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Leo Valdez has always been able to see ghosts. It was a very annoying thing.
His first friend to his memory was the dead cat who had gotten hit by a car near his apartment. It was cute initially because most kids thought Leo was just someone with an overactive imagination and eager imaginary friends.
But it became very uncute when Leo kept telling his Aunt Rosa that his mom was making fun of her. Trying to explain that, yes, Leo was there during the fire, and yes, Esperanza was still there, though despite what any police said, it did not often go well.
It didn’t matter, though: most ghosts Leo could ignore. Sometimes he wished he could ignore his mom hanging around him. He’d talk to someone, and behind him, Esperanza would shake her head or go tsk tsk. Leo didn’t love that his mom still barged into the bathroom when he was taking a crap. He still loved his mom, of course! But ghosts failed to understand personal boundaries.
“I like that Piper girl,” Esperanza sat on Leo’s bed. She liked doing that, despite not being able to actually sit.
“Yes, mama,” Leo muttered, trying to concentrate on his homework.
“You should ask her out,” Esperanza insisted. “She is very fun.”
“No, mama,” Leo rubbed his face but tried not to visually look annoyed. That never turned out well.
“I’m just letting you know I approve,” Esperanza disappeared. Leo was able to get through two equations before his mom poked her head out from her desk. “Are you listening to me, Leonidas?”
“Yes, mama.”
“Good,” Esperanza flew to the other side of the room. “You should clean up your room. I expect it to be clean soon.”
“Yes, mama.”
Despite his eternal mother muttering in his ear, ghosts were silly things. Most of them didn’t bother recognizing Leo. When they realized Leo could see them, they begged for Leo to release them into the world or resurrect them. Leo usually just ignored them. Both of these options were a lot of work.
Leo had to figure it out when he went to Camp Half-Blood. At night, he snuck into the empty Hades cabin that gave him the heebie-jeebies and scoured through their abysmally small library. He didn’t know much about Nico Di Angelo, but he wished the guy had read more books about death. Or at least left them lying around for night intruders like Leo to find!
“Ghosts stick around when they haven’t accomplished their life purpose,” Leo murmured. “What’s your life purpose?”
“To love my little boy, mijo,” Esperanza kissed his cheek. Sometimes Leo could feel it- a chilling whisper of a touch, tingling for a few moments. Other times, like this one, ghosts just went right through him.
Esperanza’s answer wasn’t helpful, but Leo couldn’t say anything because this was his mom. He would have to ask one of the dozens of ghosts haunting Camp Half-Blood, but he doubted he’d get anything good. Most of them were just other teenagers whose purpose was to finish a videogame (easy) or kill some crazy monster (there was about a 86% chance Leo would be killed instantly).
Ressurection was another thing. He didn’t like the idea. It felt… weird. Even with his mom, whenever the conversation was brought up, he would side-eye his mom, who would smile sadly. They never really talked about it.
When Leo meets Hazel, Hazel is incredibly apologetic about the whole thing. It was her fault Leo was cursed. Okay, maybe not entirely her fault, like, the fire thing could definitely be blamed on his father, but the seeing ghosts were so Hazel’s fault.
“I’m so sorry, Sammy!” Hazel brought her hands together.
“I’m not Sammy,” Leo shifted uncomfortably.
“I know! It’s just so uncanny,” Hazel leaned in. “Sorry. You look so alike.”
“Ooookay,” Leo sat at the dining table next to her. “So you cursed a diamond and gave it to my great-great-grandfather. And now I can see ghosts. Awesome.”
Hazel hummed, tapping her chin. “My diamonds haven’t done anything like that before. But curses change over time. I can’t even see ghosts! But I can feel there’s one nearby.” She shivered, and Leo resisted the urge to glance at his mom, who was sticking her head into the fridge.
“Leo Valdez! How come there are no limes in this kitchen?” Esperanza began muttering about kitchen essentials. Leo had explained to her multiple times that Piper and Frank controlled the shopping list, but she always gave him a list of necessary ingredients.
Leo focused back on Hazel. “Is there a way to get rid of the curse?”
“I’d have to ask my father,” Hazel frowned but then brightened. “Maybe Nico would know? Have you asked him? He’s more of a ghost expert.”
Leo thought about Nico’s creepy ass stare. “I guess. Sure I could do that.”
“I’m really sorry,” Hazel patted his hand on the table. “If it helps, I can try to recall one of my mom’s charms for repelling bad ghosts.”
“Thanks, but I’m good,” Leo said. “My mom says you’re really pretty, by the way.”
“So that’s who it was,” Hazel beamed. “Can you tell her I’m sorry? Or… tell Sammy I’m sorry?”
Esperanza moved next to Leo. “Hmm.”
“She said it’s fine,” Leo told her. “Sammy passed on years ago, sorry.”
“That’s good,” Hazel seemed happy with the news. “Then he was happy.”
Esperanza’s arms circled around his neck. “She’s sweet.”
“Yeah,” Leo said aloud. “You’re right.”
Actually, Esperanza wasn’t the only ghost onboard. He’d run into Emily Zhang a few times haunting about Frank, but the guy was so touchy that Leo didn’t bother mentioning it to him.
She was exceptionally chatty. She and Esperanza would disappear and giggle together often. Leo didn’t love that his mom was easier at making friends than he was, but it was also a breath of fresh air to not have his mom hanging around him all the time.
Emily Zhang was friendly, though. She was a little scary like Frank was. But nice. He wondered what her life mission was to still hang around Frank.
Maybe mothers were just like this, Leo decided. They were insane.
Esperanza hated Leo’s plan. She spent days yelling at him not to do it. Of course, it didn’t help that her new best friend, Ms. Zhang supported Leo’s plan.
“Why does my son have to die to save the world?” Esperanza muttered. “When I see your father….”
“It’s fine,” Leo told her. “It’s what I have to do.”
“You don’t have to do this,” Esperanza tried to cup his face, but her fingertips went through his cheek. Ghosts don’t cry, but Leo imagined she was. His mom used to cry a lot growing up. “I know you’re special, mijo, but not this.”
“I have to.”
Esperanza disappeared for a few hours after that in anger. She wasn’t angry enough to be a poltergeist, but the silence was still startling. Leo spent his time preparing the physician’s cure and talking to Festus. When she returned, she squeezed Leo so tight that Leo almost felt warmer. That was silly, though. It was just one of the engine pipes bursting.
Esperanza loved the plan. As it turned out, Leo dying for a total of thirty minutes meant that ghosts could now touch Leo. He did not understand the logic, but that was his own fault for never talking to Nico properly. He still found the guy so creepy. Sure, Leo could see ghosts and the horrifying ways they died, but Nico just had some weird freak sign hanging around him.
If Leo had to be honest, the first time he saw Nico, he thought the guy was a ghost. He had the same aura as the ghosts did to differentiate them from real people.
Regardless, Esperanza loved the results of this. Leo had never been hugged, smacked, or kissed so much. Making up for lost time, he figured.
It was nice, though.
He felt less mortal. Not that he was a god or anything, just… less on the mortal plane. Cursed for sure.
He actually didn’t realize Jason was dead. He saw the guy on that airport runway with the spears sticking out of him and thought, Whoa. Jason’s seriously a beast. But Piper was crying, and even Apollo let out a tear. So Leo awkwardly stood, conflicted.
Obviously, he was upset that Jason was dead. Of course, if Leo couldn’t see ghosts, he would be crying too. But Jason was also very much not dead to Leo.
The thing was, Leo never told Jason that he could see ghosts. Heck, only Hazel, Calypso, and Chiron knew. He really should talk to Di Angelo.
He wanted to know why Jason hadn’t passed on yet. But maybe it was better not to know. He felt for the guy. Leo told Apollo to take Jason’s coffin back to New Rome to give him a proper burial. Sometimes that’s all that took for a ghost to disappear.
He didn’t want Jason to disappear, though. Leo wiped at his face. Maybe he was crying. He thought he was desensitized to death. Maybe not.
… Jason didn’t disappear. Instead, the guy FOLLOWED Leo to Waystation. He went a total of a day before he whirled around and said, “WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME, MAN?”
Jason gaped. “YOU CAN SEE ME?”
“WHY ARE YOU HAUNTING ME?”
“HADES, LEO, WHY DIDN’T YOU SAY ANYTHING?”
“I DON’T KNOW!” Leo yelled and collapsed on his bed. “Dude, you’re a headache both alive and dead.” He then explained the whole curse thing and how his mom was also haunting him. Esperanza was watching coo-ing over Georgia a few floors away.
“I can’t believe it,” Jason sat on the bed next to Leo.
“You get used to it,” Leo groaned into his pillow. He rolled over, folding his arms over his chest. “I thought you got everything in life, man. What’s up?”
“I don’t know,” Jason sheepishly scratched the back of his head. “I thought I would pass on too.”
Maybe it was a reflex from their nights together, but Jason laid next to him the best he could. He gasped when their shoulders managed to touch. “Leo did you-”
“Yeah, yeah,” Leo slapped at his hand. “We can touch and shit.”
“Oh,” Jason said.
“We need to get rid of you, though. You get that, right?”
“...Yeah.”
“Okay,” Leo thought about it. He doubted Jason knew his purpose in life. The guy could barely decide if he wanted ketchup or mustard! Maybe he could resurrect-
As soon as the thought came to mind, Leo shuddered. But it wasn’t the worse idea. Maybe coming back from the dead himself made Leo reconsider his position. He turned his head to Jason, who was watching him back.
“What do you want to do?” Leo asked. “It would suck if you followed me around all the time.”
“I don’t mind right now,” Jason said.
Leo cringed. “Yeah, now. That’ll change in a few years.”
“What are my options?”
“Well, there’s transitioning to the Underworld. But then you’re gone gone.”
“Oh,” Jason said, sounding down. “I’m okay with that.”
Leo remained quiet. What was the best option here? His mom was one thing, but Jason was another. It’s not like Jason changed much, outside of the spears sticking out of him. It was like Jason never died. Leo could still feel and hear him like he’d always been able to.
And it was Jason. Of course, it would be Jason that Leo would be stuck with. Not that he entirely minded.
Esperanza Valdez materialized next to the bed. “Leo! Georgia is so cute.”
“Hi, mom,” Leo muttered. “Jason’s sticking around for a bit.”
“Hi,” Jason waved awkwardly, sitting up.
“Anyone but that Calypso girl is fine with me,” Esperanza nodded. Her eyes lit up. “Jason was always charming. I still remember when Leo gushed about the time you-”
“He can hear you now, mom,” Leo’s ears turned red. He turned around to face the wall in embarrassment. It was only now occurring to him that his mom’s comments would be heard by Jason of all people. “Both of you go away.”
“I’m interested in the story,” Jason said politely, but Leo could hear that smirk. Gods, Leo listened to his mom’s embarrassing stories about watching Leo grow up and her version of events of Jason. He could picture them cradling a ghost photo album and laughing at him. He blushed.
Worst curse ever.