Written for Day of Angst as well as Shining Zepher birthday.

Tucker stared blankly out the classroom window. He was bored. And in a bad mood. And frustrated as all hell. It had been three weeks since Kori had preformed her exorcism and set him up with Stephie. The blonde girl sat on the other side of the classroom, taking notes on her PDA. Tucker was taking notes on his, but he couldn't concentrate. His brain was still in the red, something that Kori said was normal, after what happened. (1)

Luckily ,this was his last class. He was so happy when that bell rang. He stood gathered his things and headed for his locker .As Tucker pulled his things out of his locker ,he saw Kori watching him like a hawk ,out of the corner of his eye. He knew she knew what he was up to. He gave her a friendly goodbye as he left. He knew it was stupid trying to pull the wool of the exorcist's but he couldn't really talk to her. She never gave straight answers and he'd probably end up more confused then he already was.

Tucker passed Danny and Sam but they didn't notice him. He was still kind of a third wheel. As happy as he was for them, there were times where they ignored him and it hurt. He walked home, wrapped in his own head. He thought he was getting better, but lately some things had been getting worse. He could feel this maliciousness all around him ,with no idea where it was coming from. There were times when his head would get fuzzy , and the world would begin to spin in front of his eyes. He entered his house ,shout hello to his mother and went straight to his room. He dropped his things where he usually did ,locked the door and closed the shades.

His soul ached as he gathered what he needed. The teen still felt more useless now then ever, as Danny often took Sam on his missions but left Tucker behind. He not completely alone but the loneliness and confusion were starting to weigh heavily on him. Tucker knew it was better to do this at night, but if he started early ,it might make things easier. He needed advice and there was only one person he could go to . He didn't need interruptions. Tucker paused when he caught his reflection in the mirror. Still heavily gothic , but not as worn.

He couldn't talk to his parents, for obvious reasons. They wouldn't understand. They just expected him to be happy. His parents, ha. Some parents they were. They thought this phase should be over and couldn't understand this was a choice. Danny and Sam wouldn't understand either, and they were to wrapped up in each other to care much. Stephie would understand , but he didn't want her to worry. And Kori, well , he didn't know what she'd do or say.

He placed a board , with the words yes ,no ,the numbers 1-10, and twenty-six letters, carved into it. It was made out of polished cherry . Stephie had taught him how to make it. Slowly , Tucker pulled a palette out of the drawer of his desk. The teen knew exactly what he needed to do : he needed to contact his god, Hades. It was the only one he shared with Stephie. Hades often gave advice when Tucker asked for it.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The digital clock ticked slowly ticked towards midnight. Tears were soaking up his face as he lay on his bed. His god had not abandoned him ,and had spoken to him. The knowledge he had received had been frightening. Luckily , his god was never short on advice. His body shook as he began to sob harder. He could feel everything. There was something wicked on it's way ,and he couldn't do anything. He wasn't strong enough and he knew Danny wouldn't let him help.

Danny probably thought he was weak. Just as the thought, I need a hug, passed through his head, a knock came at his window. He rose off the bed ,crossed to the window and opened it. There was Stephie.

"Abbiamo portato il caffè. Li abbiamo calcolati bisogno esso," she said, as her boyfriend stepped out of her way. (2).

She was followed by Kori ,Sam and Danny. Tucker smiled. You couldn't fool Kori ,period . Stephie was also a follower of Hades and she would know if Tucker had contacted him. Four hugs and one punch to the shoulder later ( the later from Kori), Tucker had his cup of coffee, and people to count on.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Happy birthday , Shining Zepher!!!

(1) This refers to Mindfog. You need to read that first to understand this.

(2) Translation : "We brought coffee. We figured you need it."