I didn't even know what to update going into this, but I think I'll continue to work on my Jacey. So sue me if you want me to update something else. Actually, just let me know the next thing you want to see updated and I'll work on that.

…

Percy's POV

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I woke up slowly at first, then I bolted from my bed and ran into the bathroom, throwing up into the sink. I groaned and crawled back to my room, clawing my way onto my bed. I didn't feel good. That about summed up how I felt. Actually, it felt like someone was giving me a bath in cold fire. I tossed the blanket aside, then threw it, my pillow, and finally my sheets to the floor, so I was laying on a bare mattress. I peeled my shirt off and closed my eyes, wiling the fire away.

"Percy, time to get up," mom said, peeking in. "Percy, why is all your stuff on the floor?" She came in and folded my sheet and blanket, setting them on the end of the bed. She forced my eyelids open and peered into my eyes. "You don't look good sweetie," she commented at last.

"I don't feel good," I rasped, massaging my sore throat. "I threw up this morning, and I feel like someone's giving me a bath in cold fire." She placed her hand on my forehead.

"You have a fever Percy," she said, worry laced in her voice. "I think you should stay home today." I closed my eyes, relieved. But only for a few moments. Then I remembered Jason.

"No!" I said, sitting up fast and sending the room spinning. I plopped back down and focused on the ceiling. "I can't miss today. Jason and I are finishing the car today. Mom, we'll be a little over a week ahead. I've never been ahead before." Mom placed the phone beside my head, and I turned to look at it.

"You can call or text Jason," she said softly. "But you aren't going anywhere mister. You're sick." I groaned and hit my head against the mattress, then wrestled my pajama bottoms off. I was so hot. And I didn't want to call and cancel our plans for today. Jason was looking forward to being so far ahead. And Mrs. Arnald was proud of us for getting along so well. But mom was right. I couldn't go anywhere. I was sick. So I picked my phone up and stabbed the call button. I placed my phone near my ear and let my arm drop. It felt like it was full of lead.

"Hey Perce, what's up?" Jason asked as soon as he picked up. "Are you going to be here soon? Mrs. Arnald said she'd open the lab early just for us so we can work." I groaned and smeared a hand over my face.

"Sorry Jason," I croaked. "I can't go anywhere today. I'm sick."

"Oh no," Jason said. "I'll let her know. Looks like I'll have another day off."

"You're not going to continue working?" I asked, more than a little confused. If anything, I figured he'd want to continue to work so he could be ahead.

"Fuck no," he said. "This is our project Percy. Not mine. I'm not doing this without you." I felt oddly happy about that. I felt like I was belonging. "Feel better soon Perce."

"Hey!" I said before he could hang up. "I have a question for you." He waited while I gathered my thoughts. Why did I even want to know? What if he didn't mean what he said? What if it was just a fluke, and I was falling for the wrong guy again? "You're text from last night…" I began.

"Let me stop you there," Jason interrupted. "Everything I said in that text is one hundred percent true. I might do some things I'm not proud of, Perce, but I would never lie about my feelings. You do mean the world to me. More than you could ever know." I listened quietly while he talked. I'd dreamed of someone saying this to me. "Percy, please, allow me to say one thing, without fear of consequences or stupid remarks."

"Sure?" I said uneasily. I had a sneaking suspicion of what it was. And if so, I didn't think I was mentally prepared for it.

"Hold on, someone's trying to spy," he said. I heard the sound of a door being slammed open. "Will you bastard, get out of here!" Jason said. "Don't make me get Thalia." Will ran out in fear, and Jason closed his door again. "That's better. Percy, I like you…a lot. In that more-than friends way that they always talk about but you never get until it happens to you."

"Jason…" I said, massaging my throat again. I didn't know what to say. What the hell do you say to something like that?

"Don't say anything," Jason pleaded. "Just know that I really like you. I hope someday you can like me too. But you hate me, don't you?" He sounded hurt.

"I…I don't know," I said miserably. "I don't think I loath you anymore, but I don't think I love you yet. I like you now, I guess. You're funny. You make me feel good. Even now." I smiled ruefully at the phone, even though he couldn't see it. "So, no I don't hate you."

"Oh that's a relief," he said with a little laugh. "Well it's not love, but it's a start. Hey, got to go. First period's almost here. I'll talk to you at lunch. See ya Perce. Love you." He hung up. That one left me reeling. Love you? That you most definitely didn't hear from the Great Jason Grace every day. As far as I knew, he'd never even had a proper date. So, why the feelings now?

…

I spent the day alternating between watching TV and sleeping. I did more sleeping than anything else. I felt like shit. The cold fire went away, only to be replaced by a full body ache. And I do mean ache. I hurt from the tips of my hairs to my toenails. Whatever was happening to me, it better go away soon. I needed to go back to school so we could finish our car. I was actually excited to finish, because we could test it and make the necessary modifications.

When the doorbell rang at three thirty, I almost added heart attack to the list of ailments. Groaning, I rose from the couch, wrapped the blanket around my shoulders, and shuffled to the door. That was right. I didn't walk. I shuffled. That was how sick I was. I opened the door and it took my sick brain a minute to register who was standing in front of me.

"Hey Perce," Jason said. "May I come in?" I moved aside and he strode passed me. I followed him to the kitchen at a slower pace. When I arrived, I blinked in surprise. Somehow, I hadn't noticed all the stuff Jason was carrying. "The balloon was Thalia's idea," Jason said. I glanced up at the black and white balloon with Get Well Soon scrawled across it in silver. The teddy bear. The card.

"Um," I said, but I had a smile on my face. No one had ever gone to this much trouble when I was sick. "This is sweet," I said. "But totally unnecessary."

"Bullshit," Jason said with a smile, handing me the teddy bear. I hugged it to my chest and stroked its soft plush. Guess what I'd be sleeping with tonight? "I wish someone would do this for me when I'm sick." I coughed and doubled over, dry heaving. I didn't have anything left in my body to throw up at this point. "Careful," Jason said, helping me stand up straight. "Easy does it." I wasn't aware of him moving me until he was seating me back on the couch. He sat down at one end, and I stretched out, plopping my head on his lap. He made a nice pillow. Jason gazed down at me in mild surprise, but he grabbed up the remote and channel surfed.

"Don't you have practice?" I asked. The fuzzy idea was starting to come into focus. Jason. Practice. Jason had practice today. "You should go," I rasped. "Don't let me stop you." Jason looked down at me and smirked.

"I'm skipping," he said. "I told coach I had somewhere important to be, and he let me off the hook today. So, I'm yours until tomorrow." He said it casually, like he suggesting something to eat rather than admitting he skipped practice just for me. I wasn't sure how I felt about that. I'd never had someone skip something important to them for me. "Do you want to watch something specific?" he asked. I squinted at the TV, but the effort was taking too much out of me.

"I'm going to take a nap," I said to him. "Don't move pillow." I curled up and closed my eyes, and in no time I was out.

…

Jason's POV

…

I tried my hardest to concentrate on Family Guy, but with Percy curled up beside me looking fucking adorable, it was really hard to pay attention to the show. He still had the teddy bear I'd gotten him at the store clutched in his arms, and he looked about five. He mumbled in his sleep, no doubt due to the fever he still obviously had. I was probably going to be sick after this visit, but I found it worth the risk. I'd worried about Percy all day. I'd never seen him skip school before, even when he was sick.

"Percy are you?" I turned when I heard someone let themselves into the apartment. A woman who looked like a female version of Percy studied me intently, then her gaze travelled over her sleeping son. She looked like she wanted to smile, but instead she didn't. Nor did she frown at me.

"Hello, I'm Jason Grace," I said politely. "I would get up and shake your hand, but your son promoted me to pillow. I'd wake him if I moved." Finally, she smiled at me.

"Ah, yes Jason," she said. "Percy has mentioned you once or twice." She squinted at the stuffed bear. "What's that?" she asked, pointing at it.

"I bought him a bear," I said.

"Uh huh." I nearly leaped off the couch when Percy opened his eyes. "You two make it impossible to sleep. Mom, meet JJ the bear." I looked at him quizzically.

"JJ?" I asked. "That sounds like a nickname."

"It is," he said. "It means Jason Junior." I was rendered speechless by that one. "Say hello to Big Jason, JJ," he told the bear. He made it wave at me, and I chuckled.

"Hullo JJ," I said to the bear, and he giggled. Percy's mom had gone silent to watch us, the biggest smile I'd ever seen on her face. She looked so happy that Percy had a friend over, even when he was sick. "Do you want to sit up?" I asked Percy. At his nod, I helped prop him up so he was half sitting, half leaning against the back of the couch.

"Thank you," he said to me, looking at the TV. "Yuck, Robot Chicken. Can you find something else?" I began channel surfing again, and when we hit cartoons, his face lit up. "Let's watch Fairly Oddparents!" he exclaimed. I chuckled and turned it to the show. We sat in silence for awhile, just enjoying each other's company and the show itself. It was the episode where Timmy challenged Vicky for control of the skate park. I loved this episode. "Jason?" Percy whimpered. I turned, and found him clutching his stomach. "I…" he began. I didn't let him get much farther. I leapt of the couch, scooped him up, and ran him to the bathroom. I knelt beside him as he threw up into the toilet. "Oh god," he moaned, sinking down to the floor.

"It's okay, it's okay," I murmured, rubbing his back. "Do you want your mom?" Percy shook his head and forced himself back up onto his knees. He leaned over to toilet and threw up again.

"God Jason it hurts," he moaned, resting his head on the side of the toilet. "It hurts so much…" He threw up again. "Jason, stop the pain!" he pleaded. I looked around wildly. There had to be something to help him. "Jason!" he wailed, holding his arms out to me. I picked him up and rubbed his back.

"Percy, shush, it's okay," I soothed. "It's okay. It's over now. Wanna go get JJ?" He sniffed and nodded. I carried him to the living room and sat down on the couch. He curled up on my lap and shook. I wrapped one arm around him and used the other to reach over and retrieve the bear. I settled it on his lap, and he stroked its plush. I pulled the blanket around the two of us and held him tighter. "Shhh it's okay Percy. It's all over." He buried his face in my shirt. I glanced at the clock. And winced. "Percy," I said gently, untangling him. "I need to get going."

"No," Percy whispered. "Please don't leave me Jason. I can't do this alone. It hurts…" My heart broke a little when he said that. I hugged him close.

"Alright," I whispered. "I'll stay." Percy slumped against me, too tired to continue with the conversation. I lifted him up again and carried him to his room, where I gently laid him on his bare bed. I looked down and noticed his stuff stacked in a neat pile at the end of the bed. "Do you want your sheets and blanket and pillow?" I asked him.

"The sheet and blanket make me sweat," he said. "And I have a pillow. If he'll sleep with me tonight," he added shyly. I chuckled and crawled in next to him. He rested his head on my chest and sighed. "That's better," he mumbled. "JJ agrees with me on that one." He made the bear nod. I smiled.

"Go to sleep Percy," I replied. "You too JJ. Make Percy feel better, you hear." Percy giggled and closed his eyes, curling against the side of my body. I wrapped my arms around him and held him close, until his breathing evened out and he was deep in sleep. When that happened, I took my phone from the nightstand and cradled it to my ear. "Thals, you will never guess where I am?" I said with a grin.

"Percy's," she replied. "You're spending the night with Percy because he wants you to stay with him while he's sick." My jaw dropped. Yeah, that sounded about right. "Just be careful Jay," she said at last. "We don't' need a repeat of Leo." I closed my eyes. Why'd she have to remind me tonight?

"Percy's different," I said. "I can tell. He's coming around. I think you were right. There's a thin line between I loath you and I love you. He's closer to I love you now, I can feel it."

…

Percy's POV

…

My fever kept waking me up, but seeing Jason sleep made it almost worth it. He was adorable when he slept. His hair flopped into his face, and his mouth hung open a little bit. He drooled in his sleep. Though I'd been told I do too. God, we were a lot alike weren't we?

"Night Jason," I said. "I…I love you." Get ready Hell. You were going to be confused with Antarctica tonight. I kissed his forehead and settled back down, slipping into restless sleep.

…

Well, wasn't that lovely. I love nurse Jason!