Just Let Me Leave (Jercy AU)

Chapter 63: Jason Hides In The Woods Except His Car Is, Like, Two Minutes Away

Wowowowow. This story is at 100k reads, thank y'all so much for reading and being so supportive. As an accidental gift, here's a longer than average chapter that I think you guys will enjoy.

Percy finally felt like he was home.
*****

"Jason, you're freaking out for no reason," Piper reassured him with a pat on the back, "Percy just wants to be with you, I don't think he cares what you plan."

Jason sighed from his seat next to her on the couch. "Are you sure? Pipes, I really like him, and—"

"And he obviously likes you, too," Piper cut him off. "Do something simple. Percy's a simple guy."

"I'd hardly use simple to describe him," Jason scoffed, ignoring the eye roll he received from Piper afterwards.

The girl grabbed the remote, changing the channel from the local news to an episode of Friends. "Go on a fucking picnic or something, Jase, I don't know."

"No, that's...that's good," Jason looked to the side as he pondered the idea. "It's private enough for him to be comfortable but casual enough to where I won't feel stupid for going overboard."

"Glad to be of service," Piper nodded distantly, her attention shifting away from her distraught friend and to the TV.

With that, Jason headed up to his room, pulling up his FaceTime app and tapping on Percy's name. He propped the phone up against the dresser, letting it ring while he picked some miscellaneous objects off the ground. Hearing the other boy answer, Jason quickly slid back in front of the camera.

"Okay," the blonde started, "are you free Friday night?"

Percy gave him a look that Jason knew meant 'I'm always free', but he chose to just focus on the nod that he received.

He grinned at the green-eyed boy. "Great! You still want to go on that date I mentioned the other day?"

Percy smiled shyly at him, and Jason felt his stomach flutter a bit as he realized that it was, in Percy's case, a yes.

"I can pick you up at six-thirty, if that's alright?" Upon receiving a brief thumbs up, Jason continued, "And don't eat dinner beforehand, preferably."

Percy raised his eyebrows, and Jason half-expected him to grab a pen and write some snarky comment. Instead, a distant voice sounded from Percy's end, calling the boy's name.

With a sigh, Percy gestured at his door to show he needed to go. After agreeing to Jason's request to tell Sally hi for him, they ended the call. Jason sighed happily, snatching his phone back up and flopping onto his bed.

*****

And that is exactly how Jason found himself nervously twiddling his fingers and hyping himself up in the parking lot of Percy's apartment complex. In the two school days following when he'd more officially asked Percy out on Wednesday, Jason felt confident that the date wouldn't be a disaster. Now that he was actually about to go on said date, though, he couldn't help but worry. He'd never felt this way when going on dates with Piper, so he wasn't sure what had changed to make him so stressed.

With a deep sigh, Jason set aside his doubts and clambered out of his car before making his way to Percy's apartment at a slower pace than he'd like to admit. He stood outside the door, ignoring the critic in his head. Softly, he gave the wood three knocks before retracting his fist back to his side and attempting to compose himself.