After the Tower of Nero

Leo POV (4)

English was boring. The teacher sat at the front of the class droning on and on about some old story that was written by some dead guy. It made it worse that Calypso was seated right in front of me.

We had started dating when we got back from Ogygia, but it hadn't gone super well. Things seemed to go to fast and she wanted options. So, for the time being, we were on a break. I felt like Ross from Friends. But now, we were currently at the same high school and lived together with Jo and Hemithea. So yeah, my life was going just great. 

I didn't help that Percy Jackson, the person Calypso was formally interested in, was here too. He was sitting in the back of class attempting to pay attention, but failing miserably. Just like me. A book dropped on my desk.

"LEO VALDEZ," my teacher yelled. I looked up. Oops- I had completely zoned out. "Can you answer my question?" 

"I-um," was my brilliant answer. I looked up and saw Calypso roll her eyes and saw Percy trying hard not to smile. I half wished he would just let himself, I wouldn't be offended, him and Annabeth rarely smiled.  

"I was going to ask if you would mind showing our new student around after school but it seems that you will be in detention instead." New student? When I looked to the front of the class, I saw a nervous Lester/Apollo. Oh no, I forgot he was coming. "Ms. Nightshade would you mind taking Lester around after school, you know what? Here's a hall pass, you can go right now." Calypso walked out of the room with Lester with a smug look on her face, suck up, I thought.

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While I was walking down the hall to biology, I saw Percy in the hallway- not surprising. Now me and Percy weren't good friends, like sure we could go on a death defying quests on a war boat but didn't sit together in the cafeteria type relationship. I didn't know how people thought we were besties because we were far from it. Also, I got the feeling the guy didn't really like me that much- which was totally fine because if I'm being honest he's pretty scary. But what I saw didn't sit right with me. 

Percy was just walking down the hall when a couple guys passed him. They were wearing swim team jackets so I assumed they knew each other. "Hey man," one of them said. The other raised his hand to give him a high five. Percy very noticeably flinched. 

"Woah man, twitch much?" Percy started nervously laughing but he didn't seem okay. I followed him down the hall (not in a weird way guys, he just looked really upset). When he got to the guys bathroom he immediately walked in. He then started hyperventilating. He was crying and couldn't seem to take in any air. 

"Um, Percy?" I said, I felt weird being with him but he just looked at me like I was a monster of some sorts. I tried to step near him, his body seemed to have moved across the room. "Woah, Percy, I'm not gonna hurt you." I didn't know what was wrong, I wasn't very good with people crying. Calypso would know what to do. Think Leo, think. Percy looked like he was gonna pass out from fear. Calypso... Annabeth? Annabeth, yes that was it. I got out my phone, (I had made monster proof ones with some kids from the Athena cabin and some of my siblings) then called Annabeth.

"Leo? What's wrong-" I didn't let her finish. 

"I don't know, Percy, bathroom, crying-" 

"Leo calm down," (again, I suck with people, machines are more tolerable) "What happened."

"Well, we were walking out of English and some guys gave him a high five and he started crying and went into the bathroom."

"High five? Leo put me on speaker. Percy can you hear me? Breathe." Percy seemed to calm down at the sound of her voice. "Percy, he's dead, okay? He can't hurt you, your mom, or anyone okay? You're pretty safe, you have your sword..." I drowned out the rest of it. It seemed like a pretty personal conversation between them that I shouldn't be apart of. But who was dead? And who wanted to hurt him and his mom?