A/N: Thanks for 22 views in less than three days! Enjoy!

Dr. Maxwell Connolly was a dermatologist and it was apparent he like to show it off. He framed his degrees on his walls, and it looked like someone dusted them daily. Dani looked closer and realized that some of them were just high school superlatives for  'Most Likely to Become Rich'. Well, Dr. Connolly was probably very rich, with how much Marble went to him.

Dr. Connolly had always known him as the man that Marble went to for her skin care, but Dani had never met the man in person. Right now, he was treating Andrew, while Dani waited in the small circle of chairs that was for guests, watching Marble become more and more frantic.

"Do you think it might be some kind of serious skin problem? Is it related to his hair product?" Marble interrogated the female receptionist. "I just knew he was having worse acne when Evan bought him that new stuff." She started to paced the waiting area, making Dani nervous.

"Marble." He tried to say. "I'm sure Andrew's fine. He probably isn't washing his face after practice again. Nothing to worry about. It's not a problem. Plus, I think you've been reading too many clickbait articles."

"But he has never had acne like this before. What do you think?" This last part was directed to the frazzled receptionist, who was looking a little annoyed, but too nice to tell Marble to shut up.

"Ma'am, I'm not a dermatologist, but I think he'll be fine. My own son had issues with acne when he was about your son's age." The women tried to sooth.

"Oh, I just don't know." Marble put her manicured nails to her painted lips, glancing at the room Andrew had disappeared into.

"Marble. This is Andrew we're talking about. He's notorious for telling white lies. Maybe he hasn't been using the face wash again. There's really nothing to worry about." Dani tried to calm her.

"But he's close to nineteen." Marble looked horrified.

"Most boys get acne until they're in their early twenties, ma'am." The receptionist informed her, giving Dani a 'Is she always like this?' look.

Dani nodded slowly.

"Ah, Mrs. Linds!" A portly, middle aged man, with unnaturally flawless skin, walked into the waiting area, his arms open like he wanted a hug. "So good to finally meet your boys!"

"Yes, hello Doctor. What's the verdict?" Marble asked anxiously. "Is it serious?"

"Not at all, just a bit of oily skin that he hasn't been taking care of." Dr. Connolly beamed, gesturing at a door next to the office, with the words 'WASH ROOM' engraved on the plaque. "He's washing his face now. I've given him a face cleanser that he should use after his sports practice."

Dani gave Marble an 'I told you so' look, one that she frowned at. Marble didn't like being wrong, but she overreacted so much, she should be used to it.

"This must be your other son! Daniel, yes?" Dr. Connolly boomed, still beaming.

"Just Dani. With an 'I'." he responded, moving to get up from his seat. "I have an appointment as well."

"Is that right, Miss Ferns?" the dermatologist inquired of his receptionist. "Do we have an appointment for Dani with an 'I' today?"

The receptionist, Miss Ferns, gave the doctor a nod and Dani an apologetic smile. "Yes, we do, sir."

"Well then, my dear sir, please step into my office." Dr. Connolly made a sweeping gesture with his arm toward the office door.

The office was large, with many posters of skin cross sections, diagrams and print ups of treatment plans tacked to the cream walls. Dani sat down in what he supposed was the patient's chair, and waited for Connolly to close the door. "So, what seems to be troubling you today?" He inquired.

"I just have some really itchy dry skin on my arms. Like eczema or something. It's kinda annoying." Dani showed him, rolling up his shirt sleeve up to his pale birthmark. "It's spread from my elbows to the rest of my arm and shoulder."

Connolly frowned. "And this just developed? Recently?" He reached out to touch the skin on Dani's arms. "Well, look at this." He said.

Startled, Dani looked down to where Connolly's chubby finger hovered over his skin. A patch of the red skin had started to flake off, giving it the appearance of a silver scale. "Okay, what is that?" he asked. "That is new, and I'm not a fan."

Connolly leaned away from Dani's arm, a grim look on his face. "That, Dani, is pretty conclusive. I was thinking I might have to take a biopsy. Well, we may have to call your mother in."

____________________

"He has what?" Marble demanded, her face contorted into worry. Dani rubbed his arm, but stopped once he got the Look from both Connolly and Marble.

"It's called plaque psoriasis, Mrs. Linds." Connolly soothed, turning back to her. "It's a relatively common thing in of itself, but what makes me worry is the fact that is so bad. I've never seen it develop so quickly. It might start on his elbows, knees and back. Ma'am, if may I ask, is Dani adopted?" Connolly inquired.

"Yes. Why? Is it more prevalent-" Marble started to ask, panicked, but Connolly held up a hand to cut her off.

"From where? Do you know his ethnic origin?"

"No, but we suspect Latin American and Hispanic." Marble looked stricken. "Why?"

"Strange. Most cases of psoriasis are in Caucasian people. Only a little more than one percent of Hispanic people get psoriasis." He handed Marble a few papers and a pamphelt. "Plaque psoriasis isn't dangerous or contagious, but it can be painful. The skin can start to bleed from time to time, due to the cracked skin. The flare ups are seemingly random, although they do correlate with things like diet, health, UV ray exposure and stress. I have written a prescription for a moisturizer that may help him. Dani," he said and Dani looked up, trying to comprehend what this meant. "This is a chronic disease. This will happen for the rest of your life."

"Can I still go to Mexico?" Dani blurted out.

"Luckily for you, yes. But Dani, you must be prepared to face some very bad flare ups as you go through school. And this may even prohibit your sports and activities. It's too early to tell, but it's not unheard of to have psoriatic arthritis along with plaque psoriasis." Connolly looked very grim indeed, concerned for the young boy.

Dani's throat felt like it was closing up. "Thank you, doctor."

____________________

"Dani!" Señora Segera called, right before class started. "Can we talk?" She smiled. "Nothing's wrong, I promise. Just something your mother told me." The whole class looked at Dani as he walked out of the classroom with their teacher, and closed the door.

The hallway was empty, and the rest of the classroom door's closed, but Señora still spoke quietly. "Your mother sent me a message about your skin condition while on the trip. With her permission, I'm sending a notice ahead to my friends that you will be staying with, to inform them."

"Marble talks too much." Dani grumbled, crossing his arms. He wasn't very upset with his adopted mother, but he felt like she was making a big deal out of this. "It's just a slight skin problem."

"You don't seriously believe that, do you? Dani, you're a smart boy. You've probably read up on this. Psoriasis is a permanent condition."

"Chronic, actually." Dani corrected sharply, then bit his lip. That had come out rude.

"See, you're a smart boy. But I need you to remember that your health is very important to everyone around you, including me."

"But I don't want to be treated like I am going to break or bleed." Dani told her.

"Dani, we're going to treat you like you are, a boy who is slightly sick." Señora reassured him. It wasn't the right thing to say, because Dani huffed in anger.

"But I don't want to be treated like I'm sick. I'm already under enough scrutiny because I don't change in gym class, and I'm wearing long sleeved tee-shirts all of the suddenly. My LAX coach is treating me like I'm going to break, and I don't need you to do the same thing. I just want to be treated like I'm normal kid, who doesn't have any serious problems."

"We already stated that this is a serious problem that you need to watch." Señora reiterated.

"Yes, but it doesn't mean that you need to treat me any differently. I'm not different, I'm..." Dani trailed off, realizing how pointless the argument is. "Never mind."

"Just take care of yourself, Dani."

"I try, Señora." Dani said, turning away, and opening the door. "I try."

____________________

Dani flung his duffle bag into the back of the car, huffing with a clouded breath of air, and waiting for Andrew to get out of the house. He watched for shadows against the lights of the house, but didn't see any. "Andrew!" He yelled, cupping his hands around his mouth. The form of the older teen appeared.

"Why do you need all this stuff?" Andrew yelled back. "This is absurd!"

"What's really absurd is that it takes you that long!" Dani teased, watching his older brother struggle out of the house. "Come on, the plane leaves in two hours, and I have to meet with my travel group!"

Andrew, burdened with a suitcase and a backpack, stumbled down the driveway, cursing about how he should have parked closer to the house. "I'm coming!"

"Boys, stop yelling!" Marble called from the porch. "Dani, I have your lotion. Please come and get it."

"Yeah Marble." Dani said, jogging up the walk to the porch.

Dani had finished his project on the Aztec gods just in time to start packing for Mexico. Dani's moisturizing cream had been cleared to fly, as long as no one looked in his suitcase.

They left from Phoenix Airport at seven A.M, and landed in Mexico City at five P.M. When Dani got off the plane at Mexico City International Airport, he smiled as the sun, dipping low in the sky, set fire to the horizon.

Dani looked around in the reflected light of his bathroom mirror, blinking as he applied the lotion to his bare arms and pectorals. The plaques, as Connolly has said, had gotten worse for a few days, but they were now going down. Marble had packed him bath oils, to reduce the itching and help shed the scales, but he could only find a time to shower in the evening.

____________________

"Dani!" A voice knocked at his door. "Yo, man, we're going soon!" A voice called from the bathroom door. "I gotta pee!"

It was Dani's hotel mate for the trip, a teenager about three years younger than Dani, name Keyes Algeirs. "Fine!" He said, capping his lotion and grabbing his tote bag. "I'm coming." He opened the door, and faced Keyes with an unimpressed look.

"Damn man, what the hell! Put some clothes on! Like a shirt!" Keyes yelped, obviously disturbed by the bright red plaques on Dani's torso and arms. "I don't think that's allowed!"

"I'm wearing pants. And it's normal to wear only pants when it's hot out. Like right now." Dani deadpanned. He knew if he didn't have the plaques, Keyes wouldn't have cared. "I'm sorry it offends your delicate sensibilities."

"It's only like, seventy degrees out, man." Keyes said, still starting at Dani's chest. "Not that hot, compared to home."

"Yeah, well, I'm a little bit warmer blooded than you are, Keyes." Dani pushed past Keyes, and the other boy avoided Dani's bare chest, like it was dangerous.

Or contagious.

Dani's mouth tightened into a line, and his steps became much brisker. "Sorry to make you upset." He snapped at Keyes. "I didn't mean to." Keyes gave him a confused look as he shut the door.

Dani grabbed his white tee-shirt, the one with long sleeves, covering his stomach and biceps. He grabbed his trainers, pulling them on his feet as he checked his knees. Luckily, no plaques had started on his knees.

Yet.

He snatched his phone and his wallet, now filled with pesos. Opening the door, he waited momentarily for Keyes, who scrambled with his stuff before rushing to Dani. "Thanks, man." He said.

"Yeah, no problem." Dani told him emotionlessly. "So, where are we meeting the group?"

"In the breakfast place." Keyes said, seeming like there was something else he wanted to say.

"Okay, so what are we doing today? Do you remember the itinerary?" Dani asked, uncaring if he came off as cruel or cold. Keyes shouldn't have commented on his skin.

"I know we are going to meet a person who is going to show us around the capital of the old Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan." Keyes recalled.

"Huh. Okay. Did your class do the whole Aztec god project?" Dani questioned, punching the down button for the elevator with his thumb. "'Cause I didn't know what to think about the whole thing. How 'bout you?"

"I did the god of the city, and I kind of liked it." Keyes responded. The whole conversation was almost rehearsed, but without emotion of any kind.

"Uh, the god Huitzilopochtli?" Dani was impressed that he even remembered the name, as it was way too complex for his tongue.

"Yeah. That was actually better than any time I tried to pronounce it." Keyes ducked his head, rubbing the back of his neck. "Um... about earlier..."

"What about earlier? I don't think I know what your quite talking about." Dani responded, maybe too quickly. He was going to make sure Keyes didn't treat him any different. And to make him feel just a little worse.

"I just wanted to apologize-"

"Ah! The elevator." Dani said, with too much enthusiasm to be genuine. "Let's go."

"Hey, I'm just trying to apologize here, and you're being elusive." Keyes complained as the two boys stepped into the elevator. "Don't be a dick, man."

"I'm not trying to be. I just don't wanna talk about it." Dani replied.

"Why not?" Keyes challenged. Opening his mouth, Dani was about to say something pointed and hurtful, but-

"Hold the door!" A cheery voice called out, and Dani stuck his hand out in front of the closing doors. Luckily, it didn't close on his fingers. "Ah! Thank you, Dani!" a very cheerful Señora Segera chirped, bustling in with a familiar spirit.

"Hi, Señora. How are you doing?" Dani asked her politely. She beamed at him.

"Very well! I hope you two are excited about todays adventure! We're going to be going with a tour guide to see the city of Tenochtitlan. Not the usually guide we have, but I've been informed that this one is also very good." She looked very pleased, and Dani couldn't help but warm up to her bright outlook on the day. Her energy was infectious.

"Who do you usually have as tour guides, Señora?" Keyes inquired, trying to keep the conversation up as they descended floors.

"Oh, this very nice woman named Zammi Coatl and her daughter. Unfortunately, they couldn't fit us into their schedule today, but we'll see them tomorrow."

"So, a mother and her daughter show us around?" Keyes sounded the skepticism that Dani felt. "Seems a little sketchy."

"Yes, it does, until you meet them. Zammi is very professional. She's part of the Nahua people, so she knows a lot about what the temples stand for and who the gods are." Señora Segera told him.

"That's very interesting. You don't see many of the Nahua around anymore." Keyes responded.

"Sorry, who are the Nahua?" Dani inquired, confused. He'd never heard the term before. 

"Oh, of course! They are the remnants of the Aztec people, by a different name."

"Who don't do the human sacrifice thing, of course." Keyes added on to Señora's statement.

"I would assume." Dani muttered, smiling a bit. The doors open on the bottom floor. A short woman with long black hair and sunglasses was leaning against the wall, waiting.

"Ah!" Señora smiled happily, rushing over to her.

"That must be the guide, then." Keyes said to Dani, like he hadn't realized.

"Yeah." Dani said, quickly moving to the breakfast table. He grabbed pancakes, not a traditional Mexican breakfast, but it was good enough for Dani, who wasn't about to try something he didn't recognize.

"Can we still talk?" Keyes asked softly. "I just want to apologize, man."

"You really don't need to. At this point, I don't even care." A total lie. Dani had gotten a pass from the school nurse so he didn't have to change when his psoriasis acted up. He'd changed his whole wardrobe be long sleeved. Hell, Marble had even bought him concealer and taught him how to blend it over the visible plaques.

Dani cared quite a bit, but he wasn't going to admit that to Keyes.

"Still, I'm sorry." Keyes repeated. Dani rolled his eyes.

"Honestly man, I'm over it. I don't care. Doesn't matter. Damage is done." Dani turned away, starting to pour syrup over his pancakes. Keyes winced at the backhanded jab, but Dani didn't bother apologizing. Hey, Keyes had started it.

"All right, my group!" Señora Segera clapped her hands. "Over here. Dani, bring your breakfast!"

When all the teenagers where there, she made a large gesture at the women that was standing beside her. "Everyone, this is Levi. She is our guide for today, until my usual guide gets back tomorrow. Be nice to her." She smiled at the group. "Take it away, Levi."

"Alright, so, I'm Levi, and I'll be your guide for today." Levi said in a surprisingly light accent, sounding very annoyed and bored. She still hadn't taken her sunglasses off. "I'm going to show you around part of the city of Tenochtitlan."

"Where are we going first?" One of the students asked.

"To the main market, called Tlatelolco." Levi droned on. "Then three of the twenty calpulli."

"And how long with this take?" Keyes questioned from beside Dani.

"Most likely, the whole day. It's a very large place, and you are a small group. Tomorrow, you'll be shown around the temples and what not, but that's not my job." Levi said, and then grabbed a drink from her canteen. "Hey, could I grab a refill?" she asked.

"Uh, sure. I don't think you need to ask." Señora told her, but the woman was already by the water dispenser, refilling her water bottle.

"She's just a little strange." Dani said, to no one in particular.

"Yeah, I thought so too." Keyes responded. "Seems like she'd eat someone alive."

"I mean, who wears sunglasses inside?" Rebecca Mills mocked, looking at Dani like she was waiting for him to notice her. "That's just creepy."

"Now, guys, let's not be rude to the guide. She might be new, and we don't know much about her. Let's reserve judgment." Señora tried to convince them, but it was clear that they'd made up their minds. Dani felt a little bad that he'd put the thought in everyone's head, but he didn't really care that much.

"So," Levi was back, sipping her refilled water. "Let's go."

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Pronuciation:

Tenochtitlan: Tech-notch-tit-lahn

Tlatelolco: Tla-te-lol-kol

Calpulli- ca-pul-ee