If you happen to be one of those awesome people who read/review/follow every single one of my stories, such as AthenaGreyEyes98 or maybe Dingy101, then perhaps you know the story of how my laptop broke down. If not, you could read A/N on brotherband chronicles to find out how Hermes saved my laptops life. And, while you're there, you may as well drop a review ;D
Piper stared at him for a second, not really comprehending what he had said. "Whaddya mean?"
"The door is locked," Jason explained patiently, acting like Piper was three. "And we're on the outside of it. Therefore, we're locked outside." He smirked at her, and she huffed.
So they were outside for the night, in the dark with no one else around. Pipers mind started wandering in places it probably shouldn't, and she looked away uncomfortably.
"We could try knocking," she suggested. "Except Coach will probably hear and then we'll be in trouble."
"Or we could spend the night out here," Jason grinned, looking up at the sky. "Come on, you have to admit that'd be cool. I mean, we could sleep in the grass, and my jacket will be a fine blanket for you…"
"What if you get cold?" Piper intervened, already warming up to the idea. She couldn't really see any flaws in it; a whole night with Jason, under the stars, the temperature was mild and she could spend some time to cool off before she saw Leo. Plus, after sleeping in five-star beds surrounded by cushy comforters her whole life, she couldn't imagine what it felt like to not have that.
"I'll be fine," Jason shrugged. "I'm kind of hot, actually…" he shrugged off the coat, and Piper gave in.
"Sure?" She grinned. "I don't see why not." She accepted the jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders, enjoying the feeling of a little bit of Jason holding her. It would have been better if he himself had been warming her up, but for now his jacket would have to do. She inhaled deeply, taking in the crisp smell coming from the jacket.
"Where should we camp?" Jason asked, gesturing around the open area of the desert, miles and miles of possible spaces to sleep for the night. She had to admit, the desert seemed almost like a yawning mouth, ready to swallow her or suck her up if she ventured too far from the glowing haven of the Wilderness school. The sky looked infinite with only the faint light from the building behind them to dim the stars.
"Lets stay close." She shivered slightly, glad Jason couldn't see it in the darkness. He shrugged and led her over to the track, which ringed a large area of soft, slightly unkempt grass.
Piper almost jumped in fright as Jason took her hand in his, his larger one engulfing hers. Her stomach immediately turned into a mush and her heart started hammering against her ribcage so loud that Piper was surprised Jason couldn't hear it. Part of her wondered why Jason was holding her hand, but the rest of her mind quickly silenced it, basking in this moment.
"Don't want to lose you," Jason explained, and hint of nervousness to his voice. Piper smiled warmly and squeezed his hand lightly. They didn't say anything, and maybe it was just Piper's imagination, but she could swear some sort of invisible communication passed between the two of them. Piper was grinning like a fool as they lay down, still holding hands. She realized they probably wouldn't fall asleep like this, but she didn't care; it was nice all the same.
"Why the grin?" Jason asked from beside her, and when Piper turned her head their faces were inches apart. She could make out every detail in his face even in the dark, every ridge and bump that all seemed to be exactly where they were, as if he had been designed by a god.
"Uh…." She froze for a second, before registering his question and scrambling for an excuse. "Just excited to spend the night out here. Never done anything like this before."
"I have, I think," Jason frowned. For a second, Piper wanted to ask what he meant, but then the question slid from her mind like melted butter and she just shrugged. Why bother with things like that, she wondered, when she was lying in the grass outside holding hands with Jason? This definitely was not where she thought she would end up when Jane sentenced her to this stupid boarding school, but she wasn't complaining. It was way better to be holding hands with the super-cute guy than being the loser of the prison.
Well, maybe that wasn't completely right. She was the loser of the prison –boarding school– but at least she had a couple of friends with her this time. With Jason to stand up to Isabel for her and Leo to make dumb jokes and play pranks, who needed to be popular? Piper had never actually been popular before— people found her weird and dark, and she ha never pulled the famous dad card just to get friends. Her logic was if they were only her friend before that, they clearly weren't her actual friend. Instead of being the famous, desirable girl she could have been, she chose to be the kleptomaniac who sulked in the corners and stole for attention. And now she had an elf and a supermodel to keep her company.
"Penny for them," Jason said, noticing the lost look on her face. Piper turned around, surprised. It took her a moment to realize what he was saying.
"Oh," she stumbled, trying to collect her own thoughts. "Just, you know. Thinking about how weird it is to have friends." Jason laughed from beside her, but it wasn't mocking. It was gentle and friendly, almost like he understood her completely.
"You've never had friends, eh?" He mocked, raising an eyebrow at her. She punched him in the shoulder, but she was smiling as well. It was hard not to smile around Jason.
"Nope," she shook her head. "Most people treat me like Isabel does, but you and Leo made the mistake of socializing with me." She grinned. "And now you're stuck with me."
Jason laughed again. "I think I can deal with that," he smiled. He leaned a bit closer and Piper's heart froze for a second. Her face went completely blank as her mind seemed to melt and drain out her ear. She couldn't move, she couldn't breath, she couldn't think.
Jason pulled back and lay down in the sand, letting her hand drop quickly. Piper felt disappointment surge through her as she realized what had almost happened but she had stopped unintentionally.
No! She wanted to scream. Kiss me, you fool! Instead, she just cleared her throat awkwardly and stared at Jason's back. Was he turning away to hide his anger or his disappointment? Were there hot pricks in his eyes, like she could feel in hers?
"We should go to sleep," Jason muttered without turning around. "Sorry about…" he trailed off, his voice hitching slightly. "Goodnight, Piper."
"Night," She muttered miserably, turning away from him and wrapping his jacket tightly around her body, breathing in his smell. It had a hint of bitterness to it.
I know it's short, but i had to end it there. Sorry :(
Also, i know this almost-kiss is so far right field from the cannon story, but hey, I'm the author, right? If anyone doesn't like it, you can write your own story.
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