Prompt: You're ice skating and the blond/brunette boy from the group over there is making fun of you.

Cohort: Three

Words: 1,281

Written for the Camp Jupiter writing forum.

Reyna was having a rough day. She hadn't ice skated before, and it was really showing in the way she was tripping every so often. It was quite embarrassing, as she couldn't keep her cold and serious demeanor if she was falling on her face.

Gritting her teeth, Reyna brought herself up to her knees for the tenth time. Her knees screamed in protest, but she powered through and got up again. She really wished she hadn't gone here - curse Piper's love sick and eager self ("It'll be so romantic on the ice skating rink! Come on, it'll be fun! Besides, trying new things is awesome!") - and sighed, thinking about a warm cup of hot chocolate.

"Isn't that the RARA person? She has an odd name though anyway, who would name their kid that?" came a hushed whisper followed by a small snort. Turning slowly, Reyna gripped the hand railing, her knuckles turning white. She quickly spotted the source of the whisper, a girl around her age with spiky black hair and piercing blue eyes. Ruffling Jason's hair, the girl snickered. Wait - Jason? For a moment, Reyna wondered how they knew each other before clearing her head.

Staring murderously at her, Reyna gripped the hand railing even tighter. Jason noticed and nudged the girl carefully. The girl, however, did nothing but look innocently at Reyna.

If Reyna had been in a better mood, perhaps she would have known that someone who's name could be abbreviated into RARA could be considered funny and odd. But Reyna was tired and cold, and her knees ached - she was not in the mood to entertain such annoyances. Once again, she wondered why she couldn't be at home drinking a warm cup of hot chocolate and studying. She wasn't even good at ice skating. Honestly, it was like Piper had a magical voice sometimes; Piper was too good at persuading people.

But she was here, and there was an annoying idiot making fun of her name. And since she was not in a good mood, and this idiot was about to die. Well, not literally. But still.

Clutching the railing, Reyna skated awkwardly over to the two of them, glaring murderously to make up for her less than intimidating ice skating skills.

The girl did nothing but arch an eyebrow, unfazed by her. In the distance, Piper began to skate to them, a concerned expression clear as day on her face. Jason, meanwhile, looked rather worried, shrinking back a bit.

"Yes?" the girl asked, smirking a bit. "How may I help you?"

Reyna crossed her arms and came to a halt, stumbling only a little but catching herself. Briefly, she thought that maybe ice skating wasn't so bad. Then Reyna blinked, bringing herself back to more important matters.

"What did you say before?" she asked calmly, her eyes narrowing.

The girl examined her fingernails before dropping her hands at her side. "Hm, nothing of importance."

Scowling, Reyna scoffed. "Of course, of course," she said, her voice laced with venom. "Now, how about the exact details before something… unsavory happens?"

Jason cleared his throat uncomfortably, moving slightly in front of the other girl. "Reyna…" Jason said anxiously, shooting her a look that clearly told her to calm down. "And Thalia..." Giving the girl, Thalia as she was called, an unimpressed look, Jason raised his eyebrows, telling her to come clean. Thalia merely rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Fine," she said airily. "Perhaps I commented on your name in an annoying fashion. I suppose that merits an apology. So, I'm sorry." Thalia clearly thought it was a bit unnecessary, but Reyna didn't care. She just didn't want to be bothered, or have her name made fun of. Really, Thalia hadn't even insulted her, really - so perhaps Reyna had overreacted a little.

"Apology accepted," Reyna said coolly.

Jason sighed in relief as Piper skidded to a halt beside them.

"I see you've met Thalia, Jason's sister," Piper said cheerily, making an effort to brighten up the mood of the conversation.

Sister? Well that explained how they knew each other. Their eyes did seem quite similar, Reyna reflected.

"Ah, Piper!" Thalia said brightly. "Looks like you've gotten skating down. Reyna… almost."

Reyna bristled, offended. "I just started," she answered sharply. "And I'm doing fairly well." Glaring, Reyna dug her skate into the ice, making an annoying scraping sound.

Shrugging, Thalia gave Reyna a half smile. "Sure," she said. "Anyway, I'm done with ice skating. Anyone want to get a cup of hot chocolate with me?"

Jason and Piper declined quickly, saying that they wanted to stay out on the ice for a bit longer. Reyna, on the other hand, really wanted hot chocolate. But did she really want to spend more time with Thalia? Sure, Thalia wasn't so bad when she wasn't making fun of her name. But the jury was still out. After all, Reyna had only known Thalia for about two minutes.

Skating to the edge of the rink, Thalia and Reyna took of their skates and put on their shoes, an awkward silence overtaking them.

"There's a stand over here that sells hot chocolate," Thalia said over her shoulder. "It's pretty good." Nodding, Reyna followed her.

"Hey Zoë, can I have two hot chocolates please?" Thalia asked the girl standing behind the make-shift counter.

"Of course," Zoë said politely. They talked politely as Zoë made their drinks, while Reyna stood awkwardly to the side, unsure of what to say. "Here you go," she said with a smile, sliding the cups to them after Thalia paid.

Saying their thanks, Thalia and Reyna walked back to the rink, leaning against the wall between them and the ice, watching Piper and Jason and the rest of the skaters.

Sipping quietly, Reyna wondered what she should say. She had no idea what Thalia's interests were, or what she would like to talk about. So, she stuck to being quiet.

"Zoë and I know each other from an all girls school, by the way," Thalia said, breaking the silence, taking a big gulp from her cup.

Reyna nodded, sipping a little bit from her cup. "So do you come here often?"

"Yes, sometimes just to walk around the park," she said, finishing her hot chocolate. Reyna, who had been drinking her cup much more slowly, was surprised to see Thalia finish it so quickly. Wrapping her hands around the cup, Reyna breathed in the steam wafting out of the cup, glad to be here and not on the rink.

They settled into a comfortable conversation, and Reyna found that Thalia was nice to hang out with. Perhaps they could even be friends, though that could be a little hasty.

Eventually, a rosy-cheeked Piper and a flushed Jason came walking up to them, holding their skates and chattering excitedly.

"Nice to see you two getting along," Piper said breathlessly. "Should we head home now?"

Reyna nodded wordlessly, while Thalia smiled cheerfully. "Sure, Pipes," she said, ruffling Piper's already messy hair. Ducking, Piper laughed, swatting Thalia's arm. Moving to stand next to Thalia, Jason chuckled quietly at their antics.

"Anyway," Thalia said, turning back to Reyna. "Here's my number." Taking out a pen, Thalia scrawled a phone number hastily on Reyna's hand.

"Thanks," Reyna said, surprised. Looking at her hand, Reyna was pleased to see the string of numbers written on her hand. She found that she actually wanted to talk to Thalia again, and maybe, just maybe, they could be friends.

"Text me," Thalia said flippantly, shooting her a smile. "See you around, RARA."

And the funny thing was? Reyna didn't even mind Thalia calling her RARA anymore.