In Love With Apollo (ON HOLD)

Chapter 8

Nick's POV

The night sky blanketed the earth, submerging everything within reach into inky colored darkness. The stars glittered and sparkled like jewels. And I drove on.

I stole a glance in the mirror at the two girls, who were passed out. It was late. Even Momus was asleep. Being immortal, we didn't have to sleep. Not like an average person. But it was an easy way to refuel on energy and strength if need be. And we both knew that we would need to be ready for anything.

I sighed quietly and stared ahead at the long, empty road. A soft moan caught my attention. Selene must be having a dream, I concluded. She twitched slightly, her shoulders tensing up as she cried out softly.

"No..." She whispered. "I... No... Please..."

Or a nightmare.

I couldn't stand to watch her contort away from whatever was causing such fear in her mind.

"Sel!" I whispered softly, trying not to wake the others. "Selene, baby, it's just a dream. It's okay." My voice seemed to relax her. Although I failed in waking her up, I seemed to at least scare off her nightmare, or distract her from it. So I decided to keep talking.

"You remember Sol?" I asked quietly, in an attempt to keep talking. "Yeah well, he was awfully offended he didn't get to ride in the truck. But can you imagine? A full grown Palomino Thoroughbred in the back of a beat up little Ford pickup? It's ridiculous!"

I continued to speak to her, tell her stories. It helped the time pass for me too. "... Shane and I got caught obviously. My dad wasn't too thrilled to find his shoes full of snakes. We had to clean the entire stable. And not just sweep out the main hallway or the stalls either. He literally made us get buckets of soapy water and scrub the roof and the outside walls. Talk about punishment! But it didn't stick in our heads for long. The next day we already had a new prank planned..." I told her about my music lessons and my awfully grouchy bird-looking teacher. "... I swear, she has to be part bird. And the lady was mad! Absolutely as crazy as a bat..." I even told her about my parents.

"They mean well, they do," I murmured to her as the night wore on. "But I'm never going to be as perfect as my sister, or anyone else in my family for that matter. I'm not who they so desperately want me to be." I sighed, lost in thought.

"Maybe that's a good thing." Selene's soft, whispered voice startled me. She was awake. "Thank you for making my nightmares go away," She added quietly after a moment of hesitation. "It's embarrassing that I still have them."

"It's not a problem. It helped my drive go by faster." I waved it off. Silence enveloped the air between us for a while. Finally, I broke it. "How long have you, uh, been awake?"

"Long enough."

Her reply made my heart sink. She probably thought I was crazy, talking to myself. I blew it. I cursed myself silently.

"Long enough to want to learn more about you," She continued. I stole a glance in the mirror at her. A crooked smile played on her lips. I returned the smile, relief flooding through me. I still had a chance.

~*~

Selene's POV

I stood in a field, feeling very alone. Everything was dark, gray, and sullen looking. I had no idea where I was. That's when I heard a voice behind me.

"Don't follow him," It told me. I wanted to turn, to see who it was, but I was stuck. "He'll get you killed, my dear. He's leading you into a death trap. He's not to be trusted." I recognized the voice.

"You were in my room the night of the fire," I realized.

Laughter. Empty, hollow laughter replied.

"Who are you?" I asked. It was as if my ankles had been released out of someone's grip, because I was able to spin around.

No one was there.

"Who are you?!" I shouted, fearful. No, I was terrified. The sense of foreboding weighed heavily on my chest.

Until I noticed something unusual. It was... snowing. Why was it snowing?

I held my hand out, catching a snowflake. My heart dropped. It wasn't snow. It was ash.

The flakes of snowy ash fluttered from the sky. I slowly turned around, searching for the source of the fiery pieces. But I had a feeling I didn't want to know what - or who - was being burned.

Soft, melodious music snuck its way through the field and into my consciousness. A gentle song, a song of peace. Slowly, the field and snowflakes of ash disappeared.

When I awoke, I was aware that Nick was talking to himself. Or so I thought. Until I heard my name.

"It was beautiful, Sel. I believe you would've loved it. The colors as the sun sunk below the water... It painted the sky," He told me quietly.

That's when I realized he had saved me from my nightmare. I knew I should tell him I was awake, and thank him, but selfishly, I hungered to hear more.

His voice was so smooth, so seductive. I couldn't help it. Finally, I decided I had to speak. I instantly regretted it, as it caused him to stop telling stories with that lovely song-like voice.

"Maybe that's a good thing," I whispered to him. Those five words. Damn you, self. Those five words alerted him of my awoken presence, and my music was gone.

I sighed internally. Oh well. It seemed I would be spending many nights in his presence, so maybe, just maybe, I'll hear his songs again.

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Wow. Long time since an update huh?

I'm so sorry to keep you guys waiting! I've decided I enjoy writing on paper more than a laptop, and I forget to transfer my words from paper to print.

I'm hoping to upload more soon though! It's just a hassle typing it out.

Kisses to the best fans ever! ;*

Kiss a wombat, if you ever get a chance!