Stone Walls (Jercy AU)

PERCY

Percy walked through the school's doors alone. Jason had went to talk to Piper. Percy couldn't help but feel alone, maybe even a little jealous. He knows who Piper is and it never occurred to Percy why Jason would date a girl like that. She didn't seem like his type and the few times Percy has seen Jason with Piper, he didn't look too happy. Percy wished Jason could have walked down the hall with him. Even if he walked down this hall for a few years, Percy suddenly felt like everything was closing in on him. He felt a bit anxious being around so many people so soon.

And being in this setting only made him think of everything else that was bothering him. Percy had to go to therapy today when school ended. He had to go sit in a room with a stranger for an hour and talk about his roots of sadness and whatnot. Percy also had to meet with Beryl to go over the case. They had enough evidence, like the bruises on Percy's body, to put Gabe away so he would never be around him ever again.

Percy finally made it to his locker and saw Grover standing there on his phone, smiling a bit as he tapped away as if he was sending a text message. 

"Hey, Grover," Percy said.

Grover put his phone away and looked up at Percy, giving him a gentle hug. "Hey, Perce, how you feelin'?"

Percy sighed. "I don't know." Grover raised a questioning eyebrow. "I feel relieved, but I still feel . . . I don't know, on edge? I feel anxious and stuck, like I don't know what to do now. Like I don't know how to get my life together."

"One step at a time, man. That's it." Grover smiled. "It's gonna be okay. You start therapy today and it may not seem like a lot, but it's one huge step."

"Am I really expected to talk to a stranger about my feelings?"

"Yeah, you are. And it'll help. Give it time, Perce."

Percy smiled at Grover and they walked to English class together. Percy's day went rather normally, the same way it always did really. But he felt more present. His mind didn't wander to what he would have to cook Gabe for dinner, or who Gabe had at the house, or how much mess there was to clean up at the apartment. Percy felt like he could breathe.

As relieved as he felt, Percy was a bit down. He hadn't seen Jason all day. He really hoped he would have gotten to see him before therapy. Thalia was going to pick him up from therapy so he wouldn't see Jason until he got home. Being around Jason felt so nice to Percy. Nice is an understatement if Percy was to be completely honest with himself. He knew being next to Jason was more than just nice. It felt amazing, relaxing, humble. And Percy was very much aware of how different he felt with Jason. Percy knew the way he felt around Jason was not friend-like. There was something more to it for Percy but he's been trying to push those feelings away with every ounce of strength he had. He was Thalia's brother. His best friend's brother. But the way Jason grabbed Percy's hand in the car felt electrifying.

Percy sighed, pushing his thoughts of the blonde boy away and stopping in front of the building where his therapist was. He looked up at the tall building and it's big windows and wondered if he really wanted to do this. Percy wasn't too good at opening up, unless it was his mom. But, she wasn't here now, so maybe this is what Percy has to do. Maybe this is what he has to do to accept what happened, who he's becoming and how he's going to open up to the people around him. Most importantly, this is what his mom would have wanted for him.

Percy inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly before walking into the tall building with big glass windows.