It was time. It was finally time. Time was wasting by the second; why was I still here? I grabbed my neon suitcase and hoodie, picked up my cell phone and called my best friend, Lyle. He answered on the second ring.
"Nat, we good?" he said. I could hear the excitement in his voice.
"Yes, we're good. You got the car?"
"Yup. Mom isn't even gonna realize it's gone."
"Kay, I'll be right out!" I said with excitement, grabbed my purse and put on my combat boots. I bolted outside, hair flapping in the wind, soaking up the drizzle that fell on my head, and headed straight for Mrs. Carr's truck. Lyle opened the door for me and we both sat inside, soaked and laughing. My gay best friend smiled at me, turning the radio on to our favorite Green Day soundtrack.
"You sure you wanna do this?" he asked me for, like, the 100th time.
"Yes, I'm sure. Don't you wanna find out who your father is?"
"Of course I do!" he snapped. "But I don't wanna drag you along if you're gonna go back right away, bitching and moaning about how you miss Ray." Ray was my little brother, and I love to spend time with him. But I already told him goodbye when I put him to bed that night. He'll be better off without me.
"Lyle Richard Carr, what is my name?"
He smiled and answered, "Natalie Renee Holloway."
"And do I ever back down from potential fun?"
He laughed and said, "No."
"So there's your answer. No, I will not bitch and moan, I already told Ray that I was gonna leave."
"You better not cause I'm not driving all the way back down to New Orléans from freaking Long Island!"
"Don't worry, I won't make you." I kissed his cheek. "Love ya Ly."
"Yea yeah I love you too Nat," he said, kissing my forehead.
"Let's roll!" we said at the same time, and Lyle started to drive us to our new life as potential demigods.
**A few hours later**
We pulled up by a small café in Philadelphia called 'Starbucks'. We don't have many down in New Orléans; at least not in the part that I'm from.
He hopped out and walked to my side, opening my door. I smiled and said nicely, "Thank you Lyle."
"Oh you're ever so welcome, Natalie." He said with a grin. He opened the door for me and we walked inside. I looked around and sat down at a small table by the door. Lyle sat across from me and I handed him some money. He pushed it away, shaking his head.
"No, I'll pay for it," he said, pulling out his wallet. I felt a stab of guilt.
"Lyle, you already paid for gas three times, and all the toll charges. Can't I just pay for this?"
"No," he said stubbornly. "We're saving your money to buy us more clothes and books and," he whispered the last part, "weapons." I rolled my eyes.
"Fine, fine," I muttered, but wasn't too happy. He grinned, looking as if he had won an argument. Whatever, I'm paying for SOMETHING, at least. I felt bad that he paid for everything; the plan was MY idea, and he's paying the expenses. Not fair to him, but he's just as stubborn as I am and we often argue, but somehow we managed to stay best friends. Thank God—I mean, thank the Gods.
As he went up to get us some food, just then, a small group walked into the café, laughing and smiling. The girl had bright red hair and brown eyes, freckles and fair skin, staring at the one boy with almost a hunger. That boy had dirty blonde hair and blue eyes, bangs and a light tan. He was chatting with two others, two boys. They looked exactly alike with brown hair and brown eyes, glasses and light skin. They were all dressed in an orange tee and jeans. The one boy, one of the look-alikes, noticed me staring and I quickly looked away, embarrassed.
Lyle walked back over, his black hair clinging to his scalp and I gave a light laugh. "You're sweating, aren't you?"
"How can you tell?!" he said, panicked. He blushed brightly and looked for pit stains. I laughed again.
"No, I can tell because your hair is clinging to your head like a second skin. We need to get a shower, and soon."
"True. You're starting to smell like onions," he said with a smirk. I faked hurt and gasped.
"That's so mean!" I exclaimed dramatically, clutching at my heart. "You have wounded me!"
I heard his laugh, but it was echoed by four others. I saw the group looking at us, and the blonde boy smiled at me. I looked away quickly to hide my pleasure, and started to eat my chocolate muffin and gulp down my vanilla mocha.
"Oh. My. Gods," Lyle whispered to me and I looked up.
"What? What's wrong?!"
"Nothing, nothing," he assured me. "Just that I think I'm in love…"
I laughed lightly. "Oh good gods, Lyle, with who?" I asked, trying not to show how I knew he wasn't.
"With THEM," he giggled, nodding over to the look-alikes at the table directly across the café from us. I just rolled my eyes.
"Wow, Lyle, just WOW," I said, shaking my head. "So when are we gonna get on the road again?"
"After we clean up at a motel," he muttered, picking at his bagel. "I was kidding earlier about the onion smell, but I really do think that we need to get cleaner."
"I completely agree, but just asking, how is a motel any cleaner then we are now?" He smiled and rolled his eyes.
"PPlleeaassee?" he begged and I sighed.
"Fine, fine," I muttered, looking up at the ceiling. He cheered and drank his black coffee.
I managed to push a piece of my dyed blonde hair back before the coffee spilled all over my lap. I gasped, jumping to my feet and looking up at the person who did it. It was that blonde boy with the adorable eyes.
"My Gods, I'm so sorry!" he exclaimed, cheeks going a bright pink. I shook my head.
"No, no, it's fine, honest. The stains wash out," I said reassuringly, giving him a smile. Then the smile faded as I realized that he had said 'Gods' and not 'God' like most people. Could he be just like me, like Lyle and I?
"My name is Garret, by the way," he said, interrupting my thoughts. I just gave him another smile, trying to ignore the weird feeling that I was suddenly feeling deep within my gut.
"I'm Natalie," I said back, holding out my hand. He took it graciously and the red-head girl ran over, gasping.
"Oh my Gods, here, I'll help you clean off," she said, shaking her head at Garret. He just stuck is tongue out at her as she dragged me to the bathroom.
Wow, all this drama for a person they barely know; making a scene and offering to help clean up? These were either the nicest people ever, or I just met a group who likes gang bangs.
"It's fine, really," I insisted, taking the wet paper towel from her hands and cleaning up the mess myself. She just sighed.
"So apparently you've now met my brother?" Brother? Her and Garret were related? Holy crap!
"I guess," I said with a weak smile. "He's the one who dumped coffee all over me, correct?"
She laughed lightly, eyes twinkling. "Correct. I'm Hyna, by the way. You're Natalie?"
I nodded and smiled more. She seemed…strangely easy to talk to. I shrugged to myself and looked at her. "If you don't mind me asking, is there a reason that you guys all wore orange shirts on the same day?"
Her smile faded and she sighed. "Yes, but it's a little too much to explain, really—". She was cut off by a loud booming sound, and plenty of screams.