𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐂𝐄 - j. grace, ocxoc ¹ ✓

xix. your midas touch on the chevy door !

XIX.      JASON GRACE   !
⋆ ★
your midas touch on the chevy door

          Jason was confident he would have died five times while on the way to the front door if not for Leo.

First it was the motion-activated trapdoor on the sidewalk, then the lasers on the steps, then the nerve gas dispenser on the porch railing, the pressure-sensitive poison spikes in the welcome mat, and of course the exploding doorbell.

Leo deactivated all of them. It was like he could smell the traps, and he picked just the right tool out of his belt to disable them.

"You're amazing, man," Jason said.

Leo scowled as he examined the front door lock. "Yeah, amazing," he said. "Can't fix a dragon right, but I'm amazing."

"Hey, that wasn't your—"

"Front door's already unlocked," Leo announced.

Piper stared at the door in disbelief. "It is? All those traps, and the door's unlocked?"

Leo turned the knob. The door swung open easily. He stepped inside without hesitation.

Before Jason could follow, Piper caught his arm. "He's going to need some time to get over Festus. Don't take it personally."

"Yeah," Jason said. "Yeah, okay."

But still he felt terrible. Back in Medea's store, he'd said some pretty harsh stuff to Leo—stuff a friend shouldn't say, not to mention the fact he'd almost skewered Leo with a sword. If it hadn't been for Piper, Delilah, and Kaori, they'd both be dead. And Piper hadn't gotten out of that encounter easily, either.

"Piper," he said, "I know I was in a daze back in Chicago, but that stuff about your dad—if he's in trouble, I want to help. I don't care if it's a trap or not."

Her eyes were always different colors, but now they looked shattered, as if she'd seen something she just couldn't cope with. "Jason, you don't know what you're saying. Please— don't make me feel worse. Come on. We should stick together."

She ducked inside.

"Together," Jason said to himself. "Yeah, we're doing great with that."

Jason heard whispers behind him and noticed the others caught up in their own whispers. Of course they were together, Jason knew that if they weren't already divided before, they would refuse to talk to them now.

Kaori's eyes connected with his and she cleared her throat, Delilah and Kaen silencing themselves as soon as they noticed him, which didn't surprise him. Jason said awful things to Kaori back at the department store — so awful he hated himself for saying it. And the look he gave her just then made his heart break. She still hadn't forgiven him for his words. Even if technically it wasn't his fault, he felt like an asshole just for saying them. Kaori hadn't done anything to deserve a targeted attack by him. Her eyes had gone glossy, like black pearls that were shattered.

He needed to make things right, he had no choice. Jason didn't want to lose Kaori's friendship.

His first impression of the house: Dark.

From the echo of his footsteps he could tell the entry hall was enormous, even bigger than Boreas's penthouse; but the only illumination came from the yard lights outside. A faint glow peeked through the breaks in the thick velvet curtains. The windows rose about ten feet tall. Spaced between them along the walls were life-size metal statues. As Jason's eyes adjusted, he saw sofas arranged in a U in the middle of the room, with a central coffee table and one large chair at the far end. A massive chandelier glinted overhead. Along the back wall stood a row of closed doors.