TRIGGER WARNINGS- THIS FIC WILL INCLUDE ABUSE, DEPRESSION, MURDER, DRUGS, ALCOHOL, AND SIMILAR THEMES. PLEASE BE WARY WHEN READING

Hey guys, I know it's been a while, but I do have a few more chapters written just in case. If you like this fic, please do leave a review and favourite/follow. It's kinda my lifeline.

Anyways, hope you enjoy, I love you all so much and stay safe besties!

Leo seemed to recognise the name instantly, and it had a dramatic effect on him.

His eyes widened to an almost comical size (Annabeth couldn't help noticing how much he looked like Esperanza seeing the drawing) and the blood drained out of his face. His hands stilled, and he opened his mouth, before closing it.

"Who's Alexis?" Percy asked.

Leo ignored him. "How many memories is she going to be in?" he demanded.

"She was a key figure in your life; therefore, she will be a key figure in these memories," Hera replied coolly. "I suggest you explain to your friends who she is now. Or not. I don't really care. They'll find out anyway."

And with that, her voice disappeared.

"Leo?" Piper prodded. "Who's Alexis?"

Leo sighed. "I won't tell you much now, you can see that from the memories. But remember that person I mentioned earlier? The one I ran away with?"

"Yeah," Annabeth said. "You said you met her in foster care."

Leo winced. "Yeah… that part is complicated."

"Complicated how?" Frank asked slowly.

"You'll see," Leo said. "Let's just watch the memory."

Leo was young, but not extremely young this time. About 10-11 years old by the looks of it. He was walking through a forest, and had just entered a beautiful clearing. It was surrounded by bushes and littered with green leaves. Roses of several different colours were dotted around it, and the trees marking its border towered over Leo, making him look minuscule.

All in all, it was probably one of the most gorgeous clearings in existence.

But Leo didn't look like he was appreciating it. No, he looked hopeless, hollow inside. He sat down cross-legged in the middle of the clearing and sighed, fiddling with his own hands.

For just a moment, he seemed to hesitate. But then he pulled something out of his pocket- a white cloth.

"What's that?" Piper asked.

Beside her, Leo stiffened. "You'll see." His voice was strained and tight.

Annabeth looked at him with concern. This seemed like it would be a good memory. Why was he being so… tense?

Leo took the white cloth and rolled up his sleeve, revealing an unmarked arm. But when he started rubbing his forearm with the cloth, it became abundantly clear that this was just makeup.

On his arm was a dark, hand-shaped bruise. When he continued wiping the makeup off, more scars and bruises were revealed, the most noticeable of them being a large, slightly red scar which burned a jagged trail in his skin from his elbow to his wrist.

Gasps and cries echoed throughout the small room.

Annabeth's head was buzzing. What had happened to him? Who had done this? Why didn't their Leo- the Leo who was currently sitting with his eyes squeezed shut- have the same scars?

Wait.

What if he did?

Annabeth thought back to all the months when they had been building the Argo II. When they had been flying the same ship. He hadn't once worn short sleeves- not even in the burning heat of summer. She had brushed it off, more intent on finding Percy than talking to someone who, at the time, she thought was just a shallow, joker repair boy. But what if it had a deeper meaning?

She snapped out of her musings to look at Leo. He was shaking ever so slightly, his eyes tightly closed. When she listened carefully, she could hear that his breathing was laboured.

"Wait, wait," she tried to say to the people clamouring around her. "Look at him."

But they weren't listening. So she took matters into her own hands.

"Everyone! Shut it!" she yelled.

Everyone fell silent instantly, Jason looking slightly afraid of her.

"There we go," she said, fighting to keep the sarcasm out of her tone. "Now, everyone stay quiet."

She crossed the room and kneeled in front of Leo, whose breathing had only accelerated.

"Leo?" she said quietly. "Are you okay?"

Leo didn't respond, only curled in on himself slightly.

The room was deathly silent, everyone clearly too afraid to say anything and go against Annabeth's order to remain silent.

Annabeth turned to Piper. "Pipes, could you-"

"I got it," she interrupted. Annabeth backed away from Leo, and Piper took her place.

"Leo," she said, willing some charmspeak into her voice. "Leo, I need you to calm down. Can you do that for me? Calm down."

Annabeth felt her heart rate slowing and her eyes growing heavy, but she shook herself out of it. Leo needed them all to stay alert right now.

Gradually, Annabeth heard his breathing slow, and he began to unfurl from his crouched position.

"You good?" Piper asked.

"Yeah," he muttered. "Sorry."

"Don't apologise," Piper said. "We shouldn't have bombarded you with so many questions."

She paused. "Are you okay with telling us where those bruises and scars came from?"

Leo shuddered, and shook his head violently. "It'll come up in the memory anyways," he got out.

"Okay," Piper said. "Should we keep watching the memory or do you need a break?"

"Keep watching."

With that, the memory continued.

Leo tucked the cloth, now revealed to be a makeup wipe, in his pocket, and sat there for another few minutes. Just sat there. He didn't fiddle with anything. He just sat there, thinking. Thinking.

After a while, he sighed. "You can stop hiding now," he said out loud, his voice slightly raised.

Annabeth frowned to herself. He was the only one there. So who was he talking to?

Her unspoken question was soon answered.

A girl swung down from a bench only about a metre or two above the ground. She hung upside down, her dark hair swinging like a curtain of gentle waves.

She had skin which was ever so slightly tanned, and dark brown eyes which were almost black. They held an inquisitive gleam, much alike Leo's. She wore a pair of black leggings and a long-sleeved, pale blue top. How it wasn't riding up while she hung upside down, Leo had no idea. A small red flower was tucked behind her ear, pinning her hair back from her face- the type which grew in small patches around this very clearing.

They stared at each other for a few seconds, neither saying a word. Until the girl curled towards slightly, let go of the branch, did a perfect flip and landed on her feet.

She stuck out her hand. "I'm Alexis."

Leo stared at her for a second, before taking her hand. "Leo."

"What happened to your arm?" she asked, nodding towards the bruise.

Leo seemed to have forgotten it was uncovered, and quickly rolled down the sleeve. "Um, nothing. Fight with a sibling."

"I'm not stupid, you know," Alexis said bluntly. "I live next door to you. I know you have foster parents. I do too. I know what they do."

"Oh," Piper said softly.

Oh, Annabeth thought.

Leo. Abused. Oh.

Jason turned to him. "Leo, man-"

"No," Leo cut him off, eyes staring straight ahead.

"No?"

"No."

Leo looked at her for a split second, deciding whether or not he could show her. Apparently she decided she was trustworthy, because he rolled up his sleeve and gave her his arm.

She gently took a hold of it, brushing his bruise gingerly with her fingers. Leo winced.

"Sorry," she whispered.

"S'okay."

"I have something for that," she said. "If you want it."

"You sure?"

"Of course I am," Alexis replied. "You seem trustworthy."

She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small tube. Carefully, she squeezed a small amount onto her fingertips. Leo couldn't help noticing that her nails were short, and the skin around them was raw. She bit her nails.

"Trust me?" she whispered.

"You should know, I don't trust easily," Leo said, a ghost of a smile dancing on his lips.

"And yet here you are, letting someone you don't even know treat your injuries," she murmured. They made eye contact, and held it for a few seconds, before Alexis dropped her eyes to begin tending to his bruise.

"How about we fix that?" Leo suggested.

Alexis looked up. "Hmm?

"I tell you one thing about myself, then you. How does that sound?"

Alexis considered it for a moment, before nodding. "Sounds good."

"Okay, so…" Leo began. "My favourite colour is red."

Alexis chuckled. "Mine is green."

"I like building stuff."

"I like climbing stuff."

"I speak Spanish."

"I speak Italian."

"I've been in foster care since I was eight."

"I've been in foster care since I was five."

"I've been in four homes, not including this one."

"I've been in three, including this one."

"My mom died when I was 8, and I don't know who my dad is."

"My dad left when I was a baby, and my mom left me on a street corner."

"This is my third home like this one."

"This is my second."

Alexis finished treating his bruise. "One last fact?" she asked.

Leo smiled. " I think I like you."

"I think I like you too."

"Aw, that's really sweet," Piper cooed.

"Pipes, your Aphrodite is showing," Jason joked.

"Hey, that's my line!" Leo protested despite himself.

Leo rolled down his sleeve. "I don't understand you," he said. "You've made me trust you within ten minutes of knowing you. It can take months for me to trust a person. Even years."

"If I like someone, they generally seem to trust me easier," she said. "Besides, we're the same, you and I."

Leo frowned slightly. "What do you mean?"

"Well," Alexis said. "Think about it. We're both in foster care. Both in terrible homes. Both been in different homes before, like these ones. I'd be willing to bet you ran away, too."

"Yeah," Leo said. "Yeah, I have. Three times so far."

"So far?" Alexis asked.

Leo's eyes widened slightly. He hadn't realised his slip-up.

He had a quick internal debate over whether or not he should tell her. Once again, he decided she was trustworthy.

"I'm going to run away," he said. "In three days. I'm just trying to make sure that my plan is foolproof. Then I'm gone."

Alexis looked lost in thought for a moment. Then she seemed to come to a decision, and her eyes snapped up to meet Leo's.

"Take me with you," she said.

Leo was thrown off his guard. "What?"

"Take me with you," she repeated. "I want out of this foster home. And I trust you. I'm fast. I know how to hide. I have loads of ways of getting food and stuff. Take me with you."

Leo stayed silent for a moment, contemplating.

"Yeah, okay," he said eventually. "We can run together."

A huge smile spread over Alexis' face. "Ok, we need a way to communicate."

Leo thought for a moment, but it was Alexis who found the answer.

"Oh, how about these flowers? They only really grow here, so we can use them. Maybe leave a flower outside the door of our foster homes once we've left? Meet up here on Friday?"

Leo considered this. "Yeah, that works. Take a few now just in case."

Alexis did so, as did Leo. They stood up straight again, and looked at each other.

"Okay, this is very important," Leo began. "You can't tell anyone about this. Anyone finds out, the whole plan collapses. Got it?"

"Got it," confirmed Alexis. "Sneak out on Friday without getting caught, meet up here and just wing it from there."

"Exactly," Leo grinned. "So. This is happening. We're running away together."

"Yes we are," Alexis said, a smile on her face. "And we don't leave each other behind. Deal?"

She stuck her hand out for Leo to shake.

Leo took it.

"Deal."

The memory ended, and the room was quiet.

Leo was still staring at the spot where Alexis' face had been, as if he was silently willing her to come back.

Everyone else was staring at him, trying to figure out how to demand answers.

Annabeth wracked her brains for an answer. Infuriatingly, she came up with nothing. This wasn't like when Percy had told her about Gabe when they were 14. This was Leo. She didn't know him as well as she knew her Seaweed Brain.

She should. There had been six months in which they worked together, another few months when they were on the ship. She should have talked to him, got to know him. But she didn't, and now she was facing the consequences of her neglect.

Eventually, Leo looked up and saw everyone looking at him.

"What?" he asked, not unkindly but impatiently.

Annabeth spoke first. "Leo, we need to talk about what we just saw."

"Why?" he asked harshly.

Annabeth found herself at a loss for words. Why should he? What should she say?

Percy took over for her. "Because we can't just let you deal with all that in silence," he said gently. "You don't deserve that."

Leo stared at him for a few seconds, determining how stubborn he was. Apparently, he decided that Percy wouldn't give up, because he nodded his head once.

"Fine. We'll talk about it," he said. "But not until we have another break."

Hera spoke again, her voice filled with disdain this time. "You have just had a break. I see no reason for another one."

Leo groaned in frustration. "Lady, I just saw la chica que amo por primera vez en más de un año. If you thought I wouldn't need a break after that, you're insane."

Annabeth seriously considered clapping at that.

Hera harrumphed. "Very well. Be back in half an hour."

And so they all left, leaving six of the demigods wondering what their oh-so-secretive friend had said to his old babysitter to convince her to let them have a break.