A/N enjoy! This is the most i've ever written O_O

I twiddle my thumbs a bit as I wait for Pearl to get Skyler.

I contemplate briefly by what Pearl means by "different."

Skyler has always been a quiet, shy guy. I mean, when you're best friends with two dorks like Pearl and me, I guess he didn't have to be crazy like us. He balanced us out somehow. He wasn't quiet, but he certainly kept our heads leveled.

I remember back when we first met Sky. I think it was back when we were in third grade.

Sky wasn't particularly liked because our peers thought that he was weird with his interest in books and gadgets. His introverted personality made it easier for everyone to tease him, bully him. I had just transferred to Pearl and Sky's school back then. It was my first public school after being homeschooled. I was so excited to finally get to make new friends.

"Hey! Stop it!" The girl with messy blonde hair stands courageously in front of the timid boy with the broken gadget in front of him. I curiously walk over and look at what is happening.

"Aw is Pearly coming to save Skyler the princess?" The bully and his goons smirk evilly.

"Go pick a fight with someone your own size!" The girl Pearly scowls as fiercely as she can.

A crowd begins to form a circle around them as they wait for a fight to ensue.

The boy behind Pearly only looks down at the gadget and cleans up the mess. He picks each piece up delicately and puts it in his pockets. He stands up and tugs at the girl's shirt, whispering something to her ear. She shakes her head furiously and bickers with him briefly.

"Where are the teachers? the adults?" I ask the student next to me. He only shrugs me off. I face another person, this time a girl.

"The teachers don't care about us." She shrugs as if it's a common thing for a fight to happen. Why not? Kids shouldn't be mean to each other. It's bad.

"We are just having a little fun that's all." Another person inputs casually.

I frown as I watch the girl and boy in the circle. "Does this happen a lot?"

"This always happens at recess." She nods but turns her attention towards the middle.

"Who's that guy?" I point to the meanest looking guy in the front of the trio. I think he is the leader.

"Marco," she points to the head bully, "He loves to pick on Skyler. Pearl always protect Skyler. I think Marco likes Pearl."

"Why is he so mean to Skyler though?" I don't understand this at all. My father and brothers always told me to never use violence to solve problems.

"It's funny." She gives me a smile. Then, she leans in as if she has a huge secret to tell me. "Marco will punch anyone who gets in his way. He has two older brothers, who are FIFTH graders!"

My stomach twists as nobody steps up to help Pearl and Skyler. They are going to get hurt! Marco and his three cronies are all big and mean looking. It's four against two. That is unfair.

"Are they going to fight?" I whisper to the girl once more.

"Yes!" She says excitedly. "Now shush, I don't want to miss anything!"

I stand there dumbfounded as she tries to get more in the front with a camera in her hand.

"I thought boys don't hit girls?" I murmur to another student next to me.

"Pearl ain't a girl. She is more boy than Skyler could ever be," someone responds loudly, which everyone else laughs cruelly with him.

"Fight!" Everyone crowds in and say with bloodthirsty grins.

I step away with fright. This school is scary. The children I have met were all so nice to me. Maybe I should have listened to my brothers. Leo told me kids were mean. Tony said something about it being dangerous.

I gasp as Marco grabs Pearl's shirt and says, "I don't want to hit you, but I'm sure it's not that different from hitting a boy."

"Shut up!" She tears herself away and glares. "Leave us alone! Sky has never done anything to you. You're such a bully."

"Look at the kid. I'm only playing around. I'm helping him be a man. Right, Sky-lar?" He looks over at Skyler cockily.

I glance at Skyler curiously. He lifts his head up and only stares at Marco. He looks weak and fragile with his tiny frame, but his bright hazel eyes seem to glow defiantly underneath his crooked glasses.

Pearl launches herself at Marco with a leap. They tumble to the floor throwing punches and kicks. As everyone makes jeers and say the meanest thing they know, nobody steps in to help them.

"Why isn't anyone helping them?" I shout above the noises. The people around me look at me as if I have grown two heads.

"Is the new girl a dummy?" I hear as people distance themselves away from me. I stand alone as they direct their attention back to the fight.

The three other big boys step toward Skyler and lift him up easily. As two of them hold onto him, another seems to about to hit him too.

I glance around as Pearl seems to be faring okay with Marco. She's good at fighting.

I spot a fire alarm and rush over to it, pulling the lever down. Immediately, the fire alarm rings, making all the students freeze and panic in bewilderment.

In the blink of an eye, everyone is gone except for Skyler and Pearl groaning on the floor. Pearl is all messy and dirtied, but she looks at Skyler worriedly. Her care for him reminds me of my brothers.

"Are you okay?" I bend down and offer a hand to either of them. Neither of them takes the hand, staring at it as if it's the strangest thing ever.

"You're the new girl, aren't you?" Pearl spits out and wipes her scrapes with her shirt.

"I'm Vi--, I'm Shay." I introduce myself. Pearl suspiciously backs away and lifts up Skyler. They still stand at a distance from me.

"Look. You're new here. Here's some advice: stay away from us. You're going to get hurt if you talk to us."

"You're hurt. I can bandage you guys." I offer as I reach into my backpack and grab the small medical kit that I always keep with me.

"Please." I smile as kindly as I could.

"Fine." She eventually says. Skyler only stares at me with his alluring eyes. I realize his eyes are almost golden in the light as I'm closer to him.

I think that's how our friendship began. Well, the three of us got called up to the principal's office because it seems pulling the fire alarm is worse than a kid being beaten.

We became the Three Musketeers. No bullies ever bothered them again after I joined them. Now that I think about it, it might have been because of Dante, my youngest brother who was a fifth grader back then. He hung out with us a lot, so I think he protected us and scared everyone away...

I would like to say Pearl and I pulled Skyler out of his shell a bit. Well, he still became a huge computer nerd. It was no suprise because he was always fiddling with computer-related gadgets.

If he wasn't here, Pearl and I could feel his missing presence. He was funny despite his quiet appearance. Looks are deceiving though.

I think back at our last phone call. He sounded a lot more talkative than usual, but I reasoned that it's because of our long time away from each other.

I don't know how Skyler could be different. Is he a super outgoing guy now? That'd be a total 180. Pearl said he's a hottie, but we always knew that beneath his baggy, oversized clothes and thick framed glasses with his long shaggy hair, he was cute. I don't know why he put so much effort to hide himself away from the public. Lift up the hair and take off the glasses, Pearl and I knew he would be a total hearthrob one day.

Oh my, maybe he's become a weirdo like Pearl! Gosh, that'd be a shocker. Pearl has corrupted him.

Or maybe he is..Yeah, I give up. How could he be different that Pearl is warning me about?

Pearl bursts through the door. She imitates a drum roll by slapping her thighs. "And here is the magnificent Sklyer Grayson." She goes into an exaggerated pose as if she's introducing some famous celebrity. I smile as I see her usual spunk. Over the years, she has only grown more fierce.

The door opens and a complete stranger comes through.

No, he's Sky. I blink slowly and try to get my mind to wrap around the guy before me. Appearance wise, he's different. I hope it's just appearance that Pearl is talking about.

If I didn't know better, a model just walked into the wrong hospital room. "Puberty did you well." I blurt out.

"I know right!" Pearl slaps Sky on his back. He wobbles slightly before balancing. He only stares at me, drinking my appearance in. I do the same. I don't think I look too different.

Sky still has his thick, black glasses but now they look stylish on him. His round baby face has become strong and defined. His shaggy hair is styled to the side with a defined part. Okay, he's the hottie that Pearl and I expected. It's his confident stance that surprises me. I don't see an ounce of the shy, reserved boy I once knew. Yet, despite his dramatic transformation, his eyes tell the real story.

The bright gold flecked eyes has dulled. They're like Pearl's eyes. He has bags around his eyes and faint frown lines. He looks so tired and sad. Once I make eye contact, i don't see the confident model that I originally assumed. He's still Sky. The original vibe I felt becomes sullen and dark. It's like he's leeching happiness from me. I feel like crying when I see him. I'm sucked into his eyes and I only see sadness.

"Now that my two bestest friends are here, what has happened?" I phrase the weighted question quietly. They exchange glances and know what I'm referring to. They have a weight on them, or a chip on their shoulder that wasn't there before I left. I think I am the reason though I hope not.

"You were looking for this?" Sky pulls out a long chain with a ring and a key from under his black shirt. In fact, he's wearing all black, but because he made the outfit work I hadn't paid much attention. His voice has become very low. Pearl eyes me as if she is saying that I'll see what she means about Sky later.

I recognize the ring and key. I reach for my own ring that used to be on my finger, but stop as I realize it probably was taken when Alfredo took me in. I am angered instantly as I realize he also took my pheonix medallion too. Those two were important to me. That ring came in a trio for Pearl, Sky, and me. They were silver rings with a simplistic entertwined design on it. Our initals had been engraved in the inside. The medallion was a tradition that my mother's side did. They passed it down to every daughter on her side.

The Key next to it is the Skeleton Key. It's a rather simple key, just a bit antique-looking. I had left it in Granny Gray's store for safe-keeping since the place was piled with an assortment of objects. I thought it would be a perfect place to hide in place sight. I had told Granny everything, so she knew the importance of the key. Maybe I shouldn't have told her anything.

Yet, she's probably dead because of me. It's a gut feeling.

Sky must have taken care of it after Granny passed for it looks in good condition. By now, that Key is the symbol of all the troubles in my mind.

Sky takes the key off of the chain and puts it in his hand. He looks at is solemnly, feeling its weight.

"My grandmother was killed by a bunch of ruffians. They were robbing the store, and she tried to stop her." He lets out a bitter, short laugh. "You know how she was. That tough old nut fought to her very end. Her death was apparently an accident. That's what the police said." He begins. "I have yet to meet an uncorrupted police here." The golden flecks flare up in his eyes.

"It was a cover-up." Sky has a bitter tone. "They were looking for this one key." He clenches his fingers tightly around the key.

"I'm sorry." I begin to tear up. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry doesn't bring her back. You know that. Sorry doesn't make the fact that you lied and left me with something worth murdering over. Sorry doesn't.." he sighs and sits on the edge of my bed. I catch a whiff of cologne mixed with smoke. Since when did he smoke?

"I'm furious with you. Pearl and I have had hell ever since you left." He directs his fiery eye at me. There seems to be more to his words, but I can't figure out what.

"You disappeared on us. I even went to juvie because of you." He runs his hands through his hair and sighs. Pearl comes over and sits next to him while patting his back.

"J-juvie?" I look at him in shock.

"Yeah, it's rather frowned upon when a kid goes and hacks stuff he shouldn't hack. I got off lightly." He shrugs with a touch of sarcasm.

"So you're going to start from the beginning of your story." He brings his legs up and faces me. Pearl snuggles closer to me, but both are careful not to sit on me.

"And you're not going to leave anything out." Pearl shakes a finger at me.

"Yes ma'am." I salute her. I ponder where should I start.

"I honestly didn't know about my family's business until third grade. I thought my dad was a fancy, rich businessman, and my mom was a housewife. Technically, they both were exactly that. Anyways, my family could only do so much to protect me. After I met you guys, I realized how different my upbringing was. Let me reword that. I had an normal upbringing with a loving family. It's just that I was a weird child."

"And you still are," Pearl snickers.

I flick her before continuing. "I wasn't dumb. Plus, I was a very curious child, which could have actually gotten me killed...Besides that, I knew there was something odd. It didn't take me long to find out about everyone. I pretended I didn't know anything because I wasn't even supposed to know until I was older. Of course, I asked Dante about our family because I was closest to him. He also told my parents that I knew. I guess I wasn't as smart as I thought."

"No, what happened?" Pearl leans in. I laugh lightly at her reactions.

"Well, they let me in on the big secret. And then years passed by and here comes ninth grade." I say.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Pearl holds up her hands. "You can't just fastforward from third grade to ninth. That's a huge gap."

"Well, I mean I don't know what else to say. I never participated in anything legal if that's what you two are asking." By the look of their faces, they had been wondering if I had. I guess I wouldn't blame them for thinking I would be involved.

"Daughters aren't as important as sons. Plus, my dad has three sons. Correction, in my view, daughters aren't important except for marrying off into other families to make connections and stuff. He's pretty traditional so I'm sure my father would have planned my future ever since I was born. I got to say I would never allow that to happen. I never wanted to get into the business. Really, I don't know what else to say before ninth grade. There isn't anything like super duper you got to know."

"Mhm," Pearl says unconvincingly. "Fine, continue and skip."

"It began with the most cliche motive ever. My dad's older brother, Leonardo, was supposed to inherit the family business. He was always jealous and wanted what he never got. My father became the head of the--" I break off. "Wait, how much do you guys even know?"

"Almost everything." This time Sky states. i don't question his response.

"My father became head of the Ricca family. You guys should know about the top heads in America?" I ask. They nod. "My father and his brother were close. He never seemed to doubt Leo, even until the end. I never thought for someone as cunning as my father to be so stupid, so naive."

"My mother saw right through Leo's lies. Hell, we all did. But my uncle was slick, making it seem that my mother was going behind my own father's back. Uncle Leonardo had some elaborate scheme planned where he somehow tricked my mother into breaking omerta when she thought she was doing the right thing to protect our family from his greedy hands. That bastard convinced everyone but my mom and I. I only knew because I eavesdropped a few times." I take a break and drink water. Talking continously can be rather tiresome.

Sky and Pearl patiently wait for me to begin again. "It was still a web of lies and deceit that I don't even know how my uncle got the upper hand. After my mom broke omerta, my dad actually threw her out in front of all our family. He still loved her and would not kill her, but i understood he was betrayed and shamed that his own wife would go against him. Regardless, he didn't even give my mother a chance to explain herself and show the evidence that his own brother was the mastermind. No, he disgraced her and shamed her in front of her family and ours. He..." I choke up briefly at the memory. "The words he said and the actions he did. And then worst part was that my brothers did nothing. They totally shunned her as our mother. It was the same with everyone else. They turned her back on her and left her to survive on her own. You don't even know how her life was as a mafia wife who broke omerta. She was a target, but she was also "trash." She could have easiy wounded up as another dead boy floating in the rivers."

"Forgive me, but I'm not about to give you details about what the Family did to her." I take a huge breath.

Pearl wipes my cheeks, which I hadn't realized I was crying. I seem to be crying a lot. My emotions are all out of whack. I am not used to showing such weakness.

"I left with her. I learned many tricks and skills over the year by observing. My mother had to leave the city. Actually, she had to leave any territory that had some mafia control as soon as possible if she wanted to survive. Word traveled fast." I gulp and glance at my friends.

"I had to track her down, which took a few days. I took the Key before I left because I knew my uncle would be after it eventually. Also, with him as the Ricca's right hand man, who knows what else he would do. Although I did that, I was also quite selfish. The main reason I took it was to spite my entire family. I didn't want them to have power. I wanted them to feel even more shaken and lost. I knew exactly where the key was and how to get to it. I grabbed it and fled, knowing by doing so I would be painting a target on my back too."

"I don't have any excuse for leaving you. I didn't think. It was all impulse. I don't regret what i did, but i do regret that I didn't say goodbye to you two." I feel guilty.

"but you came back." Sky comments.

"I came back a year later to Granny." I force the words out. "She knew."

Sky stands up sharply and leaves the room. I watch as he slams the door, cracking my heart.

"He does that." Pearl pats my shoulder delicately. "He..he has anger management issues...among other things. You need to let him cool down. He only left for your own safety."

"He has anger managment problems?" I still can't get rid of the old Sky in my mind.

"He will tell you eventually. My lips are sealed." Pearl does look like she wants to tell me, but she stops herself. I respect that.

Five minutes past. Then, ten. A whole half hour must have passed for Sky walks back in all casual like he never left.

"Your hand!" I instantly spot the freshly wrapped bandages wrapped around his knuckles. Small spots of blood seep through.

"You idiot." Pearl smacks him. "That is not what they taught you."

"Whatever." He shrugs her hands off. This time he smells strongly of cigarettes.

"You smoke?" My voice sounds more accusing than I want.

"Yeah. What about it?" He challenges me to say more with a dangerous glint in his eyes.

"Nothing." I mumble, backing down.

"You going to keep going?" He brings a chair next to me and reclines on it.

"i think she's had enough fun today. Our storytelling time can continue tomorrow. Right, Shay?" Pearl smiles hopefully.

"Yeah, sure. It was nice seeing both of you. I shall see you guys tomorrow." The formality to my goodbye makes things awkward.

"Bye love," Pearl leans in and hugs me as gently as she can. she whispers in my ear, "Don't worry. Sky is better now. He has his shadows, but don't we all?"

Pearl drags Sky away. Sky is almost a foot taller than Pearl now. It's so strange. Did i screw everything up?

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