Percy Jackson One-shots

What It's All About (Jasiper)

I grip the my knees tight, trying to wipe the sweat off my palms as the plane shakes and shudders with turbulence, the roaring of the engines loud in my ears. We touch down with a bump and seem to be shooting forward faster than ever until the brakes engage and the plane slows on the runway. 

It's not the plane that has my heart racing, my neck breaking out in a cold sweat. No, it's what's waiting at the end of our journey: Piper's dad. As far as Tristan McLean, action hero movie star knows, this is the first time he's met me. Even if still had his memories from our first meeting, it will be my first introduction as Piper's boyfriend. I'm freaking out a little. 

I hardly hear the pilot's voice welcoming us to Los Angeles. Piper sets her hand on top of mine and gives it a squeeze. "Alright there, Sparky?"

"Yeah," I say, then clear my throat to get the shakiness out of my voice. I raise and lower my eyebrows a couple of times, trying to get my glasses to sit right on the bridge of my nose without my hands, a stupid nervous habit I've developed, and Piper pulls them off for me, wipes the lenses with her shirt, and puts them back on straight. "I'm fine."

"He's going to love you, and I promise he's not scary."

"Wanna bet?" I say under my breath. She rolls her eyes. The fasten seatbelts sign flashes off and she lifts the latches on our belts, then stands up, and grabs my hand. I get to my feet and follow her to the terminal. 

XxxX

On the road to Santa Monica, Piper checks her email on an ipad provided by her father's chauffeur. I'm not sure she really gets how intimidating this trip is for me. Even looking past the movie star aspect, I'm more worried about the questions her dad will ask me. Like, what I do for a living, what my plans are for the future, why I'm worthy of dating his daughter. I can't exactly pull the Son of Jupiter, Pontifex Maximus card with him. He's going to love me? 

"Jason," she says, slipping her hand into mine, linking our elbows. "I'm … Just stay with me, will you? I hate lying to him about … everything. It's hard, you know?"

The limo pulls into a long gated drive lined with palm trees. The gate swings open to let us pass and closes as soon as the car is through. It'll be okay, I tell myself. Who cares what her dad thinks about me. Well, I do, but still … What really matters is that I'm here for Piper, a friend to fall back on when it gets tough. This reunion with her dad; it's not about me.