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Jason stared at his phone, watching the three bubbles that indicate typing moving, and moving, and moving. He was used to that when texting Leo; when you and your best friend both have dyslexia, texting isn't necessarily the go-to method of communication, but Jason's dormmate was here and Leo was doing gods know what and decided texting was the better option.
Jason's phone vibrated, and he looked at the text, struggling to read Leo's text.
EveryoneLovesLeo69: just think abot it i knsw its crazy
Jason frowned. He reread the previous texts, all exchanged within the span of ten minutes. It wasn't enough time to process the insane request Leo was making.
EveryoneLovesLeo69: hey so you know jow calypso is gonna be at the party this saturdya
EveryoneLovesLeo69: drews party
EveryoneLovesLeo69: and you know how we beoke yp again two momths ago
EveryoneLovesLeo69: dont tell me it sjould be permannt this time i will cry (no i womt)
EveryoneLovesLeo69: well nayways
EveryoneLovesLeo69: i wss thinking maybe i should make her jealosu lol so like
EveryoneLovesLeo69: wanna be fake boyfriends
JasonGrace.7.1: Leo what the fuck?
Before he could continue reading the (rather hair pulling) conversation, his phone buzzed again. Leo had sent a playful photo of him fake-pleading, black eyes sparkling and lips dramatically pouted. His black curly hair was damp, as if he were just in the shower. He was wearing a t-shirt Jason had bought him.
Jason looked at the photo and groaned, not even trying to fight the heat rising in his cheeks. He knew this was a battle he would lose.
Jason could never say no to Leo.
JasonGrace.7.1: Can I at least have some time to think?
Jason was grateful for the existence of autocorrect as he typed. His spelling was usually bad, but gods, was he too nervous to even type properly.
He watched the three bubbles again, glaring at them as if it were their fault Jason was in this predicament. Jason's phone buzzed again.
EveryoneLovesLeo69: yes thank yuo superman !!!!!
EveryoneLovesLeo69: just tell me before sturday pls k byeee
Jason sighed and closed his phone. He leaned his head on the wall, biting his lip anxiously as he tried to think straight.
Jason couldn't do this. He'd do something that would give away the fact that he absolutely, incredibly, liked Leo Valdez. He also knew he couldn't say no to Leo. Saying no just wasn't possible around him.
He stared at his phone again. Gods, Leo never understood the feelings he put Jason through.
Jason started his day off as usual. He woke up early, went to the gym, washed up, and went to his lecture. His morning, overall, was uneventful. To be fair, that was how most mornings felt since he’d entered his third year of university. He either actively seeked out the fun or accepted the level of normal his life had fallen into.
He finished his lecture in the afternoon, and he started his walk back to his dorm when his phone started to buzz in his pocket. He pulled it out to be met by an incoming call from Piper. He smiled.
"Hey," Jason said after picking up.
"Hey, Sparks. Wanna meet up for lunch? It's on me," Piper's voice spoke through the phone.
Jason laughed. "You know you don't have to bribe me to hang out with you."
"Not bribing, just investing," Piper joked. "Where do you wanna meet up?"
"Cafe Helios in fifteen?"
"I'll be there."
That's how Jason found himself at the local coffee shop, sitting in the corner with Piper as they drank from their respective cups.
People often found it weird that the pair were still friends. Jason found it only made sense. After going no contact for months, Jason moved on, and Piper realised she was a lesbian. They met up to talk about it and found the love was still there, just... platonic? She teased him about his track record of being every lesbian's compulsory heterosexual crush, and he pouted and jokingly vowed off dating women, and they put whatever mess their relationship was behind them to build a long lasting and, frankly, much more stable friendship.
So it made sense to Jason. He didn't really care what others thought of their unusual friendship. They were happy, and twenty, and much smarter people than they were at sixteen, and that's all that mattered, didn’t it?
They chatted as they drank, Piper taking sips of her black coffee in between telling Jason updates about her university lectures.
"...literally hate that class. I don’t even know why I’m taking it, it’s not like it’s mandatory."
Jason couldn't help but smile at her enthusiastic hatred towards the class she was talking about. It was funny how passionately she despised it, and it wasn’t like he was about to talk; he knew she just needed to let off some steam, not be given advice.
When she finished, she took a sip of her coffee then raised her dark eyebrows at Jason, brown eyes making contact with Jason's blue ones.
"So what's been going on with you?" she asked as if she hadn’t just gone on a long rant. She put down her cup as she looked at him.
Jason bit his lip. He didn't know if he should tell Piper about the text exchange with Leo, or if he should keep it to himself. He knew he would end up making the worse of the two decisions simply because he could never say no to Leo, and maybe because he liked having an excuse to be touchy with him. Could he even tell Piper that without making her faceplant?
"Hey, Sparky," Piper snapped him out of his thought process. "Whatever it is, don't overthink it. Tell me if it feels right."
Jason sighed before looking up at Piper. "Are you going to the party this weekend?"
Piper raised an eyebrow. "Drew's party?"
"Yeah."
"Nah. Don't wanna rip my own hair out," Piper joked. Jason sometimes forgot she and Drew didn't get along. Jason sometimes forgot they were sisters . "And anyways, I’m busy on Saturday. Date night. Why are you asking?"
Jason sighed, taking his time to word this right so Piper didn't kill him or Leo.
"You know how Leo and Calypso broke up again?" Jason started slowly. Piper looked at him, eyebrows furrowed. "He wanted my help to get her jealous this weekend. He... He wants me to pretend to be dating him?"
Piper gasped, eyes widening. "Jason, you're fucking with me, right?"
He grimaced. "I wish."
"You told him no?"
"...I didn't tell him yes."
"Jason!"
Jason raised his hands up to his face defensively, grimacing again at Piper's bewildered expression. "Look, I know it seems bad—"
"In case you've forgotten, you have the biggest crush on him, Sparky, and he's still chasing the same woman for three years." Jason also often forgot how much Piper disapproved of their relationship. She'd told Leo this multiple times, and despite their close friendship, Leo never heard her out.
Jason sighed. "I know it's a bad idea, but..."
“But?”
He could feel Piper's eyes on him, piercing through him, reading the entire situation on his face. She sighed, and when she finally spoke, she spoke carefully.
"I don't think I can talk you out of this. I just... Be careful, okay? I don't want you breaking your heart because Leo still wants Calypso," Piper said, rolling her eyes at the last part.
Jason smiled weakly. "I will be. No heartbreaks this weekend."
Piper looked at him with a grimace as if she knew that was an empty promise; she could always see right through him.
Jason tried to smile encouragingly, but Piper's face clearly showed it wasn't working. They continued to chat, and before Jason knew it, they said their goodbyes, and Jason was on his way to his dorm.
On the way, he pulled out his phone, rereading the texts between him and Leo.
EveryoneLovesLeo69: wanna be fake boyfriends
Jason's eyes lingered on the word fake, feeling his heartstrings tug. He squeezed his eyes shut, lulling himself to stop thinking about that.
This weekend was his only excuse to actually be with Leo, to shower him with affection he'd been holding back for the past two years. Maybe it would be good for him. Maybe he was in denial about how bad this plan was.
Jason pressed the speech-to-text button before speaking. Before hitting send, he reread the message.
JasonGrace.7.1: Hey, remember what you asked me to do during Drew's party? I'm down.
It only took thirty seconds for Leo to reply.
EveryoneLovesLeo69: jason i ficking adore you
Jason tried to stop his cheeks from turning red.
Saturday came quicker than Jason was ready for. He woke up and went to the gym and washed up, and by the time he was back at his dorm, it was only twelve pm.
He opened his phone, checking his texts. Some reels from Percy, a couple of messages about their university project from Frank and Hazel, a photo of Reyna and Thalia sent by the latter, and a text from Piper.
Jason sent some heart emojis to Thalia before opening his chat with Piper.
MclPiper: you sure you don’t want me to come? I will if you want me to.
Jason took a deep breath. Piper had offered to come to the party for support, but Jason felt guilty asking her to. If Piper had to cancel her date with Shel just to watch Jason find a way to break his own heart, he wouldn’t forgive himself.
Jason pressed the speech to text button.
JasonGrace.7.1: No, it’s okay. Thank you.
He had a chat with Hazel and Frank over the project and watched the reels Percy sent before taking his laptop out and trying to study. It was hard, though, when all he could think about was the party. He fidgeted with his pen as his eyes glazed over the powerpoint, not really taking in a single word. When his phone buzzed, Jason was grateful for the distraction.
It was a call from Leo. Jason swallowed before accepting.
“Hey, babe,” Leo said playfully.
Jason ignored how his heart skipped a beat. “Hey, Leo.”
“You ready for our date today?”
“It’s a party and a fake relationship.”
Even though he couldn’t see Leo, he could imagine his pout. “You’re no fun. How are you going to fake date me in front of everyone when you can’t fake date me on call?”
Jason sighed. Leo was right; he needed to get into character for whatever he was going to do at the party. He began to regret saying yes; he was either going to fail at seeming interested or was going to seem a little too interested, depending on whether he decided to throw caution in the air or not.
“I’ll be more in character at the party,” Jason assured Leo. “What time are you gonna be there?”
“Maybe eight,” Leo said, and Jason made a mental note to be done by 7:30. He had a bit of an issue with time blindness.
“Do you know when Calypso’s gonna come?”
“Oh, right. She usually goes out super early. Might be the first person at the party,” Leo thought aloud. Jason remembered the last fight that he had witnessed between the two. Something about Calypso feeling they were embarrassingly late to a party while Leo felt they were embarrassingly early. “Maybe I should come pick you up. So she sees us coming in together, you know.”
Jason nodded before remembering Leo can’t see him. “Okay, I’ll see you in… four hours then.”
He could practically hear the grin in Leo’s voice. “See you, Superman.”
When the time came, Leo was honking the car as Jason quickly buttoned up his shirt. Jason had lost track of time again and ended up starting to get ready at 7:55. He checked his appearance in the mirror, fixed his blond hair and cleaned his glasses before saying goodbye to his dormmate and exiting. He ran down the stairs as he patted his pockets to make sure everything was there: phone, keys, wallet. Okay. He exited the building to see Leo in his red truck, grinning as he honked again.
“Hey, boyfriend!” he yelled out. Jason blushed and flipped him off before moving to sit in the passenger seat. Leo was dressed in a red band shirt and black pants, dark curly hair slightly outgrown from its usual length. His black eyes twinkled as he danced to a song Jason vaguely recognised, humming along as he waited for Jason to put his seatbelt on and get comfortable.
“Piper definitely not coming?” Leo asked Jason. “Could still pick her up, y’know.”
Jason shook his head. “She’s got a date with Shel.”
Leo feigned heartbreak, putting a hand on his forehead dramatically. “Betrayed for a girl. How could she?” He sighed dramatically. “At least I’ve got my favourite blondie with me.”
Jason smiled, running a hand through his hair. “Well, the favourite blondie needs you to start driving before we miss the party.”
Leo pouted before beginning the ride to Drew’s house. She’d hosted her fair share of parties, so Leo had the directions mostly memorised. He still opened the GPS, and the GPS interrupted the song and, in extension, Leo’s singing to spew random directions every once in a while.
It didn’t take long for Jason to join in on the singing. Leo began playing Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy by Queen, a song Jason had memorised word for word. Leo wasn’t the biggest 70s and 80s music fan, but he’d gotten into Queen at Jason’s recommendation. They sang the song, dancing crazily and laughing at onoe anothers’ dance moves and bad singing.
They were midway through Crazy Little Thing Called Love when they’d reached Drew’s house. Jason tried not to be disappointed, but he then remembered what he was about to do and felt his heart beating into his ears. Gods, this was going to go so wrong. Why did Jason say yes to this?
He climbed out the car and watched as Leo found his place at his side. Leo ushered for Jason to wrap his arm around him. Oh gods. He did, feeling heat rising all the way to his forehead.
They entered Drew’s house and were met by what looked like twenty to thirty people. Some were familiar; he saw Annabeth and Rachel chatting about something, Clarisse and Chris dancing together, and Dakota and Mitchell chatting. Some people, Jason didn’t know at all, but he did his best to appear comfortable anyways.
It wasn’t hard to find Calypso. Jason wasn’t ashamed to admit she looked great, with her brown hair flowing down to her back and her white dress complimenting her tan skin. She was glaring daggers at Jason, who was suddenly nervous for a whole different reason. He wouldn’t be surprised if she ended up beheading him one day, especially not after she’d randomly decided to hate him months ago. He’d asked Leo about it, who told him he didn’t know, and Jason ended up just accepting his fate.
“I’m gonna go grab us drinks,” Leo yelled out over the music, snapping Jason out of his thoughts of potential beheadings. Jason nodded and was left alone. Drew came over to thank him for coming, dropping what he knew Piper would call flirting even though he just didn’t see it, before she walked off to talk to Clarisse. As all of this went down, Calypso kept glaring at him.
Leo comes back with two beer bottles before his eyes moved to where Jason was staring. He laughed when he noticed Jason was looking at Calypso, and Jason was left to watch as Leo intertwined their fingers. Leo was going to be the death of him.
Leo dragged him deeper into the room until they found space on a sofa for the two of them. They sat next to one another, hands still together, as Leo began to speak. “Already got Calypso’s attention. This is working!” His voice could barely be heard over the music. Gods, why did Drew put the speakers on full volume?
Jason tried to ignore how warm Leo’s hands felt on his own, and when Leo shifted so that his head was on Jason’s lap, he tried to ignore the urge to move his hand through Leo’s dark curls. He then remembered this was probably the only opportunity he’d ever have to do so and gingerly moved his fingers through Leo’s hair. Leo didn’t seem to mind.
Just as they were getting comfortable, Rachel and Annabeth walked over, Annabeth raising an eyebrow while Rachel tried stifling a laugh.
“Since when did you two start acting all mushy?” Annabeth asked, twirling with the straw of her drink.
Leo grinned back at her. “Wouldn’t you like to know.”
“...Yes, that’s quite literally why I asked.”
Rachel and Leo burst out laughing then, but Jason’s mind was still on Leo’s hair, heart beating fast as he played with the curls atop the black haired boy’s head.
“Well, I for one would like to say I knew it,” Rachel announced, making Jason turn the same red as her hair.
Leo, on the other hand, raised an eyebrow. “Knew what, exactly?”
“That you two would get together,” Rachel said, as if it were the most obvious thing on earth. It only made Jason blush more. “Honestly, with the way you two look at each other, I’m surprised it hadn’t happened sooner.”
Jason looked at Rachel pleadingly, but she didn’t seem to notice. Annabeth did, however, and her eyebrows furrowed before tapping Rachel.
“Hey, we should go play beer pong,” Annabeth recommended. Rachel nodded before saying her goodbyes and walking away with Annabeth.
He looked down at Leo, his hand back on his side. Leo’s face was calculating, staring at the ceiling. Jason coughed, trying to get Leo to talk to figure out whatever the hell he was thinking. He sometimes thought Leo was a machine with the way he calculated everything in his mind.
Leo looked at Jason, eyebrows still furrowed. “What do you think Rachel meant by that, the way we look at each other?”
Jason swallowed, trying to ignore the loudness of his own heart. “I don’t know,” which was only a partial lie; Leo was not looking at Jason. Not like that.
Leo shook his head before getting up, extending his hand for Jason to grab. “Let’s go dance, yeah?”
Jason grabbed his hand and let Leo lead him to the space in the middle of the living room that Drew made as a makeshift dance floor. Jason was never a good dancer, and that was very clear next to Leo, whose moves were versatile and vibrant and fun. He danced close to Jason, his body almost pressed onto his, and Jason tried to imitate whatever Leo did, though he knew he was nowhere near as good. They did this for a couple of songs before Leo moved his hands to Jason’s waist, making his breath hitch.
“Relax, Jase,” Leo said. “You’re too tense. Anyone told you you’re a horrible dancer?” he added playfully.
Jason smiled. “You, many times, actually.”
“Well, I’ve gotta agree with me,” Leo said, grinning up at Jason. “Stop being so stiff.” Leo guided Jason with his hands, until Jason was almost, almost getting the hang of it.
It didn’t matter, though, because Leo would stop dancing. At first, Jason thought he was lost in thought. Then, he followed Leo's eyes to notice him looking at... Calypso. Right. She wasn't looking at them, but Leo was looking at her.
Jason's stomach sank. He watched Leo's face, unreadable, calculating, and he almost said something when-
“Kiss me,” Leo said.
What?
“What?” Jason sputtered out.
“Kiss me,” Leo said, looking at Jason with dead seriousness. “Or don’t, if you don’t want to, but–”
Jason cut Leo off by pressing his lips to Leo’s. Leo was caught by surprise, if the slight yelp in his voice was any indicator. Leo quickly reciprocated. Jason felt his heart beat a thousand miles a second as he moved his hands to Leo’s face, pulling his place closer as he opened his mouth ever so slightly. Before he could do anything else, Leo separated.
Jason was still trying to catch his breath when he made eye contact with Leo. He tried to stop the way his heart was racing as Leo looked at him with the same calculated stare he had only moments ago.
He coughed awkwardly, before separating himself from Leo. “I’m gonna go, um, talk to Annabeth,” he managed.
He turned to look at Calypso, who appeared to have not seen anything. Jason may have lost his friendship with Leo for nothing. Fuck.
Jason avoided Leo for the rest of the party. When Leo drove him home, the only words exchanged were “Thank you” and “No problem”.
Jason woke up the next day feeling like shit. He opened his phone to check for any texts from Leo. None, but he was sent reels from Percy again and had texts from Piper.
He groaned and stuffed his face into his pillow. He wanted to go to the gym, but he also didn’t want to move an inch from his bed. He decided to open his phone again and check Piper’s texts.
MclPiper: leo told me you two kissed???????
MclPiper: is everything okay between you two
Jason sighed. He didn’t know how to answer, so he just sent a quick IDK before laying his head on his pillow again, staring at the wall. Moments later, his phone began to buzz. Call from Piper.
He picked up and said a quick “hey”.
“How are you doing, Sparks?” she said softly?
“Not good. I think I might have ruined my friendship with Leo.” He felt his heart ache at that. It’s been long since he accepted that Leo would never see him as anything but a friend. He didn’t want to lose that too.
“Oh, come on,” Piper tried to encourage. “He initiated it, didn’t he? Nothing’s gonna happen.”
Jason shook his head despite Piper not seeing it. “I was too into it, Piper. I shouldn’t have been so…”
He heard Piper sigh. Had she been any less kind, she would have hit him with the I told you so . It wasn’t uncommon for Jason to find himself wishing he’d listened to her.
“You should talk to him, Jason. Nothing good is going to come from assuming.”
He sighed and nodded. “I will. I just need to sulk a bit.”
Piper’s laugh echoed, and Jason found himself half smiling. They talked for a bit, Jason catching her up on everything that had happened at the party and Piper telling him about her date.
All throughout, Jason couldn’t help but wonder what Leo told Piper. He wondered about Leo’s perspective of everything, he wondered if Leo talked to Calypso.
Jason was too scared to ask.
On Wednesday, he woke up to a text from Leo. His first thought should've probably been how this was the first time Leo texted him in days. Instead, it was about how Leo was never up early. Jason frowned and checked the time, 11am. Oh. Shit.
He hurried to get dressed and brush his teeth. He’d already missed half his lecture; he didn’t need to miss any more.
He ran across campus until he found his class, taking a seat as he panted. Frank sat next to him, not saying a word but looking curious.
“Overslept,” Jason said. Frank nodded.
The hassle to get to his lecture was almost enough to get the thought of Leo’s texts off his mind. He tried to focus on his professor, but his attention was divided.
He inwardly groaned before pulling out his phone, checking Leo’s texts.
EveryoneLovesLeo69: hey jase
EveryoneLovesLeo69: wnna meet up for coffee
EveryoneLovesLeo69: ?
Jason swallowed before texting back.
JasonGrace.7.1: Yes, sure. 1pm at Helios work for you?
It only took a minute for Leo to reply.
EveryoneLovesLeo69: yeah see u there
And that fucked up Jason’s attention even more.
By the time Jason made it to Cafe Helios, his brain was all over the place with possibilities. Leo was sitting inside, wearing a red hoodie and dark jeans. He ushered Jason in through the window, and Jason walked in.
There was a latte in front of Jason’s seat. Leo knew Jason’s order after too many trips to the cafe together, especially before late night study sessions.
“Hey, Jase,” Leo greeted, a hint of nervousness in his tone. Jason swallowed.
“Hey. You talked to Calypso?”
Leo furrowed his brows and looked at him. “Yeah. She came over yesterday.”
Jason’s heart sank. Jason imagined many ways this conversation could end, none of them positive.
“Do you know why Calypso broke up with me?” Leo asked weakly. That regained Jason’s focus, disrupting the train of melancholic thoughts that had been going through his head. Leo refused to discuss the reason behind the most recent breakup with anyone. It was weird; he’d usually tell at least Piper, but even Piper seemed to have no clue.
Jason shook his head, and Leo laughed weakly. “Well, she seemed to think I was into you,” Leo said. Jason felt his heart skip a beat as Leo began to ramble. “And I thought she was just imagining things, like when she thought I was into Piper, or when she thought I was into Frank. Both crazy, by the way. So I decided the best way to make her jealous was to show me having fun with you, but the thought wouldn’t leave my head, and then Rachel said what she said and…”
Jason looked at Leo, his gaze so intense as he tried to read him. Leo was never the best at expressing himself. Jason always tried to understand him anyways. “Take a deep breath, Leo,” Jason guided, and he found himself needing to do so too. He’d been holding his breath as Leo rambled.
Leo smiled at Jason weakly. “I didn’t really need you to kiss me at the party. Calypso already sensed something was happening, which was all I was really trying to go for. I just… I needed more evidence, I guess.”
Usually, Jason would have laughed at the word evidence, but now, he felt his breath catch as his blue eyes made contact with Leo’s brown ones.
“Evidence of what?” Jason managed.
“On if I like you,” Jason’s heart began to race. “I called things off with Calypso. I mean, we weren’t together anyways, but I told her it was permanent. We both agreed it was for the best. I just… I wanted to tell you. If that interests you.”
Jason nodded, breathily replying with a soft, “It does.”
The two of them looked at one another, Leo’s eyes soft as he looked at Jason’s, and suddenly they were both laughing. Jason didn’t know why.
When they stopped, Jason was looking at Leo intently. “You don’t know how long I’ve liked you, Leo,” he managed.
Leo smiled softly at that, and Jason couldn’t help the goofy grin that overtook his face. “Let me take you out to dinner this weekend so I can find out.”