This chapter is dedicated to ThePraetorLady (previously known as FieldOfPaperFlowers). She edited all of my mistakes and she's AWESOME.
Pretty sure this chapter isn't as bad as my last chapter.
She corrected all my mistakes and I love her.
Chapter 2: The Sibling Reunion
Reyna and the others were all crammed in the living room of their house in Manhattan. She didn't like the fact that they were going in a public school, where they were more likely to be recognized than at a private school. But at least she would finally be attending a real school, after two years of homeschooling in planes and dressing rooms.
Apollo had bribed each of them into agreeing (even though he called them gifts), which helped a bit, but Reyna was sure that if all her friends agreed, she would've agreed anyway. Much to Reyna's delight she got back her two greyhounds—Aurum and Argentum—as a gift. When she came to join the band, she had had to leave her dogs with her sister Hylla.
Reyna sucked on her purple Popsicle as she thought over what her friends got.
As far as Reyna could see, Annabeth got a laptop, which she looked quite happy with, even though she wouldn't let anyone see what was special about it.
Thalia got something she loved, something Reyna could appreciate as well. Every one of the girls had a secret weapon stashed somewhere, just to be safe, but she and Thalia liked combat. Thalia Grace got her arrows and bow and a place where she could shoot once a week.
Piper got a ticket to fly and visit her father, Tristan McLean, who was working on a movie in Greece. But Reyna never watched a single movie of Tristan McLean, even when Piper watched them; the melodramatic action and romance were a little too much for her.
Hazel got a horse, Arion, who was neighing outside at this moment. She had just come inside after feeding him; he was high-maintenance and not exactly friendly. They joked that he swore whenever he was neighing.
"Reyna." Piper looked over at Reyna, who still had a purple Popsicle in her mouth. "You shouldn't eat so many Popsicles, you wouldn't want to be sick, would you?"
"Well, if it means getting away from you," Reyna remarked rudely. Piper shrugged, unfazed. She knew Reyna hated being bossed. Reyna bossed people around, not the other way around. Bossed wasn't really the right word, though; she was just a natural leader.
Reyna snorted as she saw Piper trying to braid Annabeth's messy blonde hair. Reyna had agreed to teach Piper how to braid after five broken plates and three fights, but that didn't mean the other girl had made much progress. Annabeth scooted her head away from her.
"Annie," Piper pretended to moan. "Why don't you let me braid your hair?"
"I like my hair pretty," Annabeth replied, straight-faced.
"Aw," Piper pouted.
In front of the couch on which all three of them were sitting, Hazel was sitting cross-legged on the carpet with a pen in her mouth and a notepad in her hand. Beside her, Thalia had her earphones in and was singing loudly, patting her hands on her knees in rhythm. Reyna listened closely to Thalia for a minute before getting the same answer she always did: Thalia was listening to Green Day.
She hadn't liked Thalia at first. Thalia looked like an undisciplined punk. Which she is, Reyna thought. None of the girls had liked the others at first, before they were forced to be in a team. But Reyna was always good with teamwork, and singing was their entire specialty. After Apollo cleaned them up, they became the most famous international teen pop band. That was something Reyna always felt proud of.
"Reyna, can I practice with your hair?" Piper asked.
"No."
"But… you taught me!" Piper spluttered out.
"You forced me to," Reyna replied crossly.
"Hey, guys," Hazel interrupted Piper and Reyna. "Look what I wrote."
Reyna and the others crowded beside Hazel. Thalia was still listening to Green Day. Piper winked at the four girls before slowly standing beside her. She carefully took out one of Thalia's earphones without Thalia noticing. Reyna knew from personal experience how flawless Piper's technique was. Piper had been—and still was—a kleptomaniac.
"THALIA, WE NEED YOU!" she shouted in Thalia's ear. Thalia scrambled up and almost punched Piper, but Piper, knowing what Thalia would do, moved away. Thalia's fist hung in midair.
"Why did you do that, Piper?" Thalia snapped.
Piper shrugged. "Hazel's calling us." She joined Reyna, Annabeth, and Hazel. Thalia came beside them grumbling, but Reyna noticed her ears were red from embarrassment.
I walked through the door with you, the air was cold
But something about it felt like home somehow
and I left my scarf there at your sister's house
and you still got it in your drawer even now
Reyna read the words Hazel wrote on the notepad. They all took turns writing songs, but Hazel and Annabeth had most of the talent. Reyna had her inspirations occasionally.
"Nice," Thalia gave Hazel a thumbs up.
"It sucks that we're taking a break," Piper said.
"Who said we are?" Annabeth asked mischievously and dragged them to the room where they all kept their instruments.
"I walked through the door with you, it was cold
But something about it felt like home somehow
and I left my scarf there at your sister's house
and you still got it in your drawer even now"
Annabeth sang as Reyna experimented with guitar chords. Thalia sat and played the drums while Hazel and Piper sang softly as an echo beside them. All was going perfectly for Reyna before the doorbell rang.
"Why now?" Thalia asked no one in particular as Reyna went to open the door. Reyna opened the door to find a guy with ruffled blonde hair and bluest of eyes Reyna had ever seen. There was a small scar on his bottom lip. Reyna's heart jumped to her throat.
"Hey," the boy greeted. "I assume you are… Reyna?"
Reyna nodded numbly before she got back to her senses. "And you are?" she asked with her eyebrows raised.
"Um, Jason Grace," he said hesitantly.
What? "You are Thalia's brother, I presume?" she asked calmly. She had never heard about him before, but both Hylla and their mother had taught her one rule: never ever lose your cool.
"Yeah." Jason shuffled his feet. There were a few moments of silence where Reyna inspected Jason and his behaviors. Jason was trying to avoid eye contact with her. "Can I come in then?" he asked.
Reyna nodded and let Jason in, still watching him closely. Jason's features messed up her mind for a minute but she got back on track. Thalia and Jason didn't even look alike. There were a thousand different ways Jason could—and probably would—betray them.
But that was before Thalia came in. "Reyna, did you die or something? Because if you die it would not be pretty," Thalia yelled and then her eyes landed on Jason. Reyna watched as Thalia's eyes filled with recognition.
"Jason!" Thalia exclaimed and hugged him. Jason grinned before hugging Thalia back. Reyna watched before clearing her throat loudly.
"Care to explain?" she asked Thalia with a sharp look. By that time Hazel, Annabeth, and Piper had also come in.
"What's going on?" Annabeth asked.
"They're siblings," Reyna offered to Annabeth.
Annabeth nodded. "And why didn't you tell us, Thalia?" Reyna could see her mind processing the facts being given to her.
Hazel offered Jason a grin and Piper blushed bright pink. Annabeth continued to ignore Jason and look at Thalia. Jason unconsciously crept behind his sister.
"I thought he was dead," Thalia said and then turned on Jason. "Where were you, anyway?"
"You know what? I'm going to go and make some hot chocolate. You'll need some," Reyna declared and was surprised to see that they agreed, except Jason, who was looking at her a bit weirdly. When she came back she saw Thalia and Jason exchanging stories and Annabeth, Hazel and Piper commenting on parts.
"So that's how Apollo convinced me to join the band," Thalia finished.
Reyna handed them their hot chocolates; four of them took it without question while Jason stared at the cup in her hand. "Take it," Reyna commanded.
"Why hot chocolate in the middle of the summer?" Jason asked.
"It's not exactly 'middle of the summer,' is it?" Reyna asked.
Jason's ears turned red. "Um, no," he said and took the cup. Jason threw Thalia a questioning look which Reyna didn't catch. She went and sat between Hazel and Piper, both of whom gave her a look that said stop being so rude.
"I never really liked chocolate," Jason murmured as he set the cup down.
"Never liked chocolate?" Piper asked with her eyebrows raised.
Jason nodded mutely.
"I thought chocolate was universal," Reyna commented.
"Yes, it is," Jason said. "I'm not really good at universal things."
Annabeth nodded and Reyna knew exactly what that meant: I like this one. Thalia and Piper grinned and Hazel gave a small smile, but Reyna kept her expression unreadable.
"I ran away from home," Jason said.
"Um, what?" Thalia asked, a bit angrily.
"I ran away from home," he repeated. "You know how Hera is, right?"
"Yup, a nasty no-good…" Thalia's thoughts trailed off.
"Who's Hera?" Piper asked.
"Our stepmother," Jason replied.
"Zeus's wife," Thalia replied at the same time.
"Well," Jason ignored Thalia and continued, "she was a pain. She used to treat me—for lack of better words, like trash. So, I ran away. And found Bianca and Nico to live with." He minimized the story, clearly leaving a lot of parts out, but Reyna did recognize those names. Nico and Bianca were Hazel's cousins and they often spent their days with The Demigoddess.
Hazel seemed to have realized that too. "Did you say Nico and Bianca?" she asked.
"Yeah, Nico still lives with me. Bianca left this year for college."
"You mean Bianca left for The Hunters, right?" Hazel asked anxiously.
"Yeah, that's the one. But how do you know her?" Jason's eyes scrunched up, which Reyna found cute. "She never mentioned anyone named Hazel Levesque."
"Protecting herself," Annabeth replied. "And protecting us. You don't want a stalker on your tail, do you? Plus, while we love our fans, there are some crazy people who'd go to any length—even murder —to get close to us."
"Oh," Jason said quietly. "But Nico still lives with me."
"You know, I think Nico should meet Hazel, it's been almost six months," Piper suggested.
"That'll be a nice reunion," Annabeth began. "A reunion with tears."
"And I'm pretty sure somewhere inside that, you can add a broken nose," Thalia replied.
"Whose broken nose?" Jason asked, a bit confused.
"Apollo's," Thalia said shortly.
Reyna remembered that fondly. It was one of their earliest days as band mates and Apollo was with them, trying to get them to sing. He tried to hit on Thalia, which earned him a broken nose. After that, he never tried to hit on any of the band members.
"Someone will break Apollo's nose?" Jason asked.
"She will." Hazel pointed to Thalia.
"Why?"
"She likes the crunching sound." Hazel shrugged.
"O-kay," Jason replied slowly. "Does anyone else know that you're here?"
"We don't know," Hazel replied hopelessly.
"Our 'manager' never told us," Piper muttered.
"Look, I'll bring over Nico tomorrow. Now I need to go, I have to meet Valdez and Jackson." Jason said his farewells before heading out.
"He's respectful," Reyna commented as Jason headed out.
"And," Piper began hesitantly, "cute. Like a model."
Hazel smiled. "He looked kind too."
"And a bit slow," Annabeth said.
"I just met my brother and that's what you got to say?" Thalia asked them.
Reyna had been thinking it over, and they had nothing in common. How were they related? Annabeth asked her question: "Is he adopted, Thals? Because you guys seem…different."
"I got father's looks and behaviors, supposedly. And Jason got mother's," Thalia replied, sipping from her mug of hot chocolate in a way that discouraged any other questions about the family she and her surprise brother had come from.
