Tonight was the night.
Reyna's eyes stayed closed as she took in the ambiance of the locker room. To her right, Annabeth was talking to her brothers. They were practically jumping up and down at the prospect of going to visit some of the other fighters and get a backstage tour. It almost brought a smile to Reyna's face. Having visitors at the gym was nice.
The boys did their best to stay out of the way, and they were practically glued to Lupa's side. Lupa seemed happy to answer any questions they had and even showed them a few self-defense tricks. Reyna tuned out the boys and focused on the rest of the room.
To her left, Frank was fretting over Hazel and making sure she didn't need anything. While they all insisted that she stay home, Hazel did not want to miss their fights. She argued that watching it on television at home was not the same as being there in person. Which was a true statement. But, Hazel was dealing with an injury.
Upon being reminded of that, Hazel looked ready to beat them over the head with her crutches. They came to a compromise that Hazel would sit backstage and watch. Something told Reyna that the compromise wouldn't last for too long.
Reyna took a deep breath and tuned out everything else. She focused on the sound in her earbuds and allowed herself to get lost in the music. Before her fight, she needed to clear her head and just relax. There was no need to run over her plan again or prepare anymore. She was ready.
Reyna felt the breeze change, and she peeked her eyes open. The locker room door was open, and Lupa walked in. Followed by three others. Reyna recognized Percy instantly, but she didn't recognize the other two. Both of them were older. One was a man with salt and pepper hair, and he had a small smile on his face as he looked at Annabeth.
The woman with him had brown hair with a bit of gray in it. Her eyes were full of warmth. When she looked at Annabeth and smiled, her face looked just like Percy's. Annabeth quickly stood and pulled the older woman into a hug. Reyna paused her music to hear her teammate's words, "-glad you guys came. Thank you so much."
"Of course we would be here," the woman beamed. Percy grinned and looked at Annabeth. "I'm glad you invited us."
"Thanks for accommodating us, Lupa," Percy said. He pulled Annabeth into a tight hug. "You're going to kick ass today."
The door opened once again. Piper walked into the locker room, followed by Jason. And Thalia. Reyna instantly averted her gaze from her ex and then closed her eyes again. She didn't resume her music, instead listening to the conversation.
"Surprise!" Thalia sang. Reyna could hear how happy she was. "I made this loser take the day off, so the two of us could attend your fight."
"You guys didn't have to," Annabeth began. A scoff escaped Thalia, and she was probably rolling her eyes. A grunt left Annabeth, which meant Thalia was probably squeezing her to death in a hug.
"We're all here to support you," Jason added. "I didn't realize that Sally and Paul would be here as well."
"I made sure everyone had seats together," Piper chimed in. "The family is back together."
Reyna felt her eyes open again. All of Annabeth's visitors were surrounding her, and they did look like a happy family. Reyna looked down again and glanced at her watch. Her sister wasn't there yet. Neither was Nico.
Reyna tried to bite back her sigh. It was such a stupid thing to be mad about. Hazel didn't have family that attended her fights. Frank didn't either. While Gwen did, she seemed like an exception. But, she never had this many people in the locker room. Annabeth had so much support.
It didn't matter. Reyna averted her gaze. Lupa spoke, "Whenever you are ready, Piper can show you to your seats, or you can stay back here if you like."
"We don't want to intrude," Sally began. Annabeth stood.
"I'll walk with you guys," Annabeth offered. The champion left the room with her small entourage. Lupa followed behind them, and as she turned to grab the door, she met Reyna's eyes. Reyna averted her gaze once again.
It was only one hour before the event would start. An hour before Annabeth defended her title. Her fight would set the tone for the night. It would also tell Reyna who she would be fighting for the title.
"Do you want any food?" Frank asked Hazel.
"No, I- hmm. Maybe, a... pretzel?" Hazel began.
"With cheese?"
"Please."
Frank rushed out of the locker room. Reyna looked down and glanced at her phone. No texts or calls. Nothing. Reyna felt a rush of anger and inhaled deeply.
It's okay to be angry. What matters is what you do with it.
Her anger management therapist told her that on her first visit. Reyna had asked how to stop being so angry all the time, and the therapist spent about thirty minutes explaining that anger was just like any other emotion. It wasn't more positive or negative than anything else.
Reyna still wasn't sure that she believed those words, but she was trying. The therapist gave her a few exercises to use when she felt like her anger was too much. And, they touched upon some of the things that made Reyna angry. It didn't feel like they made any progress.
Reyna did get an official note that she went to anger management. She would give it to Lupa after their fights. Reyna skipped her song and closed her eyes once again. Another song passed, and she heard the door open once again. Probably Frank with the pretzel.
Something hit her leg a moment later, and Reyna opened her eyes. Nico gave her a wave. Reyna pulled her earbuds out, and she smiled slightly. Behind Nico, she saw Hylla and Kinzie. Her smile widened.
"Sorry, we were stuck in traffic," Nico said. "It seems like everyone in the state is here for the events."
"They probably are," Reyna smiled with a shrug. She hugged Hylla tightly. Her sister hugged her back.
"I told Hylla we should have left earlier," Kinzie chimed in. Reyna pulled away from Hylla and smiled at Kinzie. "Are you ready for tonight?"
"I am," Reyna replied.
"Better be," Nico commented, and he walked toward Hazel. Reyna moved her attention to Kinzie and Hylla.
"Are you doing any more fight prep? Anything we can help you with?" Hylla offered.
"No. I'm all prepared," Reyna replied. She leaned on the locker and focused ahead for a few moments. "I'm more than ready for this."
Hylla gently clamped her shoulder and looked her up and down, "You're all healed up, right? Nothing lingering."
"Nothing lingering," Reyna confirmed. "Thanks for coming here. It really means a lot."
"I told you that I'm going to support you," Hylla said. "And I just love overpriced food and drinks."
"Oh shut up," Reyna said with a roll of her eyes. "I can buy you a hot dog if it shuts you up."
"Hylla is just cranky because of the traffic," Kinzie commented. "Thank you for having us here."
Reyna just smiled wildly as she pulled both of them in a hug. Kinzie seemed surprised, but she hugged Reyna back. Hylla spoke, "Alright. That's enough touching for today."
Reyna pulled away and sat against her locker. She glanced back at the door and then at Hylla, "Are you going to be okay if you run into Lupa?"
"I just won't say anything," Hylla said with a shrug. Reyna nodded.
"If it makes you feel better, my ex is here as well," Reyna muttered. "We told each other that we would be cool with each other, but it just sucks. I can't let it distract me, though. I'm focused on tonight."
"Kick her ass," Hylla said as she sat down by Reyna's locker. Reyna sat next to her, and Kinzie took a seat on her other side. "What do you normally do before your fights?"
"Run through my plan for the fight, followed by stretching," Reyna replied. "But, I'm going to wait until we're closer to my fight to start stretching. I'm just nervous right now, but I am completely focused."
"And the main event. Are you excited?" Kinzie questioned. Reyna nodded.
"Very," Reyna replied. "I'm just... ready for this. It's not often that females are the last fight of an event, and it's normally for a title. Not just a contender's match or even a grudge one."
A nervous breath left Reyna. She leaned forward, "I am ready for this."
"You can do it," Hylla promised as she rubbed Reyna's shoulder, massaging the tension out of there.
"I know," Reyna said. She looked at Hylla. "I'm more than ready. And tomorrow, we're all going to celebrate."