VENGEANCE.

thirteen

natalia romano

When the rollercoaster came to a halt, I couldn't help but to let out a sigh of relief. My heart was still racing and I realised I was still holding hands with Atlas.

I quickly untangled our hands, missing the lingering warmth before getting out from the seat and I couldn't help to realise that Atlas' expression had slightly dropped.

"That was awesome!" Apollo said, raising his fists into the air.

"Awesome!" Ivano and Luca repeated in unison.

"What's next?" Athena asked eagerly, bouncing on her feet. "Should we go on that one?" she pointed.

"I'm hungry though," Luca whined.

"Let's do all the rides we're interested in then grab some food. We can go on the ferris wheel last," I suggested.

Everyone agreed and walked off. As we were walking, I felt Atlas calling out to me.

"Hey, Nat, wait," Atlas called out.

I turned around, locking gazes with him. His fingers suddenly reached out to my hair, smoothing it to make it neat. I couldn't stop the heat from rising to my cheeks.

"Oh uh, thanks!" I quickly said before catching up with the rest except when I turned back, they were gone.

I sent a quick text to Athena and she had replied instantly that all of them had ran off to a short queue, leaving me and Atlas behind. Those f*ckers.

"So... Do you wanna take any ride or do anything?" I asked, glancing at Atlas. "The rest left to do their own stuff."

He shrugged. "Anything is fine with me."

I hummed. Suddenly, I noticed a haunted house in the mere distance. I cheered inwardly and halted in my tracks causing Atlas to be concerned.

"Hey, are you okay? Why'd you suddenly stop?" Atlas questioned.

"Are you scared of ghosts?" I asked, a mischievous grin on my lips.

He shook his head though a flicker of apprehension crossed his features.

"Great! Let's go the haunted house!" I pointed.

"But—,"

I didn't let him finish as I grabbed his hand, dragging him along with me. Our fingers unknowingly intertwining like before.

"Is it just the two of you?" the worker asked, eyeing us curiously.

I nodded giddily. If there's one thing I love, it's haunted houses.

"Okay, you can go in."

"Come on, Atlas!" I exclaimed, pulling him along to the entrance.

As we ventured into the dimly lit room, I couldn't help but shiver. The atmosphere was eerie, everything felt out of place. There were even spiders hanging.

I was calm, Atlas was also surprisingly calm. Somehow, neither of us flinched as we walked through the hallways. Both of us had an unreadable expression on our face. I realised I was still holding hands with Atlas but I didn't mind. It gave me an oddly comforting feeling.