madness and ecstasy // leo valdez

-ben and klaus type shi-

yeah i've been gone awhile but i did see conan gray irl so who cares <3

Teqi stared up at the goddess.

Athena was looking out over the little grey and green island they'd adopted as their own, the place they'd stayed the longest over the entire trip, apart from that unmentionable place where apparently, she'd been for twenty-two days, of course. It'd been six days of island life.

The glittery mountain of molten metal under the sun made Teqi feel like there was hope for earth after all. Because of the sunshine, not Athena. She hadn't felt this kind of warmth since she was strolling around Rome with her hand in Leo's, stealing smoothies and burning down ancient fountains.

Warmth that didn't make her skin boil and her lungs hurt.

All the good girls go to hell
'Cause even God herself has enemies
And once the water starts to rise
And heaven's out of sight

She'll want the devil on her team

She closed her eyes, turning down the volume on the little headphone in her ear, and adjusted herself. No matter how she lay, there was a fucking rock sticking into her spine, and it was really ruining the mood the author was trying to convey. That of warmth and daises and friendship.

She was grateful for the white headphone, though. She'd rather not blast every thought she had in incredibly tragic song form to everyone gathered around the picnic rug.

It ruined her mysterious vibe.

The sun roasted her heavy eyelids. What she really needed was a year-long coma.

Low blow.

"Drop dead," she mumbled. Her hand rested on the soft grass. She watched an ant crawl across a blade of it as her friends trekked up towards them in the distance, arms most likely full of snacks. A four-leaf clover was next to her pinkie. She didn't pick it, but she snatched the luck from it anyway. Not for now, no, she was saving it.

A dull metallic sound rung out. Teqi twisted around a little to watch Reyna inspect the statue, her hands on her hips.

"Did you like it?"

"Hm?" Teqi asked, looking up at Leo. He was sitting back, legs outstretched, glowing in the sun like brown sea glass. His clothes were soft and clean and his curls were tight and even the Band-Aids across his nose and hands couldn't make him look less at peace.

One, two, one two three four!

I like shiny things, but I'd marry you with paper rings!

FUCKIN' SIMP

Die

He nodded towards her iPod, where it rested on her stomach. She'd been watching it go up and down as she breathed, before, glaring at how flat her stomach was and waiting for Piper to hurry up with the sandwiches. When she turned her iPod on, the screen went to the last few songs that had been added. Meet you at the Graveyard, by Cleffy, and another she didn't recognise. "You added a song?"

"Yeah," Leo said, his eyebrows dipping. "I told you, this morning."

"No you didn't?"

He watched her for a moment, his eyes made her face hot, and not because she could see flames flickering in his iris's. A chocolate candle. Then he rubbed his nose and shrugged, sitting forward, arms on either side of her head. "I can take it off if you wa-"