Leo

None the less. Breakfast the next day it was like a new person, he was so happy with his older sister back. It was Christmas Eve.

And they started drawing names out of a bowl, putting them a pair of two.

"What are they doing?" Hazel asked.

"Christmas opening." Grover told us. "Because it'd take all day for everyone to open presents in front of everyone, they partner you up with someone and you each open all of your gifts. The presents you got for each other opened last. After that we go to Olympus for Christmas dinner with all the gods there. They try to get everyone's  mortal family there if they can come. There's a big party after. It's a lot of fun. Supposed to dress up for it."

After breakfast I went up to see who I was with to open presents and what not.

Percy.

Jason saw it, too.

"You better tell him." Jason told me.

"I have plans." I tell the son of Jupiter. "You're with Nico."

I grabbed my present for Percy from my cabin, dropping off others along with as I walked around. I got a present for everyone that said they would be here for the holidays. Not a joke. Every single person.

At the bottom was Percys present and card as I headed to his cabin being it'd be a lot more empty than mine.

I'm pretty sure everybody got him presents. I had a ton of them, too.

But anyways we started opening them and it took about twenty minutes to get through the ones from everyone else.

When I found out I was opening presents with him I made the card I got a little different. I added to it.

The thing is you can't watch them open it. It is recorded and you watch it that night. All of their reaction is on the camera and there is no reaction after that around them until the next day.

Basically pure torture for what I was doing.

I got him a skate board. Annabeth told me he had wanted one. An expensive one I could barely afford after everyone's presents but I got it. Nobody else got it for him.

I walked into a separate room to open what he got for me. Making sure the camera was working, and opened the present. There wasn't a card, it was $50 bucks instead.

Luke... Dude. That's a lot of money. Holy schist.

"$50?" I said, taking it out of the container be had put it in. "Dude... That's a lot of money. Does came pay you or something?"

Two things were wrapped, and I take both out and unwrap the first one. A digital drawing of Frank, Jason, Percy, Nico, and myself. It was really cool. You could see his signature in the corner.

"You did this?" I asked out loud. "That's awesome! I suck at drawing. On paper and on tablet."

The next one. Legis with an IPad Air 2. It had a few apps already downloaded. A sketching on, and then some things like devolping maybe. Like to make a digital model of something.

"Oh my gods..." I said. "How much money do you have, dude? I should've gotten you at least another thing than what I did... I'll keep that in mind for your birthday. But this is awesome! Oh my gods, thank you. I love it. I always do this stuff on paper. I wouldn't think about doing it like this with legos and an iPad. I'm going to play with these apps for a little bit. This looks awesome."

I turned off the camera. I had five minutes before we could see each other. Your limited time to open everything. Ten minutes. Why so long, I don't know. Maybe to screw around with the present or say something about it. No clue.

I'm just worried about my present to him now...

ווו×
Percy

Leo walked into the other room and I started the ten minute timer. I was nervous. Why, I don't know. Maybe he already has a ton of legos or an IPad Air and like... I don't know. It's just nerve racking for some reason.

But I took the huge box. Turning on the camera.

"This thing work?" I asked. "Yeah, it does. Okay."

I walked over. I liked the wrapping. It was blue with nemos everywhere.

"I'm saving this paper and I'll cut them out and I'm hanging that up in my room." I said. "I love Nemo. "

I carefully took it all off and took the card. It had three colors. Blue on the outside, orange and purple on the inside.

"I see what you did there..."

(AN: You guys were gonna say it anyway)

The outside read:

Merry Christmas!
Now there's
Something
I've been meaning
To ask
You
But every time I try
•My mouth goes dry
•My lungs collapse
•I go faint
And it doesn't happen

Okay...

"Do you need help with something?" I asked him. "Because with camp done, I get bored easily. Why this would happen, I don't know. Is it because I'm the leader? I swear I'm a normal dude. Don't let the title get to you. It was given to me. I didn't take it."

I flipped to the next side.

I
Was
Wondering
...

And I was reading this out loud.

(Question continued in present)

"Really, dude?" I asked. "That is what you call a troll."

But I open the box in the box.

It was the skateboard I've wanted for over a year that about $100 that I did not want to spend on myself.

I have a really good paying job. $20 an hour and my parents insist I don't help pay bills or anything. I've tried. They don't let me.

And I work 6 days a week since Goode doesn't have a swim team. 6 hours a day, 6 days a week. I get home about 9. Monday through Saturday. That's $720 a week.

Paul makes $30,000 a year. About that. Mom makes $40,000. I make $35,000. Because of my knowledge of Marine Biology I started the job a year ago. I've been working through the computer and IPad at the moment and they mail my paycheck. But its a full time job with part time hours until I graduate. I am guaranteed 5 years there and longer depending how it is at the end of the 5 year years. But I like it. I get to work with fish and different marine animals. They know I got to my Dad's in the summer and that this year I'd stay with him. That's why they set up working through the IPad and what not.

"Oh my gods, you actually got this for me?' I asked him. "Wait, how did you know about it? Did you ask Annabeth what I wanted? Or Grover? Good things I gave you that $50. Because this was somewhere around $100. Oh my gods, thanks, though. I love skateboarding. I will use it. A lot. Probably not here, though."

There was a paper in there.

"Is this the rest of the question?" I said, taking it out and reading it in my head. Saying the blanks out loud.

"Will." I read out the first answer. "I think that's his name."

"U."

"Go."

"Out."

"Width."

"Me."

There was two boxes.

[] Yes         []No

At first I didn't understand why. And I read over a few times.

"Will u go out width me." I said.

Wait...

"Will you go out with me."

That was a huge brain fart and then I realized this was from Leo.

And I read over the whole thing. Including the card.

"Merry Christmas." I read off. ":) Now there's something I've been wanting to ask you. But every time I try: My mouth gets dry, My lungs collapse, and I get faint. And jt doesn't happen. But I was wondering... Will you go out with me...?"

I covered my mouth with both my hands. I was past flattered. It was just... Oh my gods.

I didn't have to think about it. I really didn't. It just... If was the shock of one: there's a 95% chance this isn't a dare, and two, thought would mean he likes me, and he's a guy, and I thought he liked some girl I heard about during the war.

Took out Riptide.

[★] Yes       [] No

"You better be serious about this, Valdez." I said, and turned off the camera.