DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own the characters...or the books;(

~~~oOo~~~

When Nico was in kindergarten he wasn't a very social kid. It wasn't that he didn't like people. It was more that he didn't know how to interact with them. He'd grown up, to that point, with his sister always being there for him. She was always with him, wherever they went, whenever they went. No matter what. And he always chose her company over that of children his own age. It worked out just fine. Until school came along. Preschool wasn't too bad. It was only for a couple hours a day, and you didn't do much other than sit around and build with blocks or eat a slice of apple or something. But Kindergarten was different.

Nico was expected to play with the other children, to talk with them, even to work on projects with them. But the worst part by far was recess. Since the class was only from noon to three, there was no need for a lunch, but they still got a recess. It seemed like each session went on for hours. Nico usually sat on top of the grassy hill, leaning against the fence of the playground, watching the other kids play. He'd spent the first one looking for his sister there. She'd said that's where she'd meet him during recess. He never found her. And that night, she explained to him that they had different recesses.

For the first month of school, Nico sat on his hill and played a card game, Mythomagic. He didn't really mind. As long as Bianca, his sister, was there to play with after school, he didn't see why it mattered if he had friends at school. He was fine sitting alone playing with cards, watching as other kids ran around together.

Then, one day, a boy who must've been closer to Bianca's age then Nico's ran up the hill and plopped down next to him. The boy's elfish ears poked through a mess of curly black hair, his eyes were brown and his smile took up his whole face. Nico was slightly taken aback that anyone would come sit with him, and even more surprised that it was clearly an older kid who'd decided to come over. Even in kindergarten, it was a well known fact that older kids were too cool to so much as talk to younger ones.

"Hi!" The boy greeted him, practically bouncing up and down. Nico had meant to speak, but before he could the boy spoke again, "What's that you're playing?"

"Uhh...a card game."

"Awesome! Show me how it works?" And that was how their strange friendship began. Everyday at recess the boy would come and find him. They'd play Mythomagic, and sometimes they'd just talk. It lasted until near the end of the year. One day, the boy wasn't anywhere. He wasn't there next day, either. A week passed, and still he was missing. Nico never saw the boy again. He hadn't even exchanged names with the person he considered his best friend(after Bianca, of course).

Over the next four years Nico made friends. Not many, but he was completely happy with the three he had. Plus Bianca. And things were going pretty well, until the winter of fourth grade. That was when things changed. Again. Bianca had been...off almost that entire year. She was more easily upset, and she talked and smiled less. And, during christmas break, a strange lady who introduced herself as Miss A. came to visit. She talked with everyone in the family, except for Nico. He was told that the discussion had nothing to do with him. Once Miss A. left, Nico was beckoned into the family room.

"Bianca has made a decision to go to boarding school," his mother started to explain. He learned that she was going to an all girls boarding school, a school with a wonderful archery and hunting program. Nico didn't know why Bianca would want to go to such a place. First off, she had never shown any interest in hunting, so why go to a school for hunting? And then, and most importantly, it was boarding school as in not at home with her family like she should be. Nico yelled at her, told her that she was dumb, asked her how she could abandon him. She kept trying to explain, but Nico would have none of it. He went to his room and locked the door. When he came out the next day, Bianca had already left for school.

About a month went by before the next blow was delivered. He came home from a Mythomagic tournament to find his mother in tears, and his father comforting her gravely. He was scared, as he should've been, to go to his parents and ask what had happened. He didn't need to. His father walked to him, got down on his knees and looked into Nico's eyes.

"Bianca has died," was all he said. Those words were probably what changed his life the most. He never found out the details of her death. Something about an important hunting trip and a heroic sacrifice on her part. Three days after the horrid news, a small package arrived for Nico. FromBianca. It had been sent the day she died. He didn't open it. He couldn't. He shoved it in the pocket of his too-big jacket and left it there.

After his sister's death, Nico withdrew from people. He lost the three friends he had. More of pushed them away, really. He stopped playing Mythomagic. Most his cards got torn up in fits of fury and got tossed about his room.

Four years passed and he couldn't have been more different then he was eight years ago. He was always alone, but now he was unapproachable. Gloomy. Always scowling. Never smiling. He never played any sort of game. Mostly, he read. And when he wasn't reading, he was taking his anger out on a punching bag.

He liked to read. Especially leatherbound books. They were his favorite, no matter what the actual book was. This was because of Bianca. She'd always said how beautiful the leather bound books were, the ones with the gold leafed paper and built in ribbon bookmarks. Nico liked to read them for her. To feel a connection with his big sister, even if it was through reading musty old books.

Because of his recent love for literature, Nico spent most his time in some library or another. He was in the school library, eating lunch, when AJ and Griffin came in.

"Hey, Death Boy," AJ called. Nico inwardly rolled his eyes. People often assumed he was Goth, Emo, Punk or into death. But he wasn't. He wore dark colors, mostly black, and a big, dark brown aviator jacket, and his hair was shaggy because he didn't care enough to do anything with it other then cut it off with his pocket knife when it got in his way. That did not make him some devil worshipper. But, whatever. Like he cared what these dumb shits thought of him.

"You better pay attention when we talk to you!" Griffin warned.

"What do you want?" Easier to just talk with them. They wouldn't give up and just leave.

"You had a sister, right?" Griffin asked, smiling in the way that meant he knew Nico was sour around that subject.

"Don't." He said simply, trying to turn away before anything happened.

"I heard she swore off boys before she died," AJ sneered.

"Does that mean she went lesbian? Shame about that. She was a hot one."

"Deffinitly worth a night."

"If she weren't dead, I think I could turn her straight," Griffin gloated.

Nico was really trying to ignore them. His way out was blocked. He was trapped in an isle of books with one jackass blocking one end. Their comments weren't new. Since Bianca's death, Nico ad heard that she'd publicly declared she would never mingle with men. So the whole lesbian thing wasn't a surprising rummar. The thing was, Nico honestly couldn't have cared less what gender of lover his sister wanted. She could've fallen in love with a horse and he'd've been happy. He just wanted her alive.

"I wonder what happened to make her hate guys..." AJ again.

"Hmmm...I've heard some pretty interesting things about that,"

Nico clenched his hands into fists. He didn't want to gt into a fight. Well, yes, he did. But he knew he couldn't afford to. He'd been doing so well lately. He hardly ever got into arguments, and even fewer physical brawls. He only got sent to the office a few times a month. With the idiots he was forced to be around, he was proud of himself for not even killing anyone. But the last time he'd talked to the principal, she'd warned him that he shouldn't push his luck, he could still get expelled. Nico found the 'push your luck' bit ironic. Because he was so lucky.

"Do tell me what you've heard about it, Griffin."

"Why, certainly, AJ. You see, I hear that her father-" That's when Nico broke. He didn't need to hear the rest of that statement, he already knew where it was going. But he wished he didn't. He charged at Griffin, slamming him into a bookshelf, causing the whole thing to collapse. He kicked him hard in the gut, then ran at AJ and punched him in the face. He heard the librarian screaming, but he didn't stop. He kept punching and kicking until he was pulled away by the PE teacher.

"My office, NOW!" The principal, Mrs. Alps, yelled at Nico. He shuffled towards the door, then looked back at the Ms. Jayne, the librarian

"I'm sorry about the library. I hadn't meant to harm it." His apologie got a startled half smile out of her.

~~~oOo~~~

Nico sat slouched in his regular chair in the office. His parents were having a heated discussion with Mrs. Alps, but he couldn't be bothered to listen in. Later in the evening, when he was told that he'd been expelled, it came as no real shock. He didn't care. He'd miss the library, and Ms. Jayne, but that was it. his parents, on the other hand, were furious.

"Nico, how many times have we had this talk?" His mom asked, stern, but tired.

"I've lost count," Nico shrugged.

"You're getting out of control," his father stepped in, "and your mother and I think it's best if we send you to a private school for...troubled children such as yourself."

"Fine."

"Go upstairs and pack, you leave in two days."

Nico did as he was told. He didn't have much to pack, so he was finished and ready to go before he even went to bed that night. His bag was mostly filled books. He figured he'd need them. Especially if he was expected to deal with 'troubled' kids.