Thought I was becoming more extroverted, but the exhaustion I have after a whole two days of school is telling me otherwise LOL

[TRIGGER WARNING: This chapter contains mentions and implications of suicide. If you don't feel comfortable reading about this subject, skip the first paragraph and anything with an asterisk at the beginning (there's only one). Thank you, and I'm always available to talk. Enjoy the chapter.]

"I need a ride."
*****

Jason felt sick as he waited for Percy to arrive at his house. It was the same feeling he'd had years ago when he found his sister bleeding and sobbing on their bathroom floor. The memories of that night kept flowing back to him, and Jason was reluctant to admit that he felt even more scared now. What happened to her?

He was sure he was about to start hyperventilating when there was a soft knock at his door. Practically falling off the couch, Jason made sure he had his phone and a house key before quickly making his way to greet who he could only assume was Percy. He swung the door open, meeting Percy's concerned gaze. Jason had briefly explained to him what was going on during their phone call, and the green-eyed boy made it over to Jason's house in an impressive amount of time.

Jason looked kind of out of it, so Percy just placed a hand on his shoulder and guided him through the doorway, grabbing the knob and making sure it was locked before closing the door for him. He watched as Jason silently made his way to the car Percy had taken—Gabe's precious Camaro that got left behind when he landed himself in prison. The blonde was slow to open the door and crouch into the seat, his movements shaky and barely controlled. If he was like this now, Percy was scared to witness his reaction to actually seeing Thalia.

Nevertheless, Percy strode to the driver's seat and, after making sure Jason had remembered his seatbelt during his panic, he backed out of the driveway and took off down the road. He went as fast as he could without risking being pulled over. Percy thought Jason may walk to the hospital if they got stopped, and the last thing he needed was a teary-eyed, worried out of his mind Jason Grace wandering around anywhere near a moving vehicle.

Much like the last time Percy had seen Jason as upset at this, the blonde lost the ability to sit still. His hands explored the passenger seat of the car, clicking the lock a few times, moving the window ever so slightly, opening and closing the glove box. Eventually, Percy settled for grabbing Jason's left hand to keep at least half of the problem secure. He entwined their fingers as he weaved through cars in a way that definitely made him seem like an asshole. Percy had other things to worry about, though, such as the blonde flipping the mirror up and down on his right.

"Jason," Percy whispered as they pulled into the main parking lot enterance of the hospital. Jason didn't respond, but Percy could see the boy's gaze focused on him and took that as a sign he was listening. "I know you're stressed, and that's okay, but I need you to take a deep breath before we go inside, alright?"

Jason nodded, closing his eyes as he took a long inhale of air. He held it for a few moments before releasing the breath and turning to look at Percy. He wasn't sure for what—approval or reassurance, perhaps.

The boy had already vanished when Jason glanced in his direction, and another wave of anxiety swelled in Jason's stomach at Percy's absence before his door opened and he saw Percy standing outside. Jason sighed, forcing himself out of the car and allowing Percy to lead him into the building and to the man at the front desk, who looked both exhausted and tired of his job. Percy gently nudged Jason to remind him that he had to do the talking, and the blonde looked at the man with sad eyes.

"I'm looking for my sister," he explained, his bottom lip quivering, "Thalia Grace."

"Jason?" When Jason nodded, the man proceeded to type a few things into his ancient-looking computer before returning his gaze to the two boys. "She can't take visitors right now."

"Why not?" Jason's tone was frantic, and Percy calmly laid a hand between the blonde's shoulder blades to help him settle down.

"She's in surgery, and—"

Percy could feel Jason tense up. "For what?"

The man didn't seem pleased with Jason's interruption, but he glanced at his computer and answered regardless. "It appears that there's been trauma to the spinal cord."

"I need to sit down," Jason said abruptly as he leaned towards Percy before walking away from the desk and to a chair filed away in the corner of the room, far from the couple of other worried families and people waiting to be seen by a doctor.

Percy gave the man at the desk an apologetic glance before following Jason and taking the seat next to the blonde. Surprisingly, Jason's first move was to grab Percy's hand and hold it in his own. Percy was fairly confused, but he chose not to comment and instead opted for rubbing his thumb across Jason's knuckles comfortingly.

"Can you do me a favor?" Jason muttered, miserably leaning his head on Percy's shoulder, a rather awkward task in the chairs they'd acquired.

Percy nodded, reaching up with his free hand to fix a few rogue strands of Jason's hair. "Anything," he whispered.

Normally, the simple but genuine reply would've brought a smile to Jason's face, but his face was too deeply set in a worried frown to manage. Percy noticed, giving his hand a squeeze.

Jason asked him, "Can you text Piper and tell her what's happening? I meant to, but I'm, uh, a little shaky."

To prove his point, Jason demonstrated by holding out his hand, the entire thing shaking at the wrist and up through his fingers. Percy could tell it was Jason's attempt at being lighthearted, so he provided a small smile before taking out his phone and sending Piper a few fairly lengthy texts. Jason's eyes darted around the room, trying to find something else to set his attention on. He flinched when Percy's phone rang, and he saw Piper's name when he glanced over.

For reasons unbeknownst to Jason himself, his vision blurred with tears when he thought about talking to Piper. After all this time, Thalia was like her sister as well. He held out his hand, anticipating that Percy would be handing it over for Jason to do the talking. Percy, however, took one glance at Jason and shook his head, pressing accept and holding the phone up to his own ear.

"Hey, Piper," Percy said hesitantly.

Percy's gesture wasn't helping him keep his emotions under control. His eyes were dangerously close to spilling over with tears after hearing Percy speak to Piper just for Jason's sake. He felt unbelievably grateful for the boy at his side. Percy was already losing precious hours of sleep or relaxation by being with Jason at the fairly late hour, and now he was definitely venturing outside his comfort zone to help Jason stay calm.

Percy nodded at whatever piper said from the other side of the call. "Yeah, it's me."

Jason could hear the faint trace of Piper's voice through the phone, but he was unable to actually figure out what she was saying. Percy appeared to be in the loop, though, nodding and occasionally providing a hum or something to show he was listening.

He spared Jason an uneasy glance. "I got him, Pipes."

They bid each other goodbye before the call was ended. Jason wasn't sure what that was about or why Piper called in the first place, but he had other things to focus on, such as the nurse speaking to the man at the front desk, who pointed in Jason's direction. He watched the nurse come over, smiling as she approached the two boys.

"Is one of you Jason?" She asked, seemingly already knowing that answer. Jason nodded eagerly.

"Your sister's operation ended just a few minutes ago, she should be awake and fairly alert in an hour or so," the nurse explained, and Jason bit his lip as he waited for the bad news, "But she has quite a few injuries, and we'll need to keep her overnight, if you couldn't already guess. You can come visit tomorrow afternoon. She should be ready for you by then."

"But she...I need to make sure she's okay," Jason muttered, earning himself a sympathetic look from the nurse, "What if something happens?"

"She's stable," she told him, "but you should go home, get some rest. She is in good hands here, she'll be fine."

Jason considered the idea for a few moments before finally nodding. He couldn't fight the entire hospital just to see his sister. As worried as he was, Jason couldn't do much but trust the doctors. He watched the nurse leave after he thanked her. His head turned to look at Percy, whose gaze was gentle and patient.

"Can you take me home?" Jason whispered, squeezing Percy's hand just to make sure the boy was still there. Percy, of course, nodded. He wasn't planning to leave Jason alone unless he had to. Gently, he led the blonde back to the car, their footsteps echoing in the eerie silence of the parking garage. It was almost midnight, so the only people parked there were employees and patients with late-night injuries or sickness.

Unsurprisingly to Percy, Jason was silent on the ride home. He certainly noticed the couple of stray tears that slipped onto the blonde's face, but judging by the speed at which Jason wiped them away, he didn't seem to want it to be a public affair. Finally, they got back to the Grace household, but Jason made no move to reach for the door. He stared at the roof of the car, taking a deep breath and blinking away the wetness in his eyes. He couldn't bring himself to go back inside, not when he knew his sister wouldn't be coming home that night.

A gentle hand settled on his knee, and Jason choked back a sob.

*Jason hadn't felt this helpless in years. After Thalia's suicide attempt, he at least still had his father. Even if the man wasn't particularly helpful, the idea of family and familiarity kept Jason grounded. Now, though, he had no family left besides his sister.

"I can't lose her," Jason said miserably, not looking over to see his own sadness reflected onto Percy's face.

Percy nodded, cautiously getting himself ready to leave the car. Jason would obviously need some help getting inside, and if Piper wasn't there, Percy had already told his mother he might be staying at Jason's. She was against it until Percy told her why, after which she was quick to offer Percy the chance to stay home from school the next day.

He hastily slipped out of the vehicle and around to the passenger side, opening the door and holding out a hand for Jason. The blonde stared for a few seconds before unbuckling himself and accepting it, helping Percy pull him out of the car. Percy hooked their elbows together, whispering sweet nonsense to Jason as he walked them to the front door.

Jason thought he would make it, he really did. Ten minutes later when Percy came into his room with tea, though, he finally gave in. He buried his face in his arms, finally letting the dam behind his eyes shatter after the events of the night. He wasn't worried about Percy judging him, and the other boy was quick to set down Jason's tea and come over to hold the boy.With his head buried in Percy's chest, Jason felt just a little bit safer. He may not have any other family, the emotional strength to make it through the night, or any clue what was going on, but he found comfort in one of the few certainties of the situation.

He still had Percy.

Alternative chapter title: Jason Has An Emotional Breakdown For 2000 Words

Needed to wrap up the ending, oop. Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter!! See you soon!

(Side note, out of curiosity: what are your guys' schools doing bc of corona and whatnot?? Like are y'all staying online, doing hybrid stuff, going every day?? Just wondering lol)