'Hey Claire, could I take you up on that offer for some tutoring help for Algebra? This new chapter has me completely confused...'

I stared at the text and then deleted it immediately before letting my face crash into my pillow with a groan. "Can I just take my failing grade with dignity? Because nothing says 'Hey, I'm an idiot!' to someone more than being confused over quadratics." I heard a laugh lightly come from the little grey walkie talkie that laid beside me.

"Dude, you're treating this like you're asking her on a date more than asking her for help."

"Shut up, Tobes."

"I'm just saying! I can tell you like her but damn Jimbo. Seriously though, just ask her for help. What's the harm of having more time to hang out with your crush?"

The idea that if she spends more time with me, she might get too close and see something she shouldn't.

"The idea that she'll see how stupid I really am."

"She's your partner for most of the scenes you have to do in Advance English, right? If she thought you were stupid, she wouldn't partner with you."

I sighed lightly and weighed the ideas within my mind.

On one hand, I would get better grades in math plus the idea that I would spend more time with Claire. On the other though, I might have to come up with bullshit excuses to leave randomly to go take down trolls, or more probable, they'll show up where ever I am and decided to play the 'Time To Test The Trollhunter's Patience' game. Human witnesses be damned.

"Just asked her already! Miss Janeth needs you to pass anyway. You can't fail more than one quarter to be apart of the play."

I groaned once more knowing that he was right. We just had a long conversation saying the requirements for being apart of the cast and how Miss Janeth stopped me after Algebra to basically state 'I want to cast you and I will but you need to bring up your grade'.

"Fine. I'll do it."

I typed up the same message and sent it before I could regret it.

"Mission complete."

"Congratulations Agent Lake! You grew some balls! I bet she'll reply in about five minutes."

We both went silent when our small laughter was interrupted by a ding.

"Or less, I guess."

'Totally! I'm free this Friday but I hope you're okay with little ones. I have to babysit my little brother.'

"See! No harm no foul."

I laughed at myself with how stupid the whole situation was.

Maybe I can have some form of normalcy within my life. Just the tiniest of a bit of being a normal teen with normal teen problems.

"Hey, Atlas! Come on in!"

I walked through the door with a smile. The bright light of her house was welcoming due to how it was already dark within the streets of Arcadia.

These last few days went by faster than I could ever expect. Blame it on the rising numbers of goblins in the area. I should not be here at the moment. I should be building a plan on how to figure out what the Janus Order is planning on doing. A sharp increase in numbers always meant they had something up their sleeve. Never know what though.

But here I am. Being selfish to a small degree. It might not be small if my assumption is right.

"Hey, Claire. Thank you for this."

"No problem!" She had a smile plastered on her fast as she shut the door. "Follow me. We can set up everything in the living room." I put my hand in my pocket and followed her willingly. I felt my fingers dance over the amulet.

Forget about being Trollhunter for a small bit. Come on, Atlas. Just relax. Be normal for a couple of hours. Nothing will be harmed. Blinky said that due to the sun setting earlier, then he can have a couple of trolls to keep a lookout. Nothing will go wrong.

I dropped my bag next to the table and was rather frightened with I heard the sound of a light giggle. I didn't let it show through as I turned slowly to see Claire playing with an infant dancing lightly in its holder.

"Dad. What's with the baby?"

"He was chosen."

"Like how I was chosen?"

"Yes, young Atlas. But for a destiny not as glorified. He will be familiar."

"Atlas?"

I shook my head lightly as I was pulled back into the realm of reality. "Yeah?" I looked over at Claire with a smile to try to make it seem as if nothing had just taken over my mind. I could tell she was worried.

"Are you okay? You kind of seemed distant for a moment." My smile faded slowly to just a flat line and shrugged lightly.

"Yeah. I just remembered something. No big deal."

"Was it about your dad?"

Oh yeah. I told her about Strickler.

I felt my hand grip at the edge of the amulet in my jeans pocket.

Not everything about him though.

I looked back at her and gave her a small smile to try to reassure her. "Yeah, but it's nothing. I promise. I'm guessing that's your brother?" I saw her worried look quickly change to that of a smile. She walked back over to him and lent down to place a hand on his cheek.

"Yep. Mi hermanito Enrique. Isn't he just the cutest?" I nodded silently as her smile just seemed to shine at just the thought of the little being. It's obvious she had only pure love for her brother.

Sweet Deya's Grace I think she melted my heart with that.

I watched how the infant grabbed onto her hand with a toothless smile and a giggle. His blonde little curl above his head bounced as he reached for her touch.

"What are you going to do with him?"

"He will be taken, but safe. Do not threat. He will be protected."

"Why don't we just give him back to his family once we have his familiar made?"

"It's not that simple, Atlas. You are too young to understand."

"So! The parabolas are the things giving you the issue right?"

The next morning, I was taking a run at dawn to try to clear my head over my memories from the day prior.

Goblins were a huge part of collecting familiars for the Janus Order. They kidnapped humans and brought them to Strickler after their names were chosen from an ancient artifact from changeling history. A sharp increase of goblins could only mean one thing.

They're getting more familiars.

More changelings are coming.

I stopped at a random corner I couldn't care to recognize to catch a couple of shaky breathes.

They're going to take more children. That is the only thing that has been doing for generations now. Infants preferably. How am I suppose to explain this to Blinky?

I looked up to the sky and put my hands on my hips as I continued to take deep breathes to calm my now frantic nerves. I was able to calm down slightly. That was until I saw a familiar figure crawl across a telephone wire.

Goblins. In fucking daylight.

Eh, more like a sunrise.

I ran down the street toward the same direction the goblin was fleeing. I knew my amulet was within my jogger's front pocket like always so I knew that if I could get to a secluded area, I could slay the goblin in needed. Until then, the chase was on.

After a few minutes, the goblin crawled down a telephone pole which allowed me to gain a couple of feet to catch up with the small being and for it to be obvious that it was carrying a small cloth bundle.

"Stop right there you little green snot!"

I watched as the goblin looked over at me and its eyes grew wide. It decided at this point that it would dash off into the woods area not far from where it was standing. I growled lightly and continued to chase after it.

"Come back here!"

I grabbed out the amulet and within seconds after I dove into the woods, I was covered in the armor I knew too well. I watched how the goblin skid to a stop and drop the bundle it was carrying before fleeing on its own. Probably figured that he wouldn't have been able to flee alive if it still carried the extra weight. Especially after it seemed to acknowledge that it was being chased by the Trollhunter. I let the amulet fall off and the armor disappears as I walked up to the bundle of cloth.

At least some of the little green slime buckets aren't completely incompetent. Some are actually quite clever.

I knelt down to gather the small cloth but realized quickly that it was moving. I hesitantly pulled a part of the cloth back to be welcomed by a small face that I saw not long ago and a toothless grin I only saw given once.

Enrique.

"Master Atlas, may I ask what is within that yellow fabric you are carrying?" Blinky approached questionably and then was frantic soon after he witnessed the object moved slightly. "Great Deya's Grace! What is the meaning of this? Master Atlas, I implore you to explain!"

"I chased after a goblin before I came here. It was dawn and I was on a run so I figured it must of not of been for any good reason for them to be out in near daylight. It dropped it before I could actually capture him. I believe it was for the Janus Order." Blinky looked at me with slight fear. It was obvious he knew what I was implying. He pulled back the little hood I created for the infant and then backed away slowly.

"It's a child." His face dropped. "They are collecting familiars."

I nodded. "The problem is, I can't just give this one back to the family without being easily noticed. Not at this time of day. I also can't just hide him within my home due to my mother basically having the ability to know if a baby is within the five-mile radius. So I brought him here for now."

"You know who he belongs to?"

I nodded once more. "I know his sister." I looked back down at Enrique and I played back the moment of Claire placing her hand upon his face with the pure love that flowed within the moment. "But I can't just give him back in broad daylight without repercussion. Especially since now they are going to continue to try to get the infant to the changelings. They will not stop until he is in the dark lands and the new changeling is placed within their new home. They believe it's like that of when a Trollhunter is chosen by the amulet."

"So, he needs to be hidden?"

"Yes. To keep him safe as well as lower the Janus Order's moral."

Blinky lifted one of his hands to rub at his chin. He was obviously in deep thought over the idea. Yes, it was a baby, but a human within Troll Market beside me was never heard of. It took the trolls years to get used to the idea of a human Trollhunter. They would start questioning my ethics if it was known that the infant was within their only place of safety from humanity.

But it was needed.

It has to be done.

"I have a hidden room within my library. We could use that as a nursery for now. He will need substance that if non-harmful for his age to consume. Other than that, as long as he is kept out of sight, I see no harm in him being with me and AAARRRGGHH." I nodded along with his plan.

Perfect. He'll be safe within Troll Market.

"Thank you, Blinky. I know it's rather dangerous if found out, but it's unsafe for the Janus Order to have him. Not just for him. But for us as well. They cannot continue to climb in numbers."

"Agreed. But he is your responsibility. I have not idea on how to treat your kind's offspring. I know they are similar to troll infants, but we are rather, rough, with ours."

"Please don't state it like that. You make it sound like he's an animal. Also, his name is Enrique."

"Well, Enrique, welcome to your temporary home."

That Monday, I was pretty sure the tiredness that wrecked my body was obvious under my eyes. The cast list was announced this morning in second hour, but even getting the part of Romeo was not enough to get me energized. Even Toby noted that I looked like I ran a marathon, got into a fight, and then stayed up till four.

Note to self, children who don't have their stuff animals cry. So. Fucking. Much.

With that in mind, I didn't think anyone else within the moment could have it worse than me. That was until I saw Claire.

She wasn't within first hour but seemingly appeared not long after since she came to history without a hitch. But it was obvious she was tired as well. Her eyes had a dark purple tone to them under her eyes so it was obvious she was lacking rest. Once the bell rang, I made it my mission to approach her.

"Hey, Claire. Are you alright? I didn't see you in English." She yawned in reply and gave me a frown.

"Enrique's missing. My family and I have been looking nonstop since Saturday morning when mom realized he wasn't in his crib. Even the police have no idea what could have happened. All we know that the window was open and there was no evidence at all. Not even a shoe print!" She opened her locker and ended up leaning on the locker door. "I didn't show up for first hour because I convinced my mom to let me help the search party again this morning. But she ended up talking to my dad and they both decided that it was best for me to go to school and try to keep my mind off of worrying." She yawned once more. "But even the cast announcement can't help me get my mind off mi hermano."

I frowned and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry for what you're going through. I'm sure he's alright." I watched her give me a sleepy smile and place a hand on my forearm.

"Thanks, Atlas. It means a lot."

I wish I could tell her that he was really alright. That he was in the right hands, but I knew how that would go over. It wouldn't look good at all if out of nowhere I showed up in front of her with her little brother. I know for a sure fact that it wouldn't go well at all if I just brought her to come to see him. I wish I could though. It seemed like the idea of this possible loss was draining her from the inside out.

"You should get some rest though. I don't think Enrique would like it if you were running yourself empty. Also, if not, I will annoy you to hell until you do." I heard her laugh lightly.

"Wasn't this like something that I said to you?"

"Always have to practice what you teach, Nuñez."