Hurricane ~ L. Valdez

1.16- Late Night Taco Talks

"And bingo!" Leo announced. He put two plates stacked on his arms like a waiter, and after giving them to Jason and Piper, he walked back over to me. Holding his hands out, he pulled me up, helping me walk over to where I needed to sit down awkwardly. I guess he was still thinking about the close face thingy too.

After I sat down, Leo handed me a plate with tacos, chips, and salsa on it. It was safe to say my mouth was watering.

"Leo," Piper said, amazement lacing her voice. "How did you—?"

"Chef Leo's Taco Garage is fixing you up!" he said proudly. "And by the way, it's tofu, not beef, beauty queen, so don't freak. Just dig in!"

If Percy were there, I knew he'd have said something about the tofu, but the tacos were delicious. While we ate, Leo tried to lighten the mood by joking around with us.

After Piper had finished, she yawned, and my brother encouraged her to get some sleep. Without another word, she curled up and put her head in his lap. In two seconds she was snoring. Jason looked up at Leo and I, who were trying not to laugh. We sat in silence for a few minutes, drinking some lemonade that Leo had somehow made.

I took a large sip, and Leo smiled. "Good, huh?"

"You should start a stand," Jason said. "Make some serious coin." Jason stared at the fire, before looking up at Leo. "Leo...about this fire stuff you can do...is it true?"

Leo's smile faltered, and I turned to glance at him sympathetically. "Yeah, well..." He opened his hand, a small ball of flame bursting to life, dancing across his palm.

"That's kind of awesome." I mumbled, smirking.

"It's so cool," Jason agreed. "Why didn't you say anything?"

Leo closed his hand and the fire went out. "Didn't want to look like a freak."

"We have lightning and wind powers," I reminded him.

"Piper can turn beautiful and charm people into giving her BMWs." Jason added. "You're no more a freak than we are. And, hey, maybe you can fly, too. Like jump off a building and yell, 'Flame on!'" I choked, turning to glance at my brother with a look of concern on my face.

Leo snorted. "If I did that, you would see a flaming kid falling to his death, and I would be yelling something a little stronger than 'Flame on!' Trust me, Hephaestus cabin doesn't see fire powers as cool. Nyssa told me they're super rare. When a demigod like me comes around, bad things happen. Really bad."

"Maybe it's the other way around," I suggested. "Maybe the reason that people with special gifts show up when bad things are happening is because that's when they're needed most."

Leo cleared away the plates. "Maybe. But I'm telling you...it's not always a gift."

Jason fell silent. "You're talking about your mom, aren't you? The night she died." I glared at my brother. Leo didn't answer. "Leo, her death wasn't your fault. Whatever happened that night—it wasn't because you could summon fire. This Dirt Woman, whoever she is, has been trying to ruin you for years, mess up your confidence, take away everything you care about."

"She's trying to make you feel like a failure." I spoke up. "You're not. You're important. You're important to me."

"That's what she said." Leo looked up, his eyes full of pain. "She said I was meant to do something important—something that would make or break that big prophecy about the seven demigods. That's what scares me. I don't know if I'm up to it."