The Wants of a Young Demigod Heart (Nico di Angelo, Leo Valdez x OC)

Annoying Dreams

Merrily POV

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That absolute—well I think you get the idea. Rosa marched angrily into the room, first yelling at Leo that he never should have come back. After that, she began to yell angrily in Spanish. I only caught a few words: fire, sister, deserved and die. From this, I was slightly able to deduce what she was saying. No matter how annoying (and slightly attractive) Leo was, nobody got to treat him this way.

Rosa slaps Leo hard across the face and then shoves him to the ground. I could see tears streaming down his face. I snap.

"Hey, leave him alone!" I yell angrily. "You can't speak to him that way!" Rosa tries to go for another hit, but I grasp her wrist and twist it until I hear bones pop. Serves her right.

"That diablo murdered his mother," Rosa snarls. I turn to look at Leo, confused and I see his face has gone slack. Suddenly, he begins to shake uncontrollably, his eyes still open but unseeing. A few seconds after, he starts to gasp for air and pulls desperately at his shirt. His nails dig into his skin leaving long trails of blood up and down his neck and ripping his shirt.

"Leo!" I cry, releasing Rosa, who is looking appalled. "Leo, you need to snap out of it!" The rest of my friends and boyfriend quickly hurry into the room and they all try to help get Leo out of his panic attack slash miniature seizure, but nothing seems to be working. Even Taylor is trying, by waving her tiny fingers and gurgling happily. Then, Leo's gasping begins to slow. At first, I think he's coming out of it, but he begins to turn red, then blue. He's choking. "Oh, gods!" I cry. "Please, any god, please save him! Please!" About one second goes by and Leo stops breathing altogether, then gasps, his eyes closing, then opening.

His chocolate brown orbs stare up at me and I gasp. Leo's mask; it's crumbled to the ground. I'd seen a glimpse of this mask before, but never like this, with such clarity. His eyes scream out for help, yet knowing nothing could ever fix him. It's absolutely terrifying, but beautiful at the same time.

"Leo," I say, my voice cracking over the word. "Are you okay?" Then, almost like a robot, Leo's back straightens slightly, his eyes become lightly glazed over and a half smile graces his lips. This is Leo's mask, and I've just seen it being put on.

"A little shaken up, but I'm fine," he breathes. A lie. A believable lie. It could have fooled anyone. It certainly fooled Rosa and Raphael, that's for sure.

"Didn't you hear the little runt?" she shrieks. "He can leave now! After you fix whatever's been done to my wrist." I sit up and fix Rosa with a glare. Her confident air falters. I take a step towards her and she tries to back out of the room, but Nico blocks her way. Swiftly grabbing her wrist, I pop the joint back into place and Rosa lets out a pained squawk.

"Now leave," I say. Rosa and Raphael scurry from the room. Turning around, flipping my long, blonde hair over my shoulder (dang, I miss my braid), I survey the room.

Ryan is gently rocking Taylor in his arms while Abigail coos over the baby like it's her own. They really do make a cute couple. Chey is sitting up in bed, looking extremely bewildered and confused. Nico is trying to explain everything to her. I don't think I've ever seen her so helpless and vulnerable. Leo is trying to stand up but failing. His mask is still on.

"Hey, Leo," I say kindly, leading him over to a chair. "How are you feeling?"

I see the gears whirring in Leo's head as he ponders his answer. "Not too shabby. How are you?" He's good.

"I'm fine, but I'm also not the one who just had a panic attack," I say, quirking my lips up.

Leo frowns. "Still good."