a/n: I HAVE RETURNED TO MY FANFICTION ROOTS. after a very very very long hiatus i've decided to return to writing. frankly, pjo has always been my comfort characters and i love them too much and the fanfics i've been reading lately have SLAPPED so hard they slapped me outta my writer's block so here we are. i am returning to write the shit out of my very favorite utterly to die for tropes (enemies to lovers, heartbreakers, tutoring etc.) so yes it will be cliche but no i do not care and i am happy. SO to bankroll all that we're starting with le fake dating + jasper in this au. i love piper and jason so much. they deserve their happy ending. voila. kisses!

disclaimer: yk what after the burning maze maybe i SHOULD be stealing rick's characters just so i can protect any more of them from getting killed off. jason and piper deserved better yo. still mad. anyway i only own the plot (sadly!)


JASON SUPPOSED that Reyna Ramirez-Arellano should have been his forever and always. After all, he'd been in love with her since he first laid eyes on her. In seventh grade, during his father's campaign for the state's senator seat, Zeus had told him to befriend the girl. The Ramirez-Arellano's would be an important connection later on in life, and the coinciding ages of the two families' heirs was the blessing Zeus needed. As it turned out, her mother, Bellona, was a high-ranking official in intelligence and had already taught young Reyna to be on guard against cleverly scheming politicians, especially ones like the Graces.

So that first day in seventh grade when Jason Grace introduced himself, polite as an angel. Reyna had eyed his blonde hair, tightly pressed white button-down, and promptly responded by punching him in the face. Jason didn't cry, just continued through his introduction while holding his bleeding nose. He was surprised of course, but Zeus had instilled in his son to never show weakness. Jason had continued while the blood soaked through his silk handkerchief (never to come out again), and Reyna at the ripe age of twelve had respected that. From then on, their paths would inevitably be intertwined for the rest of their lives.

While Jason's nose never fully went back to being completely straight, he had gained a new friend instead, a loyal ally. In hindsight, Reyna would admit that she felt bad about the incident, but she would always tell him that the bump brought character to his handsome features, and that golden boys needed to be kept in check.

When freshman year rolled around, Jason, with some urging on his father's part, decided to use his role as class president to ask Reyna to the winter formal at Laureate Preparatory. The pronouncement came blaring through the school speakers, causing the girl to go pink around the ears and cheeks. Although Reyna was mature for her age, there was still a part of her that felt flattered and exhilarated to be asked by the Jason Grace, the guy who had girls crushing on him in grade school, the object of everyone's affection. So, she frostily accepted, much to Jason (and Zeus') joy. Together, they were unstoppable. Jason was class president, head of the debate team, captain of the tennis, lacrosse, and football team, and a member of the prestigious public speaking club. Reyna was a taekwondo champion, she helped coordinate youth internships at the White House, she was the vice president and competed in the top percentage of jockeys her age. They were the defining power couple at Laureate Preparatory, commandeering respect wherever they went. And to Jason, they had a splendid relationship. Because their families worked in the same sector, on weekends they attended family events in each other's arms. Jason adored Reyna, who he had planned into his future by junior year.

They were perfect for each other.

You might wonder what Piper McLean was doing by this time. In freshman year, Piper moved from the glitz and glamor of Hollywood to New York City after a certain stunt concerning a stolen Mercedes Benz and a drunken joyride had forced her father, Tristan McLean, to send her to the East Coast. Of course, it can be added that Piper only stole the car because she wanted attention from her father, hoping that her stunt would take her parent's attention off their bitter divorce, convince her absentee mother, Aphrodite to stay, and her father to hang around more often. It resulted in neither, and in fact, worsened the situation, with Piper seeing her movie star father even less than normal and her mother quite promptly moving on with a new family.

Piper made quite a name for herself at Laureate Preparatory. She was a lethal force to be reckoned with, a beauty with a razor-sharp wit, though she'd never let you know it. Everywhere she went, she left behind a trail of heartbreak. That year, while Jason was building his relationship with Reyna, it was rumored that Piper was giving seniors blowjobs. As the years went on, the rumors spiraled, claiming she had fucked the entire soccer team. She was labeled as the school "slut", which was an extreme exaggeration. Sure, she was more promiscuous for the conservative families of Laureate, but if anything it was their old-fashioned attitudes that were more extremist.

Her intelligence was always severely underestimated because any girl who embraces her femininity and sex must be stupid, right? In truth, her brains rivaled those of Jason Grace or Reyna Ramirez-Arellano any day. Although Piper's escapades had made her quite popular in a sense, she only had two friends she truly trusted, Annabeth Chase, and Leo Valdez, both of whom had automatically accepted her and saw past her facade. In fact, it was Annabeth who had chased away that lurking senior in freshman year, and Leo, who had cut his tires.

The truth of the matter was that it was never expected that Piper Mclean and Jason Grace, two people who fell in entirely different social circles, would ever cross paths.

Until they did.