Leo Valdez- Learning to Live

Chapter 21

Oh dear, I got behind again. Many apologies, everyone.

I don't own PJO/HOO. Please enjoy!

The s'mores were Jason's idea.

After lunch, Jason had approached Piper with a wide grin on his face and a Leo in tow. She had agreed to the idea, mostly because she figured they could use a break. Something lighthearted and fun to distract them from all the bad stuff.

Unfortunately, Percy had overheard and seemed enthusiastic as well. Jason had apologetically explained that it was a Team "Save-Hera-from-a-tendril-cave-thingy" event only. 

...They could work on the name later.

Percy had responded... interestingly. He had grabbed a surprised Hazel and Frank, declaring that they were going to have a Team "Kill-that-giant-guy-in-Alaska" club meeting before dragging his two bewildered friends away.

It was honestly a rather childish reaction, but Piper supposed she wasn't surprised to get it from Percy.

(Later she heard that after the impromptu club meeting, Percy had tried to hang out with Annabeth only to get a, "Sorry, Mark of Athena club members only," and a door to the face. It seemed a little petty for the Annabeth she knew, but she was also aware that Annabeth would tease Percy any chance she got, so maybe the story wasn't too far-fetched after all.)

It turned out, unsurprisingly, that Leo was a great guy to have for making s'mores. It was a lot easier to use Leo's custom flames than starting a campfire, and Leo did a good job of controlling his fire so that the marshmallows were evenly roasted. 

The only problem was her friends' eccentric tastes.

"Jason, that's not even a s'more! You're just eating the pieces separately!"

"I like it better this way!" her boyfriend defended. "There's nothing wrong with it! And besides, I'm not actually eating the graham crackers. Just the marshmallows and chocolate."

Piper just stared at him, absolutely appalled. "That's not better!"

Leo laughed. "Leave him be, Pipes. So what if he's a huge weirdo?" And with that, the marshmallow in his hand burst into flames.

"What are you doing?" Piper cried. "It'll get burned!"

Leo quirked an eyebrow at her. "Uh, yeah. That's the point." The fire in his hand died down, revealing a marshmallow that was indeed burned to a crisp. The outside was blackened and cracked, absolutely ruined.

Leo popped it into his mouth.

"I cannot believe you two," Piper groaned.

"What?" Leo asked through the marshmallow sticking in his mouth.

Piper just shook her head, watching as Leo prepared another burnt marshmallow, this time for a s'more of his own. Jason shrugged in response to her obvious distress and broke off another piece of chocolate to eat.

Piper gave up on her friends and skewered a marshmallow of her own, holding it out to Leo's flaming hand. She carefully rotated it, determined to get the perfect golden-brown.

If she hadn't been so focused on the marshmallow, she might've noticed the sudden spark of mischief in Leo's eyes. Unfortunately for her, she didn't notice a thing.

Suddenly, the fire in Leo's hand flared up, briefly increasing in temperature, causing Piper's marshmallow to catch fire. She shrieked at the sudden development, and quickly withdrew her marshmallow, blowing out the flames. But it was too late. One side was already burned black.