Better As A Team (Heroes of Olympus/Lorien Legacies Crossover Fanfic)

Chapter 8

Max's POV:

Leo and I sit on Percy's bed lying on one side of the room. I'm sitting a few feet away from him and we aren't looking each other in the eye.

"What do you want to talk about?" I ask Leo, even though I already know. With my enhanced hearing I was able to hear to the whole conversation without even trying.

"I don't know...Your past, maybe?" Leo suggests. That's a surprise. Note the sarcasm.

"Uh...Alright."

Ever since I came back, I wasn't able to remember anything about my past. I only remembered Lorien, my Cêpan, and the day I died. But I might as well tell him the past I've been living so far.

"Well, my mom died when I was really young. I've been on the run ever since. I never met my dad, and I've been hiding out in alleys and things like that for years now. That's basically it, really." I don't look at him, I feel him. His warm arm wraps around my shoulders and pulls me closer to him.

Without thinking, I rest my head on his shoulder, and it feels like he's been through things like this, too. Besides, all of that was true.

"Yeah, my mom died when I was young, too." Leo confesses. I look up at him and he looks back at me. 

"I've lived in foster homes most of my life, but I always found myself running from them. Until I met Jason and Piper, I went to the Wilderness school, a school for troubled kids. Annabeth brought us to Camp Half-Blood. Jason, Piper, and I went on a quest, we found Percy, Hazel, and Frank, and now we're here, but it's better than I expected since you're here." Leo explains.

"I'm sorry," I tell him. His past is a lot like mine. Losing our mothers, running, and ending up here.

"It's alright. I'm done running. Are you?" Leo asks me.

"Yeah. I'm done being hunted," I reply honestly.

I smile as Leo lights up his hand with red flames. It soothes me somehow. He soothes me, makes me feel warm, on the inside and the outside.

I don't want this moment to end, but Piper knocks on the door yelling, "Max! Leo! The others are waiting for you in the mess hall!"

Leo and I stay like that for a little while until Piper pounds on the door again. "We're coming!" Leo calls back to her and he lets his flames die. I stand back up, Leo's arm slipping off my shoulders. It's weird, I like sitting next to him and getting warmed up.

Do I like him? Maybe. Will Percy strangle him if we confess to each other? Definitely. Is it worth a shot? Probably. Does he like me? Most likely, after what I heard him say outside.

Leo and I walk out Percy's room and slowly into the mess hall. No one but Percy pays us any attention. Percy glares at Leo and smiles at me. Talk about a protective brother.

Yeah, it's worth a shot.

Leo and I sit next to each other despite the many other empty seats. I get a smirk from Piper, a curious look from Annabeth, and a confused face from Percy. Is it cause the girl with water is sitting next to the boy on fire?

I feel Leo's hand reach for mine, so I grab his. The warmth spreads through me, making me feel safe even though I will never be safe.

I slightly smile and Piper catches it, tilting her head in confusion at me. I give her a 'Later' face and she mouths 'Oh' before smirking at me again.

After the meeting, which I wasn't really listening to, Leo leads me to his room.

What now? I kind of like this guy, yeah, but he's doing a bit too much. He's sweet, though.

His room is pretty clean for a son of Hephaestus. I expected it to be messy with dents in the walls and inventions spread out everywhere. Well, there are inventions everywhere, but they're organized. Nice, Valdez.

I smile at him and he returns it. We sit on his bed, sitting face to face this time, and talk about anything. Leo knows if it gets too personal, so he'll change the subject.

"Alright, everyone! Go to bed!" Coach Gleeson Hedge yells to everyone. Coach Hedge is a satyr who's helping us on this quest. He's strict, violent, and protective, but overall he's a good satyr.

Leo and I get up from his bed, but before I can leave after a quick 'Goodnight', he grabs my wrist, pulls me closer, and kisses my forehead. I don't pull away. I let him, surprisingly. The only thoughts that flash through my head are, 'Wow' and 'What if Percy sees us?'.

When Leo pulls away from me, we're both smiling. "Now you can leave. Not that I want you to," he says.

"Bye, Valdez," I reply softly, and leave his room, heading to Percy's. Again, I'm not exactly sure where I'm supposed to sleep, on the floor maybe.

When I get there, Percy's already asleep on his bed. I hold back a laugh as I realize he's drooling. Annabeth told me that her first words to Percy were 'You drool in your sleep' before the campfire at Camp Half-Blood.

I change into pajamas and stay awake, sitting on the floor the whole night, thinking about Leo and Leo only.

I don't remember falling asleep that night, but the next thing I know, I'm almost screaming as I jerk upright, breathing heavily, palms sweaty from from the dream I had.

There, just standing there, was the Mogadorian leader, Setrákus Ra, and in front of him was a tall, muscular, tan guy with short blond curls and a strong jaw glaring up at him.

Setrákus Ra smirked before taking out a large fiery gold whip. The blond stumbled away before tripping and falling on his back. I watched in horror as Setrákus Ra rose the whip over his head, his long, purple scar glowing on his neck, and almost bringing it down.

"HEY!" I yelled almost as loud as I could, and even though my voice seemed distant and far away, Setrákus Ra and the blond were able to hear me and they both turned to face me. Setrákus Ra smirked and I heard pounding footsteps behind me. I turned around and there were a bunch of Mogs storming towards me. I reached for my sheathed sword to realize that I didn't have it with me. Where was it?

Setrákus Ra laughed and I grit my teeth so hard I thought my teeth were going to fall out.

I wasn't going down without a fight, and apparently, nor was the blond dude, either.

I watched him get up, light his hands on fire like what Leo could do, and blast each Mog behind me like a flamethrower. We locked eyes for a moment before the ground shook. Suddenly I was almost right in front of him, and the ground beneath him was cracking open, so I did the first thing that came to mind.

I jumped in his place and pushed him out of the way, and the ground under me cracked open. I was falling nonstop into the darkness until I woke up with beads of sweat dripping down my forehead.

The last thing I heard before I woke up, though, was Setrákus Ra calling out: "Your turn, John Smith."

I think I just found another Garde.

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