Hey! So… yeah. In short, I wrote most of this in a few hours, but then I get this beautifully annoying thing called writer's block. And then I went to camp. And then I updated!

This story's plot is being revised and worked on, so it shouldn't be too long until I update.

I also have a new policy. I update a maximum of two days after receiving five reviews. It's not that challenging, but I literally WILL NOT update until then. I want to make sure people are actually reading and enjoying this. Otherwise, I would like to put my time into one of the other stories I'm in the middle of.

Enjoy!

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The storm was growing, expanding, gaining so much power that the wind was affecting his ability to run in a straight line.

The rain hadn't started yet, thank whatever god or the gods that were out there; it was too cold to get soaked. He needed to find Jason, calm him down, and find them shelter from the mother of all storms he was brewing.

He finally reached the tree line. Which hopefully wasn't attracting as much attention as when he'd been sprinting down the street with a gigantic bag full of clothes from the thrift store.

It was funny how the one thing he had power over was his greatest enemy at the moment. Getting wet was the worst thing that could happen to them besides getting caught or getting eaten by some wild animal. Thanks to freezing cold Virginia weather for making bathing a lethal thing.

Percy tried to ignore the dirt dusting him that had decided to make itself more prominent now that he'd thought about it. Unlike Jason, who bathed yesterday, he was nasty.

Even nastier then he'd been the first night they'd been on our own. After they'd ran away from their boys' home in New York.

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He was ten, and he's just been given back by his tenth foster home. He'd thought it was hilarious. Ten foster homes by the time he was ten.

His mother had died when he was little, four to be exact. He hadn't made an effort to be good since then. He didn't get in fights often or anything like that, but his grades were awful. But that wasn't because he was dumb, but because he had a hopelessly loose tongue and mouthed off every chance he got. His poor grades were due to "behavior in class."

He was now stuck in a boys' home, which was basically prison with the ability to go to school. A couple ran it, two ex-marines. They were as tough nails, and while Mrs. Connelly was compassionate, the love and warmth in the home wasn't staggering. They weren't the kind of parents that you saw on commercials. They had a giant wooden spoon hanging on the bathroom door. Like a spanking tool was an admirable trophy.

There were thirteen boys living there before Percy had arrived. Most of them had been there for years. Apparently this wasn't one of the homes where boys moved in and out constantly. That definitely made Percy want to straighten up; he didn't want to stay there forever.

His roommates were two buff and scary looking boys named Trey and Gabe. They were complete bullies, using the fact that their mothers mixed Miracle Grow into their formula when they were little to terrorize all the other fourth graders.

Even though Percy's normal instincts around people like that were to get into altercations and try to stand up for himself. But that was probably the worst thing he could do at Connelly's Home for Boys, so he watched himself.

But he couldn't help being a hero. He wasn't the only victim of Trey and Gabe's constant bullying. Whenever they messed with the other boys, he couldn't just stand back and control himself. His conscious wouldn't allow it.

That's why, after two weeks, he was the most troublesome of all the boys in Mr. Connelly's eyes. He was always sporting bruises, and got into fights with Trey and Gabe daily.

One night, after a particularly painful round of spankings, Mrs. Connelly came into his room. She sat on the edge of his bed and motioned for him to turn off his iPod and pull of his headphones. They were Percy's favorite form of pouting.

He did as she requested and uncrossed his arms. She never came up into their rooms. Maybe they were sending him away.

"Percy, I know you're a good kid. A great one as a matter of fact," Percy's eyebrows raised. This wasn't the speech he'd expected. "Which is why I want to hear your side of the story. I want to know from your point of view why you're always fighting with Trey and Gabe."

He took a deep breath, "They're bullies. I don't care that they pick on me, but I'm not going to ignore when they're mean to other people."

She smiled and looked down. "You know what? I had the feeling you'd say something like that. But I need to make sure that you aren't lying. Who do they bully?"

He looked her straight in the eyes. He'd read that it makes you seem manlier when you make eye contact. "Thomas, Neil, Caleb and Jason."

"Why do you think they pick on them?" she asked honestly. Percy liked that she was speaking to him like an adult. It made him feel almost professional as he reported all the people Trey and Gabe picked on.

"Because of Thomas's glasses, because of how Neil dresses, because of all those comics Caleb reads, and because Jason doesn't talk." He thought about it. "And because of Jason's nightmares."

For the first time, He heard Mrs. Connelly swear. He jumped; Mr. Connelly had an extremely dirty mouth, but Mrs. Connelly wasn't the swearing type. "Thanks Percy. And I'll have my husband lift your grounding. You're a good kid."

She smiled and shut the door behind her.

Percy fell backwards and smiled at the ceiling. He was a good kid. No one else had ever said that without the words "I know" in front of them.

It felt good to be thought of as good.

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Percy hugged the giant bag to his chest as he ran. It was catching on branches and slowing him down. Normally he would just drop it and come back later to find it, but he knew that they wouldn't find it again. This was the fourth storm Jason had caused here, plus the two Percy had been responsible for, they'd get caught if they didn't move along.

Percy expected to find Jason screaming, or at the very least injured in some way. Both of their powers only seemed to show up when they were emotionally strained.

But he was just sitting against a tree, his eyes closed, with no sign of anything being even remotely wrong. He looked fine.

Until Percy got close enough to make out the way his teeth were gritted, how hard his hands were shaking and the dried tear tracks.

"Jason?" he yelled over the whirling wind.

"Sorry," Jason murmured through his teeth. "I can't help it."

Percy shook his head and started gathering their stuff together, tossing all of their belongings into his backpack including all of the clothes he just bought. "What is it?"

"Nothing," he opened his eyes and pulled himself to his feet. He winced as he straightened his neck and ran his hand over his face. "I just fell asleep."

Percy tried to write a mental memo to remember to ask about it later. But for now they needed to get moving. Soon. "We have to get moving, unless we want to turn into human popsicles."

Jason nodded and grabbed the bag of clothes from Percy before he could protest. "You've got your backpack. I can carry this."

They started running after they made sure there was nothing in their little campsite that could be traced to them. Jason removed all of the unsalvageable items from his backpack, and slipped the much lighter bag over his shoulders.

And that was when the sky decided to finally split open with a loud crack.

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So? Good? Bad? Let me know! If the reviewing thing works out, I'll dedicate my full attention to this story.

Thanks for reading and reviewing!

~Ann