Inspired by Community S6E13: "Emotional Consequences of Broadcast Television."

Jason POV

The end of finals is supposed to be a joyous occasion. It was that way last semester, even though the group assaulted a faculty member to an extent, and it was the semester before, even though Octavian turned evil and took over New Rome Community College.

So why can't it be a happy time today?

Bittersweetness.

The grades are out. Everyone passed. Everyone walked the stage and received a diploma with a name somewhat similar to their own. In a few days, everyone will be going their separate ways.

This is the last ever meeting of Jason's study group that was formed so Percy could hook up with a girl. After today, the New Rome Seven will be officially disbanded.

Jason is brave though. He can do this. Just because they're all going their separate ways doesn't mean they can't still be friends.

He's got a great day planned for them. They're going to say their goodbyes to the study room that got them through so many assignments and sitcom tropes, and then they're going to the Waystation for a couple of drinks. After that, Jason's giving some rides to the airport and he'll go back home to his apartment, cook up some chicken nuggets, and go to bed early.

Or maybe he'll get drunk and cry but he's sure the others are feeling the same way.

Jason takes his seat in the study room, next to Annabeth, who occupies the head of the table. He saves the seat on the other side of him for Piper, who promised she'd be here, but is running a little late.

Percy sits across from Jason, showing everyone pictures of his little sister who is super cute. Despite that, he can only offer a nod by the time they get to the thirteenth picture of her hunting for Easter eggs. There's only so much a guy can take.

Leo is next to Percy, fidgety as ever. Graduating and moving on is already making Jason feel anxious. He can't imagine how much harder it must be for a guy like Leo, who freaks out every time they reset the clocks for daylight savings.

"Congratulations, brats!" It wouldn't be a typical day on the campus of New Rome Community College if Dean D didn't interrupt their study session dressed in a drag outfit of some fashion. Is it weird that the feminine graduation cap and gown make Jason a little emotional?

"Hey, Dean," Annabeth says.

The dean smiles, which is a little unsettling, but Jason appreciates the sentiment. "Are you idiots really celebrating your accomplishment in the library? You've been complaining about this place for the past four years."

"Yeah," says Percy. "I guess... we made a lot of memories here."

Frank rushes into the study room, red in the face. Hazel is supposed to be with him.

"Hey Dean," he says, completely unfazed by the dean's getup. "Guys, I have some good news and some bad news."

"Shit," Dean D swears. "I have an outfit that is perfect for good news and bad news. Should have worn it."

Nobody wants to know what that means.

"Go ahead," Piper says to Frank. "Where's Hazel?"

Frank takes a seat at the table and wrings his hands. Not making eye contact with the rest of the group, he says, "Hazel's wrapped up at Berkeley. They want to help her franchise her sandwich shop; they're going to replace their Chick-fil-A with it, actually, which is awesome, but she isn't able to make it for drinks today."

"What's the good news?" Leo asks.

"So just like that?" Jason asks. "Hazel's not coming and we have no idea when we're going to see her again?"

Frank sighs. "I mean, we'll keep in touch of course. I'm teaching kindergarten in the area and she's going to check in on these sandwich shops. She's going to be doing a lot of traveling with the sandwich franchise."

"That's really awesome," Percy says.

"You must be so proud," says Piper.

That's Hazel. That's the sweet girl that Jason brushed off for the first few weeks of freshman year. He told everyone it was because she was annoying, but really, he was afraid of letting such a bright light into his life. He never wanted to risk blowing out that light with his messed-up outlook and daddy issues. Who gave her the right to grow up and break his heart like this?

"Are you still coming to the Waystation?" Jason asks Frank.

Frank waves his hands. "No way," he says. "I have in-service tomorrow, and I cannot be hungover when I'm putting my classroom together. Can you believe it? My first classroom!"

"That's amazing, Frank!" Annabeth says.

He beams. "I'm going for a zoo theme. I picked out a leopard-print tie for the first day and everything."

"Nice choice," says the dean, who has fully invited himself to their final session.

"I love that for you," says Jason. "You're going to be the best kindergarten teacher ever, man."

"I hope so," he says. "I know it's not really what my grandmother had in mind for me, but this is what makes me happy. I love kids."

Frank is going to be an awesome teacher. He's standing taller, much taller than he ever did during his freshman year at New Rome. Jason remembers when he walked into the study room on the first day, practically swimming in his Canadian hockey sweatshirt. Now, he fits just right in his New Rome hockey sweatshirt.

"Well," says Jason. "I suppose this is where we start brainstorming Season Five, huh, Leo?"

"No," he says.

"No?"

Leo shrugs. "This is the series finale, Jason."

"How do you know? Leo, plan us a spin-off or something, dammit!"

"Hey, hey!" Percy yells. "Let's all be friends and go along with this because it's clearly important to Jason. Annabeth, what do you think will happen in Season Five at New Rome?"

"Me?" she asks. "Alright then... I suppose, maybe those dual-enrollment students from the high school will enroll here and-"

"Obviously not," says Frank. "They've been here already. They know better. No offense, Dean."

Dean D rolls his eyes. "I like to think the next season of your weird little television show would end with me being hand-fed Diet Coke and Doritos at the hand of a set of twins who are my eternal interns."

"Travis and Connor aren't twins," Percy says.

"No! The actual twins. Castor and Pollux," he says. "They graduated last year."

"Wait," says Annabeth. "You remembered their names. Dean D, have you always-"

"I just think they're nice guys with good taste. Moving on."

Jason runs his hands through his short hair. "Dean, since I'm not your student anymore, I've gotta confess that you are not a creative genius. Please stop."

Percy says, "We can't bring anybody back. That's why Glee spiraled downhill so fast, right Leo?"

"I'm not participating in your conceptualization of another season," Leo says, "but yes. That's why Glee spiraled downhill. If you ask some people though, it's because of Matthew Morrison's portrayal of Will Schuester."

"Okay," Percy says. "So point made. We don't bring any characters back; instead, we add new ones."

"Alright, Seaweed Brain. Who are you adding?" Annabeth adds.

He scoffs. "That's obvious. I'm thinking of a big friendly cyclops named Tyson. He's a claymation monster who just wants to earn a degree in culinary arts."

"We don't have a culinary program," says Dean D.

"That's what you're concerned about?" Frank asks.

"Hey now," Percy says. "Don't discriminate against Tyson. I'm thinking we'll have this big reveal at the season finale where we find out he's actually my half-brother or something."

Annabeth raises an eyebrow. "Your mother could never give birth to a cyclops."

"Oh no way," Percy agrees. "I mean on my dad's side. Or maybe he's my former stepdad Gabe's son and we rescued him."

Where is Piper when you need her? Now, Jason's left to object to this with only the help of Annabeth. "Percy, you can't rescue a kid the way you do an animal."

"That's called adoption," Frank says. "You can do that with animals too, actually."

Dean D slams his fist against the table. "The point is that it's stupid!"

"Alright," says Jason. "I've had enough of Season Five."

Leo starts to say, "But you were the one who wanted to-"

"I regret that decision. I'm just going to text Piper and tell her to meet us at the bar. Where even is she?" Jason types a text to her. It's not like her to be late.

Frank clears his throat. "I hate to be like this, but I do have a big day tomorrow. I'm supposed to meet the other kindergarten teacher, and I have to decorate my room, and most of the teachers are short women in their forties so I'll probably be lifting a lot of things for them too."

"You're such a sweetheart, Frank," Annabeth says. She wraps her arms around him in a hug, which surprises everyone, even Frank.

"I'll miss you, Annabeth," he says, his voice cracking.

"Don't ever change," she says. When she finally pulls away, she wipes some snot off her nose and says, "Shit, I love you so much, bud."

"I love you too," he says, smiling through his tears. "Let's hug some other time when we're not crying, okay?"

"I'll hold you to it." He throws his overfilled backpack over his broad shoulders and then whistles.

The bulldog named Annie's Boobs that lived in the vents all this time eagerly abandons the HVAC system and follows Frank out of the study room and into the great unknown.

Frank Zhang is a hero with a heart of solid gold.

Jason looks at his remaining friends. Annabeth blows her nose into a tissue while Percy offers her words of comfort. Leo fidgets with some gadget in his pocket, and Dean D, who Jason didn't realize is his friend until this very moment, stares out the door as if Frank might come back at any moment.

That's it. That was the last of Frank. Sure, he's local enough that Jason will be able to see him from time to time, but he knows his friend. It'll take him a while to get adjusted to his new life before he can reach out to anyone. If Jason met Frank today, and he told him about how people used to bully him in middle school, he'd never believe it. The guy joined a frat, and then saved that frat for crying out loud!

No matter where his friends end up, at least he has Piper as a constant in his life. She'll be attending a law school and living in the apartment with him, just like it always has been. They'll watch movies, FaceTime Leo, make Trader Joe's pizza together, and plan their wedding—slowly but surely.

"Guys, guys!" Piper yells, storming into the room. "You'll never believe what just happened!"

"What?" Leo asks.

"Okay, so I'm not actually able to enroll in law school because I got the internship! Oh my god, it sounds even better out loud," she beams. "I'm spending my summer with the CIA!"

"Holy crap, Pipes! Congratulations!" Annabeth says, embracing her friend in a hug. When did Annabeth turn into such a hugger?

Piper turns to Jason. "Keep the apartment warm for me while I'm in Virginia. Okay, babe?"

"Yup," he says. Everything is fine. It's just that his fiance, the one person he was counting on to stick around, is going to be all the way across the country doing some crazy awesome internship that he probably won't get to hear much about because it's for the government. Holy shit, she is amazing.

And Jason... Jason is staying in Berkeley. Not only that, but he's staying in New Rome with Dean D. He's taking some graduate courses at the University of Berkeley and he'll be a teaching assistant at New Rome Community College.

It's not a terrible track to be on, but compared to everyone else, he feels so small. He's not getting out of this town. It's embarrassing.

While Leo and Annabeth and Percy congratulate Piper and ask her questions about the internship, Jason slips into a nightmare: his fifth season at New Rome Community College.

He'll be a TA, and he'll spend time tutoring students in their classics courses for extra cash to pay rent since he won't have any roommates to split it with. He's in a study group with Sherman, who either is running the admissions office or retaking his senior year—no in between. Next to Sherman is the dual enrollment student Meg, who always gave Jason a weird vibe, and then there's the dean in drag for some reason, and then Mr. Brunner, and Octavian, who is still a menace to society. The least worrisome member of Jason's future study group is Tyson the friendly claymation cyclops.

Tyson pats Jason on the back and then says, "We're all abandoning you too."

"Jason? You good?" Piper asks.

He jumps. "Yeah, I was just, uh, thinking about what Season Five might be like."

"Oh, that sounds fun!" says Piper. "Okay, so my Season Five takes place at the CIA headquarters in McLean, Virginia. How awesome is that? Piper McLean is going to McLean!"

"That's pretty cool," Jason says even though it is entirely too terrifying for him to handle.

"Yeah, and I'll probably go on all sorts of awesome undercover missions and talk to mafia bosses and stuff. Who knows, maybe I'll look like a completely different person every time I see you!"

He would rather not think about that.

Thankfully, Annabeth interjects. "Yeah, but it's supposed to be at New Rome. Like, maybe in Season Five, we live in this alternate future where New Rome has seceded from the United States and Piper is our CIA liaison."

"That actually sounds kind of cool," Leo says.

"Yeah, and every Friday we have a fish fry, not just during Lent," she says. "And Frank and Hazel have like three cats that Hazel knits sweaters for."

Some of these ideas start out cool, like this one, and then it has to go off some horrible cliff like this one. It was great until Annabeth started talking with her stomach.

So Jason takes a deep breath and delivers this semi-realistic desire he had no idea he had until this very moment. "Maybe in Season Five, we're all back here as faculty. I can be the dean after Dean D retires."

"I'll die before I retire," Dean D says.

"Shh, I'm imagining things," Jason says. "And Leo can teach engineering classes, and Piper will teach politics, and we'll meet up in the study room all the time for Salad Day."

"What the hell is a Salad Day?" Annabeth asks.

Jason frowns. "It's like a potluck where we all bring a salad ingredient. Like, you'll bring the tomatoes, and I'll bring some dressings, and Percy can wash the lettuce-"

"Bro," Percy says. "You do not want me to wash your lettuce."

"That's really sweet, Jason," Piper says. The strained smile on her face tells Jason that she might not find that idea as appealing as he does.

In fact, everyone seems a little turned off by the idea.

"That's not possible, Jason," Leo says. "Other than the fact that it's the worst spinoff idea ever, it's completely impossible. Everyone has their lives lined up, including me, and that's saying something."

"Don't say that, Leo," Percy says. "You're totally bound for success."

Leo rolls his eyes. "Be honest. I wasn't until I figured out that I had a career advisor. Now, I'm going to work on movie sets or something."

"What movie?" Percy asks.

"Whichever one they stick me on. I sure hope it isn't something stupid like Zombies 4."

Even Leo is doing better than Jason. Leo is getting out of here, which is more than Jason can say for himself. He gave this place four years of his life and took on student loans he won't have paid off until he's at least thirty-five to do what? Never leave?

That's disappointing.

"Anyways," Percy says, turning to Jason. "Are you still good to drive us to the airport? I sold my Jeep-"

Jason gasps. Not Percy's iconic Jeep!

"Relax, I sold it to Frank," he says. "Now can you give us a ride or not because our plane leaves soon."

"What happened to the Waystation?" Jason asks. "I thought we were all going for drinks."

Annabeth grumbles, "Yeah, but with all the Season Five planning, we sort of ran out of time for that and I'm going to have to deal with Percy's fear of flying."

"I am not afraid, Wise Girl!" he objects.

"Then what was that when we went to Florida? Huh?" she asks.

Percy and Annabeth are so stupid in love. It's adorable. Jason can't believe they didn't get together sooner.

"Alright," he says. "Everyone, to the minivan then."

Dean D belches and then says, "I'll meet you at the Waystation."

Jason turns around to take in the study room one last time. Its nubby carpet has some bubbles in it from the many times they yanked it off the floor, and there's a weird little stain on the wall from that time Piper tripped over Leo and dropped her coffee. After all this time, its walls are still rocking that god-awful orange color. So many times has Jason been pissed off by the room's loud demeanor, but now, he's starting to appreciate it for what it is. By no means is it a safe space or even a relaxing place, but it was their place. They didn't do as much studying as they should have here, and they got into more fights than they should have here, but this place is healing.

If he thinks back far enough, he can recall that anxious feeling he got the night before their first meeting, frantically studying the first three chapters of the Latin textbook because Percy insisted there would be girls at the study session. Jason later realized that this was a bluff, but there were certainly girls there, and he is going to marry one of them.

He can still hear Percy's major meltdown over the pen his deadbeat father got him at the New York Aquarium, and the subsequent meltdowns after Piper and Annabeth missed the cornhole tournament.

The remnants of many dioramas are permanently ingrained in the carpeting and on the table. Dirt from biology terrariums reminds Jason of the time he almost starred in a Law and Order episode. Glitter on the carpet tells stories of Greek and Roman heroes and gods. The spot of blue paint on the table makes him feel like a freshman again, working on his first diorama.

"You coming, Jason?" Piper asks.

Now extracted from his train of thought, he says, "Yeah. Yeah, I was just saying goodbye to our room."

"You'll be back, babe. The study room isn't going anywhere."

"I don't think it'll be quite the same after today."

"Hey," she says, stroking his cheek with the soft pads of her fingers. "Is everything okay?"

He chokes back his tears. "Just nervous. For the longest time, I always thought I was going to get out of here and move out into the world, and then I figured that it was okay even if I wasn't because you were going to be there with me, and now you're not."

Piper looks down at the carpeting and shuffles her feet. Shoot, Jason didn't phrase that quite the way he should have.

"I mean, I'm so proud of you. You should not feel bad about going to Virginia because of me. I will be completely fine," he says.

"It's just for the summer," Piper insists. "I have faith you'll be fine. Besides, there's lots of work to keep you busy before the fall semester begins."

He sighs. "You're right." He throws his new messenger bag over his shoulder and gives the study room one last look before saying his final goodbye.

"For the record," Piper says, "I'm proud of you too." She gets on her tiptoes and kisses him. "You are so brave."

Jason smiles like a complete idiot. Nothing makes him feel more at ease than a kiss from his fiance. He leans in closer for another kiss because even if your friends have to get to the airport so they can get on with the rest of their lives, it never hurts to kiss your fiance.

Piper giggles into the kiss and then pulls away. "I love you, but Annabeth and Percy have to get to New York, and Leo has to go blow things up."

Jason scoffs playfully. Hand in hand, they leave the study room. He tries his hardest not to look back at the empty table when he turns the light off one last time.

✎✎✎

It's hard to find something to talk about when you're dropping your best friends off at the airport and might never see them again. Of course, Jason plans to wait with them until the plane boards because that's what a good friend does.

"Good afternoon, passengers. This is a pre-boarding announcement for flight 67A to New York City. Please have your identification and boarding pass ready; thank you for your cooperation."

"Guess that's you guys," Leo says to Annabeth and Percy.

"Here I come, grad school," Annabeth says with no enthusiasm.

Mocking her tone, Percy says, "Here I come, New York City Fire Department."

She elbows him. "Seaweed Brain."

"Hey, your boyfriend is going to be a firefighter. I'd call that a plus." Jason admires Percy's choice. Instead of enrolling in a graduate program right away like Jason and Annabeth are, he's flying home to New York and enrolling in his local fire department's training program. He's going to live with his mom for a month or so until he and Annabeth save up enough money to move into an apartment, which might be awkward for Annabeth considering she's never met the woman before. That's what you do when rent is sky-high. When he's ready, Jason supposes Percy will apply to grad programs in the city.

Annabeth, ambitious as ever, already has some summer courses lined up at NYU and a job redesigning this section of the city that got horribly defaced during some gang battle last summer.

"Come on, Wise Girl. Let's rock and roll," Percy says, taking his girlfriend's hand.

She snatches it back. "Race ya to the gate!" With that, she takes off running in the middle of the crowded airport.

"Not fair!" Percy shouts, running down the aisle after her.

For once, they don't look back.

Piper pulls up the handle on her rolling suitcase and looks at Jason and Leo, tears welling in her eyes.

"You guys were the best roommates ever," she says, trying to keep her voice from cracking.

"You guys are the best friends ever," Leo says. "I hope your superspy spinoff is totally badass."

"I'll call you—if the government lets me," she says, trailing off.

"This is the final boarding call for flight 78C to Washington DC," the intercom barks.

"Shit," Piper says. She pecks Leo on the cheek and then gives Jason one last kiss on the lips before tugging her suitcase over towards her gate.

The government may not let her contact her friends all summer, so Jason's going to have to trust that she'll still love him when she gets back. It's a leap of faith, and a long time to go without kisses and morning snuggles, but he can handle it. After all, they are engaged. He's got a wedding to plan, anyway.

"How much time do you have before your flight boards?" Jason asks Leo. "I bet we've got some time to grab Happy Meals."

"I do love Happy Meals," Leo says, "but I need to board sooner than later. They'll call my flight any minute now, and then I'll have to rush to the front so nobody tries to trade me for my aisle seat. I can't wait for those gingerbread cookies they have."

This is a lot of information to process and Jason now realizes that he's not ready to lose the glue that held this group together all these years. Leo took them from a study group to a friend group. He's the energy that makes the New Rome Seven what they are—were.

"I'm going to miss you so much, man," he says. "Visit, okay?"

Leo nods. "You visit me too."

"Of course," Jason says. "Thanks for making me join your fake study group."

"Thanks for elbowing me with your Frisbee." Then, he looks up at something on the ceiling.

Jason squints because maybe there's something cool to look at, but it's just a security camera. He wonders what the surveillance person thinks about this strange guy staring directly at him like Jim from The Office.

"Thank you," Leo says to the camera. "Thank you for everything. Thank you for changing my life."

Because he's the resident television expert, Jason asks him, "What happens next?"

Leo turns to him. "Six seasons and a movie."

That's a little out of pocket, even for Leo, but Jason's learned not to question his reasoning, so he just says, "Six seasons and a movie."

And with that, Leo grabs his carry-on bag and runs off to his next adventure.

✎✎✎

A little bell rings when Jason opens the front door to the Waystation bar, and he receives a knowing look from the bartender. She gives him a subtle nod and then he realizes that his friends are gone. The only person at the bar here to see him is Dean D.

Dean D waves to him from a table in the corner. He's swapped his drag outfit out for his regular leopard-print shirt.

Jason sighs and resigns himself to a life of being Dean D's friend. He's... He can't be so bad.

But then he turns the corner, and there's more than just Dean D at the table.

Mr. Brunner raises his glass at Jason.

Coach Hedge and the new racket sports teacher, Sherman Yang, scooch their chairs so Jason can fit at the table. He sits down and greets his new coworkers.

"We're just waiting on two more people and then our meeting can begin," Dean D says.

Jason probably wouldn't have ordered the chili cheese nachos and a pilsner if he knew this was a work meeting.

"So sorry we're late!" Reyna says to the dean. "I was giving Tyson a ride. Oh, hey Jason! You're in the classics department, right?"

"That's right!" Jason says, relieved to see someone he actually finds cool here. "And what are you doing?"

"Coaching the new track and field team," she says.

"Wow, that's really impressive."

She waves him off. "I wouldn't be able to do it without my girlfriend, Thalia. She's my... co-coach? Is that a word? Anyway, everyone, meet Tyson. He's our new aquatics teacher."

Tyson is this huge burly guy who, yeah, kind of looks like the claymation cyclops Percy described, except Jason would never say that out loud. His muscles are huge, but his smile is warm and inviting.

Jason smiles back and pulls a chair next to him. "Come sit by me, Tyson."

"Thank you, friend."

Jason went from looking into transferring to a state school, to not being able to count the reasons he should stay at New Rome, and just an hour ago he watched all those reasons fade away.

But that's okay because he'll be watching their spinoffs from off-screen, and he hopes his friends will be watching his.

Season Five at New Rome Community College is what Jason makes of it, and he's certainly going to make the best of it.