The song is Last Kiss by Taylor Swift. The couple is Jeyna. I usually support Leyna, but I think that this was just too perfect to pass up the opportunity to write a songfic.
Why does Reyna's dad live in the Philippines? 1) Jane Doe, my editor who recently came to visit me, lives there. 2) "Reyna" means "queen" in Filipino, which is the language of the Philippines.
I still remember
The look on your face
Been through the darkness
At one fifty-eight
Reyna woke up suddenly as lightning flashed across the night sky. Thunder rumbled loudly. She checked the clock. One fifty-eight. There was still four more hours until they had to wake up, but Reyna knew she wouldn't get any more sleep. The storm brewing outside was too loud and strong for any peace and for any ordinary storm for that matter.
Reyna got up, put on a t-shirt to cover up her tank top, and grabbed a raincoat to throw over her pajamas. She ran outside, through the rain, and to Jason's house. Occasionally, maybe once every year or two (according to Gwen and her own experience), Jason would get some really terrifying and awful dream that was bad enough to stir up a storm even in his sleep. The last time it had happened, they'd had to replace the whole third cohort's cabin.
The words that you whisper for just us to know
You told me you love me so why did you go
Away
Go away
"Jason." Reyna shook the son of Jupiter "Jason. Wake up. Come on." The storm ceased abruptly and Jason bolted upright in bed. Beads of sweat were trickling down his face.
"What was it this time?" Reyna asked quietly.
"The war," he responded. "And her."
By "her", Jason of course meant his sister, who he often dreamed of.
"She was dying on a hill. A faun and two demigods were running away."
Reyna sat on his bed and leaned against him, lacing her arm over his shoulders. He held her against him. She could feel his warmth beneath his t-shirt. After a while, he said something she didn't expect, but had wanted him to say for a while.
"I love you, Reyna."
I do recall now
The smell of the rain
Fresh on the pavement
I ran off the plane
That July 9th
The beat of your heart
It jumps trough your shirt
I can still feel your arms
***Reyna remembered when she'd left camp for a week to see her father once again. It had been seven years since she and her sister had left, but Reyna at least wanted to explain everything in case she never saw him again. Jason, Bobby, and Gwen had run into him with Reyna had gotten separated from them on a quest. (What Reyna found confusing about that was the fact that her dad lived in the Philippines.)
When she'd come back son July 9, she looked out the window and saw a camp van parked in the SFO lot, and she knew exactly who had come. Reyna practically flew off the plane (no pun intended), going through security as fast as possible. When she reached the main lobby, she strained to find him through the crowd. There he was. She smiled and ran to him through the drizzling rain and into his outstretched arms.
Reyna closed her eyes and felt the beating of his heart through his shirt. She could smell the slight metallic scent of rain on pavement and his slight scent of oncoming rain and ozone.
"Jason, you came."
"Of course I did. I'm not going to let you waste your money on a cab!"
"What did you do?"
"Uh, nothing?" he tried.
She laughed and hugged him again, feeling his heartbeat.***
As Reyna sat, she could have sworn she could feel his arms around her once more.
But now I'll go
Sit on the floor wearing your clothes
All that I know is I don't know
How to be something you miss
Reyna sat on the ground in her pyjama pants and one of Jason's t-shirts. Why did he leave? she wondered. Did he not like something? Reyna just hoped she'd made enough of a mark that he'd always remember her.
Never thought we'd have a
Last kiss
Never imagined we'd
End like this
Your name
Forever the name
On my lips
The day before (the day Jason had told Reyna that he loved her), Jason had kissed her. Kissed her! It was the most memorable moment in her life. So why had he disappeared? Possibly he'd been kidnapped? But no, Camp Jupiter had great security with Terminus and all.
"Jason," Reyna whispered wistfully into the darkness.
I do remember
The swing of your step
The life of the party
You're showing off again
Reyna had thought she'd seen the definition of a truly amazing party until she saw the one after their victory over the titans. There was wine for the adults, punch for those old enough to attend but too young to drink, and kool-aid for Dakota. Reyna watched Jason jamming out to the music on the dance floor with other boys from various cohorts, showing off his (not-too-terrific) dancing skills.
And I roll my eyes
And then you pull me in
I'm not much for dancing
But for you I did
The song ended and Jason did some weird move, which apparently impressed all the other guys because they applauded him, laughing. He did a mock-bow as the song switched to a slower one and Reyna had to roll her eyes at him from her seat. He smiled at her and came over and gently pulled her to the dance floor, her protests dying in her throat. Normally she was just one of those girls who sat at the side and chatted with friends, but because this was Jason, she gave in and let herself fall into the warmth of him and the gentle beat of Taylor Swift's "Crazier". She rested her head on his shoulder, wishing this wouldn't end.
Because I love your handshake
Meeting my father
I love how you walk with
Your hands in your pockets
Reyna stood atop Mount Adams. Kaisei, that little traitor, had her chained to a post. One minute she had been sleeping, the next she was being gagged and dragged out of camp, somehow without Terminus knowing.
Kaisei did something and suddenly an image of Jason, Bobby, and Gwen was floating in midair. But they seemed oblivious to the world around Reyna. They were approaching a house that seemed like it was in Manila. Jason stepped forward and knocked on the door, which was answered a minute laser by a man who was in his late forties. Was it really...? Why were they there, though? It couldn't have been a coincidence, so they must have gone there on purpose. Well, he did have high connections, and they probably needed to get some transportation or something.
"Mr. Freeman," Jason acknowledged, holding his hand out for the man, who shook it politely before inquiring who they were and why they weren't at school at eleven on a Wednesday.
"School started three and a half hours ago, for goodness sake!"
"Sorry for bothering you. I'm Jason Grace, son of Jupiter. This is Gwendolyn Soleil, legacy of Apollo and Mercury, and Bobby Intel, son of Minerva. We're from Camp Jupiter. I'm the centurion of the fifth cohort and Bobby and Gwen are two of my soldiers. One of our praetors has gone missing, and we're on a quest to find her. We know your daughter Reyna, and..."
"Come on inside," the man said before ushering hem into the living room. The walls were covered with various drawings and pieces of paper. Jason walked awkwardly into the house with his hands in his pockets.
"Did she tell you I was here?" Reyna heard her father ask.
"Uh, no, sir. Actually, she's a praetor of the camp." Her father's face shone with pride.
"The missing one," Gwendolyn said. Reyna's father's face went pale.
How you'd kiss me when I was
In the middle of saying something
There's not a day I don't miss
Those rude interruptions
Well, he didn't often kiss her. There had only been two times before Jason had disappeared. Normally he would just barge on in on one of Reyna's conversations with her friends while she was talking. Reyna started not to mind those interruptions after a while, when she started laughing at the jokes he put in.
So I'll go
Sit on the floor wearing your clothes
All that I know is I don't know
How to be something you miss
Never thought we'd have a Your name
Last kiss
Never imagined we'd
End like this
Forever the name
On my lips
Ooh
O-oh
So I watch your life in pictures
Like I used to watch you sleep
And I feel you forget me
Like I used to feel you breathe.
The days following Jason's disappearance, Reyna sat in her home, staring at pictures of him for hours on end before turning to the next one. She imagined and dreamed of every day they'd had together. When she came to the conclusion that he must have left camp for good, moved on and forgotten her, not even Gwen could cheer Reyna up until she proposed the idea that maybe he'd been kidnapped or something. After that, Reyna sent out ten members of the legion to find him while she went on Skippy on her own to help the search. Only one of them returned, but he was delirious and had died within five hours of returning to camp. He'd said something about one of the others having been eaten by a cyclops and Kevin having been attacked by peacocks in New York Zoo.
And I keep up
With our old friends
Just to ask them
How you are
Reyna asked for information about Jason from every god, nymph, mythological being, and comprehensive monster that they'd ever known or crossed paths with.
Hope it's nice where you are.
And I hope the sun shines
And it's a beautiful day
And something reminds you
You wish you had stayed
Aside from everything else, Reyna just hoped that Jason was happy, no matter what the circumstance. She hoped that he would come back for her someday or at least feel guilty about leaving, but that might not ever happen
You can plan for a change in
The weather and time
But I never planned on you
Changing your mind.
So I'll go
Sit on the floor wearing your clothes
All that I know is I don't know
How to be something you miss
Never thought we'd have a
Last kiss
Never imagined we'd
End like this
Your name
Forever the name
On my lips
Just like our last kiss
Forever the name on my lips
Forever the name on my lip
Just like our last
