I'm Sorry
A Sad Leyna Story (With a Happy Ending)
Chapter Two: Demigod Consultation: Leo "Flamer" Valdez Style
First of all, I would just like to thank you all so much for the kind words and the nice reviews. I literally almost cried when I read them; it feels so great to have such support. I appreciate you so much and thanks to those who are following me and/or favorite me!
Now, don't get upset. I postponed the Leo/Reyna meeting until the next chapter; I'd really rather do it this way. By doing it like this, I can explain how Leo is doing and exactly who he calls in for help. ;) And just so you know, the events in this chapter are happening at the same time as the events in the last chapter.
Review of Chapter One
In the end, Piper sighed in defeat. "Okay Reyna. You realize that if we go and eat with the rest of the campers, all of the campers will be there? And I mean all of the campers," she paused, "—including Leo."
I literally think that I stopped breathing in that moment. I had no idea what to say.
So I said the only thing that I could say.
"Oh. My. Gods."
I, sadly, don't own the Percy Jackson and the Olympians franchise.
For those of you that have not been formerly introduced to me, my name is Oel Zedlav. I am the identical twin of Leo Valdez, his most accurate copy. The only difference between us is that I act like a little child in front of the young lady that I fancy. I lose my temper and ignore all the things that Leo tells me not to do.
It was a pleasure to meet you.
I was sitting in a secluded corner of my favorite restaurant in New Rome—Caesar's Café. What's the point of wallowing in your self-pity if you don't have some yummy crème bruleé (A/N: I apologize if I spelled that wrong!) to go along with it?
I honestly could not believe that I did that. It was so stupid of me to lose my temper like some little demon child that didn't get what they wanted on Christmas morning. I don't normally lose my temper, either. After that, I could probably kiss any slim chance with Reyna goodbye. (Although, I'd much rather kiss her, but that's beside the point.) She probably wouldn't ever talk to me again after that; and it wasn't as if we were best buddies before I went off the deep end. With that optimistic thought, I dropped my head into my hands, feeling terrible.
I know that I've done some not so smart things in the past (and present), but this was pretty close to the top of the list. I had messed up bad, and this was one situation that I had no idea how to fix.
It wasn't as if my nonexistent love-life was a machine that I could repair with some pliers or a sledgehammer. As a wise man once said, "Love is like a fire; it can fill you with warmth, but it can also consume you and burn you right up."
Just so you know that "wise man"—that was Percy. (Shocking, isn't it?) It was after my sixteenth birthday, and I was with the rest of the guys down by the fountain in the city—I love that fountain. I was upset because I had no way to tell if Reyna liked me. This was also after I had realized just how much I really like Reyna, which, believe me, is a pretty big deal in itself. Birthdays are pretty monumental for demigods.
FLASHBACK
"Okay, okay, guys, that's enough; no matter how weird it is that Leo "Flamer" Valdez likes Miss "Ice Queen" Reyna, we all need to be good friends and support his decision, no matter how insane it is. That's what a good friend would do, right?"
Nico's sarcastic words work for about thirty seconds. This is about the time that everybody—Frank, Percy, Jason—else start to bust out laughing. I take notice on how that group of people did not include me. It is completely by coincidence that I don't laugh, though. (Sarcasm: because beating the sh*t out of people isn't necessarily right.)
"Ha, ha, ha—it's not that funny, you guys. I mean really, why is it so hard to believe that I like Reyna?" I am getting pretty irritated. I mean, really isn't uncommon for me to fall head over heels for some random girl, but this…this is different. I can feel it every time I look at her and she isn't paying attention. Is that too weird? Do I sound absolutely out of my mind?
Nico sighs loudly through his nose. "It's just really weird. I mean, your dad is the god of fire and such. And despite the fact that Reyna isn't a daughter of Khione, she can be pretty cold sometimes. Does that make any sense?"
Of course it makes sense; but that doesn't mean that that fact makes me any happier.
"So, what—why should it matter who our parents are? After all," I look at Percy, "you're dating the daughter of your father's enemy."
He frowns deeply. "That's different; your situation has nothing to do with your parents and everything to do with your personalities. Reyna's the exact opposite of you, Leo—calm, cold, serious, and kind of uptight. You're one of my friends, and I just don't want to see you get hurt."
"But you don't get it," I protest. "She's just what I need. She can balance me out, counter my frenzied actions. She's smart, funny in her own special way, and not to mention extremely beautiful." I must be sounding pretty crazy, because they all look at me funny. "What? She is really pretty—more beautiful than Aphrodite herself," I say wistfully, ignoring the sound of distant thunder. Hey; the truth hurts, but lies hurt even more.
Jason stares at me like a little kid. "It's official; Leo Valdez is indeed on crack." I frown at him. "Don't get all frown-y with me, Mr. I'm-in-Love-with-Reyna; it's just that you are really out of your mind—completely delusional. It's common knowledge that Piper is better looking than Reyna."
Frank and Nico roll their eyes. "Don't you start," Frank says. "You don't see me obsessing about Hazel all the time. I already know how amazing she is; why should I waste time telling everyone when they should already know, too?"
"Oh, please," Nico scoffs. "Don't even try to pretend that you don't have a collage of pictures of you and Hazel hanging beside your bunk; that would just be sad."
Despite my mood, Nico's comment makes me smile.
Percy looks right at him like, Really? You want to play that game? "Don't even try to pretend that you didn't think that my girlfriend is hot." After Frank and Jason throw their heads back in laughter and Nico's face turns the color of roses, he turns back to me. "Look," he says carefully. "I know that you care a lot about Reyna, but just be careful. Love is like a fire; it can fill you with warmth, but it can also burn you right up at the same time if you're not careful."
I am about to say some witty comment, like, "I can't burn; I'm Flamer!" but I know that he's being serious. Instead I say. "Thanks, Perce; it means a lot that you care so much."
He smiles, showing off his white teeth. "No problem." Then he rubs his hands together and says, "Can we go into someplace to eat? I'm starving."
FLASHBACK OVER
I lifted my head from its place in my hands. I didn't know if this was a good idea or not, but I decided to try it. After all, you never know until you try. But then again, sometimes trying something new can be a bit…crazy.
"Remind me, exactly, of why we are here; I would like to know why I am wasting a perfectly good nap day," Percy said grumpily. "You know how much I love taking my naps—especially since last night was the first night of my summer at camp. I'm bone tired."
Jason rolled his eyes. "Don't mind him, Leo. But, to be fair, we did wake him up a bit earlier than normal when Nico and I went and got him from Camp Half-Blood."
"Not to be rude or anything, but Percy's right; why are we here?" Frank asked. "And why, exactly, did you pick a restaurant for our meeting place?"
Nico nodded in agreement. "I'm not really one for hanging out in a place that a lot of people can look at me, but I like the fact that I can eat and cringe while I am under the scrutinizing gaze of others. This way, I can ignore the parents practically dragging their kids out of the restaurant—the ones that don't want me to contaminate their precious little bratty demon children—while enjoying a,"—he glanced at the menu—"nice chicken sandwich."
Percy scoffed at that. "I don't really mean to crash your little pity party, Nico, but you would have been noticed anyway; look at who you're sitting with—the Percy Jackson, the Percy Jackson, the Percy Jackson—"
"We get it!" I cried exasperatedly. "We're sitting with the famous Percy Jackson! You're standing in the hall of fame! You went from "zero" to "hero" just like that! You are the champion! You're amazing—whoop-de-do!" I made a circling motion in the air with my index finger. I figured it was a subtle way to show that I was pretty annoyed. (Sarcasm)
"Dude," he mumbled back. "Who peed in your Cheerios?"
No matter how much I didn't want to laugh at that moment, it seemed that my mouth had a mind of its own. A snort of a laugh burst from my lips without my permission, and I knew that it was too late; as soon as I start laughing, it becomes pretty difficult for me to stop. I think that I have a serious condition, I kid you not.
So that's why I was still laughing a few minutes later along with the rest of my weird friends.
"Okay," I said, gasping for air. "Okay. Whew."
They stared at me. "But that doesn't mean that I'm not pissed at you idiots anymore." I glared at them as hard as I could, hoping that there were flames around my eyes or in my eyes. (It was this thing that I was working on because I had once heard the expression about flames in people's eyes.) "I still need to talk to you about something important, so sit down and shut up!" I was starting to like Drill Sergeant Leo; it's much better than Oel Zedlav.
Frank raised his hand slowly, as if he wasn't sure if I would yell at him. I had to resist the urge to call him a soldier. "Um, I don't mean to be rude, but aren't we already sitting down?"
"Are you serious?" I asked, giving him a dead look. "Are you really going to do that now?"
"Sorry."
I shook my head slightly. "Anyway—I wanted you guys to come as soon as you could because I need your help. And I need it desperately. It has to do with Reyna."
Jason sighed. "C'mon, man—how much of this are you going to put up with? How can you stand all the things that she says to you? I just don't understand."
They still didn't get just how much Reyna meant to me. They didn't get how much it meant whenever she talked to me, regardless of what she was saying. "Of course you wouldn't understand; you'd have to put yourself and Piper in my situation and think about it. After you've thought about it long and hard, then—and only then—you can say that you understand. It doesn't really matter what she's saying to me, as long as she's talking to me." I paused, ignoring the looks they were giving me. "But, I seriously doubt she'll want to talk to me after what happened a couple days ago." Even though I'm ADHD and I barely remember things that I should, I remember that day perfectly.
I can still hear the sound of campers in the training arena, their swords clanging against each other. I still remember how amazing Reyna looked: perfect, golden skin, hair swept back into a loose braid, and eyes as cold as Hades' backside. She was still beautiful, still breathtakingly beautiful. I can still feel the same excitement that I felt when Octavian said that Reyna wanted to talk to me.
I'm such a sap.
My best friends all stared back at me. "What?" I said. "Why are you all staring at me? I mean, I know I'm gorgeous and all, but I have a time limit for how long the viewings can be—any longer than five minutes and there will be a fee of five bucks per five extra minutes. Just keep that in mind."
Frank deadpanned, "Ha, ha, that's so funny, Leo."
"Then tell me why you were all staring at me like that! I was creepy," I huffed.
Percy rolled his eyes. "We want to know what you were talking about—that thing that you said happened, what, two days ago? You never did tell us, you know."
"Oh, that!" I said back, snapping my fingers. I paused then, not really sure if I should tell them what I said to Reyna. I mean, I trust them with my life, but those guys can be a bit overwhelming. "Well…Octavian came up to me —right after my shower, I might add. But I guess it was a good thing that I get dry pretty easily, because that would have been totally embarrassing if I was still wet in front of Reyna. I mean, what if my clothes had gotten soaked through and—"
"Focus, Leo!" Jason snapped his fingers in my face. "Gods, you sound like some of the girls in Cabin 10; please stop."
Percy, Nico, and Frank snickered. "It would be such a shame if you embarrassed yourself in front of Reyna. You should probably fix your hair so it impresses her, and while you're at that, you should probably get a mani/pedi; your cuticles are looking a bit gnarly," Percy teased.
"Do you want me to finish my story or not?"
That shut 'em right up.
"As I was saying, before I was so rudely interrupted,"—I stared pointedly at Jason—"Octavian told me that Reyna wanted to talk to me. Man, he was in quite the piss-y mood—more so than usual. So after our little chat, I headed up to the principia to talk to her; I was stoked."
"Stoked?" asked Frank.
"Yes, stoked," I said right back at him, choosing to ignore the oncoming eye roll. "When I got there, it seemed that the teddy-bear murderer's mood was like, contagious, or something because as soon as I walked in there, I knew she was mad about something—like, really pissed.
Jason raised a blonde eyebrow. "How did you know she was mad?"
I shrugged. "It was as if I could feel her aura. She was either PMS-ing about something stupid, or she was actually mad about something. As it turns out, she was mad at me for not fixing the gears in the war games towers—which by the way, I finished them yesterday, so don't lecture me about the hazards of being lazy. But that's not the point."
"Then what is the point, exactly?" Nico asked lazily, uncapping the salt shaker on the table.
My eyes narrowed at him slightly. "The point is that I told Reyna that I love her," I said lightly. I could feel their surprise, but I wasn't going to say a single word until they asked me to talk to them. I figured that I had about two minutes before they could get over their shock and start talking, so I took the chance and ordered a donut. (Just in case you were wondering, it was an apple fritter—those are some yummy beasts.)
After I paid the waitress and was about ¼ of the way through my donut, Jason was the first to speak. "What just happened?"
"I don't know, man," Percy responded, all of them still staring at me. "I don't know anything anymore. I mean, this defies the very laws of the universe."
Frank snapped out of it, too, whatever it was. "You're kidding, right? Please tell me that this is all some elaborate prank involving us thinking that you told Reyna that you love her. Don't tell me that you're actually telling the truth."
I shrugged indifferently. "Okay, then—I won't tell you that I'm telling the truth and that I did, in fact, tell Reyna that I love her. I won't tell you that at all."
"No, Leo!" Percy cried exasperatedly. "That's not what was supposed to happen! Stick to the plan, remember?"
Nico stared at Percy as if he'd just suggested that they should go ride in an airplane. "Are you trying to mess with me right now? You are like, the king of don't-stick-to-the-plan. Since when have you actually been following a plan? This is so unlike you, Percy; I just don't know that to say."
"Whatever, Nico."
Then Percy looked back at me. "Seriously, Leo—why did you do that? I thought you weren't going to tell her—like ever. What happened?"
I started to fidget in my chair. If you're calling me a wimp, I want you to try and sit under the stares of four of the most powerful demigods ever. If you can make it, then you have the right to call me a wimp. "You're right; I actually didn't mean to tell Reyna that I love her. It just sort of…came out, I guess." I shrugged. "I really didn't mean to say anything about that. I swear on my granddad's grave, wherever it may be."
Nico rolled his eyes. "So if you didn't mean to tell the Ice Queen that you're hopelessly and disgustingly in love with her Royal Ice-ness, what caused it the words to come out?"
"Well…" I said, wringing the bottom of my shirt in my hands, "it started with a bit on an argument about me not finishing the gears. It started out pretty normal, actually. There was no sign that something was going to happen. It even took me a few seconds to figure out what I said after I said it, even. She called me one of the usual names—it was useless, in case you were wondering—and that's when it happened." I couldn't even say it then. I was so angry with myself, so angry with the fact that I had made the girl that I love so angry.
I gripped the edge of the table, not noticing that my hands were burning my handprints into the wood. It was later when Frank saw and told me about it.
"Dude, are you okay?" I heard Jason ask. I ignored him, fearing that if I even so much as looked up, I would start crying like some little kid.
"I can't believe I did that," I whispered. I was barely able to speak. "I can't believe that I lost control; I don't do that." I looked up at them, finally.
"What do you mean?" Frank asked. "What happened?"
I tried hard to swallow the lump in my throat that seemed to be growing larger and larger by the milliseconds. "I—I got mad. I lost my temper. I let my anger get the best of me. I lost all of my control. It was as if I wasn't even myself anymore."
"Kind of like when eidolons possessed you at Camp Jupiter?" Percy asked, with his voice filled with sympathy.
"Yeah; it was sort of like that." I sighed, absolutely filled with self-loathing. Why did I always seem to mess everything up? Percy, Nico, and even Frank barely ever seemed to make a mistake. Zeus knows that all the girls that I know are as graceful as gazelles. I would pay big money to see Annabeth make a mistake—instant blackmail.
What is it about myself that causes me to screw everything up? What did I do? Why is it me? I would like to have that question answered, if possible. I just want to know what's wrong with me as a body.
"It was as if I was just so angry that I could no longer do anything about it. I couldn't find any lame jokes to distract myself with, and that scared me; I always have at least two stupid jokes handy—three for Reyna, sometimes four, given the circumstance." I put my head in my hands, not even bothering to swat Jason's hand away as he reached for my apple fritter—and I freaking love apple fritters. "I just don't know what to do anymore, guys; I love her so much but I can't do this anymore. I can't handle getting my heart broken and re-broken every time I want to talk to her."
"In your defense, Leo," Nico said, "I don't think that you knew what to do even in the beginning."
I glared at him, wishing so badly that flames could come out of my eyes. "Can you not be a douche bag right now? That would be amazing, thanks."
"Sorry, man," he said seriously. "I really don't know what to say. I wish that I could give you tons and tons of advice, but I'm not sure that I'll be that much of help."
I sighed. "It's alright; I mean, it's not like you were the one that screwed up my nonexistent love life. It was all Oel Zedlav's fault."
"Who?" Jason asked.
"Never mind; that's not important right now." I patted my stomach, which was growling like Poppa Bear. "But what it is important is that I get some food into my stomach. I'm so hungry."
Frank rose his eyebrows at me. "But you just ate an apple fritter the size of Texas."
"Your point?"
"Okay, then," he said. "I guess that means we're going to dinner then. I hope you're ready, Leo. Things are about to get either extremely awkward, or extremely intense." He patted my back as I took care of the bill and the tip.
Percy looked at me. "You don't get it, do you, Flame Boy?"
I shook my head.
"Reyna is going to be at dinner. And you're going to be at dinner. That basically means that this is going to be one hell of a ride."
I stopped dead in my tracks. Percy was right, Frank was right. How was I going to do this?
Only one thought ran through my head.
May the gods be with us all.
It's official; I am a despicable human being. I haven't updated in so long. I'm such a jerk. But to sort of make up for it, I made this chapter a bit longer than the other ones. I hope you liked it. Please review!
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