"I'm escaping this world

one step at a time

but all I need first

is a partner in crime" - J.H.

 

Laughter and posh lectures one with another. Gentlemen in suits and ladies in dresses. The environment felt elegant and suffocating in this venue, at least for the seven year old Giotto. He looked adorable in his little suit, at least that’s what everyone said as his father showed him off. His father was the chief of security of the city, wealthy, handsome, widower, everything and anything Giotto could care less of. His most popular trait was his hatred and fear against mutants, beings with supernatural abilities that could surpass animal and machine. The city both feared them and revered them, it was a dividing side. But being a small minority they would only stand out every so often in the news. What his father would never know was that his own son was a mutant with developing powers. Another rub to the head, causing his hair to get messed up caused Giotto to groan and sneak away, away from the strong smelling perfumes and out a door that led to the outside for fresh air, the back parking lot barely lit up by a street lamp and decorated with a few garbage cans. “Stupid party, stupid stuff, stupid dad.” Giotto muttered under his breath as he got his hands in his pockets and kicked around a rock. He hated social events like this. Not only was he ignored, he was used as an item to show off. “Stupid!” He kicked the rock again.

"You know what I call tests? I call tests horse s***." He sat up in his chair and crossed his arms. He knew Giotto was definitely right. Everything was a test. Hell, life itself is just one giant test. He really didn't want to admit it, but it was. And Jesse wasn't the type of person to cheat a test. If there was one thing he hated it was cheaters. Cheaters who try to cheat the system. People like that needed to be wiped off the planet. "Well... Some tests I pass..." He muttered defeatedly. Sure, Jesse wouldn't be able to pass a math test or a spelling test to save his life, but at least he could pass the important tests life threw at him. Or that was what he hoped, at least.

Miliani happily accepted the grapes, very thankful that Giotto had removed the seeds from them. He began to nibble at them once more and found it much easier to actually eat. "Thank you." He said with a smile. "When you guys take me home, I want you to come inside and meet my family. It's pretty big though."

Jesse raised an eyebrow. "It can't be that big."

Miliani chuckled nervously. "Uh... Well there's my parents, my five older brothers and my two older sisters... And there's my grandparents."

Jesse just completely stopped in his thinking and looked right to Miliani like he was crazy.

"Damn." Jesse said. "Are you Italian or something?" Miliani nodded.

Giotto blinked innocently at Jesse. "I just have to make sure to pass the test in order to move onto the next level." Giotto said. With home schooling came the advantage that Giotto could go at his own pace, and being fast as he was, he was soaring to gain as many titles and credits under his belt as he could. Of course, this was forced upon by his father, but he didn't mind. He liked learning. What he couldn't do with muscle, he made it up with brains. Plus, his father wanted to make sure that his only son received the best chances at life. Even if it meant that he was going to take the family company anyways, he would make sure Giotto was nothing less than the perfect heir. "No problem." Giotto said, and then eventually gasped at the mention of such a big family. "Wow! It must be fun though, to have so many family members around." Giotto said, surprised. He had no siblings, and his father was an only child as well so no uncles or aunts. He never knew if his mother had any siblings, so no uncles or aunts again. His mother's parents died when she was young and his father's parents lived half-way across the world in retirement, only visiting on extremely special occasions. He wondered how it would be like waking up to siblings, wanting to help them get dressed or help them with their hair. He would eventually learn, hopefully, as Mimi was around after all. "Well, we're ready when you are."

"Yeah, but after you get to the next level you'll have to pass another test to get to the next next level. And then the one after that." Jesse sighed and crossed his arms. Just thinking about tests made him cranky. Well, math tests at least. He remembered the last one he took, where he flipped off the teacher for being a total a******. That landed him a good beating from his father and a three day suspension. The funny thing too that his usual fights only got him suspended for one day. That only further reinforced his belief that the school system sucked. "Enough with the test talk... Your going to give me an ulcer."

Miliani chuckled at Jesse's reaction. He didn't think such a strong looking older teen could be so bent out of shape at the meer mention of a test. Miliani smiled at the words spoken by Giotto.

"It's tough, sometimes... I'm the youngest so everyone treats me like a baby. Especially my mama. She's really emotional too. My brothers like to pick on me a lot and my sisters boss me around. But my mama gives me a lot of attention though. And my papa too." Miliani looked to the door. "I think I have to wait for the doctor to get back first... He said he's going to give me medicine and stuff. And a wheelchair too to borrow I think." Miliani sighed and looked to his left arm which was now in a cast. "I broke my arm , sprained my right ankle and broke a few ribs... He said he wanted to keep me longer but he has to use the room for other people so he's just going to give me pain medication and have me lay down all the time until I get better." For all the broken bones, Miliani had to admit it didn't hurt so much. It was probably due to the medication he was given earlier. The medication is probably what made him talk so much as well. He was never really one to talk a lot.

Giotto wasn't surprised at the fact that bones had been broken, but also surprised at the fact that he was able to talk with such broken bones. Whatever medication it was, it was making wonders. "You're a real trooper, you know that? You're able to keep up even after being beaten like that. Nothing in the world will be able to stop you." Giotto said smiling. He then payed more attention to the family aspect. "My mama isn't around anymore, and my papa is always too busy to be able to pay attention to me as much as I would like to. I don't have siblings, but I can picture them as being kind of like baby sitters. They boss you around, but they care for you. Once you get home, though, I have a feeling they won't be able to leave you alone. Always checking up on you and making sure you're comfortable for your recovery." Giotto said, smiling at himself over the thought. He could picture it in his mind as it was. "Doctor Stiles is great guy. His powers would make any doctor of the Gold Layer jealous that's for sure." Giotto muttered. He then straightened himself up, getting his hands on his hips. "But when you recover, you'll have to re-learn to keep up! Exercise! At day though, night exercise is a terrible idea. We'll do squats!" Giotto said, somewhat inspired as he felt his adrenaline suddenly pumping. The thought of this kid getting better and back to normal made him want to run a mile. However as he went ahead to demonstrate a squat, his body didn't agree with him, and froze mid squat only to fall on his butt. "C-Cramp! Cramp!"

Miliani blushed at the compliment. He was never called such a thing before in his life. Truthfully, he was terrible with pain. He was terrified to do anything that could cause pain, like skateboarding and whatnot. But when his life depended on it he could deal with it. "I'm also German so that's why?" He said with a small smile and shrug. He winced in pain as the shrug caused a small throbbing sensation in his chest. He might need some more mess later. "O-Ow..." He was rather alarmed when Giotto suddenly fell to the ground. He looked to Jesse for help.

Jesse meanwhile rolled his eyes. "He does this a lot." He muttered as he looked to his friend.

Giotto groaned. He probably deserved that cramp one way or another. Once the cramp had calmed down her rolled onto his stomach, laying on the floor a bit. "On another note. Jesse, my birthday is coming up. Would you like to come to my birthday party?" Giotto asked as he glanced up at Jesse from where he rested. He slowly sat up. "There's going to be people there, but none of them are friends or people I can talk to. I know you don't like fancy parties, but it's going to be so boring without you there, you know." Giotto said as he stuck out his tongue. His father always prepared the parties. It was always the same. Held either at their house or at some public place, Giotto would be forced on a little pedestal as every adult watched his every move. It was terrible. "Oh." Giotto then turned to Miliani. "I was meaning to ask you. Are you human, or mutant?" Giotto asked as he raised his hand. "I'm able to talk to machines and use electricity as a way of communication." Giotto said as he smiled.

Jesse paused in his snickers from Giotto's fall. Fancy party? A party that he would actually attend invited instead of sneaking in? Now that was interesting. Jesse thought about it for a moment. Actually, he didn't need to. He would go anywhere with Giotto. Even if it was to a bachelor party in hell. He still hated fancy parties however.

"...Awright hotshot." Jesse said with a nod. "I'll go with you. It's your damn birthday after all! I would never say no. I'm going to have to get rich people stuff then..." He rubbed the back of his head. He never owned anything remotely classy.

Miliani laid back, relieved that Giotto wasn't actually hurt. When the question came up about mutants, he appeared to be very alarmed until Giotto added that he was a mutant too.

"...Yeah." He muttered with a frown. "Only my oldest brother Gianni knows. When I smell things, I can sorta get these visions of where it's been and stuff. For example, if I smelled a pen I could see a vision of it's owner writing with it. Gianni calls it 'clairvoyance."

Giotto smiled brightly as he jumped onto his feet. "I'll lend you my own clothes! I have some that I've yet to grow into, you can wear them." Giotto said with a small squeal. He was excited. A friend in his birthday party? This would be a first, and he was going to make sure that it would be fun. Giotto turned to Miliani, how he explained his powers. "Clairvoyance...that's...amazing." Giotto muttered as he smiled at the thought. "You could grow up to help people find their loved ones if they go missing. All you would need is something that they last used, and you would be able to see their last memories of using it, or something like that, yeah?" Giotto asked as he got his hands behind his back. "There was this suspicion that the Skulls were targeting mutants...but if only your older brother knew, then they're aren't being picky." Giotto muttered as he gave a small shrug. Right now they had to make sure that they don't see him alive and walking until he reaches the house safely. "If you have mutant powers, make sure to pay close attention to your siblings in case they develop some of their own. If one kid is born with powers, the chances of a sibling being born with powers also are around 45%"

Jesse thought about using Giotto's clothes. That was a good idea, especially since Jesse wouldn't have to rent a tuxedo or anything. Now the only thing he had to worry about was his hair. Jesse absolutely hated doing his blonde hair. It was straight and short, so Jesse always left the house with his hair as it was when he woke up. It never looked bad, really. Just normal hair that a teen would wear. But for this occasion he could just slick it back. Maybe he'll score some ladies with it. He believed he'll look really sexy with slicked back hair. "... Alright. I know what I'm gonna do." He said. As he listened to Giotto talk, Jesse couldn't help but have his eyes widen at the part about the siblings. 'What if Mimi is...?' He didn't want to think about it. He prayed Mimi wasn't mutant. A mutant can barely survive in the world especially when it's like this.

"Yeah..." Miliani smiled softly at the idea of helping people find missing loved ones. "I could do that. I never thought of it." He looked to the side at the mention of the Skulls. "My papa sent me to deliver some sausages from the store to this old couple. I do that all the time since I'm the delivery boy. I was riding my bike with the sausages when a group of Skulls grabbed me off of my bike and dragged me inside an alleyway. They just started to beat me... And they used the chain of my bike to, you know..." He placed his hand gently to his neck where his bandage was. "I'll definitely keep watch of my siblings. It shouldn't be too hard since they're all older than me."

Giotto pouted, crossing his arms. "We won't let them get away with what they did to you." Giotto said. He pointed at Jesse and then at himself. "We will catch the Skulls and beat them up! By the time they realize it they'll be begging for mercy and won't ever hurt anyone again." Giotto said. He could not get involved, and let the problem sort itself out, but if the Skulls aren't stopped now, their influence will stretch all the way to the silver and gold district, eventually all around the city. If that happened it would be too late. "I just...still can't believe people would do this kind of thing...you know. It's against morals..." Giotto muttered. He knew he still had a lot to learn. He paused. "Oh yeah, do you know if Doctor Stiles is in the building currently? I had a question I wanted to ask him too."

Jesse looked to Giotto. He understood very well Giotto's motivation for wanting to destroy the Skulls. Jesse just as well wanted to kill every single one of them. It wouldn't be too long before things got personal, and the Skulls could easily hurt Jesse or one of his loved ones. After all, Johnny often walks home in the dead of night, and Jesse often expires the night too as well as Giotto. The Skulls could easily jump one of them as they attack every other poor soul in the Bronze District.

"Don't worry." Jesse said. "We'll get him. And Miliani, you won't have to worry about you or your family hurt alright?"

Miliani nodded. "Thank you guys... And Stiles should be back by now, I dunno." Just then, Stiles entered the room with a bag of supplies. He set it down on the table next to Miliani's bed.

"Speaking of the devil." Jesse said.

Stiles let out his hand for Giotto to shake. "I can see you are happy at seeing Miliani awake. He's making a great recovery for only a few days."

Giotto smiled at Jesse's agreement, and then turned to doctor Stiles. Giotto shook his hand happily. "Yes sir! We're so grateful too! Thank you so much for taking care of him!" Giotto said as he then gave a small bow. "We're going to make sure he gets home safely too. No one will lay a single hand on him. We promise!" Giotto said, with somewhat a chivalry tone to it. He meant every word too. "We were just talking about our powers. Miliani has a wonderful power of Clairvoyance, or something like that, yeah! Clairvoyance. But now, we wait for your order and instructions for Miliani, doctor." Giotto said with a hopeful smile. He paused at his thought for a second. "O-Oh! I was also wondering, doctor...your powers don't happen to work on scars...do they? I mean, like ones that have already kind of stayed in the skin after the injury of maybe...few months? Or years? Like, maybe have them go away or a bit less notable? J-Just curious! If you can't I totally understand, just wondering. Hehe." Giotto said, somewhat stammering in his words as he chuckled nervously, playing with his fingers ever so slightly.

"Well, he can leave now if he wishes. I have gotten everything that he'll need. Just some medication to help with the pain. I also have some bandages here I'll put inside the bag that he has to take with him just in case his wounds start to bleed a little. If it does, that's normal. He'll just have to stay in bed until he heals more enough that he could sit up without his chest hurting. It will take some time, though." He took a small medical bag with supplies and set it down next to the bed. "I also have a wheelchair that you may use if you need to get anywhere. I recommend staying in bed though."

Miliani sighed softly. This was going to be a log recovery. "I guess I can manage..." He muttered sadly. He was going to be bored to death though. "I can just sleep all the time."

Stiles smiled reassuringly and patted Miliani's head. "You'll be fine ja?" He looked to Giotto, confused by the question. "Well, my abilities cannot heal scars, but perhaps it'll help scars fade a little. I never really tried. Why do you ask?"

Jesse looked to Giotto as well. What was he talking about? 'Hotshot never mentioned any scars....' He thought.

Giotto listened attentively to the instructions, making sure to remember them for later when handing Miliani over to his parents. When Stiles brought up his analysis of the probability of what his powers could do against scars, Giotto smiled a little. "(Fade them away...that can work too. Even if its a tiny bit. Then I can just lay in the sun and have them blend with a tan.)" Giotto thought. He quickly straightened himself up. "I have a few love scars that are bothering me. I can't swim without a shirt because people might get scared from them. Was just wondering, though! Thank you, sir." Giotto said with his signature bow. He clapped his hands together, now pushing the whole scars thing behind, hopefully. "Now then! Lets get that wheelchair and get this show on the road!"

Stiles nodded. He thought the mention was rather strange, but he just left it alone. He left for a few seconds and returned with a regular old wheelchair. "I will need it back after you are done with it." Stiles said. "I will need it for other patients."

Miliani nodded and sat up. He grunted from the sudden bits of pain that shot up in his chest. It was like a game of peek-a-boo. "Please... I need to let my family know I'm alive. Specially my mama." Stiles went and unhooked Miliani from the wires.

Jesse was rather surprised that Giotto had scars. 'He never told me about it...' Then he wondered, where the hell did Giotto get them from? It couldn't be from his regular clumsiness. He actually felt somewhat upset at the fact that his best friend didn't tell him such a thing. 'I tell him everything that happened to me...' He suddenly shook it out of his head and went to go help Miliani into the wheelchair. "Hey hotshot stop standing there looking pretty and help me." He said to Giotto.

Giotto smiled. "Coming!" He cheerfully said as he helped get Miliani into the wheelchair. Once they made sure that he was seated in a way he wouldn't fall or get hurt, Giotto picked up the bag of items for Miliani to take home. "We'll take him home and bring you the wheelchair by the end of the day, Doctor Stiles." Giotto said with a small salute. He glanced at Jesse for a second. "(There's a reason why I always wear long sleeves.)" He thought. Maybe he should tell Jesse? But it was nothing wrong right? After all people hurt you because they love you! Giotto helped Jesse with the wheelchair, and opened the doors. "We'll see you later, doctor! Lets go, your family's gonna be so relieved to see you're ok. Well, at least in one piece."

Stiles shook his head as he gave Jesse and Giotto a firm handshake. "He can keep the wheelchair until he is able to walk. I don't want to leave him stranded." He turned to Miliani and kneeled down. He took a lollipop out of his pocket and gave it to him. "Don't chew on it ja? You will find it easier to eat soft or liquid foods. On the bright side you'll can eat plenty of ice cream! Just don't eat any nuts or stuff like that with it."

Miliani smiled and accepted the lollipop. "Thank you. I hope I can see you again once I feel better! I want to help you help people too."

 

Once they drove Miliani home, with Jesse driving a cheap rental, Jesse parked right infront of Miliani's house. It was a two story shared house, with steps leading up to the second story and the second entrance on the side of the house. There was also a man in a white tanktop sitting on a chair against the house with a wooden baseball bat in his lap. There was also a pit bull laying down by his side.

"That's Gianni!" Miliani said as he looked out the window. "He's guarding the house..."

"As in your bro, right?" Giotto asked as he looked over and out the window. He was still always impressed by how well Jesse could drive. If it were up to him he feared he might crash a car into every possible building. Giotto couldn't help but to squeal at the sight of the dog. He didn't care for the breed. He loved animals. His father was allergic to dogs though, so they couldn't have one around the house. "It's a doggy!" Giotto squealed as he didn't think twice to step out of the car and take a few steps closer. "Hey doggy-!" Giotto said, before the dog seemed to growl and bark at Giotto, the power of its voice scaring the living wits out of Giotto, making him run back into the car. "Y-Your dog is scary!" Giotto said as he peeked out the window, deciding to keep his hands in the car until the dog went away. "H-Hey! You're Gianni right?! Miliani's brother?! C-Call the dog down, please? We came to drop off your bro!" Giotto said as he watched the dog bark at the door where Giotto had entered. "Jesse!!!" Giotto whined, hugging the older boy by the arm. He then turned to Miliani. "S-Stick your head out, surely it won't attack if it sees you?"

Jesse tried to stop Giotto from jumping out of the car, but obviously that attempt failed. Giotto had ran right out and as soon as he ran out he ran right back in due to the dog. Jesse face palmed, not really shocked that Giotto did that. "You idiot." Jesse muttered. "Get off of me damn!"

The man, Gianni raised an eyebrow at the newcomer. He lifted up his bat as he was getting ready to attack. But he figured out that this newcomer was a total dips*** and leaned back in his chair. He was congratulating his dog before Giotto said the name Miliani.

"M-Milly?" The man asked, getting up.

Miliani sighed softly after he finally calmed down from Giotto's sudden leap out of the car. He rolled down the window and shuffled slightly to lean forward so that his brother could see. "S-Sí...."

Gianni's eyes immediately widened and became glossy. He turned his head towards the door and yelled out. "M-Ma!!!" The dog ran up right to the car and began to scratch at Miliani's door. He whimpered and begged to get inside.

Giotto complained as Jesse tried to push him off. "You'd be the worst boyfriend ever!" He added before letting go of Jesse. He watched the dog wanting to get into the car. Giotto built up the courage and stepped out of the car again, getting the wheelchair out of the trunk and setting it down. Closing the trunk he rolled it over to Miliani's door. "U-Um, excuse me, doggy..." Giotto said as he gently opened the door and tried to help Miliani out and onto the wheelchair, despite the dog pretty much almost tackling the two to the ground to give Miliani countless of welcome back kisses. "Whoa! Jesse help!" Giotto said as he eventually did get Miliani on the wheelchair, but the dog trying to get kisses from Miliani starting to push him and the wheelchair back. Giotto quickly stopped it from going any further. "No no no! Bad doggie you'll push him into the street!" Giotto said as he helped keep Miliani in place. "How can you handle such a big doggy, Miliani?" Giotto asked smiling.

Miliani chuckled hopelessly as he tried his best to get the dog down. "S-Sit girl! She's the family dog. Gabriella down! Gabby get down!" The dog, Gabriella whimpered softly and plopped herself infront of the wheelchair. Jesse shook his head and jumped out of the car. This was going to be a long next few minutes. He helped Giotto at least get Miliani to the back door while the dog was closely following. Gianni had banged on the door the entire time.

"Ma! Dammit- Miliani is okay!" He yelled. A woman entered the doorway. She looked somewhat young, at least in her early forties. Despite her young appearence her hair was already turning white in a few strands due to stress and worry. Upon seeing her son however, the woman screamed and instantly threw her arms around Miliani. She burst into tears.

"My M-Milly!" She cried. "I thought you were-" the mere thought of it only made her cry harder. Miliani blushed and patted the woman's head. "It's okay mama..." He said bashfully. In the doorway a couple of other people came to see if it really was true.

Giotto watched the scene quietly with a smile on his face. He could only imagine the worry the mother must have felt all of this time. Her youngest son disappearing without any trace for days, with the skulls out there to worry, if it was his own mother he was sure she would be a complete disaster. "(She's brave. Her son was gone but she still worked on to keep her family afloat.)" Giotto thought. He looked over at Jesse. "I love happy endings...but we still have to make sure it stays that way." Giotto said. There were the skulls after all. But for now they could wait. Just enjoying the moment. After a few minutes of watching them interact, Giotto walked up to the family, holding the medical bag in hand. "Excuse me." Giotto said, specifically at Gianni as he gave him the bag. "Here are some pain killers and bandages in case the wounds bleed a little. He should rest until it doesn't hurt anymore." Giotto said, reciting what he remembered from doctor Stiles.

Jesse nodded and smiled as well. He was never really one to be all emotional or lovey-dovey as he put it, but he had to admit this moment was sweet. He never felt such of feeling before of helping another. He ruffed Miliani's hair with a small grin.

"Are you happy to be home? Milly?"

Miliani blushed even more as he tried to comfort his mother. "D-Don't call me that..." He muttered.

Gianni took the bag and nodded with a serious expression on his face. He looked to Miliani's wounds. "It's the Skulls, ain't it?" He was going to say something else until an older man made his way out of the doorway. He was wearing a tanktop like Gianni was and he looked to be at least ten years older than the woman.

"Miliani...?" The man asked.

Miliani looked up and nodded slightly with tears forming in his eyes. "P-Papa...." The man fell to his knees next to the mother and held them both close in a tight warm embrace. The man began to tear up as well.

"Mio bambino... My baby boy..." He cried as he pressed his forehead to Miliani's. "My son is alive..."

Giotto got teary eyed when he saw Miliani's dad cry for his son. The whole situation was making Giotto feel warm on the inside. "(This family is so nice...this family is big and warm, they deserve the happy ending. They really do.)" Giotto thought as he sniffled and wiped some tears away. He wondered if his mother was still around, would his own family be this close? He could only guess and imagine. But right now, he was happy for them. He smiled, tears still falling down. "I'm so happy, Miliani. I'm so glad." He said. Part of him felt extremely guilty for being the one to suggest to kill him off and put him out of his misery. Now he knew that had he done what he had suggested, this family would be missing someone dear, and this moment wouldn't happen. He grabbed Jesse's arm, looking at him. "This is so beautiful..." He sniffled. "I want it to be this pretty forever."

Jesse was getting a little misty eyed himself. Truthfully moments such as these made Jesse closest to getting emotional. The scene of happy families in general always made him feel a mixture of emotions, including happiness and sadness. It was because a part of him longed for that which seemed so foreign to him. He never experienced a true family before, or maybe he has; the true family he had with Giotto, Mimi, and Johnny. It wasn't a typical family you would see on TV, but it was a family nonetheless.

"Huh?" Jesse asked, looking to Giotto. Upon realizing he was tearing up, Jesse began to rub his eyes furiously with his sleeves. "Oh yeah, it's adorable. Dammit I think somethin' got in my eye..."

This scene lasted for ten minutes of just tears of joy and warm embraces to welcome a son and a brother who was believed to be dead. It was as if the scene was a frame frozen in time, or a painting on a canvas. After another squeeze in the hug, the father looked up to Giotto and Jesse.

"You boys... Did you boys save my son?"

Miliani was being somewhat muffled by warm hugs and kisses. The rest of his brothers and sisters had come to hug him and kiss him as well; even the dog was laying comfortably at Miliani's feet and occasionally licked his legs.

"Y-Yeah Papa..." Miliani said. "They saved my life."

The mother continued to cry. She chuckled softly and tried to wipe some tears out of her eyes. "Everyone inside... Give my Milly some space. Gigi stay out here so you can bring your baby brother to his room."

Gianni, or 'Gigi' blushed softly as the rest of the siblings went inside to give Miliani some room and to give their parents a chance to thank their son's saviors. Gianni rubbed the back of his head.

"Ma don't call me that..." He said bashfully.