Next chapter!

Just a warning. Later in the story Nico has another very emotional intense moment where he self harms. I have placed "SKIP HERE" "SKIP TO HERE" for those who may be triggered or do not feel comfortable reading that.

I race down the hall and into the crowded stairwell. I walk up the stairs, ignore the people rushing past. They all have somewhere to go now, I have lunch. I pull the 'rip-off' I-pod out of my pocket that Nico gave me. A few days ago he also gave me a set of good ear buds for it. I place the ear buds in my ears, shoving them in. I hold the top button down on the small device and it flashes on. Some people shove me and complain about my slow pace, I ignore them.

"Where are the people that accused me?

The ones who beat me down and bruised me"

I turn the volume all the way up, drowning out the world. I walk up the next flight of stairs to the second floor.

He cornered me, like a defenseless small animal…. He found me at my weakest and took advantage of my state….. He beat me…. He beat me down…. He humiliated me…. He beat me because I'm….. Because I like…. He beat me…..

"They hide just out of sight

Can't face me in the light

They'll return but I'll be stronger"

Luke will pay. I will make him pay. I will destroy him. He will pay for what he did to me…. For…. For hurting me…. No one touches me…. I'm not weak…. He will pay…. I will kill him…. He will beg me to kill him…. Luke will pay….

"God, I want to dream again

Take me where I've never been

I want to go there"

I walk up to the fourth floor, ignoring everyone as they rush past. I circle the halls a few times thinking of all the things I could do to Luke, waiting for the halls to clear. Finally the bell rings and the last stragglers empty the halls. I walk to the old closet I once occupied.

"This time I'm not scared

Now I am unbreakable, it's unmistakable

No one can touch me

Nothing can stop me"

I try to open the door but the handle stays in place.

Focus….Focus….control….. the lock…. The inside of the handle….. focus… the lock…. Control…. Control….

The door clicks and I push it open. I check the door for any signs of decomposition, there are none. I check the handle, besides it being very loose, it's fine. I congratulate myself on mold that now grows in a tiny patch where the lock once was. I step into the small room and shut the door.

"Sometimes it's hard to just keep going

But faith is moving without knowing

Can I trust what I can't see?

To reach my destiny

I want to take control but I know better"

Luke will regret he ever looked at me… He will regret finding me in the bathroom… He will regret every minor thing he did to me… He will regret talking to Hazel the first day of school…. He will regret ever knowing me…

Rage builds up in me. My stomach feels like it's a stretched rubber band being tied in knots. I feel the shadows in the room shift. The darkness seems to swarm. I close my eyes. A fire starts at my feet, a pulling downwards, then the fire spreads throughout my whole body.

"God, I want to dream again

Take me where I've never been

I want to go there

This time I'm not scared

Now I am unbreakable, it's unmistakable

No one can touch me

Nothing can stop me"

My body is fire. I pull off my jacket just as sports on my shoulder-blades rip open. I grind my teeth in pain as the large black wings sprout and stretch out until they touch the walls of the empty janitor's closet. I no longer feel my flesh, only bone everywhere except my chest and abdomen. A black sword hangs at my side, chains wrap around my shoulders and hang down. I open my eyes that aren't there and grin. The darkness surges through me, power I've only begun to taste. I pull one of the small boxes off the chains, it snaps off with a clink.

"Forget the fear it's just a crutch

That tries to hold you back

And turn your dreams to dust"

The energy inside is a deep blue swirling with blood red.

"You will help me." I open the glass box. The energy swarms out of the box in front of me, rushing and expanding. It begins to collect into a large human form, bowing down on one knee. The energy thickens and hardens, forming into a large humanoid figure. His skin is so dark blue that it is almost black. He has short chopped uneven hair with small beady slit red eyes and a smashed in nose. Fangs protrude down from up inside the demon's mouth. His ears are long and pointed backwards. He wears no shoes, showing off his long clawed toe nails that match his finger nails. He radiates anger, hate, and power.

"God, I want to dream again

Take me where I've never been

I want to go there

This time I'm not scared

Now I am unbreakable, it's unmistakable

No one can touch me

Nothing can stop me"

"You are to serve me," I tell him.

"Yes my lord," he replies in a deep voice.

"My target is Luke. I want you to spy on him. Figure out information for me. What are his strengths and what are his weaknesses. Follow him."

"Yes my lord."

"Go."

Ding!

"Don't blame your death

On the shit in your head that you claimed ate you like a virus for days on end.

I watched you decay,

Watched you waste away.

Who'd you think you'd fool, baby, digging your own grave?"

He turns into a wisp of deep blue and blood red energy and slides under the door. I hear many footsteps in the hallway. Lunch has ended and they're all headed to their next class. No one knows what's going on just behind a door. No one knows what is behind the door in this small janitor's closet. No one knows what I have just done, nor what will happen. They're all lost in their own world, ignorant of me, but they don't care anyways.

"So go ahead, you just drop dead,

And while you're trying to fool the whole world don't forget that you'll decay

And you'll waste away.

You can't cheat death when you're digging your own grave."

Focus….calm yourself…. Relax…. Focus…..

I close my eyes.

Human… rushing blood…. Flesh…. Skin….. focus…. Human… my body….

I feel a pulling release in my gut. I begin to feel the flesh crawl down my bones from my abdomen, coating my arm bones and leg bones. I feel the muscles in my wings, I close them as they seep back into my back. The shadows calm down, easing back into peaceful darkness. I feel lighter as the sword and the chains seep away in the air.

"You're out of line,

Buried yourself alive,

And expected to be fine.

You can't rewind,

When you're choking on your own dirt,

Begging for your life."

I walk out into the busy hallway, now fully human. No one looks at me as I find my way into the crowd, heading towards the stairs. Most of them make comments at me, I ignore them. I won't feel less than them. I won't show them that they have power over me. I can do things from their worst nightmares.

"Your bridges are burning. (All your bridges are burning)

And all the tables are turning. (All your tables are turning)

You started a fire and you're,

Burning up, up.

Burning up."

I make my way down the stairs, listening to the music blasting in my ears, ignoring everyone else.

"What you give is what you get.

And in your case that's nothing but guilt and regret.

And all the flames you kept in your brain,

Came out your lips and sent you straight into your own grave.

You were a walking, talking, corpse at best.

And I swear I couldn't wait to get you off my chest,

And when you asked us why

We couldn't look you in your eyes,

It's hard to find life,

In something that's already died."

I walk into the second floor hallway and to my drawing and painting class. Mrs. Techne sits at her desk, drawing something in her sketchbook as students come into the class. I ignore them all and go to the back of the classroom where the paints are. I take a pallet and squeeze a decent amount of each colors that I want. I get white, brown, blue, yellow, green, and a small amount of a few other colors, leaving some spots open to mix paints. I place the pallet at my desk then go to the drying cupboard where my painting is that I began last class. I hold the painting up, so far it is just two figures, one of them is waving and the other holds something in her hand, both of them holding each other's hands face forward. I take it to my desk and place it up on my easel.

"For every ending a new beginning

Oh so they say baby, for everything a reason

And so they say baby, for everything a reason."

The song changes and a woman's voice floods into my ears, her voice soft and accompanied by a guitar. I go to the pack by the paints where there are five cups of different size brushes. I pick out a few different sizes and fill and empty cup with water, then bring it all back to my spot. I dip a small brush in the brown and mix it with a tiny bit of white, creating a deep tanned color. I gently touch the brush to the canvas.

"And those who loved before will be brought back together

Yeah those who loved before will be brought back together

And so they say baby, for everything a reason

And so they say baby you will be brought."

The brush strokes come easily. I use the deep tanned brown color and fill in a large portion of one of the figure's with the color. I don't focus on what I am painting, simply the act of it and allowing all portrait to flow out by itself. Next I use a dip of the black and focus on the eyes of one. Then I create a chocolate brown and continue to pain.

"I saw you leaving, I saw the light go out

I saw you leaving

I saw you leaving"

I mix the colors and use the different size brushes. Everything seems to be surreal, as if my body is acting and painting out the image on it's own accord. I give into the piece and allow myself to paint freely with no though. The song changes and a soft male's voice begins to sing, once again accompanied by a acoustic guitar.

"So there my friend, you're in the deep end.

Just hanging on to hope by a loose thread.

Well it's never good, to try and play pretend.

But maybe what's broken, can start to shine."

I go to the back of the room where all the paints are and look for a color. It needs to be a color with a certain shine, like a glow. I pick out a shiny silver and a shiny bronze and put some on my pallet then go back to my seat and mix a few colors. I use a small point brush and paint in one of the figure's eyes with a bronzy-gold color.

"And you'll find, this time tomorrow.

We'll decide where it will all go, in this life.

Those younger years, never saw yourself standing here.

They disappeared, all the moments you held so dear.

Start keeping them close, waves come and go."

I stop working on the two figures while they are incomplete and begin the background, moving around the painting as I work. I mix the blue with some white and create a sky blue. I begin to pain the background with the color. Then I allow it to try, using a yellow I thinned out by dipping the brush into water after I dipped it in the paint.

"And you'll find, this time tomorrow

We'll decide where it will all go, in this life"

I continue to mix different shades of brown and use them on the two figures. For the clothing I use black, grey shades, deep blues, and raspberry purple. The colors come to my mind, race down my arm to my hand, and then the brush responds in making the colors.

"Let it play out, I hope that the sun,

I hope that the sun, finds you now."

All I have left to do is the hair and complete the faces. I work silently, focusing on the music, lost in my world.

"Let it play out, I hope that the sun,

I hope that the sun, finds you now."

Finally, I'm done. I stand up back and look at my work and immediately regret it. My thoughts become cloudy as my mind drifts away, refusing to think, continuing to be empty as everything just flows. My legs and arms feel cold, inside me feels darker than usual, lost. Inside my body it feels like a dark void, empty of everything as it gets sucked into nothingness. My limbs feel heavy. I want to look away from the painting, but my eyes stay focus on it.

"And you'll find, this time tomorrow,

We'll decide where it will all go, in this life."

It's Bianca and Hazel.

"You have the rest of class to work on the review packet with your partner, whatever you do not finished will be for homework. Next class is your unit test so be prepared."

Mr. Surle nods at us all before walking over to his desk and going onto his computer. The class is silent for a moment before they all begin to talk to their partners. Everyone got to pick partners, naturally no one chose me. The only reason why I have a partner is because Hazel is in my class and she walked over to me just before Mr. Surle addressed us. I can barely look at her.

"Well…. This packet looks easy enough. All the answers are in the text book or in our binders. Do you… want to do it together?"

Hazel's voice is gentle and cautious; she's trying to sound upbeat. I stare at the four page packet about early humans and the Neolithic Revolution. I don't answer Hazel.

Mrs. Techne walked over and saw my painting… She was amazed by it… She showed it to the class as an example and praised me on my work quality and the strong emotions displayed in the painting….. Mrs. Techne critiqued it and had nothing but good things to say…. A portrait of Bianca and Hazel…. That I painted…. Both of them holding hands and smiling at me….. Bianca waving a me and Hazel holding a large diamond…. They were laughing, excited and calling me…

"You could answer all this by yourself, if you wanted to work alone…" Hazel offer's.

I look at the first question, asking where the earliest human skeletons have been found. I answer it and move onto the next question. The questions are simple and soon I stop focusing as the answers just come out of me.

I remember what day that was….. Hazel had only been living with us for a week…. Bianca had been so excited about having a little sister and treated her like they had been close together since birth…. Hazel wanted to go for a walk in the woods with us, have a picnic, and look for gems and stones (as she wanted to embrace Hazel's ability and help her to tame it)…. We had a hellhound take us to the forest Bianca and I always visited, it was her favorite…. There were patches of open fields throughout the forest; from the sky the ground likely looked like that of a Dalmatian dog except in the shades of green…. It was such a bright sunny day…. Hazel and I were so close in age, I felt like I had a friend besides Bianca for the first time…. I was so young…. I was happy because Bianca was always happy around me…. But now I know her happiness was always a lie….. Bianca faked being happy for me…. And when Hazel came along, Bianca faked being happy for Hazel too…. We never let Bianca be sad…. She always tried her best to take care of us, make sure we were happy, and were having fun….. That day….. That day is the best memory I have of the two of them together….. everything changed so quickly after that day….. barely even a week later….. I was jealous of Hazel…. I wanted Bianca to help me and teach me how to use my abilities too… If I hadn't been so jealous….. If I hadn't been so impatient….. Bianca would never have tried teaching me…. Bianca would never have taken me to that forest again to train me….. I would never have killed her….. She would still be alive….. and the three of us would have much more happy days like the one I painted…. It's all my fault…. My fault she's dead…. My fault…. I killed her…. I'm so stupid…. I had to fuck up… I destroyed her forest… and I destroyed her….

I bite my lip and look up at the clock. Five minutes left of class. I'm done with the packet. Hazel sits next to me, reading her book peacefully. I want to reach out to her, ask her if she remembers that day, ask her if she remembers Bianca even though she only knew her for a few weeks…. Ask her if she remembers that day… and ask her if she blames me….

Ding!

"let's go," I mumble as I stand up and look at the floor, I hold my text book and binder in my hand., "I need to stop at my locker before we leave though…" I mumble.

I can feel Hazel's shocked eyes on me but she doesn't say what she's thinking. "Okay."

We walk together to my locker, she stands behind me as I put in the combination, put my books inside, and shut it again.

"Do you need to go to your locker," I ask her without looking at her.

"Uhm… well… yeah. Can we?"

I nod and follower her down the hall to her locker. I watch her open the locker and put her books and binder inside. Her locker is decorated on the inside with quotes, pictures of horses, an old slightly-damaged and stained picture of her and her mom, and a small image of me and her when we were kids….

"Alright," Hazel sighs, shutting her locker, "I'm ready."

For the first time since my painting, I stare at her, locking eyes.

She…. Has a picture of me? Of both of us…. As kids? How… how did she get that…. When?... she still has it…. She…Hazel…. Hazel cares….. Hazel must remember….

"Do…. Do you… remember… B-…. Bia….. Bianca…." I stutter out, slowly. The words taste like led in my mouth.

Hazel stares back at me with a blank expression for just a moment, then her eyes go wide.

"I…well…. Nico… Are…. Are you sure you want to talk about this?..."

I swallow, watching her face go from shock to concern to worry. "Y-yeah…"

A girl down the hall gasps and squeals, complaining about how her ear's feel like they were just torn, her earrings are both missing. Hazel looks down at her feet and picks up the small ruby earrings and pockets them quickly.

"We could talk about this later, if you're more comfortable with that," she suggests.

I shake my head, "No…"

Hazel looks from side to side as if looking for an escape, she watches the last few people walking in the hall either going to the busses or to an after-school activity. I stand in front of her, holding my gaze.

"I… well…. Nico…" Hazel begins to say.

"Tell me," I mumble at her, "…. Please…"

Hazel crouches down and picks up another set of earrings and a diamond ring. "Well… yes… I.. I remember Bianca…"

My heart beats faster, my breathe becomes quicker, and my thoughts begin to race.

"What do you remember…"

Hazel glances at a random spot off to the side, her eyes getting a far-away gaze.

"Well… she had beautiful silky brown hair that she always braided to the side…. She would take care of us, making us lunch every day…"

I feel the corners of my mouth poke upwards, the motion feels unnatural but appropriate. Bianca would make lunch every day since I can remember. Different sandwiches, fruits cut and placed into animal shapes, celery sticks with peanut butter.

"We watched movies all together. We only had a few tapes but sometimes she would come back with new videos from the store or Library and we would watch those… Bianca was funny, trying to get us to laugh by tickling us if we were upset."

I felt my forehead ease, my eyes relaxing as I watched Hazel reminiscing. All the things she remembers, she only has few memories of, I know that. Hazel only knew Bianca for a few weeks, I knew Bianca my whole life….

"Bianca loved the forest-" yeah… the forest…. "-she loved the nature. All the deer and bunnies and birds seemed to follow her sometimes. And she was always smiling. Bianca was really nature-girl and happy for who our father is."

Happy? You think Bianca was always happy?! You didn't know her at all! That was fake! It was an act! Bianca was barely ever happy! Bianca faked her smile for us! For me! Bianca was never happy!

"That's enough," I spit out before Hazel can continue. She may remember Bianca, but Hazel did not know her."

Hazel comes out of her daze and looks at me. Her eyes hold a sadness, I've said something wrong again and hurt her.

"I-… I'm sorry….. That's fine….. Th-….Thank you Hazel…" I try the words slowly. Hazel nods and keeps her face composed, but I can tell she's hurt.

"Let's… go home…." I mumble.

The night is quiet and lonely. I sit on my bed, gazing at nothing in my room in the attic. Mocha circles around my feet hanging off the side of the bed, bopping into them and flicking them with her soft tail.

"I know…. You're hungry… alright Mocha… I'll feed you," I tell her, standing up.

"Meo!"

I walk over to her food bowls and pick up the bag of food I bought. "Here…" Mocha pushes her face between the pouring food bag and her bowl, pieces of food fall onto her head before I pick it up. They clatter down but Mocha doesn't mind, she fiercely eats the food.

You're not starving…slow down… I have fed you regularly…. I take care of you….

I watch Mocha eat her food, loud crunching sounds coming from her mouth as she cracks eat kibble with her teeth. Since I got her she has grown some, she's still very much a kitten but no longer so tiny. I walk over to my bed and sit.

'What's the matter faggot? Not feeling well?' 'The little shit stabber-' 'This is what you deserve' 'freak' ' faggot' 'let us help you, relax' 'disgusting' 'I remember her' ….. The voices of today echo through my head. Hazel thinking that she knew Bianca, remembering who she was, when really Hazel doesn't know Bianca at all. Piper, Jason, and Will trying to help me. Will healing my wounds. Jason having to rush in and save me because I was too weak to defend myself. Mr. Chiron knowing things about me and trying to get me to trust him. Luke finding me in the bathroom after vomiting. Luke dragging me out and beating me up….. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Why didn't you stand up for yourself? Why did you let yourself get beat, get humiliated, get trashed, and then having to be rescued. Pathetic. Luke was right. You deserve to get beaten. You're repulsive. A faggot. A freak. A murderer too. Horrible… worthless… disgusting… It's all your fault… why can't you be better…. You're not trying hard enough…. You're so pathetic… you summoned a demon to do your work for you….. worthless….pathetic…..disgusting… freak…

I rip off my shirt, it already has holes in the back from where my wings came out. I pull open my bed-stand drawer and bring out one of my many knives.

SKIP HERE

SKIP HERE

SKIP HERE

SKIP HERE

I hold the knife In my right hand and hold it against my left wrist. There are scars and old scabbed-over slits. I press the blade in and bite my lip as I pull it across. Blood rushes to the opening and seeps out. I place the knife a bit higher and press down, digging in deeper as I pull the knife across my skin. It hurts yet comforts me at the same time. I make five more cuts in my left forearm, the blood seeping out and dripping, covering the edge of my knife. I place the knife in my left hand and hold my right arm upwards, exposing my right forearm. My left arm shakes slightly as I slowly move it to press the blade against my right wrist. I take a sharp breath in as I drag the blade across my skin. I stare at the cut. It's not good enough. I put the blade back on my right wrist and press down harder, going a bit deeper as I pull the blade across. I cover my right forearm with deep cuts, matching my left forearm. I watch the blood seep out, blending into other blood trails from the other cuts. My wrists are red, in some spots the blood becomes goopy, clumping together and beginning to dry. I close my eyes and breathe out a slow shaky breath and pass the knife back into my right hand. I bring my hand slowly up to my left shoulder, the blade is warm from the blood against my upper bicep. I press as hard as I can and drag the knife down and across my shoulder, creating a deep and wide cut. Blood rushes out of the incision and runs down my arm. I open my squeezed shut eyes and look at my work so far. The cut is deeper than all the others, more blood than any of the others rushes to the surface to escape out of my body. Even my blood has had enough of me. I watch it happen. I take the knife and slowly widen it, digging at it with the blade. I bite my lip hard, a small trail of warm liquid bubbles to the surface of my lip and slithers down my chin.

SKIP TO HERE

SKIP TO HERE

SKIP TO HERE

SKIP TO HERE

"STKah…." I pull the blade away and toss the knife into the open drawer. I lean forward in pain, squeezing right below what I did to myself. I hold myself, ignoring the burning stings from the wounds being pressed against my bare skin. The blood slides onto the backs of my arms and onto my chest. I bite down on my bottom lip, feeling the pain. Hating the pain but wanting the pain…. I rest there until I stop feeling the blood moving over my skin. Slowly, I sit up and look at my arms. I feel cold and empty and heavy as I see all the damage I've done to myself. My arms are covered and I pain, yet I just want to do it again.

I adjust myself on my bed and lay down on my back, my arms resting out at my sides flat, the wounds exposed to the world. My head throbs lightly as I study a spot on the support beams of the roof-ceiling wood that I know all too well.

Mocha jumps onto my bed by my feet.

"Mew?"

I lay still and ignore her, staring up at the ceiling and feeling the stinging burning sensation that throbs along both my arms to and my shoulder. She pushes her head against my foot, head-butting the balls of my foot.

"Not now Mocha," I whisper softly. Only the air hears my pain, the nothingness.

"Mew?"

Her meow is soft and quiet, concern in her tiny cat voice. I feel her walk up my bed, her small paws making miniscule dips into the black comforter.

"Mew."

Mocha pushes her whole body against my waist. Mocha's soft fur tickles my bare hips and side of my stomach. I try to ignore her.

Mocha walks up the bed more and stops at the top of my shoulder.

"Ssssttttffff!"

My body stiffens as Mocha's rough tongue licks the large wound at my shoulder. After a moment I force myself to relax, loosening the muscles. I slowly turn my head to the side and watch Mocha as she licks at the wound in the same manner a mother cat would lick her kitten's wounds.

"Mocha…."

The wound burns as she irritates it, but it's obvious she's trying to help it heal. I look back up at the roof-ceiling. My body feels heavy and hollow, nothing inside yet so much inside. I close my eyes and begin to breathe at a slow leveled pace. As I drift off I feel Mocha step onto my bare chest and curl up. The last things I hear are the soft rhythmic sounds of cat purrs.

I take my jacket off and place it on the toilet seat then roll up my t-shirt sleeve. I hold the short sleeve up and look at my upper bicep/shoulder in the mirror.

Shit….

The gash is swollen out and red, the skin around the gash is puffy and the skin color has chained from my natural olive-shade to a bright pinkish-red. I reach my finger down to poke at the pinkish-red skin, heat comes off and I breathe in sharply as a sharp pain ricochets throughout my shoulder.

It's only been a few days… it will heal….. it's fine….. It's just irritated from rubbing against my clothes….. it's fine…. It will heal…..

I grab my jacket and pull it on as I walk out of –one of the many- first floor bathroom. The hall is dark, with only a candle light. I walk to the large living room and stand in the archway.

This is where Bianca and I spent a lot of time….. watching movies….. playing board games… talking….

I can almost hear the old laughter from years ago echoing through the empty room. I walk in and go over to the TV, we always kept all the movies and board games on the book shelf beside it. Now those games and movies are gone, the shelves clean and empty. I suppose Hades isn't planning on having any more children soon…. One of the furries –his servants- had brought Bianca and I the movies and games. When Bianca…..when I… I didn't want to watch the movies any more or play the games. Hazel did from time to time and would ask me to play with her…. I always told her no.

I always told Hazel no when she tried to spend time with me….. I always pushed her away… It's my fault she's nervous to socialize with me… It's my fault… If I hadn't pushed her away, then maybe….. maybe I wouldn't have….. been so lonely…..

I sit on the large black sofa, sinking in. My spot was always in the middle so I had the perfect view of the TV. Bianca would cuddle with me as we watched movies, Hazel too. Now Hazel and I spend most of our time in our separate rooms.

I wish I could go back to that...

Will's POV

I sit in the nurse's office listening to music with my eyes closed. I know I should be in class but I had a gut feeling that I needed to be in the nurse's office. Normally I only come down here and act as a fill-in nurse when I have a study hall or a class that I can miss, but today was different. An hour ago I was sitting in history when a feeling began to bubble in my gut. I knew I had to come down here and wait some something. The feeling was overwhelmingly strong, forcing me to excuse myself from class. A few of my siblings have mentioned have prophetic dreams and visions, but I have never had such an experience. When I was hit with the feeling I needed to be in the nurse's office, I'm certain that it was a prophetic feeling.

"Hey."

I look up at the doorway. A short boy dressed in all black stands there, his head down. I can barely see his face behind his jacket hood and his hair, but there is only one person I know who dresses like that. Nico Di Angelo.

"Hey Nico, come in," I grin although I am unsure if he can see through his hood and hair.

The shadows in the room seem to be drawn to the black figure that walks in and comes to the desk. I keep the lights in the nurse's office dim when I am here, but now the room seems to become a shade darker, as if the light is being sucked out. I suppress the uncomfortable shiver that goes through me and touch the bracelet I always have on. It's a simple bronze bracelet with a tiny charm of the sun. No one would suspect it of being anything special, but all the children of Apollo know it's special. My father himself gave it to me, telling me that it holds the power of the sun. Well, he did not exactly say that. To recall his exact words though are confusing because of his habit to speak in haikus; 'when you find darkness, hold this charm bracelet to you, and sun light shall warm.' After a few experimental moments and hours trying to understand his haiku, I discovered that the tiny sun charm holds a small portion of power from the sun, a gift from my father.

I touch the charm to my skin now, filling me with comfortable light as the room adjusts to Nico, a bundle of darkness.

"Do you need help with something? You're not hurt, are you," I tease the quiet boy.

"Will…. Promise me something…."

I'm taken aback by the ferocity of his tone. "Uhm… depends on what it is."

"Swear to me. Swear that you will not tell anyone what I have come to you for today. Swear it."

Nico picks his head up and looks at me through his bangs. His eyes are filled with such an intensity I find myself shiver.

"Well…. If it's serious, I need to tell someone. That's the rules… I'm not an official nurse," I reply gently.

Nico closes his eyes in annoyance, as if expecting that. When he opens them again, his expression is calm but his eyes are filled with more emotions than I can identify.

"Will… I need your help…. Swear to me…. That you will not tell anyone…. What I have come to you for today…."

Although I know I shouldn't, something inside me tells me to agree, to swear to keep Nico's visit secret, to respect his privacy.

"I… I swear."

The moment the words leave my mouth, I feel the room shift, as if I have made an oath. I feel the darkness in the room swarm, gulping up the light then spitting it out. As if someone flipped a switch, everything relaxes. I look at Nico, his expression no longer as intense and guarded. He looks upset, almost scared.

"So… what did you need…"

"I need your help… I'm hurt."

I stand up and walk around the desk to Nico. He doesn't move.

"Where?"

"Can we go somewhere more private," Nico mumbles, glancing at the open door.

"Sure," I say plainly, wondering what injury is so serious he needs privacy, and where. I lead him to the door near the sink. The door leads to a small private room with a nurse's bed and a chair. We use this room for scoliosis checks and other things where the person could either be contagious or needs privacy.

"Sit on the bed," I say and then shut the door. I turn around and walk over to the chair and sit, staring at Nico intently. Nico sits on the edge of the bed, his jacket laying behind him. He slouches forward, resting his arms on his thighs and holding his knees.

"So where's the wound," I ask casually.

"Roll up my sleeve," Nico replies quietly. I take hold of the black t-shirt sleeve and gently roll it back up to his shoulder.

"Oh Nico…." I gasp, "How did you get this…"

Nico doesn't respond. I touch the wound lightly and he flinches, then stiffens his arm. A small amount of cloudy liquid seeps out of the spot where my figure touched. Puss. The gash has scabbed over in browns and deep greens and reds. I can tell where the scab has broken. The whole area is swollen and the skin surrounded is puffy and red. I continue to examine the wound.

"Nico, why didn't you come to me sooner? This is severely infected," I close my eyes and place my hand over the large infected gash.

I pull my hand away and look at Nico's face. His head is down, his black hair falling around his face, separating me from him like a wall.

"Nico," I say gently.

"Can you heal it or not," he snaps at me.

"Yeah…" I reply, "I can… But I'm going to disinfect it naturally. It's going to hurt."

"Fine."

I nod and get up and go into the office; I grad a thin medical knife, a paper cup, disinfectant spray, medical tape, and a large bandage. I bring the supplies into the room and set them on the bed behind Nico. I hold the small paper cup under the infected-scabbed-over gash and gently touch the greenish scab with the knife.

"This might hurt a bit," I mutter and begin to work. I carefully scrape away the infectious scab, allowing the pieces to fall into the cup. Nico sucks in a sharp intake of breath then stiffens once more. I continue to scrape off the infectious scab, ignoring the cloudy puss and blood that rushes to the surface from my actions.

It's deep…. It's at least a week old…. And he's picked at it…. How did he even get such a wound? I know Nico isn't someone you want to mess with, but I haven't heard of him picking fights….. I continue to examine the wound, the information about it floods into me the more I analyze it and work on it. It was done by a knife…. A pocket Knife?... Who did this to him….. Luke didn't hurt him again, did he?... It was dug in deep, as if the person who caused it wanted Nico to be in excruciating pain….. As if they wanted to damage the flesh…. Nico should have gotten help immediately for it… It's bleeding too much….. It's too wide… The wound is an inch or so deep…. He should have gotten stitches…..

I pull away the bloody knife and the paper cup damp with blood. I walk out to the office and throw the cup out and place the knife in the sink. I grab a few paper towels and head back into the room. The office does not have the proper needle and thread for me to stitch the wound myself. I sit down and try to mop up the blood which streams from the wound, dripping down Nico's arm like water-snakes racing down a car windshield. I hover my free hand over the wound and close my eyes, focusing. I draw energy from the sun, the ultimate giver of life and healing, and focus the energy into my hand. I imagine the white blood cells coming together and hardening with the red blood cells. When I look again the wound has a thin clear-ish scab over it, a simple layer of healing to stop the bleeding. I toss the red-stained moist paper towels into the trash on the side of the bed, ignoring the lingering blood on my hand. I pick up the bottle of disinfectant spray and spray onto the wound. Nico winces again.

"Sorry it burns," I mumble and keep working. I unwrap the large bandage and place it on the clean wound and use medical tape to wrap it around into place. Once more I place my hand over the wound and close my eyes, focusing on the cells, trying to speed up the healing process. I heal the wound until I can sense it is at the point where stitches will no longer be necessary. Nico sits patiently, silently.

"So," I say casually, sitting up in my chair, "Did Luke do that to you?"

"No," Nico replies quietly. He does not move, his hands still firmly holding his knee caps.

"If he did then I'll make sure he pays for it Nico. I'm serious." Nico does not reply, but still makes no indication of moving.

"Did they hurt you anywhere else," I ask, "I might as well heal those too."

Something feels wrong… I think to myself as I watch Nico's whole body stiffen like a board by the question. He grips his knees tighter, the black jeans straining into his fingers.

"You can put that stuff away now. I'm okay," He mumbles.

I can put the supplies away now…. But I can't…. I need to sit here longer… You're not answering my questions….. I can feel it…. I can sense it…. Something is wrong…. Something is very, seriously wrong…. There are more wounds… They hurt you more…..

I look Nico's body up and down, trying to sense where on his body the other injuries are. I suspect that Luke attacked Nico again, but something else tells me that Luke did not cause the large gash on his upper-arm and shoulder…..

"Nico. Show me your arms."

Nico's whole body seems to go through a shivery panic although he only moves slightly, shifting his position towards the wall away from me.

"I'm okay. Put the medical stuff away. Thank you for helping me."

Grab his arm. Grab his arm. Grab his arm. Grab his arm. GRAB his arm. GRAB HIS ARM. GRAB. HIS. ARM!

I grab Nico's arm from his thigh and turn it towards me before he can stop me. All around his arm are light scars I had not noticed before. All along his wrist and forearm are darker scars, old cuts that have scabbed over, and fresh cuts that look as recent as last night. Nico snatches his arm away and stands up, reaching for his jacket. I get a few quick glances at his other arm and see an almost identically harmed arm before Nico throws on his jacket, hiding his arms.

"Nico wait-" I call out to him as he rushes out of the room. I follow him into the office just to catch a split-second glimpse of him stepping into a dark corner of the room and vanishing.

Music:
Unbreable by Fireflight
Fire by PVRIS
For Everything there is a Reason by Carina Round
This Time Tomorrow by Trent Dabbs

Hello guys! This was a long chapter to write. I'm trying to write longer chapters because I feel like I'm teasing you all when I write chapters that you can finish reading in less than five minute. So I hope this is good enough! I've been planning the scene with Will and Nico ever since Will healed Nico's wounds from Luke (which may not seem that long ago but it has been like two weeks for me and I've been trying to write this chapter and figure out how I was going to make it all blend and make sense and such). So I hope you liked the chapter. I do wish to apologize to those of you who have a weak stomach, (eh heh...) I'm really detailed in my writing so I hope no one got sick or was eating food while they read that part. Well, anyways... School is starting soon so my updating might become slower. Wish me luck though x3 I'm going back to my third year of that wonderful called high-school, almost over though *shouts happily*.