ELYSIAN, the riordanverse

43

There are times when Nico thinks about Jason Grace and he's reduced to nothing but tears and pain. There are times when Nico thinks about Jason Grace and all he can see is the shadow of the friends they could've been. There are times when Nico thinks about Jason Grace and all he wants to do is raise a whole damned army and drag Jason back from the dead.

There are times when Nico thinks about Jason Grace and feels nothing. He feels empty, he feels hollow but most of all, he feels as if something was taken away from him. Sometimes, Nico thinks that they could have been best friends -- brothers even. He thinks that perhaps Jason and him could've been family.

Nico lets out a bitter laugh -- as if that ever could've happened. Jason Grace is dead and he's not coming back to be Nico's friend. Nico laughs again.

***

There are times when Reyna remembers Jason Grace and she's falling to her knees and burying her face in her hands. There are times when Reyna remembers Jason Grace and she thinks he was the closest thing she had to a best friend. That was what they were, was it not? There are times when Reyna remembers Jason Grace and she just can't feel anything. She feels as if she didn't know him at all.

There are times wen Reyna remembers Jason Grace and feels as if maybe, just maybe she could've saved him if she was there. There are times when Reyna looks into Thalia's electric blue eyes when they hunt side-by-side and she remembers Jason Grace.

They could've been. But, Reyna laughs, they weren't.

***

There are times when Thalia thinks of Jason Grace, and all the memories come back to her. She remembers him crying because of their mother. She remembers them leaving without him. There are times when Thalia thinks of Jason Grace and all she can think of is that she has no one now. There are times when Thalia thinks of Jason Grace and she cries and cries and cries because she lost a brother. She lost someone else. There are times when Thalia looks at herself in the reflection of a pond, sees her eyes and thinks that he had the same eyes.

There are times when all Thalia wishes was that he would come back. He would never come back.

***

There are times when Jason thinks of Reyna and Nico, the two people who he seemed to be closest to. Reyna, who was his best friend and Nico, who was like a little brother to him. There are times when Jason thinks of Thalia, and he can't help it as his eyes start to water, glazing over with tears. There are times when Jason thinks of them and nothing but a sad pang fills his chest. There are times when Jason thinks of them and he wonders if they could've laughed into the night and talked and talked and then talked some more.

He wonders if there could've been times where he might've surprised Nico for his birthday or gotten Reyna a gift. He wonders if they could've all been friends. He wonders if Thalia and him could've spent their days roaming around New Rome, smiling and talking, like siblings.

Jason Grace wonders and wonders, but he knows his silly daydreams will never come true.