Found Family (HoO, Mortal AU)

JASON GRACE

Thalia didn't visit once all Summer. She promised she'd come home whenever she had the chance, but that was obviously a lie. She also promised she'd call or text him every day. It was always Jason who texted first. Never her.

He tried to do his homework, starting the speech for the student council, but he gave up. Octavian could have the place. Jason didn't care, his thoughts were taking over. Jealousy. Thalia had a new home. She had a new family. Even as a child, when she came back after running away, she was allowed to stay at their father's. Jason was never welcomed there.

It was as if everyone in his life seemed to leave him. First when his dad kicked Beryl out, marrying a new woman and not wanting to see Jason. Then when Thalia ran away for almost a whole year. Even after she was caught and taken back, she was different. His mother practically left, too. Sure, he was still living with her, but she wasn't actually there. Who'd leave next? He couldn't afford to loose Reyna.

He ended up throwing his homework across the room. If his parents never broke up, none of this would've happened. Everything would be so much better.
He picked up the photo frame beside his bed, the photo of his family. Jason had only been about two in the photo, meaning Thalia was seven. He was being held by his mother, his father's hand on Thalia's shoulder. They could've been so happy.

He kept staring at the photo. Beryl must've still been an actress when the photo was taken. Her hair was completely blonde, now it was streaked with grey. Looking at the photo reminded Jason how much he looked like her. No wonder his father hated him more than Thalia. He was going to grow up to be just like his mother.

He was distracted by his phone ringing. He realised he had two texts from Thalia, but didn't want to open them. He answered Reyna's call.
"Hey."
"Hi, Jason." Reyna said.
He didn't know why she was calling- she was supposed to be with her mom and Hylla, maybe even her dad if he visited. Reyna's parents divorced long ago, but had an alright relationship most of the time. If Hylla was visiting, surely her and Reyna's dad would come along, too.
"Is everything okay?" He asked.
"Yeah. Uhm, you still up for hanging out?"
He wasn't going to say no to the good offer. He'd get out of the house. "Of course."
"Can I come over to yours? I know I've never been at your house, you just can't really come to mine right now."

Even though they'd been friends since kindergarten, Reyna had never been at his house, just like Hylla never went over with Thalia.
"Uhm, we can meet nearby. If that's okay."
"Alright! See you there."

• • •

He walked for a while, eventually finding Reyna.
"Hi, Reyna." Jason managed a smile.
"Hey."
"Is everything okay? Shouldn't you be at home with Hylla."
Reyna sighed. "My dad was over and my parents got into a fight, so I didn't wanna stay there."
"Ah. I'm sorry."
"It's okay, don't worry. Did you call Thalia?"
"Yeah, she said she was busy and would come home next time." Jason lied.

Reyna nodded. "Anyway. How's Drew?" She raised an eyebrow. Jason knew she didn't actually care.
"She's okay, I guess."
"Great. Are you going to keep talking to her?"
Jason took a second to answer. Drew was annoying, but at least with her no one suspected he was anything but straight.
"Uhm. I might ask her out. Like for real." He felt bad. He didn't actually like her. She was beautiful but..
"Just be careful. She'll break your heart."
Good. Jason thought. At least I won't eventually break hers, then.

"Anyway," Reyna said, changing the subject. "Do you have the speech done? Please say yes."
"Reyna-" Jason shook his head. "I'm sure you can get someone to compete against Octavian."
"You're backing out?"
"It's not- look- it's just- yeah. Yes I'm backing out."
"Absolutely not. We've been planning this since we were kids. What's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong."
"You've been my best friend for longer than I can remember, Jason. I know when something's wrong. I can tell when you're lying. You've been angrier lately, more tired. Plus you're talking to Drew. You hate Drew. My parents didn't have a fight. My dad isn't even home. I was just worried about you."

Jason stared at her. "I'm sorry."
"Come on. I'll walk home with you. We can work on the speech together at yours."
He had to think of an excuse. He couldn't. She was going to find out the truth eventually. "I need to talk to you before that."
"That's never a good sign." Reyna muttered.
"You and Hylla have never been over to our house for a reason."
"You always said it was because your mother was strict."
"No. Not strict, exactly. She's an alcoholic. It's gotten so much worse over the summer. She's stopped working and paying the bills-" he took a deep breath. He'd never told anyone. "I'm so, so tired, Reyna."

Reyna hugged him.

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Word count: 1596 words

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A/N: yo dudes, I was just chilling and realised how confusing this whole fanfic is even though no ones reading it oh well. In case you, for some reason, are reading this, I'm doing a lil' timeline for every character just for it to make sense

So here's Jason's

Birth
Beryl and Jason's father (Doesn't exactly have a name since he's kinda the mortal version of Zeus/Jupiter) met and got together, resulting in the birth of Thalia. Seven years later, Jason was born.

Ages 1-3
Jason lived with his parent's and sister for his first few years. Then his father met another woman [mortal version of Hera/Juno, I guess], meaning he kicked Beryl out. Beryl quit acting and moved into a small house with Thalia and Jason, as their father didn't want them in his life

Ages 4-7
Beryl started drinking, abandoning her young children. Thalia started practically raising Jason herself. She left him alone for a while once and the four year old got his hands on a stapler, resulting in a scar on his lip that's still visible. He started kindergarten, becoming friends with Reyna. When Jason was seven and Thalia was eleven, Thalia ran away, leaving Jason alone with his mother.

Ages 8-13
When he was eight, Thalia was found by the police who had been on the search for the missing child for the past year. She was taken back to their father's, where she stayed until Jason was nine, before coming home, but she was much different. She wouldn't talk to Jason and wouldn't tell him where she'd been. When he was thirteen, Thalia moved out to go to college. She'd only be home during the summer.

Ages 14-17
Thalia finished college and moved into a house with her best friend, Hylla and a few other girls. Jason started high school and was still friends with Reyna, but made 'friends' with Damien White and Sherman Yang. And now he's started senior year:)