Reyna stared down at the cards in her hand and tried to keep her face neutral. After a dozen terrible hands, she finally had a good one. She felt like those other hands were some kind of divine force punishing her for taking all of Nico's money a half-hour ago. Reyna felt like she was going to be forced to fold, and that was because when regular poker went sideways, they decided to use house rules.
The night started normal enough with playing board games. They first played Monopoly, and Annabeth destroyed all of them. Reyna never wanted to see another stupid Monopoly board again, and if she ever saw one of those stupid little houses again, she was going to throw it in the trash.
The second game, Risk, turned into a battle between Annabeth and Reyna when the rest were knocked out pretty early. Annabeth ultimately won, and Reyna swore the woman had been cheating. She was also pretty pissed off about losing and had let out a string of curses. It was so bad that Hazels' ears turned red in embarrassment. Nico told Reyna to calm down, but since he was clearly only trying to get her more agitated, she cursed him out in Spanish.
Their third game was Clue, which Piper won. She had spent a few minutes shoving it into Annabeth's face until Annabeth suggested they play another round of it. Piper fell oddly silent after that. Nico was the one who suggested their fourth game, and Reyna knew it wasn't going to end well when Nico smiled. He never smiled. The fourth game was Poker, and all of them except for Hazel were about three beers in at that point.
"Is it bad that I still don't get it?" Hazel whispered to Frank. He glanced at her and smiled slightly. Reyna watched the two but remained silent. She was happy that she apologized to Frank and felt like a weight had been lifted from her chest. Ever since Hazel talk ed to her about it, Reyna couldn't get over the guilt she felt for treating Frank like that for so long, but he seemed to forgive her.
"You'll get it sooner or later," Frank whispered, but he was just being nice. Hazel had spent most of their poker games guessing whether to fold or hold. She had not called anyone and usually just let the hands play out. It made Reyna wonder just how much Hazel had been sheltered if she had never even played poker.
Frank was inexperienced and wasn't good at hiding if he had good cards or not. A small smile always came to his lips if he had a good hand, or a frown if it was a bad one. Then he would realize that he needed to be deceptive and then quickly go back to a neutral face.
Piper and Percy had been trash-talking each other since they started poker, and Percy was currently sitting with all of Piper's winnings. He kept rubbing the small pile of cash just to piss Piper off, and it was rather funny.
Annabeth had been doing well with bluffing, but once they all realized that she just couldn't get a good hand, they kept calling her bluffs. As for Nico, he had an amazing poker face until Reyna made eye contact with him, and he couldn't help but give away a hint as to what kind of hand he had. He also returned the favor to Reyna, and she hated him for it.
There came a point where they decided that Piper and Hazel would end up bankrupt if they kept this up. It was Percy who suggested the variant of the game they were now playing. Money was off the tables, and now they were only playing for bragging rights. And that brought out everyone's competitive side. It was Percy's other variation that ruined Reyna's entire night. All because she could not get a good hand.
Instead of being allowed to call, hold, or fold, they were doing a sort of game of never have I ever. One person would say something they had never done, and if anyone else had done it, they would all fold. The rest were then allowed to bluff or raise the others. If only one person remained, they would win.
Nico was rather quick to agree to the rules, which made Reyna a little nervous. Nico wasn't one to share information about himself, and this would be sharing information with others. It was like he wanted Reyna to share stuff about herself, and as they made eye contact, Reyna knew it was true.
"Let's see," Nico said, and he tapped his chin. He studied his cards, and it was like he knew that Reyna had a good hand. An evil grin came to his face. "Never have I ever slept with a female."
"You son of a bitch," Reyna cursed. She threw her cards onto the table revealing her royal flush. Nico cackled. Percy laid his cards on the table but looked rather relieved considering he had a terrible hand. To Reyna's surprise, Annabeth folded her cards as well.
"Nico, are you a virgin?" Piper asked quietly. Nico blinked in surprise, and Reyna could see that he was so focused on sticking it to Reyna that he forgot who his present company was. She could also see his mind was racing for an excuse.
"He is," Reyna confirmed. "Mostly because any girl that he brings over sees me and realizes they can do so much better."
"I bet she lays around on the couch with her shirt off," Percy said with a small cackle. Reyna glared at him. "I'm just saying. Between you and Nico, I would definitely go after you."
"That's because you're straight," Piper said.
"Please. You would sleep with Reyna too," Annabeth commented.
"You would as well," Piper shot back. Reyna felt a small blush come to her face as she became the center of the conversation. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the grateful look on Nico's face. The truth was that Nico never brought a girl home. He was gay, but he had also never told Hazel. Or anyone else for that matter.
Reyna learned in high school when she found Nico kissing another boy. It hadn't bothered her, but the problem was that someone else had also seen Nico kissing the boy. The rumors started from there, and a few bullies decided to make Nico's life a living hell by calling Nico all kinds of names and making all kinds of disgusting comments. Then, one tried to force Nico to give him a blowjob.
As much as Reyna hated herself for it, she had been quiet about the bullying until then. When she had watched two boys wrestle Nico to his knees and a third, their leader, unzip his pants and taunt Nico, something in Reyna had snapped. She had punched the leader of the bullies in the face, and before the other two could jump her, teachers and school officials had pulled them apart. Reyna just wished that was the last she saw of those assholes.
Reyna closed her eyes. She wasn't going to let the memory of Bryce Lawrence bullying Nico ruin her day. Instead, she took a deep breath and opened her eyes. Piper was looking at her and seemed to be recoiling slightly.
"I didn't mean to offend," Piper began. Reyna frowned slightly. She didn't realize her bitter reminiscing made it seem like she was mad about their jokes.
"I would sleep with you too," Reyna said after a moment. "Jason just had to go and steal you away though."
A small smile came to Piper's face, and she relaxed. Reyna glanced to her side and saw Frank sit up. He spoke, "I'll raise."
"As will I," Piper challenged. Hazel hesitated, but she finally folded. Piper and Frank studied each other, and both grabbed a card. Reyna moved her eyes to Annabeth. She couldn't help but wonder about Annabeth now. Was she a lesbian, bisexual, or had sleeping with a female just been an experiment on a drunken night? Reyna wanted to know, but she wasn't confident enough to ask.
It wasn't like she cared anyway. She was just trying to learn more about the newcomers. Reyna focused back on the game as Piper cackled and gathered up the beer caps they were using as the so-called poker chips. Percy passed out more cards, and Reyna looked at her hand.
"Your turn Frank. What have you never done?" Percy asked. Frank seemed to think about it. He looked between them and nodded to himself.
"Never have I ever been arrested," Frank said.
"That's discrimination," Percy complained as he folded.
"How is that discrimination? Everyone knows you're a troublemaker," Nico said as he folded as well. Reyna folded her cards and watched Piper and Annabeth do the same. And to her greatest surprise, Hazel folded her cards as well. Everyone turned to look at Hazel.
"I lingered at a grocery store for too long," Hazel began. She shifted uncomfortably. "They called the police on me and made up this story that I was loitering and trying to sell drugs to their customers. It wasn't until the police arrested me and had me at the station that they checked me for drugs."
"I'm sorry for that discrimination comment," Percy began.
"Well, I did want to make you fold, Percy. I didn't realize I would knock everyone out as well," Frank said. He had a small blush on his face. Reyna glanced at Hazel and gently squeezed her hand. Hazel smiled.
"It's okay, guys. I watched the sergeant tear the officer a new one about the whole situation, and the look on his face as he had to apologize," Hazel said. She seemed to relax. "Most people judge me when they hear that."
"That's nowhere near as bad as Piper. She stole a car," Percy said.
"And you blew up a bus," Piper countered. "And destroyed a national monument!"
"And they couldn't prove any of that. Besides, Smelly Gabe lied to the police about everything and made me look worse than I am," Percy said.
"I'm very disappointed in you, Annabeth. How did you manage to get arrested?" Nico inquired. He gave Annabeth a look and put his hands on his hips. "Percy and Piper I understand, but you? You are supposed to be the good child here."
"Running away from home," Annabeth said with a wave of her hand. "My stepmother hated me, so she made it sound a lot worse when she told the police."
"What did you get arrested for, Nico?" Hazel questioned. Nico looked at Hazel and shrugged.
"Shoplifting," Nico said. "I was an idiot teenager and saw these cool mythomagic pieces that I wanted."
"Let me guess, Reyna. You were arrested for assault," Percy guessed.
"Maybe I was," Reyna shrugged. She watched Frank grab his bottle cap and then place his cards in the middle. Reyna gathered all of the cards and shuffled them. She passed the cards around and thought about the reason she had been arrested.
Reyna had been living on the streets for a while now and was struggling to get by. She became so desperate that she tried to join a gang. It lasted about two hours before she got busted for possessing drugs. Reyna tried to run, but a cop had tackled her into a wall before she even made it three feet.
Between exhaustion, lack of food, and having her skull slammed into a wall, Reyna didn't remember much of that day. She just remembered sitting around in a cold room, cradling her injured shoulder and head. A police officer had walked in and offered her the chance to keep the arrest off her record if she gave up who gave her the drugs.
Reyna knew a snitch on the streets had a target on their back, but she didn't have much of a choice. She gave up the leader of the gang and was dropped off a few neighborhoods from where she had been arrested. There had also been some money in her backpack that wasn't her own, and it was enough for Reyna to spend a night at a hotel and have a decent meal. It was in that neighborhood that she would meet Lupa only two weeks after being arrested.
On the other hand, Nico was the one arrested for assault. Considering it was mostly Reyna's fault, she felt pretty bad whenever it was brought up, but Nico never held it against her. And Lupa had paid for Nico's legal expenses.
"If you think you're being discriminated against Percy, wait for this," Piper said. She looked at Percy and grinned. "Never have I ever had a sibling."
Reyna didn't even bother to look at her hand. She just tossed it to the table. Reyna was definitely being targeted by everyone. Percy glared and dropped his cards. Hazel had her cards halfway to the table but suddenly froze, "Do half-siblings count?"
"Oh, they do. Chase, cards down," Piper ordered. Annabeth rolled her eyes and placed her cards on the table. Nico and Hazel did as well. The only ones with cards remaining were Frank and Piper. Reyna looked back at the table as she heard Frank fold almost immediately. Annabeth shuffled and passed cards around.
"I see you, McLean. Never have I ever had a terrible mother," Percy said. Reyna was in the middle of picking up her cards, but she dropped them back to the table. Piper stuck her tongue out at Percy and did the same. Hazel hesitated and then slowly lowered her cards.
Nico pulled his cards even closer to himself, and Percy grinned as he held onto his cards. Annabeth had her cards halfway to the table and looked conflicted. She looked at Percy, and he seemed to think about it.
"She did walk out on you like my mother did," Piper said. "That's the basis for my mom being terrible."
"Yeah," Annabeth said, but she still seemed hesitant.
"We can count your stepmother if you want. She is evil," Percy recalled. "You are lowering those cards though."
"Just for you," Annabeth relented, and she laid the cards on the table. Percy looked at Frank.
"Ah. My old nemesis. We meet again, and I raise," Percy announced. Frank hesitated and then raised his bottle cap as well. Hazel suddenly shot her hand to her pocket and grabbed her phone out of it. Hazel jumped to her feet and hurried towards the kitchen.
Percy laughed as he placed his hand down. Frank slowly sat his hand down, and Percy stared at it. He swore under his breath as Frank grabbed the bottle cap. Reyna stood and looked at everyone. She spoke, "Anyone want another beer?"
"I'll take one," Percy said. Annabeth and Piper nodded their agreement. Frank shook his head.
"And pizza," Nico spoke up. Reyna rolled her eyes and walked towards the kitchen. She stacked the empty boxes of pizza off to the side and placed the leftovers in the other boxes. Reyna grabbed a few beers and one of the full pizza boxes. And she tried not to spy on Hazel.
"I understand, Aunt Chloe. I would love to," Hazel said. Reyna turned her head slightly to see that Hazel had her back to her. The younger girl was bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet. "Do I have a guest to bring? Well, um. Yeah. I do."
Reyna forced herself to walk back to the living room. She placed the pizza down and passed the beers around. Reyna grabbed a slice of pizza and focused on it as more cards were passed around. Her gaze kept moving back to the kitchen until Hazel walked in.
While Reyna was curious about what Hazel had been talking about, she knew it wasn't any of her business. Instead, she focused on Annabeth. There was just something about Annabeth that was starting to intrigue Reyna, and she couldn't tell what it was. Then again, it didn't matter. Reyna had a fight to focus on, and she couldn't let anything distract her from that.
"It's getting pretty late," Hazel began. She looked at her watch. "Do you need a ride home, Frank?"
"I do," Frank answered. He looked at Reyna. "Thanks for the night."
"You guys drive safe," Reyna said. She looked at Annabeth, Percy, and Piper. "The rest of us have been drinking too much to drive. You three are welcome to stay the night."
"That's probably a good idea," Piper agreed. Percy nodded his agreement, and Annabeth was oddly silent. "We can stay out here."
"You two can take my bed. I'll take the couch," Reyna said with a shrug.
"And Percy can share the bed with me," Nico said. "But, you don't get a blanket."
Reyna hit Nico's shoulder and spoke, "We also have enough blankets to just make a large bed for everyone out here if you want."
"Whichever works best for you guys," Percy answered. "I want to cuddle with Annabeth though."
"She is always warm," Piper added.
"Reyna's always cold. The two can cuddle and balance each other out," Nico suggested. Reyna choked on her pizza and started to cough. Nico cackled and hit her back. As Reyna was trying not to choke and die on her food, she saw Annabeth out of the corner of her eye. There was a bright blush on Annabeth's face.
"Asshole," Reyna wheezed as she spat the pizza that she nearly choked on into a napkin. Nico chuckled again. Reyna glared at him and took a sip of the beer. "You're sleeping outside now."
"Worth it," Nico said, pleased with himself. Reyna glared at him and looked at Hazel.
"I'll walk you two out," Reyna offered as she stood. She was careful not to meet Annabeth's eyes. The truth was that Reyna didn't mind sleeping next to Annabeth, but she couldn't figure out the reason why. And, part of her wished she would wake up the next morning cuddling with Annabeth. But that would never happen, so why was she even thinking about it?
Reyna sighed and led Hazel and Frank out of the house. It was just the stupid alcohol that was causing her to think like this. Reyna didn't have any feelings for Annabeth, and it didn't matter if she did. After Reyna handled her next few fights, she would do everything in her power to get a title match with Annabeth. Then, she would prove that she was the best fighter in the world.