Here's chapter 7! I got a few reviews, but I would love some more. I still do sneak peaks, so if you comment, I'll reward you! I hope you enjoy this chapter, it was one of my favorites to write!
chipettejones10: Thanks again! Your positive support always makes me smile. Don't worry about Hermes, he'll get his girl eventually :)!
wakashark: I love getting your reviews! They're always so long and informative! I'm so glad you like the way I portray the characters. As I said before, that means a lot to me. Here's the HermesXPersephone (although it doesn't last very long, sorry!). Hopefully you'll log in so I can send you sneak peaks.
Disclaimer: Yup, still don't own Greek Mythology. Sorry to disappoint. Also, part of this chapter is a bit of a song-fic. The song is "Never Grow Up" by Taylor Swift. Shockingly enough, I am not Taylor Swift, and therefore do not own that either. All credits go to her. It's a great song, and you should all listen to it! Link is here: /O6qutPepOdc
ENJOY!
Hermes
I don't know how it gets around the Persephone and I are dating. But it does and she seems OK with it, so I am, too. It also gets around that she's been raped, and she starts going with me me everywhere as a way to ignore the whispers and stares. I hold her hand and stuff, but it's getting harder to be her shoulder to cry on. Mostly because my shoulder is where she typically puts her head, and it hurts like hell because my mom hit me with a skillet. Anyway, I let her whine to me, and I tell myself she had a reason to whine. I want to tell her to shut up sometimes, and that I'm abused so I really have more of a reason to be complaining. She's been raped once. I am beaten every night.
But I don't.
I don't because it's not her fault Hades raped her, whereas it's definitely my fault that my mother beats me.
Then the posters for the school dance go up, and I ask Persephone, because that's the thing to do with your girlfriend. Ares asks Hestia and Apollo finally works up the guts to ask Athena and Artemis gives me a long, infuriated glare when I ask Persephone. Then she promptly agrees to go with Perseus. The dance draws nearer and the girls go dress-shopping. The guys hang out at Ares's house, because he has a sword-fighting arena in his basement, and worry about everything. What should I say? What color corsage should I get her? Should I try to match my tie with her dress? Should I get her punch or stay with her so that some guy doesn't come snap her up? Should I kiss her? Should I do more than that? Should I keep flirting and dancing even if I hate her guts? We finally get suits to wear and then I found myself in the gym, dancing with Persephone.
She looks happy, and I mimic her expression. Across from us, Athena and Apollo are caught in lip-lock, and Hestia's head is on Ares's shoulder. I'm glad Persephone's isn't on mine. Perseus has his arms a little too low, in my opinion, but Artemis isn't arguing. She just continues to smile that fake love-struck smile, but her eyes have much more to tell. Of course, unintelligent Perseus doesn't pick up on that. The song comes to an end, and Persephone looks up at me. I smile at her, and she leans in towards me. I groan inwardly but kiss her anyway, because that's the thing to do. She kisses me longer than I'd like, but she likes it so I let her. It's a super awkward kiss, because her eyes are closed in she's super into it, and my eyes are wide open in shock. She breaks the kiss and smiles, and I smile back at her. At least, I hope it looks like a smile. I guess it does, because she wraps her arms around me.
She takes me back to her house that night and shows me around. She keeps hinting that she wants to...you know, but I pretend I can't tell. At the end of the night, she kisses me goodbye and I walk home, replaying everything that happened that night. But it isn't the happy kind of replaying where you can't believe it happened, it's the kind of replaying where try to picture Artemis instead of Persephone kissing you. And you wonder what happened to the life where everything was OK.
"I'm king of the world!" Apollo shouts, standing up on the windowsill. His tiny, three-year-old frame doesn't even fill the whole window.
"Not if I can help it," Artemis boasts, standing up beside her brother. She gives him a playful shove, which he returns. Pretty soon they're both trying to shove each other into the ocean below, and I stand there watching in awe. Then, suddenly, we hear a scream and a splash and Apollo is in the water. Giggling, I attempt to fly down and catch him, but I can't pull out of the dive in time. We're both in the water now, struggling to stay above the waves while Artemis laughs at us. Finally, a large wave comes and knocks us both to the shore, where we lie motionless in the sand. Artemis shrieks for help, thinking that we've been knocked unconscious, and we burst into hysterics. She scowls at us, but at only 3, she's not very scary. She yanks us to our feet and chases us around the beach, bow drawn. We scream and hide behind trees, while she fires arrows that miss the mark completely. Eventually, we all collapse in the sand and fall asleep.
Slowly, the image of our sleeping forms fade and I wake up. I push myself into a sitting position, wincing at the pain in my back and sighing at the fresh bloodstains I've left on my sheets. Gods, I wish things were as easy as they were back then. Back when Artemis would miss if she tried to shoot you. When Persephone hadn't even met Hades. When my mother never had a use for belts.
I slip out of bed and walk around my room. My hand runs over one of my drums and picks up a fine layer of dust. I don't play my drums often anymore. Mom says the noise gives her headaches. She used to love to listen to me play.
Oh, I don't want to grow up, wish I'd never grown up, I could still be little.
I slide into the seat and pick up the drumsticks, lightly tapping the cymbal. The noise brings me back to another memory. Apollo and I were ten. He was playing guitar and I was playing drums. To sum things up, we were terrible. But Mom told us we were great and gave us cookies anyway.
Oh, I don't wanna grow up, wish I'd never grown up, it could still be simple.
I silently slide out of the seat and stand in front of my desk. At age twelve, I carved my name and Artemis's name into it inside a heart. I trace the figure and our misspelled names with my thumb. I cross to the dresser and look at a picture of all of us. We were eleven, graduating from elementary school. Hard to believe that was three years ago. I'm hovering upside-down above Ares's head, and he's holding his sword to Apollo's throat, who'd been singing some super annoying song when the picture was taken. Artemis is wearing her usual smirk, her arms crossed over her chest. Athena's nose is buried in a book, and Aphrodite is braiding Persephone's hair. Dionysus and Hephaestus, always the best of friends, are holding hands. Hestia stands off to the side, observing all of us with a cocked head. Coral is standing with her fellow cheerleaders, doing Y-scales and cartwheels. Perseus and Hercules are eying them. Gods, so little has changed. The only difference is Orion, smiling next to Artemis. He had no desire to be anything more than friends with her then. The myth hadn't started.
I just realized everything I have is someday gonna be gone.
I beg myself to stop. I beg myself not to cry. I wish I could stop thinking. I wish I could get myself away.
Sometimes I get like this. Where I can't stop the memories. Where I can't stop thinking about Mom. About who she used to be, and who she is now. And where I can't stop thinking about myself. Who I used to be. I'm not that happy-go-lucky little kid anymore. I try not to think about it, but I can't stop myself.
So I run. I just run, and I don't look back.
Apollo
"Hey, loser!"
I whirl around and am faced with two nymphs, both seniors in high school. Are they talking to me?
"Me?" I say.
"Yeah, we're talking to you!" One replies menacingly. Then, he turns to the other and asks, "Why are we talking to him?" The other one rolls his eyes.
"We're having a party," He explains, "do you and Wise Girl want to come?"
"You mean Athena and I, come to one of your parties?" I echo in disbelief.
"Yeah, you got a problem with that?" The first one replies.
"No!" I say hurriedly, "We'd love to come!"
"Good," The second one says, "be there at ten." Then he and his friend saunter away. Still dumbfounded, I begin the walk to English. Athena catches up with me and puts an arm around me, resting her head on my shoulder.
"So," She says, "what are you doing tonight?"
"You and I are going to a party," I tell her, "a senior party." Her eyes widen in shock.
"Apollo, do you know what they do at those parties?!" She exclaims.
"I guess we'll find out," I reply, shrugging. She shakes her head.
"I don't want to find out."
"Oh, come on! Live a little!"
"I'm good."
"Athena, eighth graders got invited to a senior party. That never happens! Can we please go?"
"Fine."
My head feels like it's been stuffed with cotton, everything is blurry, the senior's laughter sounds like nails on a chalkboard, and I have no idea what I just drank. That's the bad news. The good news? Athena is just as drunk, so someone won't be saying "I told you so."
"Get a load of this kid!" One of the seniors exclaims, pointing at me as I pet the carpet.
"This..." I slur, "this carpet is really soft..." The seniors laugh. "What's so funny?" I ask. They just snicker and point at me. Suddenly, Athena tugs on my hand.
"Wanna go up there?" She asks, jerking her head towards the staircase. The seniors wolf-whistle and watch us intently. I nod. She smiles, grabs my hand, and leads me up the stairs and into an empty bedroom. We fall on the bed, and the kissing turns to undressing, and undressing turns to touching, and then...I don't really want to get into details. We...make love. It's amazing. But what will happen when we come around?
