Stone Walls (Jercy AU)

PERCY

As the months went by and the cold December frost turned into rainy spring days, Percy could confidently say he's getting better. He got a job at a small bakery, started saving up, and received the money his mother had put away. It wasn't a lot of money since she worked a lot of small jobs and never finished school, but Percy valued it greatly. He was trying to save up so he can get a place of his own after high school. The Grace family had been kind to offer Percy a place to stay, but he knew he would have to get out on his own eventually.

Percy was also especially proud of himself for attending every therapy session, where he gradually opened up about everything. He told Dr. Chiron about how Gabe treated him and how his father, who Percy only knew as Poseidon, ran off. It took a while for him to tell Dr. Chiron about his mother though. She was always a sensitive subject to Percy, but when he finally did tell his therapist about how much he misses her and loves her, Percy broke down. His face turned red and he was gasping for breath. He couldn't form words or even bring himself to wipe his tears. In the moment, Percy was hurting at the thought of not having his mom, but right now as he sat by the school's pool, he felt relieved. As he continued to talk about her with Dr. Chiron in their sessions, Percy gradually felt more comfortable with it. And for the first time, he felt at peace with his mother's death.

The part of Percy that always blamed his mother for staying with Gabe when he didn't treat her right disappeared. The part of Percy that was upset that she left him in this world without her disappeared too. Percy had come to terms that even if she is gone, he can still move forward. That's what she would have wanted for her son and he was determined to do that.

However, as well as Percy was doing, one thing remained uncertain - Jason Grace. Percy had lived under the same roof with him for months and it had to be some kind of punishment no matter how happy he was there. It's not that Jason was terrible to Percy. It was the complete opposite of that. Percy had developed feelings for the blonde boy. He had actual, heart filled feelings for Jason. But he thought Jason didn't feel the same and Percy sometimes couldn't bring himself to be around Jason sometimes.

Percy used to play video games with Jason every night after dinner and eat buttered popcorn. They used to study and do homework together. They sometimes made dinner together with Thalia before Mrs. Grace came home. And on Saturdays, they would invite Grover to watch movies with them. But lately, Percy hasn't taken part in all of that and the only person who knew the reason why was Grover.

Grover had come over a Saturday night and didn't see Percy ready to watch movies. Grover had went to his room and asked what was going on and despite how many times Percy repeatedly told Grover he felt sick, Grover didn't budge. He kept prodding at Percy to tell the truth and before Percy knew what came out of his mouth, he blurted "I can't face Jason!" And Grover, well Grover knew what Percy meant. Neither of them talked about it ever again, mostly because Percy didn't want to.

Percy sighed and swished his feet around in the pool. Swimming auditions were coming and Percy was planning to try out for the team. He had always wanted to, but he never got the chance. Now that everything has calmed down, it was time for him to do what he wanted to. H was planning to get a job as a life guard in the summer so he can save up to eventually move out of the Grace household. Percy knew he was more than welcome to stay as long as he needed to, but he also knew he would need to start taking initiative of his own life.

He was slowly piecing together the pieces of his life, but something still felt missing. He already knew what it was. He hasn't really seen Jason lately and hasn't been spending time with him the way that they used to. Percy knew only he can be blamed for that, but it was hard to stand in front of the person that makes his heart race and his cheeks turn pink. Instead of driving with Jason to school, he would leave earlier and ask Thalia to take him. Thalia had been a little skeptical of the distance Percy was trying so hard to make between him and Jason. She had pressured him with questions that Percy was luckily able to avoid. But Thalia was smart. She didn't press him with anymore questions, but Percy knew Thalia had an idea of what it was. She knew Percy was gay.

The sound of the doors of the pool room snapped Percy out of his thoughts. He turned around and saw Jason standing there, looking a bit frustrated. Percy took his feet out of the water and dried it with the towel he had. He heard Jason approaching him and he was hoping he would put on his sneakers and socks before Jason made it over here. Percy pulled on his socks and right shoe, but before he could grab his left one, Jason grabbed it and picked it up.

Percy looked at Jason, his chest feeling congested from how nervous he was getting. He tried to perceive what Jason was feeling. Percy thought he was angry, but when he looked into his striking blue eyes, there was no hint of anger.

"You've been avoiding me," Jason said rather calmly. Percy opened his mouth to say something, but what was he supposed to say? That he has feelings for him? That being around his heart lose rhythm?

"Percy."

"I'm sorry," Percy said quietly.

Jason let out a frustrated sigh. "You're sorry? That's it?"

"What do you expect me to say?"

"I expect you to give me a reason, Percy. Just a reason."

"I - I don't have a reason," Percy lied, looking away from him.

"Right." Jason put his shoe back on the floor and walked away with his hands in the pocket of his white hoodie. He didn't look back once - he just kept walking until he opened the door and disappeared.

Percy gathered his things and went outside to meet with Thalia. Jason would be in football practice until this evening so Percy wouldn't have to worry about running into him for a few hours. He walked out into the school's parking lot and got into Thalia's car where she already was.

"How was school?" She asked.

"Good," Percy muttered.

"Okay, and how are you and Jason?"

"Thalia, I said we're fine."

"You know," she whispered, "you can keep lying to me and we can sit here for hours or you can just tell me the truth."

Percy felt cornered and he decided that there's no other place or time to come clean than the present. He looked at Thalia, into her big blue eyes, with the most serious face he could manage. "It's been hard to be around him."

"Spit it out."

"I feel like you already know."

"Spit it out," she said again.

Percy sighed annoyingly and said, "I have feelings for your brother, okay?"

Thalia smiled. "Yeah, I knew. Just wanted you to say it."

"Are you kidding me?" Percy practically screamed, his face growing hot and red while Thalia laughed and started to drive them home.