Will's POV

Hazel. Nico apparently knew this girl. Don't get me wrong, she was the cutest and sweetest thing, but how did Nico know her? That question answered itself when Hazel's morher came forward and explained while Nico and Hazel hugged. Seeing them hug gave me a friendly reminder of how small Nico was. Hazel was no more than six.. And Nico was only a head taller than her. My god. Nico was so emotional seeing the little girl. She was just so bubbly and happy to see him, obliviously asking where his ears were. Nico knelt down, making himself now shorter than the little girl, taking here hand and slipping it under his hat without fully taking it off. Hazel giggled as she must have found his ears with her fingers because now Nico was making this soft.. Purring sound? Oh right. He was still part cat.

Hazel's mom explained they were the last people to take Nico in. When I asked why he was back in the shop, where I found him, she avoided the question. I'll admit. That angered me a bit. More than a bit. But I bit my tongue and let Hazel and Nico catch up before continuing our little shopping trip. He spoke of Hazel the whole time. It was cute seeing him so happy again.

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Finally, we were back home. Nico was obviously getting tired of the hat since he yanked it off just as I opened the door. I smiled at him as he sighed with relief as his fluffy, black ears popped out and somehow made themselves known through the boy's midnight curls. I held the door open for him but he stood froze at the doorway. I gave him a confused look to try and see what had- oh shoot. My parents were sitting on the couch, waiting. The look of shock on their faces told me they hadn't expected me to walk in with someone, they had seen Nico's ears, or both.

I opened my mouth to speak when Nico almost throw his head down in a hanging style, pulling his hat back on and darting outside. "Nico wait-" I called to him, going to grab him. But as if he had manage to slip from between my fingers, he was gone. I turned to follow when a strong grip grabbed me from behind. I struggled, only to be pulled into the house again.  "Who was that and why were they wearing cat ears?!" My father raised his voice a bit, yet concern was all I heard in it. I ripped myself out of his grip, racing outside. I didn't really have to go far, thankfully. The sounds of soft sobbing led me to the bushes just to the right of my house. I crouched down in front of it, just barely being able to make out Nico's still human form from between the leaves and branches. How small was this kid??

"Neeks? Come out. It's okay," I spoke soothingly to the bush, only to my disappointment the sobbing got louder.

"N-No it's not! It's not okay! Th-They gonna k-kick me out!" Nico's shaky voice with sobs between every few words broke my heart. I shook my head, reaching into the bush. My hand was pricked by the branches but I managed to rest my hand, eventually, on what felt like his knee. Since Nico had no audible or physical reaction to my hands spot, I assumed it was.

"I won't let that happen. I promise. Please come out," I begged a bit, having the urge to just pull him out myself. Yet I was sure he would panic and I didn't want to stress him out any more than he already is. The bush rustled a bit as the knee my hand rested on moved. I pulled my hand out, wincing at the small minor cuts on the back of my hand and gasped as I felt weight push against my torso. I immediately wrapped my arms around the weight, looking down at Nico who had curled up on my lap and buried his face in my chest. I couldn't help but blush at the fact that he was sitting on my lap but did my best to ignore it.

Leaves and small twigs clung to Nico's hair and I gently picked then out with one hand while rubbing Nico's back with the other. He was shaking. He truly was afraid of what my parents would do. "D.. Do you promise you won't let them throw me out?" He mumbled into my shirt. I hugged him tightly with now both arms, sitting down flat on my butt and held him. "Promise."