trigger warning (Percy Jackson au)

Chapter 19: Channel Your Inner Kevin Bacon

XIX

Channel Your Inner Kevin Bacon

"You'll do fine," Percy assured, rubbing Jason's back. "It's only singing and dancing for today, right? And you're great at both."

"Your opinion's biased," Jason muttered, face still worryingly pale.

Percy couldn't refute that argument, so he put hands on both Jason's shoulders and forced the blond to look him in the eyes. "Haven't you already done this before? And isn't it going to be much easier than the last time, since it's no monologue?"

Jason groaned. "I was a kid."

"Even better. You played a thirty five year old at eighteen. You'll be awesome." He paused. "And this show calls for younger looking actors anyway, right? It'll be great." Behind them the doors opened, and the line that had formed moved inside. "Alright. Here we go, Jason."

"Agh," He groaned again and stood. "I'm going to mess this up."

"Don't jinx yourself."

"This is a classic. I'll have to be mind blowing for them to even consider picking me."

"And you will be," Percy assured. "Alright. We're going to do this, okay? You're going to be a dancer. You're going to be Ren. Channel your inner Kevin Bacon." Nervous laughter bubbled out of Jason's throat despite himself, and Percy gave a relaxed smile. "Good luck, Jason."

"Thanks, Percy." He waved and headed into the lobby of the hotel, ready to enter the second audition of his professional life.

P

"Do you think he's going to get the part?" Thalia sipped her milkshake with great fervor, sending slurping sounds echoing throughout the small joint.

"A part in the play, for sure. The lead, probably so." Percy glared at her until she stopped making so many food sounds with her mouth. "He'd got so much talent at eighteen, the producers would have to be insane not to pick him for something."

"So you think him getting in the business that early was a good thing?"

Percy dipped a french fry in his milkshake and chewed it thoughtfully. "I think it helped him with his situation at the time, so. Yeah."

Thalia sincerely hoped he was right, because she would never be sure. She reached over their table to touch the fading streak in his hair. "It's not blond. You didn't bleach it?"

"It just kind of. Happened. Blue looks better than white, though." He touched it. "I get fewer stares that way."

She pulled her hand back. "I think that both look good on you, Percy." He snorted, digging into his drink. "I haven't seen you smoke recently, either. Have you been doing it in your free time instead or something?"

He shook his head. "I gave it up."

She briefly remembered her father's intense chain smoking habit, and how much she had personally hated it. "For Jason?" When he didn't answer, she found herself smiling. "You know, if you keep doing these cute things I might start to get a little jealous of my brother."

"I highly doubt that."

"I mean, I told you how much I hated your smoking countless times. And then Jason comes along and it's just 'poof', gone? And he's definitely not the kind of guy to tell you directly, so you just noticed it. Which means you cared enough to-"

"Moving on to more important things," She chuckled into her straw. "He's." Percy stopped there, fading off with his gaze fixed squarely on the nothingness above the short girl's head. Immediately her humor left her. If he was having difficulty talking to her about the topic...