Okay, everyone's a seriously dedicated fan now. So I mention All of Me twice, and now you listen to it whilst reading? That's either serious dedication or complete nuttiness. I like to think of it as dedication. I'm glad you like that little touch though. Every couple needs a song, even if they aren't official yet. (also, I'm listening to the song while I type lol)

…

Percy was absent the next day, which made the blonde incredibly nervous. Granted, he could hold his own. It was just comforting knowing that Percy was around. Jason wasn't sure if he even wanted to go to gym, but Nico, of all people, insisted that it would be in their best interest to go and act as normal as possible. Both boys changed quickly and headed out to the actual gym, standing side by side at the faded red line. Jason performed the series of stretches quickly, watching as Nico kept pace with him. Maybe Nico was finally limbering up. Jason certainly felt a little smarter under Nico's watchful eye.

"Okay kiddies, today is basketball. Two teams. Pick captains and get to it," Mr. Holme said from his corner. Will shot the blonde a sly smile and motioned Malcolm Parker forward. The other blonde stepped forward nervously.

"I nominate myself and Malcolm," Will said. No one thought to argue, though Frank and Jake looked at Jason curiously. Jason ducked his head and tried to appear as small as possible. He never felt insignificant in gym, but right now that's exactly how he felt. Small and insignificant. "Let's see," Will said wickedly, looking around the group of boys. "I pick…Jason." Jason's head shot up as he moved to stand beside the other boy, who grinned devilishly at him.

"Leo," Malcolm said, then yelped as Will elbowed him in the side, shaking his head. "I mean Nico," Malcolm said sheepishly. The dark-haired boy took a step back, his dark eyes widening.

"You can't do that Will," Jake spoke up. "Malcolm has already made his pick. Also, don't you all think it's a bit unfair that Will is trying to separate Nico and Jason on purpose?" There were a few muted agreements. Frank simply nodded. "I say let Leo be with Mal, and whatever happens, happens." Will glared at his once partner in crime, and Jake winced. "Sorry Will," he apologized. Jason felt rather sorry for Jake. He still liked Will, very much against his own will.

"Whatever," Will huffed angrily. "Leo can be with Malcolm." The small Latino took his place behind Mal, glancing curiously at Jake, who had his back turned. "I'll take Frank," Will said moodily. No matter who he or Malcolm choose, there would always be supporters of the two boys.

And so it went, until it was only Nico and Jake. Neither looked happy about being last. Jake reached out and patted Nico's shoulder, looking at Will and Leo in turn. It was Will's pick now. The blonde boy didn't look any happier about choosing either of them. Jake refused to even look at him. That stabbed at Will painfully. He would never tell anyone this, but he missed Jake. The other boy might not have been as heartless as the blonde, but he'd been Will's best friend for years. Maybe Will was just being a jerk.

"Nico," he said softly. Both Nico and Jake looked surprised. Will looked behind himself and noticed Jason doing a little dance around Frank. He remained straight-faced, but the shorter blonde was smiling inside. He felt like he made the right choice. Besides, Nico was becoming quite the athlete. He was agile and fast on his feet. That could prove to be useful in basketball. Jake moved to be with Malcolm. Out of the corner of his eye, Will caught Jake giving him sad and longing looks. Will huffed and faced his team. He had about nine players. That would be enough to cover all the positions. But something felt off about this. He and Jake were always on the same team. For the first time, they weren't. He glanced at Jason, and found the taller blonde's hand in Nico's. He thought about making some sharp remark, but his heart wasn't in it.

"Are you okay Will?" Jason, of all people, asked the shorter blonde. Will opened his mouth for a snide retort, but then he shut it.

"Yes Jason," he said. "Just distracted I guess. Now, since we have the best team imaginable, I bet we can beat Mal and his crowd."

"Even Jake?" Nico asked innocently. Will didn't know if he wanted to thank the dark-haired boy for pointing that out or smack him upside his brainy head. But then he'd have Jason and Frank to deal with. Be that as it may, he sucked in a few breaths.

"Yes, even Jake," Will replied, but there was a hitch in his voice that hadn't been there before. Jason studied his enemy. Will kept shooting swift glances over his shoulder at Jake, who was listening intently to whatever Malcolm was saying.

"I think he misses his friend," Nico whispered quietly in the blonde's ear. Jason nodded. It certainly seemed that way. But he didn't feel sorry for Will, not for a minute. He deserved every bit of karma he was being given. If losing Jake as his best friend made him change his ways, so be it. Still, Jason couldn't imagine losing his best friend.

…

"You did amazing," Jason whispered in Nico's ear after class. Nico proved himself once again, shooting basket after basket for his team. Nico beamed at him and stood on his toes, kissing the blonde's cheek. "There's my confident little bookworm," Jason said, wrapping his arms around the dark-haired boy's waist. Nico leaned his head on the blonde's shoulder, closing his eyes. Jason kissed the top of his head and hummed softly in his ear.

"That's so picturesque, I'm almost sorry I didn't take one," Jake said, interrupting the moment. "You don't seem the least bit fazed that people know now." Jake's smile looked a little forced, and he sat down heavily on the wooden bench across from the couple. Jason turned to study him. Jake's shoulders drooped ever so slightly, and the forced smile never reached his sad brown eyes. Jake looked defeated.

"Do you miss Will?" Jason asked the brunette, who flinched. "Just be honest Jake. He misses you."

"You'd better not be lying or I'm tearing every single strand of blonde hair from your head," Jake threatened half-heartedly. "Of course I miss him. He is…he was…my best friend. We've done everything together. Hell, he was there when I broke my arm playing kiddie tackle football. I was there when he broke his leg sledding down that giant-ass hill about a mile out of town. We even had the chicken pox together. It's just so different not having him around for this."

"What would this be?" Nico asked, moving to sit beside the brunette. The absence of Percy seemed to be forgotten for the time being.

"Figuring myself out," Jake replied softly. "Realizing I like the same sex. Will wouldn't support me for this. He's the biggest homophobe I know. That doesn't stop me from wishing he did support me though. You'd figure your best friend would have your back no matter what. Will's the kind of best friend that comes with a price apparently." Jake took a shaky breath and wiped away the first traces of tears. "He's got to be the worst bully I've ever encountered. I'm glad I have you two though. It makes it almost worthwhile." The blonde and the dark-haired boy sandwiched the brunette in a double-sided hug.

"We've got your back Jake," Jason said. "No matter what." They were unaware of the fourth presence, lingering just beyond the doorway to the second room. Will heard every word Jake said about him, both the good memories and the bad bullying. Was he really the worst bully Jake had ever met? Also, he didn't care if Jake liked the same sex. He loved Jake. He would never hurt him. Not on purpose anyway. But he just hurt him in the worst possible way, simply by not supporting him when he needed it most. What kind of best friend was he? He moved away from the door. He'd heard enough for the day. He'd already had a heavy heart. Now it felt like a ton of bricks were sitting in his chest.

…

"I feel so bad for Jake," Nico confessed to the blonde after school. They were at Jason's locker, and Nico was waiting for Jason to get the last of his stuff so he could take them both back to the dark-haired boy's apartment. "Loving someone who will never love him back. That's gotta be the cruelest thing." Jason sighed and slipped his backpack over his shoulder, shutting his locker.

"Will has this coming, but Jake's the unfortunate pawn in this chess game. I wish there was something we could do for Jake. He insists he's fine, but I'm sure he's breaking." The dark-haired boy nodded sadly and trailed Jason out to the parking lot. The blonde threw his backpack into the backseat of his mom's car. Nico slid into the passenger seat and set his bag on the floor between his feet. He folded his hands on his lap and stared out the window. "Maybe Jake could come and spend the night with us tonight. I bet that would cheer him up." Nico turned and gazed at the blonde as he climbed in. "What?"

"Hanging with us won't cheer him up," Nico responded. "Hanging with Will would do the trick. You see it don't you? He likes the attention he gets from us, sure, but all he wants is for Will to pay attention to him. Even just a little bit. He really misses the Will he once knew, who did everything with him." The blonde sighed and nodded in agreement.

"I think you're right Neeks," he replied at last. "I wish Will would just talk to him. If anything, maybe they could speak a little about nonsense." Nico and Jason rode on silence for awhile, both thinking about their new friend. Jake had to have the worst luck of them all. At least Jason and Nico had each other. Jake had no one, and not because he didn't want anyone. No, the one he wanted was a huge jackass about his sexual preferences. Will needed a few beats to the head. Maybe Jason should've let his right hook travel a little faster into the side of Will's head.

"Jason, are you doing to sit there all day?" Nico asked, twisting in his seat to look at the blonde. "We're at my house now." Jason blinked in surprise. He hadn't even been aware of the fact he'd driven all the way to Nico's apartment. But here they were. The blonde must have zoned out while he was driving. Good thing they didn't serve in the other lane. The blonde slipped out and followed the dark-haired boy up to the apartment, which they got into via Hazel. "Do you know what happened to Percy?" Nico asked his sister as he began taking things out his backpack. "He wasn't at school today.

"Oh, Percy has mono," Hazel replied. Nico looked up at her, shocked.

"What?" he asked. "And Annabeth doesn't. How does that work?" Hazel shrugged her shoulders and went into her room. The blonde's head spun. Percy had mono? Wasn't that contagious? "I'm sure Percy will be better soon," the dark-haired boy continued, setting things out on the small kitchen table as he went.

"Isn't mono contagious?" Jason asked Nico, who shrugged. "I think so. I hope we don't get it. We hang around him all the time. Especially me." Once again, Nico shrugged. "Oh well. If we both catch it we'd get to hang at home together." He wrapped one arm around the dark-haired boy's waist and drew him closer, softly kissing him.

"Now that sounds heavenly," Nico replied when the blonde pulled away. "The staying at home together. Not the mono." Jason grimaced. Poor Percy. He'd be stuck at home for at least a week and a half. He could always tell Principal Blofis to send his regards, but he didn't want to talk to the principal right now. He had no love for him. Jason sat down at the table and watched as Nico went back and forth from an old looking leather bound book to his notebook, scribbling furiously. Jason looked closely at the book. It wasn't a school assignment. At least, not from any of the classes he was in. "It's family history," Nico replied like he knew what the blonde was thinking. "Dad's making me study up on it. It's actually interesting. I already knew my grandparents came from Italy and immigrated here shortly before my mom was born. But that's all I knew."

"You're Italian?" the blonde asked, feeling like he somehow already knew this. Nico was fair skinned after all. And he had the dark features of an Italian. Nico looked like he wanted to laugh as he nodded at the blonde.

"You betcha," he responded. "My dad's Polish apparently. Interesting combination." Nico went back to his notebook while the blonde leaned back in his chair. His phone chimed musically in his pocket, and he fished it out. Percy had sent him a text. Random.

Jay, the blonde read quietly to himself. I don't know what you said to Jake, but he showed up at my apartment all depressed. Mom had to send him packing. Is it about Will? I know Jake misses him terribly, despite all the bullshit Will's put him through. Jason felt a little bad for Jake.

Do you have his number? The blonde sent back. I bet hanging with Neeks and myself might do him some good. After several long minutes, there was a gentle rap on Nico's door. The dark-haired boy looked up, confusion clouding his expression. He moved away from the table and threw the door open, gaping as Jake gave him a wan smile and stepped lightly around him. He plopped down beside the blonde, who rubbed his shoulder.

"Um," Nico said. "Okay then." He went back to his leather-bound book while Jason and Jake chatted quietly. Jason moved the conversation to the living room so they wouldn't bother the smaller boy in his scribbles.

"Thanks for inviting me over," Jake said after a long stretch of silence. "This whole Will thing has really gotten me down. I sought out Percy, but he was unavailable."

"He's got mono," the blonde replied. Jake looked surprised.

"And Annabeth doesn't," he mumbled, almost to himself. "How bout that. Well, I'm glad a few people will at least talk to me." The brunette ducked his head and stared at his hands. "That's more than I can say for my so called best friend." Jason placed a hand on Jake's knee, and kept it there until the brunette reluctantly looked at him.

"Will misses you like crazy Jake," Jason said. "He kept looking at you during the game, even if it didn't look like it. He wished he would've chosen you."

"Then why didn't he?" Jake asked frostily. "Why did he chose me if he was so goddamn sad about it. Malcolm didn't want me either. What? Am I not good enough for them anymore?" Ah, there it was. Jake wasn't mad at Will. He was scared. Scared he wouldn't be what Will wanted him to be. Jason wrapped his arms around the brunette in a hug.

"Aw Jake, Will thinks your great," the blonde replied, believing it to be true. He honestly didn't know if that was the case or not, but he didn't think Will would think anything less of Jake. Especially if they'd been friends for so long. "Do you like Will then?" the blonde asked, pulling away.

"No," Jake said softly. "I love him."

…

Jason couldn't sleep. He kept gazing over the side of the bed at Jake, who was sprawled out on the floor. One arm was raised above his head and the other was tossed over his face. His mouth was open slightly as he gave a little whoosh every time he breathed. After some crying, chocolate, and movies, Jake dropped like a dead person. The blonde was surprised he'd managed to fall asleep so fast. What Jake had told him earlier still bounced around in his head. How it must suck, to love someone who would never love you back.

"Go to sleep Jason," Nico mumbled, startling the blonde. "You can't stay up all night worrying about him. He's probably going to do that soon enough anyway. Even if you drop dead from exhaustion, something like that always haunts your sleep, making it impossible to properly rest." Jason stared thoughtfully down at Nico while he toyed with the smaller boy's dark curls. "Just go to sleep, my superman. You can play the hero tomorrow all you want tomorrow, but for that you need to get some rest." Nico tucked his head under Jason's chin. "Goodnight Jason, love you," he muttered sleepily before drifting back off.

"Love you too Nico," Jason said, tucking the blanket around Nico's sleeping form. But the blonde didn't want to play the part of superman tomorrow. All he wanted to do was beat Will's ass black and blue for ever having caused Jake so much pain.

…

Will tossed and turned in his bed, but sleep eluded him. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong with Jake. He also felt something stirring inside of him, feelings he'd tried to keep down for years. But having Jason and Nico around forced him to face the facts. The facts being that he liked Jake in that more-than-friends way. That's why he hated them so much. They forced him to face the feelings he prayed would go away.

Will swung his legs over the side of his bed and padded to the window. He stared out into the night, wishing he knew where Jake was right now. He was craving the brunette's attention right now. Jake always made him laugh when he was feeling down. That was one of the many reasons Will loved having Jake around so much. He was so funny, Will could forget about his problems, if only for a brief period of time. He missed Jake so much it was a physical ache. He couldn't believe he could miss someone that much. But he did. He missed his best friend.

"God almighty above Jake I miss you so much," Will whispered. "Remember when you got sick at school, and you were so embarrassed you hid in the bathroom for three hours? I stayed with you that entire time. Or remember how in kindergarten I wet myself on the playground, and you told everyone it was just water and then took me inside to get dry clothes? We became best friends that day, huh? We've been through a lot together, haven't we?" Will punched the wall beside his window. "And I've been a damn fool to let you just slip away. I swear Jake, I will do everything in my power to get you back. And I will do anything to keep you."

…

Well, that's a side of Will I never thought we'd see. Will actually being sweet? Only for Jake of course. Always Jake.