Disclaimer: Don't own Leo or any other PJO or HOO characters. Or the Argo II or Buford the Flying Table.
I wrote this forever ago, based off the song.
"My girl's in the next room
Sometimes I wish she was you.
I guess we never really moved on."
-"Lips of an Angel" Hinder
Leo's phone erupted into "Lips of an Angel" while he examined Buford, one of the few pieces to survive the Argo II destruction. He fumbled to pick it up, that had been Michelle's ringtone, he'd forgotten to change it soon after they broke up, which had happened after he saved Calypso.
And then he'd gotten together with Calypso.
"Hey." she barely breathed, Michelle's cool voice, light as the icy color of her eyes.
"Hey." he said.
"How are you Leo?"
"I'm" he gulped air, "I'm fine. Looking Buford over, he was acting up yesterday."
Her ice on ice laugh filled his ear, "Sounds like typical Buford." she paused, as if in thought, "Is this a bad time?"
Leo shook his head, and dumbly remembered they were on the phone, she couldn't see him.
"Not at all." he smiled.
Calypso, meanwhile, was contently "channel surfing" as she had learned the term as, in the other room. She heard Leo's muffled ringtone, then his hushed tones, and was immediately at the door, eavesdropping. She knew how wrong it was, that she should trust him. But ever since he'd taken her back after that Michelle girl, she felt as if his heart wasn't completely hers...
"No, Michelle, it's not like that. Calypso's, Calypso..."
Calypso kept back an astonished gasp. He was talking to Michelle? About her?
He'd paused as Michelle spoke on the other end of the line. Then said, "She's a bit like Hazel was, ya know, a little clueless about the modern world. She didn't know about channel surfing." Calypso could hear Michelle's laughter. She stomped off, rage building. 'I loved him first!' she thought angrily. 'He was mine first! It's not his fault he had to leave!' She screwed up her eyes tight, "I hate her." she breathed. Calypso wrote a quick note in her calligraphic handwriting,
Leo,
I've gone to speak to Michelle.
To tell her you're with me, so she won't bother you anymore.
I'm sorry you had to deal with her over the phone.
I love you,
Calypso
On Michelle's end, however, Will was busy, and she'd been so bored, she figured, 'Eh, why not call Lee? We could still be friends.'
Boy was she wrong.
The second he spoke, she melted, puddled.
Just like when they were younger.
"Hey." she'd breathed.
"Hey." he'd breathed back.
Michelle had started with the usual, "How are you Leo?"
And he'd responded something about Buford the Flying Table.
"Typical Buford right?" she asked, smiling.
He seemed to be smiling, but she knew Calypso was nearby, he was talking quietly, like he didn't want her to hear. So naturally, she'd added, "Is this a bad time?"
"No." had been his response, and she'd mentally squealed like a teenage girl getting a text message from her crush with a heart.
"That's great. How've things been?" she asked.
She could HEAR Valdez blushing over the phone.
"They've uh, they've been good. And you?"
"Fine, Will's busy with some Apollo camp stuff." she rolled her eyes. Leo gave a small laugh. "Yeah well, Calypso's, Calypso."
"She's a bit clueless then?"
"She's a bit like Hazel was, yeah. She didn't even know about channel surfing." Michelle couldn't help but laugh. "Even Hazel knew about channel surfing."
"She's been alone on an island for centuries, there was no T.V."
"Not even cable?" Michelle gasped in fake surprise. She laughed again and glanced back at Will at his desk, he seemed to be finishing up. "I better let you go bro…" she started.
Leo sighed, "Yeah, I better check on her."
"See ya around, Fire Lord."
"Whatever, Ice Queen."
They hung up.
Back at Leo's, he walked into the room where Calypso had been and found her note.
"Ah, Hades! I better warn Chelle!" He dialed her, but was sent to voicemail.
"Damn!" he grabbed his jacket and his wallet, then set out for the quickest bus to Long Island.
The next day…
Leo arrived at Michelle's place around 7AM the next morning he was pulling in right behind Calypso.
"Don't do this!"
Calypso turned, her eyes angry, "I have to! She's still part of your heart! And I must have all of it."
Leo shook his head. "No, Calypso. You don't have to have all of my heart. And if you do, you aren't the girl I thought you were." Michelle stepped out of the brownstone house and rubbed her tired eyes.
"Mr. Callowitz keep it-" She cut off when she who it was. "What are you two doing here?" she asked curiously. She leaned against the shut door behind her. She wore a white tank top and ice blue capri-like pajama pants, her hair in a messy ponytail.
Leo thought she'd never looked prettier. "Hey Chelle. Someone heard us talking last night, freaked out, and came here to kill you." he glared at Calypso.
Michelle looked at Calypso, confusion scribbled on her face. "Really Calypso? Why would you want me dead?"
"Because Leo still loves you!" Calypso lunged for her.
Michelle ducked, and whipped the dagger that she always kept connected to her ankle, from her ankle. She pinned Calypso to the door and held the dagger under her chin. "Two things. NEVER attack a daughter of Athena, I'm always prepared." she glanced at Leo, then continued, "And secondly, Leo loves you. He chose you after all."
"Only because you were already with Will!" Calypso retorted, she thrust Michelle off of her.
"I broke up with Will!"
"Why?"
The question had come from Leo, it was soft, almost like he cared.
"Because, I realized that I never really…got a hundred percent over you." she scratched behind her head. Calypso tackled Michelle so they looked piggyback. Leo's eyes widened as Michelle crashed on her back, knocking the wind outta the both of them. Michelle sprung up and pinned Calypso, holding the dagger to her throat again.
"You seriously need to stop putting yourself in this position." Michelle told her.
Will then stumbled out of the brownstone house, rubbing his own tired eyes. "Mr. Callowitz! You seriously-" he cut off when he saw Michelle pinning Calypso and Leo standing off to the side sheepishly.
"Dude!" Will stated to Leo as Calypso struggled under Michelle's grasp. "What happened this time?" the newcomer walked over and stood next to Leo. He wore a faded white t-shirt and a pair of black basketball shorts.
Leo shrugged, narrowing his eyes at Michelle, "Broke up with Will, huh?"
Michelle rolled her ice blue orbs, "Like I was supposed to kick him out on the streets Valdez? Even Hades ain't that cruel!" she blew her bangs from in front of her eyes, shifting it to the left some. Calypso continued to buck Michelle off her, but Michelle held fast.
"You're girlfriend is seriously WEAK, for a goddess, Fire Lord." she spit the word "weak" at Calypso before letting her up and helping the previously abandoned goddess to her feet.
"You're not even worth the energy, Princess." Michelle said, spatting the last word at her. Calypso rolled her eyes, but refused to fight the daughter of Athena again.
There was an awkward silence.
Michelle shook her head then grabbed Will's wrist and pulled him back in the house, slamming the door behind them.
You could hear hushed yelling, mainly from Michelle, as the two decided where to go from there. Leo decided he and Calypso needed to have a similar conversation.
"Maybe we should take a note from Michelle and Will here."
"I do not know what you mean, Leo." Calypso said, very confused.
Leo took one of her hands and looked in to her warm, brown eyes. "Calypso, I love you, I loved you as soon as I met you, but then, I had to leave. And we beat Gaea, and I came home…"
"And you met Michelle." she continued.
He sighed, "And I met Michelle. And I fell in love with her. Her laugh, her smile, the cute way her whole face scrunches up when she gets mad. But that doesn't mean I got totally over you." Leo took a shaky breath as he continued, he then laughed bitterly at a memory. "We've actually fought a few times about me saving you. I swore on the Styx, ya know…She didn't want me to save you, got scared I'd fall for you again. Guess she was right huh? She finally trusted me to go, I finally got your ass off that island, and I'd completely fallen for you again."
"Just like I knew you would." Michelle's now-quiet voice spoke out, cutting off Leo as he finished his sentence. The door was open, Will was leaning against one side of the frame, Michelle leaned against the other.
"Please, don't let me stop you from doing what you have to do, I was just showing Will out. He's gonna stay at camp until he can get a place in the city." she continued, gesturing to a now dressed Will, who carried a few suitcases. Michelle placed a wad of cash for a cab in his mouth, considering his full hands, and waved him good-bye. Will walked out, immediately trying to flag down a cab. Michelle laughed, then, noticing she'd interrupted the two, she smiled apologetically and creeped back into the house. Leo continued from where he left off.
"Just like she knew I would."
"So, you broke up with her for me."
"If we're being completely honest…No, she broke up with me…But only because she knew how much I loved you."
"So, you were never totally over her to begin with?"
"But I never got totally over you either."
"Then I guess we're at a crossroads, Leo. Once again you must choose. Me, or Michelle."
Michelle exited her house once more, "I heard Calypso ask for your decision, so I figured I could come out." She was now dressed, though her hair was still in a ponytail, it was much more controlled, like she actually brushed it back in to a ponytail. She wore ice blue denim capris, a white tank top and white flip flops. Her dark hair having been swept out of her face made her eyes pop and look icier than usual. Leo looked back at Calypso, whom wore a white flowy tank top, showing off her sun-kissed tan, whereas Michelle had only a slight one, she'd always been pale. Calypso's dark wavy hair hung around her face, framing her dark eyes and making them sparkle like obsidian. She wore dark wash denim capris and white flip flops as well. Leo smiled at each girl, then frowned at each. He then further teased them by pretending to play "eeny meeny minee moe". Each girl glared at him until he stopped. He sighed and threw up his hands in utter defeat.
"How can you make me choose?"
"Like this." the girls spoke in unison, which didn't even faze them as they forced him to look into their eyes. He looked in Calypso's warm, brown ones first. The felt homey and spacious. Free and calm. They felt safe. He looked into Michelle's icy ones then, they felt familiar and knowing, patient and kind, trusting and smart. Michelle knew him, her eyes may have been familiar, but they no longer felt like home. Calypso's felt like home. Yet, he still could not bring himself to decide. Calypso didn't know him like Michelle did, she may have known his pain of constant rejection, but she didn't know what burden he held. Calypso didn't know how unloved he felt everyday. Michelle did though. And while her eyes may no longer hold the warmth of home, they held a promise of holding that feeling again if given the chance.
"I refuse to decide."
"Well, you can't have both of us." Michelle smart-alecked. Much like how she'd smart-alecked about turning him into steam when they first started going out.
Leo smirked, "So I'll have neither of you. Michelle, you can be with Will again. And Calypso," he turned to the exotic beauty, "You are welcome to stay with me until you can find a place of your own. Maybe I can set something up at Camp Half-Blood. Until then you can stay in the guest room."
Nik, Michelle's much more violent and accusatory twin stepped from the house then, dressed in black yoga pants and an oversized electric blue tee, she raised her hand in the air, waving it like a kid desperately wanting to be called on in class.
"She can stay with me and Connor."
"Stoll?" Leo asked, incredulous.
The electric blue eyed twin rolled her eyes and nodded, "Yes, Valdez, Connor Stoll. We've been seeing each other since before you left my twin to find Little Miss Perfect over here. We've only been living together for a few months though. We have a spare room Island Girl can stay in until she finds her own way here in the big N.Y." Michelle smiled toothily at her twin, silently thanking her for making this all less awkward. Leo looked at Calypso, "I promise you'll be safe with them. They may prank you, but they'll never severely injure you, ever." Nik placed her right hand on her heart and held up her left in promise. "I'll freaking swear on a stack of Bibles, Princess." she commented. "The worst you'll ever get from us is pranks and teasing about Grease Monkey. And we'll help you look for jobs and a place to stay. Connor's actually pretty good at house hunting." Michelle had been silent this whole time, and Leo found it slightly suspicious. Nik rolled her eyes, "And Michelle's usually too busy to come around our house anyways so you'll barely even know she lives in the same area code."
Calypso smiled, "So, when do I move in?"
Nik shrugged, "When can you get all your stuff?"
Calypso smiled wider, "Right now. I'll go back to Leo's place and grab my stuff. Then I'll meet you back here and you can show me to you and this Connor Stoll's place."
Nik nodded, satisfied. "Alright, try and get back sometime today though, I don't plan to stick around Chelle's place for very long." Calypso nodded, and dashed off for her vehicle to take back to Manhattan.
Leo and Michelle just stared at each other.
Nik slowly walked back into the house, shutting the door behind her.
"So…" Michelle said.
"So…" Leo said.
"I never got a hundred percent over you either." Leo said, wanting to establish what he'd meant when he'd been talking to Calypso.
"Yeah, well, same…"
"I never wanted to hurt you."
"Why do you think I broke up with you before you went to get Calypso? It wasn't just so you'd feel free to fall for her again, Repair Boy."
"Really?"
"Yeah…It was also kinda for me. I figured if I dumped you before you left, and you fell in love with her again and brought her back, then it wouldn't sting so much. But, it didn't go the way I'd hoped…"
"Oh? Then how did it go?"
"It only hurt more. I kept thinking that maybe if I had stayed with you, you wouldn't have fallen for her."
Leo was silent.
"But I think it was inevitable either way. And it probably would've hurt more, and much longer, if I had stayed with you."
"I see." Leo's voice was hoarse.
"I think we should still be done, Valdez."
"As you wish it, Kelley."
Michelle could no longer hold herself back. She ran to Leo, hugging him tight. He hugged her back, and they just stayed there for a few minutes, hugging each other to death. When Michelle finally decided she needed to breathe, she released him, and he, in turn, released her. Michelle caught her breath before pecking his cheek. She then ran into the brownstone house. She needed to talk to her twin about all of the insanity.
Leo needed to talk to Festus, so he decided a trip to camp was in order. He flagged down a cab, and directed him to camp. He waved at the house until it was out of sight.
"I'm sure she's gonna miss you, kid."
"Huh?" Leo asked, the cab driver had just talked to him, or, so he thought…
"You're girl back home, she's gonna miss you while you're out on business, I'm sure."
"Nah," Leo replied with a smirk in the rearview. "Chelle's not like that."
Okay...This sucks...It was written a while ago and yeah...
Sorry.