Storm and Fire (Leo Valdez x OC)

Chapter 2

I wake up feeling like several monsters have been using a snow plough on my side.

My eyesight is blurry and my throat is as rough as sandpaper.

My vision slowly starts to clear up and through a haze of pain I can see that I am in a clean white room. There are neat rows of beds along the wall (including the one that I am in). Each bed has a plain white nightstand on one side and a single chair on the other.

With a shock I realise that the chair next to my bed is occupied by the boy from the square - Leo.

The square. I remember now.

There were others. More people who could see monsters.

I can barely wrap me head around it. I stretch and a whimper of pain tears it's way from my lips. I will be bedridden for days now. I sigh defeatedly. My ADHD will not like that. I hate being cooped up.

Leo stirs in the chair next to my bed.

"Not the stripy ones!" He blurts out, then seems to wake up fully.

"Oh," he says, seeing me looking at him. "Hello."

"Hi," I say a little unsure. Why is he here? Where is HERE?

I voice my second question out loud. "Uh,...Leo, where are we?"

His eyes brighten; his grin is back. "We are on the greatest ship ever made. Welcome to the Argo II" Leo spreads his arms wide, as if he expects a round of applause. Instead all he gets is a lurching of the ship that sends him flying out of his chair and smacks him into the next bed.

I snort with laughter as he disentangles himself. "Not cool," he yelps at the chair.

I laugh so hard I have trouble breathing. I haven't laughed like that in a long time. Leo is good at making me laugh.

He picks himself up and plops himself back into the chair.

"Not a word," he says, pointing at me.

I hide my smile.

A knock at the door makes me jump, sending pain flaring through my side. A groan escapes my lips.

Leo's hands cradle my face. No one has ever cradled my face like that. He props me up on the pillow so I am sitting up and hands me a drink.

"Here," he says. His voice sounds very far away. "Drink this; it'll make you feel better."

I look into his eyes; they are an open warm brown. Honest. I believe he is telling the truth. The drink will heal me.

Or maybe that's just what I want to believe.

I take a sip. It is delicious. It tastes like the chocolate cake, the kind I used to scrounge from the bakery near the ally I used to live in.

Leo watched me carefully as I drain the glass. "How's it taste?" He asks curiously.

"Like...home," I say truthfully.

He nods like this is what he expected. I can feel the drink fizzing through my veins, repairing my many injuries, even the older ones, like the scratch from the Sphinx at Starbucks and the claw marks from the koala back in Australia. I try moving and I'm surprised to find that it's pain free.

"Wow! Leo- thanks!" I gasp.

He grins again, a big, infectious grin that I mirror back at him. "No problem," he says, winking.

Someone clears their throat and Leo and I both jump. I look around, my heart pounding, and see one of the eight people from the square.

I study him closely. He is stocky and well built - rather tall too. His face is rather babyish, which is an odd match for his strong frame. He reminds me a little of the koala demon that attacked me back in Australia - a strange mix of cute and cuddly and strong and muscly. "Leo." He sounds apologetic.