Why Did He Have to Go? ~A Piper and Jason Fan-Fiction

Chapter Fifteen

EVERYONE!

I didn't write this chapter! JustColor did! If you're going to fan someone for this chapter, fan her! She's A M A Z I N G !

I just want to thank you Megan (JustColor) for offering to write this during my time of writer's block. I owe you BIG TIME!

Enjoy this chapter, and don't forget to fan JustColor!

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“What do you mean Reyna’s missing?” Annabeth asked, her voice sharp. She had snuck up on Jason and I. Her arms were crossed. Percy stood next to her, his mouth wide open in shock like he couldn’t believe what was happening.

“We went to her room. She’s gone.” I glance over at Jason, who looked chalk white. Would he look that way if I went missing?

Probably not, I thought as my shoulders slumped. If the crutches had not been under my arms, I would have face planted the floor. And this limp feeling was not from my bad knee.

“Maybe she’s out?” Percy said, his voice rising so it was a question.

“She would have said something,” Jason said, his voice shaking.

I look up at Jason, my first and probably only love. Why was he so protective over Reyna and not me? Even though I was allies with Reyna, I felt ready to puke.

“She’s probably missing,” Annabeth said, sighing. “What a shame. I’ll go Iris-message Camp Jupiter and Camp Half-Blood. If she’s not there, we panic.”

She walked out of the room, holding Percy’s hand, their movements in sync like they knew each other by heart.

That was the kind of love I wanted- easy, like breathing, you didn’t need to think, you just did what your heart told you.

It was the kind of love I wanted with Jason, but probably would never get.

I muttered, “See you later.” I went as fast as I could with the crutches, so it was kind of like I was hobbling, which seriously hurt my arms.

Before I could probably fall over from the internal pain, I collapsed myself onto the couch, curling up into a small ball. It made me feel safe and secure. The whole room seemed to drop fifty degrees.

If Jason’s arms were around me, I would have felt like I was melting. I buried my face into my arms, rocking back and forth on my heels, and the couch under me feeling harder than rock. It took all my willpower not to cry.

“Yep, it’s official. Reyna’s missing.” Annabeth walked out into the room, holding a few drachmas. “Both camps haven’t heard from her.”

“Where do you think she is?” Percy asked. “You always have an idea, Wise Girl. Does this even make sense to you?”

Annabeth hesitated. “This doesn’t make sense at all,” she admitted. “I have no idea how Reyna could just vanish.”

“We have to find her,” Jason said, sounding panicked.

I needed to escape. My chest felt tight, and my throat felt like it was thick with tears. Without saying anything, I grabbed my crutches and went outside.

Thanks to Leo, he added an outside catwalk. So I pushed open the door and collapsed onto the catwalk. The late afternoon warmed my face that was now awash with tears. I pulled my legs up and put my arms on my knees- being careful with my hurt knee- hid my face and sobbed.

I’d come all this way, tried my hardest to come out on top, only to lose Jason to Reyna. My heart was mangled- empty.

Years could have passed, sitting on the catwalk, letting the sun drop over the horizon. The sky turned a brilliant purple and the stars came out. The moon was full. It could have been romantic, except I had no one to share it with.

Footsteps broke me from my trance. I lifted my heart and blinked tears from my eyes. My eyes were puffy and red. I was horrified to see Jason. His face went from blank to concern. I’d only seen that expression a few times, like when I broke my ankle on the quest, and when I awoke freezing from hypothermia.

Jason asked uncertainly, “Piper?”

I wiped my eyes. “Hi,” I whispered. My voice broke. The tears stopped- my eyes went bone dry. “Why aren’t you making up a search party for Reyna?”

“I decided to stay with you. You look shaken up.” He sat down and brushed a strand of hair from my wet face. “Why are you crying? You look heartbroken.”

The tears decided to come back. I rubbed my arm and chewed my bottom lip. I decided to come clean and said, “You left me. I know it was an imposter, but I was wondering if you were really going to leave in the first place.”

“I wasn’t going to leave.” Jason took my hand. Tingles ran up my spine. “Haven’t I told you that I was never going to leave you?”

“The way you treat Reyna,” I continued. “You’re so worried. It makes me feel… weird. And I don’t know if you like me or not.”

He looked ready to answer, but the sobs came back. I turned to Jason and buried my face into his shoulder. Then I wondered: Why was I breaking down now?

“Sometimes I feel like you were just pretending,” I whispered. “On the quest, were you just trying to make me feel better?”Jason tilted my chin up. “Piper, I would never do that. I wasn’t pretending. You are like air- I can’t get enough of you, and I can’t live without you. I want to stay at Camp Half-Blood. I love Reyna like a sister.”

That’s when he kissed me. My mind went perfectly blank before exploding into fuzziness as I kissed him back. I was aware that he was pulling me closer and that my fingers were in his hair. Usually I wasn’t a romance sap, but maybe Aphrodite was putting some charm over me.

The words tumbled out of my mouth before I could think: “Gods, Jason, I think I love you.” I clamped my mouth shut and felt the blush creep up to my cheeks.

He smiled, his blue eyes almost seeing into my soul, but there was suddenly a hand grabbing my throat, lifting me up, my windpipe being crushed. As I struggled to get free and to breathe, I looked at the person grabbing me. A strangled scream ripped into the air as I managed to shriek in surprise.

The evil Jason was looking at me.

“I see you found my secret,” he growled in his British accent. “You cannot live while you know my secret.”

Then I was thrown into the glass window. The glass shattered, and I slammed into the ground. I was aware of Jason screaming my name while monster-Jason boomed into laughter.

The last thing I saw before I blacked out was my Jason defending himself as monster-Jason charged.