𝐶𝐿𝑂𝐴𝐾 𝐴𝑁𝐷 𝐷𝐴𝐺𝐺𝐸𝑅 | 𝐃𝐈𝐄𝐆𝐎 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐒 [DISCONTINUED]

𝟏𝟎 | 𝐅𝐀𝐋𝐒𝐄 𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐓

"𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑠𝑎𝑦 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑏𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑦 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑒, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝐼 𝑑𝑜𝑛'𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑘 𝑖𝑡'𝑠 𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑡𝑜 𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑠 𝑚𝑒 𝑎𝑠 𝑚𝑢𝑐ℎ 𝑎𝑠 𝐼'𝑚 𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑛𝑜𝑤."
—𝐸𝑑𝑛𝑎 𝑆𝑡. 𝑉𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑀𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑎𝑦

𝒩.

𝐀𝐋𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐓𝐖𝐎 𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐇𝐒 have passed since Diego had left the Academy, and Natalia was feeling more alone than ever.

It was bad enough that he had just broken up with her, but the fact that he had left merely minutes later, without saying goodbye? That shattered her heart.

To wake up the next morning and wonder why the spot beside her at the dining table was empty was a mixture of confusion, worry, and fear. And it felt as if those three feelings never truly left her from then on.

She hoped he was okay, wherever he was. She hoped he was healthy. Surviving well. Sleeping in a nice place. Maybe even with a job. As long as he was safe . . . and happy.

And it seemed that inspiration had struck from that moment; Allison had picked up her stuff and moved out as well only two weeks later (though, this time, it had been announced and prepared for).

When Natalia had spoken to Allison the morning of her departure, Allison had said she wasn't really sure what she wasn't going to do. But whatever it was going to be, it was going to be great. And Natalia had no doubt that it was.

Vanya was the next to bid her farewell. She had decided that she would go to college—but not at the Academy. Packing her violin and necessities, Vanya said goodbye to Natalia and wished her well, and the two exchanged a tearful hug.

Now, Natalia was stuck with Klaus and Luther in the big house.

Klaus, she didn't mind so much. He was one of her best friends after all. And, now, she stuck to him all day—who else could she talk to? She was happy to say that they were closer than ever, but then again, the reason for that was an upsetting one for her.

Luther, on the other hand, she was not so grateful for. As suspected, he had no intention of leaving and only planned on continuing to serve their father, who took his loyalty with a shrug. She and Klaus still accompanied him on missions sometimes, though that was really the only time they'd ever talk.

Missions weren't dealt with as much anymore. How could they be? They were a job for the Umbrella Academy, and such a thing no longer existed.

Natalia had begun her university classes only a couple of weeks before, and she was honestly enjoying classes far more than she had in the past. Not only was the peace and quiet around her so very pleasant, but the focus on chemistry—her absolute favourite—and other math and sciences, in general, was a nice change from all the history and language.

Pogo was usually her teacher, which she didn't complain about. Most of the time, it was just the two of them in the classroom; Luther wanted to focus on missions and training, while Klaus slouched around and did pointless things.

But it was fine. Natalia preferred being by herself, anyway.

Although, sometimes, the silence could be rather loud.

Natalia pursed her lips together as she answered the question on her paper, glancing up to see that Pogo was watching her.

It was weird to have all the attention focused on her all the time, but it wasn't something to be complained about. At least she got all the feedback she needed and could improve.