Just Let Me Leave (Jercy AU)

Chapter 46: Do Y'all Spell It Rumors or Rumours? Asking For a Friend.

No matter how many times I type Annabeth, her name is always underlined in red. A shame, really.

He never got the image of beautiful green eyes out of his mind, though.
*****

Jason was less than pleased when he returned to school on Monday. Somehow, rumors had begun to spread throughout the junior class about Gabe's arrest. Considering most of the class never gave Percy the time of day and didn't even know the real story, Jason didn't particularly think they had any right to talk about it. He subconsciously shot vicious glares at his classmates that spoke of Percy or his family, usually shutting them up successfully.

There was quite a bit of speculation regarding the recent arrest. Jason quickly noticed that nobody even knew who Gabe was, much less what he'd done or how he treated Percy and Sally.

Jason sighed. He hated that wretched man.

When lunch finally rolled around, Jason diligently walked to his usual table that currently seated Piper and Percy, as well as both Reyna and Annabeth surprisingly. He took a seat next to the green-eyed boy, scanning his features to see if he was upset about all the talk and backhanded attention he'd probably been receiving throughout the day. Jason had expected some kind of reluctance or disappointment from Percy, but he seemed to be perfectly fine. The blonde wasn't even sure he should ask how he felt about it all, for the other boy appeared to be content.

"Wait, what the fuck?" Jason heard Piper mutter as Annabeth tried to explain the physics homework to her. Reyna, although not contributing to the conversation, seemed rather entertained by the situation in front of her.

Jason momentarily listened to Annabeth, quickly realizing he did his homework completely wrong. He had started evaluating how much he cared about losing some homework points when something slid into his elbow that was resting on the table.

He glanced down to read Percy's phone. You seem upset.

"You could say that," Jason responded with a sigh, deciding just to be honest with the other boy, "I thought you would be, too."

Percy shrugged at him, snatching his phone back up to type his reply. So you've been hearing the rumors?

Jason nearly rolled his eyes at the mere mention of all the gossip. "Unfortunately. Has anyone bothered you?"

The green-eyed boy shook his hand in a so-so motion. Couple people tried talking to me and gave up.

Jason frowned, having forgotten that Percy wasn't exactly the most convenient person to talk with. He didn't mind, though. The slower paced conversations were rather calming, and they lengthened the time Percy spent with Jason.

A win-win for him, truly.

Before he came up with a response, Percy had created another message for the boy. What's been your favorite one? I liked the one where he burned down an orphanage in Cincinnati.

Jason couldn't help but laugh. "What? Has he even been to Cincinnati?"

Definitely not. Jason's laughter brought a smile to Percy's face.

"The worst one I've heard is that he's wanted in all 50 states for tax evasion," Jason answered.

Percy rolled his eyes, the smile not leaving his face. This was the primary reason he wasn't particularly affected by all the rumors: most of them were absolutely ridiculous. He had yet to hear someone speak of a reasonable crime for a random New York man to commit. He'd heard theories about murder, theft, drug trafficking, the whole shebang.

"Have you guys heard anything important since they questioned you?" Jason asked curiously.

Percy shook his head, a brief look of disappointment crossing his features. They're supposed to set a court date sometime this week, but he's being held at the station until then.

Jason grinned hopefully at Percy, gently nudging his side to get the black-haired boy to meet his eyes. "Look on the bright side, Perce! He's gone for at least a couple of weeks, and I don't really see how he can talk his way out of this."

The other boy nodded halfheartedly. He believed Jason, or at least he desperately wanted to, but he wasn't willing to be too optimistic in case Gabe did have something up his sleeve. The man had beat Percy for years before getting caught. He made the boy feel worthless on a regular basis, made him lose the will to even speak, and somehow still made time to play poker with his buddies every week.

Gabe was a lot more capable than Jason thought.

Percy couldn't bring himself to upset Jason with that kind of thinking, though, and decided to keep his suspicions private for the time being. They could talk about it some other time, hopefully while there weren't three teenage girls doing physics right next to them. Preferably with Jason holding him like he had the other night.

Percy ran a frustrated hand through his hair, trying to cleanse his thoughts of Jason Grace. It was difficult when the guilty party was in such close proximity, though.

Thankfully, Jason decided to steer the conversation away from Gabe, talking to Percy about some ridiculous thing Leo had done to get in trouble earlier that day. Percy tried to listen, he really did, but he was slightly too focused on how Jason's smile lit up his entire face, just barely crinkling the skin around his bright blue eyes and the small scar on his lip turning upwards. He recalled when he'd first asked about it and the pure excitement Leo possessed when telling him Jason had attempted to eat a stapler. The blonde was a blushing and embarrassed mess at the time, but Percy found it rather endearing.

Caught up in his thoughts as per usual, Percy almost missed the fact that the bell rang. If he was being honest, he probably would've sat there cluelessly for a few minutes if it wasn't for Jason coaxing him out of the cafeteria. Percy sighed.

What would he do without Jason?

Do y'all remember that one time I  convinced you guys that Sally had died or something?? Like I went back to read some old chapters to figure out how to write this one and got reminded. I really went through all the effort of jumpscaring all of you just to have the woman casually stroll into the hospital room.

I could've ruined Percy's whole career at that point omg

Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! I know it wasn't the most exciting, but I feel like a little break is nice after the past few chapters' events. Have an amazing day!