Oh, how I've missed you all, faithful readers. But Lady Destruction was good and put out another chapter, just for you, despite a highly emotional occurrence last Friday (shut up Kortz, you're not allowed to comment). Now. A few points, dear readers.

There is a poll on my profile on how many sequels, if any, I should do. It would help me immensely (hint hint) if you were to vote.

There is a link, also on my profile, to a list of gods in the Dark Hunter world. If you'd like pictures, go there (in my imagination, Rya looks just like Apollymi except her hair is a white blonde and she looks younger). If it's a bio or description you're after, you're better off asking me for one.

There is a story I have found on ff that I thought I'd recommend. It's some of the funniest shit I've read in a long time. It's a Twilight fic called 'Tortured soul', by no.1Schizo. It's brilliant. Another hilarious story is a HP one called 'Her and Me', Dramione, and I can't remember who it's by. Fucking funny though. My personally favourite part is the refrigerator exorcism.

This chapter follows closer to the book than the others do, so I thought I'd warn you,. It helped the story flow better, and there were some calls I couldn't resist having Rya make. Kudos to Red Dwarf for her lack of vocab.

Now, after this ridiculously long author's note, onto the story.

Thursday morning. Rainy. Funny, that.

As I pulled into the school lot, I parked as far away from Mike's, Eric's and Tyler's cars as I could. If I got too close, I just knew one of them would suffer horrendous damage which would be a little awkward to explain.

Sorry, sir. But I do have a good reason for destroying his car, sir. You see, he asked me to the school dance when he had absolutely no right to! Why doesn't he have a right? Because I'm very nearly a goddess who could kill him. Heck, I could kill him even without being a goddess. Wanna see? Are you okay, sir? You've turned purple and you're breathing funny. Is there someone I should call?

Yeah, that would go over well.

Walking to my first class, I was somewhat surprised to see Edward fall into step beside me. I turned around angrily to face him.

"What the hell was that for?"

"What?" Funny, Edward. Don't you dare act innocent; you know bloody well what you did.

"Yesterday afternoon. Hey, out of curiosity, have you made it your personal mission in life to irritate me to death?"

"No!" he said, stung. "And you know Tyler would have asked you anyway. I just really really wanted to see his face."

"You are a total, total, complete, utter… a word has yet to be invented for what you are, but you are one. And a total, total, complete and utter one at that."

If looks could've killed, he would've been nothing more than a bloody mass on the ground. And not even a very large one at that.

He laughed before sobering up.

"So… what am I exactly?"

I groaned in frustration, looking around for the nearest wall to slam my head on. "I just explained this to you. How is it you didn't get it?"

"I just wanted some clarification, that's all."

I could feel my eye twitching. Not good.

"Got to get out of here," I muttered to myself, walking away quickly. "Before someone pushes it just a little too far…"

"So. What I was going to ask in the first place…" I stopped walking; my curiosity piqued. "You know, next weekend, you know, the day of the spring dance…"

I swung round, hand poised to slap. The only thing saving his overly pretty face from a violent death was his quick reflexes. "So you are trying to infuriate me to death?"

"You didn't let me finish."

I narrowed my eyes.

"So. Anyway. The day of the spring dance. I heard you saying you were having trouble with the math coursework-"

"You were listening in to my conversation?"

"It was rather hard to miss it, thank you very much! Moving on! And I also heard that you wouldn't be going, and had the day free. I was going to ask-"

"If it's a date you want, my friends are coming over. And from your listening in, you should know that."

"For the last time! I wasn't listening in! I was right bloody next to you when you said it! Now," he said, calming down visibly, "What time are your friends coming around?"

"In the evening on Sunday," I admitted.

"But Saturday's the da-"

"I know, I just really don't want to go. Especially not with Mike, Eric, or Tyler."

"Okay, fair enough. How about I come by on the Saturday morning?"

"Sounds alright then." Seeing the look of confusion on his face, I explained. "There are far worse things I could be doing with my weekend."

The bell rang, and I headed off to class, not looking behind me as I left. But while I was turning, I thought I saw him grin.

Lunch time. Again. Blessed freedom from the dictatorship of class. Dreaded torture time of forcing cross sections of dachshunds and something I was sure wasn't considered edible even in third world countries upon the student body.

As I stood next to Bella in the line, gazing out a window, whispers penetrated my little world I was inhabiting at that moment.

"What's he doing?"

"But they always sit together!"

"He looks like he's staring at someone."

"Really?!? Who? Tell me!"

I glanced over to Bella to ask her what the h-e-double toothpicks was going on, and saw her watching me, like the rest of the student body, holding not-so-hushed conversations.

It was unnerving, really. "Bella?"

She pointed to where Edward was sitting on his own, gaze fixed on me, smiling serenely.

"Ah," I said. "Say no more."

I left the lunch line and sat down, eyebrow raised inquisitively.

"I felt it was time for something different. And anyway, if I'm going to hell, I may as well do it thoroughly."

I grinned. "No, see, that's where you're wrong. It doesn't matter if you thoroughly deserve it or not; you'll be tortured regardless. Hades is one sick guy sometimes, really sick. You know what he'll do? Play crappy pop songs over, and over, and over again, until you can't hear the words 'red gold and green' again without cringing. He's real messed up that way."

"I hope you know I have no clue what you're talking about," he said.

I grinned wider. "I know, don't worry. But let me put it this way. Karma Chameleon is a great song. The first nine thousand times you hear it. So why do you think you need to thoroughly deserve hell?"

"Because I'm giving up. I'm just going to do whatever I want now, and damn whatever follows."

"And now you've lost me."

"That's probably for the best, as I always seem to say too much around you."

"Worry not, dear Edward, I don't understand half of it. Sometimes I wonder if we're speaking the same language at all."

"Surprising thing is, I know what you mean."

"So in plain English now, instead of the variant that sounds exactly the same, yet means something completely different, are we friends, or acquaintances, or casual fuck-buddies or what?"

"Friends…" he mused dubiously.

"A whole two syllables. Difficult, I know," I sniped.

"I suppose we can try. A warning though; I'm not a good friend to have."

"So you think we should be fuck buddies then?" He shot me an unamused look. "Fine then," I said, sighing dramatically. "Don't be my boy toy. Moving on. You don't want to be my friend because you think you're a crappy person to know? Yeah, because I'm so much better," I laughed.

"What are you thinking when you say that?"

"Of how fucked up Bella and Angela are now that I've corrupted them. Actually, I'm thinking of what I am, and how that fits in with who you are." It was true enough. I'd roamed this earth for far too long and had only once come across someone else like him. I smiled faintly at the thought; I missed him and his family and friends.

"And who do you think I am?"

"Not sure yet. I have a few theories, but I'm still mulling it over." He was certainly gorgeous enough to be a Were-Hunter, but I wasn't getting the 'vibe' from him, so I ruled that one out.

My other half-formed idea was that he was related to a Greek god somehow. There was another way I could have put that, but I was loathe to connect 'Edward Cullen' in anyway to 'demigod', even if it was in my own head. Plus, I hated pretty much all the Greek pantheon anyway.

"Tell me?"

"Nope."

"That's really frustrating, you know."

He didn't just say what I think he just said. "Really?" I asked sarcastically. "Why would that be frustrating? Just because someone won't tell you what they're thinking, even though the whole time they're making odd little remarks that don't quite make sense, specifically designed to give you migraines trying to figure out what the hell is going on. Really now Edward. Suck it up. Rub some dirt on it. Be a man."

He rubbed the back of his neck, glancing from side to side in a (predestined to fail) effort to escape. "Nice temper."

"Double standards sicken me."

I was dying to know what he was thinking, going so far as to try using my non-existent powers.

And now I had a headache.

We glared at each other a little longer before I broke the silence. "Warn me the next time you try to live up to your noble side, mkay?"

"Why?"

"So I can call Fury to amuse me."

"Fair enough."

"I thought so."

"On one condition though."

Ah, fuck. "What's the condition?" I asked warily, trying again to figure out what was running through that boy's head. My brother and I had experience with this kind of manipulation and it never, emphasis on 'never', turned out well for us.

"Give me one theory."

"Give me a 'fuck', 'off', 'I'm', 'not', telling'."

He gave me a confused look.

I sighed and elaborated.

"It means 'no'."

"Come on. Please?"

"Only if you promise to take it in the spirit in which it is offered."

"Come again?"

"Yes please."

He didn't dignify that with a response, choosing instead to indulge his more dramatic tendencies by pinching the bridge of his nose and breathing deeply.

"One of your ancestors wouldn't happen to be excessively good looking and Greek, would they? Say, like, a god of some kind?"

Hey, in the fucked up world I lived in, the idea wasn't so far fetched.

Edward, however, didn't agree with me.

"I haven't heard that one before," he smirked.

"Aw, now, I'm sorry. I'll make sure I run any further ideas past you to gain approval next time, alright?"

"You're not even close."

"Yeah, I should have guessed. Idiots, brainwashed innocents who didn't know better and the mentally retarded worshipped the Sumerian pantheon, not the Greek." Yeah, the Sumerians and the Greeks and the Atlanteans didn't get along very well. Not very well at all. Amazing the Earth was still in one piece and (relatively) intact, really.

"I'm not Greek or Sumerian."

"Pity. It made the easiest explanation."

"Atlantis wasn't real either."

Okay, now he went too far. Teasing me about the people I considered friends, that was fine; they could defend themselves. If they ever found out, that was. But actively mocking my heritage?

"Watch it, Cullen."

"What, do you believe in Atlantis?"

"You could say that," I smirked.

"I'll figure you out someday, you know that, Rya?"

"Same goes, Eddie."

"Don't call me Eddie. And I wish you wouldn't try."

"And why would that be, Edwardiana?"

"That's even worse. And what if… I'm not good, like everyone thinks I am? What if… I'm the bad guy in all this?"

"Ah, now I see," I said. This suddenly all made so much more sense. "You think you're dangerous."

"Think?"

"That's cute, it really is." It didn't matter what the heck he was; Daimon, Gallu, Charonte. He still wasn't dangerous to my brother or me.

Narrowing my eyes in concentration, I stared intently at him, thinking maybe direct eye contact would help my quest to 'hear' Edward. Ash could do it, why the holy flipping fudge muffins couldn't I?

"But you're not bad," I said, still watching him carefully. "Not at all."

I stood up. "Aren't you coming to class?"

"Ditching is healthy."

And with that, I bid him farewell and went to Biology.

Okay people, I haven't written a chapter this bloody long since the first one, so be happy. Clear?

I accomplished loads this chapter *happy dance, happy dance!*. Twilight is progressing. If you hadn't picked it up, the math help is a sub for the trip to Seattle. This is a major freaking step for them; they're actually talking. I think instead of them both knowing they're in love with the other and doing their best to avoid it, it's going to sneak up behind them and whack them over the head.

We had some bantering that was borderline flirting- that's just the way Rya is. She has a history (unlike the virginal Edward) and she isn't ashamed of it. Actually, she keeps (and will keep) running into her exes, who she's managed to part good friends with. More on that later.

And this chapter had plot! For the sequel! A plot for an as-of-yet irrelevant story! I'm awesome!

Review, people. I went to lots of effort for this chapter, and I'd really like (really really really really really really really really really really) like to know what you think of the progression made. And I'm not afraid to guilt trip you next time either. So review!