Chapter Text
"Jason! Piper!"
Jason looked up from his sandwich, about to take a bite.
Frank was approaching his lunch table with his tray, looking a little anxious. But, then again, Frank always looked apprehensive, so maybe it was nothing.
"I need a little favor from you two."
It was not nothing.
Beside Jason, Piper glanced up from her cellphone, taking a bite of the french fry between her fingers.
Frank sat down in the seat across from Jason, putting his tray down and twiddling his thumbs, clearly thinking of what to say.
"Where's Hazel?" Jason asked. Usually, Frank ate with his girlfriend in the library, as they were always seen together outside of class.
"She's been sick the whole weekend. It's weird, I mean, who gets the flu in September?" Frank frowned. "Anyway, she'll be back tomorrow, but before then, I've been asked to take care of some... business, on her behalf."
"Spit it out, Zhang." Piper sipped her strawberry milk, bored already.
"Well, you know how club applications are due by Friday, right?"
Jason nodded as he resumed his lunch.
"You see, Hazel really wants to start a book club, but we haven't been able to recruit any members yet. She's pretty bummed, because if we can't get enough people, then the principal won't approve our club application. We need at least five people," Frank continued, eyes darting between the two.
"You want us to join Hazel's book club," Piper finished for him drily. Frank nodded sheepishly.
"But!" He added, before they could decline. "There'll be free cookies?" He offered.
Jason and Piper exchanged glances. He knew Piper wasn't fond of reading, but Hazel's cookies were to die for. He could almost see her brain turning, weighing the offer.
"Please? At least come to the first meeting, just to see how it is," he pleaded, making puppy dog eyes. That sealed the deal; neither of them could resist Frank's adorable baby face.
"We'll be there, Frank. Just make sure you bring the cookies," Jason sighed.
"Awesome! It's on Wednesday, during lunch in the library, so don't forget. Also, make sure you bring a book that you want the club to read," Frank beamed, clearly relieved.
"Quick question, why didn't you ask Leo? He'd be much easier to convince, he loves Hazel's cookies." Usually, he would be sitting with Piper and Jason, but he had robotics club during lunch on Mondays.
"Valdez? Please, is he even literate?"
Piper snorted. Frank was right, Jason couldn't remember the last time he'd seen Leo with a book. He would probably find a way to set fire to it somehow.
"Anyway, I got to get back to recruiting," Frank said, getting up from his seat. "Remember, Wednesday, lunch, library, bring a book!"
--
"Percy! Annabeth!"
Frank was crossing the cafeteria, holding his lunch tray in his hands.
"What's up, Frank?" Percy grinned, finishing the doodle on his hand and capping the blue Sharpie.
Annabeth continued reading, barely even glancing at Frank as he sat down across from her.
"I need a favor from the both of you..." he started, seemingly intimidated by Annabeth's aloofness.
"Anything, man, you name it! You need someone to fight bullies? 'Cuz Percy's ready to go," he winked at Frank, rolling up his sleeve.
"No, a little less... intense."
"Homework answers?"
That earned him a snort from Annabeth, who finally snapped her book shut and gave Percy an amused smirk. "As if he'd want answers from you, Seaweed Brain."
"Well, I was just going to ask you really nicely for yours, but with that attitude, I might just have to steal them." He grinned even wider. Annabeth shot him a look, challenging him.
Frank coughed. "No, but thanks. What I really need is members for Hazel's club before the application is due on Friday."
"Oh, right, Hazel's got the flu. Is she feeling better? I texted her last night, but she hasn't responded to me yet..." Percy trailed off.
"What kind of club?" Annabeth asked, refocusing the conversation.
"It's a book club— don't give me that look, Percy, it's for Hazel."
"We're in," Annabeth stated, ignoring Percy's protests from beside her.
"Great! I didn't even have to bribe you with cookies," Frank grinned. "First meeting's Wednesday during lunch in the library, so bring a book that you want us to read." Percy's eyes went wide at the mention of cookies.
The bell rang, signaling the end of their lunch period. "See you guys then!" Frank waved, then dashed off, his uneaten lunch still on his tray.
"Y'know, he could've led with the cookies part..." Percy muttered, receiving an elbow from Annabeth.
--
Jason stood at the top of the stairs, watching Piper heave herself up with a smile. "Maybe if you didn't carry so much makeup in your bag, you would actually be able to keep up with me," he teased. Piper shot him a glare, catching her breath to retort. "Shut up, Jason, it's not even that much. Plus, you're literally on the football team. It'd be pretty embarrassing if someone like me was able to catch up to our star quarterback."
Jason rolled his eyes at that, enjoying the small banter between them. It was easy, being around Piper. They shared a lot of the same social circle, him being a football player, her being a cheerleader, but he found that their friendship went beyond their so-called popularity. He preferred to eat lunch with her, away from the rest of the team, which ended with a lot of snickers and teasing in the locker room. But he knew it wasn't like that, Piper was his best friend, along with Leo.
"Did you finish the book report for Educated?" Piper questioned him outside their second period, which was AP Lang.
"Of course I did, who do you think I am?" he huffed.
"Great, then you won't mind letting me borrow it for a bit," Piper smiled mockingly, fluttering her eyelashes. Jason sighed; he didn't know what it was, but it was really hard to say no to Piper. "You do know that class starts in five minutes, right?" he asked as he handed the paper over.
"Have some faith in me, Grace, will you?" She snatched it out of his fingers and furiously began to scribble on another sheet.
Miraculously, Piper finished writing just as the bell rang to start second period, setting her pink glitter pen down and turning her paper in.
As Mr. Apollo began lecturing them about books and poems and language, Jason stared out the window. English never was his best subject; it was hard to focus on words when they seemed to jump off the page and run in circles before his eyes. Curse his dyslexia.
He was shook out of his trance when Piper put her hand on his shoulder.
"Earth to Jason, lunch started two minutes ago. We're going to be late for Hazel's book club. It's Wednesday remember? I was promised cookies, and cookies I shall have." Jason groaned, feeling his empty stomach protest. Whatever. He had time for a late lunch in third, anyway.
"What book did you bring, Pipes?" he asked, when they were on the way to the library. He himself had brought Dune, as it was one of his favorite movies, and he didn't know what else to offer.
She grinned and held up a trashy romance novel, the kind only lonely middle-aged ladies read. "Found this at the corner store and couldn't resist," she giggled. "Can't wait 'till Hazel sees this."
"Sees what?" Hazel popped up behind them, seemingly out of nowhere. Jason and Piper jumped away, jolted by her sudden appearance. She had her dark, curly hair pulled back in a bun, with a few strands loose to frame her round, warm face. Snickering at the two's startled expressions, she began leading them towards the library's storage room. "C'mon you two, the club's in here."
The storage room was towards the edge of the library, between Ms. Minerva's desk and the non-fiction section. Jason often frequented the library when both Piper and Leo weren't around for lunch. He didn't mind; it was a great place to finish his work and quiet the constant twitching of his brain cells.
He could the quiet chatter coming from inside the room— Frank had mentioned needing at least five members. Hazel strode past them through the doorway and plopped herself on the edge of the rug that was placed in the center of the room, next to Frank. "Welcome to the first meeting of my book club!" she exclaimed brightly, wiggling her hands in excitement.
Crossing the doorway next to Piper into the room, Jason saw the company that they were to share for the remainder of the meeting. Annabeth Chase and...
Percy Jackson.