The next morning, Lily had her usual routine. She made Uncle Ben his breakfast, then waited for him to go to work before taking a quick shower and spending almost an hour trying to cover the new bruises with makeup. Though they weren't completely invisible, they weren't as noticeable anymore. She put on her light jacket and flipped up the hood, a pretty usual look for her, then grabbed her backpack and walked to school. She ignored the looks and whispers, like always, and went to her first class. She sat in the back row and furthest left seat in every class room. Back there, the teacher rarely called on her and couldn't see any of the marks on her hands or face. The day went by like usual until lunch. She sat down at the back table with her sandwich, ignoring the way people glanced at her. That was all normal. What wasn't normal was the small group of people that decided to sit right by her, since most people sat at least one seat away. She looked around her hood to see Leo, Percy, and a few other kids looking at her happily.

"You looked lonely sitting all by yourself." Leo said. "Guys, this is Lily, our new neighbor. Lily, this is Annabeth, Piper, and Jason. Why don't you sit with anyone?"

"Uh…" Lily was realized there were a lot more people in the cafeteria looking at her now. They were, no doubt, talking about the new kids sitting by the loner. "Um, I don't mind sitting alone…"

"Oh. And why do you have your hood on? It's like eighty degrees in here."

"I just like my hood."

"Are you ashamed of something?"

This kid didn't know when to sit somewhere else.

"Leo." One of the girls stopped him… Piper. "Maybe she's just having a bad hair day. Happens to all of us."

"Nope. Not possible. You can't have a bad hair day when you have red hair, it's a fact."

"My hair isn't red." Lily mumbled. "It's brown."

Actually auburn, but that was a shade of brown.

"But it has a reddish tint to it." Without warning, he grabbed the top of her hood and pulled it down.

Lily moved her sleeve covered hand to her cheek, in a desperate attempt to hide the bruise. Leo didn't say anything for a moment and his friends all looked down at their food. At least his friends knew how to ignore her. Why couldn't he?

"What happened?" He finally asked.

"Nothing." Lily stood up and tossed her lunch in the trash, then went to the girl's bathroom. She sank against the wall and pulled her hood back up where it belonged. When she heard the end-of-lunch bell, she forced herself to stand up. She looked at the mirror, not happy with the person she saw.

'I should say something…' She thought. 'Speak up… No. That's not an option. You're a Parks. You can handle it.'

She rinsed her hands under cold water, then made her way to class. She was disappointed when Leo walked in. The teacher made him stand up at the front of the classroom and say a few things about himself.

"Alright Leo, you may take your seat. There is an empty one in the second row by Jeremy."

He spotted Lily sunk into her chair. "There's also one in the back by Lily. Could I sit there?"

The teacher looked surprised, but slightly happy. She nodded. As Leo made his way to the last row, the other kids looked at Lily sadly. Most of them had a pretty good idea about what was happening at home, though they didn't dare ask her about it. It was easier to talk about it when they thought she wasn't listening and avoid sitting by her when they could. Leo sat down and smiled at her. She propped her head up on her arms and focused on the lesson. After school, she was putting her stuff in her locker when Leo approached her. He didn't have any of his friends with him.

"Hey, Lily." He greeted her.

"Hi." She grabbed her book bag and started walking away.

"Wait just a second." Leo pulled her away from the crowd of people getting ready to go home. "I know it's none of my business, but I just want to know what happened to your face."

"You're right, it is none of your business." She tried to get the courage to push past him, but her timid nature wouldn't let her.

"Okay… Why do you always sit alone?"

"I like my solitude."

"Why do you wear your hood?"

"So people don't ask me questions."

"Then you admit you are hiding the bruises?"

"No. I have nothing to hide. I don't know what you think you saw-"

"I'm not stupid, Lily. Is everything okay at home?"

"It's fine." She said unconvincingly, looking down at her feet.

"Really? Because if it's not-"

"Everything is fine. I have to get home before my uncle." She managed to get out of the corner and raced home. She had lost valuable time and needed to start dinner. It had to be something quick and easy to make… She started cooking the noodles and making the sauce. She had just set the bowl of spaghetti down on the counter when Uncle Ben walked in.

"I hope dinner is actually ready tonight." He growled.

"Yes."

When Uncle Ben had his fill, he left to go drink. Lily wasn't hungry, but knew she had to eat. She was starting to lose weight from several skipped meals and the gym teacher, Coach Hedge, was noticing. On her last weight/height measurements, he looked worried. When she had eaten an acceptable amount of dinner, she cleaned up and did her homework. There was only one more day of school this week and she was ready for the weekend.

A/N

Leo is starting to figure things out! What will he do next? Read on to find out!