Thank you for all of the follows, favorites, and reviews.
Just to clarify, this story is going to be Reyna/Annabeth. It's going to be a slow burn, and anyone who has read my other stories knows that this is all kind of new to me. So we'll see how it goes. I hope everyone enjoys.
As Annabeth pulled into the parking lot of the gym, she was surprised to see another car already there. She had left an hour earlier than normal just to have time by herself at the gym. Lupa said they were allowed at the gym anytime they wanted, even if it was in the middle of the night. Apparently, that was when Lupa did the bulk of her own training.
Annabeth pulled her car into the parking space near Reyna's car. She parked her car and got out. Annabeth grabbed her duffel bag and walked towards the gym. There was one bright side. If Reyna hadn't made it there early, there wouldn't have been anyone to open the door for Annabeth, but Lupa did say she was going to make a key for Annabeth.
Upon stepping inside, Annabeth saw that Reyna was sitting at the receptionist counter. The receptionist wouldn't be there for another thirty minutes. Reyna didn't seem to hear the door as she typed into the computer in front of her. Annabeth debated on whether to greet her fellow fighter or just to go to the locker room.
Reyna glanced up and jumped in surprise. She quickly stood and spoke, "What are you doing here?"
"I just arrived early," Annabeth began. She frowned. "Is something wrong?"
"Nothing," Reyna began. Her eyes were wide, and she couldn't look any more guilty. Annabeth studied Reyna. On one hand, this wasn't her business. On the other hand, it seemed like Reyna was doing something that she wasn't supposed to.
"What are you looking for?" Annabeth asked after a few moments. She walked around the counter, but Reyna blocked her path.
"I'm just looking at some of our past guests. Someone left a wallet," Reyna began.
"Did you check in the wallet for an ID?" Annabeth questioned. Reyna wouldn't meet her eyes, but she shook her head. "Wouldn't that be the first place you look? Then, you can tell the receptionist when she got here."
Annabeth's eyes moved over to the computer screen, and she saw that there was a list of names on one window. Another had Lupa's schedule. Annabeth looked at Reyna. Somehow, Reyna looked more guilty now than she had a minute ago.
"Don't tell Lupa. Please," Reyna whispered. She met Annabeth's eyes.
"You're going through the receptionist's computer. If you didn't think you would get in trouble, you wouldn't have come so early to do it," Annabeth said. She was all for taking care of her friends, but Reyna hadn't exactly been that kind to her. They were coworkers. Not friends.
"Annabeth, please. You have to understand," Reyna began. Annabeth crossed her arms. Reyna bit her lip and looked away. "Just hear me out."
"I'm listening," Annabeth said. Reyna closed her eyes and visibly tensed.
"A woman was here last Friday," Reyna muttered. She opened her eyes and pressed her fist against the desk. Reyna seemed to think about it. Then, she closed out the windows on the computer and turned away. "Screw it. Lupa won't believe you anyway."
"All she has to do is look at the cameras," Annabeth stated. Reyna slowly looked back at her and glared. Annabeth met her gaze and didn't back down. Reyna was the first to look away. "I am going to tell Lupa about this."
"I need to know who the woman is," Reyna muttered.
"Why?" Annabeth asked. Reyna didn't answer, and she just stared at the ground. Annabeth could make a few assumptions. The first was that Reyna was completely lying to her. She wasn't looking for some mysterious woman. Reyna was doing something else that she wasn't supposed to.
If Reyna was telling the truth about this woman, what did she want from her? A date? Was the woman a bookie? Or even someone who sold drugs? Annabeth knew her mind was heading towards the worse case scenarios, but why else would Reyna be so secretive?
Annabeth didn't know Reyna well enough to be confident in any of her guesses, but she also knew that Lupa wouldn't tolerate any of those things. It had to be really bad for Reyna to go behind her back. A soft curse left the other woman, and she slammed her fist into the counter.
"She might be my mother," Reyna said. Annabeth's eyes widened, and she barely stopped her jaw from dropping. Reyna crossed her arms and seemed to shrink in on herself. "I don't know for sure, and I have to know."
"Why don't you just ask Lupa?" Annabeth questioned.
"If that woman is my mother and Lupa knows," Reyna began. The anger was clear in her voice. Reyna turned on Annabeth and glared at her. "My mother abandoned me. She let me and my sister. If that bitch is just walking around this gym, I want to know especially if Lupa knows about it."
There was silence for a few moments. Then, Reyna turned away and muttered, "You wouldn't get it."
"I never knew my mother," Annabeth said suddenly. Reyna didn't turn to face Annabeth, but she also didn't walk away. "I don't remember what age I was, but I was too young to have solid memories. Just a woman with black hair and these gray eyes like a storm cloud."
"My parents divorced when I was young," Annabeth answered. "I went to live with my father and have not had any contact with my mother. Anytime I ask about her, I am turned away by him. He barely speaks to me now, and my stepmother hates me. I think I can relate to your situation."
Annabeth let out a deep breath that she didn't realize she was holding. There were only three people outside of her blood relatives that knew about her family situation, and all of them were just like family to her. Telling Reyna like this had not been part of the plan.
"If you thought she was appearing in your life, wouldn't you want to know?" Reyna asked softly. "I have to know if that woman is my mother."
"The easiest way to do that is to ask Lupa," Annabeth said. Reyna shook her head. "Why do you think Lupa would keep something like that from you?"
"Because I would blow up on her," Reyna muttered. She started to pace. "Lupa returned on Friday when I was talking to that woman. She sent the woman away and asked me about my mother. How is that not related?"
"Where did Lupa go when she left?" Annabeth asked after a moment.
"Her mother died," Reyna answered.
"Are you sure that Lupa doesn't want your mother to die without you knowing her? Annabeth questioned. "Are you sure that you're not just overthinking this?"
Reyna looked away and didn't answer. A soft sigh left her, and she collapsed into the receptionist's chair. Reyna put her head in her hands and muttered a few words in Spanish. Annabeth's two years of Spanish in high school told her that those were not conversational words.
"You're right," Reyna muttered. She slowly looked up at Annabeth. Reyna quickly looked away. "Please don't tell Lupa."
Annabeth studied Reyna for a long moment. She didn't owe Reyna anything. After a few moments, Annabeth spoke, "I won't."
Reyna nodded and stood. She turned and started to walk away. Then, Reyna looked back at Annabeth and spoke, "Thank you."
Annabeth watched Reyna walk away without a word. After a few moments, Annabeth followed behind. They walked towards the locker room. It was a little awkward now, but she just wouldn't make eye contact.
Annabeth walked towards her locker and opened it. She placed her duffel bag down and grabbed her training clothes. Annabeth walked towards the showers and placed her clothes on the chair outside. She grabbed a spare towel.
Showering at the gym was easier than doing it at home. It gave her time to think and mentally prepare for the day. The others wouldn't be there until it was closer to the time for them to start. Frank usually arrived a minute or two late. Hazel always came five minutes early.
Lupa wasn't too strict about when they started. She spent some time with Octavian in the morning, so they just did stretches and talked about the day or weekend when they got there. As Annabeth showered, she ran through the interaction with Reyna. It still didn't feel completely correct, and she almost wished that she didn't promise to keep her mouth shut.
The fact that Reyna was going behind Lupa's back and not just asking her didn't sit right with Annabeth. It didn't help that the last time she saw Reyna was when Frank and Reyna had their argument. It wasn't a good look for them, especially since a reporter saw the entire thing.
Annabeth would be lying if she said that she didn't watch the news report. Granted, it wasn't really news. It was a sensationalized story. The reporter had spun the story of Frank and Reyna's fight into one of relationship problems. The internet was flooded with people commenting on the relationship between the two. Annabeth supposed that it could have been worse, but something told her that this wasn't the end of the drama.
The reporter started with a story of Frank and Reyna dating and having disagreements. When the story and drama started to die down, the reporter would start to dig into the part relationships of Frank and Reyna. That was when they would run into trouble.
Annabeth's mind went back to the aftermath of the argument. After dealing with the reporter, Reyna just left. She didn't come inside to apologize to Frank or even check on him. Annabeth and Hazel did check on Frank and talked to him for another hour to make sure that he was okay.
Frank insisted that he was fine, but his red eyes and shaking hands told a different story. They tried to make him feel better and tell him that he was ready for the fight against Kahale. None of the words seemed to help that much. The only thing that would help was Reyna telling Frank that she believed in him. Annabeth didn't think that would happen.
Annabeth kept her mind blank for the rest of her shower. She grabbed a towel and dried herself off. She stepped out and dressed. Annabeth walked back towards the locker room and saw that Reyna was sitting by her locker. Her head was buried in her hands. She didn't react upon Annabeth walking towards her.
Annabeth awkwardly put her things in her locker and grabbed her gloves. She walked out of the locker room and saw that Lupa was standing in the middle of the gym. Piper was talking to her and had a small frown on her face. Annabeth made it to their side.
"I'm sorry to hear that," Piper said. Lupa smiled sadly. "I know I haven't been working here long, but is there anything I can do for you?"
"No. I will keep it in mind though," Lupa said. She glanced at Annabeth. "Morning. How are you?"
"I'm good," Annabeth answered. "How are you doing?"
"I appreciate the concern, but I would rather just focus on training all of you," Lupa said. Her lip quivered slightly. She cleared her throat and looked away. "Now, we must prepare for the two upcoming fights. How did you prepare at your gym?"
"We would watch a few old fights and make a strategy. On top of that, I would continue my normal training," Annabeth said. Lupa smiled.
"That is what we do as well. We spend the first day watching old fights and discussing strategy. Then, we pair up. The first few weeks are spent building a solid strategy and working on it. The next weeks are spent planning how to counter the opponent's attacks. Regular training is in between. With a shortened time until the fights, we will have to expedite the procedure."
Annabeth nodded. Piper glanced at her and spoke, "What about if two of your fighters have a match with each other? What if Annabeth fights Reyna or Hazel?"
"It will be the same, but I will make sure that there is no favoritism," Lupa answered. Annabeth found herself believing the older woman. Lupa looked in between the two of them. "I shouldn't stop you from warming up. Piper, can you help me upstairs with something?"
"Of course," Piper said. She smiled at Annabeth and followed after Lupa. The two walked away. Annabeth focused on stretching and preparing for her day. Despite her attempts to put it out of her mind, she couldn't stop thinking about her conversation with Reyna.
It didn't matter who the woman was. Reyna wasn't going to let it go. Annabeth could just see that from the look in her eyes. Reyna would let those thoughts and worry consume her, and she wouldn't focus on her next fight. Annabeth wanted everyone around her and those that she fought to be in the best shape. Since she was part of the Wolves now, she wanted them to be the best.
All of these distractions were only going to make their lives harder. A small sigh left Annabeth. If they were allowed the decision of who they wanted to partner up with to help prepare for the fights, she would choose Frank. Together, they would make a plan that would win the fight for Frank, and he would prove that he wasn't some rookie. Annabeth guaranteed it.