Chapter Text
Sounds of obnoxious laughter invades his senses and jolts him out of whatever trance he was caught in. His body is being rocked back and forth and it isn’t until he feels the scratches on what appears to be a leather seat that he realizes he’s on a bus. The smell is ungodly, a mix of hot sweat with unholy body odor stirred around in a steamy hot metal box. He would gag if the scent isn’t something he’s used to. He doesn’t know why, but it isn’t something that causes him alarm.
What does, though, is someone whispering a name and poking his arm repeatedly.
“ Jason. Jason? Jason, wake up, okay .” He doesn’t know who Jason is or what it has to do with him, but the voice does sound pretty worried. He cracks open his right eye and is met with someone so beautiful, it hurts.
“Jason? There you go. I was starting to get worried.” Her face, scrunched up with concern, brightens with a smile and Jason can’t do anything but stare. She doesn’t look real. Her skin is so smooth it’s almost blurry and her presence is so entrancing.
He doesn’t realize he’s leaning into her until a second pair of hands settle on his shoulders and pull him back.
“No PDA when I’m around, Dory.”
The girl shoots the boy a hard glare. “ Leo. ”
“What?!”
“You know Jason doesn’t like that name.”
“What’re you talking about? He’s perfectly fine with it.”
“You’re making fun of his amnesia, Leo. It’s ableist.”
“Able–what?”
The two begin to bicker back and forth with each other and he tunes them out. His head feels so foggy; like he’s living, but not really in control. It’s dizzying and the more he tries to piece things together, it only gets worse.
He isn’t looking at the girl anymore so there’s nothing distracting him from taking in his surroundings. He is on a bus, a rather short one too. There are teens who look to be around his age, which, honestly, he isn’t sure how old he is. That’s concerning. His body is sore, like he’s been asleep for a while and anxiety is brimming at his heart to a painful degree.
He can’t panic now. Something is telling him to chill out and just play along.
Never alert the enemies of what you know.
A sharp pain rings through his head and he hisses, clutching his hair in a tight grip.
“Hey, hey, hey, don’t do that.” Soft hands tug him free of his grip and kaleidoscope eyes are on him again. “Are you back with us?”
He doesn’t know what the memory meant, the words so clear in his mind he could’ve said them himself. But he isn’t stupid. If an ominous voice is instructing him to do something, he better listen to it.
‘ Never alert the enemies, huh ’ He thinks to himself, observing the girl with cautious eyes. She doesn’t seem like an enemy, but they’re often the most dangerous. He needs to be cautious.
From what he gathered so far, his name is apparently Jason and he has amnesia. He assumes the small boy; Leo, is his friend and the girl must be Jason’s… girlfriend ? Partner? Or maybe they’re just friends too. Public displays of affection can apply to anyone. At least that’s what Rey…Ray…someone once told him. He thinks? This amnesia thing is so confusing.
“I think he’s having another episode.” The girl says to Leo without breaking eye contact. Jason offers her a small smile.
“I’m fine. I just have a small headache.”
Leo and the girl share a look.
“Superman admitting he’s hurt? Yeah, he’s definitely having another episode.”
Jason splutters “Episode? What? No, I’m fine–”
“No can do, Wonder boy. I got it handled, don’t I Piper?”
The girl, Piper, rolls her eyes fondly and shrugs at Jason like ‘what’re we going to do with him?’.
Leo pulls a piece of paper out his pocket and clears his throat dramatically. “Your name is Jason Grace, seventeen, and you have dissociative amnesia, meaning you’ll forget information about yourself or other things, have a distorted sense of reality, and can be detached from your emotions. I’m Leo, your super hot, super sexy best friend who you love and adore and gives me whatever I want–”
“Leo !”
He holds his hand up in surrender “Fine, fine. Sitting to your right is your super beautiful, super amazing, girlfriend who is the best person on the entire earth and galaxies beyond–”
“Leo, I’ll literally rip your tongue out your throat.”
“Kinky.” He sends a wink to Piper and turns back to Jason “Don’t you love her? We are on a bus because we are all delinquents and the government believes ‘technology’ is the problem or whatever and now we’re forced to go on a stupid Wilderness retreat with stupid people.”
“Speak for yourself, Vaseline.” A new voice spits out. He’s sitting across from Leo, him and what Jason can only guess as his entourage, smirking cheekily towards them.
“It’s Valdez .”
“Same difference. Maybe if you got yourself a real last name, I’ll remember it better.”
“Maybe if you weren’t a racist t piece of shit then you’ll actually have a d*ck bigger than your brain, which isn’t saying much, fucking loser” Piper bites back, tone laced with venom.
His minions ‘oohs’ and the guy’s face contorted like a rotting raisin. “You’re one to talk, Mc Clean . You’re nothing without your daddy’s money. Maybe you should think about why you’re here with these so-called ‘losers’ and he’s out there living his best life without you.”
Jason feels hot rage boiling inside him. He sees the way his girlf–Piper deflates, backing herself into the corner of her seat. He hates the way her eyes are watering, they way she is desperately trying to appear strong, but it’s obvious the comment did it’s job.
“Don’t talk to her like that.” Jason growls. Actually growls. It feels good, feels familiar. Something in his chest clicks at the first sign of ‘right’ he’s felt since he woke up.
The *sshole shrinks back, but holds his ground “What are you, Grace, a god? You could barely remember who you are, much less tell me what to do.”
“Fuck off, Dylan. Don’t act like you weren’t salivating over Piper not even two hours ago. Don’t you have an ass to sniff or animal shelter to blow up?”
Dylan turns furious at Leo’s words, his pale cheeks dusted with a light pink. “Whatever, Lopez. Not like you can bag any bitches anyway.”
“Enough.” Jason commands, standing up from his seat. Way too quickly. The edges of his vision go white and he sits abruptly back down on the seat, head spinning.
He hears Dylan and his friends laugh. “Whatever, Grace. You guys are pathetic.” He turns back in his seat, finally leaving them alone.
Leo whistles lowly. “That was intense.”
Piper nods slowly, like she isn't all there.
"You okay, Pipes?" The nickname came so natural to him that Jason almost startles. It must be the right thing to say as Piper straightens up immediately.
"I'm okay. It's Dylan, he can't really think past his smell." She laughs lightly and Jason can't help but be pulled into it. Maybe they really are dating. "But I'm more concerned about you. How's your head?"
Jason shrugs "It's been better, I'm sure."
"Do you have your memory back yet?"
Jason hesitates. He could lie to Leo, saying he's all fine and remembers everything from the breakfast he ate yesterday to his first birthday. But he has no reason to lie to them. He feels like he can trust them, so he does."No. I practically know nothing."
"Well you knew to stand up for me. That has to count for something, right?"
"Yeah, I guess it does."
A loud whistle rings through the bus and Jason winces, as does everyone else "All right, you knuckle-headed vermins" A short man yells, swinging a bat around in his hand "We've arrived!"
Jason looks over Piper's shoulder and out the window. They seem to be on a cliff, the sky darkening ominously. When he looks back at what he assumes to be their supervisor, the man is already staring back at Jason with a suspicious squint. He feels his eyes widen, but he can't break contact. What if this is the enemy the voice of his memories was talking about? What if Jason doesn't belong?
But the man turns away, yelling at the driver to open the doors.
A hand squeezes his "Hey, Jace. We'll do this together, okay."
"Yup. You, me and Piper. Whatever you need bud, we'll help you with."
Jason gives them a small smile, but something tells him things are about to get a lot more complicated.