Jordan: Hey.

Sandy: Heyy.

We don't own.


Artemis sat idle at his desk absent mindedly sketching on his recently graded calculus test. Today had been uneventful to say the least. He thought that Washington D.C would be a little more exciting than this, but nothing. He looked down at the picture he sketched and frowned. It was the boy he met at the library. He had only meant to flirt with him for fun. He liked hearing the breath of someone quicken as he blatantly touched hands and bumped elbows. He had learned that it was the subtle things that really grasped their attention, and sliding his foot up his calve practically sealed the deal. The boy was cute and it was harmless. Yet he still couldn't get the boy out of his mind. He groaned in frustration, before stuffing the sketch into his bag. He closed his eyes quietly singing his favorite song, Drive by Incubus. He was in his own little world, drowning out every thought, and sound.

"Mr. Krest?"

His eyes shot open as soon as he felt someone's hand on his shoulder. He quickly sat up and flashed his new teacher a smile.

"I'm awfully sorry Mrs. Cohen; it's just easier for me to focus with my eyes closed. By the way the answer to the question you were asking about is 1946." His smile never faltered as she considered his excuse. He silently counted down from five. Five, four, three, two…

"Well I guess that's understandable, and you got the question right." She smiled. "It's a pleasure to have you in our class Mr. Krest."

"Oh the pleasure is all mine." He then realized that he couldn't spend another second in that classroom. Quickly he raised his hand.

Do you mind if I go to the restroom?" He said grabbing his stuff and walking towards the door.

He was already halfway down the hallway by the time Mrs. Cohen even had a chance to answer. He rolled his eyes. People were so easy to manipulate these days. Just as he rounded the corner, he heard whispering coming from a classroom straight ahead.

"Henry come on, I don't want to get caught." He heard one of the boys hurriedly whisper.

"I'm only checking to see if Mr. Evans is in fact selling information to the Russian military; it'll only take a second."

"Fine, but I'm waiting in the hallway."

Artemis watched as the boy he'd been thinking about all day emerged from the classroom. He stood there frozen as he watched the boy lean against the wall with his arms crossed. Finally he urged himself to hide behind a group of lockers, there was just enough room to hide his body completely. He contemplated his choices. He could A) confront the boy, B) try to walk past him, pretending not see him as he walked into the bathroom, which was conveniently right across from the "danger zone," or C) go back to Mrs. Cohen room and sit there till the bell rang. He glanced up at clock. Five minutes till the bell. There was no way in hell he was going back. So he now had two choices. Confront or run? He had gotten pretty good at the whole running thing.

"Might as well give it a shot," he whispered. He took a deep breath and started making his way down the hallway.

Alright, this is going good, I'll just keep walking and…The sound of the bell echoed through the hallway. "Damn," he sighed quickening his pace. He was almost to the bathroom, when he decided to glance over at the boy. Just to his enjoyment the boy happened to look up and meet his eyes. He noticed the slight blush that crept over his face and found himself smiling, until the boy started walking towards him. He panicked and began full on running down the hallway with a new destination in mind, the exit. Before he knew it, he was lying on the ground with the boy standing over him, asking if he was alright.


Apollo was bored. He absolutely abhorred European History, he hated it even more that he was in AP. So he had to do one thing to reduce his boredom. Something so drastic, he had never been reduced to it before. He had. To draw.

That was one of the few things his brother and he had in common. They both were exceptional artists. But the difference between the two was that Artemis had to pay attention. Apollo would just let his mind wander and eventually he would be finished. But the past few days he would always draw the same thing. Well, maybe not the same thing, but the same person. He would look down at his paper and see the face which he sat across from at lunch. Sweet Henry. The guy was all over his mind and he didn't know what to do about it. Rumors were starting to surface as of late, and although he actually did kind of like Henry, he didn't even know if the guy was gay or straight. So when he looked down, today was no exception. It was a picture of Henry from lunch yesterday. Biting into an apple. With juice on his chin.

"Damn." He whispered. "I'm a good artist." He felt pressure on his shoulder as his friend Valerie looked over his shoulder.

"He's cute." She whispered before retreating from his glare.

He stared at the clock trying to will it faster.

Seven minutes left of class, and Apollo was about to blow his fucking brains out. "What would Artemis do?" He mumbled. The one thing his brother was truly good at; besides drawing; was being a sneak. So whenever he wanted to be sneaky, he would think of his brother.

That's when the idea sprung into his mind. He raised his hand. "Yes Mr. Krest."

"May I go to the restroom please?" He asked as nicely as possible.

"Only if you can answer this riddle and explain where it's origin lies."

"No prob Mr. D." He said quickly.

"What walks on four legs in the morning, two at noon, and three in the evening."

He knew this from elementary school, so he started packing as he talked. "Man. He walks on four legs when he is a baby, two from infancy to adulthood and three; if you figure in a cane; as he ages." He walked to the front of the class. "And it's the riddle posed by the sphinx to Oedipus in the books of Sophocles." He said as he exited.

He laughed as he walked, heading straight to lunch so he could see Henry. But when the bell rang he quickened his pace. He almost missed seeing Henry crouched next to a door picking the lock. "Henry?" He asked, but he was soon on the ground after running smack into someone.

"How bout you watch where you're walking dick." A voice said.

"I could say the same to you." He replied snarkily.

"Apollo?" The voice asked.

He stood up and recognized his brother standing next to him.

"Oh, hey Arty. So, Henry, why were you breaking into a classroom?" He turned to Henry who had helped him back up.

"Um. Discovery?" Apollo started laughing.

"Next time recruit him." He pointed at his brother. "He sets records." He said with false pride.

His brother laughed. "I'm not helping your boyfriend break into a teacher's office." He said lightly.

"He's not my boyfriend." Apollo said as he and his brother started arguing on the way to lunch.

Soon Jasper and Henry were alone. "So Jasper, was that the guy you met at the library?"

"How did you know about that?" Jasper asked.

"Well, I'm amazing." Jasper looked at him in disbelief. "Plus you talk in your sleep and I have Maggie on speed dial too." He finished.

"Fine, whatever. And yes he was. So is that your new boyfriend?" Jasper snapped back.

Henry laughed as a slight blush creeped up his cheeks. "Here's to hoping." He raised his arm in a mock toast.

Silently, Apollo walked away from the corner he was hiding behind. His cheeks were red and a goofy smile was plastered on his face.

And that was how he learned.


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Wishing you Black skies and Clearwater

Sandy: And some half-naked Schmidt boys