Koolaid Stains

Waffles

Percy's P.O.V.

As a seasoned demigod, it usually took quite a bit to get Percy to think "what the fuck?" but Leo flipping out on him had done the job. He was the last person he'd expect to get all pissy with him.

And to make him act all pissy back. Honestly, Percy didn't know why he reacted so drastically either... Maybe it was his natural compulsiveness or maybe something he'd picked up from Tartarus but he felt the need to entertain Leo's outburst. More than anything, he was sorry but secondly, he was confused.

He may not be Annabeth but he wasn't a complete idiot either. Those things Leo said didn't just come out of sheer anxiety or whatever the Hades was wrong with him. He had to be thig that a while before thinking that a while before the fight and all he wanted to know was why. What had he done to make Leo, who he thought was pretty cool after the whole "blew up New Rome" fiasco cleared up, lose his shit at him?

Confusion and worry gnawed relentlessly at him as he stared down at his blue pancakes and halfway listened to Hazel complaining about how Nico hadn't talked to her since the night she tried to get koolaid off of his shirt. "He's probably just solo-celebrating, Hazel... You know how he is..." Percy said, deciding that he'd better speak so that he wouldn't be questioned.

Annabeth nodded and flicked Piper's cheek with a care-free and pure laugh which cleared the fog in Percy's brain and made his heart race a bit. He hadn't heard that laugh in while... He feared he wouldn't hear ever again after what the two had experienced. He smiled and grabbed her hand from her thigh.

She locked eyes with him and smiled back, morning sunlight passing through her golden curls.

"Ew..." A little boy's muffled remark came from the empty table over with half a waffle in his mouth.

"Your mom," Percy replied without missing a beat.

The little boy frowned and bit his waffle bitterly. "My sister says you're a dummy and missed out on the best girl in the world," he said and tossed the half-eaten waffle to Percy. "So I'm not gonna talk to you," he said and marched off to the Aphrodite kids who were all walking to the tables from the showers. Late as always.

"Drew," the demigods all remarked at once.

Laughter rang out through the battered lot and it felt good. To be happy and safe for the first time in weeks.

Jason's laughter died first and he got up from the table and held out his hand for Piper to hold. "C'mon, let's go see if Leo's up."
~

"I... I don't want the others to know... at least not yet."

"Why, Leo? You know they'll be worried. Why can't you just... I don't know—ask them to help you? They're your friends, right?" Nico asked and closed his eyes for a few seconds. It was ironic. The two "loners" planning on ditching camp and their friends to go off on their own, if only further enforcing the fact that they did not belong.

Nico planned to leave after the quest as well. But now...

"I don't want to take away anymore of their lives and... I love her, Nico. I love her a lot. And I think I deserve that, at least. I have the right to love someone. Maybe it's inconvenient, maybe it won't work out like she and I would prefer, but I love her and I made a promise that I would come back for her and I will," he said and the only time Nico had heard such finality and truth in his voice was when he promised not to tell anybody about Nico's secret.

Nico took a step forward and had half a mind to slap Leo across his dumb love-struck face. Not only was it annoyingly sappy, but it wasn't well thought out and now Leo had sworn to it. It obvious—even to Nico— that it was island magic that made Calypso fall for him. The problem being... it wasn't obvious to Leo.

To him, he and Calypso were star-crossed lovers when in reality they were just magically and tragically matched. "Th-that's great. That you... love... her... But you can't afford to keep making such weighted swears. Now, if you die before you find her, you're going to suffer for the rest of eternity," he said, feeling a sudden urge to prove to Leo that he wasn't really in love with Calypso.

It was a strange and selfish thing, but he wanted more than anything for stuff to turn out right for him. And Calypso wasn't right for him.

"Don't you want me to be happ—"

"YES , that's literally all I want! I want both of us to be happy, okay! But Calypso isn't going to make you happy! She's just going to ruin your life!" Nico yelled and threw his hands up in exasperation.

Leo shook his head incredulously. "You don't know that, Nico... You don't know what's best for me..."

Nico felt all his energy drain at once and he offered a weak laugh. "I don't, Leo. I don't even know what's best for myself... But I know that you and Calypso isn't going to work out and you'll have had your hopes up and you'll run away... and..."

"I'm not you, Nico. I don't run away from everything, like you. If Calypso and I don't work out and we will, I'll just... bring her to camp and move on."

With that, Nico was done for the day. He glared back at Leo before his hands curled into fists. "You... you dickwad..." He mumbled and shadow traveled to his room, promptly collapsing while reflecting on how many better insults could've been used.