Chapter Text
“Jackson?”
Jason Grace's voice cut sharp and clear in the air, and Percy looked up at the mention of his name. Like usual, he had been eating lunch outside on the bleachers with his friends, Piper Mclean and Leo Valdez. McKinley High School was thankfully pretty chill about that kind of stuff. They didn't care if you ate lunch in the cafeteria, outside, in your car — just as long as you came back for your classes and didn't smell like weed after.
But Jason Grace being outside was new. Percy knew he normally ate inside with all of his perfect, rich-ass athlete friends. It was also new that he was talking to Percy, of all people.
Jason Grace and Percy Jackson came from two entirely different worlds; Jason lived on the side of town where having a small mansion was normal, and he spent his days playing lacrosse, or doing homework so he could keep up his 4.25 GPA. Percy, meanwhile, lived in a neighborhood where it was pretty common to see theft and drug deals happening on a daily basis. And good grades? Forget it. Percy’s ADHD and dyslexia made it borderline impossible for him to get above a C.
There was absolutely no way that Jason and Percy's paths would ever intersect, if not for school. Percy had known of Jason since eighth grade, but everyone knew who Jason was. He was the star athlete, the perfect student, the golden boy. But knowing and knowing of were two entirely different things. They were seniors now, and Percy was pretty sure he'd said a total of fifteen words to Jason in all of the years that they'd shared Art and Gym classes together.
But now here Jason was, standing at the bottom of the bleachers and looking directly at Percy. It freaked Percy out a little, if he was being honest — Jason's eyes were so blue that they were almost white out in the sun. Percy had an urge to tell him to put on sunglasses so he didn't go blind out here.
Leo and Piper seemed just as confused as Percy. They stared back at Jason, their lunches momentarily forgotten.
“What the hell does he want?” Leo muttered, his sandwich half-raised to his mouth.
“Don't know.” Percy tried to think of a time when he had recently pissed Jason off (he tended to piss off a lot of people by accident), but couldn't come up with anything. “Just keep an eye on us in case?”
Piper and Leo both nodded, and Percy reluctantly left them so that he could walk down the bleachers.
“Hi,” Jason said, when Percy had reached the ground. He was nervously fidgeting, which was weird, because he was definitely taller than Percy and one-hundred percent more muscular. “Can we talk over there?”
He gestured to an empty part of the field beside the bleachers, which was almost out of Piper and Leo’s view. Percy didn't trust it, but what else was he supposed to do, say no? He shot his friends a look that he hoped said help me because a tall strong dude is dragging me to a place where nobody can see.
They headed over to where Jason had gestured to. Before Percy could even open his mouth to ask what was up, Jason asked, “You're…bisexual, right?”
Percy raised an eyebrow and looked down at the bi flag pin on his jacket. “What gave it away?” he asked dryly.
He could've sworn Jason’s face turned pink. “I just — I need you to be my boyfriend,” Jason blurted out.
Percy didn't do drugs, but he was starting to wonder if someone had slipped an edible into his lunch. He had no other explanation for what was happening at the moment, because surely Jason hadn't said what he thought Jason had said. “Excuse me?”
Jason was definitely blushing now. “I mean — m-my fake boyfriend,” he mumbled, and pushed his silver glasses up his nose. “My dad is hosting this fancy dinner for him, his colleagues, and their spouses. And I'm kind of expected to bring someone…”
Percy blinked once, then twice, trying to process Jason's request. What the actual hell was happening? “I thought you were straight, Grace,” was the first thing that came out of his mouth. Probably not the best thing to say, but Percy was surprised. Jason was the picture-perfect Californian rich guy. He was lacrosse captain, class president, and gunning for valedictorian. Percy never would've expected him to be gay.
“I am,” Jason protested. Percy raised an eyebrow, and Jason looked away. “It’s just that…my dad kind of sucks, and I know he'll be pissed if I show up to his dinner with a dude on my arm.”
“And you…want that?” Percy didn't understand why someone would want to purposely piss off someone who was providing food, clothes, and shelter, but whatever. Maybe it was a white people thing.
“He deserves to be humbled,” was Jason's reply.
Percy held back a smirk. The guy must be pretty bad if shy little goody-two-shoes Jason Grace was saying that.
Percy wasn't exactly keen on the idea of pretending to date Jason. Being at a party surrounded by rich old white dudes who were probably homophobic and racist sounded like torture. On the other hand, Percy was always down to put a bad guy in his place. Plus, he had to admit, he was pretty curious about why Jason had specifically asked for his help. “What's in it for me?"
“What do you want?” Jason asked immediately.
Percy thought for a second. If he was going to suffer through this dinner, he better make it worth it. “Two hundred fifty for the night.”
“Okay.” Jason didn't even look fazed. Percy forgot that was probably like pocket change to him. He cursed himself for not asking for more.
Jason took his phone out of his pocket and awkwardly handed it to Percy. “Can you put your number in? Just in case we need to…discuss anything?”
This guy was so painfully shy that Percy almost couldn't stand it. He put his number and name in, adding a winky face to the contact after his name, just to be a smartass.
“Um, thank you. I really appreciate it.” Jason blushed when he looked at the contact and put the phone back in his pocket. Huh, Percy thought, raising an eyebrow at Jason's pink cheeks. “Would you mind, like, not telling anyone about this? The fake dating thing, I mean.”
Percy gestured back towards the bleachers. “What do you want me to tell Piper and Leo, then? They're going to ask what you wanted.”
“Okay, fine. You can tell them, but no one else,” Jason relented. “I just…don't want my dad finding out it's fake, you know?”
“Yeah, it's all good, man. I get it.”
Jason nodded. “Okay. Well…thank you,” he said again, in a softer voice than before. He started to turn away.
“Hang on,” Percy said before Jason could move any farther away. “If I'm going to be your fake boyfriend, we should probably get to know each other first, right?”
Jason paused. “Oh, uh…right.” He thought for a second. “Are you free Friday night?”
Percy nodded, wondering what Jason had in mind. He'd initially thought of an ice cream date or something casual, just so they weren't complete strangers when this dinner finally came around.
“Okay. I can, uh, pick you up at your house?” Jason suggested, making brief eye contact with Percy before looking down at his outfit. “Just wear something nice.”
Something…nice. Okay, so Jason clearly did not have the same idea as Percy. “What qualifies as nice to you?” Percy asked. “Like, a button-down shirt?”
Jason’s eyes widened. “You don't have a suit?” he sounded positively confused as to why someone wouldn't have that.
Alright, maybe this was a bad idea after all. Percy had momentarily forgotten how much he hated rich people, but his bitter feelings were quickly rushing back. “Sorry we don't all have Gucci tuxedos laying around in our closets, man.”
Jason frowned and dug out his wallet, pulling out a few fifty-dollar bills. So it was just pocket change to him. He extended the bills out to Percy, but Percy just looked at it.
“For the suit,” Jason explained, a little embarrassed. “It's not a lot, but it should be enough for Men’s Wearhouse.”
“Not a lot?” Percy repeated, mentally adding up the bills in Jason’s hand. “Dude, that's — three hundred?”
The red hue on Jason's cheeks deepened. “Just get something nice so you can wear it to my dad's dinner too, okay?”
Percy hesitantly took the money. “You really don't have to…”
“It's fine,” Jason said with a shrug. “You need it anyway, so…” He averted his gaze again. “I'll, um text you later, okay?” He practically dashed across the field back to the school building, leaving Percy to stare at the back of Jason's polo shirt and wonder if that had really just happened.
He looked down at the bills in his hand and rubbed them between his fingers, just to make sure they were real. Who the hell gives someone they only know in passing three hundred bucks to get a suit, of all things?
He stuffed the bills in his (otherwise barren) wallet and headed back to where Piper and Leo were waiting on the bleachers.
“So?” Piper asked, drawing out the ‘o.’ “He didn't beat you up, obviously.”
“I don't think Grace is capable of that,” Leo snickered. “The dude is like a huge golden retriever.”
“A golden retriever that looks like he can lift three-seventy,” Piper retorted.
Percy sat back down, wondering how he was supposed to explain the situation when he didn't quite understand it himself. “He asked me to be his fake boyfriend.”
“His what?” Leo’s brow furrowed.
“Fake boyfriend,” Percy repeated, picking at the rice on his half-eaten spam musubi. “Guess his dad's having some big dinner, and he needs a date?”
Leo and Piper both stared at him with open mouths.
“I didn't even know Mr. Valedictorian was gay,” Leo finally muttered.
“He's not,” Percy said, but rolled his eyes. He wasn't sure he quite believed that. “Or so he says. But that's why he wants me to be there, so he can piss off his dad.”
Piper snorted. “That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard.”
“You obviously said no, right?” Leo took a sip from his water bottle.
Percy hesitated. “Um…no.”
Leo choked on his sip of water and spat it out, the spray getting all over Percy's black jeans. Leo coughed and hit his chest like he was trying to expel the water from his lungs. “Why the hell would you ever say yes to that?” Leo said, his voice hoarse.
Piper and Leo looked at Percy expectantly. Honestly, Percy didn't really know why he'd said yes, either. Blame it on his curiosity. “He's paying me,” he offered lamely. “And gave me money so I could get a suit.”
Piper raised an eyebrow. “You've got to be joking.”
Leo laughed. “Dude, wait, he's like your sugar daddy,” he cackled, and Percy's face went hot. “Hang on, can you ask him if he wants to be in a gay throuple? I could use the extra cash.”
“Oh my God, shut up,” Percy groaned. “It’s not like that.”
Piper and Leo exchanged looks. “Right,” Piper said, and let out a dramatic sigh. “I've read enough fanfiction to know how this is going to end.”
“What are you talking about?” Percy asked as he pulled his phone out, having felt it buzz in his pocket. On the screen was a text from an unknown number: Hello Percy Jackson, this is Jason Grace.
Percy tried not to laugh. Even in texts, the guy was formal and proper.
“...fake dating trope,” Piper was saying when Percy tuned back into the conversation. “It always ends up with the fake dating turning into real dating.”
Percy snorted. “Yeah, that's not going to happen,” he said, opening up his messages. “Dude seems about as romantic as a wet blanket.”
u know u don't have to use periods when u text, Percy typed back to Jason.
Piper raised an eyebrow. “Mm-hmm. So why are you doing this, then? It can't just be the money.”
“I'm curious if Grace is really as straight as he told me he is,” Percy replied. He hid a smile when another message came through from Jason. It took him a minute to be able to read it due to his dyslexia. Thankfully, Percy had a font on his phone that was considered ‘dyslexia friendly,’ which usually made it easier for him to read things. Leo had helped him change the settings on his phone so every app used the same font. Periods finish a sentence, Percy, the text message read. Your messages are just sentence fragments without any punctuation.
“And how are you going to find out if he's not straight?” Leo asked.
Percy shrugged. “I’ll flirt with him. Accidentally brush his hand. Get a little too close. You know how it goes.” it's a text message not a college essay grace, he texted back.
Leo raised an eyebrow, but then shook his head and took another sip of his water. “Whatever, man. It's your funeral.”
“I’d just like to go on record and say that I think Percy and/or Jason will fall for each other by the end of the month,” Piper said.
“Oh my gods, Piper, enough,” Percy groaned. He took another bite of his lunch before packing it away. They were nearing the end of their lunch period, and Percy didn't feel like trying to shove the rest in his mouth before then.
His phone buzzed again. What, I need a special occasion to use proper grammar?
Percy chewed on the inside of his cheek. Piper was wrong; there was absolutely no way in hell he was ever going to fall for this guy. ur a dork, he wrote back.