3-7: Someday

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

-You need to come to Blake's house. Now.

No fucking around, vampire.-

Apollo squinted at the text, having to read it twice before it registered. He was drunk, but not drunk enough that he couldn't read. Drinking in the middle of the day wasn't a good idea, but when his body chose to wake him up three hours before he was used to, it was his only option.

Or so he'd convinced himself.

Harpia had nothing to do with it.

They'd hung out since they'd had sex. A few times. It hadn't been awkward, but it had been different.

And he couldn't shake the feeling of the way she touched him off of his skin.

-Alright, guess I'm walking.-

-Why....?-

-I'm drunk.-

A few minutes passed before Hale sent another text.

-It's ten AM, asshole.-

-It's five o'clock somewhere.-

-You're an idiot. I'll be there in ten minutes. Wait outside.-

Apollo slid his phone into his pocket, draining his drink and setting the cup on his living room table. His vision was slightly blurry, but he made it to the door, leaning against the brick wall when he was outside.

Hale's Ferrari shined so brightly in the sunlight, Apollo had to squint as he walked over to it. Hale had pulled so close to the house, he was within inches of the front window. Apollo slid into the passenger seat, looking over at his best friend.

"You keep parking in the grass like that, and my mom is gonna kill you."

"Nah, your mom loves me."

He looked Apollo over and shifted into reverse, throwing him a single glance. And a single word.

"Harpia?"

Apollo groaned, rubbing his face with his hands.

"No."

"Liar."

Hale turned onto the road, driving way too fast on the empty Riverview streets.

"What happened? You haven't talked to me in a few days, so my assumption is it has something to do with her."

Apollo drummed his fingers on his knee, wanting to avoid the subject altogether.

"I fucked her. And she's in love with me."

Hale took his eyes off the road in surprise, swerving to the side to avoid a dog when he looked back.

"That's... new."

Apollo shrugged, the rhythm he was keeping on his knee not faltering with the fact that Hale had almost wrecked his expensive car.

"She asked me if I loved her too."

Hale shook his head.

"And what did you say?"

"That I didn't know."

Hale pulled into Blake's driveway, sliding cleanly between Paige's Range Rover and Blake's Jeep.

"Once again, liar."

Apollo rolled his eyes, shoving the door open and climbing out.

"You don't know what the fuck you're talking about."

The driver's door slammed behind him, but he heard what Hale said.

"Neither do you."

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

"Is Vega always going to be late? I know there aren't any fucking cats here."

Apollo could tell by Blake's tone that he was frustrated. Probably with multiple things. Apollo being wasted when he arrived being one of them.

But he was sober now. Or very close to it. 

Because Vega still hadn't shone. And it had been two hours. Apollo's blood burned through the alcohol faster than someone who was only human.

The door to Blake's house opened and Vega came inside, his eyes bloodshot.

They all stared at him, Paige scoffing under her breath.

"Are you high?"

She said the words, even though it was obvious to all of them that she didn't need to. Vega collapsed on the couch next to her, and she recoiled into Blake's shoulder, moving onto his lap.

"A little!"

Paige wrinkled her nose, looking down at Blake before directing her attention onto Hale as he sighed.

"Can we talk, now?"

Apollo glanced at him, wondering exactly what the fuck was so important that he couldn't say unless they were all there.

"Fucking speak, Dalton. We're all here now."

"Alright, alright. Try to sound a little more excited, bat boy. This is good news."

Hale pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, reading off of the screen in a dramatic voice.

"Hello, Mr. Dalton.

We have reviewed your band's demo that you sent to us. Mr. Hampton is definitely interested in your sound, and would like to see you July 15th for a meeting.

We will be sending you more details later this week.


Congratulations!

and then some random chick's name I don't care about."

He looked up at his three band mates, waiting. 

It took a few moments, but it hit all of them in succession.

Apollo's eyes widened and he got to his feet, grabbing the phone out of Hale's hand.

"Is this legit?"

Hale nodded, taking the cell phone back, glaring at him.

"It is. She called me this afternoon with the address, exact date, everything."

He put his cell phone in his pocket, pulling a small baggie out when he was done.

"Looks like we're going to Hollywood, assholes. And if we're signed, we'll be moving there to record.

Told you this was important."

He sat down on Blake's couch, preparing a thin, white line on his coffee table.

But Blake was too busy kissing Paige, talking about their future, to say a word.

Apollo could feel the adrenaline rushing through his veins, but something else was right there on the edge of his conscious.

Harpia's eyes when he'd mentioned leaving at all.

He'd slept with her four days ago... And now he was going to be leaving? 

And he didn't even know for how long.

He got to his feet, and the other three guys looked at him in surprise.

"Where are you going?"

Hale rubbed his nose with his hand, his voice loud.

"I have to tell Harpia."

Paige exchanged a look with Blake, her expression falling. Like she had forgotten about that tiny detail.

"I need someone's car.

No longer drunk. Swear."

Hale didn't even hesitate. Probably because he was now too high to give a damn. He pulled his keys out of his pocket, tossing them to Apollo.

"Have fun, Loverboy. Good luck."

Paige nodded once, pressing her face against Blake's chest.

"Yeah. You're going to need it."

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

Apollo glanced down at his phone before shutting off the engine to Hale's Ferrari outside Harpia's house. He probably should have not told her face to face. What if she cried? What did he do then? He sucked at emotions. Especially coming from her.

The car door shutting behind him echoed in the night air like a gunshot, and if Harpia's dad was here he'd probably be pissed that Apollo was there so late at night.

Not that it had stopped him a few nights before... 

He pressed the doorbell once, running his hand through his hair while he waited for her to answer.

He was fully prepared to fuck up this entire... whatever the fuck it was... in one go. Because something told him she wasn't going take this well.

Whether it was his dream or not, he'd told her he wouldn't leave her behind. 

So I guess that I'm a liar.

When she opened the door, she had a smile on her face. But Apollo was fairly sure that it wouldn't last very long.

"Hey."

She hesitated for a second, and then came forward. She pressed upwards, touching his lips with hers. It was brief, but it did enough to him that he felt guilty all over again. He put his hands on her hips, holding her closer than he should,  looking down at her eyes.

"Harpia, I have a meeting in Los Angeles with a record company. On Tuesday."

Her reaction was instant, excitement clear in her voice.

"Polly!"

She squealed, tightly wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him into a tight hug.

 "This is fucking awesome! I'm proud of you!" 

It only took a few seconds for the smile to fade from her lips as she looked at him.

 She stared at him for a moment longer, her grip lessening little by little.

She pulled away and tilted her head to the side, looking him straight in the eyes. 

"Why aren't you excited? Isn't this what you wanted?"

He cleared his throat, looking away from her and down at the floor. He was still touching her, and it was worse now because she was excited and he didn't want to take that from her.

"It's exactly what I wanted. Since I was nine years old. But if we get this deal..."

You can't break this easy. It doesn't work like that. 

"We're gonna move out there while we record. And I don't know how long that'll take."

Music was what he'd worked his entire life for. But Harpia was also what he had known his entire life. He hadn't planned on sleeping with her. He hadn't banked on adding an extra complication to whatever they had. 

He should have kept his distance. But he didn't. And it was too fucking late now.

She pulled away from him slowly, bringing her arms back down to her sides, and the way she stiffened was obvious.

But her eyes never left his.

"Oh..."

 It was a whisper, almost inaudible.

Apollo dropped his hands to his side as she had done, curling them into fists out of habit.

"I'll be back, Harpia. Even if we get the deal and go for a while, I told you I'd always come back for you, and that wasn't a lie."

She cleared her throat, her deep green eyes finally leaving his. She turned her head away, and it took everything he had not to touch her again.

"You won't come back."

Her voice broke, and it was clear she was almost in tears.

"You'll get big. You'll forget about this town... and me."

For a second, the only response he could manage was to stare at her. She couldn't actually be serious?

"You think that even if our band managed something like that, that if we actually became something, I would just forget everything I have here?

Especially you?

I'd like to know exactly who you think I'd become?"

Harpia scoffed and turned her head forward again, her harsh gaze piercing into his.

"And how can I even believe that?"

She let out a frustrated groan and shook her head, backing up a few steps. 

"You can't even say you love me, Apollo. I poured my heart out to you, and you can't even say it back. So how the hell am I supposed to believe that you'll come back for me?"

Apollo shoved his hands in his pockets, anger finding its way into his eyes too.

"I will come back. You can either believe me, or not. But it's not a lie."

She crossed her arms over her chest, her voice reflecting the emotion in her eyes.

"Just get the fuck out of my house. 

You told me what you had to tell me, so leave."

She tried to walk away, but he put his fingers around her arm, turning her back to face him.

"What do I have to fucking do, Harpia? To get you to trust me?

Why are you freaking out?"

Her eyes were daggers, and she yanked her arm away from him, backing up even more. 

"Don't fucking touch me, Apollo. I told you to get out of my house!"

Apollo's voice rose like hers had, his tone cutting the air between them.

"Stop yelling at me, Harpia."

He tried again to touch her, but she shoved his hands away from her, choking on every word she gave him. She'd backed up so much, she was pressed against the front door of her house.

"I told you not to fucking touch me.

Why don't you just do me a favor and not promise me anything, anymore. 

I'm fucking sick of hearing it! 

If you promised you wouldn't leave, how am I supposed to believe you're coming back? 

Do I honestly really even mean anything to you, Apollo? 

Because it's pretty damn convenient that we just had sex and now you're leaving. How long have you known you were leaving? Were you just not going to tell me until after you slept with me?"

Apollo's fist collided with the door behind her before he could think to stop himself. 

He snapped, and he did it a lot. But never in front of her. Never this close to her.

He shook his hand out, narrowing his eyes as he looked down at her.

"That's exactly what it was, right? I would do something like that. Cause I'm a cold hearted asshole who can't feel shit. Especially not for you. Why would I be stupid enough to try and convince you that I care about you? You don't think anyone does.

I'm wasting my fucking time. And yours."

She didn't back down, didn't even react visibly to what he'd just done to her front door.

"No one fucking cares about me, and God, I was so fucking stupid to even think that you did, too."

 Hot, angry tears began rolling down Harpia's cheeks as she continued to glare at him. 

"Leave my fucking house. Go to LA,  become a famous rockstar and overdose on cocaine for all I fucking care. Just fucking leave me already like everyone else does."

Apollo clenched his jaw, dropping his eyes to the floor. He was pissed off, and it was running through his veins like fire. He needed to calm down, before he punched something else.

He brought his eyes back to her face slowly, releasing his hands from the fists they'd found their way into again.

"If you tell me to go, one more time, and you actually mean it, I'll do it.

You don't want me here, that much is clear. And I won't be the one to force you to be around me.

I'm not Dean. I don't see you as my property. I don't see you as dispensable. But if that's what you want to believe, I guess I have to let you."

Her eyes softened noticeably, her voice too. Tears continued to fall from her eyes, but all of a sudden they seemed different.

She spoke quietly, her words fading out at the end.

"I don't want you to leave.

But if you have to go, you have to go."

The silence that followed her words stretched, weighing heavy on the air that had been heavy with anger moments before. The anger disappeared from his chest as he looked at her, the sudden vulnerability in her eyes pushing at his chest. She dropped her eyes from his face and it didn't take much more than that for him to close the distance between them. 

He brushed the tears off of her cheeks with his thumb, lifting her face to look at him again. He paused for a second, and then bent to touch his lips softly to hers.

He pulled away after a few seconds, looking down at her.

And he left his hands right where they were. 

"I'm sorry."

She reached and placed her hands on top of his, lowering them to her side, looking up into his eyes. 

"I'm sorry, too.

But you should go..."

Her voice was broken. And it didn't sound like she really meant it.

He knew it. But he still listened to her.

He didn't want to leave. He didn't want to do this. He wanted this contract, he wanted the music. But some part of him wanted her too.

But this was his one chance.

And he had to take it.

So he would.

He removed her hand from his, looking over his shoulder at her as her front door closed the moment he stepped out.

She wasn't looking at him in that last moment, and for once, he was glad that she hadn't been.

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

(AN: The final scene of this chapter was written with my Anna bby. She wrote Harpia's parts and is the writer of This Little Bluebird, and also Harpia's creator.

You can read her legacy here ^.^)

Someday, somehow
I'm gonna make it alright but not right now
I know you're wondering when
You're the only one who knows that
Someday, somehow
I'm gonna make it alright but not right now

3-6: Hello

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

Apollo put his guitar on the stand, closing the garage door down. It wasn't the same playing without the rest of the guys. Not that he didn't do it often anyway.

But something tonight just felt off. The four of them had become such a package deal, it was almost foreign to practice alone now.

He walked as quietly as he could through the house, trying not to wake anyone. At the very least, Artemis was probably sleeping.

She was the only one of his vampiric family that slept like a normal human. Less than Apollo, but that wasn't hard to do.

He caught the smell of smoke the moment he opened his bedroom door. He walked to the window, shoving it open as far as it would go. He leaned out, looking for the source. 

Which was Harpia's back yard.

And Harpia seemed to be the cause. She was leaning over a pile of sticks, the fire almost reaching the ends of her long hair.

"What the fuck are you doing?"

He shouted the words down at her, and she jumped, looking up at his window.

She glanced at a box on the ground next to her, moving to the side so Apollo could read it. Dean's name was written in shaky sharpie lettering on the side, and Apollo's anger flared at the sight of it.

"Burning the past."

Her voice carried on the night air, and the smile on her lips seemed tainted with something. He could barely make it out.

"Want company?"

Harpia glanced at the box, and then back up at Apollo, nodding once.

He shoved the window down, tossing his cell phone on his bed on the way out the door.

She had already started by the time he reached her. An old polaroid was the only thing he recognized. And he wasn't sure he wanted to recognize anything else.

"I probably should have gotten rid of Dean's shit awhile ago, but, you know, with constantly either being at a court room, or in a completely different state, or being put on lock-down in the middle of fucking nowhere at my uncle's house, I kind of haven't had the time."

Her voice was carrying that same thing her smile had seemed to. Like she was haunted by him. 

And how could she not be?

He sat down on the ground in front of the fire, watching the smoke consume some small stuffed animal. He wanted nothing more than to douse Dean in gasoline and shove him on top of it.

"No better time than the present.

Sit down, I'll help."



She glanced at the fire, dropping next to him.

"I wish you would have gone to the court hearing, you know, when I had to testify against Dean and all that stuff." 

Harpia let out an airy  laugh, bumping her shoulder against Apollo's. 

"Of course, now that I think about it... Maybe not. Bluejay had a hard enough time keeping his cool, and I didn't think he could even hurt a fly. My dad completely lost it, and practically  jumped across the court room and to like kill Dean. You probably would have done the same thing, Mr. Fireball."


She tossed another photograph on top of the pile, watching it go up in flames.

Apollo held his hand out, and Harpia put something in it. He didn't even register what it was before it was burning too.

"I would have killed him in front of everyone, went to prison, and then never have seen you again."

He smirked, kicking the side of the fire pit so the contents would settle lower.

"So you're right. It's probably best I didn't go.

I kind of like not being in prison."

He caught Harpia staring at him out of the corner of his eye, and he directed his gaze onto her.

"What? Why are you staring at me?

I'm sorry. I know you have had enough violence and shit in your life. I was just being an assh-"

She shook her head, pulling her bottom lip into her mouth.

"No it's not that. It's just..."

She looked back at the fire, shoving an old T-shirt in the middle of it.

"I should have listened to you in the beginning. I just..."

She stopped speaking for a second, her eyes far away. When she finally spoke again, it was so quickly, with so much emotion, Apollo had to listen closely to catch every word. 

"I lost so many good fucking years following around some guy like a puppy dog who treated me like shit. High school wouldn't have sucked so much if I had just listened to you and spent those four years with you and Paige and the boys, fucking around in your garage, drinking beer, and listening to you guys play music."

She paused, this time a group of photographs falling into the embers all at once.

"You don't know how fucking much I regret that, Apollo. I lost so much just for Dean, and in the end, all I earned from it was a couple broken ribs, a broken nose, and a couple of back issues that I'm probably going to deal with for the rest of my life."

Apollo moved closer to her, putting his hand on top of hers. He brushed her hair out of her face, and her eyes reflected the flames.  They were beautiful, in a way that nothing else was.

"Well... You didn't lose me. I'm still right here. 

I'm not going anywhere."

She dropped her gaze from his, curling her hand around his fingers.

"You promised."

He directed his eyes back on the fire, a lump rising in his throat.

"I did."

The air between them seemed heavier, laced with something new.

Some untouched reason.

Her voice picked up again, eventually. But it sounded different. It carried that heaviness.

"When I made that road trip after that party, you don't know how... every time I drove on a bridge, all I could think about was what would happen if I just... drove off of it. Then it'd be all over right?

 But every time, I just couldn't. 

I couldn't leave my parents or my siblings. I couldn't leave Paige. I couldn't leave my friend Londyn."

She threw another shirt on the flames, looking back up at him.

"But most importantly... I couldn't leave you. 

Apollo, I could never leave you. You're my best friend. We've been through everything together, and I just couldn't... wouldn't ever want to leave you. You mean the world to me."

Guilt spread through Apollo's chest.

Because it wasn't true that he could never leave her.

If this band became something... If they made it... He'd be long gone. And nothing would stop him from going.

He looked at her, pulling a response from somewhere in the back of his mind.

One he had a feeling couldn't compare to what she had just said.

"I'd always come back to you.

Always, Harpia.

I'd always come home to you."

He made it sound like she was his home. And in a way, she was. She was part of the only home he'd ever known.

She'd be the only thing worth ever coming back to this place for.

She sighed, leaning her head against his shoulder.

"You fucking promise?"

Apollo lifted her face to look up at him again, his tone serious.

"I promise.

And I'm never going to break that promise, Harpia."

She stared at him for a few seconds and he waited for her to talk, to say something. To do anything but just stare at him.

And when she did, her lips met his. Rougher than the one she'd given him against the back of Blake's Jeep.

It occurred to Apollo that they'd been kissing a lot. It was in a mismatched way from the kisses they'd had when they were younger.

He wanted to pretend that he was right when he had told Blake that she was just another girl.

But it didn't seem that way sometimes.

Something was changing. Or had already changed. And he had no words for whatever it was.

When she eventually pulled away, she looked over the edge of the cardboard box.

"It's empty."

Apollo cleared his throat, focusing his attention back on the dying flames.

"Good fucking riddance."

Harpia moved the box on top of the fire and it quickly became engulfed, making the summer air even more heated.

"Amen to that."

The silence that expanded after her words had lost the heaviness.

But something else was there now.

And it was just as unreadable.

He pulled her against his chest, his fingers running through her hair. Her heartbeat was steady next to his, and he could hear every single time that it skipped. Every time it reflected that distorted consciousness between them.

The fire burned brightly, and then died out, smoke drifting into the air in waves.

Her voice, when she spoke again, was hushed.

"Do you wanna stay with me tonight?"

She looked up at him, and he brushed her hair out of her face so that he could see her eyes again. 

"I do."

She kissed him again, but she didn't taste like she had a few nights before. It was different.

And whatever it was, was going to stick with Apollo for a long, long time.

"I really do love you, you know."

He ran his thumb over her cheek, nodding.

"I know you do. I love you too."

She shook her head, getting to her feet and waiting for him to follow.

"No, Apollo. I mean that I..."

She stuttered over her words, going silent. 

He stood, brushing the grass off the back of his jeans, waiting for her to finish her sentence.

But she didn't. She just looked at him, silently, like she expected him to know what she meant.

And, he did. The realization hit him somewhere in the vicinity of his stomach, and he took a step back.

She was saying that she actually loved him.

"Are you drunk?"

Harpia laughed.

"I'm not.

But thanks for that, asshole.

Don't you love me too?"

She looked at him expectantly, and Apollo's eyes widened.

He stared at her, but he had no idea what she wanted him to say. He didn't love her like that. She was his best friend. Since they were in kindergarten. If he loved her, he would know by now.

And it wasn't like that. Was it?

"I don't know, Harpia."

He looked down at the ground, and the entire night suddenly seemed like a really bad idea. It took a few seconds for her to say anything, and they were some of the longest seconds of his life.

"Fair enough."

She walked over to him, taking his hand with hers.

He looked at her in surprise as she tugged him toward her house.

"What are you doing?"

She shoved the back door open, glancing at him.

"You said you were staying the night. 

And I've decided that I'm getting naked.

Did you change your mind?"

He stopped walking, staring at the back of her head.

"You're what?"

She pulled once more on his hand, managing to move him out of the way of shutting the door.

"You heard me.

So are you staying, or what?"

Apollo weighed the outcome of this. He'd been with two other girls when he was younger. One night stands, after parties.

But this was Harpia. This was his best friend.

There was no undoing this. There was no taking it back.

It could change everything he'd ever known with her.

And if she loved him, the way she said she did, it would change everything he'd ever known with her. 

She stood in front of him, as confident as he'd ever seen her. 

Like none of it was on her mind.

"Are you sure?"

Harpia leaned over, sliding the deadbolt shut on the door. She took his hand and led him toward the stairs up to her room.

"I'm sure.

Come on, Hunter. Let's do this."

Apollo lost all hesitation, giving into her tugging, following her up the stairs.

And the moment her bedroom door shut, he knew he was done for.

In more ways than one.

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

So hello from the other side
I must have called a thousand times
To tell you I'm sorry for everything that I've done
But when I call you never seem to be home
Hello from the outside
At least I can say that I've tried
To tell you I'm sorry for breaking your heart
But it don't matter it clearly doesn't tear you apart anymore