WPOV

"Will, are you even paying attention?" Mr. Brunner asked me in an exasperated tone.

I looked up from my doodles to discover that the entire class was staring at me. I, naturally, let the silence stretch out entirely too far as I tried to do the math problem that was written on the board in my head. About halfway through, I realized that I probably wouldn't be able to do solve it, even if I was listening to the lesson. I sighed, defeated.

"Sorry, sir."

He made a noise to let me know he heard me and proceeded to ask, "Does anybody know the answer?"

Several hands shot up, but Mr. Brunner zeroed in on the kid in the back of the classroom, who was obviously trying not to get called on. "Nico?"

"56, sir." Nico said softly.

"That's correct," the teacher acknowledged, "Now moving on to....."

Now, I know I should've been paying attention, but instead I chose to study Nico for the millionth time. He had a small, thin frame and pale skin. His black hair was a mess, like he just combed it with his fingers. All he ever wore was a black pair of jeans and a t-shirt, and he always wore a jacket to cover his arms. He seemed to desperately want to be invisible, to melt into the shadows and stay there forever.

I didn't know a lot about Nico, other than that he was quiet. Although on the occasions he did willingly hold a conversation, it was only to Reyna and Jason.

That always stuck me as weird. Both of them are super popular, captains of multiple sports teams, and the pride and joy of the school. Reyna and Jason have tons of friends. Yet they always stood up for Nico. The duo intimated anyone who tried to bully him. They sat together at lunch, with the younger student between them. Sure, lots of kids sat at that table, but none of them were like Nico.

The kids that sit with Nico are loud and outgoing, and Nico is the opposite.

I could try to sit with them at lunch, I thought to myself, Lou and Cecil won't mind.

I've always wanted to be Nico's friend. Not in a weird/stalker way. In fact, I didn't even know why, just that I felt drawn to him. If nothing else, I needed to at least introduce myself.

So I spent the rest of the lesson watching the clock, mentally preparing myself for the lunch bell to ring.

~

When it finally did, I hurried to pack up my stuff. Most of my classmates had already scrambled out of the door, except for a few of the stragglers. One of these stragglers was Frank.

I wouldn't say me and Frank were friends, more like acquaintances. He's a pretty muscular Asian kid, one of the guys who sat at Nico's table. I only talked to him because my mom and his dad were partners at work. (They were police investigators). Frank wants to join the police when he gets older, like his dad.

"Will," he said as he approached me, "my dad texted me to go to your house after school. Apparently our parents want to work late on a case they got assigned to today."

"Go figure." I chuckled. My mom loved her job, I didn't mind her staying late.

"Yeah, I wonder what type of case it is."

"I doubt they'll tell us."

I took a moment to zip my bag, Frank trying to come up with a response. I thought about asking him if I could sit with him and his friends at lunch, simply because if I ask and someone is actually expecting me, I would actually go.

But did I really want to go? The only person at that table I've really spoken to is Frank. What if it was awkward? What if I did something stupid?

"Hey, do you mind if I sit at your table today?" I blurted, before I could think too much and change my mind.

"Sure, I don't see why not. But we should probably get going." Frank said, heading for the door. I hesitated for a second before trailing after him.

~

We made our way through the line and to the table. Around it were a bunch of people I vaguely recognized from my classes.

There was Percy and his girlfriend, Annabeth. Next to them was Leo and Calypso, who were also a couple. Piper sat next Jason, another couple. Nico sat between Jason and Reyna, like usual. Me and Frank sat down and went through all the introductions, all of which were fairly friendly.

"So, Will, what do your parents do for a living?" Reyna was asking me.

"My dad's a surgeon and my mom's a police investigator."

"That's cool," Leo chimed in, "my dad makes guns in his shop for the military."

We continued with the mindless small talk until Frank suddenly noticed a girl standing around, looking in the sea of people for a spot to sit. "Hey," he called to her, "do you need a table?"

"Yeah, is there room over here?"

"There can be." Frank replied as he scooted over and pulled an empty chair from another table.

The new girl sat next to him, smiling. "Thanks, I'm Hazel."

"Where are you from?" Annabeth asked her.

"I'm from Alaska, we moved because of my dad."

Annabeth whistled, "You're going to hate the weather here, then. Did your dad get a job offering or something?"

"I don't think I'm supposed to talk about it." Hazel said sheepishly, her cinnamon hair falling into her face.

"Oh, okay. I was just curious."

I looked across the table to Nico, who Jason was talking to in a hushed tone. It was now or never. I sat at this table to specifically talk to him. I couldn't chicken out.

"Hey, Nico, did you take any notes from math that I could maybe borrow? I kinda zoned out during the class."

Hazel's eyes got big, like she was just noticing him for the first time, "Nico?"

Nico just blinked at her, "Do I know you?"

"What's your last name?" Hazel asked, her voice full of emotions I couldn't place.

"Anderson."

Upon hearing Nico's last name, the new girl relaxed visibly. Nico began to pick at the sleeves of his jacket, which were slightly frayed. The table had grown quiet and everyone's expression was one of confusion.

Unable to take the awkward silence, I cleared my throat. "So about those notes....?"

"Oh, right. Sorry, Will." Nico mumbled and began digging through his things. "Here you go."

He handed me a few sheets of paper, which I accepted gratefully, "Thanks."

The conversation gradually picked back up again, now that the tension was broken. I didn't say much because I was more than content to listen. Nico stayed silent for the rest of the period, and he would occasionally flinch if the people near him said or did anything too suddenly. I wondered for the billionth time what, if anything, could make a person so quiet? Could make a person scared of the simplest actions?

I felt like the answer was so unbelievably obvious, and Nico Anderson was a puzzle I couldn't possibly solve.

But I could still try.

All too soon, the bell rang, thus signaling the end of lunch and the start of next period. That was okay, though. The notes I borrowed gave me the perfect excuse to talk to Nico again without seeming like a creep.

~

The rest of the school day seemed to pass in an uneventful blur. Soon, I was on my way home with Frank.

My phone vibrated in my hand, a message from my mom. I punched in the password and read the text aloud.

"Station very crowded, me and Mars are going to do the interviews at the house. Please clean up." I read, groaning.

"At least we'll know what the case is about." Frank said hopefully.

"Yeah, there's that. I just hope it's nothing too serious." I grumbled as I struggled with the lock on the front door.

I did the dishes while Frank talked about nothing in particular. At least I hope it was nothing important. I wasn't really listening to what he was saying, but occasionally I'd nod to make it seem like I was.

It was shortly after the dishes were done when the door opened and my mom announced their arrival.

"Will! Frank! We're home! Come to the living room so I can introduce you guys!" My mom called to us.

After exchanging looks with each other, me and Frank did what we were told. I heard Frank gasp beside me.

"Hazel?"

She shuffled awkwardly, "Hi guys. Your parents said you would be here....."

We just looked at her, both our eyes wide. After a brief moment of awkward silence, Mars cleared his throat.

"Well, you guys know Hazel. These are her parents." He gestured to the man and woman standing beside him.

Hazel's parents were each the opposite of each other. Where her dad was tall and pale, her mom was short and had a chocolate complexion. Her dad tried for a smile, but it seemed to be a little forced, as if held up by pins and needles.

"Call me Hades. This is my wife, Marie." They shook our hands, Hazel staring at her shoes.

"Hazel, we're going to interview your parents in the other room, okay?" My mom waited for Hazel to nod before continuing, "Just make yourself comfortable, it shouldn't take too long."

And then the three of us were left alone.

Another awkward silence.

Hazel broke it this time. "You guys have lots of questions, don't you?"

"None that you have to answer." Frank replied, his brow furrowed in concern.

"I want to." She took a shaky breath before continuing, "But promise not to say anything, they're trying to keep the investigation as secretive as possible."

We both promised, and she took another breath. Like she was willing herself to keep it together.

"It's about my half siblings. I've never met them, my mom stopped seeing Hades for a few years after I was conceived, but I was supposed to meet Dad, Bianca, and Nico for the first time. I was so excited. After all, I've always wanted siblings. I was ready to meet the rest of my family." Hazel said, a few tears escaping from her eyes.

Frank placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. I just sat there like an idiot, trying not to make the story more painful for her to tell.

"A week before I was supposed to meet them, mom and dad were meeting at some restaurant to discuss the details, I was being babysat, and somewhere Bianca and Nico were walking home from school. Bianca was twelve and Nico was eight." Hazel gripped Frank's hand now, needing to feel anchored.

"Some guy in a black truck showed up and shot Bianca, then he grabbed Nico and stuffed him in the car." Hazel's body was now shaking with sobs, her free hand covering her mouth. Her voice was strained, barely audible. "Bianca died on the way to the hospital, and we never found Nico."

Frank pulled the girl into an embrace, muttering soft, soothing words to her. She clutched him as if her life depended on it. As if he was the only thing that could protect her from all the evil in the world.

Her family was ripped apart before she even got to see them.

She cried for a long time, but eventually her sobs quieted to sniffles. She pulled away from Frank, muttering apologies.

"That's why you acted a little strange when you heard Nico's name at lunch...." I thought aloud.

"Yeah, part of me hoped, he would be around sixteen if he was still alive so the guy at lunch was the right age range. But my brother was a di Angelo. Besides, we're probably only going to find a body, Will."

We were quiet for awhile, and all I could do was think. How could someone shoot a twelve year old girl? What happened to the little boy who had to watch his sister die? What did that psycho do to him?

"You're wrong." Frank finally said, a certain venom in his voice I never heard from him before. Hazel and I looked up at him. The questions must've been visible on our faces, so Frank elaborated.

"Even if we don't find your brother, we'll find the scumbag who ruined your family. Trust me, he is going to pay." I studied his expression, it was calm and full of determination.

I knew then that he was deadly serious, and that he was telling the truth.

A/N ~ Well, that makes chapter one. Honestly, this was supposed to be up Saturday, but *shuffles from foot to foot awkwardly* *whispers* things just sorta happened.

My sister keeps trying to read what I'm writing over my shoulder, this can't end well.

Save me.