Hi! I just realized that the first time I ever updated a story was last chapter so that's awesome for me! This is chapter three and I'm sorry it hasn't been put up sooner, but I hadn't started it before I posted chapter two. Enjoy anyway! Sorry for the wait, but you might just want to get used to it.

Nico POV

I was flopped on the bed that I was going to be sleeping while I was staying with the Jacksons. Their place was much, much nicer than a few places I'd been before.

I heard Percy walk out of the room and sigh. I guess he was kind of surprised at me. He seemed very hesitant around me, either like he was afraid of me or really cared what I thought about stuff. Maybe a bit of both, I wasn't really sure yet.

I heard the padding of paws as the Jackson's dog trotted into the room. She jumped up on the bed and placed her head on my stomach. I opened an eye and looked at her big brown eyes and lolling tongue. She looked so comical. It wasn't really an expression you would expect on such a big dog. I laughed al little as she squirmed on the bed and whimpered at me. I reached over and rubbed her head. She woofed at me and licked my face. "I honestly don't get why you like me so much. Usually animals run away in the opposite direction if I get any closer than twenty feet to them." Mrs. O'Leary snuffled and poked her nose a little closer to my face. I ruffled her ears and she gave me a big doggy grin.

Just then, Percy popped in and said, "Mom says that if you're hungry, dinner's ready. She made lasagna and salad." I grunted, really preferring not to talk. I wasn't quite ready to open up to these people. They weren't my family. I didn't think they ever would be.

Percy blinked at me, getting the hint that I wasn't going anywhere. He said, "Well, if you're sure…" and left. Mrs. O'Leary licked my face one more time and jumped off the bed, stepping on my stomach a few times. She padded out of the room after Percy.

I huffed and grabbed my sketchpad, flipping through countless drawings. I found a clean page and began roughing out the outline of a person. It started off as a picture of my sister Bianca, but then it started looking more like someone else. Stopping abruptly, I frowned at the drawing. I was trying to guess where this person had popped up in my mind. I sighed and just let my pencil move over the paper. My brain shut down, and the picture began to take on features, details, and personality.

About fifteen minutes later, I finished the last stroke and put down my pencil. I frowned at the drawing again and studied it. It was a picture of a girl, about fifteen years old—the same age as me—with black clothes. She had two leather belts crossed over her hips in an X. Her black skinny jeans were slightly faded, and had rips along the thighs and knees. Her shirt was emblazoned with the song cover for Holiday by Green Day. Her black leather jacket was unzipped, and the collar was turned up. She had heavy silver chains dangling form her belt, loosely looped across her hips. She wore beaten up black Converse. Around her neck was a black, silver studded choker. Her face was lightly freckled across the bridge of her nose. She wore thick, dark eye makeup, but it didn't look excessive or fake, just dark.

Even though the picture wasn't colored, I knew that she would have bright blue streaks at the front of her hair. I knew her skin would be pale. And, most importantly, I knew her eyes would be electric blue and stormy.

I stared at it for a few more seconds. I knew I had never seen this person before in my fifteen years of life. She was beautiful, but her eyes looked fragile and broken. She seemed like she'd been knocked down too many times, and didn't want to get back up again. But somehow she appeared brave and strong.

"Nico?" I jumped up immediately, reaching for my switchblade, acting purely on instinct that came from living on the streets. In the doorway stood Sally, and I relaxed, though not much.

"What?" I muttered. I wanted to be left alone.

She frowned a little bit at me. "Nico, please at least act like you're happy to be here. Please treat Paul, Percy, and me with respect."

I rolled my eyes and said slowly, "Uh huh. Sure." She furrowed her brow lightly, like she couldn't figure out why I was being so difficult. I thought it was obvious—I wanted to see how much she could take before giving me the boot.

"I came in here to tell you that if you get hungry in the middle of the night, we have leftover lasagna in the fridge," Sally said, sounding a little bit stern. "Are you planning on eating at all during your time with us?"

I replied coldly, "That depends on if I'm hungry or not. Right now I'm not, so don't try to force me to eat." I knew there was a slight undertone of a threat beneath my words, and Sally certainly picked up on it.

She gave me a warning glance and said, "Nico, we do not make threats in this household. Please remember that." She finally noticed my sketchpad and said, "You draw?" I nodded stiffly. She smiled at me, already forgetting I'd been rude. "That's lovely. I used to draw, but I'm afraid I've lost the skill needed to make a decent drawing." I made a small noise in the back of my throat. Sally sighed softly and said, "I know this must be difficult for you. But I really want you to be able to open up and feel like you're with your family." I looked down at my drawing.

Finally I spoke. "That's really nice and all, but I know the drill here. I know I'm gonna get the boot before the first month is up. That's just what happens with me." I paused for a second and glanced up at Sally's face. She looked slightly confused. I continued, "You might think you're different than the other families who've tried to take me in. You're not. I've got more problems than you think I do." Sally's mouth was slightly open, and her eyes were wide.

Just then Percy came trotting in. "Hi, Mom," he said casually, completely oblivious to the conversation that just took place. "Hey, Nico." Sally looked at her son.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

"Nah," Percy said. "I was just gonna grab some PJs and change awhile. I'm tired." Sally nodded.

"Alright." She stood and walked out of the room.

"Hey, Nico," Percy said to me. I turned my head just a little so I could see him out of my peripheral vision.

"Yes?"

"If you want, you can borrow some of my stuff. I noticed you've only got one other outfit." He turned to look at me. "And that doesn't look too comfortable to sleep in." I blinked. This was a little strange for me. Nobody had ever offered to lend me clothes before, and I wasn't sure if I was weirded out or touched. I think I was leaning more towards the "weirded out" side.

"I'm fine," I muttered.

Percy shrugged and said, "If you change your mind, I'm sure I can find something that'll work until we manage to get to the store." He pulled pajama pants and a T-shirt out of a drawer and trotted off to the bathroom. I sighed lightly and turned off the bedroom. I collapsed on my bed and stared out the window at the brightly lit New York skyline.

I lay there for a few minutes, listening to the buzz of the city. I heard Percy step into the room and shut the door. He flopped onto his bed and called softly, "'Night, Nico." I didn't respond, and soon my roommate was snoring softly. I sighed and let myself drift into a light, fitful sleep.

"Run, Niccolo! Run, Bianca!" my mother screamed. "You must flee!" I was eight years old again, and my ten-year-old sister was dragging me along behind her, both of us running as fast as we could.

Bianca was wiping tears from her eyes, and I was shrieking, "No! We can't leave Mama! NO! Mama!"

"Hush, Niccolo," Bianca sobbed. "Mama said we must run!" I wailed but kept running. Gunshots rang all around us. I stumbled over the uneven footing. A bullet flew past my left shoulder and I screamed. Another shot landed in the dirt next to Bianca. She cried out as clumps of dirt and rock sprayed up all around us. I slipped on a large rock slick with blood. I yelped as I crashed to the ground, taking Bianca with me. As we staggered upright, I risked a glance backward.

A large, masked man was holding a small pistol to the back of Mama's head, and I screamed at the top of my lungs, "MAMA!" The masked man turned his head, and the uncovered lower half of his face twisted into a cruel smile. He pulled the trigger. Blood splattered the night. Mama slumped forward, a red stain blossoming along the back of her dress. I screamed, tears flooding my eyes. Bianca wailed, but continued to pull me along.

We stumbled away from the blood-drenched horror. Bianca pushed me behind boxes of produce, and we huddled there together, unable to stop the violent trembling. Awful, hiccupping sobs wracked my body, and I clung to my sister. Her arms were around my shoulders, with one hand on my head and the other on my back. She held me so tightly it hurt, but I knew I was gripping her just as hard. Small mewling noises kept working past my throat and out of my mouth. Bianca was gasping and hiccupping, tears streaming down her cheeks and into my hair.

Heavy footsteps thudded past our hiding spot, and I fought to keep myself silent. Bianca did the same. For one horrible moment, the booted feet lingered in front of the crates. Then, with an irritated growl, they stomped past. Bianca let out her breath in a trembling, ragged whisper. I couldn't stop the stinging tears that were racing down my face. Suddenly the crates toppled over. Both Bianca and I looked up in horror, and I fought back a terrified wail. Our mother's murderer was standing above us, his pistol aimed at Bianca. He leered, and a massive crack signaling the bullet's release rang through the night.

My eyes sprang open. I was panting heavily, and a scream was still trying to claw its way past the cold lump of emotion and terror in the back of my throat. I sat up quickly, looking around the room in a panic. My breathing slowed as I recognized Percy's bedroom. I swore softly. I'd been an idiot to think my nightmares would be gone, even after all this time. I stood up and paced around the room. I wasn't worried about waking Percy; years on the streets had given me an almost silent tread. Besides, he was out could, his mouth slightly open and his breaths coming deep and slow.

I swore again and walked out of the room, looking up and down the hallway to see if anyone was up. Mrs. O'Leary was curled up at the end of the hallway closest to the living room. I stepped over her lightly and walked into the kitchen. I hunted through the cupboards until I found where the glasses were, pulled one out as quietly as I could, and filled it halfway with water. I sipped at it, grateful for the coolness of the liquid on my throat. I drained the rest of it and placed the glass in the sink as quietly as I could. Sighing softly, I paced around the kitchen. I had no desire to go back to bed. Sleep meant nightmares. Nightmares meant fear, and right now, for me, fear meant weakness. The kitchen and the living room were barely lit by outside streetlamps and the moon. Even in the dead of night, lights were on, occasional cars hummed past, and a few people were roaming the streets.

I ached to be outside, but I couldn't leave the apartment and wish waking the Jacksons. I leaned against a window. I could see an alleyway, and three guys were seated around a pile of trash. They looked homeless, but I knew they might very well be anything else. I sighed again. Deciding to go back to Percy's room, I silently stepped over Mrs. O'Leary. I shut the door carefully behind me, wincing at the high, reedy creak of the hinges. I looked out the bedroom window, and for the first time noticed the fire escape. My lips twitched lightly in a smile.

Stepping carefully out onto the rickety fire escape, I worked my way up to the little ledge above the bedroom window. The slant of the ledge wasn't too steep, but I was still angled sharply enough to slip unless I was sitting. I sat down cross-legged on the ledge and tilted my head up towards the sky. The moon was a half-moon, and it glowed silver. Its pale light barely penetrated the orangey tinge of the street lamps. I searched the deep indigo sky for stars, but New York was too bright. The countless street lamps, headlights, lit windows and porch lights drowned out any starlight. I sighed. I missed the stars. It had been forever since I'd seen one…God, when was the last time I saw a star? I furrowed my brow, trying to remember. Had it really been ten years since I'd seen a star? I scowled. The last time I can remember seeing a honest-to-goodness star was on the boat ride coming over to America from Italy…. I'd been five years old. I shook my head; that was much too long.

I sat on that ledge until the sky faded to gray, saying the sun was just below the horizon. I stood carefully, wincing as stiff muscles stretched and pulled. I walked back onto the fire escape and into Percy's room. Percy was still asleep, and there was no sign that he'd woken or even moved. I smiled faintly; it was safe to say nobody knew I'd been on the ledge. I lay down on my bed and closed my eyes. I wasn't ready to sleep, but the grayness outside began to lighten and I wasn't ready for the day to be here. Even though the light temporarily quelled my demons, it also meant that I couldn't hide as easily as I can in darkness. I sighed and pulled the pillow over the top of my head, welcoming the sudden absence of the dim glow.

Eventually the light became too bright to ignore, and I threw off the pillow. I squinted at the brightness and groaned. I sat up and tapped my fingers on my thigh. I was bored, and my stupid ADHD wasn't letting me sit still. I thought about the news Thunder had given me. The rumble was still on, no weapons, bring blade anyway, Red's still angry… I sighed. The guys and I had been getting ready for this rumble for so long, I'd forgotten what it was originally about. I vaguely remembered a spat about a spat about a repeated territory trespass, and I shrugged. That might be it. The Chains and the Flares were always ignoring the graffiti marks and hopping over to our territory. Red got fed up with whatever it was and set up a rumble. Three-way gang war… This was going to be very interesting. Why on earth had I gotten myself tangled up in all this violence?

I was jolted out of my thoughts as I heard a door open and shut again across the hallway. I got up and looked out of the bedroom door. Sally was walking out of her bedroom, already showered and dressed. She saw me and smiled. "Good morning, Nico," she said in a soft voice. "Did you sleep all right?" I shrugged and followed her into the kitchen. She started making coffee, and I stood in the kitchen doorway, not really sure what to do. Sally finished the coffee, poured herself a cup, and started making breakfast. Soon the kitchen smelled like waffles, and my stomach growled softly, despite my efforts to tell my body I wasn't hungry. Sally looked over to where I was standing, smiled again and said, "I know you're hungry, Nico. Come on over and sit."

I opened my mouth to protest, but she was already steering me towards the table. She pushed me down into a seat, slid a plate loaded down with food in front of me, and smiled—again. I looked down at the plate, and for a moment I was confused. The waffles weren't weird or anything—you know, if you ignored the fact that they were blue. I looked up at Sally. "Blue?" I asked, my confusion evident in my voice.

Sally laughed. She answered, "It's Percy's favorite color. Before I married Paul, Percy's other stepfather told me there was no such thing as blue food. We had a big argument over it, and ever since then I've made it a point to make blue food as often as I can. Don't worry; I haven't poisoned the waffles. You can eat them." I fought the smile that was trying to reveal itself and poked the waffles hesitantly with my fork. Stupid as it is, I trusted Sally. I knew that she didn't want to hurt me, but I still couldn't make myself eat the food she'd put in front of me. It was just force of habit. I did not eat anything I hadn't gotten myself. I didn't want to hurt Sally's feelings, though, so I took a small bite.

The waffles tasted wonderful, but I was still trying to get over the fact that they were blue. My brain was saying "Stop freaking out; you know the damn waffles are safe to eat" but my instinct was yelling, "Don't eat them! If it's blue that's a sign saying something is up!" I sighed; the waffles reminded me of something Mama used to do for breakfast. She usually made toast, and Bianca and I hated it when she left butter clumps all over. So every morning she would spread it around carefully with Bianca and I watching on the sides to make sure she did it right, and she always did. She would laugh at our scrutiny, and get out the cinnamon. She'd make little designs all over the butter with it. Bianca and I loved it. Every day she would personalize the cinnamon designs. I remember one morning, she did little cinnamon playing cards on my piece, and she told me they were Mythomagic cards. I had giggled and Bianca had rolled her eyes and laughed.

My breath caught as the happy memory was shredded by the much more recent nightmare. Mama's smiling face turned into the masked man's cruel sneer, and the toast became bloodstains. I saw Mama slumped over, blood pooling around her. I pulled in a sharp breath and set my fork down. Rubbing a hand across my forehead, I tried to push away thoughts of my nightmare. Sally noticed what I was doing and asked, "Are you all right, Nico?" I nodded slightly, not trusting my voice. She reached over and rubbed my arm. I flinched away slightly. I felt no regret for that, even though Sally looked a little bit hurt.

"Don't touch me," I muttered softly, and noticing Sally's expression, I added in an even quieter tone, "please."

She nodded and said, "I'm sorry. I don't mean to push you, but I'm just so used to the way Percy acts that I'm a little clueless here." I understood what she was trying to say, but that didn't make it any less painful for me. She had no clue how to deal with a difficult teen like me. Sally was completely in the dark. I sighed.

Sally said, "Eat as much of your breakfast as you can. Paul is going to take you on a tour of Goode High today. You missed the orientation for newly enrolled students in June—"—I rolled my eyes; of course I missed the thing. I didn't even know the Jacksons existed until yesterday—"—So Paul is going to give you an individual tour so you're not completely lost on your first day." I nodded, poking the waffles around a little bit more, and finally started eating again.

I finished one of the waffles, and that was about as much as I could handle right then. I looked at Sally. Speaking in as low of a voice as I could, I said, "Sorry. That's as much as I can eat right now." Sally nodded and took my plate. I felt slightly guilty that I was wasting all of that great food, but I brushed it off. A wasted waffle or two wouldn't kill me. There were plenty of things that could and would kill me, but waffles weren't one of them.

Paul walked into the room, all showered and dressed. He smiled at me and asked, "Was your first night good, Nico?" I nodded almost imperceptibly and asked, "When's the tour thing?" Paul laughed a little. "I have never met someone who willingly takes a tour of a school over summer break," he said to Sally. "It's kind of refreshing. So many kids are so reluctant about school." Sally smiled, and I wrinkled my nose a little bit. I wasn't excited about the tour; I just wanted to get the stupid thing over with. I waited for him to answer my question.

After a minute of no response, I said, "You didn't really answer my question very well." Paul started a little bit. "Sorry," he said. "Just thinking. But I was actually going to take you now. More of the staff goes out in the morning, and I was going to introduce you to a few of your teachers. That all right?" I groaned inwardly. More people. Ugh.

I nodded. "Okay."

Paul smiled. "Great!" he said in a voice that had way too much happy. "Just let me find the car keys and we'll be off!" He began hunting around the house looking for the keys. He looked like he was doing some sort of screwed up dance. Sally watched him, smiling a little.

She looked over at me, shook her head, and said, "You think he would learn that the keys can't move by themselves." She held up her hand, and a glint of silver told me she had the car keys dangling from her fingertips. I smiled a little bit, and Sally called, "Paul, stop dancing all over the living room and come in for a minute." Paul stumbled over Mrs. O'Leary as he walked—very noisily—into the kitchen.

He saw the keys in Sally's hand and exclaimed, "Aha! There they are!" He put up his hand like he was asking Sally to throw the keys.

She rolled her eyes, handed her husband the keys, and said, "Get out of here, crazy."

Paul grinned and said, "If your Highness commands it!" I coughed softly, reminding them that I was in the room.

They looked over, saw my expression, and chuckled. "Sorry," Paul said lightly. "Come on then, Nico. Lots to do!" He walked out of the apartment, leaving me no choice but to follow him. I thought to myself, Let's get this over with, and walked out of the apartment.

Sally POV

I watched Nico and Paul walk out of the apartment, a small frown creasing my forehead. There was just something about Nico that made me feel a little uneasy, like I was handling a new type of nuclear weapon. I just didn't know how to act around him. The way he walked made me think he was used to being watched and hunted. And the way he froze up at breakfast… He's seen something a kid his age should never have to see. I just wished he would open up and talk to me. I know I'm a new person, and he's not ready to trust me. But he's not giving me a chance either.

I sighed. Nico would learn how to trust people. He'd have to.

I heard Percy coming down the hallway, and I started putting together his breakfast. I really hoped we'd made the right choice in adopting Nico.

Well! Third chapter is FINISHED! I hope you all liked it! Again sorry for the wait but I tried to make this a little longer. I'm out for the summer so I should be able to post and write more often. No promises though

I'd just like to put this out there: THIS IS A THALICO FIC. Only Thalico. No Percico. I got a PM asking if there is going to be Percico. No. Read the summary. I have nothing against gays or anything but in my world Nico is bi. He never said outright that he is only into guys. It is a possibility that he's into girls too! (Don't you crush my hope here. I REALLY want Thalico to happen in BoO. Don't judge.)

Review please! I love them! Just don't flame!

~tiney