Sup guys! Just me again! Above is Will's bike cause I suck at descriptions. Tell me if I ever miss a triggers!
Triggers:
Suicidal Thoughts
Mentions of bullying
Mention of abuse

Will's POV:

I stood in the back of the parking lot, as I always did. Always in the back. Always an afterthought.

A bell clanged, shocking me to the present. Little kids ran out of the school to their parents. Sophie, however, raced to me.

I grinned a bit, though I didn't feel like smiling. My younger sister called my name and ran at me with open arms. I picked her up, spinning her in the air.

"I've missed you. How was your day princess?" I asked, resting her small body on my hip. I tried not to wince as she pressed against the bruises along my body. 

Her bright blue shirt and yellow skirt were cheery compared to the grey, bland clothes I wore. A small bruise or two on her legs, from playing outside. My smile grew proudly, glad I could keep the bruises away.

"It was great! I got candy!" She pulled a candy bar out of her pocket as I tugged her backpack off. It was light, practically empty, though, what do you expect from a 1st grader?

"That's great. You can eat it on the ride. We're not going to the park today, we're going to my new friend's house." As much as I had groaned about it, it was supposed to rain today, and taking her to Percy's house was much safer than taking her home. Home. Gods, could you even call it that? It was just a place. A place I'd learned to hate.

She nodded and hopped down from my arms. I held her bag and helped her into the basket of my bike. She sat in it crisscross next to a rolled-up towel for later, eating her candy bar as I opened an umbrella and adjusted it to the basket latch. It clicked into place.

I stood, wondering for a split second what I was doing. I did that a lot. I have so many thoughts nowadays that I lose a few.

"Here. It's gonna start raining in a few minutes, can you keep your bag under it too?" Sophie nodded again, mouth full of chocolate. 

I sat the bag next to her and hopped on the front, then slid my earbuds into place. Carefully maneuvering around cars and onto the sidewalk,  I got lost in the lyrics of Uma Thurman (a true picker-upper, might I add). 

A few cars honked at me as I went around them. No one can be patient. Rush rush rush. That's all people do. Well, I'm taking my damn time thank you very much.  

☀☁☀☁☀

It wasn't long before rain started to hit my shirt, because that's my luck for you, considering we were only five minutes from his house. It started with a few drops but became a downpour as I continued to pull into the parking lot of the house. 

"Come on. Put the towel in your bag and bring it in alright?" Sophie picked up the towel in the basket, stuffing it in as I handed her the umbrella. Pulling her out, she ran up to the door completely dry. 

It earned another satisfied smile from me. If there's anything I'm proud of, it's Sophie. She could light up anyone's day just by breathing. And I'd say I did a pretty good job.

I followed her up quickly, trying to ring out my shirt a bit. Sophie rang the doorbell in her excited manner. I stood under the porch now, waiting to be tortured by what the strong ones call social interaction. Terrifying.

Percy opened the door with a bright smile as he let us in. I stepped onto the doormat and tried not to drip water onto the floor. Percy didn't seem to lose his cheerfulness at my lack of enthusiasm, which is a feat I can applaud. 

"Hey! Will, if you were going to ride your bike you could have called me. I would have picked you up," he said with an apologetic tone as though he actually cared. I shook my head. He should give acting lessons. He's not too bad at it.

"No. I had-had to pick Sophie up anyways." I took the umbrella from her as she slid off her muddy shoes and set them on the doormat. 

"And who's this?" He asked as he booped her nose. Sophie giggled.

"I'm Sophie! I'm six years old!" She says, holding up five fingers. I closed the umbrella and wrapped it up, sliding off my shoes. My socks were mostly dry so I chose to keep them on. 

I then set her bag onto the couch. "I hope it's not a problem that I brought her. It's my job to watch her while my mom's at work." Not a complete lie, only I doubt my mother was at work. 

"Not at all!" He shook his head. "We ordered pizza. Do you like pizza?" Sophie nodded enthusiastically and I shrugged. Now that I peered into the kitchen, I saw everyone from before.

"I LOVE pizza!" She shouted, making the others turn towards us. I smiled at her enthusiasm. We don't have a lot of chances to have good food, so she eats at school and a snack at the park on a regular day.

"So, let's go. Do you need a towel to dry off or something?" Percy says, trying to wash away the awkwardness and slightly hostile tension I put into the room.

"No, I think I'll just drip on the floor." I rolled my eyes a bit as I laughed to myself in my mind. Most people would say I'm rude, but I'm actually hilarious. They just don't get it.  

He brought in a towel, handing it to me. I rubbed my hair and tried to ring the water out of my shirt. 

We walked in and I glanced at a clock. 4:31. It had taken a while for me to get over, he lived midway in the city while we lived on the edge. I was sore and wet but then I saw him again. 

His hair was pulled back in a high ponytail. While everyone else ate, he sat next to Hazel quietly. But sitting on his lap was Sophie. She was eating a piece of pizza quickly, licking the breadstick crust.

I smile and come to sit down next to her. Nico glances at me. His expression was unreadable but he still sent a message. He was not letting go of what happened this afternoon. Instead of talking about it like a normal person, I decided to turn my attention to Sophie.

"Here. You look hungry. And I'm Sally by the way," A woman said with a kind smile, setting a plate in front of me. I looked up at her and assumed she was Percy's mom. 

Three slices of pepperoni pizza sat on my plate, and I licked my lips a bit. I hadn't eaten a real meal in some time. Small snacks and bowls of cheap cereal and this looked good. 

I picked up a slice and quickly bit it. The flavor exploded onto my tongue and I took another bite. It wasn't long before I had devoured all three pieces, Sophie doing the same. The others watched us, making me a bit self-conscious, but Sally made up for it by giving me two more slices.

"We should have a sleepover!" Percy decides. The others either cheer or groan, but not one objection. 

"Sure. Your parents won't mind will they?" Sally asks, turning her direction to me. Ha! Doubt my mother would notice if we didn't come home.

"No of course not. I'll text my mom," I said,  pulling out my phone and pretending to type something. This will work out great! I thought. I waited a moment before looking up. "My mom's got work late so Sophie will have to stay here. Is that alright?"

"Of course! I can set up the air mattresses. She can sleep on the couch." She smiled. I nodded and picked her up off Nico's leg.

He glared at me. I couldn't tell if it was playful so I glared back in the same manner. He seemed shocked that I did so which made a small smile break out on my face.

"Come on princess. Let's clean you up," I carried her to the kitchen sink, grabbing a napkin and getting it wet. "Can you do it? Or do you need help?"

"I'm a big kid Will! You don't need to baby me." She took it from me and wiped her face, missing the pizza sauce significantly. 

"Missed a spot princess. Here." I took it from her and wiped her face again. Setting her down, I then washed my hands. All the while the others watched. I felt their eyes burn into my back.

Honestly! Do any of you have a life?! When I turned again, Sophie was being hugged by Nico and sitting on his lap. I roll my eyes with a small smile. 

"Come on princess, you have homework to do." I walked over and pulled her away again, taking her back to the living room. 

"But homework is boring!" She groaned. I smiled a bit.

"You're never going to be a vet if you don't do your homework," I responded as I pulled out a science sheet and set it on a side table.

"Animals don't need to know about friction! I don't need to know what Steve did to move the boulder either," she sighed with a pout.

"But what if you need to move a boulder? Now you know how," she giggled at that making me smile. "Hurry up and do your homework. You need to finish before bedtime."

"Ugh. Fineeeee," she groaned as she started on it. I sat next to her silently as I glanced at the clock. Twenty till seven. 

"You need to go to bed after you finish." Ruffling her hair, I turned to the others.

Sally had set up the beds as the others talked about something that happened at school. At first, I figured it was some kind of drama. I didn't pay too much attention. 

Sorry it was short! This is mainly just to introduce our darling Sophie. The next one should be longer. Thanks to Sewerdweller for editing!