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silverwhittlingknife · 1 year

Note

I noticed something in a lot of your Dick and Tim fics. It's probably so obvious, but you always write that Tim is watching Dick. In your newest one, Tim's watching Dick, in The Return Tim's watching Dick, and you even write that Tim is always watching him. Is Tim trying to read Dick? Trying to understand? Or does he understand him by watching? What is he trying to figure out by watching Dick? What does that say about Tim? I really hope this is intentional lmao because I would be embarrassed. Maybe this is just something so obvious that I'm just getting now.

YES IT’S ON PURPOSE <333 Anon. Anon. I'm so sorry this answer took forever, but listen, this was a really delightful ask <333 I think about this a lot. I really love origin stories—I like stories that resonate through a character’s history.

And for me, a whole lot of what interests me about Dick and Tim is that theme of watching and being watched. Seeing and being seen.

"Watch me on the trapeze, Tim. I'm going to do my act...'specially for you." | "Timmy, don't look." | "I turned away... I couldn't watch. Then I heard you crying and I turned back... I'm sorry, Dick. I didn't want to hurt you by telling you all this." Dick's watching me. Gauging my reactions. (Tim watching Dick watching Tim!) | "I'm taking off the blindfold." "No!" | "I can't see him. You can't see him. But I know Robin. And Robin's always there when you need him." | I love that kid. Too much to let him see me like this. (But Tim spots him anyway.)

Spotlights and lighthouses and cameras and photographs. Blindness and vision and masks and detective work and trust.

I'm going to try to be coherent about this but it's gonna be incoherent sdfsf BUT I'M GOING TO TRY so. Below the cut, a really long grab-bag of my rambling on vision and watchers and watching.

Tim + watching / Dick + being watched / different dynamics

Tim's origin story

Being watched goes with vulnerability/exposure

Incomplete list of moments with Dick and Tim and vision

Tim + watching

The first time we see Tim's face in LPoD: a close-up on his eyes looking for Dick, a close-up on his eyes at the moment that he sees Dick, a pullback to his face at the moment of recognition, a pullback to his face + his camera (you could maybe even argue that Tim comes into existence at the moment that he sees Dick, like, conceptually. the act of seeing is his defining characteristic. it is the thing that makes his character happen. he is the kid who's watching.)

Tim's a very vision-centric character: he's first introduced as a camera, then as a pair of binoculars, then as a pair of eyes. His whole backstory is about watching: watching Dick's parents die, watching Dick on TV, watching Batman and Robin. I've grabbed a few panels above with Tim watching Dick but there are so many more. His major deductions are all vision-based: he sees Dick-the-acrobat and later recognizes Dick-as-Robin; he sees Bruce-in-the-past and recognizes him as Bruce-of-our-time; the climactic moment in Red Robin is about going into a dark cave with a torch so he can see what's there.

And he's a detective. He pries into secrets. He analyzes people. He's a worrywart and a fusser who always wants to understand what's going on with other people. In a lot of those panels where Tim's watching Dick, his inner monologue is busy deducing Dick's emotions and trying to psychoanalyze him. Tim's caring and watchful and intuitive... but all those qualities also make him very very intrusive.

Dick + being watched

Dick performing acrobatics for Bruce, Donna, and Tim in Detective Comics 38 (his first appearance), New Teen Titans 16, Batman 441, and Nightwing 88 (where he reflects he's glad to be back in the hot glare of the spotlight)

Dick's a detective too, of course - Tim deliberately mirrors Dick, both in-universe and out-of-universe. But also Dick's a performer who loves being watched and also wants to control how he's seen. He gets a kick out of showing off, making puns, kicking ass, taking names, and he gets a kick out of having an appreciative audience. And he's got a kind of yearning for recognition - it hurts, when Bruce won't look at him, and in fights with Bruce, Babs, Roy, he'll often bring up the past, trying to get them to acknowledge a shared history.

At the same time, he's a very private person who withdraws and hides and pushes people away when he's upset. Right before Tim shows up, Dick's just ghosted the Titans because he's having emotional turmoil and doesn't want to have it in front of them, and they're trying to respect his wishes... but that solitude doesn't last long, because then Tim tracks him down. Tim will do this again when Dick's having an emotional crisis and trying to avoid everybody in Nightwing 110.

Possible dynamics

Tim watches Dick in Robin 11, while silently analyzing Dick's anxieties about Two-Face

"The watcher and the person being watched" is a dynamic that really interests me, partly because it can be so complicated?

You can see in Dick and Tim their very first roles: enthusiastic performer and the enthusiastic audience member. Dick likes to perform and show off and entertain; Tim likes to watch; those are roles they both easily slide into and they have a lot of fun together! But also you can look at the harsher side: the crime victim and the voyeur, the amateur photographer and the guy who hates being photographed. Dick's intensely private about his vulnerabilities; Tim's intrusive and watchful and constantly trying to figure out how other people tick. Sometimes Tim's the caring friend who watches Dick closely, reads him well, understands him; sometimes he's the nosy mini-detective who pries into Dick's secrets. And that's just two different ways of describing the same thing!

One of the things that kinda fascinates me about Dick and Tim's relationship is that in a lot of ways it's built on a bunch of low-key boundary violations. A lot of their early relationship is driven by Tim's desire to know more about Dick vs. Dick's reluctance to get close to anyone from Gotham; Tim's often out-of-line, but without his pushiness, it's hard to see how they would've developed a relationship at all. Later on, their friendlier relationship is marked by Dick teasing and low-key bullying Tim; it's pretty obvious that Tim isn't actually bothered by this, but it does involve Dick ignoring whatever Tim's claiming he doesn't like ("Quit it!" "Shh").

And one of the aspects of those boundary-violations is that Tim has a habit of witnessing things that Dick would prefer that nobody see. Tim's a witness to Dick's first and most miserable tragedy; he sees the aftermath of some of Dick's fights with Bruce; he's there when Donna dies. And he's sharp and observant and analytical, and I like to imagine this as being something Dick's not entirely comfortable with.

When Dick first meets Tim, it's before he's learned to wear a mask. And Tim spends a lot of time trying to see through Dick's masks, and he's pretty good at it, and a lot of that prying comes from love and care, because one of the ways that Tim shows love and respect and admiration is by trying to absorb absolutely everything about you, like a little sponge. But there's also something unsparing and even threatening about the search for the truth of someone else. It can be comforting or threatening, to know someone's watching you.

And I love how all that complexity is wrapped up in Tim's origin story? Both the giddy childish "Watch me on the trapeze" and then the awful grim reality of what Tim actually sees as a result and then the difficult connection when Dick and Alfred finally get Tim to explain how he knows their secret identities.

Tim's origin story

Tim (recounting his origin story in LPoD): My parents held me back as the thing moved to you. I cried out to warn you. (Two panels where we see just Tim's eyes, as he watches a crying Dick. He sees Batman approach and start trying to comfort Dick.)

I think fiction sometimes presents "being understood / seen / known" as an uncomplicatedly good thing, and there's nothing wrong with that! But I like complications, and I like the way Tim's origin story frames that moment of witnessing as difficult and fraught. Tim doesn't want to tell Dick how he knows their secret identities because he thinks it'll hurt Dick to know it: I don't want to hurt you, Dick, and I'm really afraid I might. And he's not wrong. It is painful; it does hurt; it's not something Dick's happy to know.

Dick's a very private person, and there's a painful intimacy to Tim's origin story - it's not Tim's fault he was there, but at the same time, it's not like Dick chose to have the most traumatic moment of his life on stage in front of an audience of strangers, you know? It's kind of a violation. In NTT/NT/Nightwing, Dick's pretty violently hostile to photographers, and he's intensely private about trauma in general, and I like to imagine this as partly a reaction to that foundational trauma of losing the most important people in his life and also doing it publicly.

And Tim's part of that audience. And he sees the worst part, the part that Dick can't talk about. He sees the bodies and the blood. He has nightmares about it for years. He hears Dick crying and sees him holding onto his parents' bodies. Not at all the kind of first impression Dick would want to make. Not at all the kind of person he wants to be seen as. And that understanding can be painful, because it's so close to the bone, and when Tim's just a stranger, it's upsetting, because Tim knows things that Dick would never have chosen for him to know. Their few conversations about it are awkward partly because Tim's thirteen and awkward... but at the same time, it's not Tim's fault so much as the situation! There's no way for Tim to talk about what he saw that wouldn't be uncomfortable for Dick.

... And yet, and yet. Tim's also one of the last people to see the Graysons alive. He sees Dick and his parents together; he even takes a picture with them. He remembers the whole thing so vividly he'll recognize Dick's somersault years later. He sees the grief. And so I think of that connection as kind of a metaphor for witnessing. Tim sees these things and they become real; Dick can't hide from them; in the act of being seen he's caught, he's in a spotlight, all the grief made real. You can't hide, that way. And Tim's got this unforgiving memory; he won't ever forget; he won't ever stop knowing.

But then, too: Dick's seen, he's known. Even at the very beginning, when Tim doesn't know enough to understand what he knows, he knows the important things.

So that shared memory is a barrier and a bond between them. It can be a source of discomfort or a source of comfort. And that's how I think about Tim watching Dick in general - it's complicated, and sometimes Dick's glad of it, and sometimes he resents it, and also it just is, it's a fact of Tim, that Tim watches. It's notable when he's not watching, when he's turned away.

Being watched goes with vulnerability/exposure

So I'm going to talk about the fraught feeling of being watched more in a little bit, but first: I think it's fascinating that Dick likes screwing around with games where Tim can't see!

Here's Nightwing 25 - Dick's come up with the idea of trainsurfing while blindfolded:

Tim: Are you sure this is such a good idea? Dick: Shh! Listen. Tune into the changing sounds and - Tim: I'm not so - Dick: JUMP!

Here's Robin 49 - clambering through a tunnel into No Man's Land:

Dick: Hard not to think about the river. All the water above us. And bugs. This tunnels' probably full of 'em. And rats. Big ones. Big blind rats with teeth as long as -

Here's Gotham Knights 9 - ambushing Tim in a sorta game of hide-and-seek:

Dick: Gotcha! Tim: Augh!

I feel like mmm I don't want to emphasize power dynamics too much because it's easy to overplay it BUT when I think about headcanons it's interesting to me to think about how maybe when Tim can't see, Dick's more in charge / in control, and so he feels more comfortable and less vulnerable, and that's often when he's most relaxed and playing around the most?

Whereas the moments when Tim's looking at him are often a bit more fraught, as here in Lonely Place of Dying:

Tim: I'm sorry, Dick. I really am. I didn't want to hurt you by telling you all this. Dick... Dick: It's all right, Tim. No matter how old you are, there are some things you never forget. Or get over. (Silent panel: Tim's watching Dick as Dick turns away and stares into the window.)

Or here in Nightwing 6, when Tim wakes him up from a nightmare:

Dick (internally, imagining a kid falling): He shouts to me. He always shouts to me. I never hear what he says. Tim: Nightwing! Wake up!

Or here in Gotham Knights 26, when Bruce is accused of murder:

(Silent panel where Tim's watching Dick.) Tim: I'm sorry. This must be hard for you. Dick: Me? Why? Tim: Well, I mean, it'd be one thing if we really knew he was innocent, but as it is - Dick: Wait, what? Stop right there. What are you saying, Tim?

Here's Tim spotting him before he can get away in Nightwing 110:

Dick (watching Tim from a distance, internally): Still, Timmy played it through nice and clean. Disarmed the perps, protected and avoided the cops. Kept any civilians from getting shot. God, I love that kid. Too much to let him see me like this. Tim: Hey! (appearing on the roof above him, fake-cheerful) You weren't gonna leave without saying hi, were you? Dick (looking away, very quietly): Hey, Timmy. Tim: Look at you, man! Back on both feet! Think you're done stopping bullets with your body for a while? Dick: Hope springs eternal. (Silent panel with Tim watching Dick, who's turned away.) Tim: You okay, Dick? Dick: I'm fine. Tim: Well, where're you staying these days? Dick: With some people.

Of course, sometimes Tim's watchfulness is frustrating but also a comfort, as in Detective Comics 874:

Tim (watching Dick, who's looking away): Are you listening to me, Batman? I'm saying the gas the Dealer used on you was powerful stuff. Dick: I'm fine, Red Robin. Besides...you're here now. Tim: You're not fine. And with or without me, you shouldn't be out on patrol ye - Dick: Sshhh. Here they come.

(Later in the comic, Dick mentally concedes that Tim's right that he hasn't really recovered from the gas, and Tim saves him from drowning when he's hallucinating. So Dick feels kind of exposed by the scrutiny, but also... he invited Tim along, so there's trust there, too - Tim's perceptiveness can be a good thing, too, when things are serious.)

Incomplete summary of moments with Dick and Tim and vision

I think I already mentioned a lot of these but here is my LIST

almost the first thing that Dick says to Tim is "watch me on the trapeze, Tim" and then Tim does and he basically never stops watching;

Tim watches Dick's parents die and watches Dick sobbing on-stage and watches him on TV and recognizes him by seeing a particular trick because he's dreamed about Dick doing the trick in his recurring nightmares about that night;

in New Titans 65 which is their very first team-up comic after Tim's origin, Dick's training pre-Robin Tim and gives him a test about watching for details and later Tim's takeaway is "I saw how [the Titans] listened to you";

there's a moment in Showcase '93 12 which is just Tim watching Dick and analyzing what's going on with him and there's another moment in Prodigal which is the same thing;

in Nightwing 6 Tim sneaks into Dick's apartment and hides in the dark and Dick spots him and tackles him; one of their most important bonding comics is Nightwing 25, where Dick insists on blindfolding him to get him to rely less on vision; when they sneak into No Man's Land they're in the dark and Tim can't see again and Dick's teasing him;

there are multiple moments when Tim can't see Dick for a bit and panics about his safety, in Nightwing 25, in No Man's Land, in Transference, in Bruce Wayne: Murderer;

Tim's there watching when Dick's wedding to Kory falls apart and he's there watching when Bruce and Dick fight and he's there watching when Donna dies and he's watching when Dick and Bruce swing together on the night before Infinite Crisis, and when Dick goes down and almost dies in Infinite Crisis we cut to Tim watching and seeing it happen and screaming;

there are multiple moments which are just silent panels of them staring at each other trying to figure out what's going on with each other or having a stand-off - in Bruce Wayne: Murderer, in Resurrection, in Red Robin;

in the aftermath of Donna's death there's a panel where Dick's watching Tim from a distance and not approaching;

in the aftermath of Blockbuster Dick spends half the comic just staring at Tim from a distance and hiding himself because "I love that kid - too much to let him see me like this," but Tim sees him anyway and chases him down and then they lie to each other and *ranting* LISTEN TO ME the whole comic is about Dick trying to AVOID being SEEN both literally but also METAPHORICALLY AND --!!!

(the only thing i'm even as halfway obsessive about for them is the heights thing because also there are a bunch of moments involving falling or Tim being anxious about heights and worried that he'll fall or Dick will fall)

In conclusion

Consider the progression in all these moments where Tim's watching an upset Dick and worrying about him!! From reaching out instinctively-but-pointlessly when he's too far away in the LPoD flashback, to almost reaching out in LPoD but hesitating, to putting a hand on Dick's back to walk him back to the Cave in Gotham Knights 10, to physically dragging him clear of the water in Batman: Black Mirror!

In conclusion I don't have a conclusion but basically YES, "watching Dick" is a core Tim characteristic as far as I'm concerned, and Tim watches Dick a lot and that can mean all kinds of things from admiration to nosy intrusiveness to worry to care to gratitude to trying-to-figure-out-what's-going-on-with-him, and sometimes Dick's resentful and sometimes he's relieved and sometimes he's playful and sometimes it's a mix of all those feelings.

And at first it's always Tim watching Dick, but later you've got Dick watching Tim too, and there's that moment where Dick's secretly watching him fight but Tim spots him in Nightwing 110 and there's a silent panel where Dick's watching him in Resurrection and at the very end of Robin there's a scene where Dick's secretly watching him fight but Tim spots him and in the very last issue of Red Robin Dick's watching the end of the confrontation with Boomerang and in Prodigal Dick's the one who notices his face is bruised and aaaaaaah

Anyway I think they're neat <3

#ask tag #hi anon this is SO old i'm so sorry sdfsfs #if you're still here hi!! <333 #this was such a validating ask to get because as you can probably tell i think about the vision thing constantly #also this is SO long oh man. sorry i just started typing and it went on and on sdfdsf #dick grayson #tim drake #dick & tim #it's like. it's just endlessly fascinating to me because the paparazzi/photography stuff is one of dick's biggest triggers #and tim's introduced as a surreptitious amateur photographer #so there's no WAY they will ever get along #but then there's the Meaningful Photo from before the show #that low-key shows that tim's freaky obsessiveness comes from a place of genuine caring & this moment of real connection #so you have early days!dick kinda vibrating back and forth between 'I DON'T WANT HIM MAKE HIM GO AWAY'#vs. those moments when he IS getting attached to tim kinda against his will sdfsdf #and just. the dichotomy between paying attention as a form of love vs. being watched as a kind of violation and exposure #and that both are kinda the same thing?? and dick deeply craves the first and deeply hates the second #tim shows up being all I REMEMBER and what he remembers is exactly what dick was demanding bruce remember in b416 #but /also/ he remembers /everything/ 'i remember it all' he remembers the graysons dying in incredibly painful detail #and like. kid!tim is very tactless & has only two switches of 'TELL HIM NOTHING' and 'if forced to speak then overshare'#but the tactlessness is a fixable problem and the remembering is /not/#it's not like it's any better for tim to keep his mouth shut & dick to just be painfully /aware/ that he's thinking abt the graysons dying #bc ofc /tim/ remembering forces /dick/ to remember #but!! but also. you know. maybe that remembering /isn't/ entirely a bad thing #and dick's feelings about it can change over time #anyway tim's not the only person that dick has this kind of conflict with - wally & roy sometimes chase him down when he's withdrawing too #and he often doesn't really appreciate it from them either #and dick's not the only person who gets subjected to tim's particular brand of intrusive caring #conner's not thrilled about the dna thing & ives would be within his rights to resent the stalking even though he doesn't #but i am obviously personally most fond of the ways this plays out with dick & tim

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pink-eye-liner · 2 months

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Jason hated the situation he ended up in. Being so far from the girl he grew in love with after spending so many summers together. It was his fault though, he had been to much of a coward to be by her side through a tough time and instead chose to entertain a girl he thought could take his mind off her. He chose Piper, but he wanted Reyna. . .

𝙅𝙪𝙡𝙮 𝙏𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙫𝙚

It was a regular day at Camp Half-Blood, everyone was enjoying their Camp activities and trying to let go of the stress they've acquired from the school year.

Jason on the other hand was trying his best to not crumble away from the guilt that was eating away at him.

He wasn't even where he knew he was supposed to be. Camp Half-Blood wasn't the Camp Jason went to every summer, that Camp was Camp Jupiter.

Yet he was there.

Why?

Because he was too much of a coward to argue against his father, that's why.

He didn't wanna be here, He had no purpose here, yet here he was on an open field completely unfamiliar to him. Bow and arrow in hand because archery was one of the activities at Camp Half-Blood.

"Your form is horrible"

He looked up to see the girl who said that. Brown skin with matching short choppy brown hair with thin braided strands on the sides of her face, and eyes that seemed to change color under the sun. Piper was beautiful, no one would doubt that. He was lucky to have her, but he didn't want to be lucky.

"Really?" Jason said "I don't think it's that bad"

Piper walked closer to Jason and stood behind him "Your back isn't straight and your shoulders are tense" Piper said, she pressed her palm against his back making him fix his posture, before putting them on his shoulders which made him even more tense "Relax, I don't bite" She teased.

Jason could feel her hands through his shirt, they were soft and quite small, though that was expected since Jason was half a foot taller then Piper.

"Somehow I don't believe that" Piper didn't reply and instead just let out a giggle.

Jason looked at her and smiled, he tried to relax his shoulders and put all his focus on the target in front of him. He didn't know why he was taking this so seriously, archery was never really a popular activity on Camp Jupiter, so he never really got around to practicing it. His favorite activity to do at Camp Jupiter was sword training, the camp had a spacious arena with real swords made out of wood.

He and Reyna would spend all their free time battling it out while spitting out trash talk to each other, it didn't help that both of them were extremely competitive. Jason was stronger then Reyna, but she had always been faster, and more agile so their duels were nothing short of exciting. Just thinking about them makes him smile.

Reyna would get this determined look on her face whenever he would ask her to spar, followed by a quick witty remark. She would tie her long black hair into a low pony tail before each of their battles- that's how you know she was getting serious- then let it down when they finished. Just thinking about 𝘩𝘦𝘳 makes him smile

"Are you not gonna shoot?" Piper's voice snaps him out of his daydream, he unintentionally lets go of the arrow and completely misses the target. Jason sighed at his failure meanwhile Piper tried to surpass a laugh "Don't worry, you'll get better" She said "We have all summer together after all"

Yeah... All summer...

𝙇𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧'𝙨 𝙨𝙪𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙧 had been an unforgettable one, unfortunately not for good reason.

Everything started out normal. Everyone was happy, games were played, Camp fire songs were sung, and marshmallows were roasted.

It wasn't until the end of the summer where things got bad for Camp Jupiter

𝘼𝙪𝙜𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙉𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧

Jason had just got done with arts and crafts and went off to find Reyna.

He spoted her looking after the younger Campers near the lake wearing a swim vest on top of a purple Camp Jupiter T-shirt with some black shorts. He went over to her and struck up a conversation.

"Has anyone drowned yet?" He asked in a sarcastically

"No" Reyna said as she crossed her arms above her chest "But you will if you start getting annoying" It was safe to say that Reyna was not impressed by his joke, but Jason laughed at her response anyway.

"Calm down" He said "I was just trying to lighten your mood. You always seem so tense when you're looking after younger campers"

"Of course, since we've been going to this camp for 8 years, that makes us senior Campers, and it is our job to make sure that the younger ones are safe and have fun" Reyna explained, the way she said it in such a graceful and pristine manner would have made people think that she had political training.

"Is that what you really think or do you just feel responsible because your parents own this place" Jason asked, Reyna elbowed his ribcage earning an "OW!" From Jason.

"Don't mistake responsibility for culpability, Jason Grace" Reyna said

"Whatever you say, your majesty" Jason joked but Reyna only rolled her eyes

"You're one to talk" Reyna said

Jason looked at Reyna would curious confusion "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You've never once stepped a toe out of line, you learn the rules and follow them to a T, you never make assumptions and always try to listen to more then one side of a story" Reyna explained "I mean, I like that about you, but damn you are uptight"

"That's because my father would make me do very fun things whenever I do something he doesn't approve of. You seem to like the kind of power struggle we have going on around at Camp" Jason playfully taunted as he poked a finger at her shoulder

"I do not! Plus I'm not listening to a Nepo Baby" Reyna said while swatting his hand away

"Hey!" Jason yelled, Reyna laughed at his offended look which made Jason roll his eyes but also feel warm on the inside because he loves to hear her laugh "You know- you just hurt one of your campers feelings" Jason said, referring to himself "That's not very responsible if you, Reyna"

Reyna's laughter started to fade so she just looked at him with a smile.

The pair had a moment of silence for a couple of seconds, taking in the scenery around them and blushing when their hands accidentally brushed against each others.

"Ehm... Speaking of responsibilities" Reyna said "A few new campers wanted to try the rock climbing wall but needed a senior camper to supervise, so I told our Camp director that you'd do it"

"Alright" Jason's said "when?"

"In about 20 minutes, so you better go now"

"Seriously? Now?" Jason said in an overly dramatic way with a frown on his face "We just started hanging out and you wanna get rid of me so soon?" He put his hand in a fist and placed it on his chest where his heart should be to insinuate it being crushed.

Reyna just laughed at him again and took his hand in her own and looked at him "Don't be so dramatic" She said while looking at him. His sky-blue eyes meeting her dark midnight blue ones "We've had quite the summer together, haven't we?" Reyna said as she smiled at him.

Jason blushed and turned his head away from her. They bid their goodbyes and Jason went off to the rock climbing wall. Where everything would eventually go wrong.

𝙅𝙪𝙣𝙚 𝙏𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙫𝙚

"YOU WANT TO TELL ME THAT THIS WAS ALL JUST AN ACCIDENT?! HAVE YOU SEEN THE STATE MY SON WAS IN?!" A woman that looked like she was in her late 40s yelled.

Sitting in the spectator seats in the courtroom, unable to do anything other watch her father get yelled at by this woman- Reyna tried her very best to put on a brave face.

Last summer had been so messy that even now- a brand new summer year has come and it still hasn't been cleaned yet.

Her father had insisted that she should be at Camp J and not here and she agrees, none of this should have been happening.

She should be spending time with her friends at Camp J as they all teased her about Jason, hearing how they couldn't believe that they weren't a couple yet despite being so close for over 8 years.

Despite the disaster of last year, she hoped that she and Jason would finally get together, but Jason didn't even attend Camp J this year. She knew that it was probably because his father didn't want him to continue going there because of this scandal, but even so, she expected to at least receive an update from him. Even though it was unlikely since he also hasn't been answering her texts nor picking up her calls. She can understand why but it still made her mad that Jason couldn't stand up to his father.

𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳

They used to spend hours and hours texting and talking on the phone. He would talk to her about fencing and the dozen other after school clubs his dad would make him take while also ranting about how terrifying his dad could be sometimes. While Reyna would talk about her day and occasionally rant about annoying customers she would encounter while working at her after school job.

It was hard to believe that she can't even get a hold of him now.

They went to two different schools in two different states so the only time they got to see each other face to face was during the summer, despite that, the distance was never a problem between them, they were best friends, they found a way to talk to each other, yet the one time of the year where they were supposed to be together and he's not here.

"I completely understand" Reyna's Father pleaded "We are willing to compensate and take responsibility-"

"IF YOU WANNA TAKE RESPONSIBILITY THEN SHUT THAT PLACE DOWN!" A man that looked to be the same age as the woman cut off Reyna's father mid sentence.

This was torturous.

"Alright alright, Mr. and Mrs. Harris please calm down" The Judge said as he hit his gravel against the table in an attempt to get everyone to settle down.

"Your honor... How could you expect two parents to calm down? Especially after this?" The woman- Mrs Harris- argued. Everyone could see the way her eyebrows furrowed as her face wrinkled in anger " I sent my son to that summer Camp thinking that it would be good for him- you know- get away from screens and do some physical activities. I expected him to get home to me in one piece at the end of the summer, not suddenly get a phone call telling me that he sustained major injuries after falling off the rock climbing wall! And I certainly didn't expect the cause to be old faulty equipment that you couldn't bother to replace!"

"For the last time Madam, we buy new equipment every two years, that couldn't have been the real reason" Reyna's father reasoned "Besides, isn't it too much to ask our Camp to shut down? It's not like the kid died"

Reyna winced at the last sentence her father said, or rather, shouldn't have said.

This of course made Mrs Harris loose her mind.

"EXCUSE ME?! WOULD YOU PREFERRED IT IF HE DID?! EVEN IF HE DIDN'T DIE HE WAS STILL HEAVILY INJURED!" Reyna's dad went silent. Mrs. Harris' lawyer was trying to calm her down.

Reyna began to drown out the noise in the courtroom, she reached into her pocket to pull out her phone, she scrolled through her messages and clicked on the one titled "Blonde Boy 💝" where Reyna sent a walls of messages to Jason

𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 :

𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙙? :

𝙋𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙬𝙚𝙧 :

𝙄𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙙𝙤𝙣'𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙖 𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙠 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩

𝙞𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩'𝙨 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙚, 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙡𝙮:

𝘼𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙊𝙠? :

𝙅𝙖𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚 𝙄 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤

𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙙 :

He didn't reply to a single one, but she knew that he saw them, Jason was not the type to leave their messages unread.

Reyna gripped the phone on her hand until the tip of her fingers turned red. She hated Jason at this moment, for not being right next to her, for disappearing, and for not answering her texts. But despite that she still desperately tried to reach him.

She typed and erased messages to send to him over and over again, not knowing what else to say, until she felt a tap on she shoulder. Reyna looked up and saw her father.

"The judge called for a recess" Her father said with kind but tired eyes "c'mon let's get something to eat, you must be starving" Reyna nodded and got up from her seat. Walking next to her father, Reyna looked at her phone again, she deleted the message she typed and started typing a new one.

𝙊𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧'𝙨 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧

𝘾𝙖𝙢𝙥 𝙅𝙪𝙥𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙪𝙩 𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙣, 𝙞𝙛

𝙞𝙨 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙨𝙪𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙤𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣

𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚... 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙢𝙚 :

𝘼𝙪𝙜𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙏𝙬𝙤

𝙍𝙚𝙮𝙣𝙖 👑: 𝙊𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧'𝙨 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚

𝙛𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙘𝙖𝙢𝙥 𝙅𝙪𝙥𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙪𝙩 𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙣, 𝙞𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙨𝙪𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙤𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧

𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚... 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙢𝙚

Jason had read and reread that message a pathetic amount of times over the month so much so that the message was embedded in his head.

𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘔𝘦

𝘚𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘦

Reyna was openly saying that she wanted to spend the rest of summer with him like they were supposed to, and God knew that he wanted the same, he wanted nothing else in fact.

"Your food's gonna get cold if you just stare at it, Jason" Jason looked at Thalia- his older sister- as she continued to eat

"Do you not like Barbeque? I could ask our Head Councilor to get you something else if you want" Piper asked, kind and considerate as always, now he was starting to feel bad.

"Oh no, I'm good, just... Thinking about stuff..."

"What kind of stuff?" Piper asked

"Just... Stuff" Jason answered

"... Okay... I'm gonna grab a plate of fruit, you want some too?"

"Yeah sure, why not"

"Grab me one too if you don't mind" Thalia said

"Alright, I'll be back in a bit" Piper said before leaving the two alone in the little picnic table they were sitting on.

"She's nice" Thalia said "Pretty too. Mom picked a good one for yah"

"Why is mom so quick to try and pair me up with some random girl that goes to my school who I've bearly even talked to until now? She knows that I-..." Jason stopped talking and closed his mouth. He thought about Reyna 24/7 ever since the accident but couldn't bring himself to talk about her or even mention her name. Jason gripped his spoon as a dark cloud loomed over his face.

Thalia placed her utensils down as she looked at her younger brother

"Then why are you going along with this?" Thalia asked

"What?"

"I'm asking why you're going along with this, Jason. Why didn't you put up a fight when dad told you that he was pulling you out of Camp Jupiter and signing yung up here in Camp Half-Blood?"

"I-..."

"When mom told you that there was a girl she wanted you to get close to, why did you say "sure" ?"

"Well I-"

"Why do you always say yes to Piper whenever she asks if you two can hang out?"

"Because I-"

"Why did you tell mom that you and Piper were getting along well?"

"Because we-"

"And why are you leading both Piper and Reyna on?"

Jason was getting pretty irritated since Thalia was asking him all these questions but wasn't letting him answer them, but her last question had him speechless. So instead of answering he took a bite out of a barbecue skewer and stared off into space.

Thalia sighed and placed a hand on Jason's shoulder

"Listen, J... I don't know a lot about Reyna, I don't know a lot about Piper either. But I have seen you with both of them and honestly... Your smile is a lot bigger when you're with Reyna and you have a long history with her, but you care way to much about what she thinks of you. You're not like that with Piper, with Piper, you don't care, you act however you want, you act like yourself. I'm not trying to get you to choose one over the other but if you don't, then you're gonna end up with neither one of them"

Jason stared at his plate. Thalia was right, but he didn't need to be told who to choose. He didn't even have to contemplate. He wanted Reyna, he knew he wanted Reyna, but Reyna wasn't easy, if he wanted to be with Reyna then he was gonna need to do something his father would not approve of, and God knows how much he doesn't wanna do that.

"I know..." Jason said "I just don't know whether or not I can put up a fight"

"Don't worry, you can, and you will" Thalia said, taking her hand off his shoulder.

Jason smiled at her before he saw reddish-brown smudge on his shoulder

"Eww, you got barbeque sauce on my shirt!" Jason exclaimed trying to wipe it off with a tissue.

"No I didn't!" Thalia argued

"Yes you did, It's right there!" Jason said, pointing the obvious stain on his orange shirt.

"There's nothing there!"

"Yes there is!"

The two of them bickered until Piper came back with the plates of fruit.

That night he couldn't sleep again, but not because Reyna sent him another text. This time, he was wondering if and how he can stop being such a coward.

He got up, reached for his phone, and dialed a number.

"Hey Leo, sorry calling you in the middle of the night but... I need a favor..."

𝘼𝙪𝙜𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙀𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙚𝙚𝙣

Jason wrote a letter. It wasn't a very long one, but he knew that the words in that piece of paper could get Mrs. Harris to drop the lawsuit, though it would cost him a lot.

𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘔𝘳. 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘔𝘳𝘴. 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘴

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘊𝘢𝘮𝘱 𝘑𝘶𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘢𝘶𝘭𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳'𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘫𝘶𝘳𝘺.

𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘦.

𝘖𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘥𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘵 𝘊𝘢𝘮𝘱 𝘑𝘶𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳.

𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺, 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘣𝘺 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘺.

𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘯𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘬, 𝘐 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭 1-2 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘭, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘢 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵. 𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘣 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘰 20 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢 𝘧𝘢𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘺 𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘯𝘰𝘵.

𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘫𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦.

𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘥𝘶𝘮𝘣, 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥

𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘶𝘱𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳'𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴

𝘚𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺

- 𝘑𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦

Miraculously it worked. Mr. And Mrs. Harris dropped the charges at Camp J and went after Jason- or more accurately his father- instead. He didn't really know what took place between Mr. And Mrs Harris, his father, and both their lawyers, but he imagined that his father had to pull some strings to satisfy the couple.

Strings that his father was definitely not happy to pull by the look on his face after he demanded that Jason be pulled out of summer camp and be brought home.

"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?!" His father yelled, Jason tried his best not to flinch '𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦, 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦' he thought.

"I wasn't" Jason answered.

"CLEARLY!" Jason's father started to make his way towards him until they were standing only 2 feet apart. Jason felt his father harshly grab his jaw, forcing him to look at his father's face which was red with fury.

"I have given you 𝙀𝙑𝙀𝙍𝙔𝙏𝙃𝙄𝙉𝙂, Jason. A roof over your head, a good school- I even pay hundreds of dollars every year so that you can attend that damn summer camp you love so much, and this is how you repay me?" Mr. Grace said, there were no traces of the doting father he never was in his tone. He so sounded harsh and cold that it made Jason wanna break down, get on his knees and apologize.

"You embarrassed my name and made me LOOK LIKE A DAMN FOOL IN FRONT OF THOSE PEOPLE" Jason father let go of Jason's jaw before grabbing his cane and using it to hit Jason on the head so hard that he fell off his feet as blood started pouring out of his forehead.

Jason looked up to find his father glaring daggers at him while he pointed his cane in his direction.

"If I had known that you would be this worthless then I would have abandoned you in a forest for wolves to eat"

That was the last thing his father said before walking out of the room.

It hurt.

The wound on his forehead and his father's words. He knew that he didn't actually do anything wrong, but they still hurt.

Jason spent the rest of the summer locked in his room with no phone, he didn't mind since summer would basically be over next week. He read and reread books to keep himself entertained but he thought about Reyna and Camp Jupiter constantly.

When they first learned about the law suit Reyna was restless. Constantly asking her parents for updates about the situation, checking and re-checking the equipment they used in other activities, at one point, she even tried to contact Mr. and Mrs. Harris to beg them to let go of the charges, of course that attempt was un successful.

It hurt Jason to see her so worried and anxious, it hurt to see how hard she would try to told back her tears and look okay when they were together because everyone knew how much she loves Camp Jupiter.

How could she not?

She basically grew up there.

Jason loved that place too.

How could he not?

He spent the best moments of his life there.

He couldn't bear the though of it all just... Shutting down.

Just thinking about it kept him up at night.

He knew that it was unethical to create a false confession letter, but in his mind it was the easiest way, plus him being there when it happened made his confession more believable. Besides, he knew that nothing too bad would actually happen to him.

His father was a wealthy man that could get Jason out of whatever BS he gets himself into. He couldn't bare to have people know how much of a screw up his son was. Especially since his father cared more about his reputation than him.

There was another thing keeping Jason up at night, and it was this nagging voice in his head that constantly asked if it was a good idea that he used himself as a scapegoat so that Reyna’s parents would come out innocent when they weren't.

Faulty equipment was the reason Oliver fell.

He was there, he would know.

Oliver had told him that he was well acquainted with rock climbing, and since Jason had been looking after 15 other campers that were younger then Oliver. He let him do his own thing.

He now realizes that he probably should have been looking after him as well but he was too busy helping out the younger kids that when Oliver screamed and fell, there was nothing he could do expect call for paramedics.

𝘼𝙪𝙜𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙏𝙬𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙮-𝙨𝙞𝙭

It was the beginning of theschool year again, meaning that he got his phone back.

His text messages were open and his finger was hovering over a contact name titled "Reyna 👑"

He had a thousand words he wanted to say to her yet he couldn't type a single one. He ended up sitting completely still while starring at his phone for the entirety of his first class. The only thing that snapped him back into reality was the sound of the bell.

"Here, you're gonna need this" He looked at Piper who had been sitting next to him the entire time as she placed a notebook down on his desk. "These are my notes. Our teacher, Mr Smith kept the orientation short and jumped right into his lesson"

"Uh- thanks" Jason reached for the notebook but something in him stopped him from doing so. She expects something from him, or more specifically. She expects to be a certain 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 to him.

"𝙒𝙝𝙮 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙗𝙤𝙩𝙝 𝙍𝙚𝙮𝙣𝙖 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙋𝙞𝙥𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙣?" He remembers her sister saying. He didn't wanna lead anyone on.

He took a deep breath and put his hands down on his lap.

"Listen Piper, umm... Maybe we should talk" Jason said, he looked around the classroom and saw that everyone had already left to go to their next class.

"Okay... What?"

"I'm sorry... I know that- you have feelings for me and... You're a great girl, anyone would be lucky to have you but... There's someone else I'm pining for" Jason waited for a response from Piper, he waited for her to yell at him or something but she didn't, instead she asked something he didn't expect.

"Is it that girl, Reyna?" Piper asked, her fists were clenched under her table.

"How- how did you know about her?"

"I over heard your conversation with Thalia after I grabbed us some fruit. She sounds like someone special to you" Her voice cracked at the last sentence, she didn't know why she had caught such strong feelings for a guy she doesn't really know. They had gone to the same school for over 5 years but have bearly talked, but still.

She would admire him from afar as he talked and laughed with his friends almost daily. He was a nice guy, friendly and fair to everyone, so it felt like a daydream having spent an entire summer with him. It made her feel like she had a chance.

"Yeah... She is special... And I know that you are too for someone out there just... Not me"

𝙊𝙪𝙘𝙝

"Can't we just-... Try...? Try this and see if this works out?"

"We can't"

"Why not?"

"Because we'd just be lying to ourselves by trying to make it work, I would know... I did" Throughout the summer Jason 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥, he really 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 to forget about Reyna. It was a selfish move but that was why he entertained Piper and made her think that 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 would happen between them.

"A lie?" Piper said, the heartbreak in her voice was audible "What do you mean " You would know"? "

"I-"

"Jason I know that- that I'm comparable to Reyna and that we haven't spent as much time together but I thought that this- this summer would... 𝘔𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 to you"

Jason stayed silent, it seemed like all his stupid decisions have finally caught on to him, he knew he couldn't afford to make more, he knew he had end this.

"One summer doesn't compare to eight, Piper... Listen I do like you but-"

"You 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 me, but you 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 her" Tears threatened to escape Piper's eyes, but she held it in.

"Yeah... That's right... I'm sorry Piper, but I don't hold any romantic feelings for you" Jason said, he hoped that phrasing it that way instead of directly saying 'I don't love you' would soften the blow but unfortunately that didn't seem to be the case as tears finally started running down Piper's cheeks.

"I see... I'll uh-... I'll see you later then" She said before storming out of the classroom, leaving Jason and forgetting her notebook.

He looked at the notebook for a while, then looked at his phone, more specifically the contact number titled "Reyna 👑"

He knew he didn't deserve someone like Piper. So he probably didn't deserve someone like Reyna either.

With a heavy heart, he put his phone back into his pocket, grabbed Piper's notebook, and headed to his next class.

#hoo #heroes of olympus #pjo #jason grace #reyna avila ramirez arellano #piper mclean #thalia grace #leo valdez #I wrote this story for a schol competition and wanted to share it to people because i crave validation #if I don't win #I'll cry #Tell me what you think please #mutual pining #jason x reyna

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