Hello, beautiful readers. I wrote most of this while I was like 75% awake. Good luck understanding it.

[TRIGGER WARNING: chapter contains mentions of suicide and suicidal thoughts. Please read with caution or reach out to me for a summary if you don't feel comfortable reading. My messages are always open, even though I'm definitely the worst at advice. Stay safe, and thank you for reading.]

"Kid, why the hell didn't you tell me you wrote this?"
*****

Percy leaned into Jason's side as Alastor approached them. Once he reached the boys, he kneeled down as to not look down upon them. He needed to work fast, and he figured it'd be easier if he treated Percy as an equal.

"Percy," he demanded the boy's attention. "We don't have a lot of time, so I need you to be honest with me. I can't help you otherwise, okay?"

The green-eyed boy nodded right before the lawyer continued speaking, "Why did your stepfather have the note?"

Percy looked around frantically, and Jason immediately knew what he was searching for. He took out his phone, opening the notes app and handing it over to Percy.

He took it from me when I got home, Percy typed quickly, hoping Alastor would ignore his several typos, I thought he trashed it.

The lawyer frowned. "Did he not say anything about it?"

Percy shrugged sadly. Told me I should've put it to use.

"That man's a disgrace," Alastor supplied before moving on, "and your mother never found out? You never told her?"

Percy paused, and Jason saw the other boy's eyes look back in his direction. He was still oblivious as to what was going on, but he didn't think it'd be best to ask while the attorney was asking for important information. Then, the black-haired boy shook his head to both questions.

"That explains why she didn't recognize it," Alastor told them, "It was with the evidence, but we thought it was Ugliano's. Your mother said it didn't look like your handwriting, and he was never mentioned. We both thought you'd say something about him if it was yours. I assumed he was going to use it to pass Gabe's actions off as mental illness to reduce his sentences, but I figured it wouldn't be enough to combat all the evidence I collected with your mother."

Percy sighed, leaning his head back until it hit the wall. He blamed himself for this whole fiasco. He was being selfish by avoiding the meetings between Alastor and his mother. If he'd been there, this could have been prevented. The lawyer could have prepared to provide arguments against Gabe's attorney, and they could have been making his stepfather look very guilty right about now.

Jason patted Percy's shoulder comfortingly, ignoring Alastor's curious gaze in his direction. The lawyer sighed at the two boys in front of him. "Forgive me, Percy, but do you still think like this?"

The green-eyed boy didn't hesitate before shaking his head. Alastor nodded once before returning to a standing position. "I'll fix this, kid. I can send the rest of your friends out here with you, if you want."

Percy waved off the offer. He wanted to tell Jason about the issue at hand, but he wasn't sure he could handle telling the other three as well. They'd surely put the pieces together by staying in the courtroom. That way, though, at least Percy himself didn't have to explain. Alastor seemed okay with that answer, and he gave one final reassurance before walking back to hopefully save the day.

Jason turned to the boy next to him as soon as the lawyer was shut behind the door. It was obvious that Alastor's confidence didn't do much to decrease Percy's distress. "You'll be okay, Perce. I'll be right here with you."

Percy nodded idly, staring at Jason's dull phone screen in his hand. He hadn't given it back yet, knowing he wouldn't be able to get everything out into words.

However, the green-eyed boy managed an almost inaudible, "You should know..."

The blonde furrowed his eyebrows at his friend. "About what?"

The note they're all talking about, Percy switched back to typing on Jason's phone. The boy didn't need Jason's eyes after typing the second part of his message, it's my suicide note.

In his peripheral, Percy saw Jason's expression drop, and he felt his stomach do the same. There was a long silence, during which the Jason stared only at the typed words and Percy looked everywhere except the other boy.

I'm so sorry, Percy typed much slower than normal, almost as if he was afraid going too fast would set the other boy off.

At that, Jason moved his head to look back at Percy. "Why?"

He didn't have a response.

"Percy," Jason sighed, "I'm really glad you're still here."

The green-eyed boy seemed surprised at Jason's response, but soon he offered a teary smile and wrapped his arms around the blonde's midsection and pulling him in for another hug. Percy never initiated more than a few hugs, so Jason was slightly taken aback. The blonde felt so many emotions coursing through him, but the fact that Percy was there with him made them much easier to control.

"Me too," Percy whispered in the other boy's ear, squeezing him just a little tighter after he said the words.

"I know you said you don't feel the same anymore," Jason said, "but if it ever crosses your mind again, come see me. I don't care what I'm doing, I'll do whatever you need to me. I...I can't lose you like that, okay?"

He felt Percy nod into his shoulder, and for now, he supposed that would have to be enough. After seeing Luke and nearly his own sister fall victim to the monster that was suicide, the thought of losing Percy the same way made him feel sick to his stomach. He'd hold it together, though. He always did.

Caught up in making sure he didn't actually get sick, Jason hardly even realized he had tears in his eyes until Percy pulled his head back from Jason's shoulder and gently wiped them away. The kind gesture only made Jason more emotional, and soon there were just more tears to replace the old ones.

The blonde was a bit angry at himself for it, but he couldn't stop. He felt as though the roles should've been reversed, but here he was, salty tears practically streaming down his face as Percy rubbed circles into his back with one hand and intertwined the other one with Jason's.

Jason was pretty embarrassed, admittedly, but he knew that Percy wouldn't judge him. He didn't even notice how much frustration and sadness he'd built up in the past couple of weeks. He was so preoccupied with Percy's family and well-being that he never stopped to actually process anything that'd been happening recently.

Percy, on the other hand, was very glad that he had someone else to focus on. If he thought too hard about the trial happening on the other side of the wall, he'd end up like Jason was at the moment. Plus, thinking about the trial included thinking about his mother.

Neither Alastor nor Jason seemed to realize Sally's absence during the recess when the lawyer had come out to ask Percy about the note, but it was very obvious to Percy himself. He never told his mother that he'd been considering suicide. He never told her that he stood out on an empty bridge alone for hours on more than one occasion, wondering if jumping would be worth it. He didn't tell her that he felt completely alone for months and saw no escape besides death. Percy didn't want to tell her that she was the only thing keeping him alive at the time. That he was tempted to leave even her just to get away. That he didn't want to be alive anymore. After all she'd done for him, Percy couldn't bring himself to cause his mother than kind of pain. He couldn't leave her alone with Gabe, and he certainly couldn't let her believe she wasn't enough by telling her about the night he'd almost followed through.

She was upset, she had to be. Normally, Sally Jackson would take the first chance she got to check on her son when he seemed upset. Now, though, Percy knew she was sitting in the courtroom, reading the note over and over and wondering where she went wrong. It was exactly what Percy was afraid of.

He sincerely hoped they'd work it out soon. He didn't want to be without his mother's love and support for too long.

Sometime during Percy's inner monologue, Jason seemed to have calmed down. The two boys, however, did not change their position other than Percy switching his hand from drawing circles to resting on the blonde's lower back. They didn't exchange any more words, or texts for that matter. As they sat there, Percy felt some of his worries ease up. They no longer sat on his shoulders, threatening to crush him. At one point, Percy sighed with the smallest tinge of happiness.

Jason was still there and still cared about him. He hadn't scared the boy away or made him too upset. Thankfully, Percy managed to keep the blonde around.

He was one of the best things in Percy's life, after all.

As predicted, y'all already knew this was coming. Also, tell me why I spent like fifteen minutes writing the last two paragraphs and they're still awkward???? I needed to wrap up, so I guess that's what we're going with.

Hope y'all enjoyed the chapter! See you soon, lovelies!