Stressed out was an understatement.

Overwhelmed felt like the more appropriate word for Death the Kid's current situation.

And all his closet companions could do was watch. His weapons watched him from afar, shifting through piles of books and assorted papers filled back to back with notes he himself wrote as he was taking "Death god" lessons from his Father.

Everything he ever knew about being Lord Death was nothing more than the tip of the iceberg.

Thus everyday after class, Kid would report to his Father and learn how to be a true governor of death.

They knew, he would never dare admit it, but they knew. They could see it in his eyes when he just smiled with confidence and proclaimed he was just fine.

He was afraid.

Afraid of failing, afraid of cracking under the pressure of being the one entity that the world will have its eyes on. Watching him. Depending on him.

No.

Stressed was not appropriate at all.

Liz and Patty worked twice as hard to keep his sanity in balance. Meaning once he left for his private lessons, the two ran home to double, triple, quadruple check that everything was evenly spaced, aligned, and perfectly symmetrical in hopes of making his own home truly a place of rest.

Fortunately, their work did not go unrecognized.

Kid was more than thrilled to find his house in complete perfection and thanked the girls up and down every day.

But regardless, it did little to aid in his aching head and fear filled spirit.

As the girls continued to devise plans to find other things to relieve his stress or help him in general, in which Patty immediately suggested a field trip to the zoo, they didn't notice a small project of wood and nails in the far reaches of the backyard.

Liz awoke to a noise.

A familiar noise but it was distant making it unidentifiable.

She sat up and yawned slightly, rubbing her eyes and she searched the room for the sound.

But instead found a single occupant of the bed missing.

Kid was gone, leaving a perfectly symmetrical space in between herself and her sister empty.

The noise was somewhat constant. A short flow then a pause followed by a sharp clang of metal on metal, then another flow and repeats.

Liz sat there for a moment, trying to pinpoint the identity of the sound but only felt a sensation of going up and sliding down, like a wave.

Confused, worried and curious, Liz carefully slipped out as to not wake her sister, although more than half the time the girl could sleep through a train wreck, she tip toed her way out and gently closed the door behind her.

Deeming it safe, she walked at a normal pace, down the stairs and through the labyrinth of hallways they called home. Despite being apart of the Death family and living in this mansion for sometime, there were still parts of it she had yet to discover, although apart of her didn't want to know what sort of things a Death god would have in one of these random rooms.

Finding a skeleton in the closet was the least of her worries.

So she followed the hallways blind, using only her ears to find her way to the mysterious noise and her missing meister.

It wasn't long before she eventually found double doors, with four glass panels on each that lead to the outside.

Liz froze in mid step, peering through the glass to find something was definitely behind it and some one was really there. But one thought came across her mind first.

"We have a backyard?" she asked aloud.

Not waiting for a response she will never receive, she hoped, she quickly made her way towards the door and grasped the gold door knob.

The moment she felt the cold air rush inside, the sound became crystal clear.

Suddenly old memories began to flood back as she stepped outside and felt as though she was transported to another place and time.

She saw kids of all ages running around with smiles on their faces and bruises on their hands and knees.

The Brooklynskate park was always busy, especially during the summer when Liz and Patty would visit, watching new kids and pros alike take to the ramps on skateboards, rollerblades or bikes.

More than half the time they would flirt with the inhabitants of the skate jungle, and watch with much amusement as they would show off their tricks to impress them only to crack their skull in the process.

Many laughs were had.

Despite all the troubles of the street life for the Thompson sisters, there were only fond memories in the middle of the city where the sound rolling wheels on the smooth pavement was as calming and soothing as the ocean.

Liz blinked and watched her memories disappear as she looked on to see her meister on his favorite skateboard riding beautifully on a half pipe she never recalled seeing before with four tall street lamps on each corner to light his way in the darkness of the night.

She blindly shut the door behind her as she eyes were glued to him, riding from one side of the pipe, doing a small trick, riding down then up again and another trick, repeating every time yet she was just as captivated as she first laid eyes on him.

He was in the zone, not at all noticing her presence as she slowly and silently made her way closer.

For a while it almost looked as though he was too intense, his eyes narrow and brows furrowed, focusing on every move he was making, during every twist, loop and grind.

Liz stopped a few feet away from the lowest point of the ramp and watched, her head following him as he went up and down. She couldn't stop smiling.

He built his own little skate park in his back yard.

His own place to get away from it all.

For a moment, Liz felt like she was back in New York.

Watching the new kid tear up the place with fantastic tricks, easily reeling her in and peeking her interest.

For a moment, she felt like he was just another kid and she was just another girl.

Like they were normal people, in a normal place, doing normal things.

He was even wearing, normal clothes. Jeans, skate shoes, s black shirt with the usual white death insignia in the center and an unbutton pinstriped shirt over it.

Suddenly he stopped doing tricks on each edge of the half pipe, he instead just rounded his turn and repeated, but his focus was just as intense as before.

Liz immediately recognized what he was doing and watched in anticipation as he gained momentum for a new trick.

Finally, after turning back at the top of each side four times, Kid crouched as he made his way down and back up again, he launched himself upward, holding onto his board and spinning four times perfectly in the air.

Liz's jaw dropped as all four wheels of the Beelzebub landed gracefully on the wooden surface with ease and rolled down the pipe.

She was lucky to see someone do a proper 360 spin, but then again, Kid was a Death god, and was thus inclined to do many things above and beyond that of a human. Thus a beautiful 720 degree spin should've been expected.

"YES! FINALLY!" Kid cried out and pumped his fists in the air in victory with, quite possibly, the biggest smile she had ever seen on his face.

She couldn't help it, whether it was out of an old habit or just pure happiness for her meister's accomplishment, she clapped for him.

"L-liz?"

Finally, he looked back at the audience he had no idea he had and blushed furiously. Unfortunately, he forgot he was at the top of the other side of his half pipe and gravity finally took hold of him while his guard was down.

He yelped in surprise as he board continued going up while his body fell backwards, bashing his head and lower back onto the slope and slid down in minor pain, although his pride was another story.

Without a second of hesitation, Liz ran forward and hopped on top of the half pipe to his side, "Kid!"

"Ow…" he whimpered lightly.

Moments later his board finally decided to roll back to him and crash into his leg. He let out a small groan, holding his head and looking up at his loyal weapon in embarrassment as she knelt beside him.

"Are you ok?" she smiled, rather amused at the red coloration in his cheeks.

"Y-yeah…did I wake you?"

"Yes and no" she shrugged," That was an amazing trick back there"

"Thanks...",Kid finally sat up, gently rubbing the back of his head, partially in embarrassment and partially from the pain that slowly began to fade away, "…how long have you been here?"

"Not too long…how long have you had this?" she sat with her legs crossed and leaned back with her hand behind her on the wood.

"…not too long…I just built it a couple of weeks ago …" he sighed, mimicking her, sitting cross legged with Beelzebub in his lap, "It's my own place to escape"

"It's great, the best I've ever seen" she gently slid her hand against the surface, noting not a single imperfection was found save for minor scratches due to the constant wheels against it. It wouldn't be long before Kid would buff it out until it was once again perfect.

He arched an eyebrow in question, "Seen?"

"There was a skate park inBrooklyn, me and Patty used to hang out there when we wanted to get away also" she smiled, looking up into the night sky, "We made a lot of friends and great memories there"

"…So you don't think it's weird?"

At this she brought his eyes back to Earth and on the young Death god before her was had a tight nervous grip on his board, "Weird? Why would I think this is weird?"

"I…don't know, it's not very…Death god like"

She let out a hearty laugh, "Oh please, if your dad had legs he would totally be on roller blades doing handplants all over this thing"

Immediately the image of his Father's abstract body on roller skates doing tricks on the half pipe invaded his mind and caused a small laugh to escape.

"Besides, I haven't seen you this happy in months, for a moment, you were a normal guy just doing what he loves"

For a moment, the two stayed in a comfortable silence of understanding. Although he preferred to keep his stress free area to himself, somehow he felt more relieved knowing that it was now a place he could share with those closet to him.

"Thank you Liz" he finally said, with a genuine smile.

"C'mon skater boy, it's late" with that, Liz stood up and offered him a hand," Tomorrow is Saturday, no school or lessons, so you can skate all you want"

"Skateboarding all day on a weekend…like a normal teenage boy. Never thought I'd be able to do such a thing" he laughed, taking her hand as a small wave of excitement began to grow in his chest.

She laughed, pulling him up to his feet, "Think you can teach me and Patty how to skate? I've always thought I'd be a pretty hot skater girl" she grinned, flicking her hair behind her back to emphasize her point.

As the two walked back towards the house where Patty had no idea that they had left in the first place, Kid's mind began to wander. Imagining Liz in skating apparel, grinding on his half pipe.

"…I am inclined to agree with you"