An: Disclaimer: Anything you recognise is not owned by me.

With no further ado...

Chapter 5: Meet my insane best friend.

Leo was good at pretending to ignore Jason. Piper had raced down the stairs and out to the, now destroyed, car park, before anyone else did, to warn Leo that he wasn't allowed to show any recognition to Jason. They were trying to avoid his past being researched.

In fact, Leo came up with an alternate idea. The press wanted info on Piper McLean's past? Present them her best friend. Leo didn't actually mind his past being researched- no matter how messed up it was. In fact he had said before, back on the Argo 2, when everyone had been getting to know everyone else; he wished someone would try to dig up his past. Wished them luck. The way Leo saw it, past was past, and he'd moved on.

This way, he whispered in Piper's ear as they stood around the ruin of Leo's second helicopter, they would be so focused on the tragic back-story of Piper McLean's best friend, they would forget to research Jason too much. Piper had hugged him for that. Leo was an awesome best friend!

But the crashed helicopter was sure to grab attention, and Piper was more concerned about what they were going to tell the police who would invariably turn up. Even Leo looked slightly uncomfortable about it. Sure he had a licence for the helicopter- at least, a faked one. But to be frank, it was a very good fake. The problem was, the licence was for flying a helicopter, not owning one. Piper figured the police weren't likely to believe that Leo had made the helicopter, not stolen it. After all, what sixteen year old could possibly build a helicopter from scratch?

So Leo spent the time before the police showed up gathering the scattered parts of his broken air transport, and piling them right next to the ex-helicopter. Piper meanwhile was figuring how much trouble she'd be in if she charm-spoke the police. Her mom had told her not to use it on mortals now she could control it; a rare moment when Aphrodite was being a responsible parent. If it was to help Leo out it wasn't too bad right?

Eventually the other occupants of the audition panel had made it to the car-park, and were all looking for how she knew Leo. The reporter was looking like all her Christmas's had come at once, and was scribbling stuff on her notepad while the cameraman spun the camera over the ex-helicopter, and the Latina Santa's elf next to it. The minute the reporter saw Piper, she was forging in her direction. Piper resisted the urge to flee, and caught Jason's eye.

He made his way over, and arrived at the same time as the reporter, thankfully speaking first. "Wow Piper, when I agreed to act with you, you might have mentioned that your best friend is insane."

"He's not insane, he's just an inventor. He figured that Helicopters should be silent so built his own silent helicopter- from scratch."

The reporter was again franticly taking notes. Piper continued; no harm in emphasizing Leo's talent after all. "...He has perfected his silent helicopter though, after all, he flew me home in it- so I don't really know what he attempter with this one to make it crash. In fact- thinking about his track record... I'm not sure I want to know."

"Your faith in me is outstanding beauty queen." Piper yelped and jumped up, Leo had not been there a second ago.

She turned around and whacked him on the arm, lightly, "Don't do that Valdez; you'll scare someone to death someday."

"Well, at least it would be an interesting way to die. Imagine the gravestone. Mr Smith died of fright, at the hand of Leo Valdez."

"Lovely," Piper glanced at him a smirk on her face, "Until of course someone read the gravestone, and you get a life sentence for murder..."

"Wet blanket."

"Evil scientist."

Leo gave a grin at that, turning to the reporter, "You see what I have to deal with," he gave a fake sob, "So much for being my best friend, sniff."

Jason looked at Leo in bewilderment. "Did you just say, sniff."

"If I had sniffed Piper would have just handed me a tissue. I was trying to make my point without my best friend acting like a right twerp."

"Only twerp I see here is you."

"Piper, I'm hurt. Truly."

The reporter seemed to have gathered enough information from observing and now began to ask questions. "I hope you don't mind, Miss McLean, but could I ask how long you've known Mr Valdez?"

"One and a half years, and in that time the moron somehow managed to become my best friend. I have no idea why."

"...And Mr Valdez..."

"Leo. Mr Valdez makes me sound..." Leo gave a faux shudder and a look of horror. "...Mature!"

"Leo then. What were you trying to do with this helicopter?"

Leo got that look in his eye, the one he always got when someone was asking about his work, and he began to explain his helicopter. "I had already invented a silent helicopter, which is kept safe in the... At home. I was trying for a helicopter that didn't produce wind as it took off. I have been told that's impossible, due to the high spinning of the blades required to make the helicopter take off. But I dislike the word impossible. In fact, I take it as a challenge."

The reporter seemed intrigued by Leo's idea, and was peering at the helicopter wreck with growing interest. Jason re-entered the conversation, and Piper could see him trying not to act to friendly with Leo. He couldn't give an indication that he knew Leo after all. "So... why did it crash? Ig it got in the air, why didn't it stay there?"

"Well, in order to make the reduced wind, I narrowed the blades on the top, which was a good idea... Right up until they snapped 30 metres up. It's a good job I was planning on landing anyway, to surprise Piper, else the fall would likely have killed me."

Piper gasped. After surviving Gaia, there was no way that a fall could kill Leo Valdez. But if it had... She shuddered. She would not lose her best friend like that; she'd march to the underworld, and drag his soul back. Kicking and Screaming.

"Pipes? Are you OK? You're shivering."

Piper turned towards Leo's worried face and frowned, hating that her voice came out shaky. Why? Nothing happened- he didn't die, after so many close calls in the war, why would this one be different? "It was that close. I mean... You could've..."

"I didn't, and I won't Pipes. It would take more than a fall to off me."

Piper hugged him. With the war over she had kidded herself into thinking they'd all be fine. No-one would die now- there was no war to die in. She had forgotten that people die without war. One monster that got lucky, one car going too fast. One helicopter flying too high... Her friends could die outside of war too.

She glanced over at Jason, who looked like he wanted to comfort her, but was stopping himself from kissing her. They were not supposed to know each other, after all. Piper released Leo and stepped back, mindful of his small smile. "It's ok, right."

"Yeah." Piper wiped away the tears that she didn't know had been rolling down her cheeks. The moment was broken by a shadow over them, and a ladder and ropes dropping from the silent helicopter. A voice rang from it.

"Wrap the ropes around your hunk of junk, and we'll lug it home little brother."

"Nyssa!"

"Yeah yeah, you didn't think we'd let you try that thing on your own? Hate to say it... I told you it wouldn't work."

Leo grumbled as he lugged the rope over to his ex-helicopter, and tied it around it with multiple knots. "Ok, pull it up." The rope shortened, and the junk hung in mid-air, suspended under the sleek orange helicopter, with an anvil painted on the side. A tribute to the father of the inventor. Leo jumped for the ladder and began to climb as Nyssa flew off. "See you around Beauty Queen."