Hi, so I kind of thought that since this was a Jercy story and I kind of hinted some Valdangelo, I was like, why not and came up with this. So here you go. A bonus chapter that I didn't intend to write but it happened anyway.

Gods, where in my mind did I come up with Fangirl!Annabeth? I honestly don't know how it happened, it just did! Then I was thinking, Let's embrace the Fangirl so that's why Annabeth is extremely OOC. Sorry Annabeth...

-Angela R.

Leo

Leo was having a hard time with the dating department, to say the least. As for Annabeth's OTP, Jason and Percy never seemed to leave their sides. It was like their hands were super glued together. Leo was happy for his best friend but he was still having problems with Nico. Now what kind of problem could that possibly be? Oh yeah, the guy had no idea Leo was in love with him! Now Leo wasn't exactly making it obvious but literally everyone knew. Leo actually couldn't believe Nico hadn't figured it out yet. The guy was either too dense or too stupid to figure it out. Or he was pulling off the denial card and that was one thing Leo didn't want to deal with.

Leo was sitting at Mrs. Walker's History class with Annabeth beside him. They had 2nd block together after all.

"Why do you look so bummed out?" She asked him.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe because Nico doesn't know I love him!" Leo said, exasperated and let his head fall on the desk.

"It's okay, Leo. I'll help you," Annabeth beamed. Leo's head shot up and looked at her.

"Hell no. Are you crazy? What could you do anyway?"

"I could set you guys up!" She answered, "You guys would be so CUTE together. I mean you guys are almost opposites. You two complete each other." Leo groaned. Honestly, Annabeth was a great friend, but she was a little crazy when it came to her OTP's. The only reason why he was thinking about how pathetic his love life was, was because being around 'Jercy' was pretty heartbreaking. They looked so happy and nauseatingly affectionate. Just thinking about it made Leo want to vomit.

"If it's alright with you, Annabeth, I think I can handle it."

She scoffed, "Right because you've been doing a great job in getting him to ignore you."

"Shove off," He said in a playful undertone, embarrassed because she was right. He never did try to make the first move. Leo didn't want to suddenly end his friendship with Nico. If this was how good things were going to get then Leo didn't want to mess that up.

3rd Block (Math, ugh)

Leo couldn't help but glance at his friends, Jason and Percy. Seriously, they had stopped paying attention to Mrs. Lewis a long time ago and who could blame them? Mrs. Lewis wasn't very attractive anyway. But it was really distracting, considering that Leo had ADHD. Couldn't they tone it down a little bit, though? Percy and Jason meanwhile were passing each other notes, subtly scooted their desks together, and stealing brief looks that made them blush. God, where am I? A chick flick? Leo thought.

It was a miracle he didn't blow chunks right then and there. But a small part of him was imagining if that's how him and Nico would act if they ever did get together. Probably not. Nico was really cool about things and Leo doubted they would act like that. He almost laughed at the thought of them feeding each other ice cream because it was absolutely ridiculous.

"Daydreaming, are we?" Leo jerked his head towards Piper, smugly grinning at him.

Leo waved her off, "No! Why would you think that?"

"You had your 'Nico Fantasy' face on." Leo shushed her quickly, but Piper ended up giggling uncontrollably.

"Shut up, Pipes!" Leo calmed her down, "And don't call them 'Nico Fantasies'. It makes it sound perverted."

"Oh so it wasn't perverted?"

"Piper!" Leo buried his face in his arms, hiding his burning cheeks. Honestly, did she hate him so much?

"Leo, are you okay?" Jason asked, momentarily distracted from his boyfriend. "Is Piper making fun of your Nico Fantasy?"

"Not you too!" Leo whined, feeling his whole body heat up. Suddenly, it was getting too hot in the room. His so called friends merely laughed at his awkwardness.

Lunch (Finally)

At last, Lunch had come. Leo loved lunch time. It was his favorite subject, after all. Not just because there weren't any teachers breathing down your neck, but also because it was the only time that he got to see Nico. Leo made a beeline for the chair next to Nico. As always, Annabeth and him were already there. Leo, Piper, Jason and Percy walked to their table. Unfortunately, Piper took the seat next to Leo, probably to torture the poor Latino.

It was great to be with his friends. They played around, talked. It was nice.

"Piper! That's my pudding!" Leo snatched the treat from her hands.

"You shouldn't have so much sweets," she scolded and tried to take the pudding cup away from him. Leo turned his back to her, holding on to the pudding protectively to his chest. Nico was looking at their direction, since they were sitting right next to him. He was smiling slightly, amused at their bickering. And no, that totally didn't make Leo's stomach fill with butterflies at the thought of his crush smiling at him.

"It's still mine. Besides, you're only using that excuse so you can have it for yourself."

Then Piper's tone turned mischievous, something that would usually come out of him, "Fine, keep it." Before Leo could register anything, she pushed him, right into Nico! Leo let go of his dear pudding on reflex, instead clinging to the first thing to keep him from falling. Regrettably (or maybe not) that happened to be his crush. Leo automatically wrapped his arms around the other boy's neck and Nico also reacted on impulse. His arms instinctively clung to Leo's waist, stopping Leo from falling.

The most awkward part? Their faces were just centimeters apart. Unlike Leo, who was frozen in shock and was very likely blushing like crazy, Nico looked indifferent with the sudden intimate position they were in. Nonchalantly, with half lidded eyes, he said, "You should be more careful or you'll end up with a broken nose." His warm breath blew lightly into Leo's face and he could feel heat going through him from the close contact. Why does he have to be so damn cute? Leo asked himself. As soon as Leo could control himself, he immediately let go and sat back down properly on his seat, still a bit dazed.

Annabeth's sudden fan-girly squeal snapped Leo out of it. He looked at his grey-eyed friend. She quickly clapped a hand on her mouth. "Sorry."

Everyone burst out laughing, even Leo managed a small chuckle. After a few minutes of that moment, they went back to talking, which Leo was grateful for.

"So," Nico started, " Before I forget, are you guys going to that fair this weekend? I've got no one to go with."

"Actually," Jason replied, "Percy and I were going to go...by ourselves. You know, as a date." He said it carefully, making it clear in a polite way, that they wanted time alone.

"Of course," Piper rolled her eyes, yet giving them a small smile, "I can't go because I have to finish a project for science class and my partner, Reyna, wants to finish it before it's due."

"That's too bad," Annabeth patted Piper's back, " Leo, are you going or do you already have something else planned?" In truth, Leo had nothing to do that weekend except hang out with his friends, but it seemed like they already had plans.

"Not really," He said hesitantly.

"Me neither," Annabeth cheered, "You, me and Nico can go together!"

"Great, so I won't go alone then," Nico nodded, agreeing with Annabeth's proposition.

"Wait," Piper interrupted," Actually, I'm going to have to borrow Annabeth. She can help me and Reyna with the project. We need her brain this weekend."

"But-" Before Annabeth could argue, Piper whispered something in her ear. Leo couldn't hear what message was exchanged but he figured it was somewhat between the lines of "Let them spend some alone time together."

"Never mind," Annabeth backpedaled, "She needs me more. And you know what they say, 'two's company, three's a crowd'," with a wink. Leo wanted to just sink in his chair and disappear.

"Sounds good to me," Nico shrugged and turned to Leo, "See you Saturday then. I'll come at five, 'kay?" Leo didn't get to answer because the bell went off and that meant it was the end of D Lunch.

Leo managed to catch up to Annabeth and Piper, who were already walking home.

"What the fuck, Piper?" He growled, even though he wasn't too angry, but the fact that it felt like he was practically going on a date with Nico set him a little on edge.

"What are you talking about?" she asked, feigning innocence.

"Hello? You pushed me right into him!" Leo didn't bother with names. The huge smile appearing on Piper's face was enough for him to assume she knew what he was talking about.

"Oh that. Well, you wouldn't give me your pudding," He glared at her. Piper scoffed, "Don't give me that look. Like you didn't like it."

"Piper!" Leo fretted, even though she was right. The two girls laughed at his reaction.

"It's okay, Leo. I'm sure that come Monday morning, you'll be holding hands with our moody friend." Annabeth reassured him.

"Yeah right," He muttered. Still, he couldn't help but feel hope try to barge into his mind. Could they be right?

"Don't look so down, Valdez," Piper ruffled his curly hair, "I'll order Pizza if you want and Annabeth will pay."

"Hey!" Annabeth complained, "Why do I pay?"

"I said I'd order. Come on, we both have to do something to cheer up Leo here! I'm already going to do half of the work." Annabeth rolled her eyes at Piper's logic.

"I guess some pizza would be nice," Leo accepted their offer because, in truth, he was hungry and maybe they were right. Everything would turn out okay.

Saturday

Leo looked at himself in the mirror, not satisfied with his reflection. He wanted to look especially nice today. He tried to tame his unruly hair but it was no use.

"It's okay," Leo told himself, "It's not a date. Just hanging out as friends." Still, Leo was feeling nervous, wondering what he might talk about with Nico or what they would be doing. He looked down at his slightly wrinkly white shirt and cargo shorts. Was this casual enough or should he dress up a little more?

The sound of the doorbell interrupted his mental debate on whether to brush his teeth for the 5th time that day. Hey, he was hopeful. Leo ran downstairs to find his mother had already opened the door to Nico, who was wearing his usual black clothes that made him look so dark and mysterious. Ugh, he was never watching chick flicks again with Hazel. They were getting to him. He was starting to use lines from those movies already. He hadn't seen her in a while, considering that she didn't live anywhere near him and in turn, didn't go to their school, but she did come visit in Summer vacations to see Nico since they were half-siblings but that story was for another day.

"Hey, Nico." Be cool, be cool, Leo reminded himself. It's not a date.

"Oh, there you are, mijo," his mom smiled at him, "Is this the boy you're always talking about?"

"Mom!" Not how he planned this day to go. He walked past the door and was planning on making a run for it before his mother's voice stopped him again.

"I'm so glad you finally decided to ask him out. It's about time you got a boyfriend." She turned her attention to Nico, who looked amused at his mom's assumptions. "He's just as handsome as you described. Oh, but he looks a little pale. Maybe inviting him to our annual beach trip would be a good idea."

"Mom, please!" Leo begged, feeling his whole face flush. "he's not-"

"Thanks Ms. Valdez. Your son is just charming. I'll make sure to bring him back by nine." He told her as he slung an arm over Leo's shoulders.

"Wait, what?" Leo sputtered. Did he just call me charming?

His mom was too busy giggling to notice her son's discomfort. "And he's so responsible. I like him," She looked Leo, "Bring him to dinner one of these days, mijo."

"But we're not-"

He was cut off by Nico again, "I'd love to have dinner with you, but I think we should get going." He checked his watch. "Nice meeting you, Ms. Valdez." He stuck out his hand and Leo's mom shook it.

"Please, call me Esperanza." She insisted. "Have fun, you two." And she closed the door, no doubt going to the window to see them off. God, his mom was so embarrassing sometimes.

Leo glared at the boy next to him, ignoring the burning sensation of Nico's arm still around his shoulders.

Nico noticed and laughed, "What? It was too tempting to not go along with it." He took his arm off, leaving Leo feeling cold. "Don't worry, you can tell your mom later I was kidding."

"Jerk," Leo muttered by walked along side him to the fair that was a few blocks away.

"So," Nico smirked as they walked the empty sidewalk, "Handsome, huh?"

Leo's eyes widened slightly at the question, but merely scoffed, "Don't get a big head. I was just telling my mom what I hear in school."

"Still, though. I am pretty handsome."

"Yeah, maybe if you looked less like a vampire, I might agree." Then Leo gave his own little conceited smirk, "So. Charming, huh?"

Nico gave a small chuckle and lightly bumped their shoulders, sending a tingling sensation through the Latino's arm. "Don't get too excited. I had to say something nice in front of your mom."

"Whatever. I don't need you to tell me I'm hot." Was that too much? He did joke about being irresistible a lot, but he wasn't sure how Nico would take it since they were alone.

"Right," Nico joked back, "Because there are lots of guys knocking on your door."

"You know it. I like to call myself Hot Stuff." This was definitely not what Leo imagined they would be talking about, but it was the best conversation in his entire life.

"I don't know about this..." Nico said almost nervously as he looked up at the ride in front of them. The ride was called "Spider Web," which Leo didn't understand why since there were only six legs. Each of the legs held up eight people around the leg and then the seats spun around as the whole ride swung from side to side. Leo had been dying to get on it since last year, but the line had been so long that time that he had to skip it for next time.

"Please! I've been dying to get on since forever! C'mon, just once," Leo urged.

"But what if you fall off and die?"

"Like they're going to let us get on a death trap. Besides, I've studied the structure and it's stable enough." He reassured.

"And if you vomit?" Nico kept asking.

"Then let's hope no one's in the line of fire," He grinned. "Dude, calm down. Stop thinking of the what if's."

He took one last look at the ride before giving Leo a side glance and regaining his indifferent personality, "Fine. We'll get on it." Then he added, "Once."

The Latino couldn't help but laugh a little, "What, are you scared or something?" Nico refused to look at him in the eye. "No way. You, the fearless, badass Nico Di Angelo, is scared of a ride called Spider Web?"

"Shut up. I'm not scared. Just a little anxious." People were already getting off the ride and now it was their turn. Leo could tell that Nico was a bit hesitant and walked slower as they passed the gate and onto the nearest available seats. They strapped the safety bars and belt, securing them tightly. Now it was more evident to Nico was becoming more jittery as more people were getting to their spots.

"It okay. We're not going to die." Leo told him. "You're acting like Thalia when anyone ever mentions heights." Nico was gripping the handle bars, his knuckles turning white. Without really thinking about it, Leo placed his hand lightly on Nico's. It was too late to get off the Spider Web, but Nico's grip seemed to loosen a bit. Then the ride started.

After two minutes of spinning and swinging, the ride finally stopped. Leo's stomach was still doing flips and the adrenaline was still pumping through him. Let's just say that he was ready to run a 5k marathon.

"Let's go again!" Leo cheered as soon as the restraints finally unlocked. His excitement was deflated as he looked at Nico. Yep, he was definitely acting like the time he and his friends tricked Thalia into coming on a hiking trip up a mountain. "Or maybe we should go play some games."

Nico jumped off the seat like he had sat on a pin and ran off, making Leo catch up to him.

"Hey, slow down, Nick."

"Sorry," He muttered. "It's just that...I've never gotten on any ride or roller coaster before."

"Oh." Leo wasn't sure what to say. He never thought that Nico could be unnerved with something as simple as a ride.

"Now that I have," Nico continued, "I'm not planning on doing it again."

"That's alright," Leo smiled, "We can have still have fun and win prizes." Nico continued to look forward, but gave a hint of a smile that made Leo's heart swell up.

"Where to?" he asked. Leo scanned his surrounding. His eyes fell on a ring toss booth. "That one! I'm a pro when it comes to ring tossing."

"Really, now?" Nico raised an eyebrow.

"Yep."

"Then let's try it." They walked to the ring toss booth and paid the girl a dollar each for three rings.

"Okay. Let's make this interesting," Leo flashed a grin, "Whoever gets all three of their rings wins and the loser buys the winner a hot dog." He was really confident about this and knew that he could win. Not that he wanted to show off his ring tossing skills or anything to his crush.

Nico simply shrugged, "You go first."

"Prepare to lose," Leo said as he calculated how far he should throw the ring. He aimed and threw it. It met its target and soon another followed. "This last one and I'm getting a free hot dog." There was no way he could miss this. He took aim one last time, but just before he let it go, Nico just had to distract him.

"You stick your tongue out whenever you're about to toss." Nico observed. That comment made Leo throw the ring too far and it missed the bottle completely. His cheeks reddened at the poor toss.

"Looks like someone isn't getting a free hot dog," God, why was he so hot when he smirked like that? "My turn."

"Fine, but don't feel too bad when they don't make it in." Leo replied, "It's not as easy it looks. You have to take careful aim and make sure you know what you're aiming for and-" Nico ignored him and tossed his rings, one after another, all of them a perfect toss. That left Leo's mouth hanging open at the easiness that Nico made the game look. "Huh?"

The girl handed Nico a large bear, "Guess I just got lucky. So about that free hot dog?"

"Okay, a deal's a deal."

"Don't feel too bad. Here." Nico handed him the bear, "For compensation." Leo held the prize in his hands and looked at it for a moment thinking, Did he just give me a gift? The guy always gives the girl a prize he won all the time in movies! Ugh, seriously, that was the last time he was watching romantic comedies.

"Thanks," Leo almost stuttered. Be cool, be cool. "Let's go get those hot dogs."

Leo paid since he lost the bet because someone was too hot to ignore. Not that he wasn't grateful that said guy was spending time with him. After they ate their hot dogs, they played a few more games. Leo managed to win the water gun booth (Nico had compared him to a cowboy) and returned the favor by giving Nico a Batman plushie he'd won. The hours passed by faster than Leo anticipated. Soon, it was almost time to leave, which was very disappointing, but his mom would have a fit if Leo wasn't on time.

While walking back to his house, Leo wondered if the 'getting the guy's jacket by pretending it was cold' trick would work. Why not? Leo had nothing to lose anyway.

"Damn, it's cold. I should've brought a jacket or something," Leo commented, making sure to wrap his arms around himself to emphasize his statement.

"Yeah, you probably should have." Leo faltered a bit before regaining his footing. That wasn't the answer he wanted. He was still in the dreaded Friend Zone, wasn't he? Goddamn it...

But he couldn't let his thoughts show so he teased a bit. He sarcastically said, "Why, aren't you a gentleman?"

Nico scoffed, "Not my style." Leo continued to look forward, refusing to let Nico see him upset at the turn of events when he felt warm fabric fall on his shoulders and encase him in warmth. He immediately turned to the boy next to him, who was now without an aviator jacket and refusing to meet his eyes.

"Huh?" Leo stupidly said, confused.

"It's not my style, but I guess I can make an exception." He glanced slightly at Leo and looked away almost as instantly, with a bit of blush creeping into his cheeks. Leo resisted the urge to sniff the jacket. That would look weird and didn't want to come off as a creeper or something.

"Thanks," Leo muttered, holding the borrowed jacket tightly so it didn't fall off, having a blush of his own appear on his face. They finally made it to Leo's front door.

"Guess I better go inside now," Leo stated, not making a move to get in his house.

"Yeah, alright. I'll see you back in school." Nico continued to stand in front of him, almost as if waiting for Leo to do something. Maybe he wanted Leo to say something, like a confession or kiss him? Or maybe he wanted-

"So can I have my jacket now?"

"Oh, right!" Leo slipped it off and handed it back. Of course that was it. Why was he so hopeful? "Bye now."

"Bye, Hot Stuff."

"What?!"

"Isn't that what you call yourself?" Nico smirked. Leo would never get tired of it.

"Oh, yeah. That's me." Stop acting like an idiot, Leo scolded himself.

"By the way, when am I coming to dinner?" Leo just stared for a moment blankly. "Your mom did invite me and frankly, I wouldn't pass up free food." He couldn't be serious. Could he? How should Leo answer? This was harder than it looked in movies.

"Uh sure. I'll ask my mom," Leo managed.

"By the way," Nico added, "There's this new horror movie coming out on Friday. Wanna go see it with me?" Did he just ask Leo- No, of course not. It was just hanging out with friends, right? Friends hang out with friends and watch movies together so he shouldn't make a big deal out of it even though he was getting way too hyper and couldn't stop moving his hands.

"I guess if nothing comes up then yeah, I'll go." Leo played it off. No need to look too desperate and excited as he felt.

"Alright," Nico started walking off, but not before calling over his shoulder, "I'ts a date then."

Leo's mind took a second to process that sentence. When it finally clicked, his whole body felt like he was on fire. His heart started pounding harder as he watched the other boy's silhouette get farther and farther away.

"A date?" Leo muttered under his breath, feeling his face grow hot at the thought. When he finally opened the door to get in the house, his mom bombarded him questions on how the day at the fair went. Leo's mind felt fuzzy as he tried to answer his mother's never-ending questions. When he finally got away from her to get to bed, he felt too awake, his eyes wouldn't shut, and his stomach wouldn't settle down.

A date?

What did that mean? Was Nico just joking with him? He had been playing around a lot and being his hot sarcastic self while they were hanging out. Or had he really meant a date date? Honestly, Leo was hoping that it was the second choice. But what if he was reading things wrong? Well, Nico had given him his jacket even though Nico had said that it wasn't something he did and he wanted to come to dinner one of these days. But couldn't that be easily justified with more platonic reasons? All these thoughts were whirling around in his head, giving Leo a headache. He hoped that he could get at least a few hours of sleep that night.

Monday (2nd Block)

"So..." Annabeth started, "How was the fair?" She smiled slyly at him, waiting to hear all the details of his Saturday night.

"I mean, we hung out, you know. We did friend stuff and played games against each other and won prices." Leo said while remembering the stuffed bear that Nico had won for him still sitting on his bedside table.

"Oh." The blond didn't seem satisfied with this explanation. Maybe she had been hoping for some huge confession followed by a wild make out session. If he had to be honest, he'd been half-hoping for that too. "So no romance? No nothing?" At that, Leo felt the blush display on his cheeks.

"Well, I kinda, uh, put my hand on top of his to calm him down when we were getting ready for this huge ride and he didn't pull away."

At this, Annabeth immediately lit up. "I knew it! Did he confess? Did you guys hold hands the entire time? How many times did you sneak off to kiss? Was there tongue?"

"Annabeth!" Leo shushed her, "None of that happened! It was just a reassuring squeeze."

She put a hand over her mouth, trying really hard to not burst out laughing, "A reassuring squeeze where?"

"Oh God, stop saying stuff like that or I'm not talking to you anymore!" Leo threatened. Now he knew for sure his whole face was red.

"Okay, I'll be quiet." She said as he put on a neutral expression on and making a show of clearing her throat, "Continue."

"Then, he kind of gave me a teddy bear that he won." Leo had to pause to scold Annabeth to not interrupt with her giggling. "Then I gave him this stuffed batman to return the favor. And after the fair, I kinda pretended that I was cold and he said that giving his jacket to people wasn't his style but he gave it to me anyway, saying that he could make and exception and then wanted to know when he was coming to dinner and asked me to go to the movies with him this Friday."

Annabeth nodded, looking calm and collected. Leo sighed. "Now I'm done and you may fangirl." Cue your typical fangirl weirdness, but Leo wasn't that bothered by it. It was nice to have told someone about what had happened, but he made Annabeth swear not to say anything to anyone.

(3rd Block)

"I'm guessing your date with Nico went well?" Piper rudely interrupted Leo's daydream of that night where Nico had placed his jacket on his shoulders.

"Huh?" Leo looked at her confused, not quite catching what she had said. Okay, Math was the place where he mostly never payed attention so this was normal for him and that's also why he was barely passing with a D.

"I asked about the date with Nico," Piper rolled her eyes at her friend, but still smiling. "Are you going to spill or do I have to embarrass you at Lunch in order to get information?"

"Oh yeah,so how was it? We didn't see you." Jason jumped into the conversation. Leo noticed that Jason and Percy had slid their desks together completely and had their hands intertwined underneath the desks. Nobody really paid them any attention. In fact, it was rumored that "Jercy", as they had been called around the school, was going to win "Cutest Couple" in the yearbook, courtesy of their friend Rachel, who coincidentally was the President of the Yearbook Committee and made sure to have them on the ballots.

"We had fun," Leo concluded the entire night in that one sentence.

"Seriously?" Piper complained. "Leo, I want details. Details!"

"We should pay attention to Ms. Lewis. She might have something important to say to us for our upcoming test," Leo suggested, hoping to sway the conversation to something else.

"You mean the test we're having tomorrow?" Percy asked him.

"What! The test is tomorrow?!" Leo was definitely going to fail.

"Typical Leo," Piper told him.

Lunch (Yes!)

No, Leo was not practically bursting with happiness at the sight of Nico waiting at their usual table and no, he didn't pick up his pace a little when he saw Nico pulling a chair for Leo to sit next to him. He was definitely not grinning like a maniac when he felt their knees accidentally bump against each other and Nico not even bothering to move away. And his knee was not experiencing any burning sensation at the warmth of Nico's touch. Too much chick movies! Curse you and your romantic movie marathon, Hazel!

At first, his friends didn't ask about Saturday, which Leo found was relieving, but then Jason just had to bring up his date with Percy that day and inevitably turning the conversation to Leo and Nico. Wonderful! Thank you Superman and your lovey-dovey life.

"Did you guys have fun?" Annabeth asked, even though Leo could tell that she was dying to spill about what he had already told her.

"Yeah," Nico responded evenly, indifferent to his impatient friends waiting with anticipation for some juicy details. "We played a few games and I kicked Leo's ass at most of them."

"No you didn't!" Leo protested. "I totally destroyed you more."

"Like the ring toss game," He asked in a low and, dare he say it, almost seductive and suggestive voice.

"You just got lucky!" Leo quickly responded so that he wouldn't get tongue tied and ending up looking like a total, flustered idiot. "I could've beat you, but you distracted me."

"How?" Piper asked, showing him an evil smile, "Did he flash you?" The whole table erupted in laughter. Piper was going to torture, wasn't she?

"Sure did," Nico joked, "Totally threw him off. You should've seen his face." More laughter. Thanks a lot Nico, Leo thought. Suddenly, it was too hot in here. Nico must've sensed Leo's discomfort because after everyone had calmed down he added, "But really, all I said was that he stuck his tongue out when he tossed."

After poking fun at Leo a little longer, soon the conversation turned towards other things like homework, teachers and plans after school.

"Guys, did I tell you that there's going to be a new skating ring opening?" Percy informed them. "Jason and me were planning to go and we were wondering if you were interested."

"But Percy," Piper said, "I thought you said you couldn't skate and last time you tried, you ended up with a fractured arm."

"That was two years ago!" He protested.

"Besides," Jason added. "I'll be there to make sure that doesn't happen." They gave each other these "I love you" looks.

"So when is it?" Annabeth asked, probably feeling a little said that she distracted her OTP from having a moment.

"It's going to be this Friday at four." Percy answered.

"I can't go." Nico announced and all eyes fell on him.

"Why not?" Piper asked suspiciously.

"Because I'm going on a date with Leo. We're going to watch a movie together." Before anyone had time to react, the bell rang. Nico got up and grabbed Leo's wrist to drag him out of the cafeteria and away from their nosy friends. They were lost in the ground. Leo's head was reeling. He came out of his haze and stopped them both.

"Wait. you were serious about that?" He asked through the hall noises.

"About what?"

"About...going on a date."

Nico raised his eyebrow and looked at Leo right in the eye, "And why wouldn't I be?" Leo dropped his gaze out of embarrassment.

"Okay." He simply responded, too shy for once. He felt Nico's hand slide down to take his own properly and led him to his fourth block. Leo was never more anxious to not get to his class even though it was workshop. When they got to the door of his classroom, Leo really didn't want to let go, though his hand was getting a little sweaty.

"Let's walk home together," he blurted out. " I mean, if you want, of course."

Nico smiled at him. "Sure Hot Stuff." Leo couldn't stop blushing the entire day.