Calypso

She is now sitting in a chair, watching Leo working his magic on the car. The sound of metal clinking with other echoes in the place, along with the low grunts made by the mechanic himself. The voice vibrates the hot air and sends a feel right the lower part of her body, which she tried her best to ignore but fail.

At first, she wanted to starts a conversation with him; but soon she realized he is way too focus on his work, so she didn't bother. She wasn't lying when she told him she enjoys watching him work around in the place. It's a pure bliss sight. His hands wandering between the tools, muscles moving and shifting under his white which is soaked by his sweat.

This is not the first time Calypso catch attention from the boys she met. Starting with the local high school which she quit after going a few months. She thinks Zoë knows more stuff than the stupid school teachers do. Besides with Chiron paying her the fee, she didn't feel right with going. When she goes to restaurant, being slip a piece of paper with phone number on it is just daily live.

But Leo is the first person she wants to know, like really know.

Why he is so good at fixing things, and the cause of the sorrow in his eyes, just like the way sometimes Chiron will look at she and her sister. He knows in some way that she doesn't like physical connection and he respects it. After the first accident touch as she lent him his phone, he didn't hold out his hands to help her stand up, he didn't pull her hands as they walk up the stairs. She can see on his face and by the way he clenched and undone his fist, he wants to, but he restricted himself from doing so.

She has issues, issues that made her not the person who should go to school or even social. After Zoë telling her about what happened to their mother, Cal felt sick. She starts to afraid being touch by anyone, in any forms. Except her own sister. Everyone who tries to touch her ended up have a bleeding nose or a large bruise on their face.

Maybe this is the reason why she is good at fighting too. When other people fight, they are only thinking of how to win by using the less strength. But when she fights, she is shading herself from being touch; so she does simple but violent moves, in the most unexpected moment.

"You sure you are fine sitting over there?" Leo's voice with concern snapping her out from her thoughts. She looked at him and saw his head peeping out the car, brown eyes locked with her hazel ones.

"Yes I'm really sure." She gave him a bright smile, hoping to ease him.

"Okay, the faster I finish this, the faster we can go up." He said with a sighed and the later part for himself.

"I thought that is spirt?" She said in a playful tone reminding him.

"Your wish is my command, Sunshine."

"Where did that come from?" She blushed at the suddenly pet name.

"Don't know. It suits you." He grinned at her before going back fixing the car while she is back to being a girl who is ogling at a boy fixing car.

They didn't watch the movie upstairs, she and Leo ended up spending their time in the workshop, chatting about random things. Despite the amount of time they knew each other, Calypso never felt more closer to someone. When the time strikes six, she told Leo she has to leave. Zoë mentioned the group is coming over for dinner today and she doesn't want to miss it.

"Would you mind we hang out sometime?" He asked her.

"Not at all." She told him and walk to the door. When she noticed Leo didn't say anything, she looked up and spotted him looking down at her hands, narrowing his eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Hm? Oh, nothing. Do I need to send you back?" He snapped out and offered.

"It's okay, I can go back by myself." She doesn't need to expose Leo in front of the guys, god knows what kind of torture he would be going through if they figured they are seeing each other.

"At least text me when you got home." He said after they bid goodbye.

"Will do!" She shouted, hopped on her bike and trial off.

"So, how is your date?" Zoë asked in with an evil smile pasted on her face. The group are on having dinner in a local family restaurant down town, not far from Leo's workshop. She shot eye daggers at her sister while Chiron let out a chuckled, the rest of them either choke on their food or gasped.

"So that's the reason why you weren't coming with Zoë, you went on a date?!" Percy said in disbelieve.

"Who is the boy?" Thalia demanded.

"When can we see him?" Hazel asked eagerly.

"Did he touch you?" Bianca said.

"Yes, not gonna tell you, no, no." She already saw that coming, not letting Leo send her here is the right decision.

"Bummer." Nico whispered.

"How did the lover boy and you meet?" Jason asked her.

"We are not like dating dating." She emphasized.

"But you went on a dating with him, you never go on dates with boys." Zoë pointed out.

"Whatever. I went to the workshop and pick up the jeep. He works there. I didn't bring enough money, so I left my number then we end up texting all night." She told them to story as the blush on her face creep up.

"Then what did you guys do today?" Zoë asked her.

"Help him bandage his head, watching him doing is work, and chatting?"

"This girl is wearing makeup today." Thalia pointed out suddenly.

"Woah, that's something new." Bianca replied. Cal groaned in frustration.

"Are you planning on hold hands with him or something like that?" Bianca asked her. They all know about her touching problem, Thalia even experienced herself. The girl once tried to braid her hair and she threw a tantrum at her.

"We only know for a few days!"

"See, she didn't say no." Nico smirked.

"It's not a big deal!" Who is she lying to? Even she knew herself it is a big deal.

"Wait, did you tell him about the no touching?" Chiron suddenly asked, which caught everyone's attention. The old man usually doesn't join their chatting, he just sits there and listen.

"No." She told them.

"But don't guys always be like, touchy, while having a date?" Hazel looked at Percy and Jason while she spoke.r

"Don't look at me!" Percy protested.

"I never date." Jason shrugged.

"Should I be offended?" Nico said.

"You mean he kind of sense it?" Zoë gasped with a nervous look on her face.

"Our fingers... touched and I freaked out, so he might guess there is a problem with the touching thing. This happened at the day I went pick out the car." The guys all give her a big ass smile and laughed at her red cheeks.

"He is definitely into you." Thalia stated as the laugh died down.

"Well, no shit. If I'm a lesbian, I gonna date you." Bianca said. "What? Cal has what I need, a pretty face and good personality." She added after finding everyone looking at her in a weird way

"Language." Chiron said in murmur.

When they got home, Zoë and Chiron asked her about Leo.

"I want to do a back ground check." Zoë told her. "Just make sure he is not some serial killer."

"Fine. But promise you won't tell others." She knew her sister is concern about her safety but she doesn't need more people poking her relationship.

"Promise." Zoë assured her.

"Leo Valdez."

"You said Valdez?" Chiron suddenly chimed in. Cal nodded her head. "How old is he?"

"17."

Chiron took out his phone, clicking something in then said a few words under his breathe, before telling them an unexpected news. "He is good. There's no need to do the back ground check anymore." He said.

"You know him?" Zoë asked in surprised.

Chiron nodded. "His father."

Cal wants to ask more but as she opened her mouth, the look on Chiron's face stopped her. His eyes are shut and fingers pinching the bridge of his nose, letting out a soft groan, showing his frustration. Knowing it's impossible to get things out of the old man's mouth if he doesn't want to, Cal gave her sister a good night and went to her room.

"I have a surprise for you." Leo said on a sing-song way as he entered the living room. He told her minutes ago he's going down stairs to get something.

They went on a few more dates after the first one. Sometimes a small walk in the park, a teatime in the coffee shop; other times they will cook together in his house (Leo can make amazing tacos and she often cook him stew in return), or just simply chat as he works in his workshop.

But they still don't have any skin ship.

For the first time, she really wants to know what it feels like to do all these gestures with the person she like. Hold hands, stolen kisses, cuddles and hugs. Ironically, every time she secretly reaches out her hand or stand next to Leo, he will back up and keep their 'safe distance'. Cal really appreciate his work on respecting her personal boundaries, but she starts to get impatient.

"What surprise?" She knew her voice is full of suspicious and judgement but she couldn't help it. Because the last time he said the exact word, they ended up with a broken bicycle and a damaged knee.

"Ta da." She moved her eyes away from the cooking program she is currently watching, fixing to Leo and the thing he is showing. In his hands is a wooden box, about the size of his palms which will fit perfectly in her hands, she assumed. (And would like to test the theory, she meant the size of his hands…)

Only with a glimpse she knew instantly it was his work. She stood up and stroll towards him till she stood right in front of him, took the box into her hand as he silently offered her.

His nickname for her, 'Sunshine', in cursive writing is inked on the top, the wooden surface is polished so the person holding it won't get hurt. Cal smiled at the thought of Leo sitting in front of his desk making this. She is used to watching him fixing cars and machines, so the idea of him making small and delicate things is beyond the picture.

She tried to shake the box and figured what's inside.

"Woah, don't." Leo stopped it before happening. "Don't shake it or have any forms of violence on it, it's fragile inside." He warned her in a nervous sound.

"Okay." She chuckled before opening it. The box clicked in place, showing her the present inside.

A dark blue velvet is placed in the bottom and on top of it lies a silver bracelet. The chains are made out of small metal rings, Cal can see millions of her own reflection on them. The main part is a flower in gold, the fact that she couldn't name the flower surprised her.

"You made this yourself." Cal said in a whisper with her eyes glued on the flower.

"Do you like it?" Leo asked. "Wanna try it on?"

"Yes, I like it." But before trying it on, she has to know something. "What's the flower? You made me a flower bracelet for a present with a flower I couldn't name."

"Moonlace." She looked at him and sent out a silence question. He let out a small laugh at her pleading eyes. "I look up you name on the internet. And it says your name comes from a Greek mythology." She knew the story; her mother would tell her every other day about the origin of her name. "They said moonlace is a kind of flower that only lives on her island. So, I decided to sculpture it." He told her in excitement.

"But it doesn't exist?"

"Umhm, so I image the flower myself." Cal gaped at his confession.

"For a person who image a flower himself, you did a great job." She said and looked at the meatal flower again. Then an idea flashed in her head.

"Do you want to help me?"

"Help what?" He asked in confusion.

"Help me try it on." She nodded at the box.

"Is it fine with you?" His voice waver at her request, an unfamiliar emotion flashed through his eyes. "Our hands might, no, definitely will touch."

"Yes, I'm sure." She looked straight at him as her fingers hooked up the bracelet in the box, and draped it between his fingers.

She looked at Leo's face as he lowered his head, fumbling the bracelet and unhooked it. Cal can hear her own heart beating against her ribcage like a bomb threating to explode. Blood rushing in her veins and her skin starts to have goose bumps, reminding herself this might be the last thing she want to do, except she really does. The room left with the voice of two people breathing heavily, the tension in the air is almost unbearable.

"Which hand...?" Leo asked her in a husky voice before she raised up her left arm between them. Leo looked at her in the eyes for the first time after she gave him the bracelet, giving her the last chance to back out. She didn't blink at his stare and he seems to get the message, because his attention went back at the metal chains in his hands and her wrist in front of him.

His hands pull the bracelet straight, letting it went under her wrist and meet on the top. He struggled to clicked the chain together for a second, but the reason of that is because not a tiny part of his skin has connected with her during the process.

The boy has too much manner.

She twisted her hands to grab his just as he assured the bracelet is locked on her wrist. She felt the chain slide down against her skin as he let out a gasp at her sudden action. While her skin is cold as ice, his is hot like fire; the temperature difference made the area where their skin touched feels like burning.

"You are cold." Leo broke the silence first after a minute passed, they were both too drowned by the sensation to utter a word. Cal noticed that her hands fit perfectly in his, just like how she imagined.

"And you are hot." She said in reply and looked up at his strange expression. Then she replayed the words she just said in her head. "Not like you are hot. No, I think you are hot, but now I mean you are physically hot." Cal face palmed with her another hand, feeling drained with so many thoughts running in her head. She can feel him controlling his laughter by the way their connecting hands are slightly shaking.

"Why suddenly?" He asked after they are both back to their normal self.

"Actually...I want to try this for a long time." She said in a small voice. He hummed. "My mom. She was abused by my father; my sister told me that after we escape our old house. After knowing that, I suddenly felt sick at any kind of contact with people except Zo." He gave her hand a small squeeze, telling her he is still here while she is lost in her world.

"You said you looked up my name on the internet. My mom used to tell me the story too. A girl trapped in the island forever, with heroes come and go, leaving her with heartbreaks as a punishment." Her vision starts to blur as she kept talking. "I felt like trapped, in this island made by my own mind. I used to go out with boy when I was little you know, and every time they tried to hold my hands under my eyes, I can see the images of my mother being hit on the ground and the face of my father."

"You are the first person who noticed that without me saying out loud. And then after we hang out more, I tried to reach out. But you are just too..." Leo started to draw circles with his thumb on the back of her hand while she kept confessing her thoughts.

"Nice and respects you?"

"Yeah that." She chuckled.

"You know I actually made this give for you and want to ask if you would like to be my girlfriend." He said sheepishly.

"And did you get your answer?"

"You see. I was about to ask but this girl starts to tell me her dark stories."

"The girl says yes."

"Yeah?" He beamed at her.

"Also, I think we should hold hands more."

"I definitely second that." He took in a deep breath and seems to make up his mind on something. Cal didn't need to ask because she knew a second later. "Can I hug you?"

"Yes." She said softly, her voice light as wind.

He closed the space between them as the words left her lips. She liked that he didn't pull her into a hug but opened his arms and let her step in. Cal took step closer and finally know what she has been missing all these times.

The warmth not only come from the person hugging her, but also from the depth of her chest. Her heart is throbbing with joy and happiness.

A girl finally be recused out from her imaging island. Not by a well-known hero but one who can make her flower bracelet.