OKAY. This chapter is twice as long as the normal ones.

You're welcome if you actually enjoy this story.

And alternatively, I apologize if you're just reading this because you're bored.

Because it's a hot mess.

But enjoy!

Maybe Jason was right.
*****

The next day, on Saturday, the three boys decided they could kill some time at the mall, since they had nothing to do that day. Also, 'they' really just meant that Leo threw the idea out, so Jason and Percy didn't bother disagreeing. They had done a more than sufficient amount of window shopping and gotten lunch at the food court until they finally looked around inside of a store for gods know what.

"So," Jason tried to start laying out a schedule for the remainder of their day, "we should probably leave around, I don't know, two-ish so I can drop both of you guys off at home because I still need time to do my homework, and–Leo, are you even paying attention?"

Percy had noticed Leo's usual grin transform into a look of worry about halfway through Jason's spiel. He appeared to be looking at something, but Percy assumed it wasn't too major of an issue.

Leo shook his head and almost instantly returned to his smiling self, speaking as he began to turn around. "Yeah, I'm kind of done with this store, let's find somewhere else."

"Hey, are you okay?" Jason asked, turning Leo back around before glancing behind him. "Did you see something back there or–"

Jason's look of concern changed into a look that lacked emotion. Leo tried to drag him away, "Hey, Jase, really, let's just go."

Percy followed Jason's gaze to a woman who was approaching them with a bright smile on her face.

"Jason, dear!" The woman exclaimed, stopping once she was within reasonable distance of the boys. "You've grown so much. And is that Leo? You have, too!"

Neither Jason nor Leo said anything. The latter seemed highly uncomfortable, and the expression on the blonde's face had not changed.

"And who would you be?" She asked, turning to Percy.

Percy noted the subtle protective step that Jason took in front of him when she spoke to the green-eyed boy. Obviously, he had a severe issue with this woman.

"Does it matter?" Jason asked bitterly.

The woman shook her head. "Now, now, Jason, you should be nicer to your friends. What's your name, dear?"

"His name is Percy," Jason responded, thankfully, for him, taking another small step in front of him.

She smiled at him. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Percy. I'll see you boys around, huh?"

Nobody said anything as she walked away. When she was out of earshot, Jason immediately sighed in what seemed to be frustration.

"Percy, can I talk to Jason alone for just a second?" Leo asked, feeling bad about sending Percy away but knowing it was probably for the best if he calmed Jason down. Percy just nodded, walking around the nearby area.

Unfortunately, Percy just had the worst luck, and encountered the woman who started this whole ordeal. When she turned and saw Percy, she smiled at him once again before coming over. Percy considered making a run for it, not wanting to be apart of whatever this woman did that made Jason react that way to her, but figured that would only be worse for the situation.

"Percy, was it, dear?" She began, and Percy had to admit he was a bit surprised she remembered it. Most people, unless they saw it written down, messed it up at least the first time, if not more after that. He simply nodded and let her continue speaking, "You know, you really shouldn't let Jason just push you around like that."

Percy's facial expression change into one of confusion before he realized that nobody assumed he wouldn't talk when they met him.

"Look at all these bruises he's given you," she pointed out, gesturing to one of the visible ones. Percy involuntarily flinched, and she looked slightly concerned.

"If he's hurting you–," Percy quickly cut her off by shaking his head. The boy couldn't fathom Jason causing any harm to him, and wished he had enough courage to tell her that.

She sighed. "Percy, we don't know each other, but you can be honest with me."

Percy just shook his head again, trying to produce a smile as he slowly backed right into Leo.

"Uh, sorry," the short boy apologized, "but we gotta go. You know, sports game and...stuff." He then guided Percy away.

Leo threw a few questions at the boy as they walked towards the exit. "What'd she ask you about? Did she do anything? Are you, like, injured or anything?"

Percy raised his eyebrows, pointing at his mouth. Leo mumbled a, "Right, sorry," before they arrived at where Jason was silently swinging his keys around on his finger as he waited for Percy and Leo.

On the way to the car, Jason had asked Percy if he was okay, to which Percy nodded and attempted to give him a reassuring smile. Their walk to the car and drive to Leo's house, which was closer to the mall than Percy's, were both silent, except when Leo gave a small goodbye and thanks as he climbed out of the back seat.

Jason focused intently on the road as he drove to Percy's apartment. He didn't ask for the address but appeared to be going in the right direction, and Percy trusted Jason enough to assume he knew what he was doing. A few minutes later, they pulled up to his apartment complex. After Jason unlocked the doors, Percy gathered his belongings and started to leave, but looked back at see Jason staring blankly at his steering wheel.

Percy reached over and gently put his arm on Jason's, but the blonde shook him off, quietly saying, "I'm fine."

The boy in the passenger seat sighed sadly, setting his stuff back on the floor and sitting back down in the seat. He sat there with Jason for a few moments, not wanting to leave until he was sure Jason was at least somewhat okay.

"You can go inside, Perce," he whispered, not looking over, "Don't worry about me."

Percy sat there for a second before taking out his phone, typing 'I'll be right back' in the notes app, and setting it next to Jason. He grabbed his stuff and speed-walked into the building and up to the apartment. He dropped all his items on the floor and grabbed his license before going back down to the car. Percy went around to Jason's side of the car, and after the blonde rolled down the window, showed him the license in his hand, gesturing to the passenger seat.

Jason took a moment to comprehend the situation, and he finally did, the taller boy shook his head.

"Really," he tried to protest, "I'll be fine going home."

Percy shrugged, leaning against Jason's car and twirling his keys around his finger. Jason just stared at him, honestly a bit surprised to see Percy be so persistent about something. He sighed, unbuckling his seatbelt and getting out of the car.

"Don't crash it, please," Jason requested, "I'm broke."

Percy smiled, taking Jason's former seat and waiting for the blonde to settle in the passenger side. As Percy looked over to check if Jason was ready to leave, he saw the boy smiling sadly at him. He responded with (a less sad) one of his own. Jason averted his gaze, and Percy began to drive.

The blonde absentmindedly flipped through stations, not legitimately caring what was playing and instead just needing something to do with his hands. After a minute or two of Jason doing this, Percy reached over and detached the other boy's hand, gently setting it down on the armrest and resting his own next to it.

At last, after a few more excruciating minutes of quiet between the two (excluding the low volume of the radio), they arrived at the Grace home. Percy parked Jason's car, getting out and walking with the blonde to the front door. Jason fumbled around with the key for a couple of seconds before unlocking the door. He looked at Percy to see if there was any kind of reaction to the situation yet.

Percy smiled at him, starting to turn around to walk to the nearest bus stop. Jason, however, stopped him with a quiet, "Wait, come inside...please?"

They looked at each other for a few moments before Percy sighed, gesturing to the door. The two walked inside and closed the door behind them, locking it. Jason set his bag next near the door before immediately turning around and attaching himself onto Percy, who admittedly almost fell over from being startled. The blonde buried his face in Percy's shoulder, his arms nearly squeezing all the air out of his lungs. After recovering from the initial shock and regaining his footing, Percy just stood there, softly rubbing circles into Jason's back as he felt spots on his right shoulder become wet with tears.

"Hey, I heard the door, and wanted to check...," Thalia walked in to see the situation and faltered. "Jase, are you oka-," she reached out to touch her brother's shoulder, who blindly pushed her hand back, not needing or particularly wanting any more physical contact than he currently had.

Jason felt safe where he was.

Percy glanced at the boy clinging to him before directing his gaze to his sister and instantly mouthing his apologies. He felt like he was violating something by being there, and he assumed it bothered Thalia the most.

However, to his surprise, Thalia just shook her head and gave the smallest hint of a smile, which was basically the equivalent of "no big deal' without words. She sat down on the nearby stairs, waiting for Jason to gain enough emotional stability to tell her what happened.

Seconds later, Piper came into the room and worriedly glanced between Thalia and the two boys. She exchanged looks with the former, and the two seemed to have a silent conversation, as Piper eventually nodded and returned from where he came after casting another concerned gaze towards Jason and sighing.

After Jason's slight shaking had subdued and he had apologized to Percy about ten thousand times, he finally looked over at Thalia. The blonde was prepared for the worst, which would be a long and frustrated lecture of gods know what. He really hoped Thalia was in a more empathetic mood, though.

Luckily, it seemed she was, as the first thing she said was, "Talk about it today or tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow," Jason responded quietly. Thalia simply nodded after that, calling for Piper and heading upstairs with her.

Jason then returned his gaze to Percy. "Um...I feel like a complete idiot asking this, but...will you stay here again tonight?" He then immediately rambled on as he added, "It's totally okay if you can't. I get that maybe you have stuff to do, but I'd just really appreciate it if you stayed here because I don't know what's gonna happen tonight and-"

Percy put his hand on Jason's forearm, and the blonde immediately stopped talking and made eye contact with Percy. The green-eyed boy just smiled a bit and nodded, at which Jason released a rather large sigh of relief.

"We can just sleep in the living room," Jason suggested, "they'll interrogate us if we go upstairs."

The two grabbed a few nearby throw pillows and blankets before sitting down together on the couch. Jason sighed.

"Can I tell you about everything another day? I don't really want to have a second unnecessary emotional breakdown," Jason released an obviously forced breathy laugh at the end.

And so they did not talk about that day. However, they did converse (Percy through his phone, although he mainly just enjoyed listening to what Jason was saying) for quite a long time before falling asleep.

*****

Piper walked downstairs that morning, dressed and ready to go get breakfast with some of her friends. She was a bit surprised, however, to see both the boys on the couch.

They laid next to each other, surprisingly enough fitting on the narrow piece of furniture. Jason had his arm draped over Percy's midsection, with his face buried somewhere in the green-eyed boy's shoulder or neck. For once, Percy even looked somewhat at ease. Piper considered waking them up so that Thalia didn't see her brother practically cuddling his friend, but decided that they both looked too peaceful to disturb.

So instead, she just smiled, opened the door, and left.

Well, how was that?

We love angst in these parts of town, don't we?

Uh, bye, I guess.

Have a nice week.