TERRIFIED . . . annabeth chase

twenty five.

VAL THANKED THE gods for the uneventful evening. At least, until the dinner, but that didn't matter.

She'd went and played the piano in her room, missing the feel of the pedals and the keys sinking under her fingers and the notes ringing out. It was like Elysium. She'd missed this feeling.

At least, until Piper opened the door and leaned on the doorframe. "Could you please stop?" She asked. "I don't want to disrupt Jason."

Didn't you want him to wake up? Val asked herself, trying very hard to not roll her eyes. "Okay," she said softly.

"Thanks, Val," Piper said, then closed the door. And that was that, apparently. Val knew that she should've turned on the soundproof setting in her room. Thank the gods for the Hecate kids that she'd managed to become friends with.

So then Val put on her pointe shoes and started practicing ballet. It was a skill of hers that she'd kept quiet. Not for any reason other than the fact that it was never really brought up. Whenever asked for a hobby that she did, she said piano. Occasionally she said ballet, but also she never really had a chance to do it randomly.

She'd turned on the soundproof walls, so all that was flowing around her was the music and her limbs as she twirled and kicked and tried to remember the little things that she needed to work on — to actually remember what third position was, to point and not flex her toes occasionally.

But after an hour, she grew tired. That, and the fact that Val had had to stop to throw up twice. Stupid curse. So she'd gathered up her clothes and shadow traveled to the bathroom, because she desperately needed a shower. Maybe it was the ballet or the Roman camp.

Val sighed as she turned on the water. Hot. So hot. She adored hot showers with her entire being. They were just so relaxing, and she liked it when the water was borderline hot but not too hot. She never used to like hot showers before she got the curse.

Or maybe it was because of Annabeth.

Either way, Val stepped into the shower, sighing and just standing there for a second. She couldn't forget that she was here because she needed to save the world, judging by the dark wood around her in the unfamiliar bathroom.

The fact that she could save the world was a horrible thought. The fact that she could fail was a worse thought than that.

Absentmindedly she scrubbed her body as she thought about the world going into ruins and snow, for no reason. Maybe snow would be the reason why the world would be in ruins. Val hated snow.

Those thoughts had occupied her mind enough to not make her notice when someone had opened the door and came in until that person spoke, "Val? We need you! It's dinner."

"Annabeth, you can't do that to someone," Val nearly tripped over the surprise in hearing her voice, and Annabeth had instantly rushed over to prevent her from falling. It would've been cute, if she hadn't been standing on shower tiles. Because she was taking a shower. And Annabeth had just walked in. "Especially in the shower, oh my gods."

Annabeth just laughed. The one that Val loved. "I'm sorry, Tina. I went to go get you and, well, you didn't lock the door."

That fact was true. She didn't think that anyone would go in, because they could hear the shower from out there. And she'd shadow traveled in.

"It's alright," Val said lightly. "Just give me, like, ten minutes, okay?"

Annabeth snorted. "It's your skincare night, and you haven't even done your hair yet. You are not going to finish in ten minutes."

Despite the fact that she was bound to get wet, Annabeth reached over and got Val's shampoo, and she turned around as Annabeth massaged shampoo through her hair.