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

Chats and Spars

Merrily POV

-----------------------

It's so good to be back. I've barely been back a day, and I've already been ambushed by Malcolm, along with new camper Hannah. Chey and Abigail followed me everywhere, peppering me with all sorts of questions. Chey's questions were more along the lines of asking whether I thought it'd be a good idea to get revenge on Bree, the daughter of Nike for breaking up with Ryan. 

"I still can't believe she'd do that," I muse while stuffing my shorts into my trunk. "I mean, she's so nice; at least when she's not pitching a fit when she's lost something."

Chey lifts a shoulder in confusion. "I don't know either. All I know is he was really cut up for a while, but then he started after Abigail. They've only been dating for like a month, but the amount of affection they show is ridiculous." I laugh. I've missed Chey's comments like that. And I'm glad she's made up with Abigail over the whole Josh thing.

"What about you?" I ask, hefting my new armor over my shoulder. "Any special guy in your life?"

"No," Chey replies lightly. "Besides, boys are a distraction, at least for me. Do you know how much I've been able to get done without having to worry about boys?"

I fix Chey with a stare as we exit the Athena cabin. "Not all boys are distractions."

"You're just saying that because you're head over heels for Mr. I-Got-A-Growth-Spurt," Chey teases me good-naturedly. 

I whack her on the arm. "Maybe I am, maybe not," I admit. "My real question is, have you talked to Nico at all?"

"Of course not," Chey says as if the answer was obvious. "We delegated that task to David."

"Who's 'we'?"

"Myself, Ryan, Abigail, and David," Chey says, picking at her plaid skirt. "C'mon, it's sparring time." I figure, that's all I'm going to get out of her for a good while, so I let the topic drop and ask about other stuff. 

The chatter on the way up to the training arena was pleasant and light, and a nice break from all of my turbulent emotions. I'm not saying that getting together with Leo was a mistake at all, it's just that whether emotions are good or bad, they're still tiring and quite frankly, annoying. 

We arrive at the training ring, and I see Leo and Nyssa talking calmly, while Harley rides contentedly on Leo's back. The scene makes me smile. If my emotions were in shambles, I can only imagine how Leo's must be doing. I have to say though, I'd never noticed before, but he looks much happier and less tired than he did before. 

That might have something to do with his growth spurt though. A couple of days before we were due to come back, my grandma measured him again. Leo was now a solid 6.2 feet tall, but we rounded up. He was still underweight, but not as much as before. My aunt said that he grew so much because he was finally eating enough. 

Leo catches my eye and grins widely at me. Chey smirks. "Looks like you got lucky, huh?"

"What do you mean?"

"Abigail and I aren't the only ones who've noticed Leo's sudden growth spurt," Chey grins. "I can see Lou Ellen eyeing him now."

"What?" I screech. I whip my head around wildly, searching for the daughter of Hecate, but she wasn't there. Chey was snickering uncontrollably. 

"Wow, you really fell for that one!" 

"Fell for what?" I turn around and see David and Ryan smiling down at me. Oh good grief, did everyone have a growth spurt over Christmas?