reflection ● jason grace

Daria's never been soft, until now.

 The beach house had a killer game room.

Daria had her feet propped up on the ottoman, a book in her hands as Dakota laid their head in her lap. The others were playing pool (and were a lot more competitive than the two on the couch, but you didn't hear it from her), but every so often, she would catch Jason's gaze and her heart would skip a beat.

Nathan was sketching, something he'd picked up only recently, on the single sofa beside her. Daria stole a glance at the notepad and was a bit surprised to see long black hair and tan skin. "Is that Michael?"

Nathan drew the book to his chest. "He's the prettiest to draw out of all of you losers," he said briskly, but the blush on his cheeks betrayed his lie.

Daria and Dakota shared a glance as Nathan put his things away, trying to spare himself further embarrassment. "Do you have a crush on him?" Dakota asked incredulously.

"I-"

"Kahale!" Reyna's furious voice interrupted. "Stop cheating!"

"Says your team," Michael shot back. Daria could see him slowly maneuver one of the balls with his cue stick. "Jason's messing with the air flow again."

Jason was chatting with Clara, but he looked up, cutely offended. "Am not!"

"You are," Nathan called from the couch. "I was watching."

Yeah, Daria thought. And I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that Michael's the one you're defending.

"I'm done playing pool with you all," Clara announced. Daria could see Reyna open her mouth to agree, but then Clara added. "Cheaters."

"We're not cheating," Reyna protested as they reset the table. "Right Jace?"

"Eh, I was a little bit."

"Jason!"

"Clara," Dakota whined, sitting up. They made grabby hands so as Clara shot Daria an apologetic look she wandered off to sit on the floor next to Reyna and Jason.

With a smirk, she noticed that Michael had immediately gone off to talk to Nathan. It probably meant nothing – Daria was pretty sure Michael was straight, and Nathan had several crushes a year, but it still made Daria's heart warm.

"Whatcha reading?"

"None of your business," Daria shot back.

The affectionate look in Jason's eyes made the gleaming gold of New Rome temples seem dim. There was something about the fact that he cared to ask that made Daria's chest ache in longing. But just as soon as she wrapped her head around it, that ache turned into a familiar pain.

The war would start in a few days. They'd made a pact, a promise, to wait until after the prophecy, and Daria intended to stick by it, no matter how difficult it was, but the truth was, neither of them, none of them, knew whether they would see the other side of next week.

She had nightmares that she knew had nothing to do with the fact that she was a demigod. Nightmares of her friends dying and Daria being helpless to stop them. Nightmares that she was somehow on the wrong side of the war and Atticus won.

"Hey," Reyna's voice quietly cut into her thoughts. Daria looked up to see her dark brown eyes focused on her, forehead creased in concern. "Stop thinking so much."

"Yeah," Daria cleared her throat as Jason put an arm around Reyna. No doubt her fears didn't even begin to amount to his. "What are we talking about?"

Reyna shrugged as Clara got the attention of the room with a question. "Are you guys going to college?"

"If we survive," Michael muttered darkly. Daria shot him a glare.