Nico groaned as he tried to look up at the kitchen light. He didn't know why he had any of the alcohol last night. Maybe, he didn't want to feel left out, or he just wanted to be an adult for a day. Was it some kind of sick joke by Hylla to warn them about the dangers of alcohol? Nico felt pretty warned.
"Drink this," Hylla ordered. She handed a cup to Nico. It took a moment for Nico to blindly reach out for the cup and grab it. He finally lifted his head enough to take a sip. The pain in his head dulled, and he was able to look at light without wanting to die. "It's my hangover cure. Coffee and nectar."
"How long did it take for you to perfect it?" Nico asked. He slowly looked around the kitchen. It was large enough for five stoves and a few fridges. Nico sat back on the counter and rubbed his face. He glanced to his right.
Arria was staring down at a binder. She rested a notebook on her other knee and started to write into it. Nico glanced at Arria. He remembered trying to keep Arria from Reyna for most of the night, not that it was a problem. Arria mostly kept to herself and didn't seem to touch any of the drinks. She was the smart one of the group.
"A year or two of partying," Hylla answered. She dropped pancakes onto a plate and passed the plate to Nico. "The usual, Arria?"
"You don't have to," Arria began. Hylla just grinned and poured more pancake mix into the pan. She cracked a few eggs. "Thank you."
"I just have to say that I'm glad it all worked out," Hylla said Arria looked up in confusion. Hylla was focused on the pans and didn't look at her. Nico just focused on consuming the pancakes and coffee. He had already eaten some of the eggs that Hylla made, and it was actually pretty good. Who knew the queen of the Amazons could cook?
"Has anyone seen Reyna?" Kinzie asked. She stepped into the kitchen and kissed Hylla's cheek. Nico frowned. He was pretty sure Kinzie or Piper had pulled Reyna away from the drinking contest, as it was clear that Hylla was going to allow her sister to die of alcohol poisoning before she conceded to the contest.
"Probably just sleeping it off. She had a long night," Hylla said. She shot a look back at Arria, but Arria was looking down at her notebook. Nico frowned in confusion, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Reyna enter the kitchen. Her hair was loose, for once. It also looked like her clothes had been thrown on in a rush.
"Morning Reyna. How was last night?" Hylla asked. She handed Reyna a cup of coffee. After a moment, Reyna took the cup, but her eyes moved to Nico. "I'm just glad you two made up."
"Made up?" Arria asked. She closed the binder and looked at Hylla. "I don't quite understand what you mean."
"Don't be so modest," Hylla said. She put the eggs and pancakes on the plate. Then, she handed the plate to Arria and grabbed her shoulder. "The walls are pretty thin, and I heard you two. I'm just glad you worked past your issues. You two make a good couple."
"I spent the night alone," Arria said. Hylla opened her mouth slightly and stared at her. Reyna's face was completely red, and she looked like she wanted any of the Olympians to strike her down. Hylla closed her mouth and slowly looked between them. Then, she turned and left the kitchen.
Kinzie sighed and looked down. Arria stared at the wall for a few moments. Then, she placed the plate of food on the counter and stood. Arria left the kitchen. Reyna sat against the wall and stared at the ground. Nico slowly moved to sit by her.
"Want to talk about it?" Nico asked. He rubbed Reyna's shoulder. Her face was completely red, and she looked stressed. "What happened?"
"I slept with Piper," Reyna whispered. Nico slowly looked at Reyna. She just stared at the ground and buried her face in her hands. "I'm such an idiot, Nico. Why did I sleep with her?"
Nico slowly looked away and tried to process the information. He didn't want to judge Reyna, but what in Hades' name was she thinking? Piper was dating Jason. Reyna was still trying to get Arria back. Nico finally spoke, "Did you talk to Piper?"
"No," Reyna answered. She rubbed her eyes. "I just left the room in a panic."
Nico stared at the ground. He finally just rubbed Reyna's back and tried to think. This was not a situation that he thought he would find himself in. Nico was grateful that he wasn't in the middle of it. Kinzie sat by them and spoke, "You need to talk to Piper."
"I really don't," Reyna said. She closed her eyes. "I just need to go back to Camp Jupiter and never leave my office. I think that's a good idea."
Reyna tried to stand, but Kinzie grabbed her arm. Nico grabbed Reyna's other arm. He spoke, "If you ignore this, it is going to spiral out of control. You have to confront this."
"I think I'm going to vomit," Reyna said. Her face paled, and she nodded slightly. "Yeah. I'm going to vomit."
Nico let go of Reyna. She moved towards the trashcan, and Kinzie held her hair back. Nico slowly stood. He walked towards Reyna and rubbed her back as she vomited. Kinzie spoke, "I've been in a few situations like this. Just talk to Piper and don't let things spiral. Otherwise, you're going to end up fighting her boyfriend who is also her long lost cousin, really long story there, in a pig pen. It was a really wild delivery job."
Reyna groaned and sat against the wall. Kinzie handed her water. Reyna took a sip and then spat it out into the trash can. She then closed her eyes and spoke, "Why did I decide to have a drinking contest? Why did I even come here?"
"It isn't that bad, is it?" Kinzie asked. Nico looked at her and nodded. Reyna just laid her head back against the wall.
"Well, Piper is dating Jason, and before Jason was taken to Camp Half-Blood, I poured my heart out to him. When he came back, he was dating Piper. We never really talked our way through that, and our friendship has been pretty complicated. We were starting to get back on the right track, but I just slept with his girlfriend," Reyna said. She stared at the ceiling. "Am I just that entertaining to Venus?"
"I don't think Venus finds your love life entertaining," Kinzie commented. She grabbed Reyna's shoulder. "You can't really blame your feeling on the goddess of love. It's more of you just being a teenager with a lot of complicated feelings. Just talk to Piper."
Reyna took a deep breath and slowly stood. She turned and walked out of the kitchen. About five seconds passed before Reyna walked back in and spoke, "No. Can't do it. I'm going back to Camp Jupiter."
"You have to talk to Piper," Kinzie insisted. She grabbed Reyna's arm tightly and started to drag her towards the door. Nico grabbed Reyna's other arm, and with Kinzie's help, they managed to drag Reyna through the hallway and towards a half opened door. Piper looked at them and looked like she was getting ready to leave.
As Piper looked at Nico, a blush came to her face. Piper cleared her throat awkwardly and spoke, "How many people know?"
"Just the two of us and Hylla," Nico began. He glanced at Reyna, and she was blushing just as much as Piper. "And Arria."
"This was just a big mistake," Reyna began. She pulled away from Kinzie and Nico. "It was just a huge, terrible mistake that was fueled by alcohol."
"What if I don't want it to be a mistake?" Piper asked. Reyna froze and slowly looked at Piper. Her eyes were wide, and she looked like she was frozen in shock. Reyna slowly looked down. Piper took a step forward. "I asked you last night if you really wanted to do it, and you swore on the River Styx that you did."
"Who wouldn't want to be with you?" Reyna finally asked. She shook her head and rubbed her eyes. "You're dating Jason though. You are dating Jason, and you slept with me."
"I did," Piper said. She nodded slightly and swallowed painfully. "I'm starting to realize that the feelings I have for Jason are not as strong as I thought they were. We bonded during the quest, but he really is just a friend to me, especially since I've seen how he acts when he is by himself. He seems happier to be alone than with me."
"Maybe, you should have broken up with him before you slept with me," Reyna snapped. Her eyes were wide, and she looked stressed out. "What were you thinking!"
"You the one who came onto me," Piper said.
"Because I was drunk," Reyna snapped. She took a step backwards. Nico grabbed Reyna's arm. She was definitely not helping out the situation. Reyna pulled away from Nico. "It was just a drunken mistake."
Piper stared at Reyna. Tears came to her eyes a moment later. Then, she stormed down the hallway. Kinzie gave Reyna a look. Reyna took a step forward, but Kinzie suddenly grabbed her shoulder.
"What is your problem?" Kinzie demanded. Reyna started to stutter an answer, but Kinzie shook her head. "Piper just admitted her feelings for you, and you threw it back in her face."
"She should have broken up with Jason," Reyna began.
"Then, why were you the one who was flirting with her?" Kinzie demanded. She crossed her arms. "Being drunk doesn't mean that you get a free pass for whatever you did. You can't act on your desires then blame being drunk because you are afraid of facing the consequences."
"Just get away from me," Reyna snapped. She looked at Nico, and all Nico could do was look away. This entire situation was a mess, and Nico didn't want to be involved. Reyna glared at them and stormed down the hall.
Nico looked down and let out a sigh. This entire thing seemed like a mistake, and he regretted going to the party. Most of the Amazons tried to flirt with him last night, until Kinzie set out a very firm warning that the next Amazon to do so would be punished severely. Somehow, that prompted the male slaves to start flirting with Nico.
Nico didn't think of anything when Reyna and Piper had disappeared towards the end of the night, mostly because he was so focused on his own issues. When most of the Amazons had crashed for the night, Nico had found a nice couch to nap on, and he almost had a heart attack when he woke up and found Hylla standing over him. This whole incident was just icing on the cake.
"I hate it when Hylla gets all of these grand ideas," Kinzie said. She rubbed her forehead and sighed tiredly. "She thought she could make this party, goad Reyna and Arria into drinking, and get them to make up."
"I don't think that plan went so well," Nico began. Kinzie nodded her agreement and sighed tiredly. She rubbed her temples. "I think I'm going to take Piper back to Camp Half-Blood. Can you make sure Reyna makes it back to Camp Jupiter?"
"I will," Kinzie said. Nico nodded and walked down the hall. As he passed through various rooms, he saw Amazons were still passed out and asleep. Nico made it down the hall and heard crying for the outside of a door. He stared up at the room that was marked women. After a moment, Nico knocked.
The crying almost instantly stopped. Nico sent a prayer down to his father that it was Piper who was in the bathroom and only Piper. Nico stepped into the bathroom and looked at Piper. She was splashing water in her face and looked like she was trying to keep it together.
"Hey," Nico began. He walked towards her side and stood by her. Piper slowly looked at the mirror and seemed to study Nico. "Do you want to talk about it, or do you just want to go back to Camp Half-Blood?"
"Reyna started flirting with me last night," Piper whispered. She wiped her eyes. "I thought she actually had feelings for me, or did she just want to sleep with me? Was I just someone to sleep with before she got back with Arria?"
"I don't know," Nico admitted. He gently rubbed Piper's back. "Last week, Reyna said that she had a crush on you, and I think she does. She's still not over Arria though, and I think that this whole Nerva thing has Reyna stressed out. It doesn't excuse what Reyna did. I'm sorry about what she said."
"I really thought that Reyna would return my feelings," Piper whispered. She took a deep breath. "Let's just go back to Camp Half-Blood. I need to have a long talk with Jason."
