Frank blocked another punch and struck out with one of his own. Hazel danced away from it, and Frank lashed out with a kick. His other leg was knocked out from under him, and he fell back on the mat. Frank didn't bother to get up. He just stared at the lights.
"Are you okay?" Hazel asked worriedly. Her face appeared over his. Frank stared up at her for a few moments.
"Fine," Frank muttered as he sat up. Hazel stepped a foot away and then offered her hand. Frank didn't take it and lumbered to his feet. He could not get any damn momentum. Ever since losing the fight with Kahale, he had not been able to land a hit on anyone.
Hazel danced away from everything. Percy blocked anything Frank tried, and Annabeth had Frank on the mat before he knew what was happening. He was not sparring with Reyna.
"Need a break?" Hazel asked. Frank nodded slightly and grabbed his water bottle. He turned his head to the corner of the gym and saw that Reyna was showing off. Of course. Her injured hand rested behind her back, and she was doing one-armed push-ups with the other hand.
Things had been tense between the two of them ever since their argument. Frank felt bad when he was storming away. Now, he wished that he said worse. Reyna's doubt and her words got into Frank's head, and she was the reason that he lost.
An angry breath left Frank as he looked at the other ring. Percy and Annabeth were circling each other. Both were covered in sweat. They had been sparring for about an hour now, but neither of them looked like they were going to stop.
"Are you and your grandma doing anything for Christmas?" Hazel asked. Frank looked at her.
"Probably just getting food," Frank shrugged.
"Well, Reyna will be out of town with Annabeth for their fake date. Nico and I are going to get dinner with Lupa, but do you want to come?" Hazel asked.
"Wait. Fake date?" Frank questioned. "How do you know that?"
"Annabeth was telling me about it," Hazel explained. Frank shook his head. No one seemed to talk to him anymore. He glared at the ground. "Frank, what's wrong?"
"Nothing," Frank grumbled.
"Frank, I know you better. I know this loss is eating you alive. You don't just yell at people," Hazel said. Frank turned on her.
"Just mind your own damn business, Hazel. You're not my mother, so I don't need you fawning over me," Frank snapped as he raised his voice. Hazel stared at him. Her jaw quivered, and she turned away. Hazel was out of the ring before Frank could blink, and she hurried away.
Frank sighed and rested against the ring ropes. He stared at the ground. Why couldn't anything go right? He moved his eyes to watch Percy and Annabeth. The two were still locked in their sparring match, seemingly unaware of the world around them. They didn't hear what Frank had said, which was good.
Frank would find Hazel and apologize. If there was one person who didn't deserve to be yelled at, it was her. Frank turned away, and he found himself face to face with Reyna. She watched him quietly as she slipped on her gloves.
"What the hell is going on, Frank? This isn't you," Reyna spoke up as she finished putting on her gloves.
"Just leave me alone," Frank grumbled as he turned away. Before he could exit the ring, a hand grabbed onto his arm tightly. Frank tensed and turned back around.
"No. We're sparring," Reyna stated. She shoved Frank away from her, and Frank felt his temper boiling over. It had been boiling ever since he lost, and each day got him angrier and angrier.
"You're not allowed to spar," Frank pointed out, clenching his fists.
"You would be able to beat me then, right? Considering I can only use one hand. Granted, you didn't want to fight someone with one eye," Reyna shot back.
"Because I wanted to challenge myself," Frank snapped as his voice started to raise. "I didn't just want to sit on the laurels of one amateur fight and one professional one. I didn't want a fight that I knew I could win. I just wanted to challenge myself!"
"Ethan and Dakota aren't challenges?" Reyna questioned. Frank took deep breaths and tried to calm down. "Is there something wrong with taking them on? They have decent records and have been in the league for years. Yet, you took on Michael."
"I don't even see why you care!" Frank suddenly yelled. "It's not your career. You're not the one fighting! So why do you keep putting me down and telling me what to do?!"
"If it's not my career and I'm not the one fighting, why do you care about my opinion so much?" Reyna asked. "Why did you let my words get into your head so much if I'm not you?"
"Because I look up to you," Frank hissed. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Percy and Annabeth moving towards the ring. Reyna glanced at them and shook her head slightly. "I care about your opinion, and you just shoved it in my face that I couldn't do it."
"You're going to have plenty of doubters, Frank. Why are my words more important than someone else?" Reyna questioned. Frank glared at her. It didn't matter how many times he repeated himself, she didn't get it. She never would. "Forget it, Frank. You're not even worth the effort of sparring."
"No one is great enough to spar with you," Frank snarled. Reyna punched him in the face. Frank stumbled back in surprise, and he saw another fist flying at his face. He dodged the blow and returned with a hard punch to the gut. Before Reyna could double over, he grabbed her arm and threw her over his shoulder.
As Reyna hit the ground, Frank pinned her. He took shaky breaths and felt someone pull him away. Frank didn't fight and slowly backed away. Annabeth looked at him in concern, and Frank shook his head.
"Not bad, Zhang," Reyna wheezed as she sat up. Frank slowly looked at her. "You were blindsided, but you fought back. In a real fight, you would have started to ground and pound. Maybe even knocked Kahale out."
"Wait," Frank began. His eyes narrowed. "You punched me just like Kahale did."
"To prove a point," Reyna said as she slowly stood. She still looked winded, and one hand moved to her stomach. "You let my words get into your head, and I am sorry, Frank. I really am. I just wanted you to do a fight that I thought you would excel in, so you could gain more confidence. I should have trusted that you were skilled enough to take on Kahale and that you knew what you were doing."
"But, you can't let people get into your head. I'm guilty of that too. I keep letting Clarisse get into my head, and it has almost screwed me over a few times. Frank, you can do anything if you shove all those thoughts aside and just focus on your fight. Let your instincts rule you," Reyna counseled.
Frank studied her for a few moments. He finally looked down and sighed tiredly. Frank walked to the corner of the ring and sat down. After a few moments, Reyna sat near him. Frank spoke, "I can't get the loss out of my head."
"It's hard. I know," Reyna said softly. "But, you have to pick yourself up and move on, Frank. You cannot stop."
Frank didn't answer. Reyna continued, "If I didn't say those words, I think you would have won. You still would have been surprised by Kahale hitting you, but you would have gone on instinct just like you did now. Instead, I'm sure my words were playing in your head as it happened. I'm sorry, Frank."
"I don't know how to come back from a loss like that," Frank finally said.
"You train hard as hell for your next one. I'm going to train with you until you are more than ready because I know you can win," Reyna said. "Frank, I hate to see you like this, and I'm sorry that I did this to you. You are too damn good to be doubting yourself."
Frank slowly stood and offered his hand. Reyna took it, and Frank pulled her to her feet.
"It's hard, but I'm going to do my best. I need to find Hazel," Frank said.
Reyna nodded and leaned against the ropes. Frank turned his head and saw that Annabeth and Percy had given them space. Frank left the ring and hurried towards the stairs. He jogged up them and started to make his way to the kitchen. As he passed by Octavian, he heard a noise that gave him pause.
Frank turned his head and stopped walking. He looked into Octavian's office. Octavian had his face buried in his hands, and his shoulders shook as he cried. Frank hesitated before stepping into the office. Frank barely saw Octavian smile, let alone cry. Part of him didn't think the man felt anything besides stress.
"Octavian, can I help you?" Frank asked after a moment. He grabbed the door. "Or, do you want me to leave?"
"No," Octavian mumbled. He lowered his hands and grabbed a tissue. Octavian wiped his eyes and then blew his nose. Frank studied him awkwardly. "I need to talk to Lupa."
"I can get her," Frank offered. "What's wrong?"
"My family," Octavian began. He took a shaky breath. "They're going to lose everything."
"What happened?" Frank asked. He walked into the office and closed the door behind him. Octavian wiped his eyes once again.
"I don't know how I'm going to support them. Should I?" Octavian asked as he looked up at Frank. "My family has had this charity ever since I was a kid. But, I just learned that they have been using it to embezzle money. It's not like one member of my family either. It's my parents, aunts, and uncles. Hell, my grandparents started all of this!"
Octavian hit the desk in anger and then buried his face back in his hands. Frank wasn't sure what to do. After a few moments, he walked towards Octavian and slowly rubbed his back.
"Is there anything I can do?" Frank asked gently.
"Just get Lupa. Please," Octavian mumbled. Frank nodded and pulled away. "It's funny, really. I used to get insulted for not participating in the charity. Guess the jokes on them."
"Everyone is here for you, Octavian. We're all your friends," Frank promised. Octavian nodded but didn't look up. "I'll get Lupa."
Frank turned and walked out of the office. He gently closed the door behind him. Frank walked down the hallway and found himself lost in thought. He thought about Reyna punching him in the face and goading him into a fight, but it had helped if just a little. Frank needed to get another fight, but with Octavian having family issues, would Piper set a fight up for him?
It wasn't that he was worried about Piper acting as a manager. It was more about the fact that he thought some of the managers might not respect Piper like they would Octavian. A deep sigh left him, and he stopped at Lupa's office.
First thing was to tell Lupa and support Octavian. Then, he would find Hazel and apologize. After that, he would worry about trying to find a fight. The most important thing after that was to get his confidence back. If he could.