"It's today, isn't it?"

He glances up at her with his lone red eye, brown hair shining in the dim, wavering light from the chandelier. A smile twitches across his lips. "Yep. Some humans might come today."

The blonde next to the girl with brown hair- her right eye covered with an eyepatch that you might expect a pirate to wear and not a nice young lady wearing some admittedly not-exactly-nice-looking clothing- glances at her.

Well, it can only be assumed that he's glancing at her; the blindfold across his eyes makes it rather difficult to tell.

"I'm honestly wondering what kind of humans will come," the blonde admits, scratching his cheek slightly.

"If any. Aren't we the first ones for... like... twenty years?"

A bystander might look around in bemusement at the voice that emitted from seemingly nowhere before looking up at the ceiling.

The way the light is wavering dramatically across the brown-haired man's face is suddenly made clear as the bearded man hanging from the chandelier and swinging it back and forth crazily with his right eye covered with a patch that matches the girl's comes into view.

The brown-haired man smiles faintly and almost pleasantly.

Something about it seems too sinister to be really pleasant.

"Well, we'll see soon."


Jesse ekes the door open carefully, glancing into the living room, backpack already hiked up onto their small, thin back in case he needs to make a run for it.

Their head of (admittedly rather fluffy) dark hair is streaked with a bright color, and their eyes are a very markedly pretty shade of green, and their overalls over their too-big long-sleeved shirt doesn't really help the fact that they look like they're ten when they're, in fact, seven years older than that, but otherwise you really wouldn't glance at them twice.

When the snoring man with a beer bottle loosely hanging from his fingers on the couch doesn't stir beyond breathing, they shift the door open a little further, almost barely enough for them to squeeze past but still a little too narrow if they want to avoid making sound.

"You damn kid!"

He swears at Jesse, throwing another bottle at them; they barely manage to duck before it shatters on the wall behind them, glass skittering across the floor from the impact. Jesse bites their lip to keep from crying out, tears building up behind their eyes, but they say nothing, do nothing, they don't dare do anything for fear of his rage hitting them.

"I'm- I'm sorry, Dad-"

The man's eyes gleam viciously. "Don't call me that, you pathetic brat," he spits out, alcohol slurring his words and dragging them out, "you know nobody wanted you, huh? You know how much trouble you've caused me? I only did this as a favor for that damn orphanage caretaker bailing me out that one time."

Jesse swallows tears, swallows any response they can make in response to that, shove down any anger or fear or rebellion in their eyes, shut down.

"Yes, sir."

Still no movement. He really is passed out on the sofa at the moment.

Another eking of the door, halting just before the hinges hit the squeaky part, trying to avoid making any loud sounds. He doesn't so much as twitch.

A hand smacks across their face, Jesse flinching as heat floods into their cheek. They can smell that nasty, disgusting scent that they know means that the orphanage caretaker is currently completely stoned. They try to avoid moving or shifting- so much as a shuffle of their feet can result in them getting screamed at.

"You talkin' back to me kid?"

"No- no." Jesse doesn't even dare shake their head, heart beating so quickly it feels like a rabbit's.

A long silence stretches through the room, wending cold fingers into their shoulder, making it grow thicker and heavier and deeper until-

The caretaker sneers, unfocused eyes staring right through them. "Get out of my sight."

Soft, quick footsteps across carpeted floor, another door swinging open with a tiny click, before Jesse's latching the door behind them and pretty much booking it down the street.

It isn't until they're halfway down the street that they breathe a sigh of relief.

Considering how late for school their dad- no, not their dad. Their legal guardian- can make them in the morning with his hangovers making an already dark mood even darker, they're glad they manage to escape the usual routine.

This thought is immediately interrupted by someone in sunglasses brushing past them in a run, almost knocking the much-shorter teenager over. When they glance back, they can see it's a man, holding what looks to be a woman's purse.

"Somebody stop him! He took my bag!"

Despite the fact that they're basically running back in the direction of their house, Jesse wheels on their heel without even halting and breaks into a run, hands releasing the straps of their backpack as they go from a casual walk to a near-sprint.

The man isn't exactly being cautious- ramming into people as he runs away from the girl shouting about her bag- but he seems to be making good ground.

Time to derail that plan.

Jesse's feet dig into the sidewalk for a moment before they suddenly shoot forward like a very baggy-shirt-wearing bullet, dodging and diving around people as their reflexes keep them from slamming full-force into people and then possibly knocking them over. In moments they have already covered enough ground to be five feet behind the man, before they tense their knees and launch themselves at him, allowing their heavy backpack to add quite a bit of force to the impact they're going to make with the man.

That impact is made not seconds later, the would-be thief yelping in alarm as Jesse collides heavily with his back and bowls him to the ground. The man faceplants, but Jesse senses the impact coming. The moment the man's close enough to the ground, Jesse launches themselves forward and rolls, allowing their forward momentum to bowl them forwards like a little bowling ball.

Their feet touch the ground, they pop back up, and they reach down and snag the purse from him just as the woman, completely out of breath, manages to catch up with them. "Here you go!" they chirp, and extend the purse to her.

The woman beams down at them and takes it. "Thank you so much, sweetheart."

The thief groans from where he's flat on his face.

Jesse beams back, even though the fact that they're only a door or two down from their house doesn't escape them and they feel the urgent, itching need to run twitching at their fingers. "No problem! I'd better get to school now. Try to be careful with your purse from now on."

"Alright. Thank you again!"

And off Jesse bolts for high school, dodging past people and weaving around them so that they don't just spectacularly crash into anybody.


Whew... I made it.

Jesse plops down in their chair, backpack falling to their feet as a relieved sigh puffs out of their mouth. With time to spare, too.

"Hey, there!"

Jesse looks up to see one of the popular kids beaming at them.

Which is weird. Usually the popular kids are all too happy to shove them around and tease them and mock them for being easily the shortest, smallest, most androgynous, thinnest person in the entire 11th grade.

But they give a little smile and a tiny wave, because the popular kid said hello, and it would be rude to not at least respond. "Hi."

"Soooo, you know that forest? Y'know- that one with, like, all the different types of trees and that weird clearing that nobody goes to?" The popular kid asks, tilting her head so that dark brown curls shift in waterfalls down her shoulders.

A little nod. "Uh-huh... what about it?"

"Wellll, we've all been chatting-" The popular kid doesn't bother to explain, and Jesse doesn't need her to, that 'we' means the popular kids. "And we've found out that one of us have gone into that clearing, and that if you go inside, and say a wish out loud three times, it'll actually come true!"

Jesse frowns slightly. "... was your friend hallucinating or something? That doesn't sound very likely."

"No, silly, it's real!" She gives them a grin. "She was, like, totally sober, and she went in and tried it, and it worked!"

Jesse gives a noncommittal hum at that.

"So, like, we were all thinking that we were going to head there after school and try it! You should come with- it'll be a ton of fun!" The popular kid gives Jesse a beaming, bright smile.

... a wish? I know I look like a kid, but seriously? That sounds so childish.

Jesse pauses a moment later, feeling a strange longing creep into the pit of their stomach.

... but... if I had a wish...

"Get out of my sight."

"Nobody wants you."

"I'm afraid we can't take this child; they're really too small and sickly-looking."

... I'd wish for a family...

The idea makes Jesse's heart ache a little bit. The idea of a wish being granted, and they wish for something for themselves (even though it's something they desperately, desperately want, desire more than anything, want so, so, so badly)? Can they get any more selfish?

And yet...

Jesse sits there for a moment, before they glance up at the popular kid.

"What time are you guys plannin'?"

She beams at the fact that they seem to have accepted her offer. "Around four. You're free after school?"

"I... I think so..."

The popular girl's smile widens. "Great- we'll meet you there at the clearing since it takes a while to round everyone else up." She rolls her eyes. "The new class system is, like, such b-s."

Jesse gives her a little nod and a tiny smile to return. "Okay."

She grins at them and pops back to her feet, giving them a clap on the back that makes them wince; there are some bruises there that haven't quite healed yet. "Awesome. I'll spot you after school, 'kay?" And before Jesse can respond, she's back with her group and sitting down, all of them reacting cheerfully as she reports back to them.

The moment Jesse glances away, though, her cheerful grin becomes a little more nasty. "I can't believe they fell for that. What kinda dumb thing do you think they wish for? Normalcy?"

The guy next to her rolls his eyes. "I bet they're gonna wish for a new toy from Santa."

The entire group sniggers at that, before the curly-haired girl smirks. "Well, they'll be waiting for half an hour anyway, since they're just going to be there early. So y'know, they might even just think we stood 'em up after they end up waiting for three hours and we can embarrass the crap out of them."

"Not like we don't already do that," another popular guy mutters, more sniggers spreading through the group.


The backpack combined with their weight is really the only reason that the sounds of grass crunching beneath Jesse's feet can be heard as they tread into the clearing.

They're glad they were able to scrounge up enough money to buy themselves a cherry soda (which should help tide them over if their legal guardian doesn't make dinner, which is almost a hundred percent certainty); but actually managing to purchase the cherry soda, head back in the direction of the forest, and find the path to the clearing is stupidly contrived enough that it's nearly 3:55 by the time Jesse gets there.

They set their backpack down, feeling glad that the relatively heavy thing is no longer digging into their shoulders, and glancing around. The sun is already beginning to set, being winter, and the golden light causes the trees to cast shadows that are long and almost a little eerie.

Jesse stands there for a moment, quietly, before huffing a weak laugh.

What are they doing here? They did come all the way here, mostly because they'd already said yes to the popular girl, but really? They're going to be doing something like this? Believing in magic and wishes was so silly. It was better to just head back to their house.

... although... it would be nice if my wish would come true.

Jesse shakes their head at the silliness of that idea (and how very, very selfish it is) and turns to pick up their backpack and leave.

Fingers snare their wrist.

Jesse's eyes flicker backwards to the gloved hand grabbing them by the wrist, to the leather-jacket-like sleeve on the arm that was holding them, to... nothing.

The arm was connected to absolutely nothing.

Jesse opens their mouth to cry out, eyes wide-

A flash of pain as he hits them. Tears, a hit, a gasp or a cry or a whimper, a kick, even standing in a defensive position results in pain.

They bite their tongue instead.

They disappear in a flash of light, without so much as a sound.

Not even a minute passes before the murmur of voices sounds in the clearing, and the popular kids appear in the shadows of the trees, giggling and snickering and finding the idea of the possibility of a wish (or even just Jesse getting stood up) apparently rather hilarious.

At least, until the popular girl stops. "... are they not here?"

"No, look-" And one of them points at Jesse's discarded backpack, the little pig keychain dangling from it very obvious. "It's their stupid backpack."

A long, long pause as the popular kids all glance around at each other, an unsettling silence creeping over them.

Jesse's stuff is there. And it's not like Jesse would leave without their backpack. (They are literally almost the only one in the grade who turns in their homework on time, neat, from a candy-colored folder that they keep in their backpack.)

So where are they?


The feeling of traveling through a curtain of heat isn't lost on Jesse before their feet step onto what feels like carpet, a firm set of hands on Jesse's shoulders and giving them a light squeeze. Jesse's eyes are squeezed shut, but they can feel the big hands gently (if firmly) holding them and they're pretty sure a guy is the one who's gripping them by the shoulders.

Jesse slowly, slowly blinks one eye open, to find themselves staring at a very pretty wooden door. They flicker around, showing what looks like the entrance to some kind of old-fashioned manor.

... what just happened? Where am I?

"Ooh... look, Aiden!"

A voice that is distinctly male sounds right in their ear, making Jesse flinch automatically from how close it is. "It's..." A short pause, before the hands spin them around to get a better look at them.

A male with dark brown (nearly black, actually) hair and a beard is blinking perplexedly at them with his left eye, the right one being covered with what looks like a pirate's eyepatch. His shirt is a dark red, black leather jacket with brown straps and metal shoulderpads gleaming in the dim light from the chandelier on the ceiling. One quick look downwards confirm that his pants and boots are also black.

But that's not what's making Jesse a tad nervous about the whole thing; no, plenty of people at school wear lots of black and red.

No, what makes Jesse really, really nervous is the fact that the boy's left iris is an unnatural, inhuman red.

"Well, honestly, I can't actually tell what gender they are, but it's a kid!" And he grins at them before giving their hair an enthusiastic ruffle, making chills of fear shoot up Jesse's spine. "And they've got fluffy hair, too."

"Cut that out, Gill."

Jesse's eyes flicker to behind the bearded guy to see a white sofa with a guy seated on it. His hair looks windswept and almost spiky, left eye wrapped up completely in a bandage with his right eye shut. He's sipping something from a teacup.

Presumably tea.

His eyes flicker open as he lowers the cup a bit, revealing that his own iris is also bloodred.

"You're scaring them."


A/N: Heyo, guys, welcome to a revamp of this old story (formerly known as October Progeny) because I got new ideas and the old one kinda sucked anyway so... yeah.

So, er, LONG time no see. Honestly, this isn't really marking the start of the return of regular updates or even... necessarily updating in general. I just rewatched October Children, came up with lots of ideas, and went "you know what screw it I'm rewriting this."

Although I DO have another thing that's SUPER long and sort of a oneshot update coming up. So... look forward to that?

I'm sorry I've been gone so long; college applications are a PAIN, to say the least. I'm still working on submitting a few final ones, so please be patient- I will still probably be out for a while in December but come back and re-establish some kind of schedule in January.

Thank you, and I HOPE you like this revamp of October Children. The beginning several chapters are STILL based off of Klaziki's Maplestory series... "October Children", but there's going to be some MASSIVE changes.

x.X. A.L. X.x