PATHETIC by Cookies'nCream Ice Cream
Summary: . . .you find yourself thinking maybe you're not so pathetic at all. (PiperJason one-shot. Written in second person.)
Warning/s: None, unless you count cheesiness as something you must absolutely avoid.
Heartfelt thanks to PSAscience (aka ) for beta-reading. :) You rock!
"Hey."
You look up. It's him. He's smiling at you with that beautiful, radiant smile of his and it makes your heart melt. You smile back. He gestures beside you and you scoot over to make room for him.
Now it's the two of you sitting side by side on the edge of the dock, feet dangling over the side, toes touching the water.
You're very much aware of his fingers only an inch from yours. Heat creeps up your cheeks. He doesn't say anything but you're pretty sure he knows it too. You can almost swear he's blushing.
"What's up?" you ask to ease the tension. He shakes his head. He's not smiling anymore. "Nothing," he says. You don't believe him for a second. You know better; the Argo II is practically finished, and you're leaving for the Roman camp in four days. FOUR freaking days. You marvel at the speed and efficiency of the Hephaestus cabin, but at the same time you wish Leo and his siblings weren't so skilled.
You frown at him, but you don't say anything. You're afraid to. Afraid of saying the wrong thing, afraid of scaring him off, afraid of him leaving you. You'd never thought of yourself as a coward before, but when you're with him, all your toughness, your audacity, the wall you put up to protect yourself from reality just falls apart. It's thoroughly pathetic.
"Jason," you say. He looks up. You meet his eyes and words leave you. Pathetic pathetic pathetic, you scream silently at yourself. Outwardly, you force a smile and put your hand on his shoulder, giving it a comforting squeeze. He smiles back. Your heart melts a second time. Pathetic pathetic pathetic.
You hear the conch horn being blown in the distance. You glance back and see campers filing out of their cabins and heading to the mess hall. You spot Leo near the cabins, waving at the two of you. He's grinning and yelling something you can't hear. You signal at him to wait, and turn back to Jason.
He's standing up already, and he's holding out a hand to help you. You take it, and suddenly you're very self-conscious. Your hair is probably a mess, from the wind and from sword fighting practice. And your clothes. . .best not think about it.
You're distracted from your self-appraisal by his voice. "Thanks," he says. You're totally caught off-guard. "For what?" you frown at him in confusion. "For being good company," he shrugs. You're incredulous. He laughs and puts his arm around you. "You didn't say a lot," he acknowledges, "but you were just there." Unbidden, a smile stretches across your face. "C'mon," he steers you to the mess hall, and you find yourself thinking maybe you're not so pathetic at all.
A/N: This story has been in progress for months, and I've only just gotten around to finishing it. Please review!
~ cookies'ncream :)