𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐀𝐖𝐀𝐊𝐄𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 •| ⊱ Jason Grace¹

•| ⊱ THIRTY-SIX

[ chapter thirty-six: leo ]

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After watching Jason and Mia snuggle up against each other, they passed out almost immediately. While Piper and Leo stayed wide-awake.

After a few minutes of awkward silence, Leo said, "Your dad'll be fine, you know. Nobody's gonna mess with him with that crazy goat around."

Piper glanced over, and Leo was struck by how much she'd changed. Not just physically. Her presence was stronger. She seemed more... here. At Wilderness School she'd spent the semester trying not to be seen, hiding out in the back row of the classroom, the back of the bus, the corner of the lunchroom as far as possible from the loud kids. Now she would be impossible to miss. It didn't matter what she was wearing -you'd have to look at her.

"My dad," she said thoughtfully. "Yeah, I know. I was thinking about Jason and Mia. I'm worried about them."

Leo nodded. The closer they got to that bank of dark clouds, the more Leo worried, too. "Jason's starting to remember. That's got to make him a little edgy. Not to mention Mia has been pushing back her emotions for so long. I think the only thing that will help her now is getting her family back."

"You're probably right." Piper said as glanced at a sleeping Mia. She smiled slightly when she saw Jason had pulled Mia even closer to him. "It's just I never say her act that way. It was like she was a totally different person. During this whole quest she's been a totally badass and to see her breakdown like that... Just makes you realize we're all just human."

Leo nodded in agreement. He for one could understand exactly how Hermia was feeling. He didn't have his mother, just like Mia, so he understood the pain she was feeling.

"What if... what if Jason's a different person? I mean we already know we can trust Mia. She's proved herself, but what about Jason?"

Leo had had the same thought. If the Mist could affect their memories, could Jason's whole personality be an illusion, too? If their friend wasn't their friend, and they were heading into a cursed mansion-a dangerous place for demigods-what would happen if Jason's full memory came back in the middle of a battle?

At least Leo knew he could trust Mia again. But he also knew that if Jason was completely different with his memories back, the only one who would be fully effected would be Hermia. Leo knew Mia was basically head over heels over Jason and if he were to change, Hermia would probably be left heartbroken.

But Leo knew better. Jason was a good guy and he would never do anything to hurt Mia. "Nah," Leo decided. "After all we've been through? I can't see it. We're a team. Jason can handle it and besides he would never do anything to hurt Mia."

Piper smoothed her blue dress, which was tattered and burned from their fight on Mount Diablo. "I hope you're right. Mia needs him..." She cleared her throat. "I mean we all need to trust him..."