Mortal and college AUs in case it's confusing!!

Jason really needed to stop staring at beautiful people.

His habit had gotten him in trouble more than enough times—a lot of unprompted rejections, interrogations, and overall awkward conversations. Thankfully, he didn't seem to come off as creepy or anything, just a lovesick idiot. Sometimes, however, people happened to be stunning, and somebody had to appreciate that.

Like the boy in his English 101 class.

Jason hated that class. He'd heard the material over and over again throughout high school, but it was a mandated course for freshmen. Considering attendance was optional per the professor's syllabus, Jason nearly opted out for the lectures. Once he got caught sight of the stupidly attractive boy that always sat three rows in front of him, though, Jason was stuck there.

Jason tried to hold himself back. He didn't even know the boy's name, the blonde girl that always accompanied him was probably his girlfriend, and they'd never crossed paths outside of that one class. Regardless, it was pretty much impossible not to look at him, at least a little bit. His tousled black hair miraculously managed to look good at any given moment, his skin was sun-kissed and warm, his stature was lean with the perfect amount of muscle, his smiles were rare (Jason couldn't blame him—he probably also did not want to be there) but always bright. Jason wondered what he looked like face-to-face, sighing at the fact that he'd likely never know.

"Jason, you're pathetic," his best friend Piper had said to him on multiple occasions. He tried to tell himself that Piper would understand if she saw him, choosing to neglect the fact that she was very much into women. Judging by how she described her current girlfriend, Jason guessed this mystery boy wouldn't be her type anyways.

He had an hour-long break between his English class and his next one in the same building, and Piper's dorm was much closer than his own. Jason didn't feel particularly bad about staying there in between, especially since Piper's rich dad paid for a single so that she didn't have a roommate.

He opened her door with a groan, walking over to her empty bed and flopping onto it very unceremoniously. She didn't even spare him a glance as she typed away at her desk.

"How was class?" She asked, her smirk evident in her voice.

"I'm gonna have to drop out of school," Jason muttered into her pillow. "I can't keep going through the days like this."

"You're so fucking dramatic, Jase," she laughed as she finally spun herself around to face him. "Have you tried, I don't know, talking to him?"

He picked up his head to glare at her. "Does it look like I've tried talking to him?"

"At least sit next to him or something," Piper shook her head. "You can finally see his face. Maybe you'll see him write his name on his paper."

"I've been sitting behind him all year," Jason argued, "it'll be suspicious if I move now."

She sighed. "He has not noticed you. You sit behind him."

"Why do you hate me?"

Her shrug was careless. At least he could count on her to be honest with him. Was he going to take her advice? Absolutely not. Did he appreciate it nonetheless? Unfortunately.

Silently, Piper returned to her work while Jason opted for a power nap before he had to leave again.

*****

It was getting ridiculous at this point. Three weeks later, Jason was no less impressed by the Greek god that sat in front of him. He'd gotten much better at not staring—a picture of him was stuck in Jason's mind forever regardless of whether he looked or not.

One Saturday, he dropped by Piper's dorm because he was bored. She did it to him rather frequently, so it was only fair that he return the favor. She opened her door and leaned lazily on the doorframe, dressed in a sweatshirt that was clearly too big to be her own.

"Oh, perfect," Piper grinned at the sight of him, "Annabeth's over. Do you want to meet her?"

Piper's girlfriend, he identified. They'd been dating for months, but Piper was superstitious about introducing the girl to her friends. He supposed she'd finally gotten over it at that point.

"Of course," Jason lifted his eyebrows, curious to see the girl that Piper talked about almost as much as Jason talked about the stupid guy from English 101.

She sidestepped and allowed him to come in, but Jason froze in his tracks once he caught sight of the girl sitting on Piper's bed with her back against the wall. English guy's girlfriend was actually Piper's girlfriend?

"Annabeth, this is Jason," Piper scanned her friend with a disapproving glance, "I think he's broken."

Annabeth smiled at him with a curious glint in her eyes. "Hi, Jason. I think I've seen you somewhere. Calculus?"

"English," Jason was quick to answer, "101."

"Yeah, that's right," she nodded in agreement, "I knew I recognized you."

"English 101, you say?" Piper grinned at Jason, who shook his head. She ignored him.

Annabeth glanced between them. "Am I missing something?"

"No," Jason answered way too quickly, shooting Piper a pleading glance. "She's thinking of another class."

Without a second thought, Annabeth shrugged and carried on the conversation. Based on how Piper was looking at him, Jason knew the two of them would be having a conversation later. She was going to laugh at him. Regardless, he tried to look at the positive and remind himself that Annabeth didn't know he had an embarrassingly massive crush on her friend.

Annabeth left around dinner with a claim that she had plans. Piper sent her away by blowing a kiss from where she was hanging upside down off the foot of her bed. The blonde rolled her eyes, but Jason caught her smile when she pretended to catch it before closing the door behind her.

Immediately, Piper shot straight up and pointed at Jason. "Why can't I talk about English class lover boy?"

"She sits with him every class," Jason sighed. "I thought they were dating until I walked in here."

Piper furrowed her eyebrows. "Is he a ginger?"

"Does she have multiple hot friends?" Jason frowned at her. "His hair is black."

She looked deep in thought, seemingly racking her brain for who the mystery boy could be. Suddenly, she looked up at Jason with a grin. "You're in love with Percy?"

He gestured for her to continue, so she pulled out her phone and searched for an Instagram profile, tapping the first picture and handing it over. "This one?"

Jason smiled, mirroring the one in the photo. That was him, alright. He nodded. "You know him?"

"He's the Jason to Annabeth's Piper," she replied exasperatedly, continuing despite Jason's ever-so-slightly confused expression, "of course I know him. I can't believe you're in love with Percy Jackson. What a small world, right?"

"Why is this so shocking to you?"

Piper laughed. There it is, Jason thought. "Because Percy is just so...not you."

"What does that even mean?" Jason groaned at her.

"I'll introduce you," she waved off his question, "he's easily convinced."

"Please don't embarrass me."

*****

"Hey, Jason," his worst nightmare came true in his next English 101 class. He was just sitting with his notebook open and his pencil sharpened, prepared for class, when Annabeth took the seat beside him with English-boy-who-is-actually-Percy on her other side. "Crazy that you were a stranger last time we were here."

"Yeah," Jason tried not to get distracted by the sudden proximity of his pathetic crush. He was struck more than usual by the fact that he'd never spoken to Percy. He decided to steal Piper's words, "Small world."

"This is Percy, by the way," she told him, turning her head to speak to her friend, "This is Piper's best friend, Jason."

"It's nice to meet you," Jason offered a smile, taking Piper's advice about actually talking to him.

Percy gave him a cordial nod in return, the faintest trace of a smile on his face. Their professor walked in before Jason could further the conversation. His time in class was spent as per usual—half of it taking useless notes and the other half sneaking glances at the boy two seats away from him, looking as perfect as always. Jason didn't know how someone could be so effortlessly attractive...

Thankfully, Percy and Annabeth never seemed to notice.

*****

The first time he heard Percy speak was a week and a half later. It was a Monday morning, and Percy walked into the lecture hall without Annabeth at his side. Regardless, he made his way over to Jason.

"Hey, uh," Percy placed his hand on the back of the chair on Jason's left, "is it cool if I sit here? Annabeth's sick, so I'm on my own."

Jason nodded, not trusting himself with his words. His voice suited him perfectly...

"It's crazy that we haven't talked before," Percy seemed to be thinking aloud, "considering our best friends are dating. Have you been coming to this class all semester?"

Again, Jason answered with a nod.

Percy sighed, a puzzled look passing over his features. "I just...feel like I would've noticed you."

"I was sitting behind you," Jason defended him, repeating Piper's statement from their conversation weeks ago. What could he have possibly meant by that?

"Still," Percy hummed discontentedly, waving it off as he continued with a sarcastic edge to his tone, "I was probably too caught up in all of the learning that I do here."

Jason smiled. "It's captivating, isn't it? Writing papers every week about nothing."

"Not pointless at all," the right corner of Percy's lips quirked into a smirk. "I definitely don't get constantly dragged here by Annabeth."

"What brought you here today then?" Jason inquired. "It feels like you got a 'get out of jail free' card."

Percy shrugged. "A few reasons, I guess."

Before Jason could ask for any kind of clarification, their professor walked in to begin class. He never got to hear answers to his questions, either, because of Percy's quick departure afterwards with the claim that he had another class.

*****

The impossible happened during their next class. Annabeth had returned, but this time, Percy was the one sitting at Jason's side.

"Look who's back," Percy stated as he took his seat, giving a nod to Annabeth. "Don't get too close, she'll probably cough on you."

Annabeth glared at him but didn't bother saying anything in return. He just smiled—his beautiful, perfect smile—before asking Jason how his day had been and what felt like a billion other questions until their class finally started. Jason admired his curiosity, taking mental note of the fact that none of that curiosity was put towards his English class.

Halfway through the lecture, a piece of paper poked at Jason's elbow as it rested on the table. He glanced down to see Percy's scratchy handwriting at the top of a notebook page.

Annie is making a study group
You want in?

Jason bit back his smile. He felt oddly youthful as he wrote his reply.

And why would I subject myself to any more of this class than I have to?

Percy gave him a quiet and breathy laugh, receiving an annoyed look from Annabeth that went ignored.

Because I'll be there and would like someone to hate it with :)

Jason raised an eyebrow, to which Percy shrugged and tapped a finger on the notebook.

I'll think about it.

Percy grinned at him afterwards, flipping back to a page that had nothing more than the title, date, and a single bullet point written so far. Jason had to avert his eyes to stop himself from laughing. His not-so-little crush was an interesting student, to say the least.

"Did you get any further in those notes of yours?" Jason asked him after class as he gathered his belongings.

Percy's face was surprised but his voice was playful. "Don't need them when you have a perfect memory."

Annabeth hummed in disagreement. "Or when you have a friend that loves you enough to share hers."

He pointed at Annabeth for emphasis, just so Jason knew she was right. With a quick goodbye and a promise to be back, the duo and Jason parted ways, and the latter made his way over to Piper's as per usual. He knocked twice and opened the door to find her working at her desk as music played softly from her speaker across the room.

"How's Percy?" She asked, and Jason could hear the teasing grin on her face. "Is the crush dying with the mystery?"

"No," Jason groaned as he took a seat on the foot of her bed. He'd feel bad talking about his imaginary love life so frequently if Piper wasn't so interested. "Because now he's funny and asks me how my day is, too."

"In addition to the hotness?"

"Yes, in addition to the hotness, Piper," he sighed. "This is stupid. I'm stupid."

"You're not stupid," Piper countered in the same tone that a mother would use as she wrote some things down in the notebook splayed across her desk.

Jason frowned at her, unbeknownst to Piper herself. "Did you ask Annabeth out first?"

"Absolutely not," she scoffed, "you've seen her—she's scary. Why? Are you planning on using some newfound bravery?"

"Maybe when I actually find some," Jason shook his head. The only confidence booster he currently had was Percy's invite to the study group, and Jason's pessimistic side insisted that he only did that to help Annabeth feel accomplished for the size of it.

Still, who was he to waste an opportunity?

*****

Annabeth kicked Percy and Jason out of her first session. Well, she mostly kicked Percy out, who all but dragged Jason out with him.

"I told my roommate I wouldn't be back until later," Percy sighed, "so he probably brought someone over. Don't really want to go back to that, I think."

Jason smiled as he adjusted his bag. "We could do something, if you want."

He tried not to look too idiotic when he got the chance to think about the words that came out of his mouth. Jason couldn't believe he'd actually invited Percy somewhere, especially not so casually.

"You hungry?" Percy asked and continued when Jason gave him a nod. "There's this place just off campus with the best burgers. And don't take that lightly—I'm a burger connoisseur."

"Impressive," Jason commented. "I'm good with burgers."

"A man of taste," Percy replied with an approving glance.

They headed off on their walk, chatting away to the point where their journey felt short. Percy always seemed to know exactly how to respond to Jason. He laughed at Jason's bad jokes and listened with an intent ear when Jason told stories.

Their conversation didn't falter with their meal (which was just as delicious as Percy had promised), either, but their joking manner died down slightly as they actually started learning about each other. They talked about their families and how they'd both met Piper and Annabeth. They discussed school and why they chose their majors. Somehow, it'd been a long time since Jason had a conversation like this. He hadn't gotten to know someone from their foundation up for a while since several of his old friends were attending his same university.

Percy paid for the meal despite Jason's protests, claiming that he brought him there so he was responsible. Jason tried to argue that he was the one who offered to go somewhere initially, but Percy waved him off before handing their waitress the check and his card with a smile and a thank you.

"How pricey is this place?" Jason raised an eyebrow once she was gone.

Percy laughed. "That's a concern for my wallet, not my friend."

"I'm paying you back."

"Whatever you say, Jason," Percy smiled at him, and the blond knew it was useless to fight back anymore. Jason couldn't help but note that that was the first time Percy had said his name, also noting how he certainly did not mind how it sounded in his voice.

Gods, Jason needed to get a grip.

They wrapped up their meal and left. Percy offered to walk back with Jason, claiming he had more than enough time to waste, and Jason wasn't going to turn down time with Percy. He was actually going to Piper's dorm to tell her that he'd made progress so she could stop making fun of him. She'd also texted him that morning saying she was sick, so Jason wanted to check in to see if she needed anything.

"It sucks that Piper and Annabeth never introduced us," Percy noted as they strolled down the path to Piper's residence hall. "We could've done this months ago. I could've been telling you all my deepest, darkest secrets by now."

Jason laughed. "All it takes is a few months?"

Percy hummed as he considered it. "Deepest is a few months, darkest is at least a year."

"Got it," Jason nodded, "getting dirt on you is a year-long game."

"The deepests are enough dirt to destroy a reputation, I think," Percy argued, "I have a lot of stories."

"I look forward to hearing all of them," he answered as they arrived at the door. "This is where I'm headed."

"Well, Jason," Percy sighed, "I will see you in good old English 101."

"Can't wait," Jason gave him a smile before they parted ways with friendly waves.

He had to force his eyes away from Percy's retreating figure to go inside and make his way to Piper's room. There was no sliver of light casting through the bottom of the door, so Jason guessed she was sleeping or at least had a headache.

Still, he knocked gently on the door. "It's Jason."

He heard a faint voice say it was open, and when Jason walked in, he was surprised to find that it was actually Annabeth who had answered him. She was sitting at the head of Piper's bed, the other girl's head in her lap. One hand was combing through Piper's rarely unbraided hair, and the other one flipped through a small novel that appeared to be written in something besides English. Jason guessed it was for a foreign language class.

She glanced up to meet Jason's gaze as he entered. "She just fell asleep a few minutes ago. Did you need something?"

"I was actually just here to ask her that question," Jason answered, unable to stop himself from smiling at Piper's curled up form. She was much cuter when she wasn't making fun of Jason, he decided.

Annabeth shrugged. "I think we'll be fine here. I got her sick because she was taking care of me, so it's only right that I return the favor. Don't worry about it."

"As long as you're sure," Jason responded.

He was about to start making his way out when Annabeth spoke again, "Were you with Percy? I assume he kept you with him after I kicked him out."

Jason nodded. "We hung out for a while."

Annabeth seemed to consider the statement, taking another quick glance at her book while she thought. "I...you can't be mad if I tell you this."

"Tell me what?" Jason's heart was suddenly beating about 80 times too fast.

"Piper accidentally told me that you liked someone in our English class a day or two after you and I met," she set her book aside as she continued, "so naturally I tried to figure out who it was."

"And you caught me...," Jason wasn't sure how to end that sentence in a good way. He sat in Piper's desk chair against his better judgment so that he could at least be comfortable during this conversation.

"Staring at my best friend for half the class?" Annabeth smiled at Jason's very red cheeks. "Maybe. He doesn't know, if that's reassuring. You'll have to be very direct when you tell him, though—"

"When?"

"—because he'll convince himself that you're joking if you aren't."

Jason sighed. "What if he doesn't like me?"

"You went on a date today," she noted plainly.

"No, we didn't," Jason couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"Percy actually went somewhere with you—he never goes anywhere with people he doesn't like—he barely goes anywhere with people he does like," Annabeth said with an exasperated tone. "That might as well have been a date."

Jason stared at her for a moment, trying to decide what she would say in response to his next statement. "What does he like to do?"

Her face was quizzical, so Jason elaborated despite the embarrassment that burned his face, "Let's say—hypothetically—I were to ask him to go out with me somewhere. What does he like?"

"He'll like anything," Annabeth answered unhelpfully, trying and failing to hide her victorious smile.

"Annabeth," he groaned at her.

"What?" She glared, although her eyes lacked intensity. "He cares more about his company than anything else.  He's down for anything—very adventurous, maybe an idiot."

"And you think he'll say yes?" Jason wanted to clarify an important detail there.

She nodded. "I'll literally pay you if he doesn't. I'm telling you, I've known Percy for a long time. I'm guessing he walked you over here?"

Jason was starting to be wary of this girl who was clearly too smart for anyone's good. "He was just being polite."

"Trust me," Annabeth scoffed, "Percy doesn't really do 'just being polite'. He makes an effort to talk to you in class, has invited you to go with him two different places now, and he purposefully spent more time with you than he needed to."

There was a brief pause before Jason sighed. "Fine."

"You'll do it?"

"Yeah," Jason gave her a nod, "I'm gonna ask him out. Not a big deal. He'll definitely say yes. I won't be embarrassed at all."

"Now you're getting it," she pointed at him.

"Thanks, Annabeth," he said as he got up to go panic in his own dorm about what to do.

She waved him off and joked, "I should be thanking you for taking Percy away from me."

"I'm sure he'd appreciate that," Jason smiled at her as he rose from his seat and headed to the exit. They exchanged quick goodbyes and mutual good lucks before Jason left the room.

Gods, he was screwed.

*****

For only the second time that year, Percy walked into their English 101 lecture hall on his own, taking the seat on Jason's left as per usual.

"G'morning," Percy greeted with a sigh.

"Where's your other half?" Jason joked.

He got a shrug in response. "She'll be here, but she said something about having things to do beforehand and to show up without her."

She sent Percy in alone on purpose, and Jason knew it. Sure, he'd said he would ask Percy out, but he wasn't necessarily prepared to do it so soon.

He was smacked in the face with a sudden reminder of why he was even doing this in the first place when he looked at Percy again. Besides the attractiveness that had caught Jason's attention initially (and definitely continued to keep it), Jason now also saw Percy and could hear the sounds of his laughter while they ate lunch and could feel the breeze as Percy walked with him to Piper's dorm.

"So I...I was thinking," Jason prompted slowly.

Percy smirked at him. "Dangerous."

Jason feigned offense, desperately trying to push back his smile. "I have an extra ticket for a concert I'm going to next weekend. Would you maybe want to, uh, to come with me?"

"Of course I do," Percy took no convincing. He joked, "Guessing Piper was unavailable?"

"No, actually," Jason hated this, "I just wanted to...take you out, I guess."

Percy's eyebrows furrowed together ever so slightly as he turned his head to look forwards. "Well, that sounds ominous."

Jason tried to ignore the fact that both his panic and embarrassment levels were slowly increasing. "No, I meant, like, on a date."

"With me? Really?" Percy questioned, the puzzled look still on his face.

Jason thought Annabeth was joking when she said he'd have to spell it out for her friend. Nonetheless, he nodded softly, definitely not missing the slight darkening of Percy's cheeks or the smile that slowly appeared on the boy's face.

"Okay, yeah," Percy confirmed his earlier answer once again, meeting Jason's eyes, "I think that'd be a lot of fun."

"Me, too," Jason agreed, a wave of relief washing over him as he realized the worst was over. He was finally able to speak like normal now that he wasn't so worried about his word choice.

They fell back into regular conversation until Annabeth arrived right as the lecture started and took the seat next to Percy. He leaned over to her and whispered something with a grin on his face. She gave him a supportive nod before he returned to whatever he did in his notebook—which, apparently, was not taking notes. Annabeth caught Jason's gaze and offered an approving smile.

Thank you, Jason mouthed at her.

Hurt him? She replied silently, proceeding to drag her finger across her neck threateningly before smiling and tuning back into whatever the professor was saying.

Jason swallowed and made a mental note to avoid Annabeth if anything went horribly wrong on his date. She might actually kill him. For now, though, Jason could focus on the positives.

His staring finally got him somewhere.

Here's my notes for this one:

LMAO NO BC JASON COMES IN ONE DAY AND ANNABETH IS THWRE AND HE IS IN SHOCK. FULLY SHOCKED. AND TURNS OUT SHES PIPERS GIRLFRIEND AND SHE RECOGNIZES JASON LIKE "oh we have class!!" AND HE IS JUST FLABBERGASTED. PIPER MAKES SOME JOKE AND EVENTUALLY ANNABETH FINDS OUT JASON LIKES PERCY AND SHES LIKE "I got you."

If anyone was wondering about my writing process, it's me doing that and then slowly adding like two paragraphs to the actual writing every night until it's finished. Fun times.

I hope everybody liked this one! I'll see you soon, hopefully!