"JASON WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

Jason slowly turned his head, his eyes widening when he saw his friends hurtling towards him like a couple of bullets.

Percy stumbled, falling down next to Nico and cupping his face.

"Are you actually telling me, after all these years, you guys are finally caring about this brat?" Jason snapped.

"This brat, isn't who you think he is." Leo said. "And even so..." he took in a breath.

"I don't want this, anymore Jason. I don't want to be like this. I don't like who we've become."

"I don't care." Jason whispered, "They deserve it, the world deserves it. It's a cruel world, and to survive in it you have to be just as cruel."

"This is not a cruel world. Bad just over shadows good. It seems that can happen inside humans as well as outside, in the world. It's just a world of people who try to do their best when it's far too easy to do their worst."

"You just got that from Supernatural."

"That may be so, but it's true."

"Why all of a sudden a change in heart?"

"You trust Nico, right?"

"Yes."

"Well he trusts that brat we've been beating up on. It's something... I don't know. I don't know what it was, but I don't want this anymore. I dug whatever I felt down deep, and I rid myself of guilt and sadness until-"

"I'm sorry is there a point to this?" Jason snapped.

"Watch." Leo muttered.

Percy was still by Nico, who was coughing violently. His whole body was trembling, and blood was spilling from his mouth.

Percy stared at Nico, a look of anxiety and sadness flickering across his face.

Nico managed a small smile.

"I'm... okay." he rasped quietly.

Percy shook his head.

"I am. It's nothing... it's nothing."

Percy slowly brushed Nico's hair to the side, pulling his hood down.

"I'm fine." Nico whispered.

Leo glanced back at Jason, who's jaw was wide open.

"I... no. Wait- what?" Jason frowned. "I... Nico..."

Nico slowly looked up at Jason, revealing his black eye and cut lip. His, well, 'his' clothes were stained red, and his skin was even paler then usual.

Jason swallowed, staring back at him. They all fell silent, watching each other.

"An ice pack helps that." Jason said curtly, gesturing to Nico's black eye before turning on his heel and marching off.

Nico's hand went up to his face and his finger gently grazed the area around his eye.

He glanced at Percy as if he was asking, 'Is it really that bad?'

Percy nodded reluctantly.

"...I can go talk to him." Leo offered, turning around to do just that.

"No." Nico whispered softly.

Leo paused, glancing back at him. "What do you mean no? Why not? He-"

"He did what he did to Percy for years." Nico said. "He needs to figure it out himself."

Percy gently wipe some of the blood away staining Nico's face. He stood up, holding out his hand.

"Thank you." Nico murmured, taking his hand. "This should be a lesson not to ever do an idea as stupid as this again."

Percy shrugged and nodded, helping Nico up.

Nico managed to get up, but not a second later his legs crumbled from underneath him and he fell into Percy.

Percy quickly hooked his arms around Nico, smiling in amusement.

"Sorry..." Nico said, smiling sheepishly.

Percy shook his head and smiled back in a sort of 'No problem' way.

With the help of Leo they managed to get one of Nico's arms around Percy and the other around Leo. Together the two helped him down the halls- well no, they basically just carried him away. Every time Nico would try to walk or support his own weight, so eventually Leo scolded him and told him to just let them carry him. As a response Nico tried to stand on his own again, only to bring all three of them down. So after some minor arguing between the two (and some video recording from Percy), Nico let them carry him.

The bloody stubborn twats.

--

Leo's thumb brushed against the edges of a photo in his hands. If anyone had seen it they would've guessed it was new. It's cover was still glossy, and well, it was an actual photo.

He fell back against a tree outside of the school. But no, this was no ordinary tree. This was the tree. Reserved only for the most popular and elite in senior year of high school. Started by, yes, Mrs. Athena Chase's class. The tree was so big it was almost obnoxious, but it was still perfect. It was a treasured item of the school, a treasured symbol. It was a known fact: You, or anyone, screws with that tree, and they'll have quite a few generations of High School students to answer to.

They say Mrs. Chase's group, or more accurately, clique, had carved their names into the tree because the tree was special to them. It's where they hung out every day, it gave them shade on a hot day, and it was a place where they could just talk and hang out. They say these two twins named Artemis and Apollo had climbed to the near top of the tree one day when they had gotten the idea to carve the names of everyone in their group into the tree. 

That clique was popular. They didn't know it, but they were. But it was a good popular, an envious popular. One where everyone knew them just because they were that nice, and that amazing. As years passed they'd re-visit the tree, telling their tales and adventures to lower class men who had yet to graduate. Soon the tree became a tradition. It was just something everyone in the school knew about, old or new.

"Whatcha doin'?" a voice interrupted Leo's thoughts. A girl swung down from one of the branches sitting above him, landing squarely on her feet before looking at him.

"Gah!" Leo flailed his arms, backing up against the tree. "Jesus, you almost gave me a heart attack!"

"I'm not Jesus, I'm Calypso." she said hotly. "And your Leo."

"And you're a stalker who lives in trees."

"And you're that one ridiculous popular dude."

"I..." Leo sighed, "I'm not in the mood for this, I'm sorry."

"Oh? Did I interrupt something? Is one of the Prince's friends unhappy?" Calypso sat down next to him.

"I don't know."

"I, personally, think the entourage is stupid and always has been." Calypso stated, crossing her arms.

"Oh? How long have you known the entourage?"

"About 9 years."

"...Wait what?" Leo blinked, staring at her. "No, no that can't be right. I'm pretty sure I would've remembered someone like you."

"You guys became so caught up in yourselves." she said. "It was like no one else existed."

"Were we really that bad?"

"Truth or sugar coat?"

"...the latter, please."

"You guys were absolutely positively horrendous."

"I said sugar coat!"

"What? I did!" Calypso exclaimed. "I could've gone with a bunch of other words but those are the nicest I could think of."

"Horrendous?"

"Positively." she grinned.

"Oh fine, whatever." Leo mumbled. 

"But in all seriousness, which is probably a new concept for you so stay with me-" Calypso said. "I really didn't like you guys. I saw what you guys did. I was never impressed with the side you showed everyone. You charmed them, convinced them if you ever were to do something bad it'd be for a good reason. But that's bullcrap in my opinion. You lit up stars in people's eyes, but I don't think you deserved it. Cold hard truth. I genuinely miss awesome, fun, funny, peppy, and... full-of-life Jason and Leo. Nico's learning, and from the same boy you decided to pick on nonetheless."

Leo went silent, his fingers deftly playing with a random rock he had picked up from the ground.

"...But." Calypso whispered. "You're changing."

Leo looked at her, "I don't need your approval." he mumbled.

"I'm not saying you do you pri-"

Leo covered her mouth.

"I'm Leo mother f*cking Valdez. I don't need approval from anyone." he grinned.

"Of course." Calypso rolled her eyes playfully and pushed his hand away. "God, even when you were mean you were ridiculously childish."

Leo just smiled and looked down, going quiet.

Calypso poked him, "Uh, hello? Bad Boy Supreme?"

Leo looked back at her a few seconds later, biting his lip.

"You know... it was a dare." he muttered.

"What was a dare?"

"Beating on Percy." Leo said. "Let's just say Jason and I got involved with some bad people, and to prove our... loyalty, they had us pick on Percy. I've done bad things, Calypso. I don't know if I can fix it."

"You're changing."

"I've been having second thoughts for a long time now..." Leo said. "But... Jason..."

"Has rotted himself from the inside." Thalia spit, walking over. "He dug his grave, let him lay in it."

"How could you say that about your brother?" Calypso frowned.

Thalia simply scoffed, "Barely my brother anymore. Same goes for my dad. They're not my family. I'm barely willing to sit here and talk to you right now, you think I'm going to hold back on what I think about my crap pile of a family?"

"Uh, well... crap pile, or not-" Leo started.

"Crap pile." 

"Shush. Either they're still your blood."

"Blood doesn't necessarily mean I have to care. Family is not always defined by blood."

"Then why not help them change their ways?"

"They're in their own little covey, I couldn't get through to them, and frankly, I gave up a long time ago."

Thalia crossed her arms, "Any more stupid remarks?"

Leo glanced at the ground and hummed, shaking his head. "Nope." 

"You know what? Thalia go. Just go for right now." Calypso said, pointing in a random direction.

"What?"

"You aren't helping and I need to talk to Leo. So, you should, as they say, scram."

Thalia grumbled something along the lines of "Your not the boss of me," but left anyway.

"Sheesh. Can't believe you had the guts to talk to Thalia Grace like that." Leo said. "You could've put us in our place a long time ago."

"I know, and I totally should've." Calypso muttered, sitting down next to him. "Could've kicked your ass any day."

"Oh?" Leo raised an eyebrow, "I doubt that."

"Yeah yeah." she rolled her eyes in a sort of mocking way. "by the way have you realized what you've been doing with your hands?"

"What?" Leo glanced down. Apparently he had been subconsciously making a... helicopter? Out of all the things around them. Leaves, grass, a few pieces of trash on the ground.

"Uhm. Here?" he handed the copter to Calypso, smiling.

"Oh wow, a helicopter made out of absent mindedness." Calypso chuckled, taking the helicopter. She held it up next to her face and looked at it, nodding. "I'll treasure it forever."

She smirked and looked back at Leo.

"Yeah yeah yeah, did you just stay to mock me about my miniature inventions?"

"No, actually. Though staying around to mock someone sounds like me, there's something I have to talk to you about."

"On a scale from 1-10 how serious is this talk about thing because I got some-"

"Ten."

"Sheesh. I'm gonna need more helicopters."

Song: Saviour by Black Veil Brides [Nightcore Vers]