Nathalia's POV:
I rolled my eyes at Nina telling me to be nice, because I planned to be. What I did to Jerome-well, he went too far. He was just lucky I left my mace in my flat.
"So, Nathalia, are you planning to stay here?" Trudy asked.
"Yeah, I am. I love living in America, but I really want to be close to Nina now that our grandmother is gone." I replied.
"Hey, Trudy, have you seen my running shorts?" A blond boy with a crooked smile asked.
"They're in the wash, Mick." Trudy replied.
"Thanks, Trudy. Who are you?" Mick inquired.
"I'm Nathalia. I'm Nina's sister." I answered.
"Oh, cool. I'm Mick." He said.
"Like Mick Jagger?" I inquired, raising an eyebrow.
"Um…I don't know." Mick replied.
"Alright, Mick." I said, containing my laughter.
"I'll see you later, Trudy." Mick said, and walked away. As soon as he was out of the room, I burst into laughter. I really hope the boy wasn't named after Mick Jagger.
"Well, who else have you met so far, Nathalia?" Trudy inquired.
"I've met Fabian, Jerome and Mick. And…seen Amber, I guess you'd say." I answered.
"You should come to dinner, Nathalia. I'm making pizza." Trudy said.
"I'd love to. Can I help you cook?" I asked.
"You really love to cook, don't you?" Trudy said.
"Yeah, I do. Well-I'm going to go see what Nina's doing. Tell me when it's time to start cooking?" I inquired.
"Sure, dearie." Trudy said, and turned back to the cake she was stirring. I walked out of the room, and ran right into someone.
"Ow." I muttered from my position on the floor.
"I'm sorry! Are you okay?" Jerome asked.
"I'm fine, Jerome." I replied, standing up.
"Oh, good. Listen-I'm sorry about earlier. I was just trying to get your attention." Jerome said.
"Well, you certainly did that, Jerome. I'm sorry I pushed you against the wall." I replied.
"It's alright-I understand. Nina said you've taken a lot of self defence classes." Jerome said.
"Yeah, I have. Our neighborhood wasn't the best around back in Boston." I muttered.
"Do you…want to go for a walk?" Jerome asked.
"Alright." I warily replied. We walked out of the house, and towards a forest.
"Do you like England so far, Nathalia?" Jerome inquired.
"I do. It's beautiful." I answered. We walked on in silence for a little while, and then Jerome stopped.
"Do you hear that?" Jerome asked.
"Hear what?" I responded, straining my ears to hear whatever Jerome said he heard.
"I hear…music?" Jerome said.
"Oh…that's probably my iPod." I reached into the pocket in my jeans, and turned my iPod off.
"Sometimes I don't turn my iPod off because I think that I'll be putting the headphones on in a few minutes, but then I don't. Sorry." I said.
"It's alright. So, are you really twenty two?" Jerome inquired.
"Yeah, I am. How old are you?" I asked.
"I'm turning eighteen next week." Jerome replied.
"That's pretty cool." I said.
"Why are you in England, Nathalia?" Jerome inquired.
"Well, Nina's and my grandmother died, so I sold the house and moved here. I miss Nina, and I wanted to be closer to her." I answered.
"Oh. I'm sorry about your grandmother, Nathalia." Jerome said.
"Thank you. Tell me about yourself, Jerome." I said, looking up at him.
"There's not much to tell, really. I like the color green, and I like to read." Jerome answered.
"Okay. Well, do you like thunderstorms?" I asked.
"Yeah, I do." Jerome replied.
"Do you hear that?" I inquired, looking at Jerome.
"Hear what?" Jerome asked, looking around.
"Never mind. I thought I heard someone yelling. Do you know what time it is, Jerome?" I asked.
"Yeah. It's 5.40. We should get back. Dinner starts at six." Jerome said, looking at his phone.
"Alright, let's go." I replied, and we started to walk towards the school.
"Nathalia…would you like to step out sometime?" Jerome inquired.
"Step out? As in…go on a date?" I asked.
"Well…yes." Jerome said.
"Jerome…you're seventeen." I answered.
"Well, only for another week, Nathalia. Would you like to step out after I turn eighteen?" Jerome asked.
"I'd like that, Jerome." I responded. Jerome and I continued towards the school, a smile on his face. After a few minutes, he slipped his hand into mine, and I decided to let it stay there. Jerome was a very sweet guy, even though he had smacked me on the butt.
"Nathalia! There you are!" Nina said, running towards me. Jerome quickly removed his hand and shoved it into his pocket.
"Nina, what's wrong?" I asked.
"Nobody knew where you went, Nathalia. I was worried." Nina replied.
"I'm sorry, Nina. Jerome and I went for a walk. Is everything okay?" I inquired.
"Yeah, everything's fine. Let's go to dinner." Nina said, getting on the side Jerome wasn't on, and started to walk back with us.
