Hylla was in shock. Her blotchy eyes didn't seem to meet Reyna's eyes at all as she and Hylla made their way down the street back to their house. Reyna decided it was best if they went back so they wouldn't make a scene in the Chase household. Malcolm had insisted on coming and dropping them off at their place. At first, Reyna was reluctant but agreed anyway after seeing the eagerness to help in the older boy's eyes. When they got to the house, Reyna thanked Malcolm and bid him goodbye.

Her sister was still shaking when they entered the house and she made a rush to her room upstairs before Reyna could stop her. It was very odd. Hylla never lost control like this. Never. Reyna ran after her, concerned. Thankfully Hylla hadn't locked the door but was sitting still on her bed staring at the piece of wall opposite her bed.

Hylla's eyes were devoid of emotion and completely blank. "Hylla." She didn't answer. Her mouth was sealed shut. "Hylla," Reyna tried again. She sat by her sister and placed her hand on top of her sister's. She hated seeing Hylla like this. Reyna knew how much Hylla had been through and even if the impact of their deceased mother hit them both, she still felt like Hylla absorbed all of it. Reyna was so scared for the one day Hylla would just . . . break. Break out of all the pressure of being a mother and an elder sister- fending for her younger sister and for herself at such a young age. That fear had always been there in Reyna's heart. That's why she tried as hard as she could to make her sister happy.

"Dad," Hylla's voice was hoarse. "I saw dad when I was at work."

Reyna stiffened. They hadn't seen their dad since they were very little. He had been driven mad and had resorted to drugs after the death of their mother. Hylla had taken Reyna and ran away to get away from his madness. She knew that he wouldn't be able to take care of them both and they hadn't seen traces of their father since they ran away.

"What did he do?" Reyna said softly.

"He smelt of alcohol and he confronted me in an alley while I was walking back home. He taunted me. He blamed me for being selfish and running away. He . . . he almost beat me but I loosened his grip and I ran away."

Reyna put her arm around her sister's shoulder and hugged her close. She didn't say anything. Neither did Hylla. They sat on Hylla's bed for a while, not saying anything. Somehow, the silence was enough.

It was finally Reyna that broke the silence, "We're not going to let dad take control of us again. You're an adult and I'm almost one too. He can't take us back and he's not going to harm us. I can't believe he almost abused you. What has happened to him?"

Madness. Insanity. Anger. All the side effects of their mother's death. The verbal abuse had become too much before they had ran away. For so long, both of them had avoided talking about their father. They wanted to leave him behind, forgotten.

Before long, the two sisters had drifted off to sleep- the return of their father escaping their minds as they drifted off into unconsciousness.

~o0o~

Two days. Two days till Jason came back. The days had passed since Hylla's encounter with their father. Reyna could tell that Hylla was still traumatized by it but she didn't show it. Only if you knew Hylla as much as Reyna did would you actually be able notice that there was a slight change in her behavior.

Reyna had almost finished her holiday homework and was currently writing an essay for her college applications in a nearby coffee shop. Her papers were sprawled on the table with a laptop and a cup of her favorite hazelnut cappuccino in front of her. The smell of coffee always seemed to calm her down. It smelt like home because her mother used to be a coffee addict and made the best coffee in the entire world. Reyna could still remember when she had a bad dream and she used to crawl into her mother's bed and fall asleep to the smell of coffee.

The door of the café dinged open and a tall blonde guy and a tall dark haired girl came inside. It was slightly drizzling outside and the couple's hair was a little damp from the raindrops. Reyna squinted and seemed to recognize them from the back of their heads.

The boy turned around. Reyna could recognize those blue eyes from a mile away. "Jason?" she muttered. It wasn't loud enough for anyone to hear but the boy seemed to hear it anyway. He turned around to see where the voice was coming from and he came face to face with Reyna.

"Reyna," he breathed. His eyes were wide and his lips tilted up in a broad grin. Reyna leapt up to her feet and in a few strides, she was in Jason's arms and her face buried in his shoulder.

"I missed you," she said. Her body still pressed against his. She breathed him in- drinking in his presence. Gods, she didn't realize how much she missed him.

"I missed you too," he hugged her tighter.

A cough was heard which broke the best friends apart. "You didn't tell me you had a girlfriend, lil bro!" the dark hair punk girl said enthusiastically. Reyna recognized her as Thalia, Jason's sister.

Reyna's cheeks reddened. She wished she were his girlfriend."I'm not his girlfriend."

Jason didn't seem fazed at all by the comment. "I told you, Thals. I showed you a picture of her remember? This is Reyna, my best friend."

Thalia smirked. "I'm Thalia," she held out her hand. "Nice to meet you." Reyna shook her hand.

"You too," she said. "Jason's told me about you."

"Oh yeah? Cool."

"Why don't I go order you a drink?" Jason said and started to head off to the counter.

"Yeah, okay."

Reyna shuffled to her table and gathered all her papers and put them into a messy pile so Thalia could sit down and not be appalled by the mess.

"Lot of homework?" Thalia asked.

"Tons," Reyna huffed a little. "I'm trying to get into a good college."

"Oh. I actually studied in UCLA until a couple of months ago."

"What happened?"

Thalia's eyes clouded. "Family problems."

She didn't elaborate so Reyna took the hint and decided not to push it. It was better that way. Besides, Thalia was Jason's sister and she gave off a do-not-mess-with-me-or-I'll-kill-you vibe so Reyna decided not to get on to her bad side. Jason would be disappointed if his best friend and his sister didn't get along.

They chatted for a while until Jason came back with his and Thalia's drinks. Thalia had moved here and was living with Jason and his father until she found a place of her own. She and Jason had arrived the previous night and they were so tired that Jason couldn't inform Reyna that he was back.

"What made you guys come so early, anyway?" Reyna said. "I didn't expect you for another two days."

"The forecast said that there was a heavy storm coming soon so we made a few arrangements to come back early," Jason replied.

"You could have at least told me!"

Jason chuckled, "I was planning on surprising you today, actually."

She smiled a little. She had to resist the urge to blush. Small acts like these were what made her like Jason so much. "Well you definitely surprised me, all right."

Suddenly Basket Case by Green Day started playing from somewhere. Thalia's eyes widened and she took out her phone from her pocket and checked the caller ID. "Urgh. It's Luke. I'm not answering this asshole again. I should just block him."

"You like Green Day?" Reyna asked.

The punk girl looked up from her phone and smiled. "Yeah. They're my favorite band."

Reyna grinned. "High five!" she held up her hand and Thalia high-fived her.

"What's your favorite song?"

"Ooh! That's hard to choose. Honestly, I love all their songs."

"Yeah, but if you had to choose, which would you pick?"

Reyna thought for a moment. "Probably 21 Guns or Wake Me Up When September Ends."

Jason looked back and forth between the two girls in a state of disbelief. "I can't believe you two like the same music," he said. He turned to Reyna. "I didn't even know you listen to music."

She rolled her eyes. "I have a life, Jason. Either you're just exceptionally unobservant or you're just stupid."

"But, you don't seem like the type to listen to Thalia music."

"Thalia music?" his sister raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah," Jason said. "All those loud and scream-o type music which you listen to falls under that category. I can't even keep track with all the bands you listen to. I can only name a very few which you obsess over."

"I don't obsess over them," she glared at Jason.

"Oh yeah? Then what do you call having all your walls filled with posters of random rock bands, wearing merchandise and always having music going on in your room?"

"It's not obsessing," Reyna said. "It's called fangirling."

"Basically obsessing."

Thalia rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

"Anyway, I listen to only selective music. Particularly Rock. I don't listen to scream-o. More like pop-punk, alternative and classic rock. I like to listen to Linkin Park, Paramore, Twenty One Pilots and stuff like that."

"Oh I love them!" Thalia perked up. "Paramore is one of my favorite bands. Have you heard about Hayley Williams' new hair dye brand she's launching?" Hayley Williams was the lead singer of one of Reyna's favorite bands- Paramore and she was launching a spunky hair dye line called GoodDyeYoung.

"Oh my gods, yes! I don't exactly plan on getting it but I'm really happy that she gets to follow her dream."

"I plan on trying the orange one as soon as it comes on pre-sale. You think it would suit me?"

Reyna pictured Thalia with the bright orange hair. "Hmm . . . You know if you got rid of the side shave and got bangs instead with a pair of green contacts, I don't think I could tell you and Hayley apart."

They laughed.

Jason blinked, "I have no fucking idea what you guys are talking about."

Thalia ignored him. "I like you," she told Reyna. "We should hang out sometime." She gave Reyna her number and vice versa.

"We could go out to lunch later," Reyna said. "You know to get to know each other." Her stomach jumped a little at that thought. She ignored the feeling.

"Yeah," Thalia smiled.

~o0o~

A/N: I just want to tell you guys that this fanfiction is inspired by Waiting For Superman by Daughtry. It's not based off of the song but just inspired. This is not a Jeyna fic at all. This is a Theyna fic. Do not get the idea that I ship Jeyna because it is strictly NOTP. Anyway, I hope you guys liked this chapter!

Please leave a review!