Note: So I have a couple headcanons for Drew. One of them will be explained later in the story, but I feel like despite how she usually portrays herself, Drew is actually a decent fighter. With her, I see that it isn't so much that she can't fight, but that she just doesn't like to fight. I mean, she's no master, but she can defend herself if necessary. I was hesitant with this chapter though, because I feel like I down played Leo's strength in favor of Drew's but then again, I was never good at writing fights, and I was trying to avoid making Drew helpless. I feel like she could probably kick some ass if she wanted too. But I also had a reason for it, which will be explained in the next chapter.

Anyway, thank you for the follows/favorites/reviews! I'm glad you guys are liking the story so far!

Breaking Facade

Chapter 3

He wasn't exactly sure how to feel about this set up.

He and Mitchell had talked about what they would do if anyone came for the flag; they had a plan of their own. But now, that plan had been switched. He seriously doubted Drew would actually do anything if someone did get close, which meant that it would be all on his shoulders - and he wasn't sure if he liked that idea. If something went wrong, it wouldn't be her fault; it'd be his. He was the capable one. Annabeth had said as much. She even seemed to think the change, but he didn't.

Instead of attempting to do anything, she just stood there, examining her nails while the rest of the team took off. If this ended badly, he called it.

Then she looked at him and smiled. Normally, when a pretty girl smiled at him (Piper excluded), his heart would flutter, but Drew's smile made him uneasy. Then again, Drew herself made him uneasy. She was far from the nicest person in camp, and he'd seen just first hand how manipulative she could be. And Drew never smiled at him. In fact, he was sure she hadn't even given him a second glance since he came to camp.

"You look good, hon," she said.

For a moment, Leo thought he hadn't heard her correctly. Stupidly, he glanced behind him. There was no one there. Now he was positive he hadn't heard her correctly. When he glanced back at her, she was still smiling. Then she winked and turned on her heels and stalked towards the boulder. With more grace and agility than he'd thought she could possibly possess, she climbed up the rock and plopped down on top.

Off in the distance, the horn signaling the start of the game sounded.

Shaking his head, he turned to the tree and grabbed the lowest branch. He couldn't dwell on it, not now. There were more important things to focus on.

The sounds of battle were already ringing through the forest as he hoisted himself into the tree. Every once in a while, there'd be a chorus of shouts, as if one side were rallying against another. Other than that, the fighting seemed to stay in the same area; never coming any closer or going any farther away. He gazed out over the forest.

The view wasn't much better in the tree; there were several branches blocking his line of sight, but below him, he could still see the majority of the clearing where the flag had been placed.

He wasn't sure how much time had passed since the start of the game, but it felt like hours; given his ADHD, it was probably ten minutes at most, before something finally happened.

There was movement at the edge of the clearing. A bush moved and several twigs snapped. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Drew tense, but otherwise, she looked unconcerned. She just continued to stare at her reflection in the mirror. At closer inspection, however, he realized it wasn't her reflection she was looking at; she'd angled herself and the compact towards the direction of the movement - she was watching them in the mirror. He didn't know whether to call in ingenious or a benefit of vanity. Either way, it was clear that Drew had her eye on them.

She started tapping and scratching the rim of her mirror.

At first he didn't know what she was doing, but realization dawned on him.

It was Morse code.

She didn't take her eyes off the reflection. With one hand, she continued to tap out the message while the other idly toyed with a few locks of her hair.

Clarisse.

Leo almost groaned. Unlike most of the campers, he'd come to realize that Clarisse was not deterred by fire - not one bit. The girl single handedly took down a drakon for gods' sake. If she were afraid of a bit of fire, his opinion of her would have dropped.

They were so going to lose this game.

He could fight with a sword if he needed to, but it wasn't his preferred weapon, and his skill level was nowhere near that of hers; he may have seen battle, but Clarisse La Rue had years of experience under her belt. Swearing under his breath, he glanced at Drew. She'd shifted her position, no doubt trying to keep track of her. She started tapping again.

To the left.

Sure enough, a bush rustled off to the left of the clearing. Clarisse wasn't much of a sneaker. In fact, he was a little concerned she wasn't just rushing in like she usually did.

She probably suspects something, he thought. Even an idiot would be suspicious.

Then something he hadn't been expecting happened. Clarisse burst through the bushes, her spear raised. Instead of going for the flag, she went straight for Drew.

Drew seized her sword and rolled off the rock.

Leo had never actually seen Drew fight, much less hold a sword. Needless to say he was surprised at how well she handled it. Then again, she was part of a camp that specialized in training people to fight; and no one was excused from lessons.

Clarisse jabbed at her, and with some difficulty, Drew managed to deflect it.

She may have been decent, but it wasn't hard to tell that Clarisse had the upper hand; she was pressing Drew, who was just barely able to keep up.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw two more campers coming into the clearing.

A diversion.

Gripping his sword, Leo dropped out of the tree.

The other two, whose names he couldn't remember, skidded to a halt in front of him. They raised their blades, grinning wolfishly. The look in there eyes mocking, as if they were saying, really? Him?

Behind him, he heard a large crack. Drew stumbled past him. She was breathing heavily and there was a trail of blood forming on the left side of her face. Despite her disheveled appearance, there was a fire in her eyes. But he didn't have time to focus on their fight. The two before him noticed that his attention was elsewhere and charged.

He ducked, narrowly avoiding a swing that had been aimed at his neck. If he hadn't moved, he would have died.

"Some of you take this game too seriously," he grunted. He tried to parry a blow to his right side, but the second one lept forward.

The blade of his sword barely grazed him. It tore through his shirt and nicked his side. A pained hiss escaped his lips. He could imagine Coach Hedge screaming at him: No pain, no game! Get your head in the game, Valdez!

He was hesitant to use his fire; there were too many trees and everyone was too close together. Even if it was just a game, and the other team was trying to maim him, he wasn't in favor of being responsible for anymore injury, or worse yet, deaths caused by his powers. But they were starting to give him no choice. Piper and Annabeth were counting on him to help them win this. He didn't necessarily have to incapacitate them, he just had to hold them off long enough for his teammates to get the enemy flag across the line.

Of course, he had no way of telling whether they'd managed to secure it or not.

He rolled to the side to avoid being kicked off his feet.

That move was a mistake.

Clarisse chose that moment to shove Drew, who staggered into him and threw both of them to the ground. Even with her skinny frame, she was surprisingly heavy.

Clarisse and her teammates laughed.

"Really? What was Annabeth thinking leaving you two to guard the flag. Chris! Get the flag." Behind her helmet, he could see her sneering.

One of her teammates made a grab for the flag.

"Oh no you don't." Leo held his hand out.

He willed the fire to come. The tips of his fingers tingled and every fiber of his being seemed to spring to life. Aiming for a spot a few inches away from his feet, he shot a ball of fire. The flames hit the ground and burst in a show of orange and red. Chris yelped and jumped back.

Drew chose that moment to move. She lunged forward, shoving Leo into the ground in the process, and managed to catch him by surprise. She slammed the hilt of her blade into his helmet. He staggered a few feet and collapsed.

Leo didn't have time to appreciate her quick thinking. Clarisse jabbed at him, but he rolled to the side and the tip of her spear struck into the ground. Before she could recover, he threw his leg out, and swept her legs out from beneath her. She hit the ground with a heavy thud and a loud curse.

The third one rushed at him, but Drew quickly intercepted.

Her shirt was torn beneath her armor, and she had several cuts along her arms and on her face that were bleeding. Her hair was wet and matted with sweat and blood. Her breathing was labored; she couldn't hold out much longer. Her opponent swung at her, but she swiftly dodged and brought her foot up and slammed it right into his crotch.

Leo winced.

Beside him, Clarisse staggered to her feet. She was not a happy camper. Her eyes were blazing with rage, and that rage was directed at him. She freed her spear, but before she could strike, Drew lunged at her. The daughter of Ares was ready, however, and with frightening speed, she swung the spear and hit her in the temple. Drew staggered to the side and collapsed.

Now it was just him and her.

If only he had something else.

He'd fought storm spirits, single handedly taken down a family of cyclopses, and a lot of other super dangerous things, one pig looking woman shouldn't be too much of a problem. But most of the time, he had something to help him; machinery,a giant fire breathing dragon, his toolbelt (which he had forgotten in his haste). All he had now was a sword and his fire.

Sword and fire.

An idea struck him then. It was a long shot, and there was no guarantee it would actually work, but he had to try. With every ounce of strength he had, he will the the fire to encase his blade. At first, nothing happened, but a few seconds later, just before Clarisse swung her spear at him, the blade burst into flames. The suddenness of it seemed to catch her off guard and she tried to stumble backwards, but Leo was faster. He cut through the spear's wooden handle. The end of it caught. With a loud curse, she threw it at him. It hit him and rolled off harmlessly.

"Personally," he laughed, "I think Annabeth may have made the right choice."

Even without her weapon, Clarisse refused to admit defeat. She lunged forward, making a desperate grab for the hilt, but Leo waved the sword at her. The sleeve of her shirt caught fire. She yelped and desperately tried to pat the flames out.

"You're so dead, Valdez." She growled.

Before she could attack, a chorus of cheers echoed through the woods. Both of them froze, though Leo was smiling. The pause only lasted for a moment before Clarisse charged. She didn't get very far. She was within arms length of him when a loud clang filled the air. Her eyes widened for a second, and she collapsed in front of him, just as Annabeth and Piper burst through the bushes with Jason right behind them, banner in hand.

Piper squealed in delight. They'd won the game. Annabeth raised her sword in the air, and another chorus of cheers sounded.

"Oh good, now you get back with the flag." Drew grumbled.

Piper whirled, no doubt with a few choice words on her lips, but whatever she was about to say died on her lips. Jason whistled. "You two did that?"

"Do you see anyone else here?" Drew snapped, though her tone lacked its usual venom. She was exhausted.

"Is that Clarisse?" Annabeth asked.

As if on cue, Clarisse groaned.

The blonde glanced back and forth between the two of them. Then her gaze settled on Drew. "Consider me impressed."

"Looks are all I've got, hon." She rolled her eyes.

"In any case, get these three to the infirmary," Annabeth ordered. Several of the Apollo campers stepped forward, though the couldn't keep the grins off their faces.

Jason came forward and clapped Leo on the back. "Good job, man."

Leo gave him a sheepish grin. "Hey, I'm all about the spotlight, but Drew did a lot of damage too. She was the one who dealt the finishing blow."

Jason gave Drew an uncertain glance. It was undeniable that she'd been fighting. Then Leo realized she'd done most of the fighting. He just kind of rolled here and there; swung on occasion. In the end, it really was her who took all three of them down.

"Excuse me," Drew said tiredly. "I did a little more than that."

He shook his head. "Yeah, yeah. You fight dirty. I get it."

She huffed. "Hon, there's no such thing as a fair fight."

"Cheap shots," Leo grumbled. Drew just huffed again.

The team watched the exchange with curious eyes. Then Annabeth took charge again. "Piper, Jason, take Drew and Leo to the infirmary."

He could tell Piper was a bit reluctant to help Drew, but she did anyway. Jason offered him his hand, but Leo shook his head. "I can walk, bro. I'm not that beat up."

The blonde just shook his head. "Whatever you say."

Just as they were leaving, Chrion appeared. He didn't seem too interested in them, until he noticed Drew. Leo didn't think he could look anymore surprised.

"Congratulations on the win." He muttered and clopped past.

As they made their way through the camp, those who hadn't participated stared at them with wide eyes and open mouths. Leo wondered if they really looked that bad. Then he glanced at Drew, who was practically being dragged by Piper.

"I can walk, Dumpster Queen."

Piper just rolled her eyes. "Just be thankful I'm carrying you at all."

Drew scoffed. "Yeah, well if it weren't for me, you wouldn't have even won, so if anything, you should be carrying me."

Leo thought she was going to drop her right then, but she didnt.

They remained silent for the rest of the trip. By the time they reached the Big House, the Apollo campers who had brought Clarisse and her teammates were already waiting for them. They were still smiling, as if they'd witnessed something humorous. Maybe they had. Or maybe they were still happy from the victory. Leo didn't really know, nor did he care. He was just as exhausted as Drew. The little fire trick had really left him drained of energy. Setting metal on fire wasn't an easy task and while he'd learned to control his powers a little better, using them still did a number on him.

He trudged up the stairs with Jason holding him by his elbow.