FINALLY UPDATED PEOPLE YEAH!! *pumps fist* Sadly there's no Desmond in this, but hey he's mentioned in it xD AND AN IMPORTANT NOTE FOR YOU ALL: I changed Rebecca's name to Taylor, since there already is a character named Rebecca in the Assassin's Creed universe. You have to remember that so you won't be confused ^^ And holy crap over 2000 hits! That's...amazing. Last time I checked it was about 1000. Now I feel bad for making you all wait....but I love you all 8D thank you so much for the reviews and faves and views! Here's a bit of backstory on Renia, because ACmegafan suggested I write some backstory, and it's a great idea so thank you ACmegafan! There's going to be some more backstory next chapter too. Anyways, hope you enjoy this chapter and reviews are very much appreciated! =)
Chapter 7
The next morning...
Thank God I was able to get my homework done last night, I find myself thinking as I descend the stairway, clad in a pair of jeans and a dark red blouse. I reach the bottom, running a hand through my hair as a tired yawn escapes my lips. I walk into the kitchen, eyes lighting up when I spot my mother at the kitchen table.
"Morning, Mom," I call to her happily, and she turns in her seat to look at me. "How are you?" She blinks, lowering her coffee and placing it on the table. She casually rests an arm on the back of her chair, raising an eyebrow at me.
"Fine," she replies slowly, watching as I walk to one of the kitchen cabinets. I open the cabinet and pull out a box of cereal, before closing it. I approach another cabinet, opening the door and pulling out a bowl, then closing it. As I set down the bowl and cereal box on the counter, I hear Mom ask, "What are you so happy about?" I look at her as I walk to the refrigerator, and I blink.
"What do you mean?" I open the fridge, grab the jug of milk, and close the door. I place the milk on the kitchen counter, and unfold the cardboard flaps of the cereal box. The bag's already open, so I promptly tilt the box in my hand, allowing the cereal to flow out and land in the bowl. Once there is enough, I tilt the box bag, and close it.
"You know what I mean," she states as I open the jug of milk. "Is it because your birthday is this weekend?" I freeze, causing a splurge of milk to leave the jug at the sudden jolt of my arm.
That's right, I find myself thinking as I curse under my breath and move to grab a paper towel. My birthday's on June 3rd...and the 1st is this Friday. I wet the paper towel underneath the kitchen sink's faucet, and swab the puddle of milk, glancing at my mom. "I almost forgot," I admit, awed that I had forgotten my birthday.
Mom stares at me. "It's probably because you've been so focused on your ancestor." She picks up her coffee. "Renia, I think you need to take a break." I laugh, throwing the wet paper towel into the trash.
"No, I'm fine. Really." Carefully this time, I pour the milk into the bowl. After a moment, I'm convinced that there's enough milk, and tighten the cap onto the jug. I move a hand to rub my right eye, before I give s subtle yawn. I won't admit it but...I'm actually getting kind of exhausted. In my spare time, I read through the books that Taylor and I checked out from the library. Well, spare time included sleep time. I stayed up last night, and the night before, reading through over half of the books we checked out. So far, no mentions of an Ezio Auditore.
Sure there were assassinations and attempted murders, like the Pazzi's attack on the Medici, but there's no mention of Ezio Auditore being involved with them. Although, I think, pulling out the silverware drawer. There are mysterious deaths and murders, with no idea about the cause or who the killer was...I grab a spoon out of the drawer, before closing it and turning to my cereal bowl. And there's also that one book, I add to my thoughts, flashing back to the library when I was flipping through Italian Secret Societies of the 1400s. I still have yet to read it, and I just know that it'll give me some good info. Hopefully.
"Renia? Renia, did you hear me?" I shake out of my thoughts when I hear Mom call my name, and I look at her.
"Huh?" Mom shakes her head and points out the window.
"The bus is here," she replies, and my eyes widen. Shit, when did I get up? I turn to the kitchen clock, realizing that I had gotten up late.
"Crap, I have to go!" Without a second thought, I run to ascend the staircase, my mind racing. Upon reaching the second floor, I sprint into my room to grab my messenger bag, stumbling over a few books on the floor. I run back out into the hall, trying to descend the stairs as fast as possible without tripping.
"What about your breakfast?" Mom asks loudly as I stop and bend over to slip on my shoes, which I had left at the front door. nearly falling off balance as I stand on one foot. After clumsily putting on my shoes, I stand up straight, moving to open the front door.
"Not enough time!" I reply, opening the door and stepping out, ignoring Mom's protests, saying that I should at least take an energy bar. "Bye, Mom!" I rush outside, shut the door behind me, and run to the bus, waving a hand to prevent Mr. Woodburn from driving off without me.
"Woke up late?" Mr. Woodburn asks as he opens the bus door, and I stand on the sidewalk, nodding embarrassingly.
"Yeah...Sorry, Mr. Woodburn." He dismisses my apology with a shake of the head, and I quickly step up the stairs, before turning to glance down the aisle of seats. I spot Daniel, waving me over with his right hand. I walk over to him and take a seat, sighing in relief.
"I'm never waking up late again," I mutter, and Dan laughs at me. I slide down a bit in my seat, sighing again and closing my eyes.
"What happened?" my friend asks, raising an eyebrow. "You stay up late?" I shrug, staring at the the back of the seat before me.
"Yeah, an all-nighter of reading," I reply, rubbing my eyes and ignoring Daniel's shocked face. I look at him, smiling weakly. "Don't worry." I sit up, grunting lightly as I straighten my back. "If I can starve until lunch, I'll be fine." This causes Daniel's mouth to drop open, and I raise an eyebrow.
"You pulled an all-nighter, and you missed breakfast?" He whistles, impressed. "Damn..." I laugh, giving his shoulder a light punch.
"It's not that amazing..." I sigh again as the bus begins to drive after all students have boarded. "I just hope I'll be able to live until lunch." A granola bar is suddenly hovering in front of my face. My eyes widen and I instinctively back away from the bar. I turn to the one offering it, Daniel, and my mouth opens slightly in shock. He only smiles, and I stutter in disbelief, "D-Danny, I can't. It's yours."
"Don't give me that. If my best friend's starving, I give her the food I have." He shoves the granola bar into my hands, insisting, as he adds, "Now take it." I stare at him, then at the granola, before I hesitantly begin to unwrap it.
"Thanks, Daniel," I say, grinning at him gratefully, and he just shakes his head, the smile still on his face as I begin eating the bar of granola, savoring the honey taste on my lips. After a few minutes, the bus halts at another stop to pick up more students, and Daniel turns from the window to look at me.
"So how did your shopping go yesterday?" he asks, and I blink. I move to reply, but I pause, deciding to chew the rest of the food that's still in my mouth first. After I swallow, I tilt my head to the side, smiling as I remember the events of yesterday.
"It went pretty well," I reply after a moment, glancing at my friend. "I didn't buy much, but it felt good to hang out with everyone again." I look down at the granola bar in my hands, a warm smile played on my lips.
"How's Amber?" I hear Daniel ask. "I haven't seen her in a while."
I grin, replying, "She's doing great. She's already looking for a college." Daniel's eyes widen.
"Already? Wow..." he trails off, rubbing the back of his neck. "She must really want to get out into the real world."
I laugh, saying, "It's not that surprising, you know." I glance at the blonde-haired boy, adding, "Amber's always been ambitious."
"You got that right," he mumbles, and I chuckle, staring ahead at the bus' front window. My smile doesn't last long though.
Daniel...I noticed that he's been spending more time with his friends instead of Taylor and I. Sure he's been around these past few days, but back in middle school, it was only us three, hanging out after school. Now, he's popular, and practically knows everyone at Little Oaks. It makes me think back to when I first met him, when he was there for me...
I was on the kindergarten playground, at age 6, sitting on the swings, when I was suddenly approached by a group of boys my age, their leader a fierce redhead. He frowned at me, and had his arms were crossed over his chest.
"Get off!" he told me, and I winced at the tone of his voice, but I shook my head. I was there first. The boy's nostrils flared, and he roughly pushed me, but I held onto the chains, my eyes shut in fear. "You can't be here anyways," he added, "You don't have a daddy!" My eyes snapped open, and I bit my lip, tears threatening to brim my eyes. Without warning, I was pushed again, with more force this time, and I fell backwards, landing on the dirt ground. The back of my head throbbed in pain, and my elbows scraped against the ground, causing them to bleed.
They laughed. They laughed and laughed, pointing at me and saying mean things, while I just sat there, staring at them with wide eyes as I caressed my head. It wasn't until after they left did I let the tears run down my cheeks. Holding my head down, I cried, my body shaking helplessly. I was the typical toddler, sitting there and crying with a runny nose, but it wasn't because of the injuries. It was because of the things they said. I was the only child in kindergarten without a dad. I was an outcast due to that fact. I don't belong here. I don't-
I felt a hand on my back, and I flinched, looking up at the hand's owner. It was a black-haired boy, about my age, and he knelt beside me. I stared at him, tears still cascading down my cheeks, my nose sniffling. The boy was staring at me, his mouth set in a determined frown.
"Are you okay?" he asked, concern laced in his voice, and I sniffled once more, too shocked to reply. The boy patted my back lightly, trying to comfort me, and he said, "Don't listen to those guys. They're just a bunch of bullies!" I nodded meekly at the boy's outburst, and he nodded back. We sat there for a few moments, my sobs slowly ebbing away.
"T-Thank you," I mumbled, my voice slightly hoarse from all of the crying. The boy grinned at me, and slowly removed his hand from my back.
"It's okay," he replied, his grin turning into a small smile. I watched him curiously, and he tilted his head at me."My name's Daniel!" he introduced happily. "What's yours?"
I sniffled. "R-Renia..." I stuttered shyly, and Daniel blinked, before laughing.
"You have a weird name," he commented, and I frowned slightly.
"It is not weird," I rebutted, crossing my arms and pouting like the little six-year old I was. But crossing my arms had caused me to brush against the scrapes on my elbows, and I yelped, "Ow!" I immediately unfolded my arms, and Daniel stood up.
"You better see the nurse," he told me, and grabbed my hand. He pulled me up to my feet, and I stared with wide eyes as the black-haired boy led me to the nurse's office. Daniel smiled back at me, and uttered, "Don't worry! Next time that happens, I'll be there to protect you!" My mouth dropped open in shock somewhat, before I slowly returned the smile. I was happy, happy that I found a friend, someone who will look out for me and defend me from harm. We stayed close since then, but now...
"What do you think, Renia?" Daniel's voice pulls me out of my reverie, and I blink, looking at him with confused eyes.
"Huh?" Daniel raises an eyebrow, before he smiles.
"I said we should all hang out sometime this week. You, me, Taylor, and Amber. What do you think?" I blink again, before smiling.
"I'd like that," I reply, "I'd like that very much." Daniel nods, and looks out the window, watching the passing buildings thoughtfully.
"You should invite that Desmond guy to go with us," he mutters, and my eyes widen. He turns to look at me. "What? You asked me to give him a chance, so I'm giving him one." I stare at Daniel, who continues to look at me with an impartial expression. After a moment, I grin widely, and move forward to hug my friend. Daniel freezes, but I pay no attention to it.
"Thank you so much, Daniel," I utter softly, and Daniel hesitantly returns the hug, if only for a moment. I move back, smiling. "I'm sure you and Desmond will become good friends." Daniel mumbles an incoherent reply as I face forward, but I'm too happy to even ask what he said.
After a few more minutes and some stops, the bus finally arrives at the school. Daniel and I disembark the yellow vehicle with the other students, talking about plans for when and where we'll all hang out together, and we spot Taylor standing by the bus stop. She waves to us as we walk over to her.
"You guys sure look happy!" she comments, and Daniel and I look to each other, smiling.
"We were just talking about us all hanging out together this week," I explain to Taylor, who whoops in joy, pumping a fist in the air.
"Sounds like fun!" she replies, and crosses her arms, grinning. "We haven't hung out in a while, at least not all of us together." I laugh and point to Daniel.
"You should thank Danny here," I add, and I sense him staring at me with wide eyes. "He came up with the idea." Taylor gives a small chuckle, giving Daniel a playful punch in the process.
"It's a great idea you know," she says, and I nod in agreement. Daniel smirks and opens his mouth to say something, but he's cut short by the sound of the school bell.
"Hey, Daniel!" a voice shouts, and I turn to see no other than Andrew approaching us.
"Hi, Andrew," Daniel greets, and I resist the urge to roll my eyes.
"What's up?" the blonde asks as he reaches us, raising a fist. Daniel pounds his own fist against Andrew's, grinning.
"Not much, talking with a few friends of mine here," Danny replies, gesturing to Taylor and I. Andrew looks at us, and raise an eyebrow, his smile disappearing for a few seconds, before appearing again. He stuffs his hands in his pockets.
"Hey, name's Andrew," he introduces himself. Yeah, I know, I reply inwardly in irritation, but I give a weak smile, and shift my messenger bag.
"Nice to meet you," I reply slowly, "I'm Renia, and this is Taylor." I gesture to said girl, who simply nods. Andrew returns the nod, before he looks to Daniel.
"Hey, what do you say about hanging out after school today?" he asks, and I feel a sort of disappointment within my heart. Like I said, Danny doesn't hang out with us like he used to. The black-haired boy looks at me, before he smiles and returns his attention to Andrew.
"Sorry not this time, Andrew," he says cooly, and I watch him in surprise. "I got some studying to do with Taylor and Renia." Andrew blinks, before he shrugs, and turns to leave.
"Suit yourself, man. See ya." The blonde gives his farewell, before running over to a group of boys not too far away, who were watching us with dubious eyes. I inwardly sigh in relief, before nearly jumping out of my skin at Taylor's semi-shout.
"Did you actually just do that?" she asks loudly, and Daniel nods, arching an eyebrow.
"Yeah," he responds slowly. "Something wrong?" I cut Taylor off, knowing she'd say something not welcome.
"No," I rebut, shaking my head. "It's just...you always hang out with those guys, don't you?" Danny laughs, and ruffles my hair with his left hand.
"Yeah, but it can't hurt to hang out with my best friends instead, right?" I move his hand away from my head, and smile. Daniel returns it, before he looks at the school.
"We better go. We don't want you late for history class again," he says teasingly, and I narrow my eyes, punching him lightly on the shoulder. I turn to Taylor, who seems to be watching us happily.
"Hey, I'll see you later, okay?" I tell her, and she nods.
"Sure thing!" She turns around to run to the school, waving at us. "Later!" Daniel and I wave back at her, before we rush to the school's other entrance.
"I hope we get there on time! I can't stand being late twice!" I yell to Daniel, who merely laughs in reply.
"Don't worry!" he replies, and I look at his grinning face. "This time, we'll both be late." I smile. It's like we're becoming friends all over again.