Wow. That was way faster than I expected. Thanks to all the reviewers!

And just so you guys know, I might change some of the events in the book to fit the mood of the oneshot. Which is probably always going to be sad or depressed in some way.

Children

These people around him, he thinks in disdain, are all children. Even though some of them are older than him, they are still mere children in his eyes. They are silly, naive, delusional, gullible, and just plain stupid. Exactly like children.

And every day, surrounded by these foolish children, in order to "blend in", he pretends to be one of them.

Despite the fact that a child is the one thing he's not.

No child has seen their mother die right in front of them.

No child has stood by helplessly as their mother fell to the ground, and lie there, unmoving and blank, and most of all, dead.

No child has had their sister, their only family, tell them she chose to leave them to join a band of partially immortal teenage girls (The Hunters. What a stupid name).

No child has ever experienced the intense, crippling pain of hearing that their sister died fighting for those so-called Hunters.

No child has plotted murder to save their traitor of a sister, who they still love so much, too much.

No child has ever had to see a chance to bring their stupid, selfish, beloved sister back and force themselves not to.

Indeed, Nico di Angelo is anything but a child.

Because children are happy.

He isn't.

Children are loved.

He isn't.

And children are innocent.

He most certainly isn't.

He knows that some monsters can never be defeated.

He knows that there are some prisons that you can never escape from.

He knows that not every story has a happy ending.

And now that he's no longer a child, he knows that no one will be able to save him from the monster that is part of himself.

He knows that he will never be able to escape from the prison that is his endless pain and longing.

And he knows that his story, his twisted, corrupted, convoluted story will definitely not have a happy ending.

He watches the children around him, playing and joking and laughing, and being so happy and loving and innocent.

And just for a moment, all he wants is to be a child.

This time, I'll update again if I get 10 more reviews.