I awoke to screaming. I shot up, thinking there was a person in the house. I opened her eyes and looked around, this isn't Charlie's house. This is Tartarus. I heard the screams again. I recognized them, they're the screams that haunt her usual nightmares. Maybe this isn't real.
I stood there for a second before hearing them again, I couldn't take the chance that this was real. I heard Nico's screams again and took off running. I didn't even know where I was running, but I kept going in the direction of the scream. I came to a wall and heard a scream in the other direction. I took off running again, faster and faster.
"HELP, NAT!"
"I'M COMING!" I yelled back.
"NAT"
"NICO"
I came to a clearing and saw Nico laying on the ground covered in his own blood, gasping for breath. "Help me, please."
There was a whisper in her ear, "You can't help him, you failed. This is your fault."
I cradled Nico's head in her lap. "No, no, no. Nico, I'm sorry," I cried. c
~
I suddenly gasped awake. I saw the book I was reading discarded to the side of her bed. I turned over and looked over to the clock on the side table. It read 6:12 am. Not a bad time to get up for her when I had a nightmare.
I took my small bag filled with dracmas and headed into the bathroom. I turn on the water once more to create a rainbow. "Oh Iris, goddess of the Rainbow, accept my Offering. Show me Leo Valdez." The mist turns into a picture of Leo working in his workshop. "Leo!" I called.
"Nat," He looks up. "I was wondering when you would call, it's been too long." He smiles. I shake my head.
"I've been gone less than a day," I replied, amused.
"Yeah, but you called Death breath, yesterday," he whined.
"Be glad I'm calling you now, I have to go to school soon," I said dramatically. I really didn't want to go. It would most likely be dreadfully boring. "I also might not be able to IM you or anyone else for a while."
"What, why?" He asks, sadly. He looks adorable. "You know the others are going to worry."
"You mean, you're going to worry?" I asked teasingly.
"You know I will, now answer the question. Why won't you be able to IM us?"
"I have a feeling, Charlie's daughter is very nosey, if she suspects something weird, she won't leave me alone. If she doesn't leave me alone, I won't be able to complete my quest, which means you'll have to wait even longer for me to come home," I reasoned with him, making him pout.
"Fine, I've never met her and I already hate my niece," he sighed. "I miss you."
"I miss you too," I laughed. "I have to go get ready for school. I love you."
"I love you too." The IM ended, making me sigh and walk away from the sink to grab a towel and shower. After showering I made my way downstairs and grabbed a bowl of cereal.
Apparently, Charlie already got school supplies for me. I found a black backpack with a couple notebooks, paper, pens, and some other school materials. I heard someone coming downstairs and turned around to see my fake cousin.
"Am I taking you to school?" She asks.
"Uh, yeah, I don't know where the school is," I tells her with an eye roll. Otherwise, I would probably walk or shadow travel.
She sighs, "I'll take you, but usually my boyfriend gives me a ride to school, sorry." I nodded my head. I grabbed my backpack and headed to Bella's orangish-red truck. On the ride to school I fiddle with my bracelet and the seat belt. My ring turns into a sword, my bracelet turns into a bow, my necklace is a mini version of my favorite dagger that grows to full size when I need it, and I have several other knives hidden on my body. Leo made me the bracelet, necklace, and a couple of the knives. He also made me special armor that is flexible and looks like clothing. Perks of having an overprotective boyfriend in the Hephaestus cabin. He also made shield earrings, but those aren't worn very often.
"Could you stop?" Bella asks, breaking me from my thoughts. I then realized I had been tapping my foot the whole time. I gave her a small smile that looked more like a grimace.
"Sorry," I muttered, unapologetically.
"Why are you so nervous? It's just school," she asks rudely. Jeez, is she always like this?
"I'm not nervous, I have ADHD," I rolled my eyes. Bella rolled her eyes back and muttered 'whatever'. I grit my teeth. I knows I'm not the easiest person to be around, but I haven't even done anything yet. Soon we arrived at school and I practically jumped out of the truck. I started walking into the building, but sensed that Bella wasn't following so I turned back to see the girl staring at a couple of empty parking spots. "Bella," the daughter of Hades called out. Bella turned to me, "come on," I nodded towards the school. The Swan girl sighs, catching up with me aswe walk through the front doors.
"Go over there and ask for your schedule, and locker combo," Bella pointed to the desk where an old woman sat. "I'm going to head to english." She then leaves before I can stop her. How am I going to find my classes now?
I sighed, frustratingly before walking over to the woman. "Hi, I'm I Di Angelo," I greeted in an overly sweet tone.
"Oh, yes, you're Chief Swan's niece aren't you?" She asks, before shivering. I nodded. Niece, soon-to-be sister-in-law, same difference. She handed me a piece of paper with her schedule on it and my locker number, and another paper "Get this one signed by each of your teachers and then bring it back at the end of the day, okay?" I nodded.
"Have a good day," I told her while walking out.
"You too, sweetie," she said, but it seemed very forced.
As I'm walking out a guy pops out of nowhere. "Hi, I'm Eric, the eyes and ears of this place. I'm here for everything you need, date to prom, shoulder to cry on," he smiles.
"Well, Eric, I do need help finding my way to class," I laughed nervously. I'm surprised, I wasn't expecting anyone to actually come and talk to me today.
"Okay well let me see your schedule," I handed it to him. "Well, it looks like you have Calculus first. You must be a senior." He then started leading them. down the hall.
"Uh, actually, I'm 15 so I'm a freshman, but I've been homeschooled all my life," I explained to him, laughing awkwardly.
"That'll make an interesting story for the feature," he comments, her eyes widened, shaking her head.
"No, I'd rather not be featured, thank you." He nods.
"Alright, no feature," he assured her. "You're like your cousin Bella."
I shrugged. "I don't really know her, I don't think we're alike. She's shy and socially anxious, I don't talk because most don't want to talk to me."
"Well, we're talking now just fine," he pointed out to her.
I laughed, "Yeah, we are, but normally people don't."
"Well, you do look like you could kill everyone here." I looked down at what I was wearing. My bomber jacket, with my favorite skull shirt, skinny jeans, and boots. "You also have this air around you, it kind of screams, death." That makes more sense. "Well, I'll come pick you up for your next class." I nodded again and headed into the room.
"Hi, I'm Natalia Di Angelo. I was told to get you to sign this." The teacher nods and signs the paper. "I want to warn you I have ADHD and Dyslexia, so if I look like I'm not paying attention, I am." Not. He nods before telling me to go sit in an empty seat near the window. I spent most of my time staring out of it. I actually spent most of my classes this way, zoning out. Not that it really mattered, I wasn't here to learn.
~
At lunch when I got there everyone had already grabbed their food, and Eric led her to sit down with his friends, who just so happen to be Bella's friends. I didn't grab anything to eat except an apple, I had been eating snacks in class all day. Tartarus and being trapped in a jar made it a little hard for me to eat big meals sometimes.
The entire time Bella just kept staring at an empty table near the door, causing me to lean over to Jessica. "Who's she looking for?" I asked.
"Her boyfriend and his family. I think they're all sick or something, which is weird because their adoptive father is a doctor." That's probably who she was looking for this morning too.
All of a sudden another boy comes over to join them. "Hey, have you met my girl?" One of the boys asks. Is that Tyler or another boy, Mike?
"Your girl, so you've already claimed her?" Another one asks. Jessica pulls him to sit next to her. I'm assuming that's her boyfriend, Mike.
"Babe, calm down, she is not a piece of meat," Jess says, almost as if she's jealous, but won't admit it. It wasn't as though I had any intentions of stealing her boyfriend, when I had her own.
~
The rest of the day goes pretty much the same. me telling the teachers about her 'disorders' none of them really caring. I sat at the back of each lesson, not paying attention.
I went to the front office and quickly dropped off the slip and headed out to the parking lot. I got in the truck with Bella and they drove to Charlie's house. When they got there, there was a weird Silver Volvo parked in the driveway. It looked brand new. Bella jumps out of the truck, barely putting it in park before getting out. I followed her with an eye roll. Dramatic much? Well, I can't really say anything, Leo and I do the same thing.
"Bella, can we talk?" I walked around the truck before seeing a guy with pale skin, bronze hair, and golden eyes. "Alone?" He asked, looking at me. Bella nods, before they walk into the woods.
She's going to get broken up, I just know it. No guy asks to talk that seriously unless they want to kill you, break up with you, or ask you to help hide a body. Well it could be the first option seeing as he just led her into the woods. Not a smart choice on her part. He looked way too pale to be normal though, but maybe he's just sick. I don't know why, but I also got this feeling from him like he's already dead. Like he shouldn't be here.
Oh well, not my problem, for now.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm making these chapters shorter than the ones in my other books. No real reason, I just feel like Twilight has a lot of unnecessary stuff. Plus, I'm not very passionate about this book. I have not real patience to sit through twilight, to correctly write this book, so I settle for short YouTube clips. I love the character and will definitely use Natalia in another book, though. Probably, I'll do a whole story about her life after I finish reading trials of Apollo I also need to finish hero's of Olympus, but for now I'll stick to this.
I don't own Twilight (Gladly) or Percy Jackson (Sadly)
Have a great day! Signing off until next time...