Arsonist's Lullabye ──── Leo Valdez

𝟑𝟓: 𝐋𝐞𝐭'𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐞

─────𝐋𝐞𝐨 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐱𝐢 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 all the way to the top.

No such luck. The cab made lurching, grinding sounds as it climbed the mountain road, and halfway up they found the ranger's station closed, a chain blocking the way.

"Far as I can go," the cabbie said. "You sure about this? Gonna be a long walk back, and my car's acting funny. I can't wait for you."

"We're sure." Leo was the first one out. He had a bad feeling about what was wrong with the cab, and when he looked down he saw he was right. The wheels were sinking into the road like it was made of quicksand. Not fast—just enough to make the driver think he had a transmission problem or a bad axle—but Leo knew different.

The road was hard-packed dirt. No reason at all it should have been soft, but already Leo's shoes were starting to sink. Gaea was messing with them.

While his friends got out, Leo paid the cabbie. He was generous—hell, why not? It was Aphrodite's money. Plus, he had a feeling he might never be coming off this mountain.

"Keep the change," he said. "And get out of here. Quick."

The driver didn't argue. Soon all they could see was his dust trail.

The view from the mountain was pretty amazing. The whole inland valley around Mount Diablo was a patchwork of towns—grids of tree-lined streets and nice middle-class suburbs, shops, and schools. All these normal people living normal lives—the kind Leo had never known.

"That's Concord," Jason said, pointing to the north. "Walnut Creek below us. To the south, Danville, past those hills. And that way..."

He pointed west, where a ridge of golden hills held back a layer of fog, like the rim of a bowl. "That's the Berkeley Hills. The East Bay. Past that, San Francisco."

"Jason?" Piper touched his arm. "You remember something? You've been here?"

"Yes... no." He gave her an anguished look. "It just seems important. Like Cas."

Cas. Leo didn't know much about the guy, but he annoyed him for some reason. Stupid Cas and his stupid white hair and his stupid face coming into Vincent's dreams. Who gave him that right?

It struck Leo that he really might not be coming off this mountain. In which case, it was probably a good time to acknowledge his not-so-little crush on his best friend. He had been pushing it away, trying not to think about it. But the more he tried to suppress it, the more he ended up staring at Vincent when the other was busy with something. 

At first he had chalked it up to happiness that he was reunited with his best friend. Then he thought it might be because guys are cute, everyone knows that. Then even his dad mentioned Vincent and Leo realized he was fucked. 

Add this stupid Cas in Vincent's dream and Leo realized the reason he didn't like a guy he had never met was because of jealousy. 

Great. 

Seriously, what was up with him and always crushing on people that would never like him back? First Khione and now Vincent? Leo had always been a coward. Easier to run away than to stick in one place and confront. So even now, he knew for sure, that he would rather die before he admitted his feelings. 

Besides, it was just a stupid crush. Leo really hoped it would go away. He didn't want to mess things up with Vincent again.

"That's Titan land." Coach Hedge nodded toward the west. "Bad place, Jason. Trust me, this is as close to 'Frisco as we want to get."