Y'all I ran a singular mile this morning and proceeded to walk around all day like I was athleticism incarnate. Someone PLEASE beat me up.

Anyways, have another chapter. I think you'll enjoy this one. Plus, it was decently quick again. V proud of myself for the short update time, I gotta say.

[TRIGGER WARNING: mentions/implications of homophobia]

Thalia sighed happily. "That woman is a blessing."
*****

When morning rolled around, concealing Percy suddenly became a much more difficult task. In a surprising turn of events, Jason had woken up before the two girls, foiling any plans they had created. Things only worsened when the blonde knocked on his sister's door.

"Thals?" He called. "Are you up? I can't find my math textbook. Just wondering if you've seen it."

Thalia, who had in fact not gotten up yet, groaned tiredly from the air mattress she'd slept on. "Why would I know where you put the damn book, Jason?"

"Hey, it was worth a try," Jason sighed. Thalia never really was a morning person. "I'll ask Piper."

The elder sister nodded in agreement and began to drift off again for a few moments. However, she soon realized that she was in the same room as Piper, and her eyes shot open. "Wait, Jason! I think I saw it yesterday!"

Apparently, it was too late for Thalia to correct her mistakes, as Jason immediately bursted into her room. The blonde typically stayed out of the bedroom, allowing Thalia to have the space to herself, but he was a bit perturbed at the time.

"Thalia, what the hell is Percy doing in our house?" He seemed upset, but the boy was obviously trying to stay quiet still. Thalia guessed Percy was sleeping and that Jason didn't want to disturb him. "And why didn't anybody tell me about it?"

Thalia sighed at her brother. "There was an...incident yesterday, and Piper brought him back here. We didn't want you causing any issues at school."

"Oh my gods," Jason rolled his eyes, "that was a one time thing, I swear! Is Percy okay?"

She was a bit surprised that Jason had nothing else to say regarding the second part of Thalia's answer. Quite honestly, she was expecting a rant about how Jason was in control of his actions and didn't need his sister to control his life like that, blah, blah, blah. "Uh, yeah. Percy's fine. Piper says he probably has a concussion, but other than that, he's okay."

"Good, good," Jason faltered, staring off into space for a moment before continuing, "Can I go see him? Or should I leave him for right now?"

"You can go talk to him," Thalia shrugged, "he's been asleep since Piper brought him here yesterday, I'm pretty sure."

Jason spun around on his heels and returned to Piper's room, quickly walking over and kneeling down next to the bed. "Percy? You awake?"

He placed a hand on the other boy's shoulder to gently shake the boy awake. Upon seeing Percy's green eyes flutter open, a smile graced Jason's lips. He watched as the boy rubbed his eyes and looked over to see Jason. Percy's eyes widened slightly in alarm, but Jason quickly responded to the action.

"I'm not mad," the blonde reassured, "I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

Percy nodded in response, and a calm silence fell between them. Jason reached forward and brushed Percy's hair out of his eyes, earning a fairly confused look from the other boy.

"Sorry," Jason whispered, a bit embarrassed, "I just like seeing your eyes."

Percy mouthed, Oh, but couldn't stop the small smile that formed on his lips and the slight blush that appeared on his cheeks. He wasn't particularly used to compliments after living with Gabe for so many years.

"Can I ask what happened?" Jason spoke after a brief pause.

Percy shrugged, pointing to his phone that was resting near Jason. The latter grabbed the device and waited patiently as Percy typed out the story. He spared the specific details about what Chris said regarding Jason and their other friends, but other than that, Percy told him everything. He requested that Jason not say anything about it to Chris or Ethan, and while the blonde initially tried to reject the idea, he eventually caved in and reluctantly agreed.

Percy seemed happy about his agreement, so Jason didn't complain.

Jason moved into a sitting position, deciding that he'd be there with Percy for a while. The two stayed there, not lingering much longer on the topic of the prior day's events. They discussed how the room they were in turned from being the bland guest room to the overly decorated space for Piper. With various articles of clothing strewn across the floor and a healthy amount of posters plastered on the wall, it was obvious that Piper had made herself at home.

After asking for Piper's permission from the other room, Jason also told Percy why the girl had basically moved in initially. Percy felt terrible for his friend. Nobody deserved to be sent away for who they loved, especially not by their own family. Soon after, the blonde casually told Percy that he was pansexual, continuing to tell the other boy about his coming out stories to Thalia and his friends.

Percy beamed as Jason spoke, slightly surprised that the other boy wasn't straight. He considered talking to the blonde about his own sexuality, but the pool of dread at the pit of Percy's stomach disagreed. Growing up, liking girls was his only option. Gabe refused to accept anything else from Percy, and he made sure to tell the young boy about how liking men would make him a disgrace. He'd threatened to kick Percy out on multiple occasions, telling him he wasn't welcome if he wasn't "normal".

However, Percy never did take an interest in women like his stepfather hoped. He hoped he would grow out of it as he aged, but he quickly found that he was, devastatingly, still gay. He refused to acknowledge the idea in Gabe's presence in fear of how it would end for him, and he never dared to mention the possibility to his mother. Percy knew deep down that she would accept him—she'd even hinted at it a few times when her husband wasn't around—but there was something stopping him.

Percy sighed. If he was ever going to accept himself, he had to start somewhere. He knew Jason wouldn't judge him. He trusted Jason.

He typed out two simple words in a text to Jason, hitting the send button and pulling one of the blankets up to cover most of his face.

I'm gay.

Jason glanced down at the message. "Cool! Does your mom know?"

Percy took a moment to respond and ended up shaking his head. He typed out another reply. Nobody does.

Jason's eyes widened a bit as he processed. "I'm the first person you've told?"

With a dejected nod, Percy was beginning to regret his decisions. Surely, Jason would think he's a freak, or that it was weird to come out to the blonde before anyone else. Percy sighed and was about two seconds away from typing out an apology when Jason grinned kindly at him.

"Thanks for telling me, Perce," Jason told Percy, "I'm here for you if you need anything."

He wasn't sure what came over him, but Percy pushed himself off Piper's bed to tackle Jason with a hug where he was sitting on the floor. The blonde was taken by surprise, but he wasted no time in wrapping his arms around the other boy and pulling him close.

Again, Percy desperately wanted to speak. He wanted to show Jason exactly how much he meant to Percy. He felt as though he could never repay Jason for everything he'd done for the green-eyed boy, but he at least wanted to try. He inhaled deeply, deciding to attempt the same words he had on the tip of his tongue days prior with Thalia.

"Thank—," Percy rasped, still held tightly in Jason's arm, and immediately coughed afterwards. The blonde loosened the hug to look at Percy's face, certain he was hearing things. With just a look into Jason's eyes, Percy felt a surge of determination. He whispered to the boy in front of him, not trusting his voice to do much else after years of neglect.

"Thank you."

I hope Piper didn't want her room back or anything like that.

Also I think it's probably supposed to be a school day, but that sounds like an issue for when I edit this in the future. For now, please pretend with me that this part took place on a Saturday morning.

Thank you for your cooperation. Have an amazing day, everybody!