The timeline at the very beginning of this chapter is lowkey a mess but I think you are all smart enough to figure it out LMAO

Have fun, lovelies.

[SMALL TRIGGER WARNING: chapter contains one mention of suicidal thoughts. It is quite literally one sentence, so I'll put a bold double asterisk (**) at the start of paragraph it's in if you wish to skip. Thank you, and stay safe.]

And she smiled at him.
*****

Percy didn't think his smile left his face as he sat at the Graces' dinner table that night. His mother had to stay behind to discuss things with Alastor, so she let him go with a warning that they'd be having a talk later. Naturally, Jason welcomed Percy into his home with Piper and Leo. They invited Reyna as well, but she supposedly had a family dinner to attend already.

The four had decided to make some pasta around six. Well, Jason made pasta. The other three were very intrigued in seeing whose noodle stayed stuck on the wall the longest. Jason looked fondly upon his friends as he stirred the pot, politely clapping once Leo had been declared the winner. The boy bowed dramatically, accepting the praise.

They had only just begun eating when the front door opened. Thalia was humming to herself as she stepped through the kitchen doorway. She stopped with her eyebrows raised upon seeing the group of energetic teens in her house.

"I take it the trial went well, then?" Thalia asked hesitantly, knowing it'd be rather awkward if she was wrong.

There was a mix of nods and sarcastic shrugs, but Thalia mainly noticed Percy's grateful smile from the far side of the table. She gave him a quick nod, going to set her things down from work before returning to the table and taking the final empty chair for herself.

Piper, Jason, and Leo took turns filling her in on what she'd missed, silently agreeing not to mention the Percy fiasco towards the end. That was preferably a conversation for Jason and his sister to have alone. Thalia seemed content that Gabe would be put away for a good while, and her occasional insults towards the man when he was mentioned showed that. The comments amused the others at the table, to say the least.

Well past the time dinner had ended, Leo returned home, and the two girls retired to their individual rooms. Percy sat in the living room playing Uno with Jason, who had an absurd amount of cards in his hand.

The green-eyed boy played his second to last card in silence, and Jason chimed in with a teasing, "Uno?"

Percy's eye flicked from Jason's face to the deck of cards before he rolled them, biting back his smile as Jason's melodious laugh flooded the room. Percy never got tired of hearing that sound. After ignoring Jason momentarily, Percy played his final card and won, leaving the blonde with his third loss in a row.

"I think this is a sign," Jason sighed at himself, gathering up the cards, "that I should just never touch this game again."

Percy laughed softly as the blonde closed the box and tossed it aside before turning back to the green-eyed boy. "How are you, now that the hard part's over?"

With his own phone back in his possession, Percy was able to quickly type out a reply for Jason. The real hard part is seeing my mom again tonight.

Jason frowned at the message but didn't pry for any more information. "She'll love you no matter what, Perce."

**Percy just nodded, opting not to add anything else. He knew Jason was right, but it didn't change the fact that he was absolutely terrified of what she'd say. She'd ask things like why he never told her, and Percy already knew he wouldn't have an answer for her. No logical ones, at least. Percy trusted Sally more than anyone else in the world, but neglecting to tell her that he had wanted to die about a year ago or even that he liked boys, for the gods' sake, would certainly make his mother second guess that statement. It was the last thing he wanted.

"You can stay here if you don't want to talk about it all with her until tomorrow," Jason offered, already predicting how Percy would respond.

The other boy shook his head, typing out, I owe her a couple explanations. She didn't know about school either.

Jason's eyes widened a bit as he intelligently replied, "Oh."

Percy shrugged with fake nonchalance. He would've loved to spend more time with Jason, as he was rather fond of the blonde, but he really did feel like his mother deserved at least an apology from hiding everything from her. With that thought, he stood and gestured to the door, motioning that he probably needed to get home before it got too late. Sally hadn't called him yet or anything, probably assuming he was with Jason, but he was sure he'd be receiving something soon.

The blonde nodded in agreement, copying Percy's movements to walk him out. He offered to drive him, but Percy politely declined, wanting a little bit of time to himself before getting back to the apartment. Jason seemed to understand and, thankfully, didn't push.

The two stepped out onto the porch, which was dimly lit by the light from inside the house. Percy, with his throat a bit rested since the trial, whispered to the other boy, "Thanks for coming."

He wished he could say more, tell Jason how much he valued his support and presence during the entire Gabe situation. In such a short amount of time, Jason had such a huge impact on Percy that he barely remembered what his life had been like without the boy in it.

Jason smiled warmly at him. "Of course. I'm really happy for you guys."

"And thanks for Reyna," Percy added quietly, adoring Jason's laugh that followed.

"She was very willing, I gotta say," Jason shook his head upon remembering how quickly the girl had agreed to come help.

With a tender smile, Percy looked over his shoulder to the calm street behind him. "I should head out."

Jason nodded his head in agreement, placing a hand on Percy's shoulder. "Unfortunately."

With a playful roll of his eyes, Percy turned to face the boy again. After a very brief moral dilemma regarding what he was about to do, Percy shut off his thoughts and he cautiously planted a kiss on Jason's cheek before spinning on his heels and starting to walk away. The blonde quickly caught his wrist and pulled him back, though.

"Well, if that's what we're gonna do," Jason said, the blush very evident where Percy's lips had just been as he placed a hand on the green-eyed boy's face, "then at least do it right."

With that, Jason leaned forward and gently caught Percy's lips with his. A bit startled by the blonde's sudden boldness, Percy took a moment before absolutely melting into the kiss as he wrapped his arms around Jason's neck. Jason pulled the other boy closer, relishing in the moment he knew wouldn't last much longer. After a few seconds of pure bliss, the two pulled apart, still holding each other.

"Wow," Jason breathed out, very proud of himself for taking the opportunity to have the best kiss of his life thus far.

Percy grinned at him, suddenly a lot sadder that he'd have to leave. He slowly unraveled himself from the blonde, never looking away from his gorgeous blue eyes.

Jason laughed as if he couldn't believe what had just happened as he looked at the other boy. "Text me when you get home, alright?"

The black-haired boy nodded, honestly still a bit dazed from recent events. Regardless, he forced himself off of Jason's porch and down to the sidewalk. Looking back, he caught Jason's gaze as the blonde waved at him. Percy returned the gesture with a small laugh to himself.

He walked home feeling better than he had in a long time.

I told you I had exciting plans.

The entire Fine Line album by Harry Styles played twice while I wrote this chapter, so you have him to thank, I guess.

How was it, y'all??? I'm very unqualified when it comes to writing romance because I'm sixteen and have never had a date in my life, but I do my best ahaha

See you guys soon!