In The Spotlight - Solangelo

Chapter Thirty Four

The next day was a Saturday, meaning I didn't have to go to school. Thank God for that. After all that I had been through the last couple of days, I didn't think I could cope with people in general. I spent the day in my room - just like I usually would at the weekend. Will called me to see if I wanted to go around to his place, but I reluctantly declined, stating that I had to work some things through. I wasn't lying; I was still incredibly upset over my Dad. However, I didn't want it to show.

My eyes drifted to the corner of my computer screen as I got a Skype notification. My internet friend, Reyna, had just logged on. I had met her a few years ago whilst I was scrolling through Tumblr - at the time, we were both going through a similar situation, having both just lost our sister. We talked about our feelings for a while, and we have been friends ever since. Although, I hadn't been talking to her much recently.

I opened up Skype, and typed her a quick, "hi". Moments later, I received a video call from her.

"Angel!" she greeted, enthusiastically. "I haven't talked to you in ages! What's up?"

I smiled weakly. "Hey, Ra-Ra." We both had nicknames for each other - I was called 'Angel' due to my surname meaning angel, and she was called Ra-Ra as those were her initials. "Sorry I haven't been online much. I've, uh... I've been going through a lot of stuff."

She nodded in understanding. "Don't worry. We both have a life of our own, away from the Internet." Reyna smiled. "So, anything new?"

"W-well..." I started to blush. "I, uh, I'm... I'm dating someone, now..."

Reyna gasped. "Who's the lucky girl?" she teased.

"Guy," I corrected. "I'm, um, I'm dating a boy. I have a boyfriend." Thankfully, she didn't make a big deal out of that - probably because she was an open bisexual (at least, she was out to me), so she knew what it was like to have a crush on the same gender as her own. She just nodded encouragingly, and told me to spit it out. "His, um, his name is W-Will. William Solace. If you look him up you can probably find him. I don't think I have any pictures..."

"Wait a sec..." She typed something into her phone, presumably looking for Will, before holding the screen up to her laptop. It was showing a picture of Will. "Is this him?"

I nodded. "Yup."

She squealed. "Oh my god, no way! He's so freaking hot!"

I blushed even more. "Y-yeah... I guess... W-well, I mean, he is, otherwise I probably wouldn't be dating him. U-uh, n-not that looks are the only reason! That's not even the main reason! He's just a really nice guy, y'know?"

Reyna laughed. "I know, I know. Still, you're lucky to have all these hotties in your life. First Thalia, and now this dude..."

"Thalia?" I echoed, suggestively. I knew that she used to have a crush on Thalia, despite never having met her properly. Thalia had joined Reyna and I in our video calls every now and again, so they knew each other, but they had never met in real life.

Reyna was blushing as well now. "A-actually, about Thalia... She's, uh... She just transferred to my school."

My eyes widened at this shocking news. "Seriously? I... I haven't seen her in years. Is she ok? Has she said anything about why she left my school? Has she mentioned Jason at all?"

Ra-Ra sighed. "I haven't actually talked to her yet..."

"Then go talk to her!" I encouraged. "Just ask her out already!"

She hesitated. "B-but what if... What if she says no? What if she isn't into girls? What if..."

I shushed her. "Trust me, she's into girls. Or at least, I know she isn't into guys. The worst thing that could happen is if it turns out she doesn't want any sort of romantic relationship. But, trust me, she likes you, ok?"

"What if she doesn't know who I am? What if she forgot all about me..."

I shook my head. "She couldn't have forgotten about you. Just go with flow," I advised. "If it doesn't work out, you can at least still be friends. She really does like you."

After a moments consideration, she nodded. "Ok, I'll do it. Thanks, Angel."

"No problem, Ra-Ra."

There was silence for a moment, before Reyna asked, "So... How's your family?"

"My Dad died yesterday," I replied, almost freaking out to myself that I said it so calmly. "He, uh... He was ill, I think. And he got into a fight on the streets or something. He died in the hospital. I, um, I don't think there was anything they could do."

"I'm... sorry."

I gave her a small smile. "It's fine. To be honest... we had been arguing just before. I can't help but feel like it's my fault he died..."

Reyna frowned. "Don't think like that. It isn't your fault."

I sighed. "Well, it's my fault he got attacked. I... I ran away from home a few of days ago, and he got attacked when he came out looking for me."

"If I could, I would reach through the screen and give you a massive hug," she said. "Honestly, you need to stop thinking that way. It wasn't your fault that any of that happened. Believe me, nothing can ever be your fault."

I took a deep breath. "O-ok. I'll believe you."

"Good." Her eyes glanced down. "Jesus, look at the time! It's already three in the morning, what the hell?!"

I laughed. "Sorry, timezones and stuff. It's only seven over here."

Reyna sighed. "Well, I should probably go," she stated. I nodded, and said my goodbyes. The video chat disconnected, and the room was left in silence once more.

A/N: I'm currently rereading Son of Neptune, so I felt like including some Reyna. And, yes, I know her sister isn't dead shUT UP. And I may have gotten carried away with this chapter and written 1000 words. Welp, thanks for reading this, love you all, bye!