Sorry for being so late… don't hate… appreciate… WORD.

(obviously, Meralda's POV)

"Hello, Meralda. I'm Zeus."

I'm Zeus. My friendly smile froze on my face like wet hair in the winter outdoors. Zeus? Where have I heard that before, eh? His parents must have been hardcore mythology lovers. He's absurd, imaginary, unreal!

But as I thought more about it, doubt began to materialize. According to legends, Zeus had many… romantic wanderings. Only, he tried to keep them on the D-low. Not this guy's style at all. Zeus was beautiful – this Zeus is gorgeous. Mythical Zeus was buff – so was this one. The seed of doubt grew to a weed of uncertainty.

I tried to rationalize y thoughts. Honestly, Meralda, I thought to myself, You don't seriously believe he's telling the truth?

In my own silence I noticed the bus's lack of absolute noise. Children looked scared, curious, and confused… weird.

The 'Zeus' was eyeing me. Oddly enough, I found that I didn't quite mind that much. Kind of enjoyed it, actually – being the sole attention of a gorgeous, buff guy was something I'm rather lacking of.

Dan grabbed my waist in firm, capable hands and pulled me down just as the bus started up again. My footing on the floor was jostled, and I ended up landing on Dan's lap with my face mere inches from his own. My heartbeat quickened to a raging pace as we caught and maintained eye contact. His green eyes penetrated my dark blues. Time seemed suspended as I saw doubt, indecision, then determination all flicker through his orbs.

In a lightning-quick movement, one hand shot up from my waist to latch onto the back of my neck. He reached for me, and I for him, until our two lips collided. Gently but with intensity his lips moved against mine, creating physical friction as well as chemical. I wondered at the hypocrisy of me doing this right after scolding Zeus and his girlfriend, but then I shoved logical thoughts aside. I responded with equal enthusiasm, and when Dan moved to open my mouth I didn't hold back. I felt Dan's front teeth against my lips and gasped.

Then I suddenly didn't feel his lips anymore. I opened my eyes to see that Zeus had grabbed a hold of Dan's shirt and was violently whispering in his ear. I could only catch some of what he was saying so urgently.

"…not yet…Are you stupid?... don't be… fool…not worth…wait… wait… wait…"

Wait? What was 'wait' all about? And what was Zeus talking about? Why should Dan wait to French me? What? I was so lost, and so depressed. I really liked Dan, and now this PDA prick wants to stop him from kissing me?! The nerve of some people…

Wow, I'm a hypocrite.

Dan's whitened face regained some color as Zeus slapped him twice and let go of his collar. Dan mumbled, "Sorry, lost control…" He rubbed the back of his neck with a free hand and I could see the tensed muscles begin to relax. Dan's brow grew creased with liens of worry and concentration.

Zeus still eyed Dan as a gorilla handler would eye his unpredictable gorilla charge. Only when Zeus's girlfriend started complaining from lack of attention did Zeus stop glaring at Dan. And when Zeus did look away, Dan flipped him the bird behind his back so quickly I wasn't even certain he'd done it.

I heard Dan mutter wrathfully under his breath, "One day, foolish older brother, one day…", before surprising me with a quick peck on the cheek. Then he said, in a noticeably happier tone of voice, "We're almost to school. Aren't you excited, Mer?" He obviously was trying to distract me. I'm sure it wouldn't have worked, had he not been a) handsome, b) compassionate, and c) an amazing kisser. Needless to say, his persuasive tactics fully and intentionally distracted me. Plus, he'd given me a nickname. That's downright cool.

I mulled over his question, seriously pondering it. "I suppose I should be, shouldn't I? Seeing how I've never been there before, could you enlighten me?"

He opened his mouth to 'enlighten me', but precisely at that moment, Zeus popped out of nowhere over the seat and asked me, "Meralda, do you have a cell number?" Zeus winked bluntly at me while Dan shot him a look of pure hate.

I tried to keep a straight face. "I'd say my cell number ranges anywhere in the billions, Zeus. And they all have a nucleus…"

Zeus chuckled, another of his deep masculine sounds. He's beginning to have his own collection of signature masculine sounds. That can't be good for his big, bad, male ego.

"Very funny, I'll give you props for that. Unfortunately, however, that's not quite what I meant. Do you have a cell phone number of which I can contact you with?"

I thought about going smart-alec but I conceded to stepping down for the moment. I could tease him another day. This, at least, insured another battle of wits for me to look forward to in the near future.

I nodded. "Sure. Mine is a red Razr, and my number is 298-659-1690. Hope you can memorize it, because I don't want to repeat it today."

He smirked. "Nope, got it. 298-659-1690. I'll just program it into my phone and then text you sometime today so you know my number." He had this all planned out! Tricky fox, this Zeus. I can't help but be impressed. Then again, his name is Zeus, for crying out loud. Let's be reasonable.

Yeah, 'cause everyone names their sons Zeus.