The Group Chat [Leico Valdangelo]

part three

•Leo•

"Okay. Have fun. Be nice. No setting things on fire-" Leo's older sister, Nyssa, was saying before he cut her off.

"You lost me at 'no setting things on fire'," he smirked and she rolled her eyes.

"Leo, this is serious. And if anyone gives you shit-"

"Set them on fire?" Leo guessed, even though he was only joking seriously.

"You're impossible," Nyssa shook her head.

"That'd be me."

"Alright, well, I guess dad's taking you to school," Nyssa kissed Leo's cheek. "No fire."

Leo pouted.

"Just one leaf-"

"No."

"A blade of grass?"

"Leo, no. No fire. At all. Understand?"

"Okay, fine."

"Have a good day."

"I'll try."

---

"As much as I hate to say this," Leo's dad said, looking over at the scrawny boy. "No setting things on fire."

"Awe, c'mon!"

"Do it and I'll ground you from fire at home."

"Ugh. Fine."

"Have good day, Leo. Find a cute boy-"

"What?!"

"Uh....I meant girl...yeah...." His dad smiled through his thick black beard. Leo rolled his eyes.

"Okay. Whatever. Bye."

Leo stepped out of the car, taking in his surroundings. One girl spotted him and screamed, running away.

"Well damn, I'm not that ugly," Leo commented under his breath. He slammed the car door and walked to the office, getting weird looks on the way. "I know I'm hot, but please, no staring," he said to the boy who was eyeing him weirdly.

"No, I wasn't...I wasn't staring."

"Right..."

"I'm Jason."

"Leo."

"I know."

"I'm already famous? Sweet!" Leo just walked away from this Jason guy who looked like captain of the football team. "Douche bag."

He found the office and walked up to the secretary.

"I'm Leo Valdez," he told her. She looked up at him, fear in her eyes. "Oh, calm down," Leo commented. She nervously looked through stacks of paper, her hands shaking. "I'm not that bad."

She handed him a few pieces of paper.

"Uh...M-Mrs. Jackson, our p-principal wants to t-talk to you-"

"Okay. Whatever. Thanks for treating me like a monster. 'Preciate it." He walked towards the principals office, knocking on the door. He heard a soft "come in." So he walked in. "It's Leo Valdez."

"Leo! Welcome to Jupiter High School! I'm Sally Jasckson, the principal here. Have a seat." He obliged, sitting in the comfy rolling chair. "Well, Leo. How was your time in the institutions?"

"Torture," Leo replied honestly.

"My son's actually in an institution right now. He calls me all the time, telling me about how much he hates it."

"They treat us like children."

"Well, I suppose you are, aren't you?" she replied, her voice withdrawn. "Just children alone in this terrible world, I suppose. Really takes its toll on you, huh?" she asked. Leo nodded. She hummed. "Well, I hope you'll find friends here, Leo. There are plenty of nice people. You'll just have to dig deep to find them. I'll take you to your first period." She stood up, Leo standing up with her. She walked out of the office, leading Leo to his first period, Algebra. Blech. She walked in, grinning at the teacher, a woman who had blonde hair pulled back into a bun and stormy grey eyes. "Ms. Athena, this is Leo Valdez."

"Welcome, Leo. Take a seat next to Drew, if you will," she replied, her tone sharp. She was kind of scary.

Leo walked over to a girl raising her hand and sat in the empty seat next to her. The girl leaned towards him.

"Hi," she giggled flirtatiously. "I'm Drew. You're Leo, right? The fire boy?"

"Yup. You're Drew, right? The school slut?"

She didn't talk to him after that.

"I hope you'll all treat Leo with the respect he deserves. Anyone who doesn't will be suspended and punished severely," Ms. Athena grinned at Leo. "Welcome to Jupiter High, Leo."

---

Leo was absolutely starving. Why did he have to wait until after fifth period for lunch? Who in their right mind came up with that? He walked into the cafeteria, noticing they had a Mexican restaraunt to order from.

"I think yes," he mumbled to himself, before someone walked over to someone.

"Hey," Jason, the guy from earlier, said, grinning at Leo.

"What do you want?" Leo's stomach grumbled.

"Wanna sit by me and my friends?"

"No."

"Right...um. You sure? I mean, we're pretty cool-"

"Listen, big guy, I can take care of myself. But thank you."

"You sure?"

"If I wanted a mother, I would've gone to her grave. Leave me alone."

Jason's eyes widened.

"I didn't-"

"Alone."

"Right. Sorry."

Jason scrambled away and Leo sighed, running his fingers through his hair.

"Now, some tacos please."