~Chapter 2~

~First Impressions~

Tino jolted awake with a start, Nicki Minaj's new song pulsating through his brain. He groaned lightly, attempting to pull the covers up to end this waking nightmare; a futile task. The music blared on regardless, prompting him to wriggle up towards his phone, stabbing it repeatedly with his finger until it was silenced.

"P…Perkele…" He murmured, sitting up in his too-warm bed. His glazed eyes gazed at the clock on the phone curiously and sleepily, yet failed to process the time. After a few moments of sheer staring, he stretched his arms with a lazy yawn, trying to remember the reason he set an alarm in the first place.

As he lowered his arms he began to notice the boxes, arranged in such a fashion that they appeared to be crude decorations, or merely faux furniture. A loud voice interrupted his inner musings, accompanied with his door slamming open suddenly.

"Tino! We need to be ready in an hour!" His mother exclaimed, ever so slightly panicked. After all, his mother did tend to worry about punctuality.

"Joo, joo… I'm awake!" He smiled falsely, trying to be a little more enthusiastic. Truthfully, he was tired. Sleep had evaded him, leaving only excitement and hope in its place. Slowly, he slid his hand over to his phone, staring at the black screen for a few seconds, before unlocking it.

0 messages.

As usual, he thought to himself. A slow smile formed on his face as he placed the object back on his bedside table, swinging his legs over and out the bed. He tilted his head up towards the ceiling, then towards his mother.

"Mama, I need to get changed!" He laughed good-naturedly, clearly asking his mother to leave him alone. Luckily, his mother understood the undertone and quickly exited the room, closing the door none too quietly.

A quite gasp resounded in the almost empty room as his bare feet touched the cold floor. Nevertheless, he stood, walking over to his wardrobe. His fingers brushed the hanging material of his clothing almost sadly.

This was the last time he would see such familiar furniture.

Without any more hesitation, he quickly ripped his clothing off the hangers but not bothering to check for tears in the clothing. He stuffed the articles of clothing into the nearest box listlessly, morosely. With a clear of his throat and a quiet gulp, he breathed out a sigh of relief.

He was all packed. He was ready to go. Whatever he faced would be difficult, yet not as difficult. Or so he hoped. He blinked once, twice, and bent down. Tino's mind was focused on the task at hand; transport the boxes into the suitcases.

However, anticipation soon replaced anxiety whilst excitement replacing homesickness. Tino's violet eyes widened significantly as he was faced with the large airport. The sound of the aeroplanes leaving was overwhelmingly loud, yet it wasn't something the young Finn had ever heard before. Before long, three long sounds were played, each a higher pitch than the previous.

"Ohya! Mama, what's that sound? Where's it coming from?" The Finn questioned delightedly, his small frame bouncing noticeably with every step.

"Shh, little Tino. Listen to her." His mother hushed him gently, a knowing smile forming on her lips.

"Flight 143 is boarding now. All passengers must board flight 143 now." The intercom droned. In contrast, the Finn couldn't be happier at this news. He took the hand of his mother and proceeded to drag her towards their assigned seats.

It wasn't what he expected, he could admit that. No, it was far fancier than anything his sheltered mind could conjure up. To any normal person, it would be considered average.

Tino practically ran to his seat, generously allowing his mother to sit next to the window, behaving like an overexcited puppy. He sat down decidedly and took in his surroundings with a lingering gaze. The chair he sat atop was comfortable, a shining white… a lot like the pilot's teeth, actually. There was a distinct smell of cigarette smoke and Dettol; a toxic combination.

Despite the dismal appearance, the Finn was unperturbed. He merely pulled down the DVD screen with an elated grin, flicking through the collection. A small frown formed on his brow as he glances across at his mother.

"Mama! Did we bring any DVD's in the carry-on?" Tino inquired his eyes full of hope. His mother simply laughed and shook her head.

"No, honey! Why, are you not a titanic person?" She laughed, clearly amused. Tino pulled a face at her, which in turn caused her to laugh louder. "Just give it a chance?"

Tino sighed heavily, the whole act ruined by the silly smile that spread across his face. He carefully tilted the DVD player forward, studying the start screen of the movie he had unknowingly picked. However, he almost shrieked aloud when he saw an entirely different reflection in the screen.

Quickly, he whipped his eyes to the left, only to be met with an intense frown, accompanied with a hard stare. The poor Finn swallowed thickly, frozen in place. His mind screamed at him to run, speak, anything. Yet he neglected to do any of those, settling for leaving his mouth agape.

The man, or rather 'boy', to the left of him made a small grunting sound under his breath. The long stare was abruptly broken, as the boy turned to gaze straight in front of him. The Finn contemplated striking a conversation with the mysterious youth. Unfortunately, that decision was taken out of his hands as his mouth began to babble his innermost thoughts.

"Ah, hei! Wow, you sure do have a scary stare! You don't seem to be around here, do you? Wow, you're pretty tall and… ohya I'm sorry!" He babbled loudly, a pink flush of chagrin rising to his cheeks as his voice escalates in volume.

The Finn cowered inwardly as he waited for the other to verbally berate him or, worse still, stare. The reaction he received, though, was completely different. A barely audible rumbling sound vibrated throughout the other boy, as his frown seemed to relax for a split second. The same boy opened his mouth to speak, causing the Finn to hold his breath.

"C'te." The, clearly older, boy stated, before lapsing back into silence. The fear-stricken Finn inhaled noisily, his mouth agape once more.

No more words were exchanged as the Finn snuck glances at the boy through the reflection of the DVD screen.

He sure is… attractive. His mind whispered, causing Tino's amethyst eyes to widen exponentially. Wait, no! I can't find him attractive! That's wrong! Well… it's wrong for me! It's okay for other men and yeah, just not me! I… I admire him, that's it! I just want to be him! I wish I was more like him, of course that's what it is. Look at the DVD, isn't Rose beautiful?

The Finn inhaled sharply, blinking his eyes decidedly as he forces his thoughts to focus on the movie.

Just because that's what they said, doesn't make it true.

To say that Tino was relieved when the plane landed would be an understatement. He felt oppressed, watched, judged… all by that boy who sat next to him. What really puzzled the Finn, though, was the lack of parents. Tino had scoured the plane for ferocious, scary, staring adults and had come up with nought. Perhaps he was being too harsh?

Hurriedly, Tino grabbed the suitcases belonging to his mother and him, a soft sigh of gratitude being offered to various Gods. He turned to his mother with a sweet smile, his breathing less stricken.

"Mama, where do I go?" He asked curiously. The Finn had no idea where he was, let alone where he needed to be. His mother merely smiled in response, wandering forward and kissing her son's forehead.

"You're going to go to the school, honey! You can visit on weekends, apparently." His mother mused, as prone to babbling as her son. A confused look fluttered across the Finn's otherwise relaxed features. A nervous laugh bubbled out of his chest.

"What do you mean?" He asked, all the colour draining from his face. The female Finn pulled her son close, her eyes closing slowly.

"It's goodbye for now, Tino… Do you see that man, with the placard, over there? You need to wait there, honey… They'll take you to your new home."

Tears began to leak from lavender eyes as the youngest gazed at the elder morosely. Sorrow hung in the air, words of love unsaid as mother and child embraced tightly. Without another word, Tino collected his suitcase. A kiss to the cheek and he was gone.

He was unsure of where he was about to walk into, but was quickly reassured as he walked straight into the back of another teen.

Tino swallowed fearfully as he gazed up at the easily recognisable face.


Dear readers,

Thank you all so much!~ I can't explain how overjoyed I am at every view, review, favourite and follow! It means a lot to me, so thank you!

Also, this story should have at least 12 chapters.~ Please enjoy it all! I'll try and update on a sunday, but with GCSE's and such likes, there's a possibility that I'll miss my deadline occasionally.

Thanks to the following for reviewing: Mudcat, GremlinGirl and Blackwind137!~