**trigger warning** Domestic abuse

~One year later~

"Will!"

Will whirled around at the sound of his name and grinned widely at his two best friends, Cecil Markowitz and Lou Ellen... well, to be completely honest Will didn't think anyone knew what Lou Ellen's last name was.

The pair ran up to him and looped their arms through his, dragging him off to who knows where as they usually did. Will rolled his eyes with a knowing smile.

"Guys, I know what you're plan-"

"Keep that mouth of yours shut William. At least pretend to be surprised." Lou Ellen huffed, reaching over to ruffle his hair. Will saw her look back at him from the corner of his eye, with sympathy and guilt in her expression. Lou Ellen was also the eldest child in her family. Hera had given her the ability to learn and perform black magic, meaning she could cast all sorts of weird unique spells. The rest of the village stayed away from her though, afraid that she would curse them like Hera, earing Lou Ellen the title of 'witch girl'. Will and Cecil soon became her only friends as the years progressed and vice versa, the three remaining a tightly knit group. A few years after having met each other, Lou Ellen had gotten fed up with Will's curse and had been studying a way to remove it. The last time she had tried ended in catastrophe. She had been so close last time, but something had backfired causing a lot of the energy to snap back at her. Lou Ellen had almost died. Will had asked her to stop trying after that. The attempt hadn't been a complete failure though. Will could stop smiling now, but a neutral expression was as far as he could get.

Will turned to Cecil, only to see a look on his friends face that said 'Go with it or we both die'. Cecil, was a different story. While he was not the oldest kid in his family, meaning no gifts from Hera, his dad went overkill on the generosity. He was a kind soul who invited anyone and everyone into his house for food and shelter if they needed it which was not the wisest decision for people who could barely afford things for their own kids in the first place. Cecil and his siblings had taken to stealing from the marketplace for things like food and clothes, and they were all crammed together in their small house, some of his siblings even had to sleep on the floor.

On top of all that, despite what little they had, Cecil had invited Will to stay with them countless times, which Will had denied countless times. He knew Cecil and his family wouldnt care, but he knew for certain that he would be another unnecessary burden. Both his friends had argued against his decisions many times but he wouldn't hear it. Those were the times when he was glad that he couldn't tell him about his stepmother. They would probably kidnap him if they knew.

When Lou Ellen and Cecil finally stopped dragging him to the surprise destination, Will could say he was less than impressed. Maybe a little scared even. They were a little ways passed the town border, at an old abandoned three storey house. The shutters were hanging from the broken hinges, the windows were broken, the wood was rotting and it was a very ugly shade of purple. Before he could be cheerfully annouce how lovely the house seemed, Lou Ellen yanked his arm, dragging him inside, Cecil following close behind.

The house was even more dreary on the inside. There was torn and peeling wallpaper on the walls, the colour and pattern not even recognizable anymore. The floorboards had holes in them and creaked under Will's weight. Despite it being mid-day there was barely any light in the house save for a soft glow coming from the middle of the room. Will's eyes were drawn to it and his jaw dropped at the sight.

There, sitting on an old rickety table was a cake. It was a plain, simple, one layer cake with some vanilla icing and a blue decorative trim, a single candle planted in the center. It really wasn't anything special but Will stared at it in awe. Probably because it had been a long four years since he'd seen a cake. Especially on his birthday.

Will looked between his two friends, a huge grin on his face "No way! You guys shouldn't have-" he stopped talking in sudden realization, his eyes landing on Cecil "....you stole it didn't you?" Cecil feigned innocence and gasped.

"Who? Me? Why I'd never!" He exclaimed, dramatically clutching a hand to his chest. He immediately dropped the act two seconds later and dragged Will towards the cake. "Now come on, let's eat."

The three friends sat around the table, talking, laughing, and eating cake. Cecil at one point had suggested exploring the house but Will pointed out that the stairs would likely break underneath them and thankfully Lou Ellen agreed. Time flew by rather quickly and it wasn't until Cecil yawned and started nodding off that Will realized how late it was. He shot up and gave his friends a nervous grin.

"Hey guys, thanks for the cake and everything, I really enjoyed it, but it's getting late, I should be heading home." He told them. Lou Ellen stretched and yawned, nodding in agreement.

"Ya, no problem Will, anything for one of my best friends." She got up and hugged him tightly, Cecil following suit. Will relaxed slightly and hugged them back just as tight. When they pulled away they said their goodbyes, giving the leftover cake to a protesting Cecil and headed their separate ways.

Will looked up at the starry sky as if it could save him right now. He was in so much trouble.

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Will opened the door to his house, quietly stepping in. It was dead silent. He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. Cassandra was probably out or asleep. He turned back around to lock the door, almost having a heart attack when he turned back around. There, standing in the doorway of the kitchen, was his stepmother. Her arms were at her sides, her hands curled tightly into fists, her face twisted into an ugly scowl. Will gulped and stepped towards her, his hands held up placatingly.

"Mother-" the word tasted like bile in his mouth but Will knew better than to not call her that. Any indication that she was Apollo's second wife would make her blow a fuse. Will was one of those indications.

"You're late." She spat, cutting him off. Her eyes held a fire in them and Will tensed up.

"I-" he started to say but abruptly stopping talking, dodging out of the way of a vase that she had thrown at him. The vase shattered into bits onto the floor behind him. Will took a shaky breath at looked back at her, his expression neutral.

"You what?" She sneered. "You know very well when your curfew is and you're still an hour late! Are you inept or just plain stupid?!"

"I-I lost track of time, I'm so-" he started to apologize but was cut off by a sharp slap to the side of his face. He stumbled a bit, as the pain blossomed in his right cheek.

"Spare your stupid excuses boy. It's no wonder your father went and got himself killed. I would too if I had a idiotic smiling brat for a son." She snarled. Will was shaking but his face showed no sign of caring for her words. This only seemed to anger her more. She grabbed a fistful of his hair and yanked him forward so that they were barely inches apart. "There's nothing special about you. You smiled at your fathers death. Who would want a son like that?! Your parents were probably relieved when they died. At least they wouldn't have to deal with a disappointment like you anymore." Will wanted to cry, scream, show her that there was no point trying to break what was already broken. Yet true to the curse, he could only manage to stare at Cassandra blankly. She snarled when she didn't get a reaction and threw Will away from her.

Will stumbled and fell over backwards, his head managing to catch the edge of the dining table hard before he hit the floor. Pain spread through Will's skull, numbness taking over his limbs. His vision was black at the corners and when he reached around to feel the back of his head, his fingers came back crimson. Will also noticed that pieces of the vase had stuck themselves in his palm but he coyldnt feel them, more focused on the blinding pain in his head. The last thing he saw was Cassandra looking down at him, disgust clear across her face.

And then there was nothing.