In Ruins |Leo Valdez|

Chapter 17

Chapter 17:
Erikka's P.o.v.

"First things first-"
"Imma realist!" Brendon cut me off, making me laugh. Oh yeah. I was gonna get along pretty well with this kid.
"No, but I applaud your humor." He gave a fake bow that made me laugh again. With another hiccup. "I don't need a heart to heart. So there's no need to talk."
Brendon shook his head so much that his glasses slid to the tip of his nose. "No. You do. Probably you need to talk about some other things, but you definitely need to talk about Leo." I put my head in my hands and sighed.
"What about him?"
Brendon chuckled softly. I was glad I couldn't see him because he probably had a goofy smile on his face. "First off, you two are so in synch that it's crazy. Seeing you fight that monster together was like watching a scripted play. You had his back and he had yours. And that other girl- Anna?- had mine. She kept keeping the hydra from me. She seems cool."
"She is."
"And Annabeth. And you. You guys are cooler than the girls at school. All they say they want to be friends, but trust me. They don't really mean that." I laughed at how naive and innocent he was. Who knew a thirteen year old still could be? "But anyway, I know a lot about chemistry. I aced the chemistry midterm with 124%." I choked on my Dr. Pepper. "And I know that you and Leo have a lot of it."
"124%?"
Brendon swung his legs and nodded. "Yup. My mom was a biochemical engineer. Super genius. Grandma has a bunch of her awards hanging in her old room. Dad said that I got the gene. I can read and speak fluently in English, Greek, and Japanese. That's what grandma is. Grandpa was American, but he died when I was little." This kid rambled on more than I did.
Soon we were talking about everything. The kid had a way of making you just trust him. Everything about him screamed for you to be yourself. And for a brief shining moment, I could forget about my mom, Hades, Leo, Nyx, and Calypso. I could pretend that I was hanging out with my friend on a train home. No gods, no powers, just normal kids heading home at one in the morning.
At some point, Nico came in while I was retelling our first quest and started adding the more embarrassing parts. Like me getting walked in on in the bathroom, and jumping out of a window. I felt better as I sat there laughing with them. The bartender had come back out and gave us some water since he couldn't keep giving me free things. So when the door slid open again, I wasn't even worried.
Until I turned and saw Leo.
The blood drained from my face and I could feel the tension building up as our eyes locked. Nico cleared his throat, stopping Brendon in the middle of a continuous sentence. "Hey, Brendon, wanna check out that Mythomagic set I told you about?"
"Do I ever!" Brendon exclaimed. Nico gave me an encouraging smile and left with Brendon chattering excitedly behind him.
As soon as the door slid closed, the tension sky rocketed. And when it got so bad that you could have cut it with a knife, Leo finally said, "Hi. Can we talk?" With those words I felt the heat rush back into my cheeks. "Listen-"
"Stop right there, bucko!" I said waving my arms frantically around, because his words were almost identical to how he had broke up our friendship after the last quest. "If this is another one of those we-can-be-friends-on-a-quest-but-not-at-camp crap that you pulled last time, then I'm never going back to camp and I will force you to go on every quest imaginable."
"Uh-" he started, a hand rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. But I was on a roll and there was no stopping me.
I sucked in a breath and started talking a mile a minute. Not to mention using my most exaggerated hand gestures. "And if this is you asking me to help you on a quest to go get Calypso, well I thought I couldn't do it. Especially after what happened today, but you know what? I can. Because you deserve to be happy. I don't know how, but we can find a way. And it's all because I love being around you. You make me forget that my mom died, and that I could be killed any minute. Not to mention that Nyx wants to use me to wake up her Boss. Whoever the heck that could be-"
Leo rolled his eyes and suddenly grabbed my face. "Rikki! Calm down and just be quiet for a second, won't you?" He said with the slightest hint of a smile on his face as I nodded between his hands. Tingles raced through my body from where his hands were laid on my cheeks. "You need to understand some things, Rikkii. First, did you even know what my choice was before you freaked out and stupidly sacrificed yourself to Nyx?"
"Choice?" I parroted. "What choice? It was obvious you were going to pick Calypso. I mean, come on. You're in love with her and you'll never like anyone else. It's painful, but I've dealt with it." I don't think I could have stopped my speed talking if I'd wanted to. "I've accepted the fact that you were about to trade me for Calypso, and I wouldn't even have been mad. I would have forgiven you! That's why I did what I did-"
"Rikki for the love of gods would you shut up and let me talk?" My mouth snapped shut as he dropped his hands into his lap. "Thank you. Now, listen. I hadn't chosen yet. I couldn't give you up for something so selfish, and I wouldn't want you to do that either. I was just really confused and I didn't know what to do or think."
I sighed, running a hand through my hair and spinning around on the stool. "But you should have picked her. No matter what. Because she's your true love. And, I have a confession to make." Against my better judgement, I told him about seeing him and Calypso in his dream.
To my complete and utter surprise, he wasn't angry.
"That explains a lot. Of course it would be that dream you had to see, wouldn't it?" He said with a soft chuckle that was unbelievably attractive coming from him. "So you saw all of that?" I nodded. "What about the dream I had when we were handcuffed?" At this I shook my head. I also glanced at the door of the bartender to make sure he was alive.
He was. He was just scratching his nose in his sleep just through the window of the door.
"Well that night I dreamed that we were back at camp. We were in the woods and you were being your stubborn clumsy self, and I- well I might have- I mean, well I kissed you." I kept my eyes on the bartender as his snore moved some soap bubbles by his head. My face was burning as the blood rushed to my cheeks. "That dream was as real as the Calypso dream."
"Was I good?" I asked off handedly.
"What?"
I shrugged and turned back to him. "Was I any good? At kissing?"
He laughed and gave me a wide grin. "Fantastic." I gave him a small smile in return. Suddenly a flood of courage rushed through me.
So, with my hands shaking and my mouth dry, I broke down the last wall he hadn't busted through. "L-Leo? I, well, I need to get this off of my chest." I had his full attention, so looking into his chocolatey eyes I took a deep breath and let it all out. "I really like you. There! I said it! I am in like with Leo Valdez even though he will never like me back!"
It was such a rush that I started laughing happily. "I like you! I fudging like you!" I smiled looking around the room and away from his look of utter shock. I probably should have felt embarrassed, but instead I felt light and exhilarated. "And I know you're in love with someone else, but guess what? That's ok! Because if getting back the love of your life makes you happy, then I'm happy, too." I leaned back against the bar and smiled up at the ceiling like a complete lunatic.
Which I was.
"Wait." Leo said slowly, his words crushing my relieved high. "So, you...like me?"
"Noooo." I drawled, sarcasm dripping off of my words. "I know another Leo Valdez!" I turned back to face him. "Of course I'm talking about you, you crazy-mmm!" In the middle of my sentence, Leo had grabbed my face and for the love of all that is holy, he kissed me.
Leo.
Fudging.
Valdez.
Kissed.
Me.
Without thinking, I was kissing him back with so much enthusiasm that I might have been a completely different person. My arms snaked around his neck pulling him closer.
One of his hands fell from my face and wrapped around my waist where he pulled me into his lap on his stool. I couldn't get close enough. I didn't think I would ever get enough of him. His touch sent heat through my entire body, and his scent engulfed me in a waft of grease, fire smoke and mint.
When we finally broke apart, his forehead rested against mine. I sighed and said, "You know what? That is the only way you are ever allowed to shut me up in the middle of a rant."
Leo laughed a truly happy laugh and I could feel his chest vibrate with the warm sound. "Well, miss Erikka Foster," he said with a wide smile, "I like you, too."
And he kissed me again.

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EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!!!!! If you guys don't comment after that I will hurt you all!!!! I'm so happy because I love Rikkeo like you have no idea! :D so please comment your reactions! ~BrieD