3-16: Mistakes

-------------------------

"Is this really necessary?"

Apollo stood in front of the giant christmas tree Paige was decorating, loaded up with ornaments that she wanted to put on the tree he didn't want to pay for.

"It is. You need to just stand there and shut up and help me. 

You guys have your album wrapped up, it's been released for two months. You don't leave for tour for another week. 

You have nothing better to do."

She selected another ornament from his arms, turning back to the tree. Paige had a point. He didn't technically have anything better to do, but he could definitely find something else besides this.

They were leaving on tour January second. Christmas was in two days. And Apollo was supposed to be going home. But he wasn't.

Apollo walked over to the couch, letting the ornaments spill out of his arms and onto the cushions. Paige made a noise of protest but Apollo ignored her, walking into the kitchen to see what Hale was doing.

It smelled like alcohol, and something burnt. Hale was bent over the stove, trying to unstick something from the bottom of a random pot.

"What did you do?"

Hale looked up at Apollo, rolling his eyes.

"It wasn't me. Who the fuck do you think it was?

Someone got distracted by a christmas tree and forgot about..."

He looked down into the pot, shaking his head.

"Whatever this was."

Smoke was still rolling from the pot as he tossed the spatula he had been using in the sink and grunted 'fuck it'. He took the pot over to the trash can, opening the lid. He tossed it in and pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket, lighting one.

"She's never going to actually learn how to cook. This was a moot arrangement.

Let's get drunk and pretend she can cook after we order pizza."

Blake pushed into the kitchen at the exact moment Hale spoke, his nose crinkling in disgust.

"What the hell is that smell?"

Apollo laughed, pointing at the trash can.

"Paige's cooking strikes again."

Blake walked over to the fridge, taking out a bottle of water. He leaned against the counter, twisting the cap on and off again. Not drinking.

"So, we're staying in Hollywood for Christmas too, right? It seems to be the general consensus."

He looked pointedly at Apollo, finally taking a drink of the water.

Apollo leaned both of his hands on the counter, staring Blake down.

"Do you have something you think that you need to say to me?"

Blake spoke without hesitation.

"I think you need to go and talk to your family. Before you leave on tour, and can't see any of them for almost a year."

Apollo shook his head, scoffing.

"You act like I even have to go back after that. We have a house here. What's the point?"

"You have a family. And didn't you make a promise, or something? Cause I could swear you made one to a certain girl that you'd always come back for her."

Apollo stiffened, dropping his eyes to the counter.

"Promises were made to be broken."

Hale raised an eyebrow, spraying some air freshener he had found under the sink.

"I don't think that's how that cliche ass saying goes.

What have you been doing? Scrolling Tumblr?"

Blake didn't move his eyes from Apollo, though. 

"And besides that, yours never were.

You've always been a man of your word. She's your best friend, Apollo. Breakup aside."

Apollo slammed his fist on the counter, finally looking up at Blake.

"She's not even talking to me. Fucking drop it."

Blake rolled his eyes, walking toward the living room.

"I'm just saying you should go back. Even if you don't speak to Harpia."

Apollo blinked at the sound of her name. No one used it. Because no one talked about her. Apollo pressed his fist down into the counter until the healing cuts on his knuckles broke open, letting out a breath. He looked up at Hale, but Hale's back was to him, and he was already walking away, carrying a bottle of whiskey.

"Hale."

He turned around at his name, shrugging a shoulder.

"I told you I wanted to get drunk. Come on if you're joining."

Apollo glanced at the door Blake had exited through.

"I have something else I need to do."

Hale shrugged again, turning back toward his room. Apollo reached into the cabinet where the alcohol was kept, grabbing a bottle of his own. He passed through the living room, trying not to notice Blake and Paige kissing in the corner by the Christmas tree. He took the stairs to his room, pushing the door open and slamming it behind him.

He walked over to his closet, taking a stack of records off of the top shelf. He reached way in the back, his hand closing around what he was looking for. He pulled a box out of the bottom of his closet that his mother sent him cookies in and dumped the styrofoam peanuts out of it, dropping what he had grabbed inside.

For a second, he considered tossing the entire thing in the trash, and then lighting it on fire. But Blake's words played through his head again. And the more he stared at the tiny toy car in the bottom of the box, the more he knew Blake was right.

As he usually was.

He had a promise to keep.

He tossed the styrofoam peanuts back in the box, and glanced around, looking for the notebook he now kept safely in his room. He grabbed it off of his bed, ripping the very back page out.

He scribbled a note, placing it on the top of the rest of the contents before taping it shut and giving no return address.

I made you a promise. I'll see you in August.

---------------------------

"Take that stupid thing off of your head."

Variance's voice spilled out of the kitchen into where Apollo was standing with Blake, and he ducked his head around the corner. Vega had a bright silver Happy New Year's headband on his head, and Variance was staring at it with open distaste.

"No! It's pretty! Don't deny me my fun!"

Vega grinned and adjusted the headband, winking at her. Apollo felt the growl in his voice as he spoke to Vega, his tone serious.

"First Hale, and now you? Get the hell away from her."

Variance snapped her glare onto Apollo, narrowing her eyes.

"I'm not only older than you, I'm not even your sister. I'm your cousin. I don't need your protection."

She slammed her drink on the counter next to where Vega was standing, and the liquid spilled onto the surface, dripping onto the floor. She stomped out of the room, disappearing out the side door toward the pool.

"Whoa. What's up with her? She's acting really weird. She's never been like that with you before."

Apollo looked at Blake, shrugging a shoulder.

"I don't know. She's been like this for a few weeks now."

He hadn't seen her much before she started coming over, but he knew she had a lot going on the last he'd heard of her. She was carrying her fair share of secrets. And it just reinforced his 'I must protect the girls in my family' mindset. And it made a piece of him happy that she'd be going on tour with them too.

At least he'd know she'd be safe when he was around.

It was probably annoying. To all of them. Rhea, Variance, and Artemis. But he didn't care.

"Are you gonna kiss me at midnight?"

He was pulled out of his thoughts by the sultry voice next to him. His eyes fell on Caelum, and she looked amazing. Her dress cut so low, keeping his eyes on her own was next to impossible.

But he couldn't help but think about Harpia in the moment. What she would have wore, what she was doing tonight. He shook the thought out of his mind, grabbing Caelum's hand with his. He pulled her close to him, pressing his lips to hers.

"Who else would I kiss?"

Caelum smirked, shrugging out of his hold on her. She disappeared the way Variance had went, and Blake rolled his eyes, following her. 

"When did you start wearing lipstick?"

Hale's voice was slurred, his eyes bloodshot. He'd been drinking already, and he was more than likely high as a kite. Apollo knew Nicole had called. He could tell who it was by the way Hale had tossed his phone at the wall, shattering it into pieces.

He'd played it off, laughing, doing lines on the marble counter top despite the room being full of people when he returned. But Apollo knew him better than most. 

And he'd picked the pieces of the phone up off the ground, not saying a word.

Because he broke shit all the time.

Apollo dragged his hand across his lips, trying to get rid of the residue Caelum had apparently left there.

"Harpia didn't wear this shit. I forgot it was a thing."

Hale blinked at Apollo, raising an eyebrow. Apollo realized in seconds he'd said her name.

"Fuck."

He knocked Variance's now empty glass into the sink, grabbing the bottle of vodka she'd been drinking out of. Hale watched him, shaking his head as Apollo pulled the bottle to his lips, drinking for a solid minute.

"I'm gonna go find everyone. You gonna disappear and drink yourself into a coma, or join us?"

Hale didn't wait for his response, leaving the door to the outside standing open as he went through it.

Apollo took another drink, staring at the open door. Cool California air hit him in the face, but it did nothing to displace the fire that was working its way through his system.

The closer he got to Caelum, the clearer his brief idealizations of Harpia taking over became.

She wasn't Harpia. And she never would be.

And he wanted to believe that was a good thing, but something inside of him tried to keep surfacing and telling him it wasn't. 

And it pissed him off. He didn't want to think about her. Let alone every time he tried to forget her.

Always fucking things up, O'Conner.

Just like she had said she did. He'd told her she was wrong. But maybe she had been right.

-------------------------

Apollo opened his eyes, staring up at the stars in the sky. He had been trying all night to escape the group of people in his house. Rhea had flown in to 'see him one last time before he left on tour'. But she was full of shit. All she'd done all night was hit on Hale.

And all that had done was piss Apollo off to the point he needed to get away before he locked her in a closet.

"New year, new beginnings. What a fucking joke."

He lifted the almost empty bottle to his lips, changing the song on his iPod.

A shadow blocked out the lights from the house that had been on his face as he lay there, and he pressed his fingers into his eyes.

"Whoever you are, can you get the fuck away from me right now?"

The voice didn't make it through the music in his eardrums, and he tried his best to ignore them into leaving, but they sat down next to him.

He removed his hands from his eyes, glancing over. It was Paige.

"Okay, especially you."

Paige's eyes looked sad, and she didn't say anything. She laid down next to Apollo, her gaze on the sky too. Apollo removed one earbud, moving a foot farther away from her on the grass. He leaned up on one elbow, looking down at her.

"What, exactly, are you doing?"

Paige shrugged a shoulder, her eyes studying the night sky.

"I don't know."

Apollo sat up completely, glaring at her.

"We're not going to have a moment, midget. Shouldn't you be doing what you're doing right now with Blake?"

Paige spoke quietly, her words slurring slightly from the alcohol in her system.

"I just miss Harpia. And I thought you'd be the only one who would understand."

Apollo's pulse picked up in his chest and his eyes softened for a split second.

"You have Caelum. You seemed like you were just fine an hour ago."

Apollo finished off the bottle in his hand, clearing his throat when he was done.

"And I don't want to fucking talk about Harpia."

Paige sighed, running her hands over her thighs.

"No one does. You all act like she never even existed. Like she wasn't just as much a part of this group as everyone else.

Blake doesn't get it, he thinks I should stay mad at her for ditching out and running back home. But I can't say I completely blame her. You all leave in two days, and I'll be here alone.

I mean, Variance is going with you guys to do photography for the tour, and we were never really close to begin with. 

Caelum is here, but she only seems to care about you right now.

I wish Harpia had stayed.

She's my best friend, and I wouldn't be alone if she was here."

"You'll be fine, Paige."

Paige's eyes flicked onto Apollo and she sat up, the liquor on her breath hitting Apollo in the face.

"This is supposed to be a good day for me. Blake and I have history on this day.

But I'm worried about Harpia. And I miss her.

Why don't you miss her too?"

Apollo inhaled slowly, measuring his words before he said them.

"I miss her everyday, Sino."

Paige nodded, lying back down. Apollo opened his mouth to say something else, but the back door to their house slammed, and a figure disappeared quickly from behind it.

"That was probably Caelum. She's been looking for you."

Apollo groaned, lying down the way Paige was.

"Of course she was."

Paige's voice was sing song, the alcohol in her veins obvious.

"She probably heard you."

Apollo put his other ear bud in, trying to go back to the way he'd been before Paige had decided to drop her 'I miss Harpia' bomb on him.

But it wasn't working.

Because in admitting the truth to Paige, he'd admitted it to himself.

He missed Harpia.

He probably always would. 

But that didn't bring her back.

"You guys having fun out here? It's ten seconds to midnight."

Blake's voice preceded his appearance and he sat down heavily on the grass next to Paige. She sat up excitedly, and he could hear them chattering over his music. 

The ten seconds went by, and he heard the people who had spilled back out onto the lawn yelling about the new year. Apollo sat up, looking through the small crowd.

Paige kissed Blake, Hale was nowhere to be seen, and neither was Caelum.

Or his sister. Or Variance.

Just people and faces he mostly didn't know.

Maybe that was fitting.

Maybe the new year coming in like this was an exact reflection of how the next year would be.

That's what they said, wasn't it?

He turned the music up in his ears and rolled his eyes, looking back up at the stars.

He got what he wanted.

The music. The people he didn't know, knowing who he was.

So why did it constantly feel like something was missing?

------------------------------

See I know I was wrong when I left you
But this heart and this mind, can't forget you

3-15: Add It Up

----------------------------------

Caelum walked into Apollo's room, her expression innocent.

"What's up? You were being kind of short with me on the phone."

Apollo took a drag of his cigarette, trying to find a way to speak to her calmly.

"Where the fuck are the papers that were in that drawer downstairs, Caelum?" 

Well, I tried.

The corners of Caelum's lips lifted up, and her voice dripped with sweetness.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Apollo."

Apollo looked at her blankly, reaching over and grinding his cigarette out in the ashtray on his table.

"Caelum. You were the only one down there. And the only one who had motive to do it. Just tell me where they are."

"I seriously have no idea what you're talking about. I left right after you did, and I didn't touch anything."

He tried to keep his tone in check, to keep his face from showing just how much she was pissing him off each time she lied.

"Caelum. The guys and I have been working on some of that shit since we were fifteen."

Caelum shrugged a shoulder, walking over and sitting on the bed next to Apollo. She put her hand on his leg, her voice soft.

"That really sucks that you lost them, then."

Apollo blinked at her. Was she really playing stupid for no reason? What kind of game was she trying to play? Hot anger ignited in his veins and Apollo shoved her hand off of his leg, getting to his feet.

"Get out of my house, Caelum."

Caelum looked surprised as he pulled her to her own feet, swaying a little in her high heels.

"What? But I didn't do anything."

Apollo pointed at the door to his bedroom, his voice gruff.

"Just fucking leave."

She walked over to the door, turning around on the other side.

"Are you still going to call me?"

Apollo raised an eyebrow, scoffing.

"You're serious right now?"

He shut the door in her face, listening to her footsteps on the stairs outside his door and the front door slamming.

He didn't know what the hell he was supposed to do now, but he was pretty sure it should no longer be her.

----------------------------------

Apollo's phone vibrated, but he ignored it, changing the channel on the TV. It finally stopped, but ten seconds later, it started vibrating again.

He groaned, grabbing it off of the table. Paige's face on the screen didn't make him want to answer it, but the fact that everyone had been gone all day meant something.

He brought the phone to his ear, clearing his throat.

"What is it, Midget?"

Paige's voice was shaky, like she'd been crying. It wasn't a normal thing for her, because Paige never cried unless something was seriously wrong, or unless it was fake. And she definitely never cried to Apollo.

"Can you come pick me up? Hale got into a car accident."

Apollo instantly got to his feet, searching his pockets for his keys. But they weren't there.

"Where are you? Text me the address. I'll be there soon."

He tapped end, sliding his phone into his pocket.

He rifled through the contents on top of the table, but they weren't there either.

He ran upstairs, looking through his blankets on his bed, his end table. But they were nowhere to be found.

What the fuck?

His phone vibrated in his pocket, saying the text had come in from Paige, but he ignored it for now. He couldn't go anywhere without his fucking keys.

He took the stairs three at a time, looking at the table next to the door. Which is where he always left them, but they weren't there either.

He pushed the front door open, dropping to look under his car and see if he dropped them. But as he got to his feet, he realized they were in the ignition of his car.

And underneath them, in the driver's seat in a neat pile, were the missing papers and notebooks from the drawer. He let out a long sigh, reaching for the door handle.

It was locked tight. He walked around, trying the passenger door, but it was locked too.

"Caelum."

He said the name with venom, pulling his phone out of his pocket. He dialed Paige's number, waiting for her to answer.

"On a scale of one to ten how much of an emergency is this?"

Paige paused, taking in a shaky breath.

"It's a ten, Apollo. Please hurry."

Apollo groaned, putting his phone back in his pocket.

He counted to three and then put his fist through the passenger side window, glass scattering over the pavement and on the inside of his car. He flexed his knuckles, leaning in and grabbing his keys out of the ignition. He clicked the unlock button on the device and slid behind the wheel, brushing glass off of the papers in the seat next to him.

As he backed out of the driveway, he pulled out his phone one more time, sending a text to Paige as blood dripped onto his brand new leather seats.

-I'll be there soon.-

------------------------------

Apollo pulled up to the outside of the address Paige had sent him, raising an eyebrow. He rolled down his driver's side window, raising his voice loud enough so Paige would turn around and look at him.

"You are fucking joking right?"

The side of Hale's bumper was dented in, but it looked like whatever car had hit him, had barely touched it.

Paige walked over to Apollo's car, and she had definitely been crying, her eyes were rimmed with red.

"No! He got into an accident! Now he's in jail! They left me here with his stupid car."

She glanced over at the passenger seat of Apollo's car, tilting her head.

"What happened to yours?"

Apollo held up his hand, blood covering the tattoos that ran up the bottom of his arm. He shook his head and moved the papers and notebooks into the back seat to make room for her. Paige sighed, walking and getting into the passenger seat. She brushed glass off of it and reached over, taking his hand.

"You're going to need stitches. What pissed you off so badly this time?"

Apollo jerked his hand out of hers, his forehead wrinkling.

"Do not do that. Why did you touch me? That was strange. You caught me off guard."

Paige clicked her tongue, shoving Hale's car keys in Apollo's glove box.

"Sorry, I was concerned, I'll make sure I don't do it again."

Apollo put the car in drive, doing a U-turn back toward the jail.

"So why is Hale in jail?"

Paige put the seatbelt on, staring out the broken window.

"He beat the shit out of the guy who hit him."

Apollo tried not to laugh, but he did anyway.

"Sounds like Hale."

Paige stayed quiet for a while, but as they car came to a stop outside of the jail, she didn't move to leave. She faced Apollo, speaking in a careful voice.

"Why did you break your window, Apollo?

Was it something with Harpia? Did something bad happen again?"

He'd never heard her talk to him like that before. Her voice vulnerable, or even remotely nice. He had to swallow past the surprise in his throat.

"No... Harpia hasn't spoken to me since she left. 

Caelum locked my keys in my car."

"What? Why did she do that?"

Apollo shrugged a shoulder, pushing his door open.

"I don't know. I guess it was an accident."

He waited for her on the steps up to the jail, wondering to himself why he had just lied about it. He should have told Paige exactly what had happened, but he didn't. And he should be pissed at Caelum.

Which he was.

But more than that, he was curious what the fuck he could have possibly done to her to make her act like that.

Was he really that much of an asshole?

----------------------------

"You paid how much to bail him out?"

Hale spoke up, answering Blake's question before Apollo could respond.

"20 grand."

Blake shook his head, laughing under his breath,

"I would have let you sit in jail for at least a night."

Hale bent down, inhaling a line of thin white powder from the mirror in front of him.

"That's why Apollo is my best friend."

Blake punched his shoulder, but Hale just laughed, leaning back in his chair.

"Still think that guy fucking deserved it.

And I don't know how Paige got him to drop the charges, but thanks, Sino."

Paige's cheeks turned red and she looked at Blake.

"I started crying and promised him a date.

Which is obviously never going to happen. I told him my name was Loretta and gave him Vega's number."

Blake rubbed his forehead with his fingers.

"Why didn't you just give him a fake number?"

Paige responded, but Apollo could tell by the instant tension between the two of them, they were about to start fighting. Hale tucked the mirror he'd been using in his pocket, walking out of the room and into the kitchen. Apollo followed him, the sound of Blake and Paige's increasing voices echoing in the background.

Hale pulled a beer out of the fridge, handing one to Apollo too.

The front door slammed and seconds later, the upstairs bedroom door slammed shut too.

"How do they even make anything work?"

Hale wondered aloud, and Apollo shook his head, twisting the top off of the bottle in his hand.

"The sex must be really good, I guess."

Hale walked around the counter and toward his bedroom, smirking.

"Must be."

Apollo ran his hand under the cold water from the tap, the cuts covering his hand stinging slightly. He'd have to replace the window, and soon. But Caelum was still floating around the back of his mind. And for some reason, he pulled out his phone, scrolling until her texts lit up his screen.

-you owe me a fucking window. And if you lie to me again, we're fucking done-

-Least I got you to notice me.-

Apollo looked down at his phone. The instant reply was expected. What wasn't, was what she said. If he hadn't noticed her, she wouldn't be around. Who talks like that? Another text came in a few seconds after the first.

-You haven't even been fucking me. Why do you even keep me around?-

-That's a good fucking question. Why do you keep coming around?-

-Because you keep asking me to, dick.-

-Do you do everything assholes ask you to do?-

-Apparently so yes-

Apollo hesitated, taking another drink out of his beer. The house was quiet, but he could make out the sound of tears from the upstairs bedroom.

And this time they were real.

Even when Blake and Paige tried to act like they had the perfect relationship, it was still clear even they had their faults. The two of them were crazy, but they worked together.

And he didn't know what flavor of crazy Caelum was, but he seemed to like the taste of it. Maybe it was worth something.

Or maybe Apollo was crazy too.

He put his headphones in, blocking out the sound of Paige's tears, and sent Caelum one last text.


-So you want to come over?-

---------------------------------

Come to think of it
I'm the one who's letting you down
Tell me what does it for you now that I'm not around,
I know it doesn't add up when you put it on paper
You were playing by the water 'cause you knew I would save you now
Now that your time's run out

3-14: Gravity

-----------------------------

"So he just sleeps all day, every day, and nothing wakes him up?"

Apollo could make out Caelum's voice through the sound of Blake's guitar. He glanced at his cell phone, and he had a few texts from Caelum. All from early as hell in the morning. He hadn't even been sleeping for the past couple of hours. Just avoiding everyone in the house.

She was obviously insane to think he'd respond to anything before noon.

"Do you guys plan on going back to Riverview for Thanksgiving?"

Apollo sat up, and Blake's guitar cut off simultaneously, replaced with the sound of his laugh.

"Paige and I have no reason to go back for Thanksgiving. Our dads barely acknowledge our existence the other 364 days of the year. What would be the point in that?"

It was quiet for a few minutes as Apollo pulled a shirt on and stepped out of his room.

"Why isn't Apollo?

He asked me to come tonight, but I thought he'd go back to where he's from."

There was hesitance in Paige's voice when she responded, "I don't think he has much of a reason to go back anymore."

Caelum started to say something, but Apollo pushed the door to Blake's room open, and the conversation stopped. He glanced between the three of them, and even if he hadn't heard them talking about him, he would have known that they were.

"You're awake!"

Caelum's voice was excited, but Apollo scowled at her, shutting the door before she could walk over to him. He stomped down the stairs, opening the door to Hale's bedroom without knocking. Hale was laying on his bed, backward, playing video games.

"How can you see the screen like that?"

Hale flicked his eyes onto Apollo, shrugging a shoulder.

"Practice. You should always knock. I could have been naked."

Apollo could hear Harpia's voice in the back of his head, saying something about Apollo probably wanting to see that. It was so clear, it was almost as if she was in the room. He ran his hand through his hair, walking over and sitting on the edge of Hale's bed.

"Thanksgiving is tomorrow."

Hale paused the game, sitting up and looking at him incredulously.

"I'm not going to fucking Riverview with you, so don't even ask.

If you want to go with someone, go with Variance."

Apollo shook his head slowly, pulling a cigarette pack out of his pocket.

"How would you know that Variance is going back?"

"She told Paige, Paige told me. She was whining about it. Wanted a girl besides Caelum here with her."

Suspicion slid into Apollo's chest. Something with how Hale looked at her when she was around lately, and how he would know something like that, wasn't adding up. Hale knew better than to fuck around with the girls in his family. And most of all, someone who had a dad like Vari did. Discord would kill him.

Apollo stared at him for a moment.

"You sure about that?"

Hale nodded, flipping the TV across the room off.

"I'm sure."

Hale didn't really have a reason to lie to him. It's not like Apollo would freak out if something was going on.

Yes you would.

Apollo cleared his throat, changing the subject before he could become more paranoid, and jump to conclusions. Accusing his best friend of lying probably wouldn't be the best decision.

"Alright. Well, I was thinking we could do something here. As long as Paige doesn't try to cook it."

Hale let out a laugh, taking a cigarette out of Apollo's pack without asking.

"She'd burn the house down."

He lit it, watching Apollo's eyes stick to the floor.

"Why aren't you going back? You have a huge family and shit. I would have thought for sure you'd be going, and forcing me to go like you always do."

Apollo kept his gaze on the floor.

"I don't have a reason to go this year."

Hale didn't say anything, reaching beside his bed and handing Apollo a half empty bottle of whiskey. He grabbed two shot glasses off of his end table, and an ashtray.

"Alright. We'll make it a party."

Apollo tipped back the shot once Hale filled it, snorting.

"You want to make everything a party."

Hale grinned, filling both of the shot glasses again.

"Life is shit. Why not make it worth something?"

------------------------------------

"Who gets this drunk on Thanksgiving?"

Paige rolled her eyes, taking a drink of the wine in her glass. Apollo's response was quick, reaching out and taking the glass out of her hand.

"Most of the American population, is my guess.

Why do you have to complain about everything?"

Blake narrowed his eyes at Apollo, but Apollo grinned at him, walking away from where they were seated.

He took a drink of the wine, but he barely tasted it. He had been drinking since the night before in Hale's room. So had Hale. The basic consensus of everyone else in the house was that they were going to kill themselves.

"You're being weird, dude."

Apollo looked over at Vega, but he looked blurry around the edges. Everything did.

"What the hell are you talking about, Vega?"

Vega took the entire cherry pie from the table and carried it to the island, sitting down on a stool. He took slow bites, straight out of the pie, chewing slowly like he was contemplating his response.

"You're acting like Hale. Drinking all the time and doing cocaine and not sleeping some nights."

Apollo drained the rest of the wine in his glass, filling it with the bottle that Paige had left on the counter.

"It's not weird that Hale does it, but it's weird that I do?"

Vega took a huge bite, nodding as he chewed.

"Hale's always done it.

This has only been going on with you for, like, a month."

Apollo glanced over his shoulder, catching the shadow of Caelum's figure as she rounded the corner into the living room.

"Thanks for that awesome psychological input. I gotta go though."

He sat the wine glass next to Vega's plate and ruffled his hair like his dad used to do to Apollo as a child.

Vega shrugged, taking another huge bite of pie, and mumbling with a full mouth as Apollo walked away.

"You're welcome."

Apollo entered the living room, but Paige and Blake were gone. Caelum was sitting on the couch, wearing a dress cut short enough to leave almost nothing to the imagination. She smiled up at him, patting the seat next to her.

Hale's laugh echoed from his bedroom, and Apollo sidestepped the couch, heading in that direction.

Caelum reached out, grabbing his hand as he walked by her.

"What are you doing?

You asked me to come tonight, I thought there was something that you wanted."

Apollo canvased her figure with his eyes, shrugging a shoulder. He pulled his hand out of her grip, pushing the door to Hale's room open.

"There was. There isn't anymore."

---------------------------------

Apollo wrote line after line in his notebook, his headphones loud enough to block out the rest of the world. He was so caught up in what he was doing, the tap on his shoulder made him jump. He glanced up, his brow furrowing when he noticed that it was Caelum.

"What do you want?"

He pulled out one earbud, watching her face contort into something he didn't recognize.

"You don't have to be an asshole."

Apollo raised an eyebrow, pointing the pen in his hand at the notebook.

"Sorry, I'm busy. Music stuff. Kind of what I do, Caelum."

Caelum brushed her hair over her shoulder, taking a seat next to him on the couch. Apollo sighed under his breath, moving over a little.

"Can I see?"

Apollo snapped his gaze onto her, and then back onto his notebook. He didn't show anyone what he wrote. Especially before it was done. It made him feel naked, like he was showing an unfinished piece of who he was. Most people didn't even ask. But Caelum was definitely different than most of the people he knew.

"Why?"

He said the word quietly, pulling the other earbud out and sliding his iPod onto the table. Caelum shrugged a shoulder, leaning forward and glancing at the half full notebook page.

"You've been busy for a few days. I guess I just want to know what's more important than me."

Caelum sounded like she was joking, but Apollo shut the notebook, sitting the pencil next to it.

"My music comes before anyone. Don't take it so personally.

We have all been busy."

Caelum's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Blake still makes time for Paige."

Apollo made a face, an amused smile on his lips.

"Okay... But Blake puts Paige before everything. That's the first difference between him and I.

The other difference being that you are not my girlfriend."

Caelum laughed, putting her hand on Apollo's knee. Apollo's eyes flicked to it, and then back up on her face as she spoke.

"I'm not stupid enough to think that. I'm just saying. You could give me more time, and I could make it worth it.

You were even too fucked up to pay attention to me on Thanksgiving, even though you asked me to come over here. I've been around, I figured that you'd take advantage of that."

Apollo stared at her for a few minutes. He didn't know what he was feeling, but something had dropped into his chest, and he felt angry for no tangible reason. He brushed her hand off of his knee and got to his feet, grabbing his iPod.

"Yeah. I'm gonna go skate.

I'll see you around Caelum."

He picked up his notebook, dropping it into the drawer of the coffee table and slamming it shut. He put his headphones back in, turning around at the front door when he reached it. Caelum said something, but it was drowned out. He sighed, opening the door and stepping through it.

"Sorry."

 He mumbled the word, not catching her last response before the door shut, either.

-------------------------------

Apollo put his skateboard in the trunk of his brand new Ferrari, slamming it shut. No one's car was home except for Hale's. He wasn't even sure how long he'd been gone. He tossed the keys to his car onto the table next to the front door, the sound of Hale's music bleeding through his headphones even with the volume all the way up.

He leaned his head in Hale's bedroom door, pausing his music. He had to shout to get Hale to take notice of his presence.

"What the fuck are you doing?"

Hale reached over, hitting pause on his own stereo.

"Did you bother looking at your phone while you were gone?"

Apollo shoved his hands into both of his pockets, but nothing was there besides his iPod.

"No... I don't know where it is. I guess I didn't take it with me."

Hale let out a breath, unpausing his music. He shouted the next words at Apollo over it.

"The notes for one of the fucking songs for the next album you asked me to work on are missing. I just thought maybe you were working on it or something."

Apollo shook his head, confused.

"Why the fuck would I do that?"

"You're the only one who messes with that shit besides me."

Apollo pulled his headphones out, shaking his head again.

"I didn't touch anything but my notebook this morning."

Hale took a drink out of a beer sitting on his side table, getting to his feet and crossing through the doorway past Apollo. He walked into the living room, and Apollo followed him. Hale knelt down, opening the drawer to the table where they all kept their shit for the band.

It was completely empty.

"That's not what it looks like."

Apollo stared at the barren drawer for a moment, anger expanding in his chest.

"Caelum."

Hale raised an eyebrow, his voice questioning.

"What the fuck does Caelum have to do with anything?"

"She wanted to read the song I was working on and I said no. I left her alone in here and went to the skate park."

Hale slammed the drawer shut, speaking evenly.

"That shit is years of work. Not just yours. Mine, Vega, and Blake's too.

You need to talk to your girlfriend and you better fucking hope she didn't fuck anything up."

"She's not my fucking girlfriend."

Hale sighed, pushing past Apollo and heading back for his room.

"I don't give a fuck what she is to you. I care about my fucking songs, Apollo.

Call her."

He slammed his bedroom door and Apollo looked down at the table, curling his hand into a fist.

What the fuck, Caelum?
------------------------------------

I'm gonna see concrete

Bottles and bad dreams

I'm everything and anything

A memory that never leaves

'Cause I

I think of you now and then

The memories never end when

Gravity pulls you in