There is a knock at the door. Percy stands up from the island. Hades has already run up to the door, pawing at the bottom. Slowly, Percy stalks along the floor. She peers out the peephole and rolls her eyes.

The door opens. Erik stares back at Percy. His lip is bloody, but there is no cut. The bright red flash is smeared across his temple as well, all the way down to his ear. Without a word, he passes by Percy and enters her house.

Hades runs around Erik's ankles. The pale boy nearly trips over the dog, looking over his shoulder and hoping that Percy did not catch a glance of his stumble.

The girl is too busy peering into the hallway to notice. Hopefully, no one has seen Erik come here. Although, what would she do about it anyway? A bloodied teen walking into an apartment building isn't exactly usual for Hamilton, but not uncommon either. Especially since they are so close to Barnaby.

Erik sits on the couch and begins to rub behind Hades' ears. His white fur is so thick and so soft. Hades' tail shakes wildly, his light pink tongue sticking out. A smile begins to creep onto Erik's face, one he doesn't notice, and therefore doesn't hide.

"What are you doing here?" Percy asks. She wonders how Erik found her, but then again, she doesn't exactly want to know the answer.

Erik shrugs. "I like your dog."

The girl's cheeks tinge pink. Her hands, which have lost the calluses from burns, tuck a loose strand of curly hair behind her ear. The sound of her steps feels too loud, but Erik can barely hear their echo over the heavy panting of Hades.

"He's decent," Percy doesn't like to gush, not even about her dog. It's better than staring at the flash of colour brightening what otherwise looks like Erik's corpse. Has he always looked this pale and this cold? "Is he the only reason why you came?"

Erik looks up. His blue eyes are sharp. They pierce Percy, as if cutting her into pieces.

Her whole life, Percy has always felt like the queen of the Underworld. Her name isn't Persephone, but it might as well be. Hell has always been her home. The boy before her looks more demon than human, and the feeling doesn't sit well inside her.

Percy kneels down next to Erik. His lips are parted slightly.

The boy's eyes don't leave Percy. There is something in her eyes, something he can't gage. Erik watches, waits, ignoring the nagging in the back of Thea's mind.

Percy leans forward, planting a kiss slowly on Erik's lips.

The younger of the two tips backwards, landing on the ground. His heart feels like it is going to rush out of his chest. Quickly, he collects himself off the ground.

"I've got to go," he tells Percy.

Without a word, he leaves the room.

~~~

The candles flicker in front of her. Hope wishes that she could be so lively, so bright. She wishes that she too could dance without caring who is watching. Apparently, Lee plays an instrument. Perhaps one day, Hope could find herself free enough to enjoy its sweet tune.

"How were classes?" Hope's father asks.

Hope swallows. How were classes? She would have to ask her classmates, because she did not go. Instead, she ran to tell Percy about the secret the police know, and she did so behind her father's back. The worst thing is that Hope actually misses class, because she loves what she is studying. No, the worst thing is that Percy left abruptly.

No. Hope doesn't feel guilty for lying to her father anymore. That is the worst thing.

"What was Mom like?" Hope asks, looking at her father.

The metallic ring of his fork clanging against the porcelain plate echoes through the house. For the first time, perhaps ever, Hope does not feel bad asking. For too long has she gone through his desk to find photos of her own mother, sneaking through the dark as a spy in her own house.

"Hope-"

"I'm supposed to do a project on my family tree," how could Hope feel bad about lying when it is nothing more than storytelling? She is quite good at creating after all, and this deception can be beautiful is she lets it.

Her father sighs, pulling himself up from the table. Hope stands up to match him. He crosses around to her side, kissing her delicately on the temple. Without another word, he heads up to bed.

~~~

Cara throws her books over her shoulder. Her Wednesday class always gets out too late for her liking. Her entire sleep schedule is thrown by one class, because now she has to eat later than she would like. Perhaps it was because she was hungry, or perhaps it was because they were discussing enzymes in the digestive track, or perhaps it is some different reason altogether, but Cara's stomach wouldn't stop churning.

Now, she waits at the bus stop to catch a ride home. Her baba offered to pick her up, but Cara said no. Call it intuition, rather than call it Eden mentioning he always goes for a jog at this time by the school. The past couple of days have given Cara a lesson in ignoring reality since it feels more like a dream.

"Cara," a voice rings out across the street.

The girl looks up. There, she sees June jumping up and down, waving at her. Standing next to the bubbly ginger is Eden. He keeps his head down.

Cara lifts her hand and delicately waves back. She can feel a blush creeping on to her cheeks already. It's just her body warming itself against the chill, hopefully. Maybe it's the sight of June beaming, after all, June is beautiful too. Not that liking June would be any better.

Don't screw the crew.

There is a break in traffic and June bolts across the street. Eden looks up and stumbles forward. This is what he gets for trying to be incognito. Not that June would get hit by a car, because that kind of stuff just doesn't happen in Hamilton. Not that it would matter if she did anyway.

"Did you just get off class?" June nearly trips over the curb. Her body tips into Cara, who barely catches June. The bright girl laughs playfully, leaning back. June, successfully, manages to hide her embarrassment at her rare clumsiness.

Eden joins the other two. His spine is straighter than it has been in a long time, and his eyes dart around to look for Liam, and for anyone else who would see him with Cara or June. Two girls who The Boys think he has hooked up with, together? If anything is a recipe for disaster, it's this.

"Yeah," Cara exhales. Her breath becomes a white fog in the cold. Her hands fidget with the hem of her jacket. "I was just going to grab food."

June elbows Eden as she leans in. She can feel the tense air between them. Cara is harder to get a read on, but she keeps blinking whenever she looks at Eden. On the other hand, the boy beside her keeps wringing his hands.

The only emotion which June unsuccessfully hides is the biting of her lip. Like Wesley and Jamie, she has to take over, for their own good. "Great, because I'm starving. Are you thinking Chinese, because I'm thinking Chinese."

The boy next to her looks up, raising an eyebrow at June. For the first time, June doesn't acknowledge a gesture from Eden. Instead, she waits, eyes wide, for Cara's response.

"I don't know if we should be seen in public together," Cara offers.

June laughs, looking up at Eden. The boy next to her has gone pale. His hand rests perpetually on his chin, rubbing at his stubbly beard. There isn't anything June can say to calm him down, so she turns back to Cara.

"Eden knows my sister from high school, so nobody would be surprised to see us together," June winks. "Besides, we will undoubtedly be seeing each other at the Autumn festival. Since you guys are pretending to be dating for the police, you should go together. My family runs one of the booths there."

Eden pulls his phone out his pocket, pulling it up and closer to his face. Quickly, he types out a text message.

What game are you playing?

In her pocket, June's phone buzzes. She ignores it, not even looking up to Eden. The text could only be from him or one of her siblings, though the coincidence is unlikely.

Oblivious to the communication between the two, Cara watches Eden. She watches his brow furrow. The sound of him tapping his shoe off the pavement reverberates in her chest. It's easy to let herself like Eden when he obliviously has no feelings for her. That way, when she picks up all her things next year to run off to med school, she doesn't need to feel bad about abandoning him.

Eden looks up at her from his phone, and Cara turns away.

"Don't leave me hanging," June finally lets herself spare a glance between the two. Call it intuition (don't call it magic), but June knows there is something bubbling here. When her eyes land on Eden, she swallows her despair.

"Sure," Cara smiles.

Eden looks up at her, his jaw dropped.

~~~

When the bell hanging in the doorway rings, Wes' jaw instinctually tightens. He doesn't bother looking up from the blender as he places the lid on top. His fingers mashed down against a button, and Wes watches as the razor-sharp blades of the blender rip into the banana.

If he were feeling more poetic today, Wes would come up with something clever to say other than that he is the banana.

He hears his mother cough over his shoulder, so Wes finally forces himself to look up.

Standing in the doorway is Lee. Her red hair is a messier than it normally is, which is saying something. Though her clothes are normally dishevelled due to circumstance and not fashion, Lee looks like she has been wearing her clothes for the last 24 hours straight. While she has, in fact, Wes has no way of knowing that.

He finds himself caught in her blue eyes. While he is in no way attracted to her, and probably could never be, he begins to understand how anyone could enjoy femininity. How vulnerable and precarious such a condition could be.

Lee's shoes clack against the ground. Her cheeks tinge the colour of her hair. She wasn't expecting to see Wes here, and though she wants to make a comment about his gelled hair and rollerblades, the words are ripped apart in her throat. She feels like a blender, everything that comes in her heart is destroyed. God, she certainly is feeling poetic today.

Wes lifts part of the counter to move closer to Lee. He stops just a foot in front of her. His voice is low and raspy from trying to make sure his eavesdropping mothers don't hear him. "What are you doing here?"

"Have..." Lee hiccups, but quickly moves her hand up to her mouth. "Have you seen my brother? He looks like me, but with black hair, and dwebish."

Glancing over his shoulder, Wes looks to see his Mom. With them out of sight, thankfully, Wes pulls his apron off. Sometimes he wishes he wasn't so sentimental. He carefully skates around Lee, so as not to touch her. When he turns away, he rolls his eyes. "Follow me."

Lee does. The two move in silence until they are out the back of the restaurant. Wes sits down on a milk crate and waits for Lee to sit with him. Instead, she leans against the brick wall. Wes pulls out a lighter and a cigarette, igniting it in front of his face.

He offers Lee one, and when she shakes her head he almost laughs. "We've got nothing to lose now. Any damage we do to our lungs is going to be fixed."

Lee doesn't answer.

Wes puffs out. "So, no brother, huh?"

The girl beside him says nothing. He waits to hear the sound of her exhale, or to hear the brushing of her hands against her jacket. The wind is harsh, but Lee doesn't seem to mind.

"I'm not going to ask you to tell me about it," Wes begins, "so don't. I'm not going to be any good at finding her. Probably the only one of us who would have any clue is Erik."

Lee flashes her eyes at Wes.

The boy shrugs. "His Dad arrested me, way back when. Prick."

"I'd better get going," Lee rubs her eyes. Wes can tell they are watering but has no idea if it's the wind or if it's sadness. Lee wouldn't tell him anyway.

As Lee steps away, Wes feels bitterness filling him. God, Jamie wouldn't stand to see someone leaving who is so sad. "I'm sorry for being a dick."

Lee gives him the finger, but as she walks away, she smiles.

~~~

With delicate hands, Jamie creaks the door open. Kyle's room is messy, so much so that Jamie initially thinks his roommate is a pile of dirty clothes on the bed, rather than a living and breathing thing.

Kyle glances up at Jamie with bloodshot eyes, but then looks away. Jamie grimaces, but says nothing.

"We're out of milk," Kyle mutters to Jamie.

"And Doritos," Jamie jokes, gesturing to the empty bags on the ground. It's all he can find the ability to say. Every word has been sucked from him. His words are compressed beneath the clutter.

"You gonna go get more?" Kyle laughs.

Jamie doesn't answer. Everything Kyle has eaten is already on his grocery list. Jamie cracks his neck, letting out a sigh. "I was wondering if we could let my friend stay here. His name is Wes, and he's really nice..."

"Whose room will he sleep in?" Kyle asks.

Jamie swallows. He can hear the faint sounds of classic rock reaching the room from his record player. He wishes it was louder. "Mine."

"Will he be paying rent?" Kyle pulls himself upwards, leaning against the back wall.

Jamie doesn't remind Kyle that Kyle pays for nothing in the apartment.

"Sorry dude," Kyle shakes his head back and forth. "I just feel like we don't have enough space for him, you know? Maybe if you worked more hours or something, we could afford it. Or like, if you applied to that fancy kitchen or something."

Sincehis words have clogged, Jamie lowers his head and nods.

~~~~~

Okay, I'm sorry, but this is crazy. Eden "let's go do something fun" Connor shows up at Cara's bus stop. And the whole mess between Percy and Erik fucking kills me. Like Jesus.

Also, I published this early because I wanted to thank y'all for your patience. Let me tell you, the importance of writing ahead can't be overstated. If only I had been able to read, I could've edited the chapters. No matter. Instead of the family thing, because I got so many characters, I planned on telling you all the most important chapter for each character from now on. Enjoy!

Erik: Without a doubt, 28

Jamie: 25

Cara: Probably 28. I'm a big old softie. 28 is, I think, the best chapter (it's the one I'm currently writing, although everything after is planned). However, pretty much every chapter for Cara is a little tiny victory.

Eden: 21!

June: 25, I guess? Not really. June's most important chapter already happened, so this is the second-best I can give.

Wes: 34. Like June, his most important already happened. But this MATTERS!

Lee: lol RIP 30

Percy: 23 :(

Hope: 26!!!!!