reflection ● jason grace

Daria's totally jealous

Something about a dead priest just didn't sit right with Jason.

The group decided to make camp on the secluded beachside instead. They sat near one of the caves that tourists weren't allowed to be near. Jason supposed that included them, but he'd never liked rules.

They stole rations from the church kitchen. Octavian had been nervous about it, like the priest would come out to haunt them, so Jason called him an idiot. And now Daria was mad at him. So Jason was alone, on the beach at sunset, with the new girl.

Okay, so he wasn't alone. But Daria wasn't paying attention to him, so he felt sort of like he was dying.

"What is Camp Jupiter?" Reyna asked suspiciously. She was wearing an extra set of clothes that Daria had packed in her backpack because she was anal. "Why are you taking me there?"

Jason sighed, turning his focus back to the brown-skinned girl beside him. She was quiet, Jason noticed, but smart. Daria would be able to read her better, and maybe coax her past out of her, but Jason's instincts said they could trust her. And Jason trusted his instincts.

"Camp Jupiter," he paused, trying to think of how to describe it.

Reyna's lip twitched, which led Jason to believe that she was human after all. "Difficult question?"

"It's a place for people like you and me," he decided. "I'm sure you've noticed by now, either that or you're stupid, but monsters are out to get people like you and me. Camp Jupiter is a safe spot."

"Are you always so crass?"

"I don't know what that means."

"Annoying, mean, arrogant," she listed, rifling through their snacks.

"Oh," Jason shrugged, trying to shield the harsh glare of the sun from his eyes. "Then yes."

"No, those are other things you are."

Daria's laugh broke Jason out of the conversation. She and Octavian were trying to start a fire except Octavian kept his hands too far away, on the edge of the twig instead of closer to the middle. Probably because he was scared of getting burned.

"We have a lighter, you know," Jason said pointedly in their direction. Daria was a little too happy for Jason's comfort. And yeah, he knew how that sounded.

Daria glanced over at him above Octavian's head. "We're having fun!" Then she immediately looked back at the fire.

Jason didn't reply, choosing to sulk instead. Reyna had been oddly pensive for a while – Jason could practically hear thoughts rumbling around in her head, and he was an impatient person. "What?"

Reyna frowned lightly, like Daria did when she and Daniel would play chess, trying to figure out the pieces of the puzzle. "I just think it's weird."

She didn't finish her sentence, something that also got on Jason's nerves. He was the least ADHD out of all of his friends, which meant that he could, you know, follow one train of thought. "What's weird?" He prompted.

Her frown changed into a smirk, an expression that matched her black eyes better. "You don't even dislike Octavian because he likes Daria, you dislike him because Daria likes him."

"Okay, time out," Jason made a motion with his hands. He could feel a blush creeping up behind his ears as Reyna's words sunk in. "We've known each other for an hour. You don't get to psychoanalyze me."

"I'm not even sure that I'll remain in your camp," she pointed out. "An hour could be a long time."

Jason shook his head, sparing one last look at Daria before facing Reyna. "You're staying," he said firmly.