Eleven-Years-Old

Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano was so done with the sun and the grass and the special material that soccer jerseys were made of which made doing drills in the blazing sunshine just that much harder.

"FASTER, GIRLS, WE'RE NEVER GOING TO BEAT ANYONE IF YOU KEEP RUNNING LIKE THAT," Sofia Minerva barked.

Reyna gritted her teeth and sprinted, dribbling the soccer ball between her feet.

"RAMIREZ THAT'S SOME OF THE LAZIEST DRIBBLING I'VE EVER SEEN YOU CAN DO BETTER!"

Reyna swore under her breath and took a deep breath and ran, her feet hitting the ball faster than she could blink.

She reached the end of the field and bent over, panting. Through the corner of her eye, she saw the satisfied smirk on Minerva's face.

"Not bad," her coach acknowledged. Reyna snorted, a sardonic grin on her face.

Jason Grace hurt. Like, everywhere.

"Minerva's a beast," Reyna groaned, sprawled on Jason's bedroom floor.

"Hedge threatens us with a baseball bat," Jason complained, flopping down beside her.

"I thought you played football," Reyna said, confused.

"I do," Jason replied, huffing. "I swear the old goat's delusional."

"Goat?" Reyna asked. "Not that that's not a totally awesome nickname, but could I get some context please?"

Jason smiled. "Team inside joke. When he looks at you I swear to God his eyes constrict so much until they literally look like a goat's eyes. Also, he laughs kind of like a goat-"

"Where did you even hear a goat laughing-"

"-That's not important, and his first name starts with a G."

There was a pause in which Jason could literally feel Reyna asking herself why she was still friends with an idiot like him.

"Now I get the Stupid Jocks stereotype," Reyna commented after a moment. Jason curled over, laughing, then cursing because ow his stomach hurt.

Jason Grace was so. Goddamn. Bored.

"I almost wish I had homework," he groaned, lounging on Reyna's living room couch.

"Math homework?" Reyna asked, raising an eyebrow. Jason tilted his head.

"Okay, you got me there. Still, I'm bored. We've still got, like, three weeks until school and it's hot as Hell outside" Julian and Bellona apparently didn't believe in air-conditioning, "and there's literally nothing to do."

"Let's paint our nails," Reyna suggested. Jason looked at her strangely.

"Reyna, while we both know I'm amazing at that, you suck at it." She threw a pillow at him.

"Okay, you can leave."

"Nah, your hotter-than-the-Amazon-rainforest house is better than my a-day-without-arguing-like-friggin-kids-what's-that house."

Jason scowled at the couch cushions and Reyna looked at him worriedly. "Jason-"

His scowl deepened. Good job, Grace, involve Reyna in your crappy-ass family problems. She doesn't need that, you moron.

He thought of Hera shouting at Zeus after his father walked in late with his hair and shirt collar ruffled with another woman's perfume on his collar. He thought of Thalia slamming her door closed, punk rock music emanating from behind the closed door. He thought of Zeus disappearing for entire weekends.

Then he thought of Reyna's perfect family, with her parents that actually loved each other and her house that wasn't too big for the entire Congress.

"Let's bake something," he said instead.

"Jason." Reyna looked at him, her gaze firm. Tell me.

"Later," he whispered.

Reyna stared at him for another second before a smile crept onto her face. "Let's make brownies."

"We're going to burn your house down," Jason said.

Reyna grinned. "I know."

Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano was covered in flour and sugar and was that egg on her foot? Baking powder dusted Jason's nose and his hands were coated in egg yolk and stained with melted chocolate. Cocoa powder was spread out on the floor, walnuts scattered across the tiles.

"We suck at this," he announced. And suddenly they were laughing, laughing at their friendship, laughing at the mess in the kitchen, laughing at how exactly they were going to explain this to Julian and Bellona.

The electric mixer dropped onto Jason's foot and he howled in pain, hopping around the kitchen, clutching his left foot.

Reyna just laughed harder because that was what true friends did.

(Eventually the brownies were finished and they had eggshells and were too crumbly and were misshapen and Reyna and Jason took one bite before spitting it out and throwing the entire batch out and in one glance they conveyed that they would never speak of this again.)

Jason Grace somehow convinced his parents to let him and Reyna actually leave their house and they ended up finding a hole in the wall cafe with the best brownies ever made.

Lolita's was amazing and warm and bright and Jason dubbed it their place. He and Reyna shared two comfy chairs near the back, right by the windows.

"I still think our brownies are better," Jason commented, dipping his in hot chocolate. Reyna snorted.

"Jason, don't even try."

"Try what?" He looked at her, completely innocent with nothing in his blue eyes but confusion. "I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about, my dear friend."

Reyna sprayed hot chocolate from her mouth and glared at Jason with hellfire in her eyes.

He sprinted to the front counter and looked up at Lolita Diaz, the kindly old owner, trembling. "Napkins please."

Lolita looked out the front door long after the two children left.

"They're just friends, mama," her daughter, Valentina called, rolling her eyes with a small smile on her face.

"That's what you said about Marco," Lolita said, smiling at the handsome young man that had caught her daughter's eye.

They both choked, flushing red.

"Mrs. Diaz-" Marco stuttered.

"We are just friends," Valentina managed.

Lolita turned away humming to herself, a soft smile on her face. Ah, young love.

HALLOWEEN IS NEARING MY FRIENDS AND IM SO FUCKING EXCITED FOR IT OH MY LAWD