Starlight and Repair boy (Leo Valdez x OC)

Chapter 5

Leo

"Why am I acting so much weirder than usual?"

I ran until I reached the area of the cabins. There was a crowd next to Hestia's hearth in the centre. I stopped for a moment to catch my breath and I ran towards the crowd.

No matter how hard I tried, the campers wouldn't make way for me to see what was going on in the middle. Someone elbowed me in the ribs and man it hurt, imagine being hit by a table, it was 10 times worse because we demigods have super-strength.

I found Harley standing at the edge of the crowd.

"Hey, buddy, what's going on?"  I asked my little eight-year-old sibling, patting his head. Harley jumped up and down as he spoke, "There's a new demigod that fell out of the sky. Luckily, when she reached the ground, she magically started floating down and now she's fine. I was there to witness the fall, it looks so much fun!" Harley smiled, revealing his lost tooth that recently fell off.

Poor camper, it sounded exactly how I arrived at Camp Half-Blood. I crash-landed in the canoe lake with Jason and Piper. It wasn't the best start to the camp. I expected welcome banners and a party, I was disappointed.

"Thanks, Harley, this crowd is real tough, no one bothers telling me anything!" I complained. That sparked a memory, I smiled remembering how Annabeth started screaming at the sky when they were at the canyon before crash landing at the camp before I even met Calypso...

I noticed that Chiron galloped through the crowd and he made his way to the middle. After a few moments, everyone went silent, waiting for Chiron to feed them information. 

I saw an opportunity because everyone was distracted and I squished through the crowd, luckily, I was scrawny enough to fit between Rachel and Piper. I made my way deeper into the crowd, accidentally stepping on someone foot in the process. 

When I first laid eyes on the new camper, I stopped thinking about Calypso instantly. The new camper had wavy dark golden brown hair that glistened in the sunlight and gently swaying in the warm breeze. 

The girl's eyes shone as bright as gold whenever a ray of sun shone into it. Her skin was a deep tan as if she sunbathed at the beach every day and did a great job at it. She kept fiddling with the sleeves of her grey hoodie and she looked as if she was trying hard not to laugh. 

She looked my age, which was a good thing.

As Chiron asked her some questions, the new camper failed to meet Chiron's eyes and every once in a while, her eyes would dart around the cabins, observing each of them.

I could tell she was ADHD like most of us, the way she kept fidgeting and would shuffle on her feet gave it away. I was too busy observing the girl to notice that Chiron started speaking to us.

"Everyone, this is Caitlyn. Make her feel welcome and show her what a wonderful place this camp is!" Chiron assured us. Everyone started cheering at the last sentence and Argus had to whistle loudly so that everyone would calm down. 

Caitlyn looked around the crowd as if looking for someone. I noticed her staring at Percy and Annabeth at the edge of the crowd. Percy's arm was wrapped around Annabeth's shoulders and Percy had whispered something to her that made Annabeth laugh and push him away. 

She started smiling and kept looking at the crowd. Her eyes landed on Nico and Will standing close to the centre, she eyed their linked hands and smirked as if she knew something everyone else didn't. Her eyes kept exploring. 

When she found Piper standing next to Rachel, her eyes seemed to fill with pity. As if she knew what Piper had to go through after... Never mind, Piper would hate it if I even thought about it. Piper was in a heated conversation with Rachel, she didn't notice Caitlyn looking at her.

After a few minutes, I noticed Caitlyn was looking at me. A joyful smile started growing on her face. Me? I stood there awkwardly. When she noticed me looking back at her, she quickly looked away acting as if nothing happened. At least she laid eyes on me, that is as far as I can get with her, she was totally out of my league.

I guessed she expected to spot other people, but judging by her look of disappointment, she hadn't found everyone she was looking for. 

A golden lyre appeared on top her head, bathing her in its golden light. Everyone started to whisper to the people next to them, probably because she was swatting it away and judging by the bored expression look on her face, either she didn't care or she already knew that it would be Apollo.

Chiron smiled at her as everyone started sharing their thoughts with their friends. Chiron gestured for everyone to stop talking, once we did he started talking, "Everyone let's bow down to Caitlyn, daughter of Apollo!" Caitlyn looked uncomfortable as everyone around her went down onto their knees and left her standing. 

Will was the first to get up. He flashed her an approving smile and offered her his hand. "Hi Caitlyn, looks like I'm your half brother!" Caitlyn enthusiastically shook his hand as everyone started to stand up.

"A camper will take you around camp with Will," I heard Chiron assure her. "Leo! Since you are so welcoming, you can show Caitlyn around!" My heart started doing backflips as I approached them. My legs were shaking, hope no one noticed.

Caitlyn smiled at me as I walked towards her, don't fall, don't fall, you'll only embarrass yourself! I finally made it to them without falling flat on my face. 

"Well Caitlyn, these two guys will take you around camp. Hope you enjoy your stay." Chiron galloped away towards the Big House. 

"Well then, let's get on with the tour!" Will broke the silence. We started to walk towards the lake with Caitlyn hanging on to his every word.