HELLO, CHILDREN! I'm having major writer's block, as always, so don't be surprised if this chapter sucks.😂😂

BUT WE HIT 10K READS. I LOVE AND APPRECIATE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU.

OKAY, LET'S GO.

[TRIGGER WARNING: implied mentions of suicidal tendencies and a minor emotional outbreak]

The front door had already closed.
*****

"Jason?" Piper interrupted what seemed like an eternal silence after Thalia left.

The blonde looked over at her, hurt and confusion both still present in his eyes.

Piper continued with her inquiry, "What did she mean, end up like her?"

Jason took a deep breath. "Luke."

"I know about Luke, Jase," Piper informed, trying to tie the loose ends of the conversations.

Jason stared at the ground. "She thinks Percy...she thinks he's the same way."

Realizing what he meant, Piper stood up and walked over to Jason, kneeling down beside him. Jason locked their eyes. The brunette opened up arms for an embrace, which Jason gladly accepted. The two stayed like that for a few moments.

"You know, Pipes," Jason said, "what if she's right?"

Piper frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Why else would he need therapy, Piper?"

"Jason, I think you just need a minute to think about-"

"Well, maybe 'thinking' is what I've been doing wrong this whole time."

Piper did not reply.

"Maybe thinking is what caused this situation anyways. Maybe if I had just gone with my gut like you...like Thalia...even like Leo...maybe this conversation wouldn't be happening."

Piper sighed before speaking in a soft tone. "Everything happens for a reason, remember? That's what you've always said. When Annabeth moved away, when Luke died, when Leo's dad moved out, you always said there was a reason. What happened?"

"I guess he's gone. And I guess there's a reason." He paused.

After realizing Piper did not plan to respond, Jason stood up. "I'm gonna...walk around the block and take a breather." Piper nodded, gaze still stuck to the ground.

As Jason opened the door to leave the house, he glanced back at the female inhabitant. She hadn't changed her position since Jason left the table. Jason, as her friend, immediately felt awful and seriously considered going to apologize. However, he didn't.

But he couldn't find a reason.

*****

Percy could not seem to find Jason or Piper the next day at school. Since Leo wouldn't be in any of his classes until after lunch, he couldn't exactly communicate with him about their absence.

You know, if he was even there.

Reyna and Annabeth were in some various morning classes of Percy's, but he still couldn't seem to shake off his aloof manner around either of them. The only potential solution Percy saw to help communicate with Reyna was eternally carrying around a representation of The Notebook, but even if he went out and bought anything related to the movie, he dreaded the damage it would do to his already shattered reputation. And Annabeth? Percy was far more than clueless about Annabeth.

As he was with everyone else.

And everyone else was with him.

When lunch rolled around, Percy took it upon himself to go back to his former lunchtime habits and sit in the utmost corner of the cafeteria. Leo was in the second lunch shift, and the other two he might've sat with were gone. So Percy sat alone.

Or at least tried to.

His isolation was revoked when two trays plopped down onto his table. He glanced up to see none other than the two females he was dreading any contact with.

"Jackson," Reyna began, sitting down, "do you have any idea where Jason or Piper are?"

Percy shook his head, averting his eyes. He heard a different voice, presumably Annabeth, speak afterwards. "I told you he wouldn't know any more than we do."

"It was worth a try, alright? Sorry for bothering-"

Annabeth cut her off. "I mean, if we're already here."

The two girls made eye contact, and Percy would bet his life they were somehow having a telepathic conversation. Their silent interaction occurred for only a few moments before Reyna sighed and positioned herself to be more comfortable.

"You don't want us here, do you?"

"Reyna-"

"Calm down, I just want to make sure he wasn't sitting alone for a reason. People have things going on."

The two girls carried on with their conversation for most of the lunch period, occasionally including Percy and having him write his responses. While he wasn't too involved in the social time, he was perfectly fine just not looking like too much of a loser in the corner.

That's all Percy really needed.

*****

Leo really wished Jason or Piper had shown up to school. Their three musketeers aesthetic had turned into Lone Ranger rather quickly, and Leo was not in favor of it. Neither of the two were answering texts either, which concerned Leo because Jason always had his phone with him. He had claimed it was just part of his routine, but Leo knew him well enough to trace it back to Thalia's previous dilemmas.

Back to the topic at hand, Leo just generally felt like something was missing all day, and not just because there always seemed to be an empty desk into classes he would've had with Jason and Piper. He asked Reyna if she knew anything between second and third period, but she had said that neither she nor Annabeth had any information. Leo thought about asking Percy as well, but he figured that if he, Reyna, and Annabeth knew nothing, Percy probably wouldn't either.

Plus, he couldn't find Percy to save his life until they had English together for seventh period.

"Glad to finally have a class with a person who somewhat tolerates me," Leo said, dropping his bag under the seat next to Percy and sitting down. Percy simply nodded in agreement, able to relate completely.

Leo began getting his supplies out of his book bag before pausing, dropping the notebook that he had in his hands, and muttering, "Shit." Percy looked over at him in confusion. "Just remembered Jason was my ride home," he elaborated.

It was at times like these that Percy truly wished that he had a normal home situation. If he did, he would've been able to offer his classmate a ride, but alas, his stepfather hated his guts and helping Leo would not improve their relationship. So Percy simply looked down at his desk.

Picking his notebook up and continuing with his previous task, Leo glanced over at Percy. "You okay?"

The green-eyed boy nodded, maintaining his gaze on the wooden surface.

"You know you can tell me if something's going on, right?" Leo tried to showcase that he was available to listen and potentially help. However, all he got was the same response to that as he had the previous question.

"Right," Leo stopped awkwardly. Thankfully, the teacher arrived shortly after and they began the class.

Now, Leo had never actually sat next to Percy in a class. Piper or Jason usually maintained that spot, and Leo tended to sit on one of their sides. However, he had never really pegged Percy to be as fidgety as he was. Leo could relate, obviously, because of his ADHD, and while Percy's actions were vaguely similar to Leo's, like the constant pencil tapping or messing with the metal spiral in his notebook, he couldn't help but feel that something was just off about his movements. This sparked a sense of curiosity in the boy, which lead to an evaluation of previous observations. Sifting through his memories, he realized that whatever Leo suddenly found out of the ordinary was consistent in Percy's interactions.

Yet he still couldn't quite place it.

After English and the final period of the day was dismissed, Leo sought out to find Percy. His search halted when he found the green-eyed boy at his locker.

As Percy turned to leave, Leo called out to him. "Percy, wait for me!"

The taller of the two waited patiently for the Latino to approach him. "Are you walking home?"

Receiving a nod, Leo kept speaking, "Do you want to swing by the Graces' with me? Piper asked me to bring by notes and whatnot."

Percy shrugged indifferently, as if he wasn't as concerned as Leo had thought he was, before gesturing for Leo to lead the way.

And so he did.

He also regretted doing so, if you were wondering.

So there's that. Cliffhanger, I guess? Honestly I've been braindead all week and can't really process intelligent thoughts, I apologize.😂

Bye, children! Thanks for reading!