Love Games (Leo Valdez/ PJO Fan Fiction)

Chapter 9 - Forget About Me

Tears pour out of my eyes as I sit in my oak tree, they fall down my cheeks and down several feet to the ground far below me. 

I can't make them stop, all of the unfortunate events from the past few months are being hurled at me, all at once, starting with my dad. I miss him more than words could possibly describe: he was the only family I had. Now I have no one.

Just when I finally calm myself from reliving my father's death,  the very thought of the games come to mind. If I fail miserably, or refuse to participate, my life will be a living hell. Even my own mother, Aphrodite, will go out of her way to make my love life a mess, or even more than just my love life.

Then Leo comes to mind. This one doesn't hurt as much as my dad, but it takes a toll on my heart. I don't want to hurt him, he deserves much better than me. I don't deserve someone as well, sweet. Oh who am I kidding, I think Leo is practically perfect, minus some minor flaws that everyone has. Nonetheless, I don't deserve someone like that, someone who is way less screwed up than I am.

And lastly, the thing that strikes me the least is the fact that the truth about my virginity has been revealed. Everyone at camp knows that I'm still a virgin, even Leo. I know I shouldn't be embarrassed, but considering I'm a daughter of Aphrodite, it just makes it that much worse.

It comes to an end when I look up at the stars, my father always said that when you're lost, the stars can get you back home. The brightest one is the northern star, the star that always leads to the north. The stars are like fire, they continuously burn until there are no more flames to keep the fire going. 

The air around me is silent except for the whistle of the wind through the trees. From my tree, I can see the camp fire and the festivities going on, but I can't hear it. It's peaceful, peace at last. I allow myself to relax, leaning my back against the trunk of the tree.

Out of nowhere, I feel a warm hand clamp around my mouth. I silently react, bringing my hands up to tear my attacker away from me and hopefully throw them on the tree. I yank the hand from me and hear a high pitched. "Ow!"

I move away some branches to get a view of my attacker. The moon and stars bring light into his dark eyes... oh my Gods, it's Leo Valdez. "What the hell?" I hiss to him.

"Sorry, I was just going to scare you," he laughs. "Too bad it didn't work."

"You're not funny," I bark angrily. "I was two seconds away from kicking your ass out of my tree."

Leo shrugs. "Good thing you looked before you did," his lopsided grin slips onto his face. 

"What are you doing here?" I demand to know, at this point I'm starting to regret showing him my oak tree. 

"You ran out after uh... what Aubrey said..." he replies, avoiding eye contact. 

"She swore secrecy," I mutter, cursing under my breath. "You never answered my question fully."

"Well, I figured you needed a friend after I saw that Beauty Queen didn't even move a muscle," he says sincerely, looking straight into my eyes, and what feels like my very soul.  

"That's nice of you," I tell him, then avoid his eyes. "But you should just forget about me, Leo."

"Why? Just because your a virgin?" he asks, cocking his head to the side slightly.

I shake my head slowly. "No," I mutter, reliving that moment when Aubrey told everyone. My mind begins to create its own visions of disaster. Instead of silence, I hear taunts and jeers filling my ears. In place of Leo's gorgeous chestnut eyes in front of me, I see Drew laughing at my face and calling me names. I finally gain control and let everything snap back to normal. "I don't want to hurt you..."

"I couldn't imagine you hurting me, Faye," Leo sighs. "Like I said, I trust you."

"Leo, I lied earlier, you can't trust me," I insist, pleading with my eyes for him to believe me. 

He takes one of my freezing cold hands into his burning hot ones. Although they're complete opposites, his warmth soothes me, calming me down, making me forget all of my troubles. "Faye," he whispers, leaning in closer for me to hear. "If this is about what Aubrey said..?"

"No," I pull my hands away. "Now I don't even care. I overreacted," I lie to him, though I wish I didn't have to. "Leo, please, just listen to me. You can't trust me, I swear on my life you can't."

Leo leans in closer, his eyes locked with mine. "Faye..." He doesn't believe a single word I saw, I still see the same trusting look in his face, the same concerned and caring look. Leo's face is only a few inches away from mine. I can feel his hot breath warming my cheek. 

"Leo," I say his name, it slips off of my tongue so easily. His eyes travel down to my lips, a small smirk appearing on his face as he does so. Loosing control of myself, I lean in as well. Before our lips meet, the sound of an explosion rings through our ears. We whip our heads around to see the source. It's definitely from where the camp fire is. The flames are even more visible, they rise higher than anything I've seen before. 

Leo shoots me a solemn look before climbing down the tree. I follow him back to the ground, sliding down the trunk. Together we run towards our friends, mentally preparing us for any challenges. I can't think of what almost happened in the tree. For all I know, a monster could have blown up a cabin. But as we run, thoughts creep up on me. Did we almost kiss back there?

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A/N: Okay, so this is a short chapter, I'm sorry :(

I just started trial adminning on an FB page, so here I am now.

Updates are going to be less frequent within the next four days, so I'm probably going to update on Wednesday after 3+ votes, deal? 

But they are also going to be less frequent b/c I'm joining track and field, so I'm going to have practice... horray...  I just can't wait to start getting exercise again (hint sarcasm)

Thanks for everything, (6 VOTES ON THE LAST CHAPTER? I LOVE YOU GUYS, OKAY?) and I will see you later! Mwah!

-Em