Reyna leaned back in her seat and focused on the computer screen in front of her. The rest of the Wolves were sitting around and watching the video as well. With no one besides Annabeth having a fight coming up, they were all chipping in to help her with her title defense. Reyna was more than happy to help the woman. After all, it was easier to take the title from someone that she spent almost every day training with.
Her mind should have been focused on analyzing the fight in the video. Instead, she kept thinking back to Thalia. They hadn't talked since Thalia fled her hotel room, leaving Reyna behind. Not a call and not a text. What were they? Friends with benefits? Just a one-night stand? Girlfriends?
Reyna lowered her head and just stared at the table. This whole video thing was boring her beyond belief, mostly because Annabeth was so detail oriented. The damned woman paused the video every ten seconds to write something down. And, it was just weird for Reyna to watch one of her old fights.
Reyna fought Leila twice before and won both times. The first by decision and second by knockout. She knew that plenty of questions would be coming her way, and she would help. Reyna wanted Annabeth's title, but she wanted to take the title from the best. If that was Leila, so be it. Leila would be fighting the best version of Annabeth, though.
"What can you tell me about her?" Annabeth questioned. Reyna glanced up at the champion and leaned back in her seat.
"You'll have a height and weight advantage," Reyna replied. She tilted her head back and thought about it for a moment. "You'll have to be careful fighting her. She can be just like you."
"What do you mean?" Annabeth asked. She rolled back the video and watched it again. Reyna resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Before, she told herself that she would not tell Annabeth her greatest weakness, but she was changing her mind now. Reyna didn't think that Annabeth could change her ways, even if she knew where her struggles lied.
"Leila is like you: cautious," Reyna began. She shrugged. "You both don't take chances, even when you should. I've seen a dozen of your fights where you could have ended it early by just taking a chance."
"Why would I take a chance at a knockout when I can just wait for a guaranteed one?" Annabeth quipped. "Or, I can just win by decision."
"Because a fight can be decided at any moment," Reyna explained. "If you're too cautious, your opponent can take advantage of it and knock you out. Sometimes, you have to take a chance."
Annabeth remained silent and rewound the video. Reyna couldn't resist anymore and rolled her eyes. She stood up, "Does anyone want anything to drink?"
"Coke!" Hazel called as she looked at Reyna. Frank nodded his agreement, and Annabeth gave a thumbs up. Reyna turned and left the room. As she walked down the hall, an irritated sigh left her. She knew that Annabeth would be too arrogant to listen to her. That was how all champions acted. Even Gwen fell into that sometimes.
As Reyna walked down the hallway, she saw Lupa talking to Jason, and next to Jason was Thalia. Reyna quickened her pace and made it into their break room. She wasn't sure if she was ready to talk to Thalia yet. Not after the confusion from last week.
Reyna walked towards the fridge and opened it. She set out the Cokes for everyone and then looked for what she wanted. Nothing looked good. As Reyna looked, she heard the door behind her open, but she didn't turn her head. Not even when footsteps approached her. Thalia spoke, "How are you doing?"
Reyna shrugged and grabbed a can of soda at random. She closed the door and walked towards the sink. Thalia followed her, "Are you mad?"
"You never called or texted me," Reyna muttered as she washed her hands just to make it look like she wasn't trying to get rid of Thalia.
"You didn't call or text me either," Thalia countered. Reyna turned off the sink and dried her hands. Then, she turned towards Thalia.
"It's pretty clear that we shouldn't be dating again," Reyna said. She was done waiting around. Reyna would end this before it could even get started, and that way she wouldn't have to open her heart up to disappointment.
"Yeah? And, it's not like you to give up so easily," Thalia shot back. Reyna shook her head and walked past Thalia. She needed to get out of this room "Reyna."
"What?" Reyna snapped. She turned towards Thalia and gritted her teeth. "What do you want?"
"What do you want?" Thalia asked, as if repeating the question wouldn't piss Reyna off. Reyna took a deep breath to clear away her anger. "You're the one who said you wanted to open up more."
"I want to date you, okay? I thought you wanted the same since you were practically all over me at Thanksgiving and in your hotel room," Reyna vented. She swallowed painfully. "But, do you want to date me, or do you want this to just be something casual?"
"I-"
The door opened, and Reyna could have flung her soda can at the trespasser to their conversation. Jason smiled at them as he walked into the room. He looked at Reyna, "Hey."
"Hey," Reyna greeted, almost through gritted teeth. "How are you doing?"
"I'm good," Jason replied. He smiled tensely as he walked towards them. His eyes moved to Thalia. "How was your date last night?"
Date.
Thalia had a date.
A date last night.
Only a few days after they slept with each other. Thalia slept with Reyna and then had a date. While Reyna laid awake wondering if she and Thalia would date again, Thalia was going on a date of her own.
"It was nothing special," Thalia began.
"I should get back to the others," Reyna said abruptly, and she gathered up the soda cans. "It's nice to see you again Jason. And Thalia."
Reyna turned and left the room. She wasn't sure why she felt tears brimming in her eyes. Reyna swallowed painfully and wiped away those tears. She refused to let them fall down her cheeks. Her hands gripped the soda cans. Before she could make it to the gym, she heard combat boots hitting the hallway.
"Wait," Thalia began. She made it to Reyna's side and gently grabbed her arm. Reyna stopped walking and looked at Thalia. "Hey. That date didn't mean anything. Jason was just trying to set me up."
"So we wouldn't date?" Reyna questioned. Thalia averted her eyes. "I figured."
"He thinks that you only got with me to get back at him," Thalia explained. It was Reyna's turn to look away, but Thalia gently grabbed her shoulders. Reyna looked at the other woman who gave her a cocky grin. "You know how he is."
Thalia moved her hands to Reyna's collar and pulled her into a kiss. Reyna instantly kissed Thalia back and grabbed her by her jacket, dropping the soda cans. Without breaking the kiss, she dragged Thalia into the nearby closet and continued to kiss her.
"How soon do you have to get back to the others?" Thalia asked as she pulled away slightly. Reyna smirked and kissed Thalia again. A hand grabbed onto her waist, and Reyna felt her stomach flutter. "Might need to get a towel for you to bite on."
"You're the loud one," Reyna whispered. Thalia slipped a hand into Reyna's gym shorts, and it took all of Reyna's willpower to keep from moaning.
"Are you sure about that?" Thalia teased. That cocky grin was still on her face. Reyna suddenly pulled away from Thalia. "You okay?"
"We need to talk," Reyna began. She averted her eyes to avoid getting lost in the sea that was Thalia's seductive eyes. Reyna bit the inside of her cheek. Thalia retracted her hand from Reyna's shorts and stepped further away, leaving enough room for them both to breathe.
"I never took you as the kind to talk," Thalia joked. She looked at her watch. "I think Jason and I might have to go."
"It's a no then," Reyna stated. Thalia didn't answer. "Why didn't you just tell me that instead of leaving me to wait and wonder? You keep playing games."
"I figured you wanted the same thing. Just a fling. That way you don't have to worry about being attached or sharing your feelings," Thalia said. "It's easier that way."
"For who?" Reyna muttered. She shoved past Thalia to get closer to the door.
"Come on, Reyna. You and I both know that you can't handle a relationship," Thalia snubbed. Reyna whipped back around and glared at the woman. "I know because I dated you. I bet it was the same way with Gwen."
"I wouldn't have slept with you if I knew this would be a one time thing," Reyna snapped. She felt humiliation and anger mixing in her chest. "And you knew that!"
"Reyna, I did not," Thalia quickly defended. She started to reach out but quickly lowered her hand. "I wouldn't use you like that."
"You did," Reyna hissed. She turned back around and grabbed the closet door handle tightly. Deep breaths left her as she tried to calm down. "I told you that I wanted to talk, and you agreed. When I got to your hotel room, you just kissed me."
"You didn't pull away," Thalia criticized, frustration appearing in her tone. "You're the one who shoved me onto the bed! If you wanted to talk, you should have told me. Oh, wait, that would mean having to share your feelings."
"I'm sorry that I don't sleep with any female that I find remotely attractive," Reyna yelled. The sudden outburst caused her to swallow painfully, and she watched Thalia's jaw visibly clench. Reyna immediately felt guilt at what she said. "Thalia."
"You are the same asshole you were when we dated," Thalia hissed. She shook her head and pushed past Reyna on the way out of the closet. Reyna didn't chase after her. Instead, she hung her head and let out a frustrated breath. The only time she tried to share her feelings, and it backfired in her face.
Reyna stormed out of the closet and slammed the door shut. She stalked down the hall and barely heard someone call her name. It took a moment for Reyna to stop walking and look at Nico. There was a smile on his face, but he lost it as he saw Reyna's unamused frown.
"What happened?" Nico asked. Reyna shook her head and felt tears come to her eyes. Nico sighed and turned away.
"Nico," Reyna whispered. She felt a lump in her throat. "Not right now. Please. L-later."
Reyna felt tears choke out her words, and she blinked rapidly. Nico quickly looked back at her and pulled her into a hug. Reyna buried her face in his shoulder. Nico spoke softly, "I'll kill whoever it was."
Reyna didn't answer. Why did she let herself hope that there would be something between her and Thalia? She should have known that it would never happen. Nico rubbed her back gently, and Reyna forced herself to swallow the lump in her throat. She pulled away and wiped her eyes.
"You okay?" Nico asked softly. Reyna nodded and rubbed her eyes again. She turned and slowly walked back towards the soda cans. Reyna knelt down and started to gather them up. "Reyna."
"I just want to be alone right now, Nico. We'll talk later at home," Reyna promised, not even turning to look at her best friend. She could just feel his incredulous look. "I'm serious."
"Okay. Just don't keep it inside," Nico ordered, walking up next to his roommate. "It's going to cause you to explode sooner or later."
"I know," Reyna mumbled. She sighed and tried to swallow back her anger. Nico rubbed her shoulder and then walked away. Reyna took a moment to calm herself before finally going back to the others. She would be lying if she said that her argument with Thalia didn't bother her greatly.
Reyna tried to open up to Thalia and got called an asshole. What else was new? An angry sigh left Reyna as she made it back into the room. She passed out the sodas before sitting down and staring at the table. Should she go after Thalia or just give her space? Send her a text later? Or just ignore it?
Reyna tapped her finger against her soda can's lid, trying to quell her anger. She would talk to Nico about it after she got home from the gym. He had more experience with relationships than her, even though he didn't date that much. Nico would at least be able to give her some kind of clue on what to do. Hopefully, she could figure out the correct path. Reyna pulled on the tab, and was met with an explosive mess to add onto her day.