Found Family (HoO, Mortal AU)

LEO VALDEZ

By Friday, it was getting annoying.
It had almost been a week since Jason decided to kiss Leo. Only two days since he broke up with Drew.

Part of Leo felt bad for Drew. He didn't know whether Jason told her the truth or not.
Now Jason would just stare at Leo and look away, or completely ignore him. Leo almost told Piper but decided against it.

So the only other person who knew was Hazel. And Leo needed someone to talk to.

He found her at lunch, walking to the cafeteria with Nico and Connor Stoll for some reason.
"Hey, uhm, Hazel?" Leo whispered, as Connor ran away from Nico, who was trying to hit him.
"Yeah?" Hazel said. She still seemed.. uncomfortable around Leo. 

"Can I please talk to you?" He asked, hoping he didn't sound like an idiot.
"Of course!" Hazel stopped walking. Stoll and Nico were far ahead now.
"Somewhere more- y'know- private?"
Hazel nodded and walked ahead, eventually entering an empty classroom.

"Is everything okay?" Hazel asked.
Leo sat on one of the desks. "No- well, yeah. But no."
"This is about Jason, isn't it?"
Leo frowned. "Yeah."
"Look, I didn't see anything. Well- barely anything. I'm not going to tell anyone."
Leo shook his head. "But it was something. He didn't just kiss me for no reason, right?"

Hazel shrugged. "I don't understand Jason, like, at all. But yeah, I'm sure there was a reason for him to kiss you."
"Then why does he keep ignoring me and pretending it didn't happen?"
"I don't know, Leo,"

Leo put his head in his hands. "I mean, it's just so confusing because he kissed me and one minute we're friends then the next he hates me. And I can't tell Piper because I don't want to- out- Jason. Well, I don't know if he's straight. But I tell Piper everything and I know I have you but I just don't want to keep it bottled up. I just want him to tell me what happened. If he hates me then that's fine, as long as I don't have to be confused anymore."

Hazel blinked a few times.
"Sorry," Leo sighed.
"Well, do you like Jason?"
Leo let out a breath. "Obviously. How could I not?"
"Well, then, if he's being dumb, it's his loss. You're an amazing person Sa- Leo."
"What did you just call me?"
"Leo."

Hazel and Leo stared at each other for a minute.
"Were you about to call me Sammy?" Leo eventually asked.
Hazel sighed. "Uhm-"
"You knew Sammy?"
She nodded. "Back when I lived in Alaska, yeah. Yeah, I knew Sammy."

Leo didn't like quite a lot of people. Sammy's mother, Leo's aunt Rosa, was on top of that list.
"He's my cousin," Leo said, staring at the floor.
"I figured he was some sort of relation to you. It's just he never mentioned you when we were friends."

Leo rolled his eyes. "He wouldn't. I lived with him for a few weeks after my mom died. His mom kicked me out."
"I'm sorry," Hazel said.
"Nah, it's fine. You say he was your friend?"
"Friend," Hazel repeated.
Leo's eyes widened. "He was your boyfriend?!"
"I was thirteen!" Hazel laughed. "Until I was- 15. We broke up a few months before my mom died."

"Two years?!" Leo couldn't help but laugh.
"Yeah, oops!"
"You dated my cousin for two years," Leo said, still laughing.
"Yeah, it took me a while to get over him, I guess, but things are better now."

Leo raised an eyebrow. "Frank?"
Hazel nodded. "Frank."
"So you downgraded from someone who looks like me to someone who looks like Zhang?" Leo joked.
"Hey! Frank's amazing."
"Sure, sure,"
"Says the guy who fell for Jason fucking Grace!"

Leo laughed louder. "I know! How embarrassing for me. I can do way better."
"Can you?" Hazel tried keep a straight face.
"Yeah. Octavian's more my type." Leo said, before he and Hazel burst into laughter again.

Hazel fanned herself with her hands. "Come on- our friends will think we got lost." She managed through laughs.
"Right- right, and Hazel?"
Hazel stood up. "Mm?"
"Thank you."
Hazel smiled. "You'll figure it out with Jason. I know you will."

• • •

"Hm, alright, dare." Leo said, sitting in the canteen. They were in a massive game of truth or dare. Nico had already put salt into Mr Blofis' tea, Percy's deepest secret was that he used the laughing emoji unironically, Grover and Piper performed a dance for a very confused Mr Brunner and Annabeth confessed she was a theatre kid, whose favourite musical was freaking Hamilton. (She proceeded to sing the whole of 'Satisfied', which didn't make Leo's day much better).

"I dare you to eat lunch with Octavian and his friends." Rachel said.
"Ohh. Probably a bad idea," Frank said.
"I ain't backing out of a dare," Leo stood up, walking over to Octavian and his only friends, Dakota and Gwendolyn. A few kids, Larry, Hank and Bobby, were sitting close enough, but Leo found a seat right beside Octavian.

He sat down without even asking. Dakota and Gwen glanced at each other.
"What are you doing?!" Octavian asked as Leo started eating.
"Eating my lunch, how about you?" Leo asked.
"Go sit somewhere else, weirdo."
"This sandwich is really nice. Wanna bite?"

"What is wrong with you?! Get away from me."
To be honest, Octavian always made Leo feel kind of unsettled. From afar he looked harmless, but his eyes were literally psychotic. Right then, Leo wasn't scared, though. It was hilarious.

"Nothing's wrong with me, thanks for asking," Leo smiled, continuing to eat the sandwich.
Dakota and Gwen kept looking at each other then back to Leo and Octavian.
"I know, we make a cute couple," Leo said to Dakota and Gwen. He knew it wasn't a part of the dare, but it was funny. It was also the last straw for Octavian.

Leo knew he was about to get punched into oblivion, so he crawled under the table, quickly returning to his friends. He squeezed in between two people.
"That went well," he whispered. "Do you all mind keeping me from getting beat up?"

His friends were all laughing, talking about Octavian's reaction, when Octavian came over. Leo tried to control his laughing, but Octavian was ready to absolutely murder him.
"Octavian, just don't bother," Jason said. That's when Leo realised who he was sitting between. Grace and Reyna.

The strangest part was that Octavian listened to Jason. He glared at Leo before returning to his seat.
Leo looked at Jason. "Uhm- thanks- I mean no- I mean yes. Uhm. Truth or dare?"
Jason didn't look at Leo. "Dare, I guess."
"Do my classics homework for me," Leo said, taking out his books. They had classics next class and as usual, Leo didn't have the homework done.

"What?" Jason stared at the book.
"A dare is a dare," Leo shrugged.
"He's got a point," Reyna said. Jason sighed and started doing the homework.
"Thanks so much," Leo said, hoping he sounded normal.
Jason still didn't look at him.

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Word Count: 1188

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