Leo wanted to make something.

    The school setting wasn't much of a help, and it wasn't like he could create something out of air. He didn't just have some sort of garage in his tool belt.

    He didn't even have his belt; he'd left it in the warehouse.

    He looked at the time as his USH teacher continued her lecture.

    Five minutes to go. How to pass the time?

    Wow, he thought. I have ADHD! I can literally focus on anything that is not what I'm supposed to focus on. Let's look at the clock and count to sixty with the seconds. Also, look right above that clock. There's a crack in the wall. That's odd. It doesn't look like it will leak or anything. There doesn't seem to be water damage. I wonder why there's a crack.

    The bell rang with that thought.

    He practically ran to his locker and grabbed his physics textbook.

    Leo understood physics. He had a 100 in that class, and with that extra credit assignment coming by the end of the quarter, and with quarterly exams coming the week before homecoming...

    Let's just say he was confident he'll be getting a bit more than a perfect score in his science class.

    Unfortunately, Hoffman wasn't there today.

    He could see why people were relieved. Hoffman was a depressing man who made Leo want to die while doing something he loved. In all honesty, Leo admired Hoffman's uncanny ability.

    The sub was a nice guy who didn't mind if you skipped the class.

    Leo did, in fact, skip the class.

    He went to Mr. Apollo's room. The Theatre 1 students were getting ready to move over to the auditorium.

    Leo followed behind and pretended he didn't notice the Hadestown cast members next to him. They seemed to do the same.

    Then he saw Cristeen Chambers. A small Filipino girl at his group home at the moment. She'd been in the home longer than Leo had; he believed she'd been there for a year or so.

    In fact, he wouldn't be surprised if Cristeen was adopted by the Britton family.

    He gave a small wave, and she smiled back.

    Mr. A sat the class down on the stage, and the people skipping were in the audience. He didn't notice Leo until he sat next to a Spanish girl.

    "Okay, we have three new judges," Mr. A said. "So, please slate so they can address you by name. You have 5 minutes to practice."

    Leo leaned over to the girl he sat next to. "I don't know how to judge a performance."

    "Just say what you liked than what they can improve on. Just don't be harsh, you know?" she said. "We are letting them improve as actors, not crush their dreams."

    "Are they any good?"

    The girl next to the Spanish girl snorted. "Doubt it." She had an English accent.

    The Spanish girl shot her a glare. "I'm not sure. I've never seen them before."

    "Oh, but look at them," said the English girl. "They're terrified."

    "Sadie. Babe. If you were giving me compliments and opportunities, I'd be scared too."

    "No!"

    "Llevas botas de combate y una chaqueta de cuero devastadoramente desgastada. ¿Qué coño pensaste que iba a pasar?"

    Leo snorted as Sadie said, "You know I don't know what you mean."

    "Se ve intimidante," Leo said.

    "Exactly!" Said the Spanish girl.

    "Still don't know what you said," Sadie said.

    "I said it looks intimidating," Leo explained. He leaned back in his chair and noticed a slight creak.

    The chair was not supposed to do that.

    Fuck, that's going to bother him.

    He went forward then leaned back again.

    Creeeaaak.

    He did it again.

    And again.

    And again.

    Yes! said his ADHD. I have created the distraction that was not needed right now! Mission accomplished, boys.

    Leo wondered if his ADHD actually sounded like that.

    Sadie and the girl talked about something to do with their gym class when Leo interrupted with the question.

    "Hey, what do you think your ADHD sounds like?"

    The girl's interest was piqued. "I don't know. Maybe something super high-pitched and annoying that says some stupid shit like, uh, hey, that chair he's sitting in creaks, and he made a song out of it. You should try to harmonize with it. Better yet, find out what pitch it's in."

    Leo loved that about people with ADHD. They get it. They understand that ADHD isn't just talking about something then going SQUIRREL. It was just that their attention span was short unless there was something they were interested in.

    And, if something bothered them, they talked about it. It was annoying, but also, what pitch was that creak in?

    And they would talk about it. Maybe talk about their current hyperfiction, if they had any.

    It was something he loved about this school. It was filled with people with ADHD.

    It's nice to have someone understand.

    The first performance went on.

    "Hello, my name is Mitchell Pinto, and I will be performing Never Got An F In My Life from The Breakfast Club." He paused for a moment. "'It's like me, you know, with my grades... like, when I step outside myself...'"

    Leo had never seen that movie, so he didn't know if it was that accurate or not. The girl next to him, however, seemed to love it.

    "You did well with developing Brian," she said when the monologue was finished. "That's a good movie with a ton of character development. This takes place in the middle of his arc. You made it very genuine and showed his personality as a nerdy guy, learning to accept himself as flawed. That's really hard to do.

    "Opportunities... I'm going to say that in the middle, when he says he's failing, add some more drama. You were amazing with your acting, but that's a big moment, so I think it could have been articulated more, you know?"

    "I like how you utilized neurotic hand movements," Sadie said. "It's a nice nuance and adds character. But, I wish you used the space more. Unless its in a desk. I've never seen the movie."

    "Same," Leo said.

    "Oh, we need to change that, Sades, next time we meet we'll watch it," said the girl. "You can come too."

    "Uh, I have no theatre experience, so I'm just going to say I liked it," Leo said. "I don't know any of the technical shit."

    "Eloquent," Mr. A said.

GUYS

ONE LAST STOP HAS NO RIGHT BEING THIS CUTE

LIKE, WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK

pt 2 of this should be up soon, but I just wanted to say...

HAPPY ALMOST PRIDE

I want to do something that takes place in the future for Soulmates

So it's "cannon" but takes place waaay later

like Annabeth, Calypso and Leo having and HGTV show where Annabeth and claypso design houses and Valdez build them and their all freinds and so are their SOs

Or like Shel being in musicals/movies/shows and Pipes directing them

or small domestic moments that make ones heart explode

it can be cute

ALSO

I plan on getting Theyna going in a bit

FierroChase might be next

depending on my mood maybe Frazel (I suck at writing them, but they'd still be here, just not in the main narrative because they are too sweet and i'm too depressed to write that)

Luke is in this (hints at Shel backstory)

ummmm

that's all

love y'all!