Chapter Text
Today was a hard day for Leo. Or more like, for Leo’s surroundings, he himself was fine. He had just gotten back from bowling (and winning five times in a row) with Piper and Jason all evening, both of whom had very strange tension between them. Oh yeah, Jason. He was there because of Piper, who she had initially asked out first but then begged Leo to join them right after. Weirdly, she never even made the effort to flirt or hang out with him at all.
Leo was definitely no expert in love, but he figured if you ever wanted a partner, talking to them—alone, with no extra company—would be the first step. However, it ended up being Leo, who filled in the awkward silence throughout the hang out.
At first, he had no idea why he had agreed to come along. He did complain about how it was most likely going to be him being the third wheel the whole time while they were too busy flirting or doing whatever super-attractive couples did during dates. But she seemed too desperate for him to turn her favor down, so he tagged along.
It wasn’t even that bad, in fact, he was having most of the fun with Jason anyway. He noticed how Piper barely got to talk to the guy after a few rounds of absolutely demolishing the jock at bowling, so he decided to make up an excuse saying he’d go ask for more rounds.
He thought it was quite a masterplan and while waiting to be attended he snuck a glance at the two but noticed they weren’t even talking at all. Piper had suddenly gotten shy, or rather awkward. Leo didn’t know this was how she’d get when having a crush. It’s not like they ever talked about boys anyway, since they both never really bothered talking about that kind of stuff. It was more fighting about how to beat each other at Mario Kart, and other dumb conversations he couldn’t remember. He didn’t know what else to do to help. As he got back with extra fries, his best friend immediately left for the bathroom, leaving him alone with the perfect golden boy Jason Grace. He suddenly felt sweaty.
He had the urge to quickly google how to talk with freakishly tall and popular high school kids to at least start a conversation, however he ended up not needing to when Jason was the one to interrupt the awkward silence this time. Leo found out it was easier for him when Piper was around.
“So, how do you and Piper know each other?”
They were both sitting on the couch in their bowling area, Leo had his legs a bit separate having the bowl of fries in between them. He could feel Jason’s gaze on him, but he feared that if he looked back, the boy would notice his sudden anxiety.
It wasn’t that he had trouble speaking to people, his job practically depended on that, he always believed he could easily guess customer’s mood and body language when entering the store, so he’d know how to approach them and give them what they needed. It was what his mother mostly praised him for. But now, he was starting to think it was easier for him to approach customers at the shop than an intimidatingly attractive guy his age, because there was more of a routine for it, he knew what they went in for and what he could get them, but he had no idea what Jason was going in for talking to him, and what Leo could get him out of the conversation.
“We became friends three years ago when we met at the Wilderness Camp” Leo shrugged, holding the bowl of fries in his hands with a tighter grip. He heard nothing back which made him finally face the other, who had an unreadable face.
“Oh, it’s uhm, a summer camp that’s in the middle of the woods somewhere, they had us do challenging and extraordinarily tiring activities to ‘prepare us for the real world-’”
“No, I know what that is!” Jason interrupted. “Sorry, I just... I went there too”
Leo blinked, “You did?”
“Yeah, I had also briefly met Piper there, actually” He blushed. And that’s when it finally clicked in Leo’s brain, the reason why Jason was talking and being incredibly nice to him for no reason. He knew what he could give him: info on Piper.
But Leo spoke too fast to process what he was saying, “Really? Piper never mentioned you” Right after, he tried not to cringe at his mistake. Jason seemed unfazed, but that could have been because he wasn’t getting the response he wanted.
“I mean... now that you mention it. She did come up to me once and talked about a guy!” He tried to save it, but he still couldn’t tell whether Jason was pleased or not.
“She did?”
“Oh, yeah! I think that was totally you, man” Well, that wasn’t a complete lie. Piper had come up to Leo mentioning boys, but not in the way people expected girls to talk about guys. Instead of talking, she was mostly complaining.
During summer camp, it had been hell for the two of them, it became the reason why they got along so well together. They both had felt like outcasts. Leo was up hiding in a tree house he had made, just outside the dormitories, working on tiny projects using sticks and mud as the main material, with a few extra parts he had found (or stole) around the perimeter of the place, when a girl had climbed and scared the fire out of him—which was literal, he was working with a blowtorch. Don’t ask how he got his hands on one.
He remembers that memory very well, they both realized they were escaping from people who never even bothered to include them or get to know them, so, they got to know each other instead. He smiled before continuing his lie to Jason.
“Saying something about a very handsome and ‘jocky’ guy who caught her attention”
He heard a giggle coming from his side. It seemed like the blue eyed was blushing, even though he was doing a terrible job trying to cover it up with his hand. Very big, veiny hand.
“You think I’m handsome?” Leo had to immediately turn the other way to stop his cheeks from burning up as well. Fuck, had he worded it wrong?
“No! Did I say that? I meant Piper; she thinks that, not me. Definitely not me, you’re alright, I guess. But she is the one who has a crush on you, like she was the one who invited you here, right? Not me.” He basically had faced his back towards the jock, while the other was laughing.
All Leo could think of was how Jason was definitely going to tell all his other popular friends about his dumb mistake and how incredibly awkward he is. Like Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, Grover Underwood and even his sister Thalia Grace. Oh , Thalia Grace was going to think he was a fool!
“Relax, I’m teasing. Of course, she was the one who invited me” Jason softly reassured.
His voice was surprisingly calming, even though Leo’s insides still felt like they were about to explode out of embarrassment, Jason’s hand on his shoulder made him untense his shoulders and make him turn to him once more. “Although, I’m glad you came along. I am having fun with you. And Piper”
Jason’s eyes were flashing. As in, quite literally looked like they had lightning inside of them, and Leo couldn’t look away, ironic since flashing lights usually make you turn away after blinding you, but not this time.
“You are?” Leo murmured. He didn’t mean for it to come out that way; however, it had astonished him how sincere Jason sounded. How he truly meant he liked having Leo around, when he was nothing like his other cooler friends.
“Yeah” Jason let go, almost as if he were whispering. Yet, he quickly cleared his throat and tried again. “Yeah. Yes. I don’t usually go out like this... with friends. So, it’s been nice”
Leo finally blinked. Coming back from that weird trance. Man, no wonder Jason had everyone at his feet, he was too mesmerizing. “Wait what? Don’t you hang out regularly with the cool- I mean, you know, your totally normal and ordinary friends Annabeth, Percy and Grover...”
“Those are Thalia’s friends. I know them, and although Percy does talk to me a bit more, they are their own group, I’d hate to be a bother and rather let Thalia have her own thing.”
He was a caring brother, selfless and hot? Piper was lucky, Leo thought to himself.
“So, you don’t have your own thing?” Jason shook his head in response.
That was something Leo could empathize with. For a long time, he felt like he never had his own thing . A nice group of friends, an original personality— and not something he’d pick up from movies or shows—a place of belonging, but these past years, being closer to Piper and learning how to open up more to his mom, have taught him that he in fact has had his own thing, he just needed to build it.
Having Piper as a friend was the first step, he has never told her this exactly, but when she found out Leo liked spending his free time on weird little projects, her excitement made him realize that he was actually dang good with that. And when his mom and her had met for the first time, Esperanza had greeted her with open arms, immediately welcoming the brunette to the family. Family. Something Leo never realized he had right in front of him. Even though he loved his mother to death, he had taken her for granted, she was the most supportive mother out there, luckily, she was still around for him to appreciate her more. Which started with explaining his inventions to her, then opening up about small problems he usually would have looked up to fix but instead asked for her help, and lastly, he mentioned briefly how odd he had felt at school and at summer camp. Since then, he stopped going to camp and Esperanza gave him a place at the shop so he could have free space to tinker with mechanical stuff and to work on his projects.
It still surprised him how much one person coming into his life had made a huge difference. Of course, not everything magically repaired itself. But he has felt the happiest he has had in, well, a long time. If Jason was feeling at least the slightest similarity to what he felt, he was glad Piper had come into his life too. And he’d be glad to also help Jason in the same way.
“I guess you could say that” Jason winced, ever so slightly, but Leo noticed.
Leo tugged Jason closer by the neck with his arm, making their heads clash just a bit before saying, “Well, you be glad you have us now! We can be your own thing.” He flashed a cheeky smile and a wink.
Jason tried to turn his head in the middle of his laughter but failed to do so as Leo’s grip was tightening by the second. “No, we are our own thing” He managed to say, right before Piper had come back, giddier than before.
“Okay boys, what are we doing sitting around? Get up and let me beat ‘cha!” She sang as she got her bowling ball first.
Leo let his grip lose from Jason’s neck to quickly get up from his seat to Piper. “Excuse you? I was the one winning!”
Piper chuckled, “Uh huh, was . My turn now.”
“That’s not how that works!”
From his seat, Jason stared at the two for a second before getting up to join the round. But Leo could feel his gaze on him especially, even while completely facing his back towards the other. And he continued feeling it the whole time they were there.
-
Back at the Mclean residence, the two best friends were having a sleepover after hanging out with Jason. Piper had actually suggested the other to join them as well, which made Leo a bit nervous for a second. The other kindly declined, saying his mother would be arriving soon. The Mexican hated how relieved he felt, maybe his people skills were drained from the whole hangout.
At Piper’s way too big of a room, they were sprawled on the floor with music blasting at top volume. Piper was flipping through a horoscope magazine, and Leo was toying with a Rubik's cube he had found on the girl’s bedside table. Frustration started the grow the longer it was taking him to solve it, although he had never cared for it as much, it currently was distracting his worries about Piper.
He let out a groan that sounded more like a growl, which made his best friend look at her side.
“Give it up Repair boy, you’ll never be like Annabeth” she joked, but Leo won’t lie that it damaged a bit of his ego.
“I’m not trying to be like smart perfect Annabeth Chase; I don’t care that she solved it in one minute”
“Yeah, right,” she sat up, crossing her legs and placing the magazine on top of her thighs. “This week you should focus less on other people’s stories and rather write your own ” she recited.
The brunette almost felt called out, but quickly noticed she was reading his star sign on the magazine and could not have possibly gotten into his head. Thank god.
“Hmph, what does the Leo one say?”
“You’re not a Leo, though” Piper deadpanned.
“Hello? I am literally the ultimate Leo?”
Piper rolled her eyes, “You’re such an idiot. Besides, Percy Jackson is a Leo,” she paused for a second, probably reading what it had to say. “Him and Annabeth’s are pretty compatible, they really are a perfect pair, huh?
Her voice sounded more tense as she read. Maybe she was craving a relationship like theirs, perhaps that was why she had invited Jason over too. But what Leo couldn’t understand was why she was almost self-sabotaging her chances with him, that wasn’t like her. Or so, he thought.
“Like you and Jason, right?” Leo scooted closer to her, “What’s his sign?”
She sighed before signaling it on the page, then trailed the finger to the compatibility chart, where in fact, they weren’t. Really, star sign magazine? Now is not the time to be an asshole.
Leo threw it across the room. “Who cares what stupid printed pages have to say? To me, it sounds like he really likes you!”
Piper bit her lower lip and turned her gaze towards the ground. Leo hated how he wasn’t good at comforting people. He was so used to knowing what to say to customers because he was working with stuff he was experienced with, but he didn’t know anything about feelings or emotions, especially how to deal with them. That was a Piper thing. And she couldn’t do much in this situation because she was now the one who needed help; it wasn’t fair for her to have a friend like Leo who dealt with stuff like this over jokes and distractions.
Piper brought her legs to her chest and hugged them, “You really think so?” She sounded unsure, and very unlike herself. It killed him.
“Yes! Dude, of course! We talked a bit when you left for the restroom, about you,” said Leo.
“You guys talked the whole time” She added. Leo winced.
“Yes, you’re right, and I’m so sorry. I promise, I won't let my bromance with Jason come between the two of you, ever again” That made her chuckle, and Leo mentally let out a sigh of relief.
“It’s okay, I don’t care”
“No, but you clearly do” Leo nudged her with his knee. She nudged back with her shoulder. That has become a bit of an inside love-language. Signaling they were good without explicitly saying anything. They were usually bad with words, so they had that to communicate better, and all of it was most likely Leo’s fault.
“Not about that. I just... I think I’m sure of something,” She faced her best friend. “Feelings-wise, but it’s not something particularly I’m proud of.”
Leo raised his brow. Whoever had given him the trait of making everything into a joke in the creation of his personality, he hopes is in rotting. “Oh... Pipes, I’m flattered, but I’m not interested. You’re pretty or whatever, but I prefer mean girls”
Both of them snorted. Piper punched him in the arm, hard enough for him to knock it off, yet not too rough to hurt him.
“Idiot” She giggled, but despite his attempts, she still seemed to be upset about something. He felt hopeless for a second, before he remembered there was a pretty good speaker inside the room which was connected to the phone on his side.
It was Piper’s, but he knew the password, and she was still engrossed in her own thoughts to notice. As he unlocked the screen, he stood up to walk towards her bed—which caught the girl’s attention. He took off his shoes while scrolling through a few songs, until he found the perfect one. Dancing Queen by ABBA started playing, the sound vibrating through the walls, he wouldn’t be surprised if even the neighbors could hear.
He turned to her as he dropped the phone on the carpet and gave her a grin. He figured he looked a bit silly given her reaction, but at least he had gotten her to smile. For real this time.
Leo curled his finger, suggesting her to come over, then stood on the bed. “Come on! This is your song!” He reached out his hand for her to grab.
She took it. “You mean your song. The one you can’t stop singing every day?”
“I mean our song. Wasn’t this the one that was playing when I found you stalking me at my treehouse?” Leo teased.
“Calm yourself, I wasn’t stalking anybody. But yes. It was the one the girls were playing in their room.” As she got on the bed, just like Leo, she started to also copy the way he kept jumping and wiggling his body as a terrible attempt to dance. They both looked stupid.
At one point they held hands to not have any of them fall in between their jumps; the bed wasn’t as big, and the carpet floor wasn’t as soft for them to not get hurt.
“Well, then, thank you Drew Tanaka for doing one good thing right, and keeping your cabin window open, introducing me to the greatest song in the history of worlds” Leo joked, still holding hands with Piper while they both jumped to the rhythm of the music.
She let out another laugh and Leo noticed how she was enjoying herself finally. Which has been the goal he’d been trying to accomplish throughout the whole day.
Her eyes seemed to be glowing instead of being watery, like they had been moments ago. Maybe this is what she needed, a healthy distraction from her mind, God knows Leo could understand that. He gave himself a pat on the back for cheering her up; all he ever wanted was for everything to be alright. Stress free. Especially for her to be alright, you would catch him dead if he ever admit this, but Piper must be one of the prettiest girls he’s ever met—not in a he’s attracted to her way, more like a pretty painting in a museum you could admire—and even though she was pretty in every sense, she was the most when her smile was beaming the brightest.
They managed to balance themselves on top of the bed to a point where there was no need to use each other for support. So, they continued dancing freely as if the room had turned into an 80s themed disco. Leo was feeling the music, in a way; it had also been helping him out of his thoughts, whichever they were—at this point he had too many. Suddenly, Piper interrupted.
She took a breath, then blurted out, “I think... I like girls.” At that same moment, she had stopped pushing her feet to jump more on the mattress.
“Oh. Wow. Well, same!” Her best friend responded as he did not stop bouncing, making this whole moment less serious than it could have been.
She did not continue bouncing and for a second Leo hadn’t grasped what exactly had been said and what he had answered. Then, he abruptly stopped too.
“Wait- huh?” He stared at her. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
Piper squinted her eyes, almost as if she were expecting him to act like a totally different person. Which he hoped wasn’t what she thought of him.
“You’re... not ‘gonna ask me any questions?”
Leo cocked a brow, “Questions for what?”
“I’m gay, Leo?” She tried one more time. Leo nodded.
“Yeah, that’s what liking girls means,” he blinked for a second. “No wait, not for me though. For you, ‘cause you’re a girl. Hold on, this is sounding kind of strange. Let me start-”
Piper burst out laughing, letting her back fall on top of the bed leaving Leo, the only one standing, more confused.
“Oh my god, thank you for not making this serious.” she said, still laughing and even wiping small tears off her eyes. Leo couldn’t help but think for a moment she could’ve been laughing at him.
“Is this why... you were ignoring Jason the whole day?” Leo finally sat down crisscrossed, on the opposite side of her. She eventually joined him too, after calming herself down.
“Yes! And I was so nervous about what you’d think of me if I cancelled and explained the reason, so that’s why I invited you along—to make this less awkward.” She started rambling.
“So, why did you invite him in the first place?” Leo asked. He felt sort of bad for Jason at that moment. First, he had expected to go on a date with a super chill girl to later find out that her scrawny best friend would tag along. Leo could smell the disappointment. Then, turns out that the cool girl was in fact awesome because she was gay this whole time.
Leo bit his lip in a shrug. Piper also seemed ashamed over the situation. It took her a while to give a reasonable answer, but it seemed like there was nothing she could add.
“I don’t really know. I feel terrible, I do. I guess, I somehow felt pressured? He kept coming up to me at school wanting to get to know me, and that would’ve been fine if everyone around us wouldn’t have noticed too. The next thing I knew, was that word had gotten out that we liked each other.” It was apparent she was not proud of how all went down, he could never blame her, especially now hearing the full story.
But Leo noticed how in some way, he at last got Piper to confess what had been going on with her lately, so he took that as a win.
“I’m sure he’ll understand. To be honest, I feel like he’s the type of guy to not even hurt a fly. Or be that type of person to flip a bug back around that's been belly-up on the floor.”
Piper snorted. “Wouldn’t surprise me.”
They maintained comfortable silence—apart from the music still playing in the background—for a few more minutes, until Piper’s dad knocked on the door saying that take-out had arrived. The two got up and headed towards the table, but before they could get there, Piper grabbed Leo by the arm, stopping him in his tracks.
“Hey, thanks, by the way.” She smiled. The suddenness made Leo not respond as quickly as he hoped to, thus Piper continued.
“I meant it when I said that it mattered to me what you’d think. So, thanks for making this easy”
“Why?” Leo caught himself asking.
“Because you’re my best friend, silly.” She chuckled, then left to go help out her dad set the table.
The simplicity of ordering food from independent restaurants around the neighborhood instead of hiring a cook was one of the things he most appreciated about the McLeans. Even their house was simple—although it was two times bigger than his one-story apartment, it didn't have that much unnecessary fancy stuff, the only unusual props they’d have lying around, were the ones Mr. McLean had used in his productions and kept as a souvenir. Piper could’ve been an entitled, stuck-up rich girl who’d brag about having a famous parent, but instead she turned out to be the complete opposite. Even when she did care about what people thought of her, it’d only be from those who she cherished the most—and Leo was happy to be one of them.
Leo didn’t spend long pondering about his best friend’s confession, it really wasn’t his business and didn’t bother him at all. But, the sudden revelation was in fact something that caught him off guard, how on a random week day the picture was clearer for her—but of course, he’d never understand. At least, he could guess how that would feel like, and support her through it.
Now he wasn’t as guilty for spending too much time with Jason, he could think freely about their interactions, and sleep well dreaming about him.
Wait, what?