-------------------------------
"Where were you yesterday?"
Paige looked up from the magazine she was reading next to their pool, a raised eyebrow peeking out from the top of her sunglasses.
Apollo pulled the hat that was on his head backwards off, avoiding her gaze.
"That's not your place to be asking me that, midget."
Paige made a noise, looking back down at her magazine.
"Whatever, vampire boy. I just know that Blake was complaining about some stupid song you told him to work on. But you didn't stick around to tell him the kind of sound you wanted."
She flashed Apollo a smile and set her magazine aside.
"I had to stop him from lighting your notebook on fire. You should be thanking me."
She got to her feet, and Apollo dropped his eyes away from her. She was barely wearing anything at all. She'd paired a bikini with heels. Which was exactly the opposite of logical.
He followed her over to the door, sighing.
"Thanks. I'll talk to him."
Paige froze with her hand on the door to their house, snapping her gaze back onto him. She took her sunglasses off, and her face was full of shock.
"Did you... just thank me?
I mean, I was being sarcastic when I told you to. I didn't think you'd actually thank me."
Apollo rolled his eyes, pushing the door open out of her grip.
"Don't get used to it, Paige. You did me a favor."
She crossed her arms and continued to stare at him, her mouth slightly open.
"You just called me Paige. Are you feeling okay?"
Apollo pulled a bottle of rum out of the liquor cabinet, still avoiding looking at her.
"Can you just shut the fucking door?"
Paige hesitated a moment before doing what he said, kicking her heels off beside it.
"I know that you're lovesick and stuff, but you being sort of nice to me is just weird."
She continued talking, and Apollo took a drink out of the bottle, trying to tune out her words. Her voice pressed on that piece of his brain that made him instantly annoyed.
He tuned in as she started to walk up the stairs, catching the last sentence of whatever she'd been spouting off about.
"Caelum told me to tell you hi, and that she is bringing some kind of wine to the thing tonight."
He rounded the bar, clearing his throat.
"Caelum's coming over?"
Paige looked back at him, her eyebrow raised.
"Yes. I just told you that Hale wanted to have some kind of party or something so we could actually use the pool.
Do you ever listen when I talk?"
Apollo took another drink, a smirk on the corner of his lips.
"I try not to."
Paige leaned against the banister of the stairs.
"Why do you care if Caelum's going to be here, anyway?"
"I don't."
She narrowed her eyes.
"Your expression says that you do."
She paused for a moment before taking the stairs back down to the first level. She crossed her arms and looked up at Apollo, her eyes serious.
"Don't you dare do what I think you're going to do."
Apollo put distance between the two of them, taking a long drink out of the bottle in his hand.
"I don't know what you're fucking talking about, Paige."
Paige scoffed, and her voice rose in pitch as she spoke.
"First of all, Harpia may not be talking to me either, but she's my best fucking friend and she loves you.
And you are too stupid to know it, but you love her too.
And second of all, Caelum might seem like an easy target for you, because she's clearly interested, but she's a really sweet girl. She doesn't deserve for you to play some game with her.
Keep your dick in your pants, Apollo.
Because if you fuck with either one of those girls, you're going to do a lot of damage that you can't fix."
She stomped up the stairs, and Apollo tried to keep his temper under control. But he lost it. His voice echoing in the empty room.
"She has a fucking boyfriend, Paige. And this entire thing was your fault in the first place. Her leaving. Caelum even knowing who the fuck I am."
Paige stopped on the last step, her hands curling into fists at her sides. She glanced down at him, her tone full of disbelief.
"It doesn't matter what I say to you, does it, Apollo?
You're going to do whatever you want.
No matter who gets hurt in the process."
She went into her room, slamming the door behind her.
Apollo threw the bottle in his hand at the wall, regretting his decision as the glass scattered across the tile floor.
Paige never knew what she was talking about. When they were kids, and especially not now. The situation with Harpia was exactly as he had said. Her fault. And what he chose to do in the fallout, was his own choice. So he would do what he wanted to do.
Harpia had moved on. And Apollo sure as hell wasn't going to sit and wallow in it.
Not this time. Not for her.
Not again.
Paige looked up from the magazine she was reading next to their pool, a raised eyebrow peeking out from the top of her sunglasses.
Apollo pulled the hat that was on his head backwards off, avoiding her gaze.
"That's not your place to be asking me that, midget."
Paige made a noise, looking back down at her magazine.
"Whatever, vampire boy. I just know that Blake was complaining about some stupid song you told him to work on. But you didn't stick around to tell him the kind of sound you wanted."
She flashed Apollo a smile and set her magazine aside.
"I had to stop him from lighting your notebook on fire. You should be thanking me."
She got to her feet, and Apollo dropped his eyes away from her. She was barely wearing anything at all. She'd paired a bikini with heels. Which was exactly the opposite of logical.
He followed her over to the door, sighing.
"Thanks. I'll talk to him."
Paige froze with her hand on the door to their house, snapping her gaze back onto him. She took her sunglasses off, and her face was full of shock.
"Did you... just thank me?
I mean, I was being sarcastic when I told you to. I didn't think you'd actually thank me."
Apollo rolled his eyes, pushing the door open out of her grip.
"Don't get used to it, Paige. You did me a favor."
She crossed her arms and continued to stare at him, her mouth slightly open.
"You just called me Paige. Are you feeling okay?"
Apollo pulled a bottle of rum out of the liquor cabinet, still avoiding looking at her.
"Can you just shut the fucking door?"
Paige hesitated a moment before doing what he said, kicking her heels off beside it.
"I know that you're lovesick and stuff, but you being sort of nice to me is just weird."
She continued talking, and Apollo took a drink out of the bottle, trying to tune out her words. Her voice pressed on that piece of his brain that made him instantly annoyed.
He tuned in as she started to walk up the stairs, catching the last sentence of whatever she'd been spouting off about.
"Caelum told me to tell you hi, and that she is bringing some kind of wine to the thing tonight."
He rounded the bar, clearing his throat.
"Caelum's coming over?"
Paige looked back at him, her eyebrow raised.
"Yes. I just told you that Hale wanted to have some kind of party or something so we could actually use the pool.
Do you ever listen when I talk?"
Apollo took another drink, a smirk on the corner of his lips.
"I try not to."
Paige leaned against the banister of the stairs.
"Why do you care if Caelum's going to be here, anyway?"
"I don't."
She narrowed her eyes.
"Your expression says that you do."
She paused for a moment before taking the stairs back down to the first level. She crossed her arms and looked up at Apollo, her eyes serious.
"Don't you dare do what I think you're going to do."
Apollo put distance between the two of them, taking a long drink out of the bottle in his hand.
"I don't know what you're fucking talking about, Paige."
Paige scoffed, and her voice rose in pitch as she spoke.
"First of all, Harpia may not be talking to me either, but she's my best fucking friend and she loves you.
And you are too stupid to know it, but you love her too.
And second of all, Caelum might seem like an easy target for you, because she's clearly interested, but she's a really sweet girl. She doesn't deserve for you to play some game with her.
Keep your dick in your pants, Apollo.
Because if you fuck with either one of those girls, you're going to do a lot of damage that you can't fix."
She stomped up the stairs, and Apollo tried to keep his temper under control. But he lost it. His voice echoing in the empty room.
"She has a fucking boyfriend, Paige. And this entire thing was your fault in the first place. Her leaving. Caelum even knowing who the fuck I am."
Paige stopped on the last step, her hands curling into fists at her sides. She glanced down at him, her tone full of disbelief.
"It doesn't matter what I say to you, does it, Apollo?
You're going to do whatever you want.
No matter who gets hurt in the process."
She went into her room, slamming the door behind her.
Apollo threw the bottle in his hand at the wall, regretting his decision as the glass scattered across the tile floor.
Paige never knew what she was talking about. When they were kids, and especially not now. The situation with Harpia was exactly as he had said. Her fault. And what he chose to do in the fallout, was his own choice. So he would do what he wanted to do.
Harpia had moved on. And Apollo sure as hell wasn't going to sit and wallow in it.
Not this time. Not for her.
Not again.
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Apollo looked up from the grill he was standing next to, staring at the plate Paige had put on the stand.
"There's no way you made those."
Paige put her hands on her hips, her lips pursing.
"You don't know that."
Apollo picked up one of the cupcakes, holding it up in the light from the pool.
"I do. Because you tried to make pancakes last week and caught the stove on fire somehow."
Paige scowled, grabbing the cupcake out of Apollo's hand and putting it back on the plate.
"Shut up, Apollo. I bought them, okay. Cooking is a learning process."
Apollo laughed, nodding as she walked back toward the pool.
"And you definitely need to go back to school."
Paige lifted her middle finger, sticking her tongue out and sitting next to Caelum on the concrete. Caelum had kept throwing him glances, whispering to Paige. She'd been at it since she arrived at their house. And he was trying his best to ignore it, but the more drunk he got, the harder it became.
"Do you have a lighter?"
Apollo turned around to face Variance's voice, dropping his hands to pat down his pockets. He found one in the depths of his back one, pulling it out and handing it to her.
"Since when did you start hanging out so much around here?"
Variance looked up at him with wide eyes, lighting the cigarette in her hand.
"What? I live in Hollywood too, you know. Why is it all of a sudden weird?"
Apollo watched her take a drag, looking back over at Caelum and Paige beside the pool. Variance knew all of them when they were younger, but she wasn't close to anyone. And she hadn't been back then, as far as he remembered.
"Because you weren't around much when we first moved in, and now you're hanging out like you've always been a part of this."
Variance sighed, pushing a strand of her now-blue hair behind her ear.
"I'm going to be doing photography for the tour, Apollo. I'm going with you, and I'll be around all the time. What's the difference between then and now?
Am I bothering you or something?"
Apollo's eyes softened, and he shook his head.
"Nah, Vari. You're fine.
I was just curious. That's all."
Variance's face lit up in a smile and she went to respond, when she was cut off by Hale's voice.
"So... I just stepped on a piece of fucking glass in the kitchen. What the fuck did you do, and if I need to go to the hospital, you're paying for it."
Hale tossed the bloody rag in his hand into the fire pit, and Variance disappeared back into the house simultaneously.
Apollo cleared his throat.
"I dropped a bottle of booze."
Hale grabbed a beer out of the cooler on the ground, handing another one to Apollo. He looked over his shoulder the way Variance had went, laughing.
"Liar."
Apollo knew Hale had some sort of interest in his cousin. He'd openly hit on her when they first moved in. But he was convinced she didn't hold the same kind of feelings. It would be like Artemis and Kenton all over again. Except this time, his best friend.
"Why do you assume that it was something I did?"
Hale glanced at him, tossing the beer bottle cap in the fire pit too.
"Because you have anger problems and break everything that gets in your way when you're pissed off?"
The slamming of the kitchen door indicated Blake's presence and Apollo stiffened, looking over at him.
"What's your problem?"
Blake looked at him for a fraction of a second before ignoring him and walking over to Paige.
"He's still pissed at you for vanishing.
You always give us shit that we don't care enough about the music, and then you disappear."
Hale took a drink, watching Apollo mess with the knobs on the grill.
"His words. Not mine."
Apollo's gaze traveled over to Blake and he spoke without thinking much of it, his voice echoing out over the distance between the two of them.
"If you have a fucking problem with me, deal with it like an adult and talk to me."
Paige and Caelum lifted their eyes to Apollo, surprise clear on their features. Paige put a hand on Blake's arm, muttering to something to him, but he shrugged it off, getting to his feet. He walked over to Apollo, his jaw tight.
"You are the last person to tell me to deal with something like an adult.
You ask me for a favor and then split.
And blame my girlfriend for your fucking problems."
Apollo raised an eyebrow, and he felt the several pairs of eyes that were on them. As if they expected the two of them to actually fight.
"You two need to cool it. Everyone is staring at you. Pick a different time to fight."
Hale's murmur barely registered in Apollo's mind.
"I blamed your girlfriend, because it was her fault, Blake.
She brought Caelum into my fucking house, she accused Harpia of doing shit with you.
She's fucking nuts. And because you're blinded by how perfect you think she is, you refuse to see it."
Blake stepped closer to Apollo, his words clipped.
"Say one more word about her. Come on, Apollo.
One more fucking word.
Harpia's got you so fucked up, all you do is fucking drink. And write songs about her.
You can blame Paige, but Harpia left you.
And you can't face that, can you?"
Apollo opened his mouth to speak, but Hale stepped between the two of them. He pushed Blake back softly, shaking his head.
"Stop."
He looked at Apollo, his face serious.
"And if I were you, I'd stop talking too."
Apollo took a few steps back from Hale, his chest expanding with the anger he was trying to contain.
"Fuck you."
He tossed the beer in his hand in the fire pit, and it exploded, sending glass in different directions. He turned for the door to the kitchen, leaving it standing open behind him.
When he reached his bedroom, he left that door standing open too. He caught sight of his reflection in the mirror he'd brought from home.
He slammed his fist into the glass surface and it shattered. Blood dripped from his knuckles onto the floor, his pulse racing. He didn't register the pain, staring at the pieces on the floor. He took the frame off of the wall and threw it on the floor too, sitting down next to it.
He lit a cigarette, laying down flat on the floor, glass pressing into his back.
Blake had a habit of knowing more about Apollo than Apollo wanted to admit.
But he always fucking handled it wrong.
He blew smoke into the air and tried to deflect the suffocating anger that made him want to go back downstairs and do something more stupid than what he'd just done.
It was easier to destroy something, get the anger on the outside.
Much easier than admitting to Blake that part of Apollo knew that he was right.
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Apollo didn't even glance up from his spot on the floor at the knock on his door frame, his gaze locked on the ceiling. He didn't know how long he'd been there, but he didn't much care either. He knew night had at least fallen. He lit another cigarette, the cuts on his knuckles stinging when they flexed around the lighter.
"Did you do this?"
Apollo flicked his eyes onto the small form in the shadows, recognizing Caelum's voice.
"Not really up for company right now, Caelum.
Go play with Paige."
He looked back up at the ceiling, but Caelum didn't listen. She walked into Apollo's room and sat softly on the floor next to him. She didn't even seem to mind sitting on glass.
"You're bleeding. All over the place."
He looked at her again. She was sitting in a patch of moonlight, her eyes sparkling in the glow of it. She had been wearing a bikini, but she had put some kind of sweater over it. Not that that did much to cover up any of her body. And Apollo couldn't help but notice.
He cleared his throat, taking another drag.
"It doesn't hurt. Don't worry about it."
Caelum pulled her knees to her chest, still watching Apollo. She bit down on her lip, and the seconds crawled by before she spoke again.
"Blake was kind of a dick. I don't know exactly what's going on with that Harpia girl, but it seems like a sore spot for you.
I'm sorry, Apollo."
Apollo scoffed, shaking his head.
"Don't be. She was just my friend."
Caelum reached out, tracing a line of blood that had spilled down his wrist with her fingertip.
"I could be your friend."
Apollo stopped with the cigarette a few inches from his lips, his eyes falling on hers. She spoke again, her words soft in the dark room.
"I could take care of you."
Something in the back of Apollo's head told him this was a bad idea. That Caelum was.
That returning her kiss when she bent down was a bad idea.
Harpia had been gone for less than a month.
But as Apollo pulled Caelum on top of him, tangling his fingers in the long mess of her hair, he reminded himself of that.
That she was gone.
That she had someone else.
Whatever they had, was over.
And maybe it was time for something else to start.
"Did you do this?"
Apollo flicked his eyes onto the small form in the shadows, recognizing Caelum's voice.
"Not really up for company right now, Caelum.
Go play with Paige."
He looked back up at the ceiling, but Caelum didn't listen. She walked into Apollo's room and sat softly on the floor next to him. She didn't even seem to mind sitting on glass.
"You're bleeding. All over the place."
He looked at her again. She was sitting in a patch of moonlight, her eyes sparkling in the glow of it. She had been wearing a bikini, but she had put some kind of sweater over it. Not that that did much to cover up any of her body. And Apollo couldn't help but notice.
He cleared his throat, taking another drag.
"It doesn't hurt. Don't worry about it."
Caelum pulled her knees to her chest, still watching Apollo. She bit down on her lip, and the seconds crawled by before she spoke again.
"Blake was kind of a dick. I don't know exactly what's going on with that Harpia girl, but it seems like a sore spot for you.
I'm sorry, Apollo."
Apollo scoffed, shaking his head.
"Don't be. She was just my friend."
Caelum reached out, tracing a line of blood that had spilled down his wrist with her fingertip.
"I could be your friend."
Apollo stopped with the cigarette a few inches from his lips, his eyes falling on hers. She spoke again, her words soft in the dark room.
"I could take care of you."
Something in the back of Apollo's head told him this was a bad idea. That Caelum was.
That returning her kiss when she bent down was a bad idea.
Harpia had been gone for less than a month.
But as Apollo pulled Caelum on top of him, tangling his fingers in the long mess of her hair, he reminded himself of that.
That she was gone.
That she had someone else.
Whatever they had, was over.
And maybe it was time for something else to start.
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It tears right through me, you thought that you knew me
You thought that you knew
I'm not perfect, but I keep trying
'Cause that's what I said I would do from the start
I'm not alive if I'm lonely, so please don't leave
