The Light in My Life (SOLANGELO)

2: Kiss the Cook

Nico's POV

When I woke up, something was tickling my cheeks. I rubbed my cheeks as I realised they were tears and closed my eyes. Pathetic.

I glanced at the crowded bookshelf by my bed. It consisted of books, CDs of some of my favorite bands, and a picture of a woman with two children, a little boy and girl.

The woman, with curly brown hair, a straight nose, and high cheek bones was smiling and had her arms wrapped around the kids. The girl had the looks of her mother and had her hair in a ponytail. The boy had a mop of curly dark hair with fair skin and was laughing with joy. They were standing amidst tall grass with a cabin in a little ways behind them, with tall mountains in the background.

Right next to it were the little figurines of some of the Mythomagic figurines. I picked up Hades, who was right between Poseidon and Apollo, and held it in my palms.

I hugged my knees to my chest and took a shuddering breath. I bunched up the blanket in my fists as a sob escaped my lips. I buried my head my head in the blankets and let out muffled sobs.

I heard rushing footsteps and someone hugging me. I knew it was Hazel. She rubbed my back soothingly. I felt my face heat up in embarrassment but hugged her tightly.

A couple minutes passed with only my sobs to fill the empty silence.

As I started to calm down, Hazel asked,"Are you alright?" I swallowed and nodded, wiping my eyes. She held my face, worry written all over her face. I took a deep breath,"I'm OK now."

"It helps if you talk about it sometimes."

"Not now."

"Okay. Dad had to go on an emergency business trip for a couple days, so I'll make you breakfast. Sound good?"

I nodded as she left the room.

I was glad she didn't ask any more questions.

Right now, I honestly felt like the younger one.

I realised I was still holding the figurine. I put it back on the shelf in it's rightful place.

I yawned and went to the bathroom to brush my teeth. I quickly showered and changed into black jeans and a plain white shirt and walked to the kitchen. I sat at the table where my pancakes were and Hazel sitting on the opposite side, already eating.

"Thanks" I mumbled.

"No problem" she said.

As I ate, she sent small smiles my way. My mood somewhat lifted. I finished eating and started to wash the dishes.

"Nico?" Hazel,starting to rinse the dishes

"Hmm?"

"There's going to be new neighbors moving into the house next to us sometime tomorrow. And Persephone's going to be back from her trip in a couple days."

"Okay. I'll be upstairs if you need anything."

*A few hours later (around 3 PM)*

I opened my window and sat on the little ledge with my legs dangling out. There was a window across from mine in the other house. It's been empty for a few years now. It's going to be strange having someone straight across from my window.

I stayed that way just staring into space after finally getting up. I went down stairs and saw Hazel watching some old cartoon.

I jumped over the back of the couch and landed neatly by Hazel, who jumped in fright and smacked my arm. "Ow!" I said, mocking hurt.

She pouted but started giggling afterwards.

*time skip*

I finally tired of watching TV and started to make us dinner, which was going to be pizza. I had just finished putting in the toppings (pepperoni, cheese, and olives) and put it in the oven.

I walked into the family room and saw Hazel cuddled up on one end of the sofa. As I got closer, I saw that she was sleeping. I got a blanket and put it on her, brushing her hair away from her face.

I smoothed out my apron, which said bacia il cuoco (translation: kiss the cook) and turned the TV off.

As I headed towards the kitchen to check on the pizza, I heard a loud crash from outside. I remembered Dad saying that there was a robbery in our neighborhood not too long ago, so I grabbed the baseball bat from my room (don't judge, you never know when someone will choose to break in) and went out side.

Even though it was summer and I was wearing my warm grey sweats, it was freezing. There was a pile of boxes in front of a truck parked by the front of our house. I walked towards it, shivering, with my bat at the ready.

Suddenly, the pile moved without warning, causing me to yelp and jump back in terror and fall onto my behind.

A blonde head blocked my view as I rubbed my sore butt. "Are you ok?" The blonde held out a hand to help me up. I ignored it and got up quick. "Who are you?" I blurted out.

The blonde head belonged to a guy with bright blue eyes and a tan face. He was at least half a foot taller than me. He stared at me for a couple seconds before answering. "Y-you must be the neighbors. I'm Will. Will Solace."

Well there you go, any poor soul reading this chapter. :)