soulmates ⋮ heroes of olympus au

six.

L e o

☼

Leo had been working on cars in the auto repair shop for the past few hours, so to say that he was dirty was a mild understatement.

To be honest, Leo looked like a hot mess. His previously white work shirt was covered with excessive amounts of grease stains and dirt, and his pants didn't look much better. When he glanced in the mirror briefly, he noticed grime streaming across his face. Even his hair had small spots of grease in it. To make matters worse, when Leo tried to wipe some of the grease off, he accidentally grabbed a dirty rag instead of the clean one, smearing his already messy face even more.

Oh yeah. Leo gets all the ladies.

He normally didn't look like this. It's just that whenever Leo was in work, he didn't care enough to constantly clean himself because he'd immediately get just as dirty afterwards. So until Leo was off the clock, he didn't wipe too much of the grease off.

Leo turned back to the car he had previously been working on and slid under it to get a closer look at the underside of the car. The owner never specified what was wrong with the car, much to his annoyance. Sure, people oftentimes didn't understand the complicated mechanics of a car, and Leo was completely fine with that. The problem was that the customer didn't specify anything to shop besides that the car was making strange noises. But Leo wasn't going to complain too much because if there were customers, then he still had a job.

While working under the car, Leo wasn't able to hear the soft footsteps approaching him. When he finally did, he realized that since he was the only one down in the shop at the time, he needed to be the one to talk to her. Unfortunately, when Leo pushed himself out from under the car, he accidentally slammed into something in the process.

To make matters worse, Leo quickly discovered that it wasn't "something" he hit but someone. The girl cried out in pain when Leo slammed into her and cursed like a sailor as she stepped away from the car.

"I'm so sorry," Leo apologized in a frantic tone of voice as he slowly slid out from under the car, making sure that he wasn't going to hit the girl again. "I can't see anything from under here and I thought you were farther away from the car."

Leo still hadn't looked up when she responded, and her amused voice made Leo feel slightly relieved. "You probably just bruised me. I'll be fine."

When Leo finally looked up, he was shocked to realize he actually recognized her. Calypso had never passed his mind often, despite having years of school together. The two had never really interacted much outside the occasional group project or questions about homework assignments. Calypso had always been soft-spoken and kind, but he knew how she could also be the one to have all of her friends in hysterics

Leo also couldn't help but also notice how exceptionally pretty Calypso was.

The silence went on for a few seconds too long. Raising an eyebrow and grinning, Calypso joked, "It's funny. You normally can't stop talking in school. I think this is the longest I've ever heard you be quiet, Leo."

Wishing he could hide back under the car, Leo figured he should probably say something before things become too awkward. "Sorry again," Leo replied with a laugh. "So what can I do for you?"

"My dad sent me in to check in on his car and see when it'll be ready." Calypso pointed at the vehicle Leo had just come out from under. "It's that one right there."