So, the whole 'I may not update because I'm working' thing may have been a tad premature. I spent my free time today planning out stuff for this chapter after taking the morning to type madly and get most of this update done. But with the weekend and nine hour days looming, there's still a chance for a bit of a burnout.
I'd like to take a moment to address a few reviews because I figure, why not? Firstly, yes, the lily clay was not fired. The rest, I leave to your imagination. Galen's name comes from my attempt to make a masculine version of Galatea without being too obvious, as a reference to the Pygmalion myth. Pamela is indeed a descendent of his, which Mersang actually managed to guess. Kudos. The Neil army, well, you'll just have to wait and see what's going to happen with them, and what the deal between Pam and Chronus is. Is she really unfeeling, does she care deep down, and for that matter what are Galen feelings? All will be answered in good time, I promise.
Thank you Yams, Demenior, Mersang, Silverpoppy, Lost Experiment, ree-shee, crazy-multimind-potato, Qk, Nuuoa Éclair, closet geek, Ambivalence, Captain Starseeker, Green Budgie, i'm your biggest fan now (aw, thanks), and StinkFace for reviewing this story. I appreciate it very, very much. I'm also glad Green Budgie enjoys my disclaimers. I enjoy them too.
More fan art to come soon, too! Thanks Lost Experiment. You're too good to me.
Disclaimer: I do not own Class of the Titans. If I did, Chronus would not fall into the typical bad-guy stereotype of having stupid minions and leaving his master plans to incompetent fools. If this had to be the case, for the sake of him not being invincible and everything, he would at least not wait carefully schedule intervals between attacks. He would be sporadic and random, using the heroes' mortal limitations and psychological warfare to his advantage.
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Closer
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They fell onto the bed almost soundlessly, only a small gasp and a following chuckle breaking the silence. The room was dark, the only light spilling in from a small window and a crack under the door that led back to the den where everything had started. There were hushed murmurs, brief kisses, and the rustle of fabric as a pair of shirts found themselves discarded in a corner. More movement, sharp breaths and white smiles flashing in the dim light and then stillness as they locked eyes, Galen on top of Neil with the blonde's hands fisted in his hair.
"Ready?" he whispered, one hand lazily tracing its way down Neil's collar bone to the center of his chest. In answer the model leaned up off the bed and captured Galen's mouth in another bold kiss. Galen smirked in the dark, moving his hand to trail his hand through Neil's hair which had long since become disheveled. "I guess so."
--
Pam frowned at her hand as she unlocked the door to her house an hour and a half later. No matter how many times she rinsed or how carefully she checked, there always seemed to be a smudge of clay that escaped her scrutiny. But it was almost over. Only twenty statues to go and she could sleep for a month knowing Chronus was finally off her back. She dropped her things by the door and slouched to the kitchen looking for a cool drink before going to bed.
"No rest for the weary," a cheerful voice greeted her as she snapped on the light. Galen handed her a glass of water and guided her to sit at the island before pulling up a chair himself. "I had a busy night myself."
She sighed and took a long sip, feeling slightly refreshed and a little more awake as she listened to the breakdown of Galen's time together with Neil. Their relationship was important to the plan as much as her work, but a part of her didn't really want to know. If she didn't think of Neil as a person so much as another animated statue, Pam thought, she could ignore the consequences of her actions.
"So he's downstairs sleeping right now?" she asked as what he was telling her sunk in. Pam roused herself, standing and putting her empty glass in the sink. Collecting her scattered thoughts, she turned back to Galen, sitting patiently and showing no fatigue despite the hour and what he had supposedly been up to. "Is there anything I need to take care of, then?"
He pulled a small package from his pocket and tossed it to her, offering a sympathetic smile in the process. "I know you're tired but if you could find some spare energy to copy that we should be all set." Galen stood and headed toward the basement door. "And I have someone to get back to."
Pam nodded, looking down at the work ahead of her. "I'll have it done in ten minutes. You can pick it up before morning." She caught his eye before he could completely slip away. "Everything else is up to you, Galen."
Galen waved in acknowledgement and then shut the door behind him, walking down the small flight of stairs carefully in order to make as little noise as he possibly could. The entire basement was dark now, bathed only in what little light from the street outside leaked through several small windows. He found Neil's jacket and checked the pockets again, making sure he hadn't missed anything important that the blonde would need when he woke up. Satisfied, he crept back into the guest room and the figure within.
Neil was spread out on the bed, sheets twisted around his legs, snoring softly. He seemed peaceful and Galen was loath to disturb him but as Pam had said, their situation was in his hands now. Sitting on the edge of the mattress, he leaned in over the model, brushing a few stray strands of hair from his eyes. "You managed what your ancestor couldn't, Neil," he whispered softly, kissing Neil lightly on the mouth. "But all good things come to an end."
--
The sun was filtered into softly dappled patterns on the forest floor, lending a light, calm atmosphere to the clearing. A small, tepid pool covered in shade lay off on one edge of the space and it was toward it that Neil pulled Galen, smiling and flirting the entire way. "It's only fitting," he said, laughing. "And who am I to disagree with my ancestor's taste in venues?"
"Looking at your reflection I understand," Galen replied, "but swimming? Aren't you worried about your hair?" He seemed amused at the enthusiasm as much as at the image of Neil with messy, dripping hair.
"I think I can make the sacrifice, given the circumstances." Neil let go of Galen's arm and ran to the edge of the pond, turning back with his hands on his hips. "Well?" he called. "What are you waiting for?" But his companion was nowhere to be seen. Only gently waving grass and leaves waited for him.
A splash broke behind him and Neil glanced over his shoulder to meet the smile and eyes of himself, bobbing in the water. Galen winked, disappearing beneath the surface. As the ripples faded out across the pond, the water suddenly seemed darker, deeper. Neil's idea for an afternoon swim disappeared from his mind as he searched for some sign of Galen, a trail of bubbles or a disturbance to mark where he was lurking.
His head snapped up when he heard a gasping breath and the trickle of moving water. Galen's head appeared a few meters away from the shore, floating gently but seeming to move slowly even farther away as he smiled and waved. "Coming, Neil" he called. "The water's a bit cold, but wonderful."
"Something doesn't seem right." Neil stared at the dark water that now moved with an invisible current. "Come out and we'll do something else." He tried to sound suggestive but could hear the edge of worry creeping into his voice. "I was wrong about this place," he whispered. "There's nothing good about it anymore."
"Nonsense!" Galen continued to float away from shore. "It's fun, really." As Neil watched, trying to think of a way to express the growing prick of fear in his stomach, the color started to drain from Galen's face. It was slow at first, just a small paling of his flushed cheeks and a darkening of his hair. For a moment, the hero thought it was only a passing shadow or a strange trick of the light. "What's taking so long?" Galen shouted again, and even his voice seemed changed.
Neil knelt on the bank and stretched out his hand. "Come on, we need to go." He reached out hoping futilely that somehow he would be able to take hold of Galen's arm and pull him out.
The worry evident on his face must have been enough to finally convince Galen of his seriousness. He started swimming toward Neil, pushing against the current that surged stronger even as he started to struggle. "I think you're right," he grunted through gritted teeth. "There are plenty of other things to do, anyway." He managed to get closer but the flow from the pond prevented him from getting near enough for Neil to grab him. All of his effort was put into swimming, stopping any attempt at reaching out himself. The moment he stopped, he would be swept away.
"Hang on," Neil said, drawing closer to the edge and stretching out as far as he could. "I can almost reach you."
"Almost isn't good enough, good-looking," Galen said thickly, grabbing hold of Neil's wrist with a grey hand and pulling.
Balance already tenuous, Neil was unable to gain leverage against the sudden, sharp tug and plunged headfirst into the water. A shock of bitter cold robbed his lungs of air as he struggled to right himself and break the surface. Wherever he turned to, however, and started swimming, he couldn't find air. Even hanging suspended, trying to feel the pull of buoyancy that would tell him where up was he couldn't tell where to go. His limbs felt leaden and numb, darkness pressed all around. Lungs burning in spite of the cold, he could do nothing but open his mouth and let the pond swallow him whole.
--
Neil woke with a shuddering gasp, struggling to sit up as his eyes searched the darkness for a way out. Cool hands pressed him back against the bed, holding him down until sleep cleared his mind and he looked up into Galen's concerned face with dazed but clear eyes. "What happened?" he mumbled, wiping sweat from his forehead and passing a hand through his hair.
"You had a nightmare. Everything okay now?"
"I think so," he nodded. "I can't remember it." Neil rubbed his eyes with both eyes, yawning slightly. "And I'm tired but I don't think I'll be getting anymore sleep tonight."
Galen settled down beside him and ducked in to kiss Neil's cheek fondly. "In that case, can I make a suggestion for something to pass the time?"
--
Friday morning rolled around with an early sunrise and the dread of one more school day before the weekend. The dorm slowly came to life with Herry the first to appear and lift some lightweights in his daily routine to keep fit and tough to fight whatever nasty thing was bound to eventually come their way. Atlanta wished him a good morning and left for a run with Jay walking trance-like to the kitchen island where he proceeded to sit for a good ten minutes staring into space with the occasional yawn.
Theresa cursed her alarm clock silently when she finally emerged from her room, hoping to sneak into the bathroom for a shower before the resident prince managed to use up all the hot water in an unnecessary forty-five minute shower; an hour if Neil decided to get up early. She nearly kicked the door when she found it closed and locked, the telltale humming of the blonde wafting through the wood as he no doubt combed his wet hair perfectly into place. When the door swung open seconds later and released no rolling cloud of steam or an individual clothed only in a loose towel, she was puzzled.
"You didn't have a shower?" she asked, some part of her mind wondering a bit irrationally if maybe he had been in there so long that all the steam had cool or been blown away by the small whirring fan in the corner.
He looked over her rumpled pajamas and slightly frizzed hair and smirked. "No, but you certainly seem to need one." With great exaggeration and show, Neil stepped aside and offered the washroom to her. "For you, dear lady."
But she wouldn't let it go. Either it was her mind still wired to the frequency of sleep or some deeper intuition that attached her focus to this tiny discrepancy like a lifeline. "You always shower before school," she said, tiling her head as if seeing him from a different angle would explain everything.
"Yes, but after getting a bunch of clay dust in my hair from art class I've decided to wait until later to have it. Today's the last day for modeling so it's no big deal." He shrugged and adjusted his wrist bands. "Enjoy your shower," he said, giving her a little wave as he headed for the kitchen.
Theresa stared after him a moment and then quickly locked herself in the bathroom for a rare hot shower.