You Always Have What Other's Don't ~a Percy Jackson AU~

VII Frank

Frank keep visiting Hazel for a while week after his mother died.

He bought entire bouquets only to give her one flower, with the excuse that they were for his mom. Shortly, Frank learned that Hazel's favorite flowers were daffodils, which quickly turned into all he bought. Frank had so many extra flowers, that they cluttered his empty home.

But the dismal household didn't change its atmosphere.

One particular morning before school, Frank decided that he had just the right amount of time to go see Hazel. He grabbed a bundle from Monday's visit, and headed out the door.

Before he could close the room to her hospital room, Hazel spoke.
"You're mother died, didn't she?"
Hazel looked especially sickly today. Her drawing pad looked as though she didn't touch it since his last visit, and her breathing tubes were once again hooked up to her nose. Frank froze at the question as Hazel stared at him intently.
Frank's voice box suddenly felt strange. "How.. How did you know?" He choked out.
"You said she was in room 308. Whenever you leave, you go the opposite direction, towards the exit."
Frank sat down in the chair next to her. He placed the flowers by her feet and his head in his hands.
"So you're observant."
Hazel shrugged. "You start noticing after awhile."
Frank felt his eyes beginning to water. The constant reminder of his mother was something he was tying to eagerly avoid. They hadn't even given her a funeral yet, her body was still in the morgue. Frank sniffled, he didn't want to be the crybaby everyone already thought he was.

Frank knew that on any other given day, Hazel would have been sympathetic, but he could tell that today she was just as dismal as he was.
"How are you feeling?" He asked, trying to find another topic.
"Well, they assigned me the intern that looks like the freaking grim reaper, so we all know what that says."
"Thanks, Hazel."
Frank jumped. He hadn't even realized that the boy was there. Not for nothing though, Hazel wasn't wrong. The intern's pale complexion matched the tile floor. His high cheekbones accented his thin stature, and his hair was raven black. Though he was small, he his vibe felt like funeral. He himself looked sick, but he must have been healthy if they were letting him work.

But Frank was shocked at Hazel's bluntness. Over the course of the seven days he had known her, he concluded she was a kind, sweet, person that wouldn't kill a fly. Her change in attitude was highly unexpected. Her cynical perspective was no less uncharacteristic, but maybe today was one of those days where she just couldn't be bothered.
She must have been reading his mind. "What? I'm dying, I should be able to tell people how I really feel, right?"
Frank sighed. "You're not going to die."

But did he believe it? Hospitals radiated death.

"Dr. Asclepius said so."
The intern snickered in the corner. "Dr. Asclepius is an ass, you're lucky if he gives you a correct diagnosis."
Frank gestured to him, showing Hazel that he had a point, but she just turned away from him.
"Frank, why do you keep visiting me?" She asked.
He hesitated for a moment. "You're my friend."
"Aren't you afraid I'm going to leave you, like your mom?"
Frank gripped the edge of his chair, repeating to himself that it was just one of Hazel's bad days.
"Maybe."
"It's pointless though, you know that right?" She turned to him. "I'm dead woman walking."
Frank forced a smile from the depths of his personality. "Technically, you're sitting."
Hazel rolled her eyes, but giggled regardless. "You're making it really hard to be serious."
"Well," Frank said, "It's hard to take you seriously if you keep treating this as a Grey's Anatomy episode."
Hazel was now laughing uncontrollably. "Oh yeah, the guy who misses his mother keeps visiting the sick girl, with the sassy intern quietly sweeping in the corner."
"Don't think I'm sassy," he intern said plainly.
"Pft. Dr. Di Angelo is so modest." Hazel explained.
Frank smiled. He liked it when Hazel's demeanor changed for he better. Usually, she could be pretty down on herself. But sometimes all it took was a Greys reference to cheer her up.

While the intern and Hazel bickered about pitching the idea to ABC, Frank's mind once drifted to his mother. The section of his heart that was reserved for her felt void. Sure, she worked a lot, but it wasn't like she didn't try. Moving in with his grandmother wasn't the best thing in the world either, her strictness didn't help with the pain. Her house smelled like mothballs and cheap glassware. It's not like they talked about it either, they both heavily avoided the topic whenever it came up. Silences usually followed their dinners, which were usually take out. Frank only knew how to make Mac and Cheese. He could feel a single tear plop on his shorts.
"Frank?"
He didn't look up.
"I'm really sorry about your mom." Said Hazel, gently.
"Me too."