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Leo leant on a table in the corner of Bunker Nine; curls pushed back with a pair of goggles as he solved math equations to determine the dimensions of the Argo II. His tongue stuck out as he concentrated—if there was even a small discrepancy in his calculations, the ship might not be prepared to take flight in June like it needed to be. No pressure.
He was so enthralled by his work that he hadn’t noticed anyone enter the Bunker until there was a soft clearing of the throat that caused Leo to accidentally drop his pencil and bite his tongue in surprise. He hissed in pain, backing away from the table and looking up to see a concerned Jason Grace standing there, head cocked slightly to the side like a concerned puppy, his hair glued down with water.
“You alright?”
“Fine, fine,” Leo mumbled. “What brings you here on this fine day?”
Jason frowned. “It’s raining, Leo.”
Leo had not known that, but it did explain the water in Jason’s hair. “Whatever, man.”
Jason looked around the bunker, and Leo followed his gaze, though he couldn’t find any rhyme or reason to the areas where Jason was looking. “Everything going smoothly?”
“Yes siree, mi compadre,” Leo laughed. “I got rid of every bottle of Windex we’ve got, so no more rogue tables.”
“That’s good.” Jason said. He didn’t continue talking, but Leo knew he had more to say, if only by the way his fingers were tapping on the side of his jeans (the bottom of which, Leo had just noticed, was darkened with rain).
Becoming impatient, Leo picked up his pencil and leant back over his graph paper. “What’s wrong, Jason?”
“Are you busy?”
Leo raised an eyebrow. “When am I not?”
“I mean, could you take a break?”
“Why?” Leo stuck his pencil behind his ear, walking around the work table to where Jason was standing. “What did you do?”
“Nothing, nothing,” Jason said, way too fast for Leo’s liking. “It’s just, remember last week when we were talking about dates?”
Leo’s eyes narrowed in thought. He did remember that conversation; he had walked in on Jason and Piper making out in the Zeus cabin after dinner (he’s still traumatized, thank you for asking) and proceeded to go on an hour long rant about how lonely he is. Those kinda things are hard to forget, even if your memory was smaller than a piece of tinder. “Yeah?”
“Well, Piper and I had the idea to, maybe, only if you want to, that is—” Jason trailed off, refusing to meet Leo’s eyes. Due to their height difference, though, Jason only had to look straight ahead to see over Leo. It was infuriating.
“Spit it out.”
“We got you a date.”
Leo choked on his own spit. “What?”
“Really it was all Piper,” Jason rambled. “But I helped. You deserve a break from all this,” Jason gestured around the room. “And what better way than to go on a date.”
“I—” Leo didn’t want to admit to Jason that he’d never been on a date before. Girls just didn’t like him. “When?”
It was as if someone had flipped a switch in Jason, and he grinned broadly. “Now, if you want.”
Leo looked down at his raggedy, grime stained outfit. The pencil slipped out from behind his ear. “I should probably get dressed.”
Jason chuckled. “Probably.”
Even though Jason had a girlfriend did not mean he knew diddly squat about dates, Leo found out. The two were in Leo’s room, music blasting from the stereo, as Leo sorted through his clothes. Every so often, he’d hold up something, which was usually met with a “That looks good,” or something to that degree from Jason. Leo ended up choosing a button down and a pair of cargo pants that were not ripped, burnt, or covered in some unknown type of grease (it was a shock he found one of those), before Jason led Leo to the Aphrodite Cabin.
Jason also knew diddly squat about Leo’s date. Apparently his help had been miniscule, as he couldn’t tell Leo anything about who his date was. All he could remember was she was a girl; no cabin, no hair color, no eye color. Just girl. He kept reiterating that Piper would tell him when they arrived at Cabin 10.
Piper was waiting on the deck of her cabin, her hand under the gutter to catch the rainfall as she waited. When she saw Leo and Jason, she jumped back and grinned, gesturing for them to join her on the deck. “Leo!” She threw her arms around him. “I’m so happy you’re doing this.”
“Right,” Leo said. “I’m sort of going into this blind, though, so can I at least have a name?”
Piper pulled away and glanced at Jason. “You didn’t tell him?”
Jason rubbed his forehead. “I might’ve forgotten her name.”
“And cabin,” Leo added.
Piper grumbled, “I’ll deal with you later,” to a sheepish Jason before turning back to Leo. “Her name’s Laurel and she’s in the Nike cabin.”
Leo racked his brain for a list of campers, but found himself coming up short. “Can’t say that I recognize the name.”
“That’s it!” Jason exclaimed. “She’s one of the identical twins, right?”
Piper nodded.
“So no you remember,” Leo mumbled. “Convenient.”
“Shut up,” Jason mumbled.
Piper chuckled. “I told her to meet you in the Big House at five, so you better be off.”
Jason bumped Leo with his shoulder. “Good luck, man.”
Laurel was already playing Pac Man when Leo arrived, shouting obscenities at the ghost that had just killed her character. Leo was slightly scared for his life.
“Uh, Laurel?”
Laurel paused her screaming and turned around. “You’re Leo?” Her tone was slightly judgmental.
“Yeah?”
Laurel shrugged. “I’m going to whip your ass at Pac Man.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure of that, sweetheart.”
Leo physically flinched at the way Laurel’s face scrunched. “No, I do know. Get over here now.”
Judging his options, Leo stepped forward and grabbed the joy con on the game. “Ready when you are.”
Leo failed to find the difference between a date and a hangout with a friend. Except like twenty bajillion times more competitive. Leo was genuinely afraid for the Pac Man machine's life after he won one round and Laurel practically ripped the joy con out of its spot. Leo got the feeling Laurel didn’t like him much, if only for the fact that Leo beat her.
They played until Laurel won a round, which took about one hour, during which Leo was sure he’d get permanent hearing loss from hearing his date scream in rage. When Laurel won, finally, she jumped back, pumping the air. “I told you I’d whip your ass,” Laurel scream sang, dancing around the room. “That was fun, we should do that again. You’re cute.”
Leo had to physically stop his jaw from dropping in surprise. He was certain that Laurel wasn’t attracted to him in the slightest. “Um?” he muttered.
Laurel examined him with such scrutiny that Leo thought he was shrinking. “You don’t like me, do you?—”
“What?” Leo interrupted.
“I don’t get because I’m totally better looking than everyone at camp, especially Holly.”
“Laurel?” Leo interrupted again.
This time Laurel stopped to listen. “Yeah?”
“I never said I didn’t like you?”
Laurel’s gaze was on par with Annabeth’s, which is something Leo thought was impossible. “You’re a terrible liar.”
“I’m not—”
He didn’t even get to finish the sentence, Laurel was already out of the room.
Leo laid on his bed, tossing a ball idly up and down as he explained the date to Jason and Piper. The two were curled at the foot of his bed, though there was space between them, as if afraid to be too coupley around Leo. He was grateful for that.
“That’s weird,” Jason said.
Piper drummed her finger against the heart patch on her jeans. “She said you didn’t like her?”
“She was weird,” Leo said, “And loud.”
“Like you?” Jason pointed out.
“Louder,” Leo said. He opened his jaw to pop his ears. “I think I have permanent hearing loss.”
“Damn,” Piper said. “That’s impressive. You’re like the loudest person I know.”
“Was she not your type?” Jason questioned. “What is your type?”
“Your sister,” Leo said quickly. Was that a lie? Yes. Leo actually had no idea what his type was, but the way Jason’s face darkened was worth it
“Leo!”
“Kidding, kidding.” Leo extended his arm above his head, examining the lines of the ball. “I don’t know, I don’t really have one.”
“Who’s your celebrity crush?” Piper questioned, “And please, for the love of the gods, don’t say my dad.”
Leo lifted his head enough to wink at her. “You know, I think Trist—”
“I’m going to strangle you with a pillow if you continue that sentence.”
“To be honest,” Leo wasn’t sure what compelled him to be honest. “I don’t think I’ve ever actually had one.”
Piper’s eyes widened slightly. “Never?”
Leo nodded as well as he could laying down. “Khione was hot,” he mused, then paused. “No, wait, she’s cold.”
“I hate you sometimes,” grumbled Piper.
“So,” Jason cut in, “Your type is dark hair, pale skin, and can kill you?”
“You just described your sister, Jace,” Piper pointed out.
Leo cackled, while Jason looked some cross between nauseous and scandalized. “Piper!”
“I don’t know,” Leo admitted once she calmed down. “What’s it mean to like someone anyway?”
Piper and Jason’s eyes widened at the question. “Um, usually you know,” Jason said, stumbling a bit on his words. “You can feel it.”
“What?”
“What do you feel when you see Khione,” Piper reiterated. “Or Thalia.”
Jason sent his girlfriend a glare. “Shut up.”
“Slightly scared?” Leo said after a moment of pondering. “Like she’s going to kill me?”
“Physically,” Piper corrected.
Leo scrunched his nose, sitting up against his bed’s headrest. “Nothing? Why?”
“No fluttering in your stomach?” asked Jason.
"No getting hard?
“Piper!” Jason’s jaw dropped, aghast.
“What?” Piper looked around innocently, “It’s a question.”
Leo’s eyes strayed to his ceiling, just so he wouldn’t have to look at his friends. “No.”
There was a pause. “That’s alright,” Jason said after a moment. “We’ll just keep looking.”
“Yeah,” Leo mumbled under his breath. Leo could feel the gears in his head begin to turn but he shut them down by thinking of the State Farm jingle, a technique he used often when he wanted to clear his mind. He’d have his existential crisis later, when he was alone. Not now.
Leo glanced down at the bouncy ball in his hand. “Jason, think fast!”