AN. Okay, here is the next chapter and I'm giving it to you on CHRISTMAS! MERRY CHRISTMAS! So, consider this a present because I am NOT going to write anything else todat even though I was planning it. Oh well, what can you do? Anyway, here is chapter nine

Chapter 9, Steering Partners

Leo POV

All I can do is stare. How can he be alive? I watched him die! I am the reason that he died! Frank looks at me. If looks could kill, I'd be dead.

"Hey, Hazel" Frank says.

Hazel gulps.

"What?" Frank asks.

"I thought you were..." Hazel says before falling to her knees, with tears in her eyes.

"No, not dead, just trapped" Frank say. "When I landed in the water I got knocked out. I was still being controlled by Gaea, but I soon lost her. After that, I was captured by a monster and I was put into a sell and I was in there for days. The air was running out by than, my sell was underwater and had only a bit of air and it was almost gone when the monster opened the door. I did the only thing I could do; I turned into a monster and left as fast as possible. I took the shape of what the monster is if you were wondering."

"I am so sorry" Hazel sobs.

"For what? It's not like it's your fault" Frank says.

"No, for something else" Hazel says.

"What?" Frank asks.

"Leo and I..."

"Are steering partners!" I chime in. "Yeah, she didn't want you to know because she thought that you'd be jealous. So yeah, we aren't anything but steering partners."

"Oh Hazel, I wouldn't be jealous at all, I would only care if you were cheating on me or something" Frank says.

Hazel sobs harder.

"What's wrong?" Frank asks.

"Nothing! She is just feeling tense because we're steering partners!" I say.

Frank raises an eyebrow. "Can Hazel and I talk for a few minutes, alone?"

Everyone sighs and say things like "oh come on!"

"Yeah, sure" I say. Hazel looks at me. Her eyes are sad, her eyes tell me she loves me, and they tell me that she is sorry. I know that we're over now, all though I truly do not want to believe it.

I walk away.

Why did she choose him over me?! After all we have been through?!

Oh who am I kidding? They were together a long time before I showed up. And if that's not enough, she is caught in such a tight situation she doesn't have a choice! She probably doesn't like me as much as she likes Frank anyway, I am just a rebound.

I guess I lost my steering partner.

I make my way to Piper's room...again. She is the only one who will understand. She is a Beauty Queen after all, and one of my best friends.

Once I get there I knock on the door.

"Yeah?" Piper asks.

"I-it's Leo" I say. My eyes start to swell with tears and they slowly fall from my eyes.

Piper opens the door. "Oh, come in sweetie."

"Sweetie?" I ask.

"Yeah, you need comfort! This is about Hazel" Piper says.

I nod. I walk into her room and sit and I start to cry. I say in almost a whisper "I don't want to loose her."

"You won't" Piper says. "Everything is going according to plan. Soon enough, Frank is going to find out. Hazel swore upon the river Styx that she wouldn't think before she talked. She is going to speak whatever is on her mind and she is going to tell Frank. Frank is going to come looking for you and you two will get into a big fight. Frank will win. You will almost die, but when you wake up, Hazel will be next to you and she will say she chooses you, and you'll kiss. Frank will always be mad at you, but in a few months you will make peace. And after that it's up to the Fates."

"You have my whole relationship planned?" I ask.

"Yes, I also have your whole life planned" Piper grins.

"How will I die?" I ask.

"When you fight Frank, ba'bye" Piper says, pushing me out the door.

She shuts the door behind me. "Wait! What do you mean I will die because of Frank?"

This can't be true! She is no Fate! She can't predict these things! Though, she had everything planned and it all worked out...what if I do die by Frank's hands? What if Hazel ends up with Frank? What if Piper is right?

Oh my gods...Hazel swore upon the river Styx...oh no.

I run out as fast as I can. It might me too late! He might have hurt her. I feel like I'm running in slow motion. I feel like I'm not going fast enough. If I slow down at all it might be too late. I can almost hear Hazel's scream...I speed up.

I finally get to the deck.

"Frank, Leo and I are..."

"STEERING PARTNERS!" I scream.

Frank turns around, fast. Hazel looks at me with wide eyes.

"Okay, what is going on?" Frank demands.

"Nothing, we're just steering partners" Hazel says fanning her face.

"I'm not stupid! I know when something's up! Tell me now, Hazel!" Frank says

"Nothing man, we're just messing with you" I laugh.

"Yeah, just messing around" Hazel laughs, awkwardly. I look at her with widened eyes. Seriously? Messing around? That's not a good thing to say when there is a suspicious Frank.

Frank raises both eyebrows. "Okay, I'm going to get something to eat, you two are creeping me out."

Frank heads for the dining area and Hazel gives me the death glare and I give her the "what the heck?" stare.

"Leo! I was going to tell him! You just raised his suspicions and it will affect him more once we tell him!" Hazel whispers.

"Hazel do you want him to kill us?" I whisper. "Messing around?"

"It was the only thing I could think of! And let's not forget your whole 'steering partners' thing" Hazel whispers.

"Okay, that's not fair! It's one of the only things hat comes to mind since I need one!" I whisper.

"I could be your steering partner" Hazel murmurs.

"Hey, you could be! Want to?" I ask.

"Sure" Hazel says.

"Yeah, now we're actually steering partners!" I say.

"Yeah" Hazel says, sadly.

I look at her and regret saying anything. She looks so hurt. I am so stupid! I can't be fighting with her right now! Her boyfriend just died, she started dating me, and now he has come back from the dead! And since Hazel and I are together it makes everything to complicated!

But there is one question that I need to know, or it will kill me inside. Is it me or Frank?

"Hazel, me or Frank?" I ask.

Hazel puts her hands up and huffs spinning around angrily and whining and sits down on the floor.

"I DON'T KNOW!" Hazel screams. She gets up and stomps to her cabin.

"Wait, Haze, I want trying to make you mad I just..."

"Look Leo" Hazel says, turning to face me. "I can't choose right now. I love you, but I can't hurt Frank! It's not who I am! I can't hurt people! I just can't! I know that you are a stronger person than Frank and I know that if it was you or him, you'd deal with it better! So please, don't make me hurt him! I love you so much!"

I nod. Hazel kisses me, than runs to her cabin in furry.

Great. Just great.

Frank walks out from behind a corner with a look of pure hatred in his eye. "Valdez!"

"No, Frank, it's not what you think!" I say. "She thought you were dead! I only wanted to comfort her! I thought you were dead to!"

"Don't you DARE give me that! You were trying to steal her away ever since you first saw her! I remember! I know the way you looked at her! I don't think you understand! I haven't been able to have anything in the whole life! Everything has been taken from me, except Hazel and with you in the way, I'll loose her too!" Frank yells.

"I'm not trying to steal her away! She chose you! She doesn't want to hurt you and she chose you! And also, everything has been taken from me too! My mom, my family, Gaea and Hera have been hurting me my whole life! But with you, your mom and Grandma died! I can understand her! She lost everything! You don't know anything about her! She has told me everything and she still chose you! What I'll say, don't loose her and don't you dare hurt her or I will kill you! I have the fire! So don't you dare hurt her, I will never have a shot with her, so treat her well, she chose YOU!" I scream.

"STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT!" Hazel yells.

"Hazel, why did you choose me?" Frank growls.

"Because I can't hurt people, I would be as bad as Gaea was to my mother if I chose Leo, so I chose you" Hazel says with her eyes closed.

"Do you love me?" Frank asks.

Hazel stomps her foot and the tears speed up. "You don't love me!"

Frank looks at her for a few seconds, than leaves.

I also start to cry. Why me? Why do the Fates hate me? I love Hazel so much and yet they are still making me pay for it!

Hazel shakes her head and goes to her cabin, leaving me alone.

"Hey" Piper says. I turn

"What do you want?" I ask through tears.

"This wasn't in my plan, you know, maybe Frank won't kill you" Piper says.

I shake the feeling and when I look back at Piper, she's gone.

I hear Hazel scream from her room. Oh no, he didn't!

I run in. I hear Hazel screaming "Leo! Leo!"

As I open the door, a sword is at my throat. No, not a sword, a Spatha.

"Help me Leo!" Hazel whines. Her voice turned deeper and she started gasping. Her voice became shaky like she was drowning. I knew it was Gaea's voice. My heart brakes when I realize that Hazel is still holding on so hard that it's killing her. "You're too late son of Hephaestus!"

End of chapter

AN. Yep, end of chapter. But, one thing, three more reviews and the next chapter is up. No less.