More then the seventh wheel ( Annabeth chase, Leo Valdez )

...

Not good enough.

Just a seventh wheel.

A useless tool.

An extra person.

A waste of space.

A mess up.

A failure.

Leo held his head as he sat in his cabin.
He couldn't stop it.

No one was around, and he couldn't muster a fake smile anymore. He was all tired out, the thoughts were there and they were screaming.

His ADHD kicked in, his feet carrying him away while his mind was so far away.

He snapped out of his trance and found himself standing before a cabin door. He glanced around the hall.

Annabeth's cabin... Why?

Leo held his breath. He wanted to turn away, go back to his room and cry.

But something held him there, standing before her door...

He raised a hand, and before he could stop himself, knocked on the door.

"Yes?" Annabeth's voice called. Leo held a hand in front of his eyes and opened the door.

"Are you decent? I um... Wanted to talk." Leo asked. He didn't peak this time, Piper and scared the crap out of him when he'd made that joke last time.

"Yeah, come in." Annabeth was sitting on her bed, cleaning her Celestial Bronze dagger.

"Oh, hello Leo. What do you need?"

"I uh, like I said, I wanted to talk."

"Alright, come on in." Annabeth patted the place on the bed beside her, tucking away the cloth she was using into her bedside table. Leo hesitated, then sat beside her.

Come on Valdez...

Leo blurted it out without thinking, and the silence that followed threatened to choke him.

Then she spoke.

"Leo. You're right. You are the seventh wheel." Annabeth nodded her head. "You're the wheel that keeps the cogs of this team turning."

"What?" Leo asked, his voice barely a whisper.

Annabeth's eyes turned sad.

She was staring across the room at her Yankees cap hanging on the wall. "My Mother gave that to me. Years before I met Percy. It's helped us on a lot of the quests we've gone on together. It was a huge help during the Titan War especially, I was able to get behind enemy lines without being seen. It makes the wearer invisible, and it meant a lot to me. It's saved our lives countless times."

"It meant a lot to you?" Annabeth nodded again.

"Ever since we started this quests... It hasn't worked. My Mother and I...Well, she took back the magic on the hat. Now it's just a plain old Yankees cap."

Annabeth turned to look Leo in the eyes, and he was surprised by the storm raging within the grey.

"I've been struggling since we started this quest. I'm supposed to be the strategist. I'm the daughter of Athena, I'm supposed to be wise, but nothing ever goes according to plan." Annabeth smiled bitterly. "But you ease the teams moods after everything goes south. Don't think I don't notice."

Leo stared, gaping in pure shock.

"And Piper. She seems confident, I know. But every now and then, I can see her mask slip. She's terrified of losing any one of us, and that includes you." Annabeth bumped his shoulder with her own.

"Jason is uptight, and he doesn't seem to sleep much. but when you crack jokes I can see he relaxes. We're in a war, trust me I know that. But I also know that pushing yourself past your limit will only result in pain."

"What are you-" Annabeth held up a hand. "I'm not finished." She took a deep breath.

"Percy...Even since we were twelve he's been a Seaweed Brain. But recently... He's become different. He's a little more distant around people, and he gets a dark look in his eyes when he's fighting..." Annabeth shook her head. "But when he sees you messing around like it's a normal day in a Mortals life, he smiles just like when we were younger."

"Frank, although you've had your rough patches in the past, thinks of you as a best friend he didn't have in the Legion." Annabeth watched Leo's face grow brighter as she spoke.

"And Hazel treats you like an older brother.She loves it when you don't get frustrated with her for not knowing stuff about modern day things."

"I..." Leo was at a loss for words.

"Leo, you may be a seventh wheel, but that isn't a bad thing. An extra wheel -- In any project -- can be useful in so many ways. Seventh wheels are saved, not thrown away." Annabeth smiled.

"Thank you." Leo whispered. Annabeth put an arm around his shoulder, giving him a one armed hug.

"Don't-" Annabeth hesitated. "Let it out Valdez. I've got you. No one's here to watch, but you don't have to hide anymore."

You don't have to run anymore.