Hello again, guys! Another chapter from Leo's POV. Thanks for the reviews!

Chapter 7 – Hugging

LEO

Leo ran towards the voice. What was wrong this time? If it was another monster who wanted to blow up his ship, he was going to kill it.

"What?! What happened?!" Leo asked. He was standing in the sickbay, where Piper and Jason were.

"Why is that thing here and what is it?!" Piper cried and pointed at the floor.

A tiny screwdriver with thin legs was running in circles on the floor.

Leo laughed, all worry leaving him.

"There it is! I made it while building the ship, then it just disappeared. Thanks, Pipes."

Piper and Jason stared at him in disbelief. He picked up the screwdriver and shuffled it down in one of the toolbelts pockets.

"If that's it, I'm going back to the helm and continue to steer." Leo said. "See you guys later."

He left the sickbay, relieved and disappointed at the same time. Relieved because no one was hurt, but disappointed because he needed to fight a monster. That would get his mind off all the weird things that happened lately.

Leo got up on the floor where all the cabins where. His master ship truly was amazing, but all he could think of now was what he could have done better.

"Leo?" A new voice said.

He turned to see Hazel, who stuck out her head from her cabin.

"Hi." Leo said.

"What are you doing down here? I thought you were steering." Hazel asked.

"Piper called for me. She found my screwdriver." Leo felt awkward. Without really knowing he started fiddling with some small machine parts. "What's up?"

Hazel shrugged. She looked bored.

"Nothing. I'm trying to read a book in Latin. It's harder than you think."

Leo raised an eyebrow.

"You read Latin? Isn't that even harder than Ancient Greek?"

"Well, I've never tried to read Ancient Greek before, so I wouldn't know." She said.

"Oh, right. If you're that bored, you can come with me up to deck. I maybe have something you can do." Leo blurted out.

Stupid, stupid, stupid! He said to himself. Stay away, she is Frank's girlfriend!

Hazel looked surprised.

"Really? Okay, then."

She followed him to deck. Leo checked that everything was okay, and listened to Festus creaks.

"You really understand what he's saying?" Hazel asked.

Leo shrugged and tried to not look too nervous.

"Yeah. Some son-of-Hephaestus-thing."

Hazel smiled, and Leo felt how he blushed.

"That's really strange, but cool." She said.

Their eyes locked. Leo felt jittery and nervous. Those golden eyes were beautiful.

Then Hazel looked away. Small traces of red appeared on her cheeks.

"You know…" She said nervously. "I thought that after that flashback, I would finally be able to move on and accept that you're not Sammy. But the truth is, every time I see you…" Hazel stopped.

They fell into an awkward silence.

"How was he?" Leo asked. Speaking about Sammy always made him self-conscious, but he wanted to know what Hazel liked so much about him.

Hazel's eyes got watery.

"Well, he was like you." She said. "You saw him, he looked exactly like you. You are very alike in personality too; Sammy always joked around and played pranks. He was nice, very gentle." Hazel blinked back tears.

Leo nodded. He wondered what would have happened if Hazel hadn't died. Would she be his great-grandmother? And would the prophecy of the seven even exist? Without Hazel it would be incomplete, so he would be a normal demigod (as normal as a demigod could be), right? And if this prophecy didn't exist, and Leo wasn't one of the seven, then Gaea maybe never had killed his mother.

Stop, Valdez. Don't think like that, he taught himself. It will just make you sad.

"And-" Now tears were running down Hazel's cheeks. "And he always helped me. He never c-cared about skin color or other things that the other kids bullied me for. He didn't think of my mom as a witch."

She was really crying now. Leo didn't know what to do. How do you make a girl to stop cry? Was there some sort of button or switch that could make them stop?

Hazel put her face in her hands.

Carefully Leo walked to her. What was he supposed to do now? Just stand there and watch her cry? He tried to remember how his mother done when he cried, but it was so long ago. He had a vague memory that she lifted him up and spun around, but that was when he was a kid.

So very uncertainly Leo put an arm around her. Hazel rested her head against his chest and continued to sob. He held her and waited for her to stop cry.

Leo thought it felt very strange. He wasn't used to hugging or comforting people. Hazel was warm, and her cinnamon-colored hair smelled good. Leo's heart was racing against his will.

She's Frank's girlfriend, she likes him, he thought. But it felt very good to hug Hazel.

Slowly Hazel stopped sobbing. Leo was just standing there, hugging her silently. He didn't know what to say.

"Thanks, Leo." Hazel said after a while. She raised her head and smiled at him. "It is just so confusing, I loved Sammy, and now when I'm in a relationship with Frank you suddenly pop up…"

Leo's heart sank. Was that all he was for her? A copy of Sammy that was messing with her feelings?

Hazel seemed to realize that too. Her eyes widened.

"No, no, I don't mean it that way. You are Leo, and you're amazing. It is just… You are so much alike him, it's scary."

"Well, he sounds pretty awesome, but I'm sure that he couldn't summon fire or speak with machines." Leo joked. Hazel giggled.

"No, indeed. That's your powers."

Her smile was warm and made Leo's heart leap. They were standing so close, his arms still were wrapped around her.

Hazel's eyes really were beautiful.

No, no, no, no, NO, a voice in Leo's head warned. Back away NOW, Valdez.

But he didn't.

Hazel's smile wavered. It seemed like she realized how close they were standing now. Her cheeks were bright read.

Leo felt his own cheeks grew warmer and warmer.

You're not going to catch fire now, idiot! That annoying voice nagged. You wanna kill Frank and steal his girlfriend?!

He tried to control it, and soon he cooled down.

Hazel was still standing close to Leo, gazing in to his eyes.

Leo caught himself wondering what her lips would taste like.

The space between their faces grew smaller. It felt like someone else controlled Leo, pulling him forward.

Then, suddenly, Hazel stiffened. Her eyes widened.

"Don't move." She whispered to Leo. "Stand completely still."

Leo obliged. He felt it too, something was wrong. Someone was standing behind him.

"So, we meet again, Leo Valdez." A voice, cold as ice, spoke. "You've missed us?"

Leo turned around, and found himself staring at the Boreads Zethes and Calais.

Their faces looked grim.

"Kill them?" Calais asked.

"This time, dear brother, I'm going to agree with you. But don't get used to it."

And the two winged gods threw themselves at Leo and Hazel.

You'll have to wait to know what is going to happen :) Please review!