Ablaze | Leo Valdez [Discontinued]

Chapter Thirteen

*yes, that is a picture of jake t. austin in a tux. and yes, he plays leo. here's a gif as well. you're welcome.*

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

[ L E O V A L D E Z ]

"Will, are you ready?"

Will Solace held his head in his hands as his younger sister, Joey, tried to get him to get up.

"No, no no . . ." Will muttered to himself.

Joey rolled her eyes as Leo tapped his foot impatiently.

He was easily frustrated, and sometimes, tapping his foot seemed to be the only way he could calm down.

The Stolls had set up the entire date very graciously and now, Joey had forced both Leo and Jason to wear a tux.

A stupid tux.

And why?

Because they were the waiters to the two teenage boys who were both going on their first date.

They had set up the table with a few fairy lights and trying to be 'romantic' and 'cliché', the table held two plates and some very beautiful candles.

Joey had squealed at the sight of the dinner table as Leo held her back from trying to attack the Stolls with grateful hugs.

They had, of course, fled when they heard the words 'waiter' slip from Joey's mouth and both Leo and Jason had got stuck to a night of helping Will through his first date.

Joey had abandoned her usual t-shirt and jeans for a pair of shorts and a white blouse, making Leo glance at her every five seconds. As freaking usual.

He didn't know why he stared at her. She always looked so happy, even though she was not, and whenever he looked at her, she stared back before her gaze once again focused on the ground or the person near her. He looked like an idiot though, staring, looking her up and down (or as Jason put it, checking her out).

With a hefty sigh, Leo sat in between the two Apollo spawns and gave Will the best pep-talk he could ever get.

Best, because it was Leo who was giving it, and who else was better than the Bad Boy Supreme himself?

"Look Solace, this is your first chance. And it will be your last if you don't pick your small little butt up and drag it over to sit in the chair in front of di Angelo's," Leo said, as Will slowly lifted his head. "You need to at least believe that you can do this. I know this is hard for you, but Nico's been waiting for this and so have you. Don't let something as small as fear or that little 'what if' become a hurdle to what you really love and care for. Because once that hurdle is put up, you won't be able to jump over it, no matter how hard you try."

Leo could feel Joey's burning stare yet he chose to ignore it. Will had finally snapped back to his senses as he pulled Leo into a hug.

When he finally pulled away and saw Leo blushing, he smirked.

"Don't worry, you're not my type."

With those last words, Will Solace strode confidently over to the Pavilion to meet his one true love.

* * *

[ J O E Y T A T E ]

"Can you see anything?"

Joey groaned in pain as she tripped over yet another rock. Clutching her head, she moved to sit next to Leo who was crouched behind a relatively large bush. With his ridiculous hat and rather large binoculars, he looked like an absolute creep.

His tie had long been shoved to the ground and jumped on several times as Jason helped him spy on the SolAngelo date.

However, the pair had yet to realise the meaning of 'spy'.

They were making such a ruckus, Joey was sure that that one eye roll from Will to Nico had been for them. Now, as she tried to get them to stop, she couldn't help but join them.

"Leo, I've got to go. It's ten and I promised Piper I'd help finish that dress she was making. Later!"

With that, Jason Grace fled the scene, leaving the two awkward teenagers behind.

The last time the two had been together, they had almost eaten each other alive with just their staring.

Leo's body heat could be felt by Joey and she did not like it at all. Moving away from her, she was happy it was dark so he couldn't see her blush.

"What do you think their doing right now?" Joey whispered and then ended up feeling stupid because Leo could clearly see them through his handmade binoculars.

Children of Hephaestus and their never-ending gadget making.

Leo, however, did respond.

"They're holding hands!"

Joey almost squealed, as Leo got up and started walking. Peeking from her place behind the bush, she saw the couple holding hands as they grinned.

CUTE, CUTE, CUTE! That was all that was going through Joey's mind.

Well, that, and FEELS!

With a large smile on her lips, she followed Leo to the end of Pavilion, a part that was hidden by a bunch of large leaves and bushes. They were standing on the edge and as Joey began to examine herself (she felt very conscious in these small shorts she had borrowed from Piper and Leo's constant gazing was not helping), she finally decided to untie her hair.

The wind was strong and definitely chilly, yet the weather was pleasant.

Not to cold and not to hot.

Untying her hair was easy, fixing it was harder than undoing a pair of headphones tangled together.

As she ran fingers through her hair, she finally decided to look up and caught Leo's head now turned towards her, his eyes taking her from her feet to her midsection and finally, her face.

Joey's face heated up once more before she nervously took a step back.

Now what happened next, neither of them expected.

Joey's foot slipped over yet another rock and she felt herself tumble off the Pavilion and onto the river below.

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE//

Guys, another update!

It must be your lucky week (?)

Anyway, please VOTE/COMMENT/SHARE!

All the love,

Beryl.