heavy bones [jason grace]

26. jason and i stop being friends

I find Jason in the commons area.

He's sitting on a bench, head tilted back as he tries to catch his breath. Judging by the sweat glistening on his tan skin and the basketball by his feet, he's been working out. His orange tank top and shorts mean his muscled arms and legs are on full display. He looks fucking incredible, even just basking in the afternoon light. What an asshole. I have half a mind to break his nose, but knowing my luck, it'd only make him hotter.

When he sees me coming, he smiles softly. "Hey. Thought you were resting, Sleeping Beauty."

"No resting," I tell him, and I can't help but be impressed with myself for forming coherent sentences when he looks so devastatingly gorgeous. I take the seat next to him and pull my knees up to my chest. "Just crying, mostly."

"What's wrong?" he asks with a little frown, reaching over to tuck my hair back behind my ear. "Anything I can help with?"

My heart just about leaps out of my chest. Is he aware of how fucking perfect he is, or does it come so naturally to him that he doesn't even notice? I wrap my arms around my legs to keep my hands busy, or I might just grab him and kiss him until we run out of air. 

"Not really," I say after a moment. I let out a little sigh and shift closer to him, resting my head on his shoulder. He winds his arm around me almost instinctively. "I just...A lot of people I love are dead. Noelle, Erin, Silena...and I miss them. I miss them so much, but I know in my heart they're at peace, you know? Nico — he's a son of Hades — he told me Erin and Silena made to Elysium. I'm sure Noelle made it too. I mean, she might not have saved the world, but she saved me. That makes her a hero in my book."

"Mine too," Jason says, pulling me even closer. "Can I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

"Your memories...you got them back, right? All of them?"

I nod. "Yeah, pretty much. I mean, not everything-everything. My memory's not that impressive, but I remember most of it. Noelle, my dad, running away from foster care, meeting you..." I turn to look at him, brow furrowed. "Do you not remember?"

"No, I do," he says. "Kind of. It's still pretty foggy. What I do remember...isn't great, for the most part. But it's not all so bad."

I take his hand in mine and intertwine our fingers. "Tell me about some of the good ones."

"I remember my friends, kind of," he says. "Arden, Gwen, Dakota, Reyna, Hazel, and Bobby. I remember their faces, and a little bit about them, but not a lot."

"Hm." I twist my lips, rifling through my own memories. "Well, I don't remember you telling me about a Reyna, or a Hazel, or a Bobby. But Arden...you said she talks a lot. Like, a lot. And that annoys a lot of people, but you thought they just weren't listening to what she was actually saying, 'cause she's really clever. You said Gwen is really optimistic, always trying to get people to see the bright side. Dakota...what did you say about Dakota? Oh, you said he drinks a ton of Kool-Aid, and he's a really great friend."

Jason's looking at me with wide eyes, his expression something akin to amazement. "You remember all of that?"

I duck my head, cheeks warming. "Honestly? Those three weeks we traveled together...they're the sharpest memories I have."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

For a moment, neither of us speaks. We just sit there, holding hands. I can't bring myself to look at him.

"Hey, Dee-Dee?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I ask you another question?"