A Shoulder to Cry On

[Isabella Chaos]

After running into Aiden in Brightstone, Isabella needed someone to talk to and fast. The meeting had been unexpected, to say the least, and had Bella's emotions going crazy. Ever since he left she had been rather short and harsh to people, and as time went on she had slowly stopped thinking about him, but her attitude was one any other teenage girl could pull off. She was becoming increasingly moody and angsty and she was tired of concealing it. She remembered her meeting with the strange fellow, Tichondrius, and he told her that if she was mad or sad, she should show it. Right now though, all she wanted to do was cry out of frustration.

She stormed into her house and stood in front of her fireplace, wiping away the few tears that had already begun to fall and thought of her best frieind Alyssa who was in Cancun, modeling. She wanted to talk to her, since she always knew how to cheer her up, especially when it was about Aiden, but she didn't know where she was staying so she couldn't Floo there. Plus, she didn't want to ruin her vacation.

Her mind wandered to another friend she'd quickly grown close with, Nia. She remembered her saying she would be staying in Greece and doing nothing else so surely she wouldn't mind a visit right? Without another thought, Isabella grabbed a pinch of the Floo powder and clearly shouted out the name of Nia's place. Once the flames turned green, Isabella stepped into them, shut her eyes and prepared herself for the dizziness. After what seemed like forever, Isabella felt the spinning stop and her feet hit solid ground. She opened her eyes, afraid that she'd gotten the wrong house and cautiously called out, "Nia?"

 

[Efeyenia Samartzi]

House
View from pool

Nia was lounging around at the edge of her pool on one of the sun chairs. It was another gorgeous day in Greece, big surprise. It never mattered how lovely the day was Nia was always in a sour mood, she was bored out of her head. She never had anyone to talk too, her parents had went to the festival in town, leaving her on her own. Although, she could have went down but didn't want all the attention that would come with being in her parents company, she despised how well regarded they were in the public, she preferred to say away from them.

Nia let out a small sigh as she flicked though the latest edition of her favorite fashion magazine, Diva, reading an article on Makis Tselios - one of her favorite fashion designers. For such an old man he has some great ideas she thought to herself as she looked at some pictures from his latest show.

From the house she heard a Nia. She wasn't sure if she was just hearing things or if someone had actually called her name, she wasn't expecting her parents back for a few hours still and she wasn't expecting another guests. Standing up she flattened out her dress and walked into the house. The noise had sounded like it came from the living room, so Nia made her way there. When Nia arrived in the living room she could see some soot from the fireplace indicating someone had just flooed in. Nia looked into the room and saw who it was, "Bella!" She exclaimed. "What are you doing here?" She asked smiling as she gave her friend a hug.

 

[Isabella Chaos]

Isabella looked around what seemed to be an empty house. Great, no one's home she thought, a bit upset, and then she began to panic. What if they didn't have Floo powder for her to use?! Before she could freak out, she heard a familiar voice, the voice she had wanted to hear when she entered. "Nia!" she replied happily, about to hug her, but stopped. She first wiped off the soot from her colorful dress and then embraced her friend, not having seen her all summer. When she asked what she was doing here, Isabella sighed deeply and said, "I just need someone to talk to," and gave her a look that asked, 'Is that alright?'

 

[Efeyenia Samartzi]

Nia couldn't get over the fact that Bella was here, in Greece, in her living room, how day just got a whole lot better. But she was curious as to why she was here, not that she minded, but she was sure Bella said she was spending her holidays in Italy with her family, maybe the babies did get too much for her she thought jokingly to herself.

When Nia released from the hug she heard Bella said she needed someone to talk too. Nia was surprised to hear this, but really happy at the same time, she couldn't believe Bella had come to her to talk too. "Of course it's alright." She said beaming. Moving over to the couch she said, "Anthing in particular?" She asked.

 

[Isabella Chaos]

Isabella smiled gratefully at Nia, glad that she hadn't been upset with her for literally barging into her house. "Sorry for showing up unannounced," she said before sighing when she asked what was on her mind. "Well, did I ever tell you about my ex-boyfriend Aiden?" she asked, before she'd begin her story. Without waiting for a reply, since she didn't know how long she was allowed to stay, she continued. "I've been head over heels for him for the longest time, and he left to Durmstrang this year, unexpectedly. For the second time," she added with an eye roll, remembering the first time when he had left though they had stayed together during that time. "But I was finally getting over him and just right now I ran into him, it just made me fall for him all over again and it's just unfair that he plays with my emotions like that!" she concluded angrily, balling her hands into fists.

 

[Efeyenia Samartzi]

( sorry)

Nia laughed, "No need to apologise, I'm glad of the company." She admitted. Nia sat and listened to Bella, she hadn't heard Bella metion her ex-boyfriend before, so she made sure to catch every detail of the stroy. There was so much that Nia didn't know about her friends, she knew that she had so much to catch up on, so she was glad of this opportunity, despite the circumstances.

When Bella finished talking Nia sat and tried to absorb all she had just heard. She pulled Bella in for a hug, not sure what to say, "Bella, I'm so sorry." She said. "Çëßèéï áãüñé" She muttered in greek, angry at the person who had hurt her friend so much. Realising that she had just spoke in greek she quickly translated for Bella, not sure if she knew any greek or not, "Sorry, I just said stuid boy. I mean what gives him the right to just walk in and out of your life whenever they feel like it?" She said angrily. "Is he really that stupid to not know what he's missing?" She said.

 

[Isabella Chaos]

"Thanks Nia," Isabella said softly with a warm smile. That's all she really needed to forget about Aiden, one of her friend's to reassure her that he wasn't worth her time. She was glad that this time it was Nia so that she didn't bore Alyssa with her Aiden problems again. Isabella sighed softly with a small smile on her face. Her summer back in Italy had already been ruined due to Pamela getting a new job and leaving them, Aiden's random appearance, Isabella just wanted to enjoy her summer. "So, what were you planning to do right now?" Isabella didn't really feel like going home just yet.

 

[Efeyenia Samartzi]

Nia smiled back at Bella, she was glad to help her. Even though she wasn't too sure about her past with Aiden she could tell she needed a distraction from him. "Um, I wasn't doing much." She admitted with a shrug.

"Told you Greece was boring." She said with a laugh, nudging Bella lightly. "But if you really want too, there is a festival in town. Nothing big, just music, games, you know? The usual." She said with a shrug. She hadn't been planning on going, especially as her parents were there.

 

[Isabella Chaos]

[I just decided something for Isabella's plot so ignore the previous comments about going back 'home' ]

Isabella looked at Nia with hopeful eyes as if saying 'Can we please go?' She had nothing better to do and she had sort of run away from home this school break. After she had found out that Pammy had gotten a job somewhere else and just abandoned Bella, and was replaced by some brat Vicky, Isabella was so upset and ran up to her room to cry. When she laid her head on her pillow she had found a note that said 'If you want to escape...' with an address of a New Zealand home.

When her parents were downstairs singing 'Happy birthday' to Deja, Isabella had taken that opportunity to sneak into Pammy's old room which had a fireplace and she Flooed to the house. To her surprise there was a boy there already, his name was Isaac Chambers and he was Icky Vicky's younger brother. After the two had talked and she'd explained that she was running away, the two began to live in the small apartment and were pretty much free from any parents or guardians.

With that said, Isabella didn't really feel like going back to the house, she let Isaac fend for himself when it came to entertainment, and was hoping she could at least try to salvage her dull winter break by doing something fun with Nia. "Can we go?" she asked with a bright grin, hoping to convince Nia.

 

[Efeyenia Samartzi]

(OKies)

Nia rolled her eyes at the eagerness in Bella's voice to go to the festival in town. "OK then, come on." She said getting up of the sofa and making her way out the door and down the steps into town, dragging Bella behind her.

Thankfully it wasn't that far into the town from Nia's house and after a few minutes walk the girls had arrived in the middle of the festival. "Welcome to Corfu." Nia said raising her arms up laughing slightly. All around them there was people, young and old, street entertainers, vendors selling things to the tourists and worst of all children running around, pulling their parents in all directions, wanting to go on all the rides, wanting more sweets, screaming and crying - another reason she didn't like going out in the public events.

Nia had to raise her voice so Bella could hear her over the music, "So what do you want to do?" She asked.

 

[Isabella Chaos]

Isabella grinned thankfully at Nia when she gave in. Truthfully Bella would've been just happy to sit there with Nia by her pool all day as long as she was distracted, but she knew than if they had done that she would've bored Nia with the events of her summer. Once they were in the midst of the festivities Isabella raised her arms up above her and twirled around. This really was the first time she had enjoyed herself all summer. Not that Isaac's company was bad in the small apartment they shared, but he wasn't one of her best friends. She sort of felt bad for him, he was from London and had no friends here in New Zealand, but barging in on Nia without notice was rude enough, it would've been worse if she had invited a complete stranger with her.

When Nia asked what she wanted to do, Isabella looked all around her, there were so many opportunities. "I don't know!" she yelled back over the music, laughing already with excitement. She saw a bunch of flashes coming from one side of the street and Isabella squinted. "Hey," she said quietly so that Nia couldn't hear it over the music. "Aren't those some famous photographers from that magazine?" she asked louder this time. Of course Isabella would know all about the magazine industry, it was her desired profession.

 

[Efeyenia Samartzi]

Nia looked around the busy square, wondering if she would run into her parents soon, no doubt they would be in the center of attention where ever they were. She groaned to herself at the thought of them soaking up the attention, the sooner dad loosing the job the better she thought to herself. She started to think back to the time when it was just the three of them, happy. But when he became mayor she no longer had a family, she had baby sitters or her dad's assistants.

She waved the idea, not wanting to show anything to Bella, she hadn't told anyone about her parents, she had bad experiences with people who knew about her famous parents, but Bella had known her for the best part of a year now, and she liked how close they had gotten, maybe I can trust Bella she thought.

Nia spun round when she, barely, heard Bella say something. Looking in the direction of where she was looking she saw some photographers. "Yeah it is." She said recognising them. Out of all the photographers she had met in the past few years they were the nicest. "Do you want to meet them?" She asked Bella.

 

[Isabella Chaos]

Bella looked back at Nia curiously when she asked if she wanted to meet them. "Sure!" she replied, "Maybe they'll take our picture," she joked, sticking her tongue out at her playfully. She grabbed Nia's hand and began walking towards the photographers, still not noticing who they were photographing. "I wonder who they're taking pictures of," she wondered aloud over the music.

 

[Efeyenia Samartzi]

Nia let Bella pull her over to where the photographers were, "Oh they will." She muttered to herself. "Not sure who they are taking pictures off, no doubt we'll see soon enough." She said over the music. Please don't me mum and dad, please don't be mum and dad she repeated to herself as they got closer.

When they arrived at the commtion the photographers stop their flashing when they saw Nia, "Hello Trina, Zander." she said to the photographers in Greek. Once they greeted her back with hugs and kisses, Nia looked up to see her parents looking at her, "Mother, father." she acknowledged them in Greek.

 

[Costandinos Samartzi]

Costandinos Samartzi was enjoying the good weather that the Gods had granted his little hometown on days of all days. Making his way down the streets he observed the people, some friends and some tourists. He enjoyed seeing the tourists, it was great for his town and he liked seeing people enjoy themselves.

After the usual meet and great with the more important people it was time for the press, he didn't mind the press but it got boring after a while. With his wife on his arm he made his way to where the photographers were. "OK, we're here." he said announced when he saw the photographers.

After a few minutes of different poses for the cameras Costandinos saw the flashes stop. Looking down he saw his daughter and a girl, who he had never met before. "Efeyenia." he said brightly to his daughter. "What changed your mind?" he asked, knowing too well his daughter was not a fan of these events and was clear in the morning that she was not going to attend.

 

[Zoe Samartzi]

Zoe made her way down the streets of Kavos, it was yet another lovely day and the crowds were plently full. Arm in arm with her husband Zoe smiled at all the people, greated the diplomats all with perfect grace and her bright smile never leaving her face.

After much walking it was time for her favourite part, the press, which meant photos. She wasn't a big headed person, but she enjoyed the publicity, and coming from a humble background, she took to it was great ease.

Zoe started to take her normal poses for the cameras and was enjoying it greatly. After a few, too, short minutes the flashes had stopped, they couldn't be finished? she thought to herself. Composing herself again she saw they were greating a girl, her daughter. Zoe was pleased to see Nia in town, she knew how much she hated them, but that it meant a lot to her and her father for her to be there.

"Efeyenia." she said with a great smile, bending down to hug her daughter. "What a pleasant surprise." she said standing back up. "And who is this?" she said indicating to the girl and her daughters side.

 

[Efeyenia Samartzi]

Nia hugged her mother back, not caring that her father had decided against it. "My friend here," she said pointing to Bella, "Wanted a tour of the town. She's never been to Greece before." she explained. "This is Isabella Chaos, my friend from school I mentioned." She continued.

Turning to Bella she said, in English, "Bella these are my parents, Zoe and Costandinos Samartzi, the mayor." She said, grumbling the last bit.

 

[Isabella Chaos]

Isabella was a bit surprised to see that Nia seemed to know the photographers but didn't comment on the matter. She simply stood beside her friend, smiling lightly because they all conversed in Greek and she only knew Italian, French, and English. She recognized her name being spoken from Nia's mouth however, so as soon as she heard that she flashed the older lady a smile, already assuming this was Nia's mom. But why were they being photographed? Maybe they just photographed all the festival goers? That would've been exciting. When Nia told her that they were her parents, and that her father was the Mayor, Bella 'oooohhed' quietly, thinking that that was probably the reason Nia didn't like going out to big festivals like this. "Nice to meet you," she replied politely. Even though she was going through an act of rebellion at the moment, she still knew to be respectful to her elders, especially her friend's parents. And a Mayor as well!

 

[Costandinos Samartzi]

"Nice to meet you too Isabella." Costandinos said in English but his Greek accent still very noticable. "So what brings you to Greece today?" He asked. "If Nia here had told us she was expecting guests we would have made better provisions for you." He commented, never likinghis guests to think he was unhospitable, it would not be good for his reputation.

 

[Isabella Chaos]

Isabella smiled in return as Nia's father, the Mayor of the freaking city, was talking to her. "I just sort of popped on over to say hi really," she said with an apologetic tone, she hardly thought barging into their house was very polite of her. She shook her head vigorously as he said they would've made better provisions for her and replied, "No it's okay, I'm fine really. I just wanted to see what Greece was all about and I can see now," she said, motioning to all the festivities around her with a bright grin. It seemed like lots of fun, but for Nia it probably wasn't and she could sympathize with that. Her mother used to throw parties all the time, so often that Bella had gotten used to sleeping with all the noise since she was a little girl.

 

[Zoe Samartzi]

Zoe smiled down at her daughter's friend, she was glad that her Efeyenia had made friends at Hogwarts, despite her disappearing act during the year she seemed to have settled in quite nicely again.

"Well we're glad to have you." She said sweetly, "We hope you find Greece to you liking." She said looking over their heads to see the festivities well under way by now.

"How about a picture of the family." The photographer said after a few minutes of slience. Pulling Nia over to her mother and father and started to take a few snaps.

 

[Efeyenia Samartzi]

Nia listened to her parents talk to Bella, hoping they wouldn't embarrass her. Much to her surprise they were behaving themselves quite well, for a change, I should have friends over more often she thought to herself, seriously considering the idea, so far she had the best day of her summer so far and that was with just being in Bella's company for a short while, even her parents weren't dampening her mood.

Nia looked up when she heard one if the photographers say something, before what they said could register with her Nia felt herself being pulled closer to her parents and the flashing had started again. Nia let them get one good picture of the family and she quickly broke away, glaring at the photographers.

She turned to grab bell and walk away but she heard "How about a picture of the two friends?" they asked. Nia looked at them confused but turned to Bella and gave a small shrug it was up to her.

 

[Isabella Chaos]

Isabella smiled and nodded at Nia's mom but wasn't able to say much else since the photographers began speaking in Greek to them again. She watched with amusement as Nia was pulled towards her parents and the photographers began snapping away. She laughed lightly as she noticed Nia really didn't seem interested in taking pictures but just for her parent's sake she smiled. Once she was done, she rejoined her on the sidelines before the paparazzi began directing their Greek towards her. Isabella looked at Nia with confusion, wondering what they were saying but after a while it wasn't hard to guess what they were asking for. Isabella bit her lip, would her parents approve of this? No. With that thought in mind she grinned widely, linking arms with Nia, thinking the more her parents would flip out, the better. One picture wouldn't hurt right? she thought mischievously as she flashed her best grin towards the cameras as they snapped away. She turned to Nia and shrugged her shoulders, half apologetically and half in a 'Oh well, enjoy it kind of way.

 

[Efeyenia Samartzi]

Nia looked at Bella for a minute wondering what she wanted to do, surely Bella wasn't camera shy? Then again, her parents didn't know she was in Greece so she probably didn't want to get into trouble. Nia was about to turn to say no to the photographers but she suddenly felt Bella's arms linked with hers, turning to look at her she saw she was smiling to the cameras, Nia laughed and smiled to the cameras aswell.

Every so often changing poses, the usual: innocent, kissing etc. For once Nia didn't mind getting her picture taken, it was a lot more fun to just mess about rather than have nice, proper photos taken. The music started to liven up a bit, it was getting late so the party would be starting soon. Nia started to move about more, twirling Bella along with her, laughing, having fun.

Once the photographers were finished they looked at each other cameras and thanked the two girls and said goodbye to Nia's parents.

"Nia we must go now and miggle some more, see you at home." Costandinos said to his daughter as he turned to walk back to the crowds. "It was lovely to meet you Isabella, I hope to see you again. Enjoy yourselves girls. Zoe said as she waved goodbye to the girls.

"OK see ya." Nia said to her parents as they walked off. Turning to Bella, still smiling she gave her a small hug and said, "Thank you." Releasing from the hug she asked, "What do you want to do now?"