Quick! Hold My Hand!

Piper leaned farther into the seat. The movie Jason and her saw was some new rom-com that she could predict. It wasn’t a big deal, since she was more worried about how cold she was. Jason had been right, she was freezing her but off. She caught Jason glance at her, a small ‘I told you so’ smile on his face.

She crossed her arms in annoyance, shivering. Out of sheer will power, she elbowed Jason. He leaned his head down to her, making sure to whisper.

“You cold?” Jason whispered, still keeping his eyes on the screen. Piper narrowed her eyes at him. He didn’t even need his jacket. He didn't get cold unless it was an East Coast winter.“Yes, I’m cold.” Piper mumbled back, sitting up to get closer to him. Jason sat up straight again and looked back at the movie. That only made Piper more annoyed, her cheeks heating up. She scooted over to his side, arm rest in her side as she leaned on Jason. If he wouldn’t give her his jacket, she was going to keep laying on him.


Jason glanced down at her, pursing his lips before sliding an arm around Piper. She internally whopped with victory. She had won a battle in the mighty war of comfort. It didn’t do much, but Piper wasn’t shivering like a chihuahua. Just in time for Piper to focus on the impending violin music and the kiss in the rain between the actors.

Too cheesy, but it was so romantic that Piper couldn’t look away. Cliche, predictable, but it made a tiny smile creep onto her face.

“This is so cheesy.” Jason mumbled, almost like he was trying to prove something.


“You love it.” Piper whispered back, earning a tiny glare from Jason.


The rest of the movie was as expected, and they barely moved until the credits started rolling. Piper jumped up first, stretching her legs. Jason slowly got up after her.

Outside the theater Piper spotted Annabeth. She grabbed Jason’s hand quickly, just as Percy joined Annabeth. She watched Percy slip an arm around Annabeth’s waist, kissing the top of her head. That was definitely Percy style PDA.

Jason looked over that way too, mentioning to Piper that they were there. He was met with a ‘yeah I know’ expression, and pulled Piper over to them.

“Hey guys!” Jason opened up, Annabeth dropping an empty popcorn bag into the trash can.

“Hey bro!” Percy beamed, then saw Jason holding Piper’s hand.

“Wait a second.” Annabeth stopped, breaking into a smile. “Percy, you owe me ten bucks.” She laughed, and Piper laughed too.

“He owes you?” Piper asked, removing her hand from Jason’s and hugging him around the middle. “Did you bet on us getting together or something?”

Annabeth nodded as Percy dug through his wallet. Piper watched as Annabeth proudly took a crisp ten dollar bill from him. “I bet ten dollars that you'd get together by the end of summer.” She stuffed it into her pocket.

Jason simply laughed, “Bound to happen.” Piper watched him be completely comfortable. Either he didn't think this was weird, or he was a great liar. Probably the latter. That assumption helped her smile again.

“We were just going to text you guys. Tomorrow we are heading down to Manhattan Beach. We have my dad’s cabin for the weekend. You would've shared a bed anyway if you came.” Percy offered, seeming like nothing new was going on, “Reyna and Thalia are coming. Plus Leo managed to convince Calypso to tag along. All rooms are filled.” He shrugged, and Jason looked down at Piper.

“What d’ya say, babe? Sounds like fun.” Piper said, nudging Jason. If they turned it down, Percy would know something was up.

“Sure. Are we carpooling? Or, do we meet you guys down there?” Jason asked, his need for planning beginning to take over.


Piper played with the end of her braid, tuning out the conversation of planning. She was thinking about how much she would actually need to pack, considering it was the weekend on the beach. The plan she decided on was a few swimsuits and pajamas, a chill outfit or two to go with it.


“I’ll get you guys at Piper’s at seven in the morning.” Percy said, entering a reminder into his phone. Jason looked down to Piper, almost panicked.

“Percy-” Piper started, almost telling him that it was fake dating, “Uh, Jason has dinner with his parents. Just pick us up separately.” She tried to play it off. Annabeth gave Percy a look of ‘duh’, and Percy’s ears turned red.

“Sorry, I assumed. He spends the night a lot- I’ll get Jason at 6:30, you at 7, Pipes.” Percy revised the plan, and Piper nodded in agreement.

They waved each other off, and Piper walked with Jason to his car. As soon as the doors closed, Piper put her head in her hands. She sighed, rubbing her eyes. The whole thing was almost blown. Now they would have to spend the entire weekend being a couple. It was going to be hard. At least, to make sure they kept looking all lovey-dovey and stuff.

“You okay, Piper?” Jason asked, pulling Piper’s hands from her face. Piper whined loudly and leaned against the window.

“I almost blew it, Jace.” Piper looked at Jason. He didn’t seem upset like she was. He seemed calm, okay even.

“Last time you dated someone you acted all stuttery when Percy assumed stuff. You’re fine.” Jason told her, and his steadiness reassured her. “But, we need to figure stuff out. Like how this all happened, okay?” Piper nodded, trying to think, “Maybe I accidentally kissed you and it kinda just happened from there?” She offered, not spending too much time thinking about it. Truthfully, that was what would’ve happened had she actually felt something for Jason.

“Sounds like you.” Jason said quietly, “Okay, so you kissed me and I confessed something about how I felt.” He went over it with Piper both of them making sure their story was straight. They couldn’t screw up the next 52 hours, no matter what.

Piper studied Jason’s face for a moment, “I hope we get in the groove soon, you know, not worry so much about how it looks.” She shrugged,moving to sit correctly, pulling on the seat belt. Jason mumbled an agreement before Piper heard the click of his seatbelt.

“How did you know I had dinner with the family tonight?” Jason asked after a moment, backing out of the parking space. Piper blinked, surprised. She had been his best friend for three years, and it became a pattern of every month, on the second Friday, that his family had dinner. If someone had to Skype into the dining room, they would.
“Well, your family is like that. Every second Friday of the month you guys get dinner.” Piper answered honestly, “I caught on to the pattern.’


Jason looked sheepish, he knew that’s why she knew his plans. They practically shared a calendar. Piper reached a hand over and rubbed little circles on his bicep.

“It’s fine. There’s a lot happening. It’ll be fine this weekend, don’t worry.” She assured him, knowing he was stressed. She saw him relax a little bit, just by her words.

Piper was lying, that weekend would be a pain in the ass.

Notes