This is NOT going to plan (a TMI/PJO fanfic)

12 (Alec)

I find him in the library, looking at a book about excreting demons. I stand in the doorway looking at him, like a creep, no doubt, for a few minutes. Then I cross the room and sit next to him. He acknowledges my presence with a nod and continues reading. Something pops into my mind.

"Nico, when you said that you were taught by a dead man, was that, um, a metaphor? Like did your ex teach you or something?" Nico chuckles quietly and meets my gaze.

"No. I was taught, quite literally, by a dead man."

"I- Ah- Um- Who?" Nico chuckles at my confused mumbling.

"Quite a few Greek heroes. Achilles, Odysseus etc." I'm speechless. All those heroes? Wow. "So, do you know where your sister is?" He changes the subject.

"I think she'll either be at the training room or her room. I can show her room to you if you want?" Damn. Something about this boy makes me question everything. Except why he wants to see her.

"Nah. I'll just wander around. One of my good friends loves architecture. She'd love this place. I want to look at it properly." I nod.

"Whatever you want to do. I'll be, um, doing something. Enjoying the sights of the city sounds good." I babble. Why does he have to be so goddamn cute? I can't concentrate!

He smiles softly and leaves the room, leaving the book open. I go over to close it and get a glimpse of the page he was reading.

HOW TO IDENTIFY A DEMON

Whatever floats his boat, I guess. I close the book and put it away. Then I head to my room to get some mundane money and weapons and such. On my way out I pass the training room. The door's slightly ajar and I can see Izzy furiously hurling knives at a target. I step in to let her know I'm going.

"Hey Iz. I'm going out to the city for a bit. I'll be back by lunch. I'll text you if I won't make it for whatever reason." She nods, never pausing in her throwing. "Um... Did Nico find you?" She sighs and stops throwing, turning to face me.

"Yes he did. He wanted to tutor me a little more in the art of sword fighting. Simon wasn't happy when I agreed. I don't know what his problem is."

"Yeah. I don't know but there's nothing wrong with Nico. He's a good guy, who's had a hard life. Anyways, I've gotta get going if I want to make it back by lunch. Love you. There's money on the table for lunch, or you can get Nico to cook something." She blows me a kiss and returns to throwing.

As I pass the his room, Jace walks out. "Bye Jace!" I call then continue walking, leaving him confused. I finally leave the Institute and walk to Central Park. I could get a taxi but the fresh air calms me, and I need to gather my thoughts.

They're mostly about Nico.

***

"Hi!" A mischievous voice rouses me from my thoughts. I was sitting at the base of a massive tree, daydreaming about Nico. My eyes focus on the cause of my rude 'awakening'.

He has curly brown hair and looks Mexican or Spanish or something. He has a friendly grin on his face, and is offering me a hand.

"You look nice today. Um..." He rubs the back of his neck nervously. "Don't think I'm a stalker, but I've seen you around a bit, and you look tons better with your hair brushed. That's not saying that you don't look gorgeous without it brushed. You're really cute no matter what but- um... I should shut up." Wow. I have an admirer. And he's pretty cute too.

"Um... Do you want to go for lunch?" Why did I just ask a random guy to go out to lunch with me. But it's too late now, he's already nodding.

"Sure! Where to?" I really didn't think this through. Um...

"I don't know. What about McDonalds?" He smiles really widely. He gets really excited about things, I guess.

"It's a deal! Let's go." He grabs my hand and pulls me up. Once I'm up and we start walking, he doesn't release my hand. I kind of like it, but it feels... Wrong. Almost like I'm cheating on someone. I pull my hand from his grasp and continue walking.

At McDonalds, I order a Quarter Pounder meal and he gets a Big Mac meal. We sit in somewhat awkward silence while we eat. Finally, I swallow my last bite of burger and decide to break the tension-filled ice.

"So. We've just eaten lunch and I still don't know your name. I doubt you know mine either. It's Alec." He chuckles and shakes my offered hand.

"Leo Valdez." And just like that, we break into easy conversation.

***

A few hours later, at exactly 2:00 pm, Leo is bidding me farewell at the door to the Institute. He thinks it's a bus stop, and he offered to catch a bus with me but I declined.

He gives me a hug and squeezes my butt. Before I can protest, he smirks and says "Nice meeting you in person, Alec. Although, I doubt we'll meet again. I had fun today." Then he runs off to two boys, that look like twins, that I swear just appeared out of thin air. Shaking my head in bewilderment, I decide to go to the service station across the road. A Coke will clear my head, slightly.

Once in, I head straight to the cold drinks section. Grabbing a Coke, I move into line. Reaching for my wallet, my fingers close around air. What? I swear my wallet was in my back pocket. I check all my pockets before realising something. Leo squeezed my butt. That's where my wallet was.

That bastard stole my wallet!

A/N Hey! I made this longer chapter just for you guys. I just HAD to put Leo and the Stolls in here. Hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Although, I have been terribly sick and even as I write this I can't breathe properly. Stupid bug. Stupid blocked nose. Stupid cough. Stupid sore throat. Stupid headache. But enough about my illness and more about a rather important subject I want to discuss.
So, recently I got asked to write smut several times through PM. I have accidentally stumbled across it several times in books so I'm not totally innocent. But I don't particularly want to write it. So, for all those people, I don't write smut. Just, you know, letting you know.
Also, I have a four day weekend! Saturday and Sunday, obviously, then Monday is Adelaide Cup Day so public holiday for us, then a school closure on Tuesday! So maybe I'll get over my cold and stuff before school.

But I'm just rambling. Go and enjoy your weekend, after enjoying this chapter, of course!
-Apollo