3-20: Comin' Home

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 The plane touched down in Riverview, and it took Apollo a minute to un-stick his eyes from the window. Somehow, it looked different. Duller in color. And, somehow, it didn't feel like his home anymore. One of the guys Variance had insisted be hired as security waved him toward the exit, glancing around at the other passengers. 

He couldn't help the sigh that left his lips as he pushed past him. 

Apollo didn't need security. He was six foot nine. And he had more physical strength than he would ever need. Security, for any of the band members, was useless. But his cousin had sworn up and down that it was necessary. It was a company plane anyway. Who could possibly try to fuck with him on there?

He turned around to face the guy, who's name was something like Martin or Marvin, speaking in a low voice.

"It's my hometown. No one is going to kill me. Can't you just chill out here? Or get a hotel?

It's five days."

The guy didn't look thrilled at the prospect, but he glanced over Apollo's shoulder at the two people waiting for his arrival. Martin/Marvin's lips pursed, and he nodded once. Apollo shot him a small smile, turning back for the steps down to the pavement.

Rain glided over to him with the grace she always seemed to possess, wrapping her arms around his waist when she reached him. He bent way down to touch a kiss to her forehead, grinning at her when she pulled away.

"Hey, mom."

"Hi, Apollo. You look well."

Apollo snorted, throwing a sideways glance at the other tiny Hunter standing on the blacktop with their mother. He narrowed his eyes at her, his voice questioning.

"Hey, Rhea. Why are you here?"

Rhea's face broke out in a smile, and she lifted her hands up in a shrug.

"You're the only interesting thing going on right now. You're famous and stuff. I kind of wanted to see what would happen when you showed up."

Apollo followed behind them toward his mother's SUV, scoffing under his breath.

"That would require anyone knowing I left in the first place. I kind of... uh... left without notice."

Rain glanced over her shoulder at her son, handing the keys to him without question when he held his hand out.

"Are you going to get in trouble?"

Apollo opened the passenger door for his mom, shaking his head quickly.

"We still have six months left of this tour. What are they going to do? Fire me?"

Rhea perked up from the backseat as Apollo slid the car into drive, her voice making Apollo's eardrums ache.

"Six months? You're not done until August?"

Apollo rubbed his temple as he responded, speaking quietly.

"Last show is right after my birthday. It's in Hollywood."

Rhea leaned back against the seat, her voice louder than it had been.

"But that's not Riverview."

The car thickened with silence, and Apollo cleared his throat when they finally reached his old driveway.

"You're right. It's not."

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The paint on the brand new Aston Martin Apollo had bought specifically for this race shone in the streetlights outside of the airport. He'd dropped way too much money on it. But it was the only one on the lot when he'd looked online that had any decent kind of horsepower. And the only one in the color he was looking for.

The sound of footsteps on concrete registered, and he turned toward the noise.

Harpia looked almost the same. Her face seemed like time had worn her down. Her eyes had dark circles under them, and she was wearing a lot less clothes than he was used to seeing from her. 

"Hey Polly!"

She threw herself into his arms, and he circled his own around her waist out of instinct. The perfume she'd always worn burned into his lungs when he inhaled. She felt familiar. She felt like home. His grip on her loosened, but she maintained hers on his neck. She spoke, but her words were lost in the sound of a car engine.

Her long brown hair blew into Apollo's face as the car flew past them, the brakes slamming to a stop less than three inches from his brand new car. He opened his mouth to say something as the driver climbed out, but lost them the second he realized who it was.

"What's up, rockstar? What the fuck are you doing here? I thought you were too good for this town now?"

Heron slammed the door to his sports car, walking past the two of them and through the door to the airport. He didn't even wait for any kind of response from Apollo. It didn't seem like he wanted one, anyway.

"Ignore him. He's just mad that I am going to beat him tonight."

Her voice was excited, and she spoke rapidly, finally releasing her hold on him. He didn't mean for the parting to be reluctant, but it was. He wanted to keep her close to him, because all she'd ever done was slip away. And this whole trip was bound to end the exact same way.

Harpia took him by the hand, tugging him through the door the way Heron had gone. She leaned into him, her lips close to his ear.

"You're going to lose to me too, just so you know."

He shook his head, a small smile pulling at the corner of his mouth. He couldn't help but wonder where the hell her boyfriend was. And why she was so close to him, knowing that Amos could be anywhere.

He spoke without thinking, his words getting lost in the swell of the voices that they approached. Harpia hadn't even heard him.

"I know."

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Apollo pulled the steering wheel of his car sharply to the side, narrowly avoiding sliding into the Beetle Harpia had been driving. She had beat him. He had no fucking idea how. He had planned on letting her win, but she won without him even trying.

Maybe because his mind was elsewhere. Like on how her skin had felt under his hands.

She climbed out of her car, not even paying attention to the fact that she was about to get hit by Heron as he slid to a stop beside them. She slid her legs between the back bumper of Apollo's car, and the front of Heron's. Apparently, Heron was going to make that a habit. Or, maybe he just wanted to piss Apollo off.

Both were possible.

She yanked Apollo's driver side door open, leaning in and putting her arms around his neck.

"I kicked your ass!"

He pulled her onto his lap inside the car, like he used to when they were younger, studying the light in her eyes. He didn't know if drugs were fueling the happiness in her, but in that moment he didn't care.

Apollo glanced out the windshield at Harpia's brother, who looked none too happy about Apollo's hands being on his sister. He smirked at him, and a flash of concern about Heron smashing in his window flitted through his mind.

It dissipated the moment Harpia got to her feet, her hand inside Apollo's again.

"Get out of the car, Polly. I have something I want to show you."

He obeyed, his shoes hitting the concrete about the same time as Harpia managed to tug him out of the way of the shutting door.

She pressed herself into his side, her hand that wasn't holding his snaking up the back of his shirt. He was trying really hard not to notice it, but it was impossible. She was edging him closer and closer to not giving a single fuck if she had a boyfriend, and kissing her.

Speaking of her boyfriend...

Harpia and Apollo came to a complete stop in front of a guy almost a foot shorter than Apollo. He had never met him before, but he could tell from the way Harpia's voice sounded that it was Amos. 

"Hey, baby!"

Apollo raised an eyebrow at her, looking between the two of them. She still hadn't let go of his hand, and she was still pressed into his side.

Amos' eyes lit up at the sight of Harpia, and it took everything Apollo had not to deck him for it. He didn't want anyone to look at her like that.

"Hey!

And you must be Apollo."

His eyes traveled onto Apollo and he held out a hand, which Apollo couldn't do anything but stare at for a moment. He finally took the hand Harpia wasn't clinging onto, and shook Amos'.

"Yeah. That's me."

Harpia and Amos began talking to each other, but Apollo zoned it out. He was staring at the way they leaned into each other, more confused by her touch on him while she did it. He was brought abruptly out of his reverie by Amos' hand on his shoulder.

"It was nice meeting you, man!"

Apollo's brow furrowed and Harpia pressed back into his side, grinning at both of them. He managed to mumble, 'you too', as Amos walked back toward the rest of the people that were now gathered around Heron's car.

He turned to Harpia, but she wasn't paying any attention. She was just tugging him by the hand again, like she always did. He followed behind her, not taking in his surroundings, still caught up in whatever the hell had just happened with Harpia's boyfriend. She eventually passed through a door, and as it fell shut behind them, most of the sounds of outside disappeared. Muffled by the walls.

He glanced around, finally taking in where they were.

They were in the middle of the hanger where the airplanes were kept when not in use. It was massive, and Harpia's laugh echoed off of the walls as she looked at him.

"Why are we in here?"

His words were quiet, and he was trying really hard to keep his eyes in the vicinity of hers, and not on the skin of her stomach. She let go of his hand, her fingers finding the back of his neck and pulling his face down to hers. Her lips ran across his and he was so surprised, he didn't kiss her back at first.

"What are you doing?"

His breath was on her lips and all she did was laugh in response, pressing herself into him. He backed up, his shoulders hitting the wall behind him. When she kissed him again, he responded this time, tangling his fingers in her hair. He pulled her hard against him, taking in every sound that she breathed out.

"Are you ready for your prize?"

She pulled her lips away from his, taking his hand. She slipped it inside the top of the denim on her hips, kissing him again.

"I didn't win."

The words sounded so dumb when he spoke them, and he wanted to take them back. But she just laughed again, the noise of it bleeding into his chest.

"I know."

He turned her around, exchanging his back on the wall for hers. She smiled up at him, her eyes glossed over. With drugs, or excitement, or maybe something else. He didn't know. He didn't care.



He slid his thumbs under the hem of her shirt, pulling it up and over her head. Her bangs fell back into her face, and her sharp intake of breath when his finger tips found her neck was something he hadn't realized he'd remember so clearly. He traced her collarbone with his mouth, the curve of her shoulders. He lost track of where her hands went, and he forgot about the fact that she had a boyfriend. 

Or maybe he just didn't care about that anymore, either.

Her hands pulled at his shirt, and it hit the ground like hers had. He picked her up, her nails digging into the skin of his back. His lips were rough against hers, and he broke away for a second, trying to get his head straight. He didn't have a girlfriend. Nothing was stopping him. He'd wanted this for a lot longer than he'd ever admit. To have her like this again. When he finally spoke, his words were coarse.

"I'm going to hell."

She laughed, and it shattered every ounce of resolve he could possibly have of not doing what she wanted him to do.

"I'll meet you there."
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Harpia slipped out of the airplane hanger seconds after she put her clothes back on. Apollo leaned against the concrete wall, pulling a cigarette out of his pocket. He could still taste her on his tongue, and he knew an entire pack of the things couldn't make that go away.

If vodka couldn't, cigarettes sure as hell wouldn't.

Harpia leaned her head back in the door, her voice bouncing off the empty room's walls.

"Are you coming, Polly?"

He glanced at her, shoving the lighter he had used back in his pocket. He nodded once, and she held the door open for him as he passed through. The first thing she did was press onto her toes to place a kiss on his cheek, her whisper quiet.

"I missed you."

He wanted to tell her he missed her too, but she was gone from his side before he could say a word. He watched her cross the room, going straight into Amos' arms. Something burned, hot and heavy, in his chest, but he ignored it, walking over to join them too.

"What the hell were you two doing in there?"

Apollo shifted his eyes onto Heron, shrugging a shoulder.

"Exploring."

Harpia brushed her bangs out of her face, nodding in agreement.

Amos leaned down to touch a kiss to Harpia's lips and Apollo wondered if she still tasted like him. She probably did.

Apollo blew smoke out of his lungs and reached into his pocket, extracting the keys to the Aston Martin. He glanced at Harpia, and then at Amos, clearing his throat.

"Hey, Sage."

She looked up at him, and caught the keys when he tossed them.

"I bought this in case you won. It's all yours."

She looked at the keys in her hand, and back at the car, which was a deep green. Almost the color of sage.

"You..."

She started to speak, but her words faded out in the air.

Because Apollo had already went through the exit, leaving her behind.

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I know that we're takin' chances, you told me life was a risk
But I just have one last question
Will it be my heart or will it be his?