The Elite

Not Like Anyone Cared

Leo Valdez was depressed.

He already knew percy had trouble coming here, Apollo was probably missed, but him? He was never missed.

He sat on Thalia's tree. She had liked him, well, tolerated him at least. But maybe she was like Jason, maybe she didn't really care.

There were few people he could think of that might not have left him. Nico was in the underworld at that time, Thalia and Reyna were with the hunters. But everyone else. . .well, they didn't care.

"You okay?" Apollo asked, climbing up the tree.

I stared ahead at the trees, looking down on the camp I had once loved. The camp I thought that had once loved me. "Yeah, it's just. . .I never thought I would be back here,"

"I know," Apollo said quietly. "I never thought I would come back either. They abandoned me, I wanted to abandon them,"

"How did it feel? When they abandoned you. How did it feel?"

"Honestly, it wasn't how it would feel. I remember Rachel gave me a prophecy, she said that one day I would lose everything, but I would gain something greater. I knew it would include my godly hood and the olympians. Then I wasn't a god anymore, I knew it was a matter of time. And when I was abandoned, it felt as though there wasn't anything i had, but that's how it had been for a long time. How did it feel with you?"

"It felt like the world had drained me of everything I gave it. Like the spark I used to draw on to get my fire had finally run out. It's like I was glancing around, trying to find someone or something to hold onto, but there was nothing. No one was there anymore. They didn't care anymore. Or maybe they just never cared,"

"I'm sorry," Apollo said softly. "Maybe if I had been there—"

"No." Leo stopped his friend. "It wouldn't have made a difference. You would be like me, and being alone is a fate I wish on no one,"

"Theres a reason you were apart of the seven," Apollo said, almost reading Leo's thoughts. "You know that right? You have one of the biggest hearts, and because of that, you were apart of the Argo. Never forget that,"

"Thank you, Apollo. But thag doesn't change the fact they left me alone,"

"Then don't win the war for them. Win for the mortals, the good ones who don't deserve to die. But, if it makes you feel better, im gonna go yell at my dad,"

Leo smiled, "that will definitely help. Thank you 'Pollo,"