𝙄𝙉𝙁𝙇𝘼𝙈𝙀𝘿; heroes of olympus

epilogue

ERITH JAY
THEY SETTLED INTO NEW ROME'S COLLEGE CAMPUSES WITH SURPRISING EASE.

There was two to a dorm, so, naturally, Piper and Erith shared. 

Percy and Annabeth were dutifully shocked on seeing Ethan, but they got over it rather quickly when Ethan started ranting about how much he absolutely hated Luke. Annabeth hugged him and Percy actually clapped him on the shoulder, and then they all decided to shut up about it, because he was alive now and there was no changing that.

When the college year started, Jasper and Reyna ended up joining them. "We thought a break might be nice," Reyna explained, "so Hazel and Frank are going to be our co-praetors for the moment."

Jasper nodded seriously. "They're young. They can have a few years before their backs start to hurt."

Reyna grinned and wrapped her arms around him. 

Erith liked them together.

College was a success. She always had at least one of her friends in a class, which made things all the easier. Calypso and Ethan were both settling into their new mortality well. Annabeth and Percy were basically attached at the hip. Nico and Will could be seen going on ice cream dates, and Drew had, indeed, met a pretty Roman girl that she often went out with.

Jason and Piper also made out in their dorms a disgusting amount, which was inconvenient, because whenever Erith went to visit Leo or vice versa, there were their friends, trying to eat each other's mouths.

But Leo and Erith were doing fine. Actually, they were doing really good. Between classes and their aggressively affectionate friends, it was hard to catch any alone time, but they managed.

It was late one night when there was a knock at the door. Erith rose quietly from her bed and padded across the floor on bare feet.

Jason stood at the doorway, his grin nervous. "Hi."

"Hi," Erith said, trying to shake the sleepiness from her eyes. "Everything okay?"

He nodded. 

"Okay," Erith said, "good. Well, Piper isn't here. She went out with Drew—"

"I'm not here for Piper, genius," Jason said. His eyes were so terribly pretty and Erith had almost forgotten. "We're best friends, remember?"

He took her to a valley with benches and stones and statues of gods and spread a blanket out on the ground. They laid down together, staring at the stars.

After a while, Jason said, "I knew Piper went out, and I knew Leo was in my room. So I figured you wouldn't be sleeping."

Erith paused. "Why not?"

Jason turned to look at her, his smile marred by the scar on his face. "You can't sleep unless you have someone you trust with you, because otherwise, you wake up with nightmares."

Erith's heart softened and she turned to face him. She lifted her hand and tucked a few hairs behind his ear. 

"Jason," she said quietly.

"Yeah?" he asked, his scar stark white in the light of the moon.

"You're my best friend, and I think I'll love you forever."

He pulled her head onto his chest and they stayed like that. Erith listened to the rise and fall of his lungs and the steady thump of his brave, beating heart. 

She looked up at the stars and found Zoe in them. She thought of Bob, of Damasen, of Silena and Beckendorf and Patroclus and Achilles, of all the ghosts. Of Percy and Annabeth and Ethan and Drew and Calypso and Piper and Leo and Will and Nico and Jason Grace, her favorite person in the entire world.

She turned her head into Jason and they slept like that.

Erith was not always kind, and she was not always easy. But she was alive, and she was loved despite it all.

That was what mattered to her.

—
an; wow. yeah. um, yeah. i think that's the end.
sorry it was so short, but there wasn't much more to say.
i think i'll be doing a q & a in the next chapter so please leave your questions (if any) in the comments. they can be about jasper, erith, the storyline, the future, anything.
thank you for reading. i hope you liked growing with them as much as i did.
<3

"You're my best friend, I'll love you forever."