This chapter is shorter than I'd intended, but I'm going to make next chapter longer to make up for it.

And also, Leo's eating disorder. Right now, he has anorexia with bulimic tendencies, which basically means he is primarily anorexic but sometimes acts with bulimic behaviors, such as the occasional purge. And a little spoiler, but soon, Leo's ED will develop into EDNOS (Eating disorder not otherwise specified); you will find out what that means for Leo later.

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Disclaimer: I own nothing

I need you to know

I'm not through the night

Some days I'm still fighting to walk towards the light

I need you to know

That we'll be OK

Together we can make it through another day

-"Courage" by Superchick

"Frank?" I force past my lips.

Shit, shit, shit!

"Are you okay?" Frank asks, taking in my red rimmed eyes, my puffy cheeks, and my deer caught in a headlight expression.

I nod. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, I heard you getting sick."

"Yeah, just a stomach bug," I lie.

Frank frowns. "You were fine a few minutes ago."

"I haven't been feeling good all day. That's why I was so... emotional earlier," I say, smiling sheepishly.

Put on a show, the Voice whispers. Masks, lies; it's the only way to protect our secret.

"Speaking of that, Leo, I'm sorry. What I said was out of line and just plain mean," Frank tells me.

I smile. "It's cool, man. No blood, no foul."

"No, Valdez, you hadn't even done anything. I was just temperamental and jealous, and I shouldn't have taken it out on you."

I sigh, pretending to be exasperated. "Frank, it's fine. If I didn't forgive anyone that offended me, I wouldn't have any friends."

Frank is still frowning; that can't be good.

"Leo... you wouldn't make yourself throw up on purpose, would you?"

I roll my eyes. "Frank, do you know me? Do I look like the type of person to have an eating disorder?"

"Well, no, but-"

"Frank, I'm just sick. That's how the human body works. You get sick, you get better; you get sick, you get better; you get sick, you die. That's how it works," I laugh.

He nods, slowly. "Alright, just... get better. And if it gets worse, tell somebody, okay? We don't need you kneeling over on us before we kick Gaea's butt," he says with a small smile.

I chuckle. "Don't worry 'bout me. Tell the guys I'm not feeling good, and I can't make it back to training for me, would you?"

"Sure. Get some rest, Valdez," he says, walking away.

I walk into my room and lean against the door, sliding down it to the floor.

"That's how the human body works. You get sick, you get better."

That's how the human body works. But that's not how the human mind works.

I should've known that I'm not out of the woods yet.

I go to lunch and try to act normal while avoiding food at all costs. About half way through the meal, though, I notice Frank watching me.

Aw, fuck. Should've known he wouldn't let it go that easily.

So I force myself to eat. I eat what a 'normal' person would eat. I eat a sandwich, and all through lunch, I feel Frank's eyes on me, making sure I put the food in my mouth.

Lunch finally ends, and all I want to do is go to my room and purge, but of course, Jason catches me on the way out the door.

"Hey, Leo. You okay?" He asks.

I smile. "Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

He shrugs, shifting awkwardly from foot to foot. "Well, you ran out of the room earlier, which isn't really like you."

I smile, sheepishly. "Yeah, I'm starting to get sick. That's why I've been so... emotional lately. Sorry 'bout that."

Jason shakes his head. "It's fine, but you're getting sick? You want me to tell Annabeth or Hazel?"

Annabeth and Hazel are our main Healers on the Argo II. They'd know something was up.

I shake my head, rolling my eyes. "It's just a stomach bug, Jace. No big deal. I'll rest, and it'll be gone before you know it. Thanks for the concern, though."

I brush past him and head to my room. Once I'm there, I take some plastic bags out of my tool belt, along with a drill, which I turn on. It whirs loudly, covering up the sound of me throwing up.

I used to do this in the foster homes, but I played music. They were none the wiser.

After the moon rises, I dump the bag's contents into the toilet and flush, then bury the bag in the garbage. They'll never know.

I don't like lying. It's just... once I started lying, I couldn't stop. I lied to my psychiatrists, my doctors, my foster parents (the ones that cared), my friends, telling them that I was better, that I'd stopped. After I started lying, I couldn't stop.

There's always been something about how good I feel when I get away with it. When I told my psychiatrist I was following the meal plan, when I'd thrown all of it away. When my doctor weighed me at the clinic and smiled when she found I'd 'gained' eight pounds, but I'd actually had paper weights wedged between my belt and my stomach. When my friends and foster parents said I was looking healthier, but I'd really been using make up and extra layers of clothing to make it appear that way.

And now, here I am. Hiding my 'habits' and telling my friends I'm just sick and I'll get better.

Do I know it's unhealthy? Yes. Do I know I could die? Yes. Do I care? Not anymore.

I'm tired. Tired of the guilt, the pain, the loneliness. Tired of acting. I'm tired of living. If this thing kills me, I'll probably be thanking it.

"Annabeth?" Frank calls, knocking quietly.

She opens the door, looking tired and groggy; it is late, and Frank had probably woken her up. But this is something that needs to be away from prying ears and needs to stay on the down low. At least for now.

"What? Frank?" She mutters.

"We need to talk," he says.

Seeing the urgency in his eyes, she turns on the light and opens the door fully, allowing him to step inside.

"What's wrong?"

"It's Leo."

Annabeth perks up, her brow creased with concern. "What's wrong with him?"

"Earlier today... I'm sure Percy told you about what happened during training, right?"

She nods, looking confused.

"Well, when I went to apologize, I heard him throwing up in the bathroom. He said he was sick, but... I don't think that's the case. I watched him at lunch, and he didn't eat anything until he saw me watching him.

"Does any of that sound suspicious to you? Or am I just being paranoid?"

Annabeth thinks it over for a moment, pursing her lips, like she does when she's thinking hard.

"I believe," she starts, slowly, "that we should keep an eye on him, but... until we get some hard evidence, we shouldn't start accusing him."

Frank nods. "Should we tell the others to look out for him?"

Annabeth shakes her head. "Not yet. Piper and Jason would confront him; Hazel would go into mother hen mode; and Percy isn't exactly known for keeping secrets. For now, we keep this between us. If we notice anymore strange behavior, we tell the others. Sound good?"

Frank nods. "And if he gets any paler, we're locking him in the sick bay."

She laughs, quietly, but her eyes are still serious. "Agreed."

Everyone knows that when Seaweed Brain notices something is wrong, something is, undoubtedly, wrong.

At around six AM, he wakes up, having to use the bathroom; he walks out and head towards the one closest to his room.

Only to smack into something.

It's Leo, but... different. He's pale as a ghost, and there are dark bags under his eyes, as though he's been up all night. He's wearing a long sleeved shirt, a jacket, and long sleep pants, despite the fact that it's summer and he must be boiling. But the worst part?

His hands are still. When Leo's hands aren't moving, something isn't right.

"Hey, man, you okay?" Percy asks.

Leo nods. "Yeah, 'm fine. Just a little tired."

"Are you sure you don't want me to-"

"I said I'm fine," Leo snaps before brushing past him and storming down the hall to his room.

Percy uses the bathroom before going to Annabeth's door and knocking on it.

She answers it, looking beautiful, even in her rumpled sleep clothes and with bleary eyes and bed head.

Priorities, Percy.

"We need to talk. It's Leo."

I'm exhausted, but no matter what, no matter how much I toss and turn, I can't sleep. On the few times, I am graced with slumber, I wake up twenty minutes later from a nightmare.

And I'm cold, which shouldn't be possible, seeing as I'm a fire user. My body temperature is naturally high, and the only time I've been cold is when I'm around Khione, and even then, using my fire powers, I heated up pretty quickly.

But now, I'm freezing, and when I try to make a fire, it barely gets bigger than a thimble before snuffing out. If we get attacked, I'm screwed.

I go to the kitchen to get a drink, and I take a sleeping pill (I keep some in my tool belt in case my insomnia gets really bad), but as I'm walking down the hall, I run into somebody.

It's Percy, and he looks concerned.

"Hey, man, you okay?" Percy asks.

Why does everyone keep asking me that? Can't they see I'm fine!?

(I'm lying to myself, and I know it, but I won't admit it)

I nod. "Yeah, 'm fine. Just a little tired."

"Are you sure you don't want me to-"

"I said I'm fine," I snap, suddenly very moody, before I brush past him and storming down the hall to my room.

Once there, I lean against the dresser, suddenly feeling very dizzy. The room's spinning, spinning, spinning...

Suddenly, it stops, and I stand shakily.

Shit, that was weird.

Jason blinks. And blinks again.

Leo doesn't look like... Leo.

How descriptive, Sparky, he can almost hear Leo say in the back of his brain.

The crew is all sitting at the table, eating various breakfasts. Percy and his blue pancakes (he's Percy; who knows what's going on in his head); Annabeth and her eggs and toast; Piper and her waffles; Jason and his Fruity Pebbles (what? Don't judge him); Frank and his Poptarts (which he's trying to get Hazel to try); and Hazel and her plain toast (she's a traditionalist).

Leo comes in half way through breakfast, and the entire room seems to go still.

Leo doesn't look like his vibrant self. He looks like he's dead on his feet with skin that's three times paler than usual and dark circles under his eyes. He's wearing jeans and a long sleeved shirt and a jacket on a heated ship; his hair is limp, as though it'll fall out any second.

Leo sits down, and everyone looks away, returning to their conversations, but every few seconds, they glance at him. Food doesn't enter his mouth once.

I don't feel too good.

I lay my head on the table, using my arm as a pillow, and just lie there.

I'm so tired, but I can't sleep. I'm hungry, but I can't eat; the Voice will get mad at me if I do. I need help, but I refuse to get it. I refuse to even acknowledge that I need it.

I'm almost asleep when I feel a hand on my shoulder.

"Leo, you alright?"

Piper.

I sit up, and I see the entire crew watching me, as if I'll drop dead any second.

"Yeah. Just really tired. I'm gonna go... get some rest."

I stand up, trying to ignore the spinning room and head for the door.

The spinning room turns sideways, and I'm on my back, staring up at my friends. They're talking, but the words don't reach my ears.

I'm falling... down, down, down.

The world goes black.

I know the change in Leo seems kind of drastic, but don't worry, all will be explained next chapter. And next chapter, you get some background information on Leo's eating disorder.

Also, the thing I like most about this chapter that I want to address is that some people with eating disorders know that they need help, but refuse it. Movies and TV make it seem like they all think that there's nothing wrong with what they're doing; some are like that, but not all of them. I just wanted to address that.

Thanks for reading! Review!