Frank leaned back in his chair and looked at his fellow fighters. Hazel was passing popcorn around and had a grin on her face. She always loved the days that they watched videos since she was able to eat popcorn and didn't have to jog ten laps.
Annabeth was sitting next to Reyna, and they were refusing to even look at each other. Reyna just stared at the wall opposite of her, and Annabeth stared at the screen. Something had happened between them, but the last thing Frank was going to do was get involved. As much as he liked Annabeth, he needed someone to take Reyna's attention off of him.
That stupid argument had been on Frank's mind all weekend. He felt terrible about snapping on Reyna, even if she did deserve it. Then, there was the whole thing with the reporter. His grandmother had pestered him all weekend about if he was actually dating Reyna or not. When he finally told her that he wasn't, she then asked him why not. It was at that point that he just gave up.
Frank heard the door open and watched Octavian walk in. Their manager walked towards Reyna and slammed both of his hands on the table. He glared down at her. After a moment, Reyna slowly looked up at him.
"You told the press that you were only there so you wouldn't get fined?!" Octavian demanded.
"I told you I didn't want to do the press conference," Reyna said. Octavian could only stare at her in disbelief. He finally looked down and shook his head. Reyna sat back in her chair and stared at the table.
"Thanks to your little stunt. I have to run interference," Octavian complained. He looked up and gave Reyna a pointed look. He then fixed his eyes on Frank. All Frank could do was shrink further into his chair and feel terrible. "Lupa is pissed."
"I know," Reyna muttered. "She already gave me the lecture, so I don't need you to add onto it."
Octavian crossed his arms and spoke, "You'll get a lecture from me as well. I hate dealing with that particular company."
"Whatever," Reyna muttered. Octavian was about to retort with strong language, but his phone rang. He looked down and grabbed his phone. Then, he turned on his heel and hurried out of the room. Reyna sunk further into her chair and glared. Frank quickly averted his eyes so the glare wouldn't be focused on him.
"So, what did everyone do this weekend?" Hazel asked after a minute of awkward silence.
"Percy and I hung out," Annabeth answered. She sat up and smiled slightly. "We had dinner with Piper and Jason. His sister is back in town."
"Thalia's back in town?" Reyna asked. Her head shot up. Annabeth looked at her in surprise.
"You know Thalia?" Annabeth questioned. Frank looked in between the two. He had heard of Thalia Grace before but had never seen her. When Jason did visit, Thalia was the only one that he talked fondly of. She had been in and out of town for her job though, so Frank never had the chance to meet her.
"You do too?" Reyna asked after a moment.
"Yeah. We have been best friends since we were kids," Annabeth explained. Reyna nodded slightly and looked down at the table. "How do you know her?"
"We dated," Reyna answered after a moment. "Nothing serious."
Annabeth nodded, but there was a slight frown on her face. Reyna somehow sunk further into her chair and closed her eyes. Another awkward silence filled the room. Frank shifted and tried to think of what he did that weekend, which was nothing. That wouldn't interest anyone. And, Reyna might as him why he was wasting their oxygen by talking.
It would be best to keep his mouth shut. He wouldn't anger Reyna again, and he wouldn't embarrass himself in front of Annabeth and Hazel. Frank had the fight to focus on anyway. He needed to beat Michael Kahale and prove himself.
The door opened once again, and Lupa walked into the room. Frank looked up and smiled widely. Lupa looked over all of them, and a small smile came to her face. Lupa spoke, "How is everyone doing this morning?"
"I'm good," Hazel said, and she smiled just as wide as Frank. Reyna grunted and didn't say a word. Annabeth smiled at Lupa but seemed lost in thought.
"I'm good too. How are you doing, Lupa?" Frank questioned. He had already pulled Lupa aside. As awkward as it was, he told Lupa that she could talk to him anytime she wanted to. Frank knew the pain of losing a mother, and it was the last time anyone should be alone.
"I've been better," Lupa said. She looked at Reyna. "Can you go and get Octavian, Piper, Nico, and Will for me? I have an announcement to make."
"Yeah," Reyna said after a few moments. She had a look of concern on her face, but she stood and left the room. Frank shared that concern. Was Lupa going to announce that she wasn't fit to train them anymore? That she was closing the gym? Frank's gut twisted.
Hazel seemed concerned as well, and she drummed her fingers on the table. Annabeth was studying Lupa in silence. After a moment, Lupa smiled. She spoke, "I realize how that must sound. Everything is fine."
Frank relaxed. He knew that Lupa would never lie to them. If she said everything was fine, most of it had to be. Lupa was still hurting though. Her smile never fully met her eyes. The tension in the room disappeared. They sat in silence until Reyna came back with everyone else.
Reyna sat back in her seat and studied Lupa with a look of concern on her face. Nico stood next to Reyna's seat, and Will inched his way over there. Piper sat on Annabeth's lap, and Octavian gave them all a look before sitting in an empty chair.
"I'm sure all of you know by now, but my mother passed recently. That is why I rushed away," Lupa began. She walked towards the large television at the other end of the room. "I ask that none of you do anything special for me. The condolences have been enough, and I don't want a card or any big fancy presents. If you want to get me something, make it alcohol."
"This year will be the first Thanksgiving without my mother," Lupa said. She wrung her hands, and tears came to her eyes. Lupa blinked rapidly. "I normally hold a Thanksgiving dinner the day before, but this year, I don't want to be alone. It's not required that any of you come, but I am inviting all of you to my place for Thanksgiving."
"You already know I'll be there," Reyna said
"Same," Nico said. "I can't handle being stuck in a tiny apartment with Reyna."
"Shut up," Reyna muttered. Nico smirked.
"I'll be there too," Will said. He crossed his arms and looked down. "I don't have any family out here."
"We usually have Thanksgiving with Percy's mother," Annabeth began.
"And, I'll be going to Jason's house," Piper added.
"My family will need me as well," Octavian said quickly like he wanted to make Annabeth and Piper feel better about turning down Lupa.
"I'm not sure," Frank began. When his mother had been alive, they did celebrate Thanksgiving with his grandmother by getting food from her favorite restaurant. Now, Frank made sure to get that very same food and spend time with his grandmother. It was just a tradition at this point. "I'll be with my grandma."
"Of course. I don't want anyone to feel pressured," Lupa said. She looked at them and seemed to struggle with her next words. "Just know that you all are the only family I have left."
Lupa cleared her throat and continued, "There is another matter to discuss. Annabeth, we received a call earlier this morning. It sounds like one of the fights at the next event is being turned into a contender's match for your title. I can try to stop the fight, if you are not okay with this."
"I am," Annabeth said almost instantly. A small smile came to her face. "I've been looking forward to a fight."
"Which fight is being turned into a contender's match?" Hazel asked. Her eyes glanced to the side. Frank looked at Reyna as well. While Reyna didn't say anything, her attention was fully on Lupa.
"The fight between Leila and Lavinia," Lupa answered. "The two of them are still young and not as experienced as you, Annabeth. They are not to be taken lightly though."
"Understood," Annabeth said. Lupa smirked and looked at the others.
"That's everything. Will, I want you to do another checkup on Reyna's elbow before she leaves today. Nico, I also need to discuss something in private with you in about an hour. Octavian and Piper, I don't have anything for you."
"We'll be in our office," Octavian said as he stood. Piper stood as well, and the two left the room. Will whispered something to Nico, and Frank could have sworn that a blush came to Nico's face. Will left the room, and after a moment, Nico followed behind.
Frank leaned back in his seat as Lupa walked towards a laptop and opened it. She typed into it. Lupa glanced at Annabeth and spoke, "Annabeth, this is how we begin to prepare for fights. All of us will spend the day watching fights from each of the opponents. Then, we will pair off and begin training tomorrow. Depending on how long we have between each fight will determine how long we will spend on each stage."
"Hazel prefers to spend half of her time watching videos and making strategy. The other half is spent enacting those strategies. Reyna prefers to spend most of her time training while maybe watching a video or two here," Lupa said. "And Frank is still figuring out the best way for him to train."
"Understood," Annabeth said. Lupa smiled and focused back on the laptop.
"Since this is your first time Annabeth, who do you want to train with?" Lupa questioned. Annabeth turned her head and looked at Frank. Her gaze moved to Reyna, and she seemed to think about it.
"I'll work with Frank," Annabeth decided. Frank looked back at Annabeth in surprise. A small smirk came to Reyna's face, and it wasn't missed by Frank. He looked in between the two and felt like he was missing something.
"The two of us will work together then," Hazel said with a wide smile. She nudged Reyna who nodded and allowed her smirk to grow. "I'll prepare you better than you prepared me for my last fight."
"We'll see," Reyna said. She settled back in her chair and made eye contact with Annabeth. After a moment, Annabeth matched her gaze, and the two studied each other. Frank knew for sure now that he was missing something, but it didn't matter. He needed to focus on his fight.
"I'm also taking orders for lunch. Everyone figure out what you want," Lupa said as she headed towards the door. "I will be back in five minutes."
As Lupa left the room, there was silence. Reyna glanced at Frank and spoke, "How about that restaurant that's down the road?"
"Frank's favorite one?" Hazel asked. Reyna nodded. A small frown came to Frank's face. He knew the restaurant wasn't anywhere near Reyna's favorite, so why was she recommending it? Was it a way of apologizing?
"I haven't been there before," Annabeth said. "Is it good?"
"Oh yeah. I have a menu on my phone," Hazel said, and she rolled herself towards Annabeth. Reyna met Frank's eyes and looked like she was going to say something. Instead, she looked away. Frank leaned back in his chair. It felt like Reyna wanted to apologize to him, and all she had to do was say two words. That seemed too difficult for her.
Frank sighed and closed his eyes. He just had to give all of this some time. Things would blow over, Frank would apologize for trying to stick up for himself, and they would go back to normal. For now, he would focus on training for his fight against Michael Kahale, and with Annabeth's help, he would be the winner.