"I can't believe you pulled this together so fast," Annabeth commented as she sat on one of the rings in the gym. Near the corner was a large television that already had a few gaming consoles hooked up to it. Annabeth found Nico testing it out by playing video games an hour earlier.
Three couches were in front of the television. Hazel sat on one and had her leg propped up. Frank sat next to her and had a small smile on his face. Across from them was a camera. There was also a headset to the side that had some sort of camera on it. Nico said he would be wearing it the whole time.
"Does it look good?" Nico questioned as he looked at her.
"It does," Annabeth confirmed. "What are we all playing?"
"I brought a lot of different things," Nico said. He grinned and reached into his pocket, pulling out his phone. "Quick! Before Reyna gets here, who wants to see her in a wedding dress."
"Me!" Hazel said, moving so quickly she nearly threw herself off of the couch. Frank quickly steadied her. A small smirk came to Nico's face as he showed them pictures from the wedding.
"You look so great!" Hazel gushed as they saw a picture of Nico and Reyna standing together. Annabeth stared at the dress that Reyna was in. It was the only time she had seen her in a dress, and she looked... amazing.
Reyna looked so different without her hair in a braid, but it was a great look on her. The makeup she had complimented her features well and hid most of the fading bruises. Annabeth spoke softly, "She looks gorgeous."
"Yeah. Focus on Reyna. Not me," Nico ordered as a blush came to his face.
"But I want to focus on you in this suit," Hazel said as she took the phone from Nico's grasp. Her own phone vibrated a moment later.
"You did not!" Nico said as his eyes widened. Hazel cackled. "No!"
"I'm keeping this forever," Hazel said. Nico snatched the phone back and looked like he was desperately deleting the message. Hazel grinned and showed her phone to them as she opened her messages and saved the photo. "Forever."
"I'm not showing anymore photos," Nico proclaimed.
"This is the only one I need," Hazel stated. Nico glared at her. "And what was this about you trying to salsa dance and nearly knocking yourself out."
"Reyna is a psychopath," Nico began.
"More like you have no rhythm," Reyna said as she appeared at their side. Annabeth jumped and turned her head. Reyna leaned on the couch near them. "How many times did you almost trip over my feet before actually tripping over your own?"
Nico flipped her off and walked toward a laptop he had set up. Reyna looked at the others, "I got energy drinks for everyone. Coffee is brewing. Plenty of food is coming."
"Lupa said she was going to kick everyone's butt in that fighting game," Hazel began.
"She wishes," Nico snorted.
"You look beautiful," Hazel said as she showed Reyna the picture from the wedding. Reyna blushed and tried to look annoyed. "Seriously!"
"You're gorgeous," Annabeth stated. That made Reyna blush worse. She averted her gaze and cleared her throat. Annabeth looked at the others. "When is this starting?"
"Thirty minutes," Frank answered. "It's going to be all of us, Lupa, and I think Octavian? I heard he might come. Depending on if he's busy with his family. Is, um, anyone else nervous about this?"
"You shouldn't be nervous," Annabeth said with a small smile.
"Well, this is going to be completely live. Unscripted. I'm just nervous," Frank began.
"If anyone should be nervous, it's Reyna. We've seen her interviews," Piper teased as she appeared behind them. Reyna shot Piper a glare. "I've also seen you on Nico's livestreams, and you do a great job. So, no one here should be nervous."
"Just be yourselves," Lupa said from the far corner of the gym. Annabeth looked at their trainer. "Tonight is about getting as much money for charity as possible."
"Lupa's right," Octavian said, following right behind her. His suit was a disheveled mess, and he started to peel off his jacket as he got closer to them. He tossed it to the side. His tie followed a moment later. "Tonight is about having fun."
Octavian looked like he wasn't having any fun at all. There were dark bags under his eyes, not to mention his eyes were sunken in. He had a bit of scruff on his face, and as he ran his hand across his chin, a scowl came to his face.
"If you want to shave," Lupa offered.
"I will," Octavian said with a nod. "Is Mario Party on the agenda?"
"How else are we going to ruin friendships?" Nico questioned. Octavian smirked.
"It always got violent in my household," Octavian said. "I may be out of practice, but it won't take long to get back into the groove."
"Worry about getting that baby face back first," Reyna stated. Octavian gave her a playful glare before heading in the direction of the stairs. Reyna looked at Nico. "Need help setting anything up?"
"It's all ready," Nico confirmed. "Though, we should probably get a spare table or two for all of the snacks, foods, and drinks."
"We have an extra table in a side room. Right of the main foyer," Lupa said. Reyna nodded and started to walk toward the foyer. After a moment, Lupa followed. Annabeth exchanged a look with the others and then took off after the two.
"Frank, want to help me bring down a cooler and some trash cans?" Piper asked. Annabeth heard the couch shift as Frank stood. She stepped into the foyer and walked across it. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Will at the front door.
Annabeth opened it for him and smiled, "Hey. I didn't realize you were coming."
"I wasn't going to miss this chance to support Nico. In fact, I got him something," Will began. He held a gift bag in his hand. "I hope we can set it up before it starts."
"They're all in the gym," Annabeth informed.
"Thanks," Will said with a smile. She returned it. Will walked toward the others while Annabeth made her way to the side room. Reyna and Lupa were in the middle of folding a table. Neither of them was looking at the other, and they had their backs to Annabeth.
"Reyna," Lupa began in a soft voice. Reyna froze in the middle of folding a leg up. "I just... I need to know one thing. What did Clarisse say to you at the face off that made you punch her?"
It was silent for a few moments as Reyna didn't move. Then, she folded up the other table leg and spoke, "She taunted me about your abortion."
It was Lupa's turn to freeze in the middle of doing something. She drew in a sharp breath. Reyna slowly continued, "I know I'm not supposed to know, but there was a moment when we were messing with paperwork, and it fell. I just happened to pick that one up, and Mellie was right there.
"That's how Clarisse knew. Mellie told Hedge who told Clarisse, and when she said that, I saw red. I punched her in the face, and I do not regret it."
Annabeth saw Reyna about to turn, so she took two quick steps back and knocked on the door, "Do you need help?"
"Yeah," Reyna said as she turned to Annabeth. "Can you get this table? I'll get another one."
Annabeth nodded and tried to study Reyna's face, but there wasn't much to read there. Lupa had the same impassive look. Annabeth grabbed the table and carefully carried it out of the room. She made it across the foyer and toward the others.
Lupa was only a few steps behind. The two of them made it toward the others, and it was easy enough to set the tables back up. Annabeth kept shooting glances at Lupa, but she couldn't read into it. Reyna was a minute behind the two.
"Will," Nico said. Annabeth's gaze shot to the side, and she saw that Nico was holding an open box in his hand. There was a controller there, and as Nico picked it up, Annabeth saw it had his name carved into it. Along with some other designs. "This is amazing."
"I hope you like it," Will said. Nico hugged him tightly and mumbled something into his chest. Annabeth averted her gaze to give them privacy and helped Reyna set up the last table. Reyna glanced at her.
"How's the face?" Annabeth asked. Reyna looked at the table and shrugged.
"Doesn't hurt as much anymore. Mostly my shoulder," Reyna answered. "What about your ankle?"
"It's not as swollen, but it still hurts," Annabeth said. Reyna nodded. "And, I am sorry for accusing you. I was just under a lot of stress."
"I get it, Annabeth. I would never do that, though," Reyna said as she looked Annabeth in the eyes. "I would never do anything to jeopardize one of your fights."
There was anger to Reyna's words, but she didn't raise her voice or make any movement besides cleaning the table off with her hands. Reyna looked at her, "Let's just have a good night."
"Yeah," Annabeth agreed. She turned to look at Nico, who was setting up his new controller. "So, what are we playing first?"