It was after one in the morning when Matilda reached her destination.

Looking up at the run-down apartment before her, she pursed her lips as she thought of who she was about to see. It wasn't her original plan to come to the Acadia Apartment Complex, but since her encounter with the men an hour ago, Matilda knew it was a better choice than hiding from cops all night.

She hesitated before entering the shabby building. Is it worth it? she asked herself.

It had been quite a hassle getting to her current position in Jump City. After leaving the green boy in the rain she'd run as far as she could from the police cars. Positive that someone, whether it was the boy, the woman, or the thugs, would describe her, she couldn't take the chance of staying in the area.

In a slight panic, the soaking wet girl had sprinted past the stinky bar in the direction she had come from. She'd ducked down a few side streets before ending up in a small alley. From a relatively clean corner, stashed under a sheet of plastic Matilda had pulled out her worn and ragged backpack. The alley was supposed to be her 'house' for the night, and she'd left it briefly to go for a walk.

After retrieving the dark green bag from its hiding spot she'd continued to run. Several times she had to duck behind dumpsters or parked cars as the cops had cruised by. Though the darkness and heavy rain helped keep her hidden from sight, she was still on edge.

An hour later, after evading several cars and pedestrians, Matilda now stood before the decrepit apartment building brooding over her options. In all honesty she didn't want to walk up those stairs, but what choice did she have?

Come on, Matilda, she reasoned. You're tired, wet, freezing cold, and you can feel your nose starting to plug up!

With a sigh that left a cloud of vapour in the air, she readjusted the straps of her backpack and walked in.

The building was disgusting, to say the least. The small doorstep that faced the street was covered in sticky substances, glass and some other things Matilda didn't want to look at. Before she even got inside the girl was repulsed. After pulling open the first door, which was barely attached to its hinges, she crossed to the second. This one required a key or someone upstairs to let you in, but the metal latch seemed stuck in the 'out' position, keeping the door from shutting.

She would have laughed at the irony of the safety door unable to close properly, but the smell made her afraid to open her mouth. The brief times that she inhaled, Matilda caught a whiff of alcohol, human waste, and something rotten. It made her stomach churn.

Taking a tiny breath she looked at the directory of rooms. Scanning as fast as she could she found the name and number she was after; R. Haffort 303.

Lungs bursting for air now, Matilda ripped the second door open and sprinted for the stairs. Only when she reached the third floor landing did she stop to breathe. The stench wasn't as bad here, so she took huge gulps of air before stepping into the third floor hallway.

Walking across the uneven floor covered in a threadbare carpet, Matilda shoved her hands in her pockets. The first door on her right held the dirty bronze numbers 303. Matilda stared at them for a moment.

She felt a strange emotion course through her. It wasn't fear, Matilda hadn't felt fear in years. It was apprehension. It was an interesting feeling, she had to admit. As much as she knew that her only choice at the moment was to knock on that door, she would rather spend another night on the street. The last time she'd seen her was five years ago, and the memories she had weren't fond ones. Her aunt was exactly like the rest of her family, and that included Matilda's mother.

In a small effort to make herself seem less homeless than she actually was, Matilda combed through her curly hair with numb fingers. Now that the adrenaline had worn off she truly felt how cold and exhausted she was. Her feet felt like lead and it was a great struggle to keep upright. Her entire body was drained of energy. Shivering violently in her soaked bunnyhug she brushed off the largest clumps of mud and prepared herself.

Wiping her face of all emotion, Matilda knocked softly on the door.

There was silence for a moment, nothing but the hum of the light down the hall. Then from behind the door came the sound of footsteps. They were even and light, the walk of someone steady on their feet, not the sloppy, heavy thuds of someone who's drunk. Relaxing, Matilda knew that her cousin would answer the door.

With a soft creak the door opened a few inches, revealing the tired face of Brady Haffort.

"Hey, Haffort," Matilda said quietly. She was careful to keep her emotions hidden. Exhaustion, nerves, the headache and plugged nose she had were all hidden for the moment. It was force of habit to hide everything, even around people she trusted.

The door opened wider and her large, blonde cousin leaned against the door frame. He answered her in the same low voice, face a carefully controlled mask, "Hey, O'Brien."

"Where's your mom?" Leaning to the side slightly Matilda saw a sliver of the interior of the apartment. Horridly bare with nothing but a couch in the front room, she tried to locate her aunt. The couch was turned away from the entrance, so she couldn't see if anyone was passed out there.

"Rita's on the couch," he answered bitterly with a nod behind him. "What are you doing here, Matilda?"

"Look, I need your help, alright? You remember the deal we made when we were kids."

"Course I remember," he told her in a gentler voice. "If one of us ever ran away we'd give food and help. But you ran away years ago, Matty," he said pointedly.

She glared at him. "First of all, don't call me Matty, I hate nicknames. Second, I am running away. Technically."

He scrutinized her for a moment, dark brown eyes searching her own for sincerity. Matilda shivered involuntarily and she wondered what she must look like. Half crazed? An addict of some kind? Most likely small and pathetic, especially since she was asking for help at one in the morning from a boy she hadn't seen in years. She couldn't decide if showing how vulnerable she felt would help her case or not.

"Wait on the stairs, I'll do what I can," he told her in a flat voice.

A few minutes had passed and Matilda was seated in the stairwell. She was breathing on her hands, trying to put some warmth back in them, when Brady came up behind her.

He sat down heavily on the same step and handed her a mug with some steaming drink. He also placed a towel, an old long-sleeved shirt and a pair of sweat pants beside her.

"Thanks," Matilda murmured. She took the cup and held it close with both hands. The hot exterior was a blessing to her frozen digits, and she inhaled the sweet aroma of tea. Feeling Brady's eyes on her she raised an eyebrow.

"Yes?" she said slowly, keeping her eyes on her tea.

"I'm wondering why you're at my apartment at one in the morning. Don't you ever sleep?" he said grumpily. He moved so he was lounging across the stairs. Matilda's eyebrows drew together. Brady wasn't this much of an asshole, was he?

"I just need help. I'm not asking for anything else, Brady."

Brady's head rolled lazily towards her. His eyes scanned her up and down quickly, like he was assessing her. Matilda got the first good look at him since she arrived. He was considerably larger than she remembered. Five years ago, when she was 11 and he was 12, Brady had been a thin, gangly boy. Now, he was a good head taller than her with shoulders that take up most of a door frame. At 12 he'd had a splash of freckles across his nose, but in the light of the stairwell she saw his skin was flawless and tanned. With the blonde hair and chiseled jaw he could pass as a surfer.

But the biggest difference Matilda saw in her cousin were his eyes. Memories from five years ago were slighty fuzzy, she hadn't had any use for them so they went in the back of her mind, but the one thing she remembered clearly was Brady had been an open little boy. Despite how terrible she knew Rita treated him, Brady had smiled and made jokes. While his eyes had held a deep sadness in them there was still kindness.

Now his brown eyes were empty as he asked her coldly, "Why are you here?"

"Well I'm sorry I'm such an inconvenience for you, Brad," she spat. "I didn't realize I was such an unwelcome person in your life."

He sat up. "Well I'd like an explanation about why you show up at my door looking like a druggie, asking for help. So until you explain yourself," Brady grabbed the dry clothes off the step. His expression was steely and cold. His brown eyes had a guarded look to them, there was no emotion. This wasn't the same boy she'd seen five years ago.

Looking at him with shocked eyes Matilda whispered, "What happened to you?"

His jaw unclenched a bit as he heard her words.

"What happened to the sweet little boy who would help anyone no matter what?" Her voice grew stronger. "I know we've never been the best of friends, but I thought we had an understanding; sometimes a person needs help. Period. It shouldn't matter why."

He ran a large hand through his blonde hair, which looked like it had been gelled back during the day. Her cousin exhaled heavily through his nose, making her think of a bull. His temper was like one, that's for sure.

"Look, things with Rita aren't that good at the moment," he said sharply, all the while staring only at her shoulder. Matilda couldn't help but think, Liar. Rita wasn't the cause of his behaviour,but she'd have to settle for a lie. "I'm sorry but I'd like to know why you're here."

"It's fine, Brady," she waved a hand at him. She took a long drink from her cup before adding, "But could I have those clothes? I promise I'll tell you what happened but I'm frozen."

He dropped the clothes beside her before sitting down himself. "Fine."

Matilda grabbed the clothes and stood on the landing behind Brady. Peeling off her dark grey sweater she started her story.

"I'm here because I got into a little trouble earlier this evening. I, uh, well I kind of beat up some guys."

"What?" Brady growled.

Matilda groaned, "They were bad guys, alright? They were after a woman. They dragged her into an alley and I stopped them before they could hurt her. After that happened though cops showed up. Someone must have phoned in that a meta-human was attacking people. I think about three cars showed up."

She purposefully left out that a green boy had shown up as well.

Brady swore under his breath, "We all know how uptight the cops are about rouge meta-humans. And it's not like you have a good reputation with the police either."

She pulled on the sweats then sat back down beside him, grateful to be in dry clothes. Tossing her jeans and sweater beside her backpack a few steps down, she picked up the towel. As she vigorously dried her hair she said grumbled, "I know, I know. That's why I'm here, the cops are all over Jump City looking for me."

"You can't stay, Matilda."

"I know. I wasn't going to ask to stay either. No offense but your mom is too much like mine."

"Don't you mean Rita is exactly like Ronda was?" Brady muttered. "I'm sorry she's dead by the way. I know this condolence is about three years late, but still."

Matilda was thoughtful for a moment. She decided to be truthful. "I really don't miss her you know. And no," she said forcefully. "I didn't cause her death. I haven't lost control of my powers in six years."

Her cousin nodded slowly. Then from down the hall behind them there was the sound of breaking glass and a drunken slurr, "Brady!"

"Sorry, Matilda. Rita's up, you should go. Now." Brady stood up and took her cup from her. "Keep the clothes, it doesn't matter."

Matilda stood up and shoved her sodden clothes in her backpack. Slinging it over her shoulders she made to run down the stairs but stopped. On impulse she turned as Brady was about to leave and grabbed his hand.

"Thanks, Brady." She squeezed his fingers, than disappeared down the stairwell.

OK, wow you guys I am so sorry! My computer broke last week and this has been done for a while but my stupid piece of technology won't turn on! I finally was able to get to the school library to publish this so it's here finally. To make it up to you I'm posting two chapters at a time. Soon as this one's up the next is right on the way!

Again, so sorry! Don't hate me or hunt me down with pitchforks?

-Lilly