Frank stared out the window of the car and tried to stop the nervousness in his gut. He was happy that his fight with Michael Kahale was made official and announced to the world. The problem was that he did not think to warn Reyna that he went against her wishes, and now, she seemed a little mad. The others also weren't helping.
"I think this is going to go viral," Hazel said with a cackle. She was sitting in between Annabeth and Frank, and Frank was the unfortunate victim of her elbowing his ribs. "Sorry. But look at this."
Frank slowly looked at the phone. It did seem like their press conference was going viral. Annabeth glanced over at them with an amused look on her face. Hazel scrolled through the different comment on one of their social media accounts. Their fans seemed to be reacting pretty well to what had happened.
"The Seahawks even posted a video of it!" Hazel said. She laughed, but the car came to a sudden stop. Frank was flung forward and caught by his seatbelt. Reyna turned towards them and held out her hand. After a few moments, Hazel gave her the phone.
Reyna handed it to Nico and then turned back to the road. She pulled off the side of the road and continued to drive. After a moment, Nico tossed the phone back to Hazel. The look that Reyna gave him caused even Frank to cringe.
This was only making things worse for Frank. The others were teasing Reyna and riling her up, and she was already at her breaking point with the press conference and all of the reporters. When they got back to the gym, Reyna would talk to Frank and probably explode on him. A small sigh left him.
"Nico di Angelo, if you play that video," Reyna warned. She blindly reached out with her right hand, and Nico moved his phone away. "I will make you walk back to the gym."
"What if I played it?" Hazel asked. "You love me."
"I will kill both of you," Reyna muttered. It was followed by words in Spanish that Frank couldn't understand. He could guess that those weren't kind words though.
"I'm just here so I don't get fined," Annabeth said. A small grin came to her face. "It's not the worst answer I heard if that makes you feel better."
Reyna grunted and didn't say a word. She just turned up the radio, which only caused Hazel and Nico to laugh more. Annabeth's smile widened, but she quickly looked out the window. Another elbow nudged Frank, and he looked at Hazel.
"Are you excited about your fight?" Hazel whispered. Frank nodded. "You're gonna do great."
"I hope so," Frank whispered back. Hazel squeezed his arm reassuringly. All of them fell into a comfortable silence, and as no one spoke for a few minutes, Reyna turned down the radio. The rest of the ride was more relaxed.
Hazel was staring at her phone and silently laughing every so often. Annabeth stared out the window and seemed to be lost in thought. Nico was playing a phone game, and Reyna focused on the road. Frank was left to awkwardly sit there and dread the moment they made it back to the gym.
That moment came sooner than Frank wanted. As Reyna pulled into her parking space in the gym, Nico jokingly did the sign of the cross. He barely got out of the car before Reyna could grab his arm and probably beat him up. Hazel laughed as she got out of the car.
Reyna sighed and rested her head on the steering wheel. Annabeth sat forward and started to reach out for Reyna's arm. Her arm lowered halfway there, and she sat back awkwardly. Annabeth spoke, "It wasn't as bad as it sounded."
Reyna turned and looked like she was going to say something. Upon seeing Frank, a scowl came to her face. She turned off the car and got out of it. Frank wanted to leave as well, but he was worried about what Reyna would say.
As Frank just sat there, a hand grabbed his arm. Annabeth whispered, "It's okay. I'm sure Reyna will understand."
"I don't think she will," Frank muttered. Annabeth had yet to see an angry Reyna. Frank, unfortunately, had to deal with that a few times before, and it was always scary. Now, Reyna was mad at him. Frank would be lucky to make it inside without dying.
It was fine though. Reyna would go inside, and when she did, Frank would go straight to his car. He wouldn't have to talk to her and just go home. Sure, his things would be left at the gym, but that just meant a few fewer things going in the laundry.
It was the perfect plan. Until Reyna opened the door. She spoke, "We need to talk, Zhang. Now."
"Actually, I should get home," Frank began. He got out of the car and heard Reyna close the door. Then, she grabbed his shoulder and pulled him backward. Frank almost winced as he was forced to meet Reyna's eyes. She kept him trapped between herself and the car.
Annabeth studied them for a few moments and looked like she wanted to interfere. Reyna glanced over at her and spoke, "Alone."
"It's fine, Annabeth. It's not a big deal," Frank said. Annabeth didn't look too happy, but she slowly turned and walked towards the gym. Hazel stood next to the open door and watched them. Frank met her eyes and gave her a reassuring smile. Hazel turned and walked into the gym. It didn't take long for Annabeth to follow behind.
"Frank, why did you go behind my back?" Reyna demanded. She crossed her arms and glared at him. Frank did his best to keep from flinching. That glare always seemed to pierce into his soul. It was always reserved for when Frank really pissed her off.
This wasn't Frank's fault though. It was all because of the others. They were the ones who teased Reyna for what she said, and Frank just sat there innocently. He also didn't go behind Reyna's back. She knew exactly what Frank wanted, so why was she surprised that he got his way?
Also, Octavian should be the one getting into trouble. He was the one who called up the officials and confirmed the fight. Reyna wouldn't see it that way though. She would just get mad at Frank, but it wasn't fair.
"I didn't go behind your back," Frank argued. Reyna raised an eyebrow. "You know that I wanted to fight Kahale. I told Octavian that. He was the one who made the fight."
"You're going to get your ass kicked," Reyna muttered. It sounded like Frank wasn't suppose to hear it, but he did. Frank clenched his fists and glared back at her.
"How could you say that?" Frank demanded. They had their minor disagreements before, but Reyna was so stuck on this idea that Frank couldn't fight Kahale. It just made no sense to him. He could feel himself getting angrier.
"You are going to get your ass kicked," Reyna repeated. "Why didn't you just listen to me?"
"Because I wanted to fight Kahale!" Frank snapped. His voice raised much more than he meant it to, and Reyna took a step back in surprise. She stared at him, but her eyes slowly narrowed into a glare. Frank took a few moments to calm down. "I want to challenge myself."
"You have been watching my progress since day one. I have lost all that weight and gained a lot of muscle. My skills have gotten so much better," Frank continued. "You've seen how far I have come. That has to mean-"
"Frank, I have seen how far you have come," Reyna interrupted. "That is exactly how I know that you are not ready for this. You can't handle a fight like this. You should have just taken the fight with Ethan."
"I am ready," Frank said softly.
"If you were ready, don't you think we would have encouraged you? Don't you think I would have been the first one to suggest you fight Kahale?" Reyna demanded. "Lupa didn't want you to take this fight either. She knew you would lose, and it would destroy your confidence!"
"Lupa wouldn't say that," Frank whispered. He stared at the ground.
"You can ask Octavian. She told him that and then told me. Lupa wanted us to nudge you towards the fight with Ethan," Reyna said. She shook her head and sighed angrily. "Why can't you just listen to us, Frank?"
Frank didn't say a word. He didn't look up at Reyna. How could she treat him like this and say those things? Frank thought of Reyna like a mentor, and while he wouldn't say it out loud, Reyna was almost like a sister. Did she understand how much her words hurt?
"Frank, you need to listen," Reyna said. As Frank stared at the ground, another pair of shoes appeared in his vision.
"That's enough," Nico said. Frank slowly looked up. The last thing he expected was for Nico of all people to come to his rescue. Not that Frank needed a rescue. He just needed to will his feet to move forward.
"Nico, stay-"
"Enough," Nico repeated. Frank slowly looked in between the two. Nico had both of his hands in his pockets and looked relaxed. Reyna was glaring at Nico and had her arms crossed. "The fight is already made. There's nothing we can do to change it. Let's just go home, order some pizza, play some games, and just relax."
"Why don't you believe in me?" Frank suddenly asked. He forced himself to meet Reyna's eyes. If he didn't ask now, his mind wouldn't rest. He needed to know why Reyna was so insistent that Frank couldn't handle this fight. Why was she so mad at him?
Reyna studied Frank for a few moments. Then, she looked at Nico and then the gym. Reyna sighed and looked away. She spoke softly, "I was left in charge of the gym. Lupa trusts me to watch over everyone, and too many things went wrong. Percy broke your nose. You signed up for a fight that you're going to lose."
"You don't know that!" Frank yelled, and he shoved Reyna backward. He stiffened in surprise at himself. Frank didn't lose his temper. He didn't yell at people, and he certainly didn't put his hands on his friends.
"That is enough," Nico snapped, and he stepped between the two of them. His eyes moved to the side. "We have company."
Frank followed Nico's gaze and saw that a reporter was standing across the parking lot. Her photographer stood behind her and was either snapping pictures or had taken a video of their entire argument. Reyna swore in Spanish and walked towards the reporter.
Frank let out a deep breath that he didn't know he was holding in. The anger he felt made his eyes water and left him shaking. Being disrespected like that angered him to his core. It was only made worse by the fact that his supposed friend looked him in the eye and said that he was going to fail.
Nico grabbed Frank and pulled him toward the gym. Frank risked a glance back at the reporter, and his gut twisted as he saw the grin on her face. Frank knew that look too well. The story was going to blow up, trend on the internet, and Lupa would see it. Lupa was going to chew them out for arguing like that in public.
As the two made it inside, Hazel watched Frank worriedly. He couldn't meet her gaze. What he did was childish, and it made him feel terrible. Frank spoke, "I'm not good enough."
"Frank Zhang, you are amazing at fighting. You're just new and haven't been able to show off all of your skill yet," Hazel said. She grabbed Frank's hands, and despite the sea of emotions in his chest, Frank relaxed slightly. "This is my fault for provoking her about what she said."
"Nobody is at fault," Annabeth said. She grabbed both of their arms. Her gaze moved outside, but she didn't say another word.
"Reyna's just stressed about taking care of the gym this weekend. Lupa was supposed to have that party for some of the donors and important officials," Nico said. "Reyna has to do that now. She didn't mean what she said."
"We all know she did," Frank muttered. He crossed his arms. "It doesn't matter though. I'm going to prove to her and the entire world that I can fight and take on Kahale. Mark my words."