Halcyon [Leo Valdez x Reader]

Elpis

Winter break was in two days. I'd passed the semester with straight A's, just a little better than Percy, who scraped by with one B+. 

It was really easy to focus on school now that I didn't have Violet on my mind. I'd quit the band and continued practicing on my own. That short tan girl replaced me as bassist soon after. Supposedly, she was the one who got kicked out before I came along. Made sense of why she was in kahoots with Oscar.

Speaking of, he'd made sure everyone in school knew me as Patchy. Even teachers started using it, mindlessly thinking that it was something cute and they were hip and cool for using it!

I had no friends. I talked to nobody. I spent my lunches hiding in the bathroom stalls, my earbuds plugged in deep. I'd been angry before. I'd known red hot rage. This was different. It was like magma, burning deep under my skin. I wasn't just mad or pissed, snapping at anyone I wanted. I was letting it linger. I had nothing else to do with the rage I felt. I wanted so badly for someone to egg me on enough to where I could beat them into a bloody pulp. I wanted it to be Oscar. 

Violet never showed up anymore, but I saw her around town quite often. She came into my life, and I gave into her ways. I had nothing left to enjoy since she ruined me. All my favorite spots to hit up belonged to her now. I was so mad at myself for falling for her games. I wished I hadn't let her in. I should have been closed off from the start.

Percy was probably my biggest supporter. He made sure I was okay after the initial ‘break up’, but after that I'd never seen him so angry. If we were out in town and he happened to see Violet, he turned bright red. Even Annabeth was shocked to see him so mad.

I despised Violet. Her face haunted me almost everywhere I went, like she was some mad stalker. It wouldn't be beneath her ash-gray heart to torment me in such a way.

The last few days at school were just as bad as any other; there was nothing left to do since we were so close to break, so for seven hours I did nothing but listen to music. 

There must have been something going around, because plenty of my classmates looked at me eagerly. I had crumpled paper thrown at my head, gum stuck in my hair (that one needed a whole haircut in the bathroom to get out), and so many people tripped me in the halls. Even outside of school, I'd ride my skateboard to my meeting spot with Percy, and people would kick my board out from under me. 

Glue was poured into my locker, and I had no choice but to let it dry so I could pick it all off, even though it soaked my notebooks and stuck the pages together. I lost all of my work for that semester, but I didn't care since I'd already passed. People laughed at me as I tossed all my papers away.

I wasn't sure why so many people were trying to rile me up. It was more annoying than anything.

Sally had to help me fix my hair since I'd chopped it up in the bathroom. It was kind of sad to see all the memories be cut away, but it was a change that I probably needed. 

Percy barely had an appetite. I could see him picking at his jeans under the table, his gaze completely blank. I knew he was angry, and I knew he was especially upset at the fact that I wouldn't let him do anything for me. This was clearly something I had to handle on my  own.

Neither of us wanted to tell Sally the truth. She'd make a long call to the school that would result in a boring assembly about anti-bullying that would probably make everything worse, because it wouldn't be serious at all and instead just be some people doing bike tricks in the gym.

But she definitely knew something was up, and decided to make my favorite meal for dinner. Since Percy didn't eat, I had his portion as well.

As Sally and Paul were cleaning up, I saw my brother grabbing his skateboard. Skating around the city was one of his favorite ways to calm down. It was cold and snowy outside, so I figured it would cool us both off. I grabbed my board and went out after him.