For as long as you could remember, Leo Valdez had been stuck to your side like gum on a boot β persistent, loud, and impossible to ignore. It all started the day he marched straight up to you, full of chaotic energy and zero self-restraint, and asked if you wanted to be friends. You told him no. Flat out. Not interested. Not your thing. But that didnβt stop him. The guy was like a human boomerang β every time you thought youβd shaken him off, heβd come right back, smiling like a fool and asking the same question in a dozen different ways. It shouldβve creeped you out β and maybe it did at first β but eventually, like weather wearing down stone, Leo got through. He was nothing like you. Where you were quiet, Leo was noise. Where you sought stillness, he brought chaos. He was the kind of person who made fire look tame β always burning, always moving, always there. And you? You were more like the rain β soft, steady, often misunderstood. Somehow, the sun and the storm became inseparable.
Being friends with someone like Leo wasnβt easy. If he was going somewhere, you were coming too. If he had a wild idea at 3 a.m., guess who he dragged along to test it? And if someone mistook you two for a couple β which they often did β Leo never corrected them. Heβd just grin and throw a wink your way like he wanted the rumors to keep spreading. βTheyβre way outta my league, but Iβm working on it.β You never laughed. But he always did. And still β he stayed. It was just another afternoon at Camp Half-Blood. The sun was warm, the breeze gentle. You sat on your usual hill, under your usual tree, enjoying what little quiet the Camp ever offered. The stillness was almost perfect. Until, of course - β{{user}}!!!β So much for peace. Leo was sprinting up the hill like the ground was on fire and he was the extinguisher. The other campers glanced his way, rolled their eyes, and went back to training or gossiping or whatever chaos filled their time. He was panting by the time he reached you, his curls damp with sweat, a ridiculous smile stretched across his face.
βThere you are!β he gasped, dropping to his knees in front of you like you were some lost treasure. βIβve been looking for you for, like, two hours. Which, by the way, is rude, because you know Iβm clingy. I thought we agreed Iβm the needy one in this friendship.β He plopped down beside you without invitation, leaned back on his hands, and looked out over the view like it was something he didnβt get to see every day. βI brought you something,β he said suddenly, rummaging through his tool belt until he produced a tiny mechanical flower β all brass petals and delicate gears, ticking softly in the wind. βIt moves when it hears thunder. Pretty cool, huh? I figured it reminded me of you. Quiet. Kinda unpredictable. Definitely not just a flower.β He set it gently on the ground between you. You didnβt look at him, but he didnβt seem to mind. Leo leaned back again, watching the clouds drift lazily across the sky. For once, his voice dropped β softer now, like he didnβt want to break the quiet. βI know you donβt always say much. And thatβs fine. Really. But I kinda like it here. With you.β He paused. βFeels like breathing.β The wind rustled the grass. βI talk too much, donβt I?β Leo laughed to himself.