Those Who Don't Try
Pairings: One-sided Leo/Jason, and Piper/Jason
Summary: Leo was supposed to resent Jason, not the fact that he couldn't have him.
A.N: When I originally wrote this my tenses were so fucked up that I almost self-destructed from embarrassment. Luckily my beautiful beta kept me from looking totally stupid. I blame the pain meds. Also, happy Slashy Saturday my friends!
Those who don't try never look foolish- Dancing Through Life, Wicked the Musical
Leo always fell for people completely and utterly out of his league. It was only a matter of time before he fell for his best friend, Jason Grace. Jason Grace was light-years out of his league and the fact that his feelings were toying with him this way was flat out pissing him off.
So he did nothing about his feelings. He pushed them down, ignored them, and pretended that they didn't exist. He wasn't sure if it was because he didn't want to ruin his best friends' happy relationship, or if he was protecting them or if he was just too much of a coward to tell Jason about his feelings. He was fairly certain that it was some combination of the three. He didn't want to destroy his friendships when he came out to Jason about his feelings and was met with the inevitable rejection. Gods, it was awful. This was not how their dynamics are supposed work. Jason was the handsome, stoic hero. Piper was the gorgeous, persuasive and amazing girl he falls in love with. Leo was the side kick, the short sidekick with a nose too big for his face that always reeked of grease. (The fact that he killed his mom wasn't really working in his favor either.) He was supposed to resent Jason and his heroism and the attention he received and the fact that he gots the girl. He was supposed to resent the fact that he couldn't have Piper. Leo was not supposed to resent the fact that he couldn't have Jason. He was deviating from clichés in an almost dangerous way, but he still knew how this will end. Whether he was in love with the hero or the hero's girlfriend the sidekick always ended up sad and lonely. He did something about it. In a way.
He didn't stop flirting with girls, especially those that would never like him back. The familiar sting of rejection reminded him that he can't tell Jason, now or ever, because it might hurt coming from these girls but it would be soul crushing coming from Jason. Maybe it was just his natural inferiority complex kicking in, but he was sure that Jason would never like him back. He knew the clichés and he knew how this story ends, so Leo didn't do anything. He didn't deviate from the cliché cosmic script that the fates seemed intent on enforcing. He just never tried because it was better never to have tried than to have tried and failed. But deep down, Leo knew that he's the reason they will never work out with his cowardice and his inability to try and his fatalistic attitude. Deep down, Leo knew that the fault isn't in his stars or in the gods and that it didn't even lie with the fates. The fault lied with Leo and Leo alone for never trying.
A.N: If any tenses are still fucked up let me know. Thanks for reading.