Love Games (Leo Valdez/ PJO Fan Fiction)

Chapter 11- Misconceptions

"Faye!" A voice yells out, trying to get my attention. I don't recognize the voice, so I keep going without even turning my head back. "Faye!"

A hand slaps my shoulder and forcefully turns me around. The big grey eyes catch my angry glare. "What do you want, Corey?"

Corey flips his black hair out of his eyes. "I'm sorry," he murmurs, tearing his gaze away from me. 

"You have nothing to be sorry for," I say bluntly, then continue storming away from the Aphrodite cabin.

He stops me once again. "Yes I do. I should've stood up for you!"

"Why on earth would you do that?"

"Because Drew has been nothing but a bitch to you. You do realize she planned the whole thing with Aubrey and Leo just to humiliate you?" he tells me, catching his breath. 

"What?!" I shout angrily, raising my voice. "What do you mean she did this purposely?! I thought this was supposed to be random!" I can feel anger boiling within me. I fear that I may explode any second. 

Corey backs off for safety precautions. "It is supposed to be random, but Drew has something against you. I overheard her talking to Aubrey. I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier..."

"It's fine," I forgive him instantly, only focusing on my fury towards Aubrey and Drew. "You're a good guy, Corey."

That earns a slight smile. "So I'm not that douche bag that dumps all the girls after he got into her pants?"

I shake my head, smiling myself. "Like I said, you're a good guy. Delia is a nice girl too, don't break her heart."

"But the games," he says sadly, sighing. It's good to know I'm not the only one stressed by the games, the immorality is enough to drive any regular person crazy. Many of Drew's minions are not normal, they're well... you know. 

"I know," I look towards the ground. "I've gotta go. Thanks Corey."

He grins once again. "You're very welcome, Faye."

--

"Hey Leo, what was that all about?" I see Leo's curly head of hair from a few feet away. He's resting on one of the logs, his head hanging. 

Other campers mill around him, but don't start conversation. Everyone seems a bit frustrated and pissed off. His head snaps back up at the sound of my voice. "It was all a false alarm. Just some stupid prank." There is bitterness in his tone. He's clearly not in a great mood.

I collapse onto log next to him, only a few centimeters away from him. I don't realize until now how exhausted I am. "Better safe than sorry."

"You're right," Leo smirks, his lips curving up slightly. 

He looks so sweet, so innocent, so harmless. After what had gone down with Drew, I know what I have to do. "I can't do this anymore Leo," I whisper, tears rushing to my eyes. I won't let them fall. I have to be strong. I can't show weakness.

"What do you mean?" Leo asks, concern evident on his tanned face. 

All I want to do is rest in his arms, our heart beats beating in sync. I want to feel safe with him, like nothing will ever hurt me. Instead, I stare at him, resting my hand under my thighs. "I can't spend anytime with you, I can't..."

"You can't what?"

What Piper had said earlier comes to mind. She told me to let myself fall and not worry about what would happen earlier. After Corey had told me the truth, all I really wanted to do was beat Aubrey and Drew at the Love Games, their very own games. I would have proved to them that I'm not somebody to be messed with, I'm a force to be recognized. Now, I know I can't do that. To do something like that would be unforgivably selfish. I would just be one of them. "I'm sorry, Leo."

Before he can say anything else, I jump to my feet and make my way back to the forest. If Leo knows better, he won't follow. I won't let tears fall from my eyes, like they did when Aubrey publically humiliated me. No, I am much stronger than that girl. I need to get over this. I need to move on with my life. If Leo follows me, everything will fall apart.

I scale the oak tree once again and climb to a branch not even Leo can get to if he tried. From the very top branch, I can see the treetops and leaves sway with the wind. It's getting late, the moon and stars brighten the night sky.

I bring my knees to my chest. Tears threaten to pour again, but I ball my fists, refusing to let them fall. I'm stronger than that. 

From beneath me, I can hear rustling and a few swear words accompanied with it. "Leo, please just go away," I call down, my voice quivering.

"No," Leo shouts back up. "How did I know you'd be here?" he asks, trying to scale the tree once again. 

"Perhaps because I've been running here for a long time," sarcasm creeps into my speech.

Leo chuckles. The very sound of it warms me up slightly, makes butterflies ruffle in my stomach. Oh my Gods, I sound like such a girl. No, I can't be. A normal girl would have given up by now. I'm stronger than them. "I'll be up a second."

"Good luck with that, Valdez."

With a grunt, Leo hauls himself on a branch only a foot away from mine. "Why hello there, Faye," he winks.

I giggle, feeling heat rush to my cheeks. I hide my face behind a branch so he won't see. "I have no idea how you got up here."

Leo swiftly jumps from his branch onto mine. It's a pretty thick branch, so he's able to face me, sitting Indian style. "You're blushing," he accuses goofily.

"No!' I cover my cheeks with my hands. "Prove it!"

"Have it your way," Leo laughs, a mischievous look making way to his face. 

"Oh no," I mutter before he attacks. He pokes my stomach, making me yelp. "Stop!" I say between bursts of giggles. "I'm ticklish!" It's a miracle we're not falling out of the tree.

I can't control the laughter as it escapes my mouth. My hands immediately l go down to his and shove them away. But there's too much force behind my shove, I fall forward into his chest. I can hear his heart beating, it's racing. I move my head to look up at him. He's wearing the same lopsided, cocky grin. "I do have to say, I like you from this view better."

"I do too," I say. Did I really just say that? I can't. Oh no, I just said that. What the Hades is wrong with me? I'm turning into a girl. Curse you Leo Valdez.

"What was that?" Leo asks, cocking an eyebrow.

Oh holy Aphrodite. I just said 'Curse you, Leo Valdez out loud. "N-nothing," I stutter, then realize that we're still incredibly close.

Leo's smile still remains on his face. I've never seen a smile so genuine. He doesn't say anything. Instead, he swoops his lips down and presses them onto mine. I close my eyes, my body and surroundings all melt from me. All I can feel is my heart thumping in my chest and the soft lips of the son of Hephaestus resting on mine. 

His hands go to my waist and mine wrap around his neck. I forget about all my troubles, all I can think about it the feeling of his hot tongue racing along my bottom lip, begging for entry. I break apart first. We stare at each other for a moment, absolutely breathless, taken away. His breath warms my nose as he catches his breath. 

"Leo," I mutter, feeling absolutely lost, but found at the same time.

Leo dark brown eyes find mine. Our gazes lock. "I've been wanting to do that for so long," he tells me, his voice airy and light. 

I want to protest, I want to scream and shout with joy, but all I do is bring my lips to his once again. 

--

A/N: Sorry for the late update D:

I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I did, cause I freaking love this chapter. 

So I'll update for you guys on Friday after I get 7+ votes. That's fair, right?

Please tell me what you thought about this chapter in the comments :)

And as always, thank you so much for all the votes, comments, and fans. I appreciate them all :D

-Em