Hey y'all! Thanks so much to silverfox02029 and Tadashinfj for reviewing! You guys are the best!

Happy Halloween! Please review and this chapter is slightly violent btw…have an awesome day!

TADASHI

I wake up to the tap-tap-tap of footsteps coming down the hallway and sit up. Brittany's coming.

"Hiro," I hiss, shaking him awake. "Hide."

"Dashi?" Hiro mumbles, still half asleep.

"Get up. You gotta hide."

I shove Hiro behind a bed just as Brittany opens the door. I straighten up, trying to look innocent.

Brittany glares at me suspiciously. "What are you doing?"

"Making my bed," I say matter-of-factly.

For a moment, she looks like she might question it, but shuts her mouth.

"Fine." She surveys the room as if determined to find something wrong with it. "Carry on, then. And don't bother coming down for breakfast."

I glare after her as she leaves. The door slams and Hiro ducks his head out from under the bed.

"Is she gone?" he mouths.

I nod and pull him out.

"I'll get you some food," I tell him. "I can sneak some in."

Hiro nods and slinks back under his blankets. It's not as cold as it was last night, but the winters in our part of California are freezing. No one expects them to be, because it's beautiful, sunny California, but it gets subzero sometimes here.

I go downstairs for food, trying to act casual. Brittany may have told me not to, but I don't think she meant it. She won't notice if I take a few extra cinnamon rolls.

"What are all those for?" Brittany predictably asks when I start up the stairs with a plate of five cinnamon rolls.

I shrug. "I'm hungry."

She eyes me suspiciously for a moment before turning back to her coffee.

I rarely eat dinner at home. Brittany and Aaron have plenty of money, but Brittany doesn't waste a single penny on her worthless foster kids. The nights Hiro and I do get dinner, I give my portion to him because it's still not enough. I eat at the college cafeteria, but Hiro can't get lunch from school. Brittany won't put money in his account and I can't, and he doesn't qualify for free lunch because Brittany and Aaron have a high income.

"Tadashi?"

The voice makes me jump, and I almost drop my rather overfilled tray. I take some things home to save for later, but other times I'm just that hungry.

"Oh—hi, Honey," I stutter as I turn around. "What's up?"

She glances at my tray. "You must be hungry."

"Oh yeah." I try and fail to open a bag of chips. "I take a lot of it home. For Hiro."

She slides into the seat next to me. "Don't you eat at home?"

I gaze fixedly at the tray. "Not always."

She gives a little gasp, and a second later, I feel her arms wrap around my shoulders. I reach up to touch her hand—probably the most romantic gesture I've ever given a girl. I'm sixteen and I've still barely had any crushes. I've always been too busy looking out for Hiro.

"I'm so sorry," she whispers. "Is there anything I can do?"

"Honey, no, you don't—"

"I'll do anything you need me to. I'll get you some food," she interrupts. "Something easy to make." She grins. "Something you can't burn to ashes as soon as it gets in the microwave."

"Hey!" I yelp, mocking indignance.

Honey laughs. The bell rings and she dances away, waving to me.

The rest of the school day is uneventful. I pull my coat tighter around my shoulders as I walk home, shivering in the cold.

When I get inside, I immediately know something is wrong. Aaron's at work, but Brittany should be home. The kitchen and living room are empty, and I don't hear any of the music that Brittany usually plays when she's home.

I tiptoe cautiously up the stairs, my instincts telling me I shouldn't be heard. I don't know who or what is up there, but I don't think it's good.

Halfway up the stairs, an indistinct sound reaches my ears. I freeze on the steps and listen for it to come again. Several thuds, then a cry of pain.

Hiro.

I sprint up the remainder of the steps two at a time. She found him. I thought I made sure—

The door to mine and Hiro's room is wide open. Brittany is standing over Hiro, who is curled into a ball on the floor, his face a patchwork of bruises. His shirt hangs loose off one shoulder, revealing more bruising and a trickle of blood. A frying pan dangles from Brittany's hand.

Brittany turns toward me, breathing hard. Her gaze holds a fire that I know was directed at Hiro a minute ago.

"What are you doing?" I breathe.

"He needed discipline," she snarls, an echo of her words last night.

"Why?"

"Because he's an arrogant, disobedient little [bzzt]."

"You're an arrogant little bzzt!"

Her words are out of my mouth before I can stop them, although I actually make a buzzing sound rather than swear. Brittany's face reddens with anger. She rears back, and a second later, the frying pan crashes into my head. Stars burst in my vision and I crumple to the ground.

I hear the door slam and lock before my vision comes back. I stay on the floor for a few minutes, rubbing my head where a bump is already forming.

"Dashi?" Hiro coughs. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," I mumble, pushing myself up. "What about you?"

"I'm okay."

He coughs again. I crawl toward him, not willing to stand up yet.

Hiro sits up, and I can see the full extent of his injuries. The right side of his face is covered in bruises and bleeding below his eye. I've seen Brittany hurt him before, but never like this.

I glance at our shattered window and remember the promise Honey made, that she would help with anything we needed her to.

"We're running away," I tell Hiro. "Tonight."

I have to admire our efficiency that night when we run away. Hiro packs everything he owns in a backpack. I find it sad that he owns that little. He is wearing most of his clothes, though—two shirts, a hoodie, and a gray parka, plus a hat with a humongous pom-pom and a pair of fleece-lined winter boots. He doesn't have much in the way of warm pants, so he's doubling up on cargos. I, on the other hand, need less insulation, so all I have on is a T-shirt, a sweater, and a leather jacket. I'm also wearing the only leggings I own, which are lined with fleece. My backpack has even less stuff in it than Hiro's.

We toss our bags out the window with a couple of pillows and sleeping bags I got from the garage. At the last minute, Hiro goes back for his stuffed animals—a turtle, a duck, a calico cat, and a stuffed Baymax. I have only one—a teddy bear with the most unoriginal name ever. I've had Bear for sixteen years and he's in almost pristine condition. I took care of my stuffed animals when I was little. Bear was the only one I ever had.

Hiro slides out the window with only a little bit of difficulty due to the number of layers he's wearing. I have to squeeze but make it out fairly fast.

I help Hiro onto the moped and drive away. Away from Brittany. From the only home we've had for the last nine months.

I'm free.

We pull up to the one place I know we'll be safe—Honey's house. I park the moped, walk up, and knock on the door.

After a moment, it swings open to reveal Honey Lemon, her blonde hair tousled from sleep. I blush a little when I see that her ensemble consists of an oversized T-shirt and very, very short shorts. Must be nice to have heating.

"Tadashi?" she mumbles sleepily. "What are you doing?"

"Hey, Honey." I rub the back of my neck sheepishly. "We, um…we need somewhere to stay."

She yawns. "I thought you were in foster care."

"We were. We ran away."

She looks at me as if seeing me clearly for the first time—which I guess is somewhat accurate, as she's not wearing her glasses.

"You can crash on the couch tonight," she says. "I'm going back to bed."

She turns toward a hallway and walks away, muttering about weird dreams. I glance back at Hiro, who is waiting behind me with his stuff.

He shrugs. "I guess…go inside?"

I shrug too and step over the threshold. It's a nice house. And the couch is huge.

We dump our stuff in the living room and before I know it, I'm dead to the world.