The Next Generation Of Heroes | 1 ✓

Bianca ~ 8

Zoë: Has anybody hear heard of a Luke Castellan?

Rose: wasn't your brother named after him?

Mari: I don't know a Luke Castellan. Just a Luke Jackson.

Bianca: I'll ask my dads

I set down my phone and stood up, walking from the living room to the dining room, where Nico and Will were whispering.

"Who's Luke Castellan?" I ask.

Both men look up at me. "He-" Nico hesitated. "He was a son of Hermes, who joined Kronos. He killed himself to save the world."

My eyes widened.

"Why'd you ask?" wondered Will out loud.

I shrug. "Zoë asked if we knew him," I explain.

Nico frowned. "Well, we just discovered that Luke Jackson is the reborn Luke Castellan," he said grimly.

My jaw dropped. "What are the odds? I mean- Percy and Annabeth HAD to know Luke, there is no way that was just luck. Luke must have done something-" I ramble, but stop when I see Nico and Will grin at each other.

"Gods you are so much like Will," laughs Nico.

"I am NOT like that!" whines Will.

Nico laughs again, and pecks Will on the cheek. Will blushes, and I smile.

"I'm going to take a walk," I say, heading for the door.

"Don't talk to strangers!" calls Will, waving.

"Don't talk to boys!" adds Nico.

I roll my eyes, and head to the park. Then, I see Rose siting on a bench, petting and Australian Shepherd.

"Rose," I start to call, lifting my arm to wave. Then I see a hot boy join her. My words caught in my throat. They talk for a few minutes, and then Rose leaves. I walk over to the boy.

"Hi," I say.

"Hi?" He replies. It sounds like a question.

"I'm Bianca Solace- di Angelo. You must be Asher Stoll. Son of Travis and Katie," I say.

The boy looks surprised. "How'd you know that?" he asks.

I shrug. "Lucky guess," I say. He raises and eyebrow. "Listen, Rose-that girl you were just talking to- is my friend. If you hurt her, you'll have to answer to me."

Asher blushes a little. "Hurt her? Why would I...and what would you be able to do?" he asks, his voice turning amused at the end.

I give him my best death glare. "You don't know what I'm capable of," I say, rubbing my skull ring that Nico gave me. When you press it, it turns into a Stygian Iron sword.

Asher smiles doubtingly. "Sure," he says, turning away.

I growl. "That's it!" I snap. Darkness pools out of me as I press my ring. It grows into a sword, and I point it at Asher's neck. "Hurt my friend and I'll break your back, Stoll."

He looks slightly nervous.

"Mess with my friend, you will pay; you'll speak in rhyme for the rest of the day," I curse. His eyes widen.

"Fine, I'll leave you be; as long as you don't bother me," rhymes Asher, mortified.

"Bye, Shakespeare," I laugh, walking away. Once I get out of the park, I start to run; darkness still seething around me, cracks appearing in the floor where I step. I kick the door to my house open, run into the living room, where Nico and Will are talking on the couch, and run into their arms.

"D-dad! I w-went off on-on-on-" I stammer, tears starting to form in my eyes.

"On who?" asks Will, voice dripping in concern.

"On Asher Stoll," I hiccup.

Nico chuckles. "What'd you do to him?" he asks.

"Um, I threatened to break his back, I almost cut his neck, and I cursed him to speak rhymes all day," I admit.

Will ruffles my hair. "Why'd you go off, sweetheart?" He asks.

"He and Rose were talking, and I didn't want him to hurt her. Not physically, but, like, you know," I mumble. Then, I burst. "Why is it so hard to make friends? It's so easy for everyone else, WHY IS IT SO HARD FOR ME?" I yell, running up to my room, tears falling freely from my eyes.

"Bianca-" starts Will, but Nico puts a hand on his shoulder.

"I'll go talk to her," Nico says softly.

I hear a knock on my door. "Go away," I mutter. Another knock. "GO. AWAY."

Nico comes in anyways, and wraps an arm around me. "When...when I was your age, I had a...hard time making friends," says Nico, a painful expression on his face.

I look up, surprised.

"My sister died when I was ten-Bianca-and I was alone. My first crush-well, he had a girlfriend, but I still liked him. For four years. I-" Nico hesitates. "I had a crush...on Percy."

I stay silent.

"I ran away from Camp when I was 11, and I spent so many years trying to bring my sister back, because she was my only friend. The only one who knew- and still accepted me. In my time, people like me were killed. But the point is, I had a hard time with people too. But then I met your father, and gods he was the best. Will made me so, so happy-" says Nico.

"Yes, and also I am very hot too," says Will teasingly, barging in. Nico flushed, and Will kissed him hard on the lips.

"Will-" protested Nico, voice muffled by Will's lips. I roll my eyes, smiling at my dads.

"So what's the plan?" asks Will, pulling away from Nico, who looks dizzy.

"Um," I reply, confused.

"Want me to call Leo and Caly? I can talk to them about getting Andrew-" says Will, grinning mischievously.

"No!" exclaim both me and Nico. Andrew Valdez: Rose's older-by-a-year brother, or my crush.

"That would be EXTREMELY humiliating," I say, face burning.

"No boys. No boyfriends. Or girlfriends. No dating. Until you're twenty one," protests Nico.

"I'm calling Leo!" sings Will, typing in Rose's dad's number on his phone.

"No!" Nico and I yelp, but it's too late.

"Leo? Hey-it's Will. I just wanted to talk about Bianca. She was saying so- sorry, what was that? Oh. Wait what? Oh no- I mean that's awesome! Um, I'm going to go..." trails Will, hanging up the phone.

"What was that?" asks Nico, amused.

Will grabbed Nico and whispered something into his ear. Nico's face paled.

Suddenly, my phone buzzed. It was from Zoë.

"No! Don't-" blurts Nico, but I've already opened the text and read it. I toss my phone on the bed, and shadow travel away.

Zoë: Andrew just kissed me!