"Gym bag. Smoothie. Phone. Breakfast," Annabeth whispered to herself as she ran through her checklist of the things that she needed. She grabbed her smoothie cup and her plate of breakfast. Annabeth walked towards the table and sat everything down.
Annabeth placed her phone off to the side and scrolled through it as she ate. Her breakfast plate was full of egg whites, a few sausages, a little bit of bacon, and a single piece of toast with jam on it. Annabeth tried to load her calories up in the morning to have enough energy for the gym, especially when she was preparing for a fight.
Her car ride would be spent drinking the smoothie, and she was planning to arrive before everyone else. Someone sat down by her, and a hand snatched her bacon. Annabeth spoke, "Put it back, Thalia. I made you a plate."
"Thanks," Thalia said. She put the bacon back and stood. There was something about her tone that caused Annabeth to turn her head. Thalia stepped into the kitchen and came back with her plate of food.
"What's wrong?" Annabeth questioned. Thalia sighed as she sat down and played with her eggs. "Is it about your argument with Reyna yesterday?"
"Kind of," Thalia muttered. She stabbed her fork into her eggs. "Reyna wouldn't even let me explain. She just got mad at me and then decided to be an asshole. I get that she's mad that I didn't visit her, but I told her it was clear Nico didn't like me. Then, she said maybe there was a reason. I hung up."
"The only reason I didn't visit was because I was busy comforting Zoë. Her father passed away. The guy doesn't deserve to be mourned, but Zoë shouldn't be left alone either. Not for that," Thalia continued.
"You shouldn't have waited so long to tell Reyna," Annabeth began.
"She doesn't have a phone! How was I supposed to text her?" Thalia demanded.
"You could have told me, and I would have told Nico. Or, I would have gone myself to tell her. We could have made it work," Annabeth gently listed off. Thalia grumbled to herself and focused on her bacon for a few moments. "You can't get around the fact that you should have visited your girlfriend but didn't. You just have to talk to her and work through this."
"Not visiting her isn't the worst thing I did," Thalia muttered. Annabeth frowned and looked at her. There was a scowl on Thalia's face, and she did not look happy.
"What is?" Annabeth slowly asked. Thalia sighed and rubbed her face.
"After our argument, I talked to Zoë. We slept together," Thalia stated. Annabeth stared at her and felt her jaw go slack. She quickly shut her mouth. "I know it's a terrible thing to do. I should feel horrible, but I don't regret it."
Annabeth had so much she wanted to say, but she bit her tongue. Quite literally. It didn't matter how mad Thalia was at Reyna, there was no good reason to cheat on her. And for Thalia to do it with her ex of all people. Annabeth did not see Thalia leave the before or come in the morning, so she must have snuck in and out. Or Zoë was the one doing the sneaking.
Thalia knew she had done something wrong. That had to be why she was in such a bad mood. Annabeth kept her silence as Thalia looked at her and continued, "I regret getting back with Reyna. I really do."
Annabeth wanted to demand why Thalia had flirted so hard with Reyna then. All of those games at Thanksgiving and the flirting. Was that just to sleep with her? Thalia looked at her, "I wish I never did."
"You have to tell her," Annabeth finally said as she swallowed down her lecture. It sounded like Thalia knew that she had screwed up, but Annabeth just couldn't understand the thought process. If their relationship was that bad, Thalia should have ended it already.
"I know," Thalia muttered. She hung her head. "Reyna is going to be pissed."
"And heartbroken," Annabeth added because she didn't think that Thalia was really focusing on the most important aspect. Of course Reyna would be angry. Anyone would be angry. But, it seemed like Reyna had been trying hard compared to last time. Even Thalia acknowledged that.
"Yeah," Thalia agreed. She rubbed her temples and then played with her food, not taking another bite. Annabeth finished eating her breakfast and stood. She placed her plate in the sink and then made her way to her things.
"It's going to suck, Thalia. You have to be honest," Annabeth remarked as she grabbed her gym back and shouldered it. She grabbed her smoothie and took a drink. Thalia slowly looked at her.
"I know," Thalia grumbled. "Trust me, I know. Have fun at the gym."
"I will," Annabeth said. She pocketed her phone and left the house. Anger still boiled in her veins as she thought about what Thalia had done. While they were best friends and Annabeth would support her through everything, the woman still gave her a headache.
Annabeth sighed as she sat in her car and put everything down. She put her keys in the ignition and turned them. It might have been a little selfish for her to be upset that Thalia was going to have this awkward, painful breakup with Reyna. It felt like Annabeth and Reyna had gotten close recently between their visit to Annabeth's family and Reyna's car wreck.
This was going to put the two back to square one. Annabeth didn't want to go back to having to watch everything she said and feel like there was a barrier between her and Reyna. Annabeth let out a disgruntled noise and turned up the radio. Her gaze stayed on the road.
"I am looking forward to taking the title for myself," the woman on the radio said. Annabeth's gaze almost shot down to the dial, but she kept her focus on the road. Annabeth turned up the sound slightly and focused on Clarisse's voice.
"You still have to get through a tough opponent in Reyna," a different voice said. Annabeth knew it was an interviewer, but she wasn't quite sure who it was. Clarisse laughed. It was a bitter noise that reminded Annabeth of a snarl.
"I have nothing to worry about with her," Clarisse promised. "I know the truth. Reyna is scared to face me. She talks a big game and puts forth all this bravado. Reyna realized that she can't take me on, and that's why she wrecked her car."
"From the reports, she didn't do a good enough job," Clarisse continued. "In four months at the anniversary of the Olympic League, every title is going to be defended, but our rematch is going to steal the show. I am going to be the first person to knock Reyna out. If she doesn't try to hurt herself again before then."
The radio was silent for a few moments before the first host spoke again, "Thank you for your time, Clarisse. And for our fans out there, we have received an update from the Wolves that Reyna is out of the hospital and resting. She did suffer injuries, but the league is fully expecting her to be ready for the much anticipated rematch with Clarisse."
"We do have some exciting fights coming up," the other host added. "Our current champion Annabeth will be defending her title against Leila in two weeks. Who do you think is going to come out on top?"
"I have to give it to Leila. It's nothing against Annabeth, as I have seen her skill first hand, but this is a bigger stage than the Delian League. The lights are brighter, and the crowd is much bigger. Leila is a popular fighter, and I think the noise and cheers for her will throw Annabeth off."
"Annabeth had more mental toughness than that. She'll be able to block everything out. Not to mention that she is being trained by the legendary fighter Lupa. And Lupa personally invited Annabeth to join the Wolves the second she was able to. Lupa sees something in her."
"Does Lupa see something now, or is it a skill that must be refined and honed? We see it with Frank and Hazel. Both of them are good, but they have to be molded to be great. The same goes for Reyna. Do you remember when she first joined the league? We both thought she would flame out early."
"Lupa found those three at the beginning of their careers, but Annabeth already had a stellar career. Her skills are already honed. Lupa is just going to enhance what she already knows and teach her things only a master of the sport would know."
Annabeth turned the radio up slightly as the two hosts continued to talk about her and her team. She would be lying if she said that her interest wasn't peeked. Annabeth settled back in her seat and kept most of her focus on the road.
"While I think this fight is for Leila to win, this is also an opportunity for Annabeth to show the world what she is about. Win or lose, she needs to have a strong, dominant showing."
"I don't think she does. A dominant showing will be great, but it doesn't tell us everything we need to know. I know she is mentally tough, but how physically tough is she? How many punches can she take before going down?"
"While my co-host and I have differing opinions on who will win, one thing we both know is that the fight has sparked interest across the fighting world. League officials are keeping a close eye on this. As is another fighter: Arachne."
"While I think that Annabeth will beat Leila, I believe she falls to Arachne. Same as Leila. Neither have the experience that she had, and I don't think they have the stamina to make it if they end up in one of her traps. The question is: will Clarisse or Reyna be the one to challenge Arachne when she wins the title?"
Annabeth's hand tightened on the steering wheel, and a frown marred her lips.
"It has to be Clarisse. We've seen her get under Reyna's skin before, and that is going to cause Reyna to make a mistake that will end the fight."
"We will agree on that. But going from what matches we think will happen to what we want to see, I think a fight between Clarisse and Arachne is where the money is at. It would be the ultimate battle of strength versus technique."
"I have to say that Annabeth against Reyna for the title would be my dream match. Two of Lupa's pupils facing off. Reyna has to be itching for her first title win, and if Annabeth were to make it past Leila and Arachne, the last big obstacle she would have would be Reyna."
"If Annabeth does successfully run the gauntlet, do you think we are looking at a hall of fame worthy career? Her record from the Delian League is impressive, and it would only become better by beating those three."
"Well, you know me. I'm stingy about putting anyone into the hall of fame. I think Annabeth would have to fight for a few more years and bolster her record with tough opponents."
Annabeth switched the radio to classical music. Thalia always teased her about it. Piper as well. Percy never teased her directly, but he always fidgeted and twitched a lot worse when she played it. Like he was desperate for lyrics to belt out.
There was just something about classical music that allowed her to relax. It also got her focused and ready for a day at the gym. Some of the beats she used in training, allowing it to keep her in a rhythm. If only she could find a radio station that would make all of her problems go away.