Author Notes: First off, thanks for the reviews! Glad people have been intrigued. :) In answer to one question from Ketsueki-Ken, no, Amery isn't working for Chronus. At least not yet. ;) But I don't want to give anything away!

Odie was breathing heavily as he finally got back to the Brownstone, his heart racing and his lungs pumping. Or at least it felt like they were. It felt as though his rib cage were going to shatter under the pressure of his expanding lungs. But the rate at which they depleted took the strain off. So instead of actually cracking, his ribs just kept feeling as though they were being kicked from the inside. Perhaps it was a sign that he needed to work out more.

"Alright, way to go, Odie! I actually didn't expect you to make it all the way." Archie clapped a hand on Odie's shoulder, congratulating him.

Odie nodded, still too out of breath to speak. He simply sat down on the steps, or tried to, before Atlanta grabbed his hand and pulled him up. "Oh no you don't, after that run you shouldn't stop right away; it's not good for your heart. Here, walk around with me for a minute, give your body a chance to slow down." Atlanta put an arm around Odie's shoulders, not really giving him a choice in the matter.

Archie watched on in annoyance, aggravated that his attempt to be supportive, at least in his own way, had been ignored by Atlanta. What use was it? He leaned against one of the columns at the base of the stairs, stretching out his legs. It had indeed been a good run and he was itching to hit the shower. It was a good thing Neil hadn't come, so there wouldn't be much of a tie up in the guys' bathroom.

Jay stood by Theresa, also feeling great after the run. "It's too bad Neil didn't come, where did he say he was going?" He looked next to him at Theresa, who shrugged her shoulders.

"To the park to work on his tan." She laughed, shaking her head. "You know Neil; it's probably too hot out for him to do anything aside from lying in the sun and looking pretty." The two friends laughed and made their way inside along with the others. As they all made their way to their rooms, they decided that after taking showers and freshening up, perhaps they'd follow Neil's idea and take a much needed afternoon of fun at the beach.

Meanwhile, Neil and Amery were sitting on the shaded patio of one of New Olympia's nicest restaurants. Neil loved to dine at the trendiest places; since he was a little on the famous side, he didn't want to be captured somewhere embarrassing. The other patrons were all nicely dressed and well groomed, looking expensive. Of his six friends, only Theresa seemed to appreciate the finer things in life like nice restaurants. Neil frowned as he thought about the others; since they'd left the park, he'd been focused solely on telling his favourite modelling stories to Amery.

The waiter interrupted his thoughts though as their food was brought: a filet of rainbow trout in white wine sauce for Amery, and linguine with squid rings for Neil. Neil looked at his meal appreciatively, finding the smooth rings of seafood to be quite lovely. They were all perfectly shaped and smooth, as though they'd been buffed before being cooked to ensure no imperfections were seen. He picked up his fork and laid his napkin across his lap. Looking across the table at Amery, Neil smiled. "This was a good idea, this looks excellent!"

Amery nodded, mimicking Neil's actions. "It does, this place is really nice! You must know all the right places to go here though."

"Oh, do I ever! I only go to the best places, after all. It wouldn't do to have someone photograph me at some, average place. It wouldn't do for my image, you know." Neil set about gathering a manageable fork full of food, savouring the great taste as he pulled it off his fork and into his mouth. The two boys shared pleasant conversation— mostly relating to Neil, of course, while they enjoyed their meal. Just as Neil never tired talking about himself, it seemed that Amery wasn't about to tire of hearing about the blond.

The new friends spent the better part of the late afternoon there, receiving their share of stares and giggles from girls walking by, who all tried to catch the pair's eyes. Neil didn't pay attention to half of them, so engrossed in his stories, and Amery paid attention to none of them, too engrossed in Neil. Finally the boys left the restaurant, walking the streets downtown. Neil pointed out the only acceptable places to shop or visit in the city, and Amery listened with rapt attention. Finally as the evening began to grow dark, the boys made their way back toward Neil's neighbourhood.

"So, where do you live, anyway?" Neil asked Amery, wondering if it was close by.

"Not too far, only three blocks away, actually. It's nice that we're so close, right?" By now Amery had gotten over his shyness in speaking to Neil, though he still looked to the blond for reassurance at every comment.

Neil nodded, seeming to be quite happy indeed. "Excellent! Well, here I am, so now you know where to find me." Neil stopped before the home he shared with the six others, surprised that he'd managed to spend an entire day with this new friend of his and not find himself bored. It was a good sign.

"So, will I see you tomorrow, then?" The boys made plans to head to the beach the following day, since Neil hadn't quite gotten around to working on his tan today after all. Waving goodbye to Amery, Neil walked into the Brownstone with a wide smile on his face, finding the others sitting around the tv, watching a movie. It was something they did often on Saturday nights.

"So, he finally returns!" The group sniggered at Archie's comment, as Neil stood in the doorway to the living room. "Where've you been all day? Staring in a mirror?"

Neil ignored the jokes, as lame as they were, and the laughter. Instead he simply stared at his friends, no trace of bitterness on his face. There was a slight smug look to his expression, though. "I spent the day with a new friend of mine. We went out for a late lunch at a nice restaurant, and then we walked around town and talked."

The rest of the group looked a little surprised at the direct answer, not knowing exactly what to make of it. While Neil often bragged about his fans, he'd never mentioned a friend before. When had he developed this friend?

"Oh, who's the friend?" Jay inquired politely, curiosity strong.

"Oh, nobody you'd know." Neil replied, sounding entirely too pleased with himself. His friend's confused reactions were so far right on track. He wanted them to ask questions.

"Oh really?" Archie responded to Neil's bait, a bit of annoyance souring his voice. Of the whole group, Archie usually reacted the most strongly to Neil's attitude.

"Oh indeed, Archie. He comes from a higher class of society, after all. He probably wouldn't associate with common people." Well into his usual routine now, Neil pulled out his mirror, flipping it open and checking his hair. Perfect.

"Oh come on; let's just get back to the movie. If Neil's new friend is so above us, then maybe we'll be lucky and he'll keep Neil occupied and out of our hair." Atlanta nudged Archie, who laughed and nodded his head at her comment. Teasing Neil was one subject he could always count on Atlanta to pick up on.

Neil glanced away from his mirror, shooting a glare Atlanta's way. That wasn't the kind of reaction he'd been expecting! "Maybe I will spend more time with him! He appreciates me and my talent." At this comment his six friends could barely suppress their laughter, obviously taking exception to the comment. Neil huffed loudly and turned his back, making his way to his room. He slammed the door behind him, feeling very annoyed with his house mates. They were supposed to be jealous and curious! He should have been fending off their questions now, instead of sulking on his bed. Looking into his mirror once again, Neil couldn't understand how they could possibly continually tease him the way they did. Everyone else seemed to obsess over him, why were they acting so different?

Back in the living room, Jay had watched Neil stalk off, a little surprised. Usually the blond would have made a quick retort back to Atlanta, but for some reason he had acted differently tonight. Now Jay was even more curious about this friend of Neil's. Looking over at Atlanta and Archie, Jay frowned. "Guys, that's enough picking on Neil. It seemed to bother him."

Atlanta rolled her eyes at Jay's comment. "Oh come on, if it did bother him, it's about time! Maybe now he'll think twice before acting so arrogant again."

"I agree with Atlanta! Neil brings it on himself, Jay. If you're so worried about him, why don't you go play counsellor and find out what's eating him?" Archie jumped on the opportunity to agree again with his crush, hoping it would strengthen their bond.

"Maybe I should." Jay surprised the group by getting up and leaving the room, heading down the hallway that led to Neil's room. Theresa watched him go, feeling a little guilty. Maybe Neil had been upset over their abrupt actions this morning, leaving without asking him what his plans were. She hadn't exactly been super kind to him either, she supposed. So it was with a pang of guilt that she returned her attention to the movie, hoping that Jay would sort out whatever was wrong with Neil.

The blond was currently lying on his bed, his compact held over him. He was looking at his eyes, ensuring each of his eyelashes were properly separated and shaped. They were always perfect, but one could never be sure. He was so engrossed in his act that he didn't notice when Jay knocked on his door. He finally looked up once he heard it open, looking in shock at Jay, who was standing there peering around the door.

"Neil? I knocked, but you didn't answer." When Neil didn't shoo him out of the room, Jay entered, closing the door behind him and walking over to Neil's bed and sitting down. "Is everything okay?" Jay couldn't help but shake the feeling that Neil had changed somewhat, that he could see something different in Neil's face tonight.

"I'm fine. Just a little tired of not being appreciated." Neil returned his attention to his mirror, going back to his eyes.

Jay watched his friend for a moment in silence, not knowing what to make of him. "We do appreciate you, Neil—"

"Oh please, no one appreciates me on this team! I'm just someone to have around for amusement, or to use as bait! Admit it, Jay. You don't think I'm useful." Neil said all of this with little emotion, more as though he were making a simple observation instead of a complaint about the way he was treated.

"That's not true! You're highly useful—"

Neil interrupted him before he could go any further. "Name one time I did something useful to the team." Not quite sure why he was suddenly pressing Jay, as usually the leader's attempt at assuaging his wounded ego by declaring him useful would have been enough.

Jay looked surprised, as though he obviously hadn't been expecting Neil to demand examples. "Well, that time with the ants—"

"Pure luck." Neil didn't look up from his mirror as he answered.

"Medusa—"

"Luck." Neil continued to respond to every example Jay gave him by quoting that it hadn't been any skill at all of his, that it was only due to his being so lucky.

"Well then that's the point, Neil! You're lucky. Luckier than anyone I've ever known. Your luck is highly useful; we'd have been stranded numerous times without it." Jay was beginning to grow a little frustrated at Neil's behaviour; it was so unlike him.

Neil didn't respond right away, but instead gazed into his mirror, entranced by his reflection. Then he finally snapped it shut and looked at Jay. "Sometimes luck runs out. What then?" He was unusually moody in his response; unusual in the way he was now pushing Jay, waiting to see him if he would continue fighting their verbal battle or give up.

Jay was confused, to say the least. Neil always spent hours talking about his skills and positive traits to any foolish enough to engage him, but now it was as though his confidence in himself had all but disappeared. Jay regarded him curiously as he went about formulating an answer. "Then we deal with it as a team. There's more to you then just luck, Neil. Even though you don't always show it, you do have good fighting skills."

"But I hate fighting, Jay. I'm not meant for that kind of lifestyle, not like you or Theresa, or any of the others. I'm not supposed to be a fighter. I'm only training in case something ever happens and none of you are there to save me." His eyes focused on Jay, Neil's gaze was piercing and intense. He didn't feel particularly intense at the moment; he didn't really feel much of anything. He was just growing tired of Jay's questions.

Jay was quiet then, simply watching Neil, their eyes locked. Though he'd been slightly intimidated by the sudden intensity behind his friend's gaze, it was more due to surprise. Neil looked angry, though he didn't sound angry. It was all quite confusing to Jay. Finally deciding that he was getting nowhere, Jay stood up. "Alright then, if that's the way you feel. I'm going back out with the others; are you going to come, or stay here?" He hoped Neil would come with him, he didn't feel comfortable leaving the blond alone to his thoughts at the moment.

To Jay's displeasure, Neil shook his head. "No, you go. I'll stay here with the only person in this house who appreciates me. Goodnight, Jay." With that said Neil picked up his mirror again and flipped it open, which was as good a sign of dismissal as any. He didn't once look up as Jay left his room and pulled the door shut, focusing only on his own reflection. "No one understands you, Neil. No one appreciates you." He spent the remainder of the night lying on his bed, his eyes watching his reflection. Unlike his usual actions, Neil wasn't happily checking his reflection from different angles, constantly reassuring himself that he was just as beautiful as he always was. This time he simply stared at himself, his heart growing heavy and his lips frowning. A cloud of darkness had settled over his usually joyous nature and it wasn't appearing to let up anytime soon.

As Neil remained in his room Jay returned to the others, retaking his seat on the armchair, but with a frown upon his face. The others didn't notice, they barely even acknowledged his return. He tried to watch the movie but just couldn't get into it, too worked up over Neil's strange reaction to his questions. He badly wanted to go to the school and speak to Hera; hopefully she could put his mind at ease. Instead he remained on the chair, determined to try and figure everything out before approaching her about it. If Neil's mood hadn't returned to normal by Monday, he would speak to his mentor then.

When the movie ended he took the opportunity to slip quietly out of the room, leaving the others to quick debate about which movie they would watch next. He opened the front door of the house and sat on the steps, curiosity gnawing at him. He was so focused on his thoughts that he didn't hear the door open behind him.

"Jay? What happened with Neil?" Theresa had noticed Jay leave the room and with a quick glance at the others, had followed him. His behaviour was causing her to worry. She sat down beside him on the steps, hoping that he would confide whatever was bothering him to her.

"I don't know, Theresa. He's acting really weird." Not elaborating yet, Jay's attention was on a lone figure standing across the street. He'd noticed the man standing there as soon as he'd left the house and though he hadn't thought anything of him at the time, a few minutes had passed and he was still standing there, leaning back against the building under the lamplight. Jay couldn't see his face since he was wearing the hood up on his sweatshirt, pulled down low enough to keep his face hidden in shadows.

Theresa, however, had focused all her attention on Jay. "What happened? Was he upset about this morning?" As the movie had gone on, Theresa had only felt increasingly guiltier. While they always teased Neil and treated him differently than they did each other, she'd never really given thought to how Neil might feel about it. He always seemed so wrapped up in himself.

Jay finally tore his eyes away from the figure for a moment, glancing at Theresa. "I don't know. He just kept saying that he was tired of not being appreciated. He just seems, less confident about his place in the team as usual. He actually asked me what would happen if his luck ever ran out." Jay looked back across the street, noting with a feeling of unease that the figure remained where it was standing.

"He said that? That's definitely not like our Neil. That's really strange. Do you think it has anything to do with that new friend of his?" Theresa was shocked at Neil's response to Jay's questions. She had never once heard him speak about himself in a manner that wasn't completely egoist.

"I don't know. We'll have to meet the guy, I guess. Maybe Chronus has something to do with it after all." Jay couldn't stop staring at the figure across the street, his sense of unease rising. Who was the guy, and why was he just standing there? "But maybe it's nothing, and Neil is just having a moment, or something. I'll talk to Hera about it if he's still acting strange on Monday. It might be nothing." Though he didn't believe for a moment that it was nothing, Jay also didn't want to raise too much suspicion. He knew Theresa would have picked up on his worry whether or not he'd told her anything, but he didn't want the others to pick up on it. "Make sure this stays between us, okay?"

Theresa nodded at Jay's request, finally looking over across the street to try and figure out what he was staring at. She felt the same sense of unease about the hooded figure. After staring at him for a moment she suddenly clutched at her head, making a slight noise of discomfort. A vision. It was dark and there, in the middle of a circle of trees, was a ring of stones encasing a pool of water. There was no movement, no ripple in the breeze. Only inky blackness. She shook her head as she was roused out of the vision, finally feeling Jay's hand on her shoulder.

"Theresa? What did you see?" Jay had witnessed enough of her episodes by now to know when the red head was having a vision. Now he waited patiently for her to put it in her own words.

"I don't know, it's foggy, Jay. There was water, though. I think." Frustrated that she couldn't remember exactly what she had seen, Theresa frowned and once again looked across the street. The hooded figure was gone.

Jay looked up when Theresa did; also noticing that finally the man had left. There was no sign of him though, so it was unknown where he'd gone. As uneasy as Jay had felt looking at the figure, he felt even more on edge now that he was gone. Grabbing Theresa's arm Jay pulled her up and with him, back into the house. Once they were safely inside the protected dwelling, their eyes met. "You felt it too, didn't you?"

There was no need for Jay to explain what he was talking about, Theresa knew. "I wonder who that guy was. I wonder if he caused my vision." The two stood silently at the door for some time, neither saying anything more. Finally when they looked at one another again, they agreed to keep the vision silent until Monday, at which point they would discuss it with Hera. For now they separated and went to their rooms, both pondering what had just occurred.

Meanwhile in his room, Neil had fallen asleep with his mirror still before him. It was an unpleasant sleep, in which he kept tossing and turning, murmuring silently about being unappreciated, but never waking. After a few hours of restless sleep he finally drifted off to a quiet slumber, his mirror still held in his hands.

Author Notes: Next chapter, the gang will meet Amery! But what will they think of him? And will Neil still be feeling all morose and worthless? You'll just have to wait and see. ;)