trigger warning (Percy Jackson au)

chapter 5: Jason from Rent!

V

Jason from Rent!

 

Warning: strong language.

The green eyed teen absentmindedly wondered if he’d gone to the wrong Oren’s. Both branches of the coffee shop were on the same street and they hadn’t bothered to specify which one to meet at, and he just hoped that Jason from Rent! would show up at the one closer to open theaters.

His phone beeped twice.

He didn’t realize how excited he was until his dyslexia told him by scrambling the letters on his screen, reordering them in time with his rapidly beating heart. He rubbed his eyes and told himself to calm down, and then read the text.

I’m here. The one on W 115th, right?

He sighed in relief. Before he could answer, a second message followed the first.

I see you.

Percy could have just sat for a second wondering what the level of creepy was supposed to be in that sentence, but someone slid into the booth across from him with a content sigh.

When he looked up, he had a taste of what eyes sharper than Thalia’s would look like.

The blond was wearing a white button down, which only served to add to his high class feel. The shock blue eyes helped, and for some reason, so did the scar in the corner of his lips. And wow. Muscles. Percy felt like he was staring at one of those perfect magazine models, except this one had actual facial expressions.

“Percy Jackson,” He reached over the tabletop and stuck out a hand. His mature image made Percy wonder if they really were close in age.

Percy shook his hand. “Jason from Rent!. It’s great to finally meet you while sober.”

The blond laughed sheepishly. “Yeah, the party got a little… out of hand, after a couple of hours.”

“Huge understatement.”

As he’d finished the comment a waitress came by to drop off their orders, nodding at both of them before returning to whatever post she was assigned.

“You drink your coffee black?” Jason looked up from his drink.

“It keeps me up longer,” He replied, then looked down at Percy’s cup. “Dude, why is your coffee blue?”

Percy looked down at the light blue cream in his cup before shooting the waitress a thankful glance. “Blue’s my favorite color,” He shrugged. “It’s better than drinking straight up bitter as hell coffee, you have to admit. You’re going to crash in a couple hours.”

Jason snorted into his cup. They took a long synchronized sip.

“You said something about a choreographer earlier,” Percy remembered. “You have rehearsals on Sundays, too?”

“Every single day for the next four weeks,” Jason nodded. “The two weeks before opening night, we have to do a dress everyday to make sure we don’t mess up on a single thing.”

“Sounds intense.”

“You have no idea.”

“Wait, how old are you?” If he was working a job as strenuous as that one…

“Eighteen,” He answered easily, (oh,) then looked suspiciously at Percy. “And you?”

“I’m also eighteen.” The dark haired boy could almost see the words ‘thank god, not a dropout’ plastered across the taller guy’s forehead. (Fuck. He was taller.) “How did you even land a part in Rent! in your teen years? Isn’t most of the cast thirty years old? Or even older?”