Leo Valdez x reader (A Heart's Choice)

3. Difficult to decide

You lie down in your bed in the (y/g/p) cabin. You're crying your eyeballs out and spending some time alone, because everyone's doing something and they're not in the cabin at the moment. You hear a knock at the door. "Who's there?" You ask, sniffling. The door opens and you see Piper standing there. "Hey Pipes, what are you doing here?" You question. "I --- I just wanted to make sure you were okay," she says. "I just need to be alone," you tell her. "I know, but I don't want you to be in here crying for the rest of the day," Piper replies.

"Why aren't you somewhere else, hanging with some cool beautiful Aphrodite girls?" You ask. "Anything but being here with me, the wimpiest and lamest demigod in Greek mythology." Piper sits down on your bed. "You're not lame, (y/n)," she says. "You're just saying that to make me feel better," you snap. "I know you think everyone says that behind your back, but to be honest, they don't. You're just a demigod like the rest of us, and there's nothing that stands out to make you lamer than us," she says. Yo u look up at her. "I hope you really mean that," you sob. "Of course I do, (y/n). You're my friend, and I think you're pretty cool, and your godly parent," she remarks. You smile. 

"So . . . what happened back there?" Piper asks. "At the game, after Jason talked to you." There's a brief silence before you answer. "I honestly don't know. It's just, there's been so much piled up on my back since---" You stop yourself. "Since what?" Piper questions. "It's too hard for me to talk about," you say, trying not to cry again. "Ugh, that Leo! He's so self-absorbed, and he's always trying to win. He thinks he can just---" You slap your hand with your fist. "The way he switches from Spanish to English and back, and then the way he's so proud of himself, and those stupid nicknames he gives people. And his messy hair, he never fixes it." Piper smiles. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you liked him," she says. "What?!" You exclaim. "Me after Leo? No, no. You got the wrong person." As much as you try to deny it, you can't help thinking of how his Spanish and his dirty looks make him look so cute to you in a unique way. 

"Come on, (y/n). The way you talk about him, the way you pretend to hate him," Piper insists. "I'm the daughter of Aphrodite, and I think I'm pretty good at telling whether someone likes someone else or not." "So what if . . . someone liked Leo?" You ask, stopping yourself from saying you. "Well, I really hate to spoil it, but this someone might be upset when they find out that Leo already has a love interest," Piper says. You make a confused-upset sort of face. "Oh," you say. "Um, I mean, that's totally fine with me. Who's to stop him from being with someone? Now, who is this girl?" "Calypso, the goddess of Ogygia. He swore to her a long time ago that he would rescue her from her island, and that's what he still plans to do to this day," Piper explains. "Calypso from Greek mythology? Well who's to say she hasn't already found another guy for herself and she really doesn't love Leo?" You ask, folding your arms. "Do I detect jealousy?" Piper teases. You blush. "I don't like him, Piper," you lie. "And if he has a girlfriend, then why are you so on about me admitting that I like him? Even if I do, I have to keep it in and not tell him because he'll just break my heart by telling me he has a girlfriend and I'll just be sadder!" 

Piper raises her brows. "Really, (y/n)? You don't like him?" She says. You sigh. "Fine, maybe I do like him," you admit. Piper jumps up, clapping her hands. "Oh (y/n), this is so exciting!" She squeals. "What's exciting?" You snap. "Jason's holding a party at his cabin, and everyone will be going. I can work my love magic on you and make you look perfect for Leo," Piper says. "What? No, Piper. Bad idea," you protest. "Why? It's the perfect way to get him to notice you," Piper insists. "What's the sense if he's already got it going with this Calypso person?" You ask. "Well, people do break up," Piper says, smiling evilly. "Piper, you're not breaking up Leo and Calypso," you tell her. "That's not what I mean, silly," Piper says. "I just mean that Leo hasn't gone to visit Calypso in a long time, which will give you a chance to move in on him."

"You're making me sound like a stalker," you say. Piper laughs. "Well, I'll stop all the romance talk when you actually go and make a move on him," she urges. "Come on, (y/n). You can do it!" "That is enough, alright? I'm sure Leo didn't just forget about Calypso. She's obviously still important to him," you say, sounding a little upset. "Besides, I don't think he even likes me if he has a girlfriend. That would mean he wouldn't care for her, which he does. In that case, that clears up any feelings he might've had for me which probably weren't there!" You didn't realize how much you had raised your voice, and how loud and agitated you had sounded. "(Y/n), keeping in strong feelings doesn't do any good to you. It just damages you inside like cancer. If you don't tell him how you feel, it'll hurt you a lot and break your heart. You don't want that," Piper warns. 

"I know, I know," you say, you sigh deeply. "I should be going. I promised Hazel I would hang out with her." Piper and you walk out of the (y/g/p) cabin, then she walks off as she waves goodbye. You take a different path and go to find Hazel, but you accidentally run into Leo. You both crash into each other, and you fall to the floor. Your bag opens and books spill all over the floor, along with some pens, and breath mints. "Ah, shit," you curse under your breath. "Oh my gods, I'm so sorry," Leo apologizes, he immediately swoops down and started cleaning up the mess. He carefully fits the books and your other belongings back into the bag, then he hands it to you. You aggressively snatch it from him. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be off celebrating with your buddies or something?" You say. "Look, (y/n), it was just a game. And I'm not as mean as you think I am," Leo replies. "Anyway, me and a couple of other campers were going to hang out. We wouldn't mind if you tagged along." 

"Shouldn't you be asking someone like Calypso on a date?" You snap. "Oh, so you heard about her," Leo says. "Of course I did! Well you know what? I can't hang out with you, because I was going to hang out with Hazel," you tell him. "If you hate me so much, then why are you so mad about Calypso?" Leo asks. You scoff. "I'm not mad. I'm just---" Leo raises his brows. "You're just what?" He says. "I . . . ugh, forget it," you say. "Are you jealous?" Leo teases. "Me? Jealous? There's no way you're going to make me admit to that. I'm not, and I'll never be jealous of you. I just thought maybe you could've told me about this Calypso girl and avoided flirting with me in the first place and giving me the wrong idea," you scold him. "What did I do in this?" Leo asks. "It's not my fault you like me!" "I don't like you!" You protest. "Then why are you so angry? Answer the damn question!" Leo shouts. "Maybe you're not so bad, you know? Maybe I thought I might---" You stop yourself. "What, huh?" Leo asks. "You can't talk?"

"Shut up! Just shut up! If I wasn't polite, I'd be taking a whack to you right now!" You yell. "Then why don't you go ahead, huh? Punch me," Leo insists. "I --- I can't," you protest. "DO IT!" Leo shouts. "NO!" You holler. "Then you don't like me," Leo says. "Yes I do!" You finally admit. Leo is quiet now, and so are you. Then, as if moved by a sudden impulse, he lurches forward and kisses you. He quickly pulls away. "I'm sorry, I don't know why I did that," he apologizes. There's another brief silence between you two, then you kiss him. He kisses you back, then you wrap your arms around his neck. His hands trail around your waist and flatten on your back. Everything that happened after that occurred all so fast it was a blur . . . . . .

(Ooh! So what do you think? I really felt like adding this, it adds tension!)