Just Let Me Leave (Jercy AU)

Chapter 50: I'm Aware Taste Exists But I Thought That'd Be Weird

I don't have anything to say, but it looked empty without a note up here. Not my best work this time around, I gotta say, but hope y'all enjoy!

"Thank you."
*****

Jason stared into the piercing green eyes in front of him, shocked. Percy looked nervous, as if he feared Jason would deck him for speaking.

"Jason?" Percy offered, still not able to conjure up much volume.

The blonde blinked twice, immediately deciding he liked hearing his name roll of Percy's tongue more than he should've. He opened his mouth, but no words came out. Jason had no clue what to say to the boy.

Percy curled into himself as the silence prolonged, hoping to shield himself from the blonde. Jason's reaction was much different than his sister's had been. Thalia was calm and seemingly unbothered by Percy's surprise speaking, but Jason looked like he'd just won the lottery and couldn't believe it.

"Percy, I...," Jason faltered, reaching out to cup a hand around the side of Percy's face. He wondered what he'd done to deserve having the green-eyed boy in his life.

Without any coherent thoughts to add, Jason slid his hand away and pulled Percy to his chest once again. It somehow felt different to the blonde, though. There was a new atmosphere surrounding the two as they embraced. It was more...complete.

"You're amazing," Jason murmured, although unaware he'd said anything in the first place.

Percy instinctively wanted to disagree, yet he couldn't help but bask in Jason's words. If he did enough good that he'd ended up being held in Jason's arms, surely he was doing something right.

The black-haired boy buried his face in the other boy's shoulder, blocking out the world around him. He enjoyed sitting there with Jason, neglecting the misfortune that was Percy's life. He felt like a different person with Jason. Whenever he was with the blonde, he managed to forget all the vicious words Gabe had thrown at him and all the days he'd spent hiding in his own shadow to escape Chris and Ethan.

For once, Percy felt what he could only describe as happiness.

Jason couldn't say much different for himself. His fit around Percy like puzzle pieces, as cliché as it sounds. He was dreading the moment he'd have to let the other boy go. Still, his brain was scrambled due to the fact that Percy had actually spoken to him, but he was managing to slowly come back to his senses.

Unfortunately but unsurprisingly, his senses were all focused on the boy regardless. He saw the almost completely faded bruises on Percy's neck from when the police had taken Gabe.

He listened to Percy's steady breathing and desperately tried to replay what the boy's voice had sounded like in his head. It was soft, as to be expected, but oddly comforting, even through the few words that Percy had said. His voice was calm and kind, and Jason would've loved to listen to more of it. He figured it'd be best not to ask that of Percy, though, no matter how much he wanted to hear the boy say his name again.

He felt the soft fabric of Percy's shirt beneath his left hand, as well as the boy's thick, dark hair on his right hand. Jason twisted some strands gently, watching them fall back into place whenever he let them go.

Oddly enough, Percy smelled like the ocean on a gorgeous summer day, not much different than when his family would venture to the coast during his childhood. The scent was comforting, and Jason wondered how he'd never noticed before.

(Brief side note: I had like two hundred words written here and then my Wattpad crashed bc I tried to google a word. Catch me out here rewriting it, even though I highkey forgot what I had, whoops. Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.)

The two remained in their positions for a few minutes, and eventually, Percy was the first to move. Reluctantly, he pushed himself off of Jason and sat across from him on Piper's floor, their knees barely touching.

Jason opened his mouth, finally able to create reasonable thoughts again, but he was interrupted by the bedroom door creaking open. Thalia stood in the doorframe, looking slightly sympathetic for invading during the moment the two were having.

"Percy," she addressed the green-eyed boy, "Piper and I told your mother we'd bring you home sometime this morning. She probably wants to check out your head and all that jazz, make sure you're okay."

Percy nodded, using the edge of the mattress to hoist himself to his feet. He'd momentarily forgotten about his potential concussion amidst all the emotions that were running rampant just moments prior. He saw Jason also stand up from the corner of his eye.

"I'll take him," Jason offered.

Thalia gave a swift nod, tossing the keys to her brother. "Straight to his mother, blondie. We've worried that woman enough already."

Jason gave her a smile as an agreement before turning to Percy and beckoning for him to follow the blonde to the car. On the drive to Percy's apartment, Jason played the music at a low volume as to not bother the other boy. As per usual, though, he spent most of it talking to Percy. He was rather disappointed when he rolled into the parking lot of Percy's apartment, watching the boy climb out of the car and walk to the building. Percy threw him a wave and a faint smile as he disappeared behind the doors.

He returned home, not at all pleased to see that Leo had shown up while he was gone. It certainly didn't help that he was talking with Piper and Thalia, no doubt about Jason and Percy. The conversation faltered as Jason entered the room.

The blonde frowned. "Guys, if you're gonna talk about me, at least let me be around so I can make it a learning experience."

Piper rolled her eyes as Leo responded, "I told you two he wasn't that oblivious. He just hasn't told us yet. Isn't that right, Jase?"

Jason furrowed his eyebrows, looking fairly confused. Leo continued to provide an explanation, "You haven't told anyone about your fat crush."

"Leo!" Piper scolded the boy, whacking him upside the head.

"What?" Leo asked, turning to face Piper. "You're the one who suggested it in the first place!"

Jason sighed exhaustedly, flopping down onto the couch. "Well, I think she's right."

"Well, that was easier than I expected," he heard his sister mutter to his two best friends. After Jason's defiance towards her and Piper's endless teasing, she assumed they'd have to pry a little more.

"I thought we were just friends, but something seems...different, I guess," Jason supplied, sure that his three-person interrogation team was looking for answers. Thalia reached over to gently pat the blonde's head.

Jason sat there, tuning out most of the conversation with one thought on his mind.

It's official now, I guess. I have a stupid crush on Percy Jackson.

I had no clue how to wrap up the chapter, but it is what it is, I suppose. Hope everybody's having a great day! See you in the next chapter!