You help whenever you can, yet most of camp can still barely remember your name, if they know it at all. The one person who seemed to really care now didn't seem to care at all anymore.
So you sit in your dark corner of the cabin, listening to Broken by Lifehouse. You figured you'd listned to Lulluby by Nickleback enough times.
The broken locks were a warning
You got inside my head
I tried my best to be guarded
I'm an open book instead.
And I still see your reflection
Inside of my eyes.
That are looking for purpose,
They're still looking for life.
As you listen, you think about Leo. That's how you'd felt when you met him. When your life was shades of gray, of you being unimportant to everyone, Leo didn't come in with a big light. He came in with a burst of light and colors. Your life wasn't gray when he was around. He was your anchor.
Now where was he?
You glanced down at the dagger at your side.
All those times you'd gotten closer to him. When you started to get your hopes up, that maybe you could have love and happiness. And then just one time meeting another girl, he moved on. She became his number one.
Just like that, you were kicked to the side. Slowly, you start getting lost in the song, and no longer pay any attention to your surroundings. It's easy for you to get lost in a song you can relate to. It distracts you from the dagger you clutch.
I'm falling apart
I'm barely breathing
With a broken heart
That's still beating.
In the pain,
Is there healing?
In your name, I found meaning.
So I'm holding on.
I'm holding on.
I'm barely holding on to you.
You turn the music up louder, since everyone should be at the dining pavilion anyway.
I'm hanging on,
Another day
Just to see what
You throw my way.
And I'm hanging on
To the words you say
You said that I will
Be ok.
You stop the music. He'd told you you'd be ok. He said it when he met you. He said it before he left on his quest. He said it before he died and came back.
"But I'm not ok." You cover your mouth with one hand and squeeze your eyes shut to prevent yourself from crying. The other hand is in a fist around the hilt of your dagger.
Only a moment later, you feel rough fingers brush lightly over the hand that holds the dagger like a lifeline.
"I'm so sorry, mi flor preciosa," Leo's voice cracks as his other arm wraps around you tightly. He's sitting next to you, beside your dagger. "Please, let go of the dagger."
Hearing how sad he sounds, you choke back tears, even though some have already escaped.
Your hand moves it's tight grip to Leo's hand. You squeeze it hard, still holding back sobs. You missed this.
He kissed the top of your head. "Let it go."
You do. The tears pour out, your grip on his hand loosens, and you lean fully into him. You soon turn into him, crying into his shoulder. Your hands clutch handfuls of his shirt.
When the crying subsides, he leans his head on yours "You'll be ok, mi princessa."
Your breath hitches. Some time at the beginning of your friendship, he'd told you that when he found the one, she'd be his princessa. But....
"Calypso...."
"I know. She only loves me because of the island's curse. Now that she's no longer on the island, her attention is already drifting from me."
"You love her."
You feel him shake his head. "At first, I thought so. I care for her. But I'm not in love with her." He strokes your hair soothingly.
You don't trust yourself to speak. If your wrong, after getting your hopes up again....
Thankfully, he speaks again. "Before Calypso, I thought about you all the time. And then I met her, and... I don't know if it was the island, or because she's a goddess, but I got distracted. Then I made a promise. It was a river Styx promise, so I had to fulfill it. Once I got back from the quest, I felt bad about my plan. I left the notes to it on purpose so you knew I was alive. I didn't think you'd be upset I'd found Calypso. I didn't realize how broken you'd be. I was so caught up in the moment of having a goddess's attention, I didn't see.....When I saw how affected you were, when I realized how focused I was on helping Calypso, I felt so regretful for not paying attention to you like I should have. I called her my girlfriend, but I don't think she even knows what that means. I don't feel like that about her that way, anyway. I was a jerk. I need and want you, not her."
"Leo --"
"Shh, I'm not done." He pulls back to look you in the eyes, one hand on your cheek. "I've always had you. When I met you, I just wanted to help. I wanted to see a smile on your pretty face. When you finally let your guard down to me, I didn't let it pass. I made sure to keep that smile there as long as possible. Seeing you put aside, seeing the campers never noticing you or how amazing you are, it broke me and made me angry at the same time. You really did become my flor preciosa. Underneath your protective shell, the shell that the world built for you over the years, you were the most wonderful, beautiful girl I'd known. You were the brightest star in my sky. You were my brightest flame. You still are. I never have and never will again meet someone like you. I've fallen madly in love with you, with your eyes, your smile, your sass, your attempts at jokes, the way you're funniest when you don't try, that faraway look you get when you read. I didn't make you that metallic flower because I thought it was nice or because I was bored. I did it because I wanted to and because I wanted to impress you. I'm so sorry I got distracted by Calypso. But no goddess will compare to you. Like I said, I want you and I need you, not her. You've always been by my side, not her. I'm in love with you, not her."
Your mouth is slightly agape. "Leo, I..." Your voice cracks. How do you respond to that? You have tears in your eyes again from his words. You cover your mouth, because you can't seem to close it. Tears leak down your cheeks.
You don't have words, so you send your arms around his neck and bury your face in it. He hugs you back.
"Will you forgive me?"
You finally find words as you pull away and hold his face in your hands. "Yes, Leo. Always. I -" the words get stuck in your throat. Three simple words that mean so much.
"I love you."
His eyes hold his answer, the answer that means so much. He says he loves you without saying anything.
Slowly, he leans in, unsure, glancing from your eyes to your lips. You lean forward a little, until something soft is pressed to your lips. Your eyes close.
You pull back, blushing red.
"Mi princessa flor preciosa," he whispers.
"Mi...caliente fuego chico," you attempt to say "hot fire boy."
He laughs, "Close enough," and kisses your forehead.
No matter how hard it gets, someone will walk into your life. Someone who wants you to feel like your worth it, because you're worth it to them. Someone who will love you for you, however impossible it may sound to you. Though they won't be perfect, and your relationship with them may not be perfect, don't let them go. To those who push you aside, who act like you're nothing, screw them. You're amazing, no matter what others think. Since when did they become the masters of deciding what's considered beautiful or ugly? They've got their flaws. Everyone does. The ones that point out other's flaws and put them down are the ones that are ugly in the inside. Never forget that you're beautiful, inside and out. You may not be everybody's favorite cup of tea, but you're somebody's. Just don't be afraid to let someone in once in a while.