As her phone vibrated for the fifth time that hour, Hazel found herself finally shutting it off angrily. Ever since abruptly leaving her extended family's home, she had been spammed with calls from them. They didn't leave voicemails most of the time, but when they did, they were vile and full of harsh words.

But Hazel couldn't bring herself to block the numbers. She knew that it would be a good idea to just cut them off, but there was a small part of her that hoped her family would come to their senses and apologize. Hazel would hold onto that hope and refuse to let it go.

"Everything okay?" Frank asked gently. Hazel looked up and nodded. She placed her phone into her jacket and looked across the ring at her sparring partner. Frank was stretching, but he looked uncomfortable. They had been sparring for an hour now, but Frank was struggling to keep up.

Frank couldn't get any momentum against her, and he kept not following through when he had an advantage. Hazel felt terrible for him; his loss against Kahale crushed him. The loss sucked, but the weight it had on him was awful.

"Yeah. Just some spam calls," Hazel lied. Her gaze wandered off to the side where Reyna and Annabeth were talking. Annabeth had both arms crossed over her chest with her chin resting on her fist. Reyna sat at a bench and was slowly lifting dumbbells as they talked.

Hazel found it interesting to watch Annabeth prepare for a fight. She always thought that Reyna had a laser focus on her matches, but Annabeth was a whole different beast. Annabeth spent the last two days just studying film, and she had an entire notebook filled with notes about people she had fought. The entry on Leila was about six pages now.

Annabeth kept asking questions about Leila, and while Reyna kept answering, Hazel didn't miss the light scowl of irritation on Reyna's face whenever Annabeth turned her back. Hazel watched the two for another moment before turning her attention back to Frank.

"You okay?" Hazel asked, apprehension betraying her voice. Frank looked at her and nodded. "You seem off."

"Distracted," Frank muttered after a moment. He shook his head, turning away so he wouldn't meet her surveying eyes. "I think I'm going to just lift some iron for a bit."

"Frank," Hazel began, but he didn't seem to hear her, like he'd prefer not to be bothered. He turned and left the ring. Hazel sighed and stepped out of the ring as well. Her gaze stayed on Frank's back as he trudged towards the rack of dumbbells. He was definitely in a funk, but she wasn't sure how to snap him out of it.

Hazel sighed at the whole ordeal and decided to take a break. There was something else she needed to do as well. Hazel walked towards Reyna and Annabeth. Annabeth was in the middle of a long-winded rant, and Reyna was staring at her with an unreadable expression, probably total boredom.

"Reyna," Hazel greeted as she made it to them. As Annabeth turned back around, Reyna swore under her breath before looking at Hazel and forcing a small smile onto her face. "Is Nico working at the gym today? I haven't seen him."

"He's here, somewhere," Reyna answered.

"Thanks," Hazel said. Her eyes moved to Annabeth, who was furiously writing into her notebook. "Is it going well?"

"It's going well," Annabeth replied. She quickly turned back again to the fighter on the bench. "That reminds me, Reyna."

Hazel smiled and stepped away from the two. She knew that Reyna didn't mind helping them, but none of them were used to someone like Annabeth. It wasn't a knock on Annabeth, but she was very thorough. She obsessively asked so many questions, all so she could cover every single angle.

Hazel strode to the stairs and climbed up them, trying to think of where Nico could be. He was good at navigating through the gym without being spotted. Hazel started at their cleaning closet, and when she didn't see any supplies missing or her half-brother, she wandered through the halls.

As Hazel passed by Octavian's office, she heard a loud crash. Her head shot back to the door she had just passed, and she saw Octavian had thrown something to the floor. He paced back and forth with one hand roughly pulling back his hair, almost like he was about to rip it out. His other hand gripped tightly onto his phone.

"What do you mean?!" Octavian exclaimed in a shrill voice. Hazel quickened her pace away from the doorway so she wasn't spying on him. Hazel didn't make it very far when she heard someone announce her name.

"Hazel," Piper said again as she caught up to the petite woman. Piper glanced back at Octavian's office with a small frown on her lips. Then, she looked back at Hazel. "Lupa wanted me to find you so we can start picking your next fight."

"It is okay if I find Nico first? I have to tell him something," Hazel asked.

"Sure. We'll be in Lupa's office whenever you're ready," Piper replied, a friendly smirk replacing her previous frown. Hazel nodded, returning her friend's smile before turning back around to continue her search. She glanced through a few more rooms looking for her brother.

Ever since they had their game night, something had been gnawing at Hazel: Nico admitting that he was still a virgin. It wasn't that Hazel found it embarrassing. In fact, she admired him for being able to admit it. The thing that actually bothered her was that he was so shut in about it that he probably didn't go out to meet people and have the chance to connect like that.

Hazel wanted to give him a bit of a boost. She wanted to help him out, and the best way for her to do that was by setting Nico up on a date. She had a few friends that were single, and she was sure they would make a good match for Nico. All she had to do was bring the idea up to him.

The next place Hazel went to was their breakroom where Nico usually hung out when he had nothing to clean or do. He wasn't there, so she started checking some of the supply rooms. Nico wouldn't be in Lupa's office, so where could he be?

After having searched all of the side rooms, the locker rooms, and having Frank look in the men's locker room, the lobby, and then the guest bathroom, Hazel found herself outside of Will's office. It was the only place she hadn't checked yet, and she hoped that Will would have seen Nico.

Hazel gently knocked on the door and heard Will call for her to step inside. She slowly stepped into the room, and gained a small frown at the sight she saw. Nico was sitting on one of the patient cots. Hazel spoke with concern, "Nico, are you hurt?"

"No. Why would I be?" Nico asked, confused at her question. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, you're in Will's office," Hazel stated. "And, you're not cleaning."

A blush came to Nico's face, and he quickly looked away. Will spoke up, "I made a mess with some rubbing alcohol. Nico helped me clean it up, and I made him take a break."

"He does work too hard sometimes," Hazel commented. Her gaze focused back on her brother. There seemed to be a wall between the two of them, and she wasn't sure how to knock it down. Nico was a great brother. He supported her no matter what she did, remembered her birthday and other important days. He even took care of her when she needed it.

Nico opened up to her. He told Hazel that he didn't have a good childhood in Italy, even if he didn't go into detail. He told her about how his mother died when he was young, and his father spiraled so badly he could hardly take care of his two kids. They moved to America, and Nico was sent off to a boarding school. His older sister died not too long after.

That was where the wall began. Nico told things about himself to Hazel; but he didn't tell her things that a brother would tell a sister. Hazel understood not being comfortable enough to tell her about Bianca. She empathized with it being too hard to talk about his mother. But, it felt like he didn't tell her anything that he wouldn't tell a close friend.

Hazel felt like Reyna knew more about Nico than she did. It wasn't like Hazel was jealous; it just hurt. It felt like she wasn't good enough for Nico. Hazel really wanted to get closer to her dear brother, especially after Thanksgiving with the rest of her family. She looked at him and smiled kindly.

"I wanted to talk to you about something in private," Hazel began nervously. Nico moved to stand, but Will beat him to it.

"You two can have my office. I need to check on Reyna's hand and make sure Frank isn't showing post concussion symptoms," Will offered generously. He smiled at the two of them, although his gaze lingered on Nico before he finally stepped out of the room.

"Did something else happen with your extended family?" Nico asked. Hazel studied him for a moment. She was beyond grateful that Nico was there for her when she got off the plane, and he spent the entire night comforting her. It had taken an hour to talk him down from driving all the way to fight her disgusting relatives.

Hazel thought of telling him about the calls; but right now, she wanted to keep the mood happy, "No. I was just thinking about the game night we had."

"What about it?" Nico questioned, curiosity peaking his tone.

"Well, I remember what you said about being a virgin," Hazel answered. She saw Nico's breath catch in his throat. "I'm not making fun of you! I just wanted to set you up on a date."

"A date," Nico repeated, looking dumbfounded.

"Yeah. I have a friend from the coffee shop that you and Reyna go to sometimes. She thought you were dating Reyna, but I just told her that you were just close as friends. She thinks you're cute," Hazel explained bashfully.

"I can't," Nico declined before Hazel could close her mouth. Nico quickly stood up from the cot, "I'm sorry. I have to go."

"Nico, what's wrong?" Hazel asked. Nico stared dejectedly at her for a moment. Then, he fled from the room. Hazel stared slack at where he had been standing. What did she do wrong?