Remembering

Chp. 11: Unexpected Friendships

Annabeth drummed her fingers on the windowsill of her room, contemplating yesterday's conversation with Percy. The quest would require much preparation, but it was theoretically possible. To run it by Reyna, though? Reyna...Annabeth couldn't think of Reyna without a flooding of guilt. She knew she deserved a punishment for her outburst-she'd started the fight after all...But Reyna locked eyes with her and didn't say anything at the assembly: the two seconds of eye contact said more than any words could. Too much damage has been done.

She pressed her forehead to the cool window pane. Her mind was made up.

                                                                         ~

Reyna piled the disorganized hay bales into neat stacks. A quick headcount-about 50 more bales to go. And that didn't even cover the rotten stench of manure from the stables' corner. She sighed. This would be a long month.

"Hey Reyna." The praetor looked up to greet her interrupter: Annabeth.

"Hello, Annabeth." They eyed each other warily. "Should we sit down?"

Annabeth nodded, and they both plopped down on the hay bales together.

Silence.

"I-I" Reyna's nervous voice pierced the still air. "I would like to apologize. I let my emotions get the better of me and cloud my judgement. Percy loves you and....I'm so sorry."

Reyna reached out her hand. It stood suspended for a minute....Annabeth decided to hold it, shaking Reyna's hand with solidarity.

"I know you mean well, Reyna. You just have...interesting ways of going about it."

The praetor nodded. "Yeah, I guess going the "interesting" route is what I've done all my life."

Annabeth paused, waiting for her to continue.

"Hylla and I...we didn't have the best childhood. Manipulation was the only way people listened to you."

Annabeth turned to face Reyna better. "Honestly, I get that. My childhood wasn't great either. My stepmom and I never got along...she didn't understand the demigod thing well."

"Does it ever get better?"

"Hm?"

Reyna hesitated. This was probably a touchy subject. "Things with your family?"

"....well...I regret distancing myself from my dad when I was a kid. We're a lot closer now, but we still have a long way to go."

"And your stepmom?"

"One step at a time."

Reyna chuckled.

"Hylla and I used to be inseparable, but after she joined the Amazons, we stopped seeing each other as often."

Annabeth pursed her lips. "I had a friend named Thalia...Jason's sister...I loved her more than the world, but she left for a long, long time. When she returned, she left again to join the Hunters."

Reyna's head jolted up at the mention of Hunters. "I guess we have more in common than I thought."

"I'm still figuring out if that's a good thing," Annabeth grinned.

Reyna grinned back, but her beam quickly dulled.

"How did you come out of it? Y'know, start talking to your dad and Thalia again?"

"You just need to find one person who'll stick with you. Percy was that to me. He's my rock...I don't know what I'd do without him. I almost gave up on him-" Annabeth's throat closed. "You can't give up on that person. They help you get through everything, including other relationships."

"And I was going to take that from you..." Reyna fisted her hands. How could she have done this? "Can you ever forgive me?"

Annabeth rested her head against the hay bales and sighed. "I don't forgive people very easily, Reyna. But I know you have a good heart, so I'm willing to try."

"You think I have a good heart?" Not many people thought of her that way.

"Sure. You remind me of my old self."

"And after I find my one person, I'll change too."

"Is that why you keep looking for relationships?" Annabeth winced. That wasn't phrased very well. "I'm sorry that was-"

"What do you mean by that?"

Annabeth paused for a beat, forming her words in her mind first. "It's just with Jason and Percy...you're always looking for a relationship..."

"I'm just trying to find my person."

"Your person doesn't have to be a boyfriend. It could be anyone."

Surprisingly, Reyna's eyes welled with tears. Annabeth looked over with concern.

"I....I suppose I never thought of it that way before."

"Well remember that before you steal someone else's boyfriend." Her words were harsh, but tone playful. Reyna managed a weak smile. She held out her hand once again, but instead of shaking it, Annabeth gripped the praetor in a tight hug.

Behind them, the clanging of a bell rang throughout camp. The two girls separated.

"Shoot. Is it 10 already? I wanted to finish stacking the hay bales by lunchtime."

Oh. The stables. The reason why Annabeth was here in the first place. And she forgot to warn Reyna about the quest...actually, it may be too soon for that. One step at a time. "Hey Reyna... the day before yesterday, why didn't you give me a punishment?"

"I just figured too much damage had been done."

"Well, it isn't fair to you to do all of this when I started the fight. I want to help you."

Reyna set her lips in a firm line. "Are you sure?"

"I am."

Her features relaxed. "Well then, nothing brings two people together like hundreds of hay bales and rotting manure."

The pair stared at each other before bursting into peals of laughter.

"Now, I guess we have a stable to clean."

Reyna grinned. "Let's get to it."