Shake it off

Chapter two

Leo

The next day, they were supposed to spend it at Leo's house. So Leo took Percy to the best place in the city, and most would probably say it looked like it fit him.

It was under a bridge.

Leo jumped onto the railing that disconnected the road from the grass below. If he leaned to the right, he'd fall to his death, if he leaned to the left he'd probably get ran over, but Percy was kind of walking there looking sort of terrified.

They got to the part where the grass touched the concrete bridge. "Wasn't that kind of dangerous?" Percy asked.

"Absolutely." Leo smiled, finding it hilarious that Percy was so uncertain. He was two years older than him, but Leo felt so much more grown up than him. So much more experienced.

He pulled off his back pack, and got out his homework, and a clip board, sitting under the bride so that the underside of it was close to his head.

"So, um, what do you do here?" Percy asked idiotically.

Leo rested a tiny smile on his lips, just enough to ensure him that he was happy there. "Sometimes just to think. Other times..." He fiddled with his pencil. "Just to get away." Leo admitted. His hair was held back by a bandana, and he was wearing that army jacket that he liked so much. His white sleeveless shirt was flowy, while jeans encased his legs. His combat boots were crossed at his feet.

Percy, on the other hand, wore a blue hoodie and jeans. His black hair was tossed around, and still brought out his piercing green eyes. He stood awkwardly to the side, shifting from foot to foot, probably hoping he brought something to entertain himself. "You want to go on a walk?" He spoke. "Or to your hou-"

"No. It's too loud there, and I can't very well do my work while I walk." He reasoned. He wrote down the answer to the first problem.

"You know you're only a sophomore. You're okay. I've seen that heavy calculus." Percy mentioned, sitting down next to Leo. "I'm a senior, and even I don't understand this."

Leo shrugged, and felt proud at the words his math teacher spoke to him. "If I keep this up, Mr. Tilford said I could move up to college, not even have to DO senior year." He glanced over at him. Leo was very, very confident in his math skills. He remembered when his mom would get baffled at what he was doing, because he would sometimes ask the college kids in his apartments if he could their homework, which they happily accepted once they were sure he wasn't going to crayon-draw all over it. Then his mom got angry at the kids, and told them never to do that, and that Leo shouldn't do that either. She then kissed his curls, and took him out for ice cream. He got chocolate, but he doesn't remember what she got...

"What college are you aiming for?" Percy said with a frown.

"MIT." He replied simply.

Percy flailed. "MIT?! That's crazy!"

The Latino turned the page, getting to work once more, but still multitasking. If you do something enough, you don't really have to think about it, right? "Not really." He simplified. "Loads if people go to MIT. It might be hard to do, but that's a fraction of people. Besides, if I can't, then I'll always have a line of colleges I could apply for." Then he got curious about something. "What college do you want to go to?"

Percy shrugged. "I'm not really sure. Probably a community college if I'm being honest, if I even GO." He scratched head.

Leo internally frowned. He was one of THOSE. The people who feel like they have all the time in the world before they actually have to think about it. It was much more difficult than that. Leo had planned for this for the longest time. He HAD to get into a prestigious college. He HAD to make it in this world. He HAD to get out of that trailer park. There was no other way. He'd either do it, or he wouldn't. And failure was not an option. He wanted to tell Percy Jackson just what he thought of this. Instead of ranting for two hours of how stupid it was to be unprepared he said, "Well, don't let me start up that thought. I'm just paranoid."