"Dad this time?" Annabeth asks him as he slams his bag down on the table next to her. The sound reverberates through the library but nobody says a word to him. Of course.

"As always," he mumbles angrily, sliding into his seat and placing his philosophy notebook down. His textbook creates yet another thud and when he tosses a pencil on the hard surface so forcefully it breaks Annabeth pulls the bag away from him with a frown.

"Don't be an asshole, Jason."

"Yeah, yeah," he groans before he pulls out a pen (safe from his wrath) from her pencil box, opens his textbook, and starts scratching at the pages of his notebook. It takes him a few minutes to realize that Annabeth still hasn't resumed her calculus sheet and is looking at him with a raised eyebrow. "What?"

"First of all, stop it. Second of all, what was it this time?"

"Thalia. I swear, he doesn't respect her — or me, but her even more — at all. He cut her off. Which, all things considered, isn't exactly that terrible — she has a job and everything — but he cut her off from the family. She's supposed to cut contact with me and mom too."

"What the fuck? How is he even going to enforce that?"

"Well, he won't," he twists the pen. "But it's the thought that counts. She literally didn't do anything but decide to work with Hunter. I don't get why he even cares, she wasn't getting the company. Fucking appearances."

"Tabloids and shit."

"Screw the tabloids."

"Yeah, I know," she gives him a small twitch of the lips before meticulously placing all of her materials back into her bag and shoving his textbook into his. "Come on. I'll text Percy. We can go get ice cream or something and he can share your sentiments. Your family is fucking ridiculous."

Normally he'd argue. But he's basically cruising through this intro course and he can afford to fail a few assignments. He tosses his backpack over his shoulder and follows her out to her car. The librarian gives him a sharp look and he frowns back but doesn't say anything overtly rude. He can't.

Percy Jackson is Jason's cousin. He and Thalia and their other cousins Nico and Hazel used to get into their fair share of fights all the time when they were younger — problem with a bunch of young entitled kids who all know that they're entitled — but by the time they'd hit their teens they'd realized that their lives were utter shitshows and banked on each other to stay sane. Percy had always gotten on a little better with Thalia but he's still one of Jason's best friends.

And yeah, he's a little jealous of Percy sometimes. Jason's a relatively smart guy. He's no genius but he's responsible and he usually knows what he's doing, but he's only been able to elevate himself because of his dad's status. He's not like Annabeth who is literally pure unadulterated genius or Percy who completely embraces his future. Jason's dad runs an airplane company and is constantly under fire for unsanitary practices and labor issues. Percy's dad is also a pretty big asshole but he manufactures ships and reinvests the majority of his profits into marine research. Percy isn't the brightest tool in the shed but he loves the ocean and he's the family's poster child with his enthusiastic interviews and love of what he does. Not to mention that he's dating Jason's best friend.

But Percy's still his go-to-guy for pep talks. They share a special kind of family bond. And luckily, he's a freshman at NYU, which isn't far from Columbia. Annabeth ends up parking in front of some extremely overpriced cafe-bar thing that screams quirky but he doesn't mind. Her phone gets an alert while she's backing up and, ever a responsible driver, she makes him check who's texting her. It's Percy.

"Percy says he'll be here in five. And that he's bringing someone named . . . Piper?"

"Oh," she takes out her keys and slides out, and he quickly follows. "Yeah, he apparently met her in his chemistry class. Says she's nice. It'll be cool."

He thinks, distinctly, that it is not very cool because they can't talk about their crapshoot of a family in front of a complete stranger but he just hums in agreement as they're led to a small booth. Annabeth smiles at him. "Your treat."

"Hey! You're taking me out."

"I paid for gas," she winks, and then laughs it out. "Nah, I left my wallet in the car and I know you can cover it." Yeah, he can. If they both kept a running tab they'd probably be dead equal by now. But they don't because they just don't do that.

They loiter the next few minutes away, staring at the menu, not sure which sugary concoctions to order, when the waitress leads two more people over to them. Percy squeezes into the booth across from Annabeth before clasping his hand. A girl slides in next to him.

And it's about at that moment when Jason's brain explodes. Percy's friend (Piper, he thinks she's called, and the name suits her) is utterly gorgeous.

It takes him a few seconds to process anything else. She's a little bit shorter than the rest of them, but still probably of average height. Her skin is almost a caramel color and her hair is a deep, rich mahogany, chopped unevenly and dropping out of the side-braid half of it is stuck in. Her eyes — he can't tell what color they are, or even if they are a color, and he knows that they are some color they have to be he's not stupid — are open and wide and they have a strange look to them that just draws him in. She's wearing a cropped sweater and a pair of loose jeans, something which he guesses is probably fashionable. The outfit is accompanied by an assortment of golden jewelry hanging from her ears and her throat. Yeah, he's starstruck.

Annabeth notices after a second and shoves her elbow into his stomach. Then she puts a light smile onto her face and her curly yellow waves start to bounce. Bitch. "You must be Piper!"

"I am," oh shit she has a nice voice which isn't too high or grating it's just perfect, "and I don't have to even guess that you're Annabeth, huh? Percy never stops bringing you up."

The two of them laugh and he just sits there like an idiot. Luckily, Percy catches on. Bro mode. Or the other side of stupidity, he can never tell with that guy. They both relate. "And this is my cousin Jason."

"Nice to meet you, Jason," she gives him a friendly smile. "Do you go to Columbia too?"

"Yeah," he ends up stuttering. "Business Management."

"Oh, cool! And Annabeth, you're in engineering, aren't you?"

"Yup, architectural. My mom's in the business." That's an understatement. Athena is the business.

"Following the family, right? Kinda like Percy is."

He slightly regains his ability to have human conversation. "Percy's the pride of the family, definitely. He's going to do a great job running Neptune."

"Are you also going into the family business, then?"

"Oh," he blinks. "Yes. Probably. Airplanes." Flying things. Whoosh. You could have just said that, Jason. Would have had the same impact.

"Interesting! My dad used to fly all the time but he's been a bit too busy to go out recently. Do you have your license?"

Percy laughs a little and elbows her. "Nah, he's into the production level. Building. You ever heard of Jupiter?"

Her eyes widen with recognition at the name, and he flinches because that can only really mean one thing. "Jupiter Airlines."

His voice is dry and so Percy speaks up again. "Yup!"

She looks to be appraising him again, those strange beautiful eyes tracing his face. "There was a protest about their labor habits on campus last Saturday, wasn't there?"

Oh screw Percy. After this he's going to smash his cousin's face in. It's worse because his jellyfish brain clearly has no idea what he said. He has a classic glassy look as he bites his lip. "Was there?"

"There was. About their inhumane labor practices."

And with that, true awkward silence descends upon them. It's cut into by the waitress who comes to pick up their order with a bouncy smile.

He orders the first thing he sees on the menu, Annabeth orders a milkshake, Percy orders some overly specific item and Piper says that she's lactose intolerant before asking for a sorbet. They don't fade back into conversation after that, either. Not easily. So Jason decides to do something both stupid and brave at the same time and start again. "I don't approve."

Luckily, it's a risk well taken. She snorts. "Nobody under the age of thirty does. These old farts don't really understand human rights. I can't wait until we depose all of them."

It's a statement that's slightly out there, but he gets what she means. "The blowback is working. The protests, I mean. He's being forced to fix a lot of issues he'd been blacking out. Some even he didn't know about." He sounds like he's making excuses for his father and he really hopes he isn't giving off that impression. His father is objectively and subjectively — from all angles, really — a terrible human being.

"Oh, that reminds me," Percy pipes up again. "What happened?"

"The thing Annabeth texted you about? Uh. Dad issues."

He remembers how he hadn't wanted to talk about his family issues in front of a stranger, and he really shouldn't. He knows he shouldn't. But Jason Grace is fucking weak and he fell for a pair of pretty eyes. Sue him. He has a strange feeling that she won't say anything.

He recounts the Thalia-disownment to Percy and as speculated, his cousin is pissed. Thalia might be his best friend — although she's older the two of them share a strange rapport. Piper listens with mild interest, but it's clear that she isn't trying to leak anything. By the time their desserts come both boys have exhausted all their anger and planned out how they're going to stay in touch with his sister anyway. Then they move onto milder topics.

Jason grows a little more confident. Her face is gorgeous and she seems well-spoken but he's recovered from the initial shock of seeing her. "So what are you majoring in, Piper?"

She twists her spoon into a pile of rainbow ice. "Undecided, currently. My mom's into fashion and my dad's an actor, and I'm really over that. I'm actually entertaining food studies or something like that. I like cooking and I've been all over the world with my parents, so it would be cool to eventually channel it. Maybe I'll eventually go to culinary school. Or into food science," she shrugs.

"That's really cool. I think you'd be great at it."

He's used to nodding his head and feigning interest in people but it actually does sound interesting, so he gives her a bright smile that she takes a second to return.

They stare there for a little more than an hour when Annabeth rechecks her phone and tugs him away, stating that she has a club meeting or something. He's sad to go but he does grab Piper's phone number before he leaves with a sheepish grin. She'd confidently typed her name into his phone and their hands had probably maybe touched when she gave it back.

Annabeth gave him shit for his lovestruck look the entire way back, but it was worth it.

Jason: Hey. It was great talking to you today.

Piper: you too! im rlly glad perce dragged me along lol

Jason: Haha, yeah. It was fun.

Jason: Would you want to grab lunch with me sometime?

Piper: oh. just us?

Jason: Yeah. If that's okay with you. We can hang out with Percy or Annabeth if it makes you uncomfortable

Piper: it wouldn't. that sounds great, jason.

Piper: are you free tmrw?

Jason: Yes, actually :)

Piper: my friend leo owns a great mexican place. we could meet there around 1?

Jason: That sounds awesome. Send me a pin?

Piper: location sent

Piper: cool! see you there :D

Jason: Looking forward to it!

He doesn't call Annabeth and yell in victory. He doesn't.

He does stand in front of the mirror and overanalyze his outfit for about thirty minutes he can't really afford after running out of class. His jeans and button-up are a little preppy but he doesn't have a lot of casual wear in his closet and it's not like he's going to wear a tie either. It's Mexican.

With a last sigh at his reflection he grabs his keys and heads downstairs to his car. The building that he lives in is full of working singles who are already out of college and whose parents don't pay for their living space, and they all walk rapidly past him as he slides into the front seat. It's not that far away and he gets there five minutes early, as he's prone to do.

It's a nice place. He slides into a booth and gives the menu a cursory glance as he looks around. It has a rather aesthetic metal vibe, pipes hanging out of the ceiling and a mural of a man toiling in front of a fire across him. It's clean, too. He marks off the point for good taste. Which he expected from her original aura. He shouldn't really be counting points at all. His head is a mess.

It's two minutes after one when Piper comes in and slides into the seat in front of him. She's wearing overalls but still manages to look effortlessly fashionable — they're made of a velvet material and she's wearing a lacy bra which doesn't leave much to the imagination underneath. Her face is adorned with a small amount of makeup and her hair is still in a braid. She still looks gorgeous.

"Hey! Have you ordered yet?" she reaches out and pats his hand on the menu.

"No," he smiles and closes the menu before slightly leaning across the table. "I wanted to see if you had any suggestions. You know, about what's good here."

"Oh!" Her eyes brighten. "Honestly, I think everything is good. I told you my friend, Leo, he manages this place — he's great. I'm vegetarian, though, so I usually just get a tofu taco. I'm guessing you'd rather have something with meat," she looks at him apologetically.

Nopes. "I'm open to experimentation. If they're really that good I'll have to try them."

They both get water with the uniform dish when a bouncy young teen walks up to them and asks, and then settles back into the booth. He gives her what he hopes is a lazy smile. "So, a vegetarian food scientist?"

She winks at him, and he knows it's because of the question but he wishes it wasn't. "Part of the appeal, actually. More and more people are becoming vegetarian and vegan these days and, you know, we also need to eat."

"Makes sense!" Oh gods. "So where are you originally from?"

"I'm from LA, actually," she smirks and falls back, sipping on her water. "My parents both worked in Hollywood so it was a pretty easy avenue to go down."

"Oh, right. Actor, right?"

"Yeah, and fashion."

"Have I heard of them?"

Is that something he can ask? Should she have proposed it? Why is he so terrible at these conversations he's a Business major and on the debate team goodness —

"Uh, maybe," she quirks her mouth upward. "Mom goes by Aphrodite, brand name Venus? And my dad's name is Tristan McLean."

He's in shock for a second before he gets over it. He's not wide-eyed and new to the world; he's been going to dinner parties with executives his entire life, and big names don't mean much. He can stay composed. He can, even though Tristan McLean is literally his favorite actor. No wonder she didn't give him a last name.

"That's great! I love his Spartan trilogy."

Calm? Yes, he's very calm. He's composed. He's always composed, like Annabeth. They are the composed ones. Show some emotion, don't be an asshole, his best friend's voice rings through his head and he wants to scream a little. How do you conversation.

"Yeah, that tends to be a fan favorite," she responds calmly, and he's saved from falling on top of himself further by the same bubbly waiter who slides them two dishes and asks them if they want refills on their water before leaving again. He digs into the taco immediately. The tofu doesn't taste half as bad as he thought it was going to. Maybe he can get behind this. Can he say that?

"This is amazing. Wow. Maybe I should become vegetarian."

"Ah, I knew it. Leo's tacos can turn anyone."

"Leo's your friend, right? He owns this place?"

"Yup, he's pretty versatile. I don't think he's here right now but he has a secret recipe and all that. He's also a mechanic. He just likes . . . doing things, I guess."

"That's respectable," he grabs a napkin to wipe at his lips before she can see the stained corners of his mouth. "So, you met Percy in chem?"

"He must have told you," she grins. "Yeah, just a gen ed class. He's really cool, I saw him doodling fish on his notes one day and we started talking. Can't believe you guys are cousins. You really look nothing alike. Honestly, I thought you were related to Annabeth."

"I get that a lot — it's the hair and eyes. My older sister, Thalia, she actually looks a lot like him. I missed the black hair gene in the family."

"Oh, right, your sister. Is she okay? It sucked, hearing about her getting — disowned —"

"Yeah, my dad is . . . interesting."

"Runs a company that constantly gets sued and disowns his kids," her eyebrow moves up. "What are his redeeming qualities?"

Some part of him feels like it should be offended but he really isn't. "None, honestly. He has a terrible temper. I've always been the 'good child' but he doesn't care about me either."

"Sorry if this is too much, but . . . what exactly did your sister do?"

He shouldn't tell her. He shouldn't. But she's nice and Percy's friend and her dad's a famous actor and she's pretty and well-spoken and — ugh. Jason-brain needs to stop thinking. For whatever reason she makes him a mess.

"It's a long story. He's just always been disenchanted with her. She started speaking out in high school, dyed her hair, dated the son of his rival, and she just joined Hunter last week — you know, the multimedia company?"

"That's hella cool."

"Yeah," he smiles. "It is."

"Did I say something wrong?"

"What — no, of course not! What did I —"

"Sorry," she blushes. "It's just that you were sort of . . . scowling. I didn't mean to —"

"No, I'm sorry," how does he fix this? "I guess I have a resting . . . bitch face. It's really all good," he attempts to move his lips upward genially. She almost laughs. "Can we . . ."

"Yeah, it's totally cool," she seems so confident. He's so out of his element. He needs to stop thinking this. He's crushing. He definitely is — and much too hard. She doesn't need to be this nice. "So, you play any sports?"

He's sure not really isn't the most acceptable admission so he stumbles over his next words. "I just hit up the gym, don't really do much else. Do debate, though."

She winks. "I can tell."

He's losing it.

"You're fangirling over her."

"I'm a guy, Annabeth. I literally cannot be a fangirl."

"It's a phrase," she throws her hand out at him and continues laughing. "Gods, you're such a mess. It was never this bad with Reyna."

"Reyna wasn't . . . like that!"

"Like what?" she turns her head quizzically up.

"Ugh. I don't know. Just . . ."

"Oh, wait, I've got it," Percy says from the back. "Reyna never made your heart pound and make you feel like you couldn't talk and made you want to just bow down and give her yourself on a platter —"

"Seaweed Brain," Annabeth slides down next to Percy on the dining table and wraps an arm around him, kissing him on the cheek. "That might be the most poetic sentence I've ever heard come out of your mouth —"

"You guys are the absolute worst."

"And yet," Percy sighs dramatically, "you love us." He does. He really wishes he didn't sometimes but . . . he does. Although his two best friends being the world's perfect love story does get a little rough sometimes.

Jason crashes down on Annabeth's wooden table, staring listlessly at the tiny models of architectural wonders which make up her centerpiece. She is, quite literally, insane. And incredibly obsessed with concrete and glass. "What do I do?"

"I don't get what the problem is, actually. You like her. She likes you?"

"Not everyone in the world works like you and Annabeth, okay? We don't have some deep and intrinsic all-encompassing psychic bond —"

"We don't," Percy says blankly. "We're just always honest. And we call each other out when we're stupid," something hits the back of his head, "okay, Annabeth calls me out when I'm stupid. She's always right. Most of the time."

"So tell me, then, how I jump into being honest with Piper?"

"You don't," Annabeth shrugs. "I don't see what the problem is. Let this develop organically. Ask her out again. And again. And then one date like . . . I don't know, whenever it feels right ask her out. Like, actually."

"I can't believe I'm asking you two for advice. You're the quintessential childhood lovers story —"

"That sounds sorta dirty," Percy crams a cookie into his mouth and Annabeth snickers.

" — And I get that I have to let this develop. But I'm going to fuck it up in the meantime."

"Relax for a second there, Sparky. Just chill. Be you!"

"Fuck you —"

"Okay, don't be you. Swear less and don't be rude and take her out on dates where you split fifty-fifty."

"You think that'll work?"

"Yup," Percy's eating yet another one — being a swimmer has its perks. "Oh, there's that thing at the aquarium Dad's hosting. Invite her."

"Isn't that a little fancy for a second date?"

"Eh, she'll be used to it," Annabeth says. "Plus, if she can't handle it this is done. Your Dad is brutal."

Both Percy and Jason snicker at once. "Piper will run all over good old Zeus, Annabeth, don't you worry."

Fashion is going to be his downfall here. He's in his de-facto nice-event outfit, a black suit with a basic tie from some designer or the other, and his face turns bright red when he sees her when he and Percy pull up to Annabeth's place. Of course the two of them are best friends now — he's so shitty at this.

She's a gorgeous picture with her hair curled over her skin, her dress long and flattering and shining — he can't tell if it's sparkling white or some sort of pale blue and he doesn't know if he wants to know. But there are pearls in her ears and her smile is so white and . . . Percy elbows him in the ribs. "They're pretty great, huh?"

Annabeth is smiling over at her boyfriend, looking dangerous and statuesque as usual. He compliments her first before breathing out and reaching out his hand to Piper, who grabs it and looks a little up at him from where she's still short. He blushes further. "You look incredible."

"You look pretty dashing yourself," she smiles at him, and grabs her purse on the side-table as they walk out the door. He opens the door and lets her slide in and right before Percy and Annabeth slide into the front and he opens the other door his cousin smirks at him. "Fangirl."

"Shut the fuck up, Perce."

"I'm watching you," Annabeth smiles, and he sticks out his tongue at her immaturely before schooling his features together and making his way into the backseat along with Piper.

Two-shot I'll finish soon & one of my last PJO WIPs haha. Thank you for reading! Would love to hear from you.

- Dee