OH MY GODS! THANKS FOR ALL THE AMAZING REVIEWS! You are so cute, so awesome, so…afsfgdgjasgsjfjagau! (-best compliment ever, huh? ;-))

I listened to Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas (Glee-version, but the original is good too) when I wrote the last part. I think you will find it nice to listen to it while you are reading! :-)

And I know that Leo is kinda' out of character, but I hope that's okay!

But now, enjoy your chapter! :-D

Chapter 17 – Pictures and fireworks

LEO

Leo felt like his world just had been turned upside-down.

When he opened the box in the mess hall, he had felt like Khione just had frozen him. His blood may have literally turned to ice, and he wouldn't notice.

He had just been staring at the thing inside until he decided to leave the room. No one could see this. Not right now.

Then he had found Hazel there, and without really knowing what he was doing he handed her the box.

She had been staring at it with her eyes filled with same terror and anger like he had felt when he first saw it.

Slowly she closed the box.

"It's not true." Hazel said, her voice trembling. "Some god or goddess is joking. They-It can't be true."

But she sounded unsure and scared. She turned to Leo and met his eyes.

"It's not true, Leo. Don't believe it. Promise me, okay? Throw it or destroy it or-or something."

Leo's hands were trembling. He tried to believe Hazel, that it was just some stupid joke, but this was just too horrible.

The sound of running steps made them both wince and turn. Nico was standing in front of them, looking almost as scared as Leo felt.

"Percy-Annabeth-I can't feel them…"

Hazel looked ready to faint. She blinked a few times and leaned on the wall.

"W-What do you mean?"

Nico gave her a look, but didn't respond. Leo knew what he meant.

"It's maybe too late already, we have to do something-"

His eyes fell on the box in Hazel's hand.

"What's that?"

Hazel handed him the box, almost threw it to him. Nico opened it, and froze. Slowly he plucked out the item in it.

It was a picture, a picture of Percy and Annabeth standing with their arms wrapped around each other. They wore camp-shirts, and looked maybe a year younger than the Percy and Annabeth Leo knew. They both smiled and looked incredibly happy.

Someone had circled their faces with a red marker. Under the ring with their faces in was something written in the same red color.

DEAD, BECAUSE OF YOU.

Leo had never in his entire unlucky, stupid life been feeling so terrible.

The others were staring at him so forcefully that he felt like he was crumbling. The only thing he could think of was how much worse it would have been if Annabeth's grey steel eyes been on him too, which naturally just made him feel worse.

"W-What does it mean?" Piper finally said. Her voice was trembling and almost electric with charmspeak. "How can they be d-dead?! And how can it be your fault, Leo?"

Leo didn't meet any of the other's eyes. He resisted the urge to tell Piper about Nemesis' stupid fortune cookie, how it saved Frank and Hazel but now killed Percy and Annabeth. Everything was his fault; if he just hadn't took the cookie…

"It's not true, is it?" Coach Hedge looked at Leo with serious eyes. "It can't be your fault, Valdez, right?"

Leo felt the lump in his throat grow.

Frank asked uncertainly:

"It's maybe just a joke or something…"

"Exactly." Jason stood. "It's not even possible. And if it is, Leo would never do anything to kill Percy and Annabeth."

He looked at Leo with sparkling eyes, and Leo just knew that he couldn't take it anymore.

He rose and left the table.

"Leo! Leo, stop!"

Leo was sitting on deck, looking out over the City of Nowhere. Tears streamed down his cheeks, and he didn't even try to stop them.

It was his fault, right? He could have thrown the cookie away, or just not opened it and tried to use his brain in that room with the spheres.

Festus creaked quizzically, but Leo ignored him.

His whole stupid life had been one misery after another, and everything had been his fault. His mother's death (if it wasn't for him and his fire, she would maybe been alive right now), Festus' crash (why couldn't he just asked Nyssa and the others to help him build a new disk?!), the attack on Camp Jupiter (did he have to show Octavian the ship?!), Shrimpzilla (how could he forget the sonar?!), and now this.

Leo had tried to kill the sadness, or at least hide it, but now it had reached the tipping point. It wasn't like him to cry and complain about his misery. What was he doing on the Argo II? The only thing the others ever needed him for was to build it, and now when that was done he was just unnecessary. And the world was supposedly going to fall in fire or storm, so Leo would maybe destroy the world in the future. He wasn't needed.

"Leo!" Hazel came running. She looked desperate and sad, like a concerned animal. "Please just listen to me."

Leo didn't respond. He didn't even try to hide the fact that he had been crying.

"Why should I?"

"Because you're stupid."

This was not what he expected from Hazel. He turned and met Hazel's eyes, startled.

"Excuse me?"

"You're stupid, Leo."

Hazel looked angry and sad at the same time. She walked to Leo and sat down next to him.

"You're so stupid for thinking that this is your fault. You're stupid for thinking that you're nothing. You're stupid for hiding your emotions inside of you, when they almost kill you. You're so stupid for thinking that no one cares about you, and you're really stupid because you don't believe that anyone could help you if you tell them about your problems."

Leo couldn't believe that Hazel said these things to him. He even laughed a little.

"You are stupid for thinking that machines are the only things that can understand you and accept you. And you're stupid for not trusting me."

Hazel's golden eyes saw right through him. She looked stern, but still understanding. It dawned on Leo how beautiful she was.

"Am I the only one who is this stupid?" Leo joked and tried to grin. "I think you are pretty stupid too, for thinking that saying I'm stupid will make me feel better."

Hazel didn't change expression.

"And Leo, you have to realize that you're not alone. You can't keep all this sadness inside of you. Someday it will be too much and it will kill you."

She gripped his hand.

Leo blushed. He realized how close they were.

"Leo, I-I care about you. Everyone on this ship does. You're one of us, and Nemesis words about you being the seventh wheel is not true. You will never be alone."

Leo tried very hard to believe her, but he just couldn't.

"It is true." He croaked. He felt his eyes burn, and more tears escaped them. "Everything is my fault. And there's nothing I can do about it. I'm just going to ruin this quest. What do you guys need me for?"

Hazel suddenly smiled. It made Leo's body grew really warm. She looked so confident, kind, and just beautiful when she smiled.

"The Leo I know wouldn't say anything like that."

"Tell me about him." Leo muttered.

She laughed.

"He's strong. Always happy and jokes around. He is the one that everyone can rely on, because he is like a rock. He never bends down for the will of the gods. He is just… lovely."

Leo's cheeks almost caught fire. Hazel calling him lovely? FIRE WARNING EVERYBODY!

They still held hands and stared into each other's eyes. Leo felt an electric shiver go down his spine.

Suddenly romantic, soft music started to play from nowhere. Hazel and Leo turned to see fireworks in different shapes shot in to the sky from the Christmas city.

Hazel laughed.

"Wow! It's so beautiful!"

It surely was. It was just like in those cheesy romantic comedies Leo's mom liked to watch, when a couple was sitting together and watching the night sky and realizing that they loved each other.

Leo realized he hadn't let go of Hazel's hand. It started to get just too romantic.

He glanced at Hazel, who still looked at the fireworks with a big smile and shining eyes.

Well, let's play a romantic comedy then, Leo thought.

They laughed and pointed at the fireworks in all the different shapes, enjoying each other's company.

Hazel rested her head on Leo's shoulder. He felt like he was going to catch fire, but tried to keep his body temperature down.

"You know," Hazel suddenly said, "this is pretty amazing. It's nice to have a break from… everything."

Leo felt her cinnamon hair tickle his cheeks. Her hand was warm in his.

"Yeah, it is." He silently prayed to his step-mother, Aphrodite, that this moment would never end. At least not yet. "It's nice to be here with you."

It had just slipped out from him, but Hazel raised her head and smiled warmly to him.

"It's nice to be with you, too, Valdez. Do you believe me now? That you aren't hated?"

Leo blinked. He had almost forgotten why they had come there in the first place.

"Well, maybe not by you. But the other surely hates me now, when Percy and Annabeth are… are…"

He couldn't even say it. A wave of guilt washed over him.

"They're not dead, you know." Hazel said thoughtfully. "It was really close, but they are alive. I can feel it."

Leo immediately felt much happier. His shoulders relaxed.

"Thank the gods." He sighed. "But I'm still a worthless piece of equipment." Leo laughed a little sad laugh.

"Leo."

Hazel sat up, took his hand and placed it on his chest.

"Promise me to never think that way."

Leo laughed and blushed a little.

"Promise me that if something is bothering you, you will come and speak to me about it. I will listen, and I will help you. I know we don't know each other really well, but-"

She bit her lip, and Leo thought she looked really cute.

"-but I really care about you. So promise me."

Leo grinned. He felt like his heart was a floating balloon.

"I promise. I promise to stop being stupid. But just in your company."

Hazel laughed. She looked beautiful in the moon light, and the fireworks shot lights in different colors over her chocolate skin like spotlights.

Was it just Leo or was she a little bit closer now than a second ago?

Slowly, their faces moved closer. A force pulled Leo forward, his lips closer to Hazel's.

There wasn't any voice inside his head that demanded him to stop this time. The sound of the music and the fireworks seemed more distant.

When Leo's lips touched Hazel's, he knew that he loved her. It felt so good, with her lips pressed on his. He knew that he would always remember this moment.

It was a very light kiss, but it was still a kiss. Hazel pulled away, looking terrified and happy at the same time.

"Frank is going to kill me!" She said, but she didn't sound too sad.

"And me." Leo added.

They burst out laughing.

I know, very cheesy, but I just wanted them to have a romantic first kiss! I hope you liked it! 3