Author Notes: Okay. So. I know you guys have been telling me to make my chapters longer. I hope this was longer than the other one. Haha. But the thing is, I can't really write longer chapters because I'm not sure what should happen next so I just cut it a bit shorter. I don't know. I like updating occasionally and I hate letting you guys wait so...Here's the next chapter! I hope you like it. I'm actually already done writing chapter 4. But I'm waiting for reviews on this chapter to see if I should still go on writing this. Oh and by the way, I finally changed my summary. It's actually from a song but it vaguely explains what happens in this story. So yeah. I'm kind of advertising here. Listen to it: HOPE by We Shot The Moon. Love that song. Haha. Okay. Enjoy!

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It was midnight. It was the last day of my freshman year and the last day I'd ever be a normal teenager. If I had known, I would have said goodbye to Tom, and my friends, and my stepsisters. I would have bought that album by The Academy Is… because I would've known that I wouldn't have the chance to ever come back to the CD store.

I wished that someone had given me warning about what was about to happen to me.

But if someone did, I wouldn't know whom to trust anymore after my best friend tried to kill me.

I never suspected it. I walked into the venue and was greeted by a couple of classmates. I wasted time dancing and drinking and doing random crap when I should have just ran away before she got me. If only I had known, I would have escaped before I even saw her. But I had to be as stupid as to walk to her and give her a hug and everything.

"Hi Portia." I said to her.

She stood there smiling at me. Honestly, it gave me the creeps.

I had met Portia a year ago. Since I had just been adopted and forced to move schools, she was the only one who went up to me. No don't get me wrong. I had a lot of friends. She was just my first. She barely spoke, and that usually was a good thing considering how much I talk. She just gave me that smile. Her smile. She hissed her S's and followed me a lot. Sometimes I hated her silence around me. It was always empty and I was pressured to fill it up all the time. Whenever I asked why she follows me everywhere, she doesn't speak or do anything but smile.

To sum it all up, Portia was the kind of friend that you wished you had never made friends with her.

"Hello." She said. And I knew that was it. She wasn't going to say any more. I knew that today was my last day of freshman year. I made a promise to myself that on the last day, I would tell Portia what I thought about her. It was just like Open Circle except that it was just the two of us and instead of becoming closer we were falling apart. Not that it ever worked out anyway.

"Portia…" I started. "I need to talk to you."

Her green eyes bore into me. I swallowed then glanced to the side.

"I…uhm…"

Yesss?

Dammit. I could actually hear her voice in my head.

"I have to go the bathroom. I'll see you later, okay?"

On that note, I left Portia standing there, staring at me.

I hated my guts. I should have just told her that I hated her. She wasn't the type to cry, or get angry. She was the type to just…smile.

I opened the door to the restroom and locked the door behind me. I splashed my face with water and looked up at the mirror.

Portia was right behind me.

My first instinct was to scream (which I did). I turned around, trying to catch my breath.

"What…what are you doing here?"

I thought she was going to smile at me again and leave but instead, she lunged forward and took hold of my neck and dug her nails into my skin. I gasped, unable to breathe. I could feel the blood trickle down my chest.

"P-Portia…"

"I knew it was you." She hissed.

Her gnarled fingers squeezed tighter around my throat. I swallowed and clawed at her hands. I could feel my lungs running out of air. I was choking and I couldn't get any more oxygen.

Please Lord help me now.

Jesus, I am so sorry for punching Nick yesterday after school. I didn't mean to. It's just that he stole my CD's and broke them and when I asked him to g—

"AAAAAH!!!"

I opened my eyes. The bathroom door was broken down and Portia wasn't choking me anymore. Instead, she was on the floor trying to scramble to her…

What…

Instead of her legs…

She had…

Snakes?

Snakes on were her legs…a whole bunch of them. Oh my God. They were moving and slithering around everywhere.

"Oh gods…more dracaenae?"

I didn't recognize the new voice. I looked up to see a boy, probably nineteen, with familiar green eyes, a dark expression, and a blazing sword in hand. In his other hand, he was holding the doorknob of the broken door. He broke the door.

"What the…" I trailed off.

"Another demigod? Don't the gods have any better help?" Portia sneered, tongue flicking everywhere. I wasn't sure what I saw, but the tip of her tongue looked almost forked.

Before she could attack him, he drove the knife right into her chest. I closed my eyes, expecting to be splattered with blood or something, but instead, there was a bright spark and she was gone. I opened my eyes to see that she had disintegrated into nothing.

"Oh hello." The boy said to me. "I'm Will."

"You killed her." I said shakily. "Oh my God, you killed someone…that's…that's murder."

"No," Will said slowly. "That's self-defense. Did you see her face?"

"I'm not joking." I said seriously. Will's eyes didn't look serious at all. In fact, he seemed totally fine with impaling my sort-of friend.

"I'm not either." Will said. "I saved your life."

Though I didn't want to admit it, he really did. I thought I was going to pass out from lack of oxygen under Portia's grasp. And I was totally fine with him saving my life. The only thing I was really bothered about was the sword and the random questions popping up in my head. It's just that, who was he? And how did he know I was in trouble? How did he know me? Why was he so familiar? Was he a boxers or a brief kind of guy? What did his orange t-shirt say? Where did he get that sword? Why is he carrying a sword around? Is he some kind of assassin? Where did Portia go? Why did—

"I know you're probably wondering what just happened back there." Will interrupted my stream of questions. "That was a monster; a dracaenae. She tried to kill you."

"No shit." I said, still pondering where Portia's body went.

"Well, since you'll probably be attacked by those things everyday, you should know, you're not normal."

"Are you saying I'm abnormal?"

"No. No, no, no…I meant to say, you're not like everyone else. You're like me."

"You're saying that I'm like you when I don't even know you."

"Yeah. You're a dem—"

"Thanks for your help back there." I said. "But please, leave me alone."

"Nikki! Wait! No—"

Before I could ask him how he knew my name, he had grabbed my wrists and spun me around.

"You don't understand." He said. "You have to come with me."

I pulled my hand out of his grip.

"No thank you."

Will, still staring at his hands as if it was impossible that I had gotten away, chased after me as I waded through the throng of people. Crowds cheered and danced to the music, jumping everywhere and giving a good obstacle.

"Nikki—"

I heard his voice sounding muffled.

I had reached the exit and was waiting for a cab outside beside the streetlamp when Will had caught me.

"Nice try…" he huffed. "But you're not getting rid of me that easily."

"Go away." I said.

I didn't want to follow this guy. I didn't want to come with him. I didn't even know him. I was begging God, praying that he wasn't another of those MySpace stalkers. It was hard enough getting rid of the other two, now him.

"You don't understand." Will said finally after catching his breath. "I was sent here by Lord Apollo. I was sent here to take you to camp."

"I'm not seven. I don't do summer camp."

"You will when you find out who you are." Will said.

"Well then, don't tell me."

Will frowned.

"Well, I could do that. I mean, it gets worse you find out…but that's risky and it's already pretty obvious if those dracaenae were after you…so it's better if you just learn how to defend yourself instead of forcing yourself not to know about…Hey! Where are you going?"

"Going home!" I yelled at him. "Don't think of following me!"

I was walking quickly away from him now, hopefully getting rid of him temporarily. I knew he was going to try to get me back again. So for now, I wanted him to stay away for a while.

*BEEP*BEEP*

"No way." I muttered to myself.

*BEEP*BEEP*

Before I knew it, Will was driving slowly beside me at my pace. He was in a beat up old Audi with worn out tires and a leaky engine. The speed he was going now was probably the car's max.

"Come on," Will called. "I have a car?"

"It's not very tempting." I replied casually.

"Seriously." Will said. "I have to take you to Chiron."

"Where's that?" I asked, feigning interest.

"He lives nearby. Come on, it's important. Do a guy a favor and make his mission easier. Please?"

I stopped walking. Will stopped driving.

"Is that a yes?" he asked.

I rolled my eyes, getting into the car.

"Yes."