Forever || Leo Valdez x Reader || Book 1

Is he still JUST my best friend? (existential crisis)

"Hey, Leo- psst," I elbowed him in the ribs as we sat down for breakfast, nodding my head towards a groggy Nico who had just walked into the dining pavilion.

Leo glanced up for a second, not really processing anything, before doing a double-take, choking on his eggs. "Oh my gods, he grabbed a yellow glitter one-"

Kayla did a double-take, Austin stifled a snort, Gracie gasped gleefully, while Jerry and Yan burst into silent giggles.

Nico squinted blearily at us. "Why is everyone looking at me so weirdly?"

I shrugged innocently, sneakily pulling out my phone to take a picture as I discreetly kicked Leo's shin to stop him from giggling. "Your hair is just messy, Neeks."

"Oh," Nico muttered, sleepily trying to pat his hair down. "Is it fine now?"

"Yep," Kayla squeaked out between barely stifled giggles, shooting Nico a thumbs up.

"Hey, Sunshine," Will walked up, pressing a kiss to Nico's forehead before noticing the shirt. "Well.... that's new."

"Huh? What's new?"

"Um, your shirt, Neeks."

"My shir- HOLY SCHIST, WHAT THE TARTARUS IS THIS?!" Nico yelled, looking down at his shirt in dismay. "Ugh, I'm gonna go change-"

He stalked off, and Will's eyes trailed after his boyfriend's retreating form before he glanced at us with a mischievous grin. "Please tell me that someone took a picture."

I giggled, holding up my phone. "I'll send it to you-"

Just then, I got cut off by Nico storming up with a bundle of clothes in his arms, looking downright murderous. Uh oh-

"EVERY. SINGLE. ONE." He fumed, dumping the glittery shirts on the table. "When I find the person who replaced every single one of my shirts for these monstrosities, I will-"

"Um, excuse us for a second, will you?" Leo quickly grabbed my wrist, dragging me off behind a large tree near the edge of the woods.

All it took was one brief second of eye contact, before we both lost it, doubling over in silent giggles.

"Oh my gods- pfft- his face-"

"Man, that was so worth it-"

Leo giggled, poking his head around the tree, probably to look at Nico and giggle harder, but he freezes. "Oh no, not her-"

I frowned, looking towards Leo's line of sight, spotting a girl in a pink hoodie, with a very familiar shade of caramel blonde hair tied in a long braid. "Oh my gods, why is she here?! Oh crap, she's coming this way-"

"I swear, I'm gonna strangle the traitor who pointed her our way..... Gods, she's gonna be bitchy again?"

"Um, should we run?"

"No, it's too late- ugh," He ran his hands through his brown curls, looking slightly frustrated. "Y/N, do you trust me?"

"Huh?"

His warm brown eyes flicked to my lips for a moment, before coming back up to make eye contact. 

Oh. OH-

I just nodded, feeling my face heat up slightly.

"Then... if you would allow me, Princess..."

I rolled my eyes at his formal tone, pushing the boy against the tree before pressing my lips to his. 

Goddamnit, this dork, he already asked once, didn't he?

Wait, crap, I'm kissing Leo-

LEO VALDEZ-

MY BEST FRIEND-

OHMYGODS, I'M KISSING MY BEST FRIEND- 

Is this what Elysium feels like? Am I dreaming?

"L-LEO?!"

Oh, right, nearly forgot about her-

"Y/N?!?!"

OH shit- Will-

I quickly pulled away from Leo, trying not to look too dazed as I smiled innocently at Will. "Heeeeeyy, big bro- fancy seeing you here-"

Will looked scandalized, Nico was smirking, and a grumbling Austin handed some money over to a grinning Kayla.

"Valdez, I swear to the gods, if you hurt my sister, I'll gut you with a scalpel, scoop out your insides, and break your bones one by one while naming them, got that?"

Leo gulped at the extremely specific and gruesome threat, giving Will a salute. "Yes sir-"

"Good." 

"Leo, how could you do this to me?" Calypso sobbed dramatically. "After everything we've been through-"

Leo scoffed. "Oh, so, you're crawling back now? What, did your baby daddy leave you for one of those box-blonde cheerleader bimbos that hang around him 24/7?"

The others gasped, and I grinned at my best friend. "Hey, nice one- where did that sass come from?"

"I guess I've been spending too much time around you, Princess," He winked at me. "Anyways, I'm done with this hoe's BS, come on people, let's go, our breakfasts are getting cold."

"LAST ONE BACK HAS TO CLEAR UP ALL THE DISHES," Gracie yelled, and the nine of us raced back to the dining pavilion, laughing our heads off.