyna, you're so not doing this! Stop thinking about Leo Valdez! Don't you fall for him!
Spare your heart the pain that had always come afterwards...
X
She was unbelievably beautiful. If he hadn't had an occasion to, well, check that by hand (his face covered with a crimson stain at the memory), he would have been thinking her body was made of spume, not of flesh. Maybe her mother was a goddess then? He sighed daydreamingly and turned to the other side.
Not only were her looks splendid, her personality was also just what he'd always fallen for, only with the exception of all the traits that had made the charm disappear, like inhuman coldness or a boyfriend. Actually, other guys had been the case twice...
She was intelligent, always prepaired best for the class. That impressed him, he wouldn't have had good marks if it hadn't been for his inborn talent, as Piper liked to call it. It was always Reyna and not him who Mrs. Lupa praised, as the canny teacher seemed to know about himself being the lazy ass he was.
But she never seemed to enjoy that applause, it actually felt as if she found it a complete waste of time. Down to earth and certainly not a princess? Way to go, girl! Being the way she was, he found the title of a queen more fitting, and didn't even have to convince himself that it was incredibly fetching. Oh right, even her name matched! Reina, like the Spanish word for queen...
And something that he had never been able to resist - she ignored him throughoutly. Not counting the times she sent him intimidating glares when he'd done something stupid, that was.
A breath-taking, tough girl completely out of his league? Just his type!
But, come to think of that, why didn't a miracle like her have a strong team of adorers? He frowned, adjusting his flabby pillow.
True, she was sometimes treating other people with reserve, but she was never mean. The distance only made her more of an intriguing riddle...
He sighed and chuckled at the sound, finding it really like from a cheap Latino soap opera about desperate teens in turbulent relationships, having to go on wars with their parents because of the wrong choice of their lovers. He smirked sadly. At least he had that last one off the list...
And Reyna... Let's just say she didn't go anywhere even when he was no longer awake...
X X X
She was just going to drop those papers by Mrs. Lupa and she would be able to finally go grab something to eat.
The weekend had gone by way too quickly, had been spent on studying and worrying about just how much of her brain's activity Leo Valdez had taken. She'd been trying hard, avoiding any places she could have met him at (when she'd gone out at last, that had been) but it had all dissolved into thin air when she'd just caught a glance of curly hair of the shop assistant from the shop on the corner or had gone by a man smoking in the street - because it hadn't been until then that it'd got to her how his fingers had always been playing with a metal gasoline lighter.
That had been why she'd been extremely worried about the Laboratory Science class. She didn't want to lose any focus and/or cool when faced with him and his ridiculous charm.
But he hadn't come, thank gods. She'd tried not to think why that had been, of course, but, as expected, she couldn't have focused in that situation either, her mind sailing away from potassium premanganate to her Latino acquaintance with a cheeky grin and the probable reasons for his absence. Damn it all, she was becoming really pissed off with her stupid fee-!
Shit, she was doing that again, letting him slip into her thoughts one more time! That steadily growing in strenght mind flow had been annoying her more and more with every minute (even more). She even sent a death glare to innocent as lamb Frank Zhang when he distracted her from her journey, saying hi!
That had to stop, she had to get better soon (because, deep inside, she'd been worrying against her common sense that it really was some kind of illness)!
She pushed the door to the laboratory open for the second time that day and froze with her hand on the knob.
Leo's hips' movements were certainly not going to be helpful in finally throwing him out of her head (and heart..?).
The lab was filled with the sounds of some pop song she didn't know but he seemed to know all to well. He was bouncing on his heels and shaking his head to the rhythm (don't look at the sway of his adorable curls!). His pelvis guided his body in continous moves left and right, pobably an attempt to dance. What was worse, he was actually singing, and singing loud.
"Can you get a little closer / And help me out a little bit? / Because I scraped my knee fallin' for you. / But baby a kiss will do" She had never actually thought about that, but his voice was... Pleasant to hear. Of course, he wasn't anyhow a material for a teenage idol - let's face it, he missed too much notes for it to be ignored - and the song he'd chosen couldn't possibly work on any girl - c'mon, pick up lines? - but... She found a small smile grace her lips when she was watching... Although it certainly didn't mean she was enjoying it! "I'm singing Fa la la-" his voice trailed off from the roaring melody and it got to her that he'd noticed her presence.
Mierda, what to do then?!
"Um... Hi, reina-!" he said, turning the music down and blushing furiously when he realised he'd put a little bit too much of Spanish accent on her name. Had she noticed?! He put the beaker he'd been holding into the sink and smiled at her, hoping he looked neatly enough. Damn, she'd surprised him! It had been supposed to be just casual cleaning amends for skipping the class! Never would he have expected such an encounter... He leant on the table, sticking out his scrawny chest somewhat more than usually, wanting to look chilled-out and cool (not nervous, which he was). Of course, shoving his hand into a spill of silver nitrate (V) wasn't going to help. He grabbed the cloth he'd been using and rubbed furiously but, as expected, it was no use. He just wouldn't show her his palm covered in brown stains, then..!
He lifted his head to meet her confused face. "Um..." she mumbled "Is Mrs. Lupa anywhere near here..?" she asked, holding up him the papers she'd been holding to show them to him. Of course she wasn't. Otherwise, he couldn't have listened to such a cheesy song or make it so loud!
He stuck his blotched hand into his jeans' pocket and tried to smile with more confidence than he actually had. "Well, not really... We're all alone, actually-" his eyes widened when he realized just how indecently that had sounded. "I mean..! Uh..!" What to say, how to find a way out?!
"I get it" she cut him off and he didn't know whether to be happy and relieved or utterly depressed about that. "Do you happen to know where she might be?" she asked quickly, hoping he couldn't see a faint blush she felt was creeping it's way onto her cheeks. She sent a couple of curses at him in her mind when he'd made that ridiculously adorable pout-like face, thinking thorough.
"Nope, sorry" he smiled apologitecally. He took a small, uncertain step in her direction, awkwardly ruffling his hair with his free hand. "But I can give it to her when she comes back..." he offered, pointing at what she'd been holding. "That is, if you want me to!" he hurried to add, looking anywhere but in her eyes. He couldn't just space out like that in such an important moment, could he? Then it was the time to try to be the knight in a shiny armor, just this once! She needed him and he'd have rather died than failed her trust!
That was, if she decided to trust him, after all...
She was eyeing him suspiciously, focusing on the hand he used to turn her attention to the papers. "Leo..." she started slowly, making him gulp in uneasiness. He hoped she couldn't see (or smell) just how much sweat had left his body in the past few moments. The clock's ticking suddenly seemed like a cacophony to his ears. "Was that silver nitrate (V)..?" she asked innocently, trying to suppress amusement looking for it's way out through her voice. Just why was she so mirthful, she wondered?
He looked at his palm and blinked a few times, trying to make out the situation he'd found himself in. Silver nitrate (V)... His hand... His dirtied hand in brown stains... Had that been that hand..?
Oh gods.
"Um... Yeah..?" he grinned shyly, deciding it was no use hiding anymore. If only his face wouldn't have turned the deep shade of crimson it had...
But hey! Was that..? Was she really smirking at that?
She didn't know why she was doing that. She had absolutely no idea why that was. But she couldn't deny that she actually found the situation funny enough to let the corner of her mouth curve.
And so, unexpectedly, silver nitrate (V) had reduced all the awkwardness between them. Reyna didn't try to hide her smirk and Leo even chuckled a bit, twisting his wrist in every direction to show her the whole of his blunder.
"Yeah... It's good that I've already dealt with the acids before you came" he winked at her. The smirk immediately disappeared from her face and she frowned, making his heart stop in it's running tracks.
"Why is that..?" she asked slowly. What would have been different if she'd been there..?
He gulped, feeling the previous nervousness threatening to take him over again. He took a deep, shaky breath. "Because you distract me, I guess..." he mumbled timidly, averting his gaze.
Oh.
She felt her gut twitch at the words in a way that was unexpectedly pleasant (damn her body's subconscious responses!). She felt a sudden urge to check the condition of her shoes and had to force herself to keep her head up. But maybe it wasn't such a bad idea, after all? She suddenly found it very disturbing how she reacted to his steadily growing, cheeky grin and the mischevious glint in his eye.
Somehow, looking at her losing her countenance a little, he got a boost of his usual bravado. "Soo..." he grinned and said in a quieter voice, hoping to sound like a beau from old movies all the girls talked about. "Let me take care of that for you" he offered, pulling out his hand.
Without a second thought, clearly on impulse, she shoved the papers into his straightened arm (damn his weary palms and strong forearms! - were they the result of his interest in mechanics?), cursing the fire in her cheeks. "Thanks" she mumbled, turning on her heel and wanting to walk away when his call stopped her in her tracks.
"An entry form for the contest? You're taking part, too?" he asked, having read the title of the first page of the papers. She counted to ten to try to calm her trembling heart down and looked at him again. He had his eyes fastened on herself, waving the sheets in front of himself with an excited look in his dark chocolate orbs.
"Yeah... Are you..?" she asked, her throat a bit drier than usually. A smile so wide she feared his face might crack in half was a confirmation good enough even before he finally nodded. She turned around again, hoping not to be interrupted by him anymore. After all, she was already barely keeping up her unmoved (well, not moved too much) facquade.
Of course she'd put her hopes up too high.
"Reyna!" it was so unbelievably hard not to let her cheeks flush again at the sound of her name on his tongue... She looked at him one more time, clutching the strip of her bag tightly. Leo was gaping at her like a puppy would at his favorite owner, his eyes literally shining. Was that guy ever not so likeable?! "Are you gonna be going to the extra lab classes?" he asked, not even trying to conceal the hope in his voice.
She fought off the urge to bite her lip. Mrs. Lupa had told her about that and, until then, she'd been sure she'd have taken part in them. But she hadn't known Leo was going to be there! Was that contest really worthy the constant stress..?
She stared at him with searching eyes, looking for any inapproperiateness in his behaviour. He just stood there, a smile plastered to his Latino features, his eyes cheerful and sincere, making her heart want to run wild and calm down at the same time (probably the weirdest thing she'd ever felt).
No. She was Reyna, she wouldn't back away. She would face whatever was awaiting her with dignity, her chin high. She wouldn't let anybody rule over her, certainly not a crush. It would be over soon enough, anyway. She'd just stop feeling what she felt, eventually. Reason would take the lead in her mind once again. She just had to be patient and wait for that to happen.
Right.
(Was there anybody else whose smile reached their eyes so visibly like it did in Leo's case..?)
That would surely happen.
(The smile reduced into a kindly curved line and his eyes softened, not even leaving hers for a moment.)
All she needed was patience...
Right..?
ZJeM, 20.02-27.03.14
From author:
An update, about 5 weeks after the last one! :') I really try to write faster, but school's making me pretty busy and when it doesn't, I'm usually a lazy ass without any idea where to go next with my multichaps. Sorry for that. And thank you for staying anyway. Buut, if I am to make any excuses, this chapter's longer than the others! ;)
What do you think, is Leo too OOC? I try to make his jokes and moves on Reyna stay quite an often occurrence, but I dunno if I succeed. Is he too shy? Please let me know. ;)
I'm sorry it's not the action type of thing again, but I promise I've lately come up with a way to speed things up a bit... :D
I'm also sorry if anybody felt offended with calling Cute "cheesy". XD I really like the song, I didn't mean to be mean. ;) I actually sent a Valentines card to one of my school crushes with some of the lyrics... But it was anonymous and nothing fun happened afterwards, haha. XD Anyway, I recommend the song. ;)
To my friends (you know who you are): this whole contest thing is not my sick fangirl dream about Valdez B. XD It was born naturally, by accident and pure coincidence.
THANKS FOR READING!
