Where there's smoke // L.Valdez

'Glancing to her left, feeling the seat next to her shifting, Persephone's eyes locked onto the side profile of a boy. Black, curly hair, pointed ears, tongue sticking out in concentration of whatever he was fiddling with in his hands. Feeling her gaze, he turned to her, seeing her awake and grinned. His grin immediately told Persephone that the little Latino was not to be trusted with anything sharp or pointy or potentially dangerous.
-
"Child of lightening, beware the earth,
The giants' revenge the eight shall birth,
The forge and the dove shall break the cage,
And death unleash through Hera's rage,
Death shall meet her enemy soon,
The curse she lands may be her doom."
-
Leo saw the fear in her eyes, as she stared at him. His heart stopped, wanting nothing more than to comfort her, but knowing they didn't have the time for it.
"Come on, stay close to me, you'll be fine." He told her, pulling her up, wrapping a hand around her wrist and sprinting off in the direction of the warehouse.
-
"I wish someone looked at me the way Jason looks at Piper." She muttered to herself, not meaning for Leo to hear. He furrowed his eyebrows.
"What makes you so sure someone doesn't already look at you like that?"
-
Persephone reached for Leo's hand, vision swimming. "It burns." She told him.
His façade started to crack. Persephone loved seeing the son of Hephaestus happy, but this was the complete opposite. His expression was crestfallen, eyes pained. He entwined her fingers with his, clutching her hand tightly. A stray tear fell.

(Takes place during The Lost Hero, book one of the Heroes of Olympus series)
(Book two: There's Fire)
(All characters belong to Rick Riordan, Persephone and her own plotline are purely my creation)