Haunted || Leo Valdez

38 - Anne Likes Parties

Anne had gotten ahold of a second party horn and was blowing them both at the same time. She'd also discovered Pop-its and was throwing them at unsuspecting campers.

"Wait until she finds the sparklers," Leo snickered.

Rebecca laughed. "We should call the fire department now while we have time." Was it just her imagination, or had Leo gotten closer? Never mind, it didn't matter. "Or maybe we should just hide them."

"Yeah. And don't let her anywhere near the fireworks. Did they even have fireworks in the 16th century?"

Rebecca shrugged. "How should I know?"

Leo was definitely closer now. It wasn't something Rebecca noticed with discomfort. In fact, the swelling feeling she'd had when he'd kissed her was starting to come back. She sort of wanted him to kiss her again, but she wasn't sure she was ready for whatever they had to be public.

Leo suddenly grabbed her hand. "Rebecca, look, I--"

"Hey, Death Breath! Repair Boy!" Clarisse had on a hat with sparklers poking out of it. It looked like a fire disaster waiting to happen. She was waving them over. "Come on, it's time for the countdown!"

They all headed to the beach, where Rebecca could see the boat with the fireworks floating in the middle of the lake. Her hand was still tightly clasped in Leo's, and she figured it was probably a good thing anyway, since they would've gotten separated in the crowd if they hadn't been holding hands. They secured a good position close to the beach. Piper and Jason were a few yards away, and Anne was excitedly jumping up and down somewhere to their left.

The countdown started. "10! 9! 8!"

Leo's hand let go of hers; instead he slung his arm around her shoulders. Rebecca shifted closer to him.

"7! 6! 5!"

For some reason, that gleam was back in Leo's eyes. What was he up to now? First the Jumbotron, now what? Fireworks that spelled out "LEO = BAD BOY SUPREME" or something not far off?

"4! 3! 2! 1! HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

The fireworks exploded. Fortunately, there was no sign of Leo's handiwork. The fireworks were normal: moving shapes of heroes and monsters. A flying pegasus firework soared across the sky before sparking out. But for some reason the gleam was still in Leo's eyes.

Rebecca decided to shrug it off. He was probably just having a good time. She didn't need to be suspicious of him. She turned to him to make a comment about the fireworks, but before she could get out a single word, he pulled her closer to him and pressed his lips to hers.

The swelling feeling was back. All of the noise and light from the fireworks dimmed; this was even better. Rebecca wound her arms around him and pulled him even closer.

Rebecca remembered that it wasn't just the two of them on the beach when someone yanked her away from Leo. She was being lifted up by ten people at once. She saw that Leo had been lifted up too. Anne and Piper were gleefully watching the scene.

"Dunk the lovebirds!" Clarisse bellowed, leading the way to the docks.

"Clarisse!" Rebecca yelled in indignation.

"Oh, come on," Leo shouted. "Do we get no privacy?"

"You're the ones who decided to kiss on the beach in front of everyone!" Clarisse retorted. "Into the drink!"

Rebecca and Leo were tossed into the lake. They surfaced, gasping. Rebecca hurled a few curses at Clarisse, who just laughed.

"Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" Anne led the chant, pumping her fist and jumping up and down. Rebecca grabbed Leo's hand, and it was clear they were thinking the same thing. Ducking underwater, Rebecca shadow-traveled them away. They ended up in the Tree.