Jɪɴx ➪ 𝙡. 𝙫𝙖𝙡𝙙𝙚𝙯

Frank the Scaredy Cat

chapter fifteen; Frank the Scaredy Cat

FRANK IS not a scaredy cat.

He mentally tried to hype himself up as he stood in front of Hedge's cabin door. Frank was sent by Hazel to wake Jinx up.

He was a little hesitant to leave her in the presence of Leo, but he doubted Hazel would be the type to do anything like that.

Frank shook the intrusive thoughts away, knocking on the door. When no mutter of approval, Frank entered, poking his head in slightly.

"Jinx?"

Their friendship was a tight cord. Not because of any bad blood between them, but because Frank was deathly afraid of whatever she was.

Hazel seemed completely fine with it. And he loved her for that, but he can't just be fine with something like that.

Not yet.

"Jinx?" He repeated. Frank opened the door a little wider, "we landing. It'd be cool if you came up to see Rome."

He saw a tangled mess of curls sticking up from the blanket. Frank sighed, knowing that Hazel would be upset if she knew he didn't try his best at waking her up.

"She's a hard sleeper. You have to really try." Hazel warned before he went down.

The mattress shifted and hope flared inside of him.

Maybe she's already awake.

"Hey, Jinx? You awake?"

No response.

Frank went inside, leaving the door open. Just in case.

Jinx had the ability to make the hairs on the back of his neck stand. She was unnerving without trying.

He edged closer to the bed, towering over her. Frank gently picked up the blanket, seeing Jinx wide awake.

Or what he thought was awake.

Frank leaped back, afraid for his life when she began to snore.

Jinx yawned, looking down at all of the Romans.

Ever since Frank woke her, he's been staying away, saying that it's 'unnatural' to sleep with one's eyes wide open.

Whatever that means.

She was happy that the others decided that she should be awake to see this, because no words could describe her true awe. Jinx had never been out of the country  - and to her knowledge, most demigods hadn't either- so seeing something like this amazed her.

"We're setting down in that park." Leo announced.

Jinx tore her gaze away from the towering cathedral to look at the park that seemed so small to everything next to it. Especially with Argo II settling down on it. And the people? There were so many it made her skip a beat.

Not because she was anxious, she always is, but because seeing them bustling around without a care in the world made her ache for something Jinx didn't know she wanted.

"Let's hope the Mist makes us look like a large pigeon or something." Leo muttered, and on reflex she turned around to roll her eyes at him. He grinned at her, knowing that any reaction from Jinx was a win for him.

However the Mist worked, Jinx would never know, but it was amazing how no one was disrupted from their routine and started screaming in fear that their ship was about to crush them.

"You're quiet this morning."

Jinx's eyes met Leo's as he was landing the Argo II.

"You should keep your eyes on what you're doing. Wouldn't want an accident to happen."

His smile reappeared and she wondered how he could smile so easily and carefree. "Well, you would have to step up and play the hero. Reverse time and fix the mess I made while staring into your eyes."

The thought of doing that made her want to throw up. She was no hero, and she didn't have that well of a handle on her godly ability.

"No, I think I'll just watch the chaos erupt. I think my dad'll be proud of that." Jinx said jokingly.

Jason perked up at that and snorted. Jinx didn't think he was actually capable of joking around, not in a situation that they were in now.

"Besides," Jinx said, "I can't fix things like that. Like I can't prevent the twin towers falling because that was meant to happen, but I can change small things that won't cause any harm."

"Your godly power is weird." Leo muttered.

"I think I know where we are." Jason interrupted. "That's the Tomb of the Scipios."

"Scipio... Reyna's pegasus?" Percy asked.

An image of the girl flashed inside of Jinx's head. She admired her ability to speak confidently in front of that many demigods, even in front of ones like Octavian, without trembling. Jinx could never. Reyna was impressive in Jinx's viewpoint, she had nothing against her. Once, the two had an argument that made Jinx want to crawl in the corner and apologize. It was when Jinx went on a quest by herself because the others didn't want to go with her, not when they knew who's child she was.

Which she really didn't understand. Jinx was not frightening. She matched her wardrobe to fit a character from a show she really liked, she hates talking to people because of her anxiety, and she almost died completing her first three quests. She was not frightening. At least in her eyes she wasn't.

"No." Annabeth breathed out. "They were a noble Roman family and.... wow this place is amazing."

"I've studied maps of Rome before. I've always wanted to come here, but..." Jason trailed off.

Rome was much prettier than any map Jinx had seen before, not that she's actually studied maps, but she just automatically assumed. There was not a chance that a mapper could've captured Rome in all of it's actuality beauty. Not. A. Chance.

"Plans?" Hazel snapped her out of her fixation on the new setting. "Nico has until sunset-"

That sentence alone was able to make Jinx curse her entire existence. For one moment, she forgot why she was in Rome.

She was a horrible family member.

Jinx blanked out, letting her thoughts take over. There was no way she was ready for a rescue mission. She had the biggest struggle getting out of bed today.

"Did you zero in on that spot from your bronze map?" Percy asked Annabeth.

Annabeth nodded slowly, "yes. It's on the Tiber River. I think I can find it, but I should-"

"Take me along." Percy completed her sentence. "Yeah," he agreed, "you're right."

"That's not-"

"Safe." He finished. "One demigod walking through Rome alone. I'll go with you as far as the Tiber."

Jinx didn't care to hear the rest. No, instead she began a hushed conversation with Leo.

Or more like he started one with her.

"So, you come 'round here often?"