MERCY . . . jason grace

003 We Lie To Ourselves All The Time

          "Uh, how'd you know its name? And all of that stuff about it?" Piper asks. She'd seen Will with her own dagger, much more intimidating than Piper's shiny, almost new one. Will's is stained with perpetual blood and the sharp edge gleams with peril.

          Will shrugs. "Lucky guess," she says but they both know it's not.

          "So," Piper begins hesitantly, after a moment passes, feeling meek under Will's gaze. "We weren't properly introduced. I'm Piper." She doesn't bother offering her hand to her, already knowing that she'll only be making a fool of herself.

          "Will."

          Piper tries to smile but the atmosphere is too stifling and she wonders how Will is unbothered by it. "Um, I'm from Oklahoma," she blurts, the nerves getting the best of her.

          Will cracks a smile now. Piper sees it and her worry eases. "Okay, Oklahoma." There's a lull in the conversation and Will knows what she's supposed to fill it with. "I'm from here."

          "Camp Half-Blood?"

          Will nods. "I grew up here."

          "But... but what about before you came here," Piper asks, genuine curiosity seeping through.

          She sours at Piper's prying questions before remembering how Annabeth told her that not everyone's mind worked like hers. Some people asked questions to get to know people, not just to get answers. "I lived in Chicago for the first seven years of my life. Then I came here. This is my home," she says with finality.

          Piper doesn't know what to say. "Right..." And then she remembers what she really wanted to talk about. "So... are you, like, into Jason."

          "What?" There's repulsion laced in in Will's voice and Piper's curiosity is peaked.

          "It's just that when we first arrived you guys were staring at each other a lot—or he was staring at you a lot. Maybe it's just my imagination running wild. I-I was just wondering is all." Piper, oddly flustered and almost ashamed of what she was saying, wouldn't look Will in the eye.

          "Well, rest easy, Oklahoma. I'm not going after your boyfriend," Will reassures though there's nothing soft about the way she says it. It's jeering and cruel in ways that seem too natural.

          Piper, ignoring the swell of embarrassment at Will's mocking, feels relieved but she's not sure if it's for the right reason. Frankly, Piper isn't sure what she's supposed to be feeling. The memories and feelings that live inside her aren't her own, and as a result they don't come to her like they should. She remembers kissing Jason under the stars and the feeling of euphoria when he finally did, but none of it feels like her. Everything becomes detached and none of the emotions that were fabricated felt like her own. "Right... boyfriend."

          Will's lips quirk upwards even though they shouldn't. "You sound uncertain. Getting tired of him already?"

          "No, no," Piper insists. "It's not that. I just... I don't feel like I should be with him. I don't know the first thing about him, only the memories I have, which honestly don't even feel real anymore. I know how I'm supposed to feel—like when I saw Jason looking at you. He looked at you like you were... everything—" Will fights the urge to roll her eyes. "And I didn't feel anything. I should have been jealous or hurt, but I felt fine."

          "Then why'd you ask me about it," Will snaps suddenly, feeling a bubble of uncontrollable annoyance rise up.

          "I don't know," Piper mutters. "I guess I wanted to see what you thought."