Jason texted Thalia all evening, making sure she was okay. He sent her one last text before going to bed.
"Do you ever get off that phone?" Leo smiled.
"I'm talking to my sister, Valdez."
"Talk to your boyfriend, maybe?"
"You're really annoying, y'know that?"
"So a lot of people have told me," Leo snapped the phone out of Jason's hand.
"Well they're all correct."
"I thought you loved me."
Jason laughed. "I do."
"Clearly not," he sighed, pretending to collapse.
"Oh, shut up."
"I am doomed to be alone for ever."
"Leo Valdez I swear-"
"Okay I'll shut up," he grinned, giving his boyfriend a kiss. "Only cause you asked nicely."
"I love you so much, but I'm exhausted and I need sleep."
"When are you not tired?"
"When I get a good nights sleep, which is rare because you never be quiet," Jason teased.
"I hate you. Also, I love you so much too."
"Makes sense."
Leo laughed, turning off the light. "Goodnight. Love you."
"I love you, too."
Jason had a lot of problems. He had no money. His dad disowned him, meaning he had no one to pay for him to go to college. His mother was an alcoholic. He went through a lot of self hatred. He didn't care, though. He was happy, even without money. He'd find a way to pay for college. Beryl was trying to get sober. Thanks to Leo Valdez, he no longer hated himself. It wasn't that bad, after all.
• • •
There was banging at the door that woke Jason up. It only lasted a few seconds, so he assumed it was his imagination and fell back asleep. Then he heard glass shattering.
Piper ran into the room. "Get up! We have to go!"
"Leo!" Jason said, trying to wake up Leo, who slept like a brick. "Leo!"
"Hm?"
"Get up!"
Percy and Annabeth ran past the room. Jason could hear their footsteps running down the stairs.
Leo must've heard, too, cause he jumped up. "Pipes, what's going on?"
"I don't know, but we have to run!"
Together, the three of them ran down the stairs, after Percy and Annabeth. Jason looked back to see a man standing with a gun, watching as they ran out to the back garden.
"Come on!" Annabeth shouted. Luke was one step behind them.
"Don't run!" He shouted. "Don't move-"
Jason knew there was no point in trying to run. Luke was armed. None of them were. All his friends froze, Percy in front of Annabeth. Leo, Jason and Piper were all standing within reach from each other.
"Luke-" Annabeth whispered, stepping out from behind Percy. "Luke, you don't have to do this."
"Yes I do! You and Thalia- you left-"
This guy was not mentally sane. Even without him speaking, or without the gun, it was easy to tell. Jason put an arm in front of Leo. "Stay back."
"Cause you hurt us!"
"Just tell me where Thalia is," Luke demanded. "I will leave you alone, if you tell me where Thalia is. This was her fault, not yours."
"I don't know where she is-"
"Liar."
"I don't!"
"Tell me or you die-"
"Annabeth," Percy whispered.
"I am not telling you where she is," Annabeth eventually said. "I will never tell you where she is."
Luke pointed the gun at her. "Last chance. It's her I want revenge on. I'll let you and your little friends live. Tell me."
"No!"
Percy grabbed Annabeth, pushing her behind him.
"Young love," Luke laughed. "Shame you wouldn't tell me where she is-"
"Wait!" Piper shouted. "Please don't- just don't shoot-"
"You can't stop me," he laughed. "No one can stop me- I don't care if I go to jail for life. I don't care if I have to get executed or some bullshit. At least I get my revenge."
There was someone who could stop him. Jason could stop him. He was willing to do anything to stop his friends from getting hurt.
"I'm her brother!" He shouted as Luke's finger went to the trigger. Thankfully, this made him pause.
"Her brothers are much younger."
"Jason-" Leo looked over to him. "Jason, no."
"Not Annabeth's. I'm Thalia's brother. I'm Jason Grace."
Luke stared at him for a minute. Jason noticed Piper typing, her hand behind her back, hiding her phone. He didn't know how she did it without looking, but she sent a message to someone.
"You-" he laughed. "You're the Jason Grace. You're the reason Thalia wanted to leave me. You're the reason that I got caught by cops. YOU-" he pointed the gun towards him. "You are the revenge I need."
"LUKE, NO-" Annabeth scream was the most bone chilling thing Jason had ever heard.
Then Jason heard the bang, which was much quieter than most guns he heard before, or maybe that was because his ears were ringing, or maybe because Leo and his friends screamed or maybe because he could see the blue and red flashes from the cop cars, knowing that they were seconds late.
He saw the blood before he felt the pain.
Luke was there, then he wasn't.
"JASON!" Leo screamed as Jason fell to the ground. There were lights and there was darkness. There were voices saying nothing that made sense. There was Leo's hand on his chest, also covered in blood.
Leo was close to him. Life and death were close to him, too, one getting closer, the other getting further away.
Jason had decided Annabeth wasn't going to die tonight. Neither was Thalia. Or Leo. Or Percy. Or Piper. Any of the people he loved, for that matter. He saw people he didn't recognise standing over him. He wanted Leo back. He felt his hand, but couldn't see him. He couldn't see much. Maybe he needed his glasses. He squeezed Leo's hand, the pain getting worse by the second.
"Jason-" someone said. Leo? Piper? Someone else?
He tried to squeeze Leo's hand again, the muscles not working properly. He could barely move. He was lifted onto a stretcher. It all hurt. Leo's hand was gone. It hurt. There was light and there was dark. There was life and there was death. There was noise all around him, then there wasn't.
The last thing he felt was Leo's hand on his again, tapping something.
•• / •-•• --- •••- • / -•-- --- ••-
I Love You
Jason dated Leo for long enough to understand what it meant. The feeling of the pain went away, then the feeling of Leo's hand went away. Everything went away.
———
Word Count: 1088
———
A/N: whoops?
The exam stress really made me enter my villain era didnt it?
Do I regret everything? Yes. Do I? No. Do I? I think.
Laugh out loud
😭