Lyra;
The sun was slowly setting, turning the sky a bloodred. Almost like it was alerting us of what was coming. What I didn't anticipate. A cold breeze passed by us like it was pushing us to walk faster to the restaurant.
I wasn't dreading this moment because it's my family I'm meeting, in fact, I'm excited to see them after so long, but for about three months, I've been dreading this moment because I might have to confront my parents.
Even after the countless times Apollo assured me that there is nothing to be stressed about, I still fear having to hear their criticism. My parents and I don't have a terrible relationship, if truth be told, we have a blissful one majority of the time.
But when we don't, it's the most distressing time of my life. I have never felt true agony except when it had to do with something between my parents and I, most likely a fight we had. Being the oldest daughter and the middle child most of my life, I was told to be and do so many things.
Be a role model.
Don't do something childish.
Be quiet.
Do something useful with your life.
I felt controlled most of my life by them, and they used the excuse 'it's for your own good' or 'it's because we care about you', and believe me, I know they're looking out and caring for me.
But sometimes the line between care and irrationality blurs, making it so hard for them to understand that what they're doing or saying is amiss. Most of the times this has happened, I questioned whether I truly deserve to be treated that way.
'of course, you don't deserve that! no one does. I'm not going to tell you whether your parents deserve that you cope the pain or not, because that's something for you to decide. But I won't tell you that parental love isn't worth all the sorrow either. I would do anything to have my mother back and have her hold me or speak to me, hell, she can scold me if it means I get to see her again.' Apollo explained me the night I told him about my family.
What I didn't tell him was that I feel guilty because I'm the cause of most of their fights whether it's with me or with each other. There are times I truly hurt my parents, not physically but verbally.
'Don't yell at me!'
'I don't care! You yelled at me first.'
'Get up and do something useful, stop sitting around.'
'I hate you!'
So many things that I've said and done make me squirm in discomfort. I promised myself I wouldn't do that again and I'm planning to keep that promise.
"Do you see them?" Apollo leaned in and whispered in my ear once we got inside the restaurant.
I scanned the room for any sign of my family but to no avail. I shook my head and walked a bit more inside the restaurant.
"Mom! He took the phone from me!" A child shrieked.
"Give the phone back to your brother." A woman's voice called, trying to keep her voice down.
Two voices I know better than anything.
"Found them." I pointed towards the table with the most chaotic family. Both of us walked slowly up to the table, making all five heads turn our way.
"It's Lyra!" Ajax's voice ran through my ear like a lawnmower.
"Look who decided to finally show up." Adrian spoke with a sarcastic tone. Like always.
"Cut her some slack, she was obviously with lover boy over here." And queue Luna to embarrass the living daylights out of me as she pointed towards where Apollo was standing. All three of my siblings walked over and squashed me in a Garcia sibling group hug.
"We missed you." Luna whispered softly.
"No, not really." Adrian gave my back a pat. He's acting like the tough older brother, but when were at home, he needs me to spread cheese on his bread.
"Lyra, can you make me French toast." Ajax lifted his head, that was previously buried in my torso, and looked up at me. I moved a stray hair from his eye and nodded. "Of course."
The kid turned to see who was with me, "Who are you and why are you holding my sister's hand?" Ajax squared up when he saw a hand entwined with mine and traced it back to its owner: Apollo.
Flustered Apollo is my favorite version of him, so thanks to Ajax's unfiltered tongue, I got to see that. I nudged his rib making him shake his blush away and extend his hand towards ajax.
"My name is Apollo, I'm your sister's friend." I looked up at Luna who had a sad smile on her face. I shrugged my shoulders and returned her smile. Luna happens to be the only person who knows about my more-than-a-crush on Apollo.
What I didn't notice was another pair of brown eyes observing the whole interaction with furrowed eyebrows.
"So, you can hold her hand if you're her friend? Can I do that? Mom! Can I hold Tia's hand?" Tia is the girl that absolutely despises Ajax. If she could incinerate him, she would. In third grade, she put a bottle of liquid glue in his bag.
While it was opened.
It's safe to say that half of his books needed to be replaced and we had to wash his bag three times. Our whole family despises Tia, and Luna and I are personally waiting for her 18th birthday to return all the favors.
"No, Ajax, don't get near Tia or she will probably chop of your hair and burn it." My mom warned my brother, who thinks that all that demon-child is doing, is being playful.
"Hello." I smiled at my parents, who returned the smile fully. I walked up to them, and they stood up from their seats in the booth, then pulled me into a warm embrace.
"We missed you Ly-ly." My mom kissed my head, and my dad ruffled my hair. "Hey!" I playfully pushed his hand away. Both my parents looked up to the mountain standing behind me once we pulled away from the hug.
"You must be Apollo." My dad eyed him up and down while simultaneously walking up to him. I could visibly see Apollo gulping at my dad's 5'7 height.
I can't blame him, he can be very intimidating, but...
"It's nice to finally add a face to the name! Lyra has told us all about you!" He pulled Apollo into a bro-hug and gave his back a pat.
He is a bubbly teddy bear on the inside.
"It's nice to meet you, sir."
"No, please, call me Travis." My dad grinned at him mirroring Apollo's smile.
"So, this is the musician that helped my daughter, huh?" My mother's brown-haired head peeked from behind my dad's large form. "I'm Ameera, it's a pleasure." She extended her hand.
Apollo shook her hand, "The pleasure is mine."
My mother's face lit up, "and he's respectful!" she threw a wink my way. "Come on, sit down, we were just about to order."
✿ ✿ ✿ ✿ ✿ ✿ ✿ ✿
"And the water reached our feet, so she jumped on him! She looked like a chimpanzee. In the end her shoes got wet anyway." Lucy finished telling the story of the time I jumped on my dad while taking a walk on the beach.
"When she was younger, she jumped in a fountain at night, because she thought it was empty." My mom added to the stream of embarrassing stories my family is telling Apollo.
"How did it look empty?"
"The fountain was black, and it was dark! Cut me some slack!" I groaned as I covered my head with my hands.
He let out a loud chuckle, "what is it with you and fountains? Remember the time you flung your whole wallet into a fountain, instead of one coin?"
My parent's eyes widened while my siblings laughed their lungs out. "How did that happen?" All five of them looked at me expectantly.
I sighed in defeat. "I held my wallet in one hand, and the coin in another. My brain's wires sizzled, so I threw my wallet instead." I officially reached peak embarrassment.
And this is my family I'm embarrassed from. The people who watched me hug a random woman thinking shes my mom.
My family continued conversing with Apollo and I about our college and studies as we ate. The harmony we were in came crashing down when my mom piped up and asked, "Did you talk to the transfer office?"
My family quieted down knowing what this question means: My parents want me to move to a different university. Particularly, one close to home. My siblings sent me pitiful looks which I shook my head to.
I came to this university, despite my parents not wanting me to and despite them constantly trying to get me to transfer, to study art because no college near us taught the major I wanted. I won't put all my efforts to enroll here go to waste, and I sure as hell won't leave now that I made friends and found a love for the place.
"No, I didn't." it came out more poised than I expected.
She put down her spoon and raised a brow. "Why not?"
"Because I'm not transferring."
"Lyra. We talked about this. I don't think you can stay here alone for the next three years." There it is: she thinks I'm irresponsible.
'Why does she think that' Apollo asked when I told him why my parents delayed my enrollment making me join school in January, four months late.
'A couple of reasons, but mainly because she saw how my older brother struggled in adapting in his first year of college away from them. She thought it would be better if I stayed close to her. She didn't even explain why she thinks I'm irresponsible enough to attend college away from them.'
"Well, I think I can. Besides, I'm not alone. I've got Mariah and Apollo, and I made new friends that I'm sure would look out for me." I smiled at Apollo, currently sitting beside me.
"What about your grades? You didn't do that well. You obviously didn't study-"
"I did! I worked hard, but it's my first year and I had to join late, so the work was piled up on me. I had a lot to catch up with." I retorted.
She just shook her head disapprovingly. A moment of awkward silence passed between us, making me awfully aware that Apollo witnessed all of this. Even though he has heard me argue on the phone with my parents before, he has never seen us do it face-to-face.
"If my opinion matters at all, I think your daughter is completely capable and responsible." Apollo spoke up, surprising us all.
I mean, my mom can't bicker with me about this in front of my closest friend then expect him not to come to my rescue.
"What makes you say that?" She directed her hard stare towards him, making his Adams apple visibly bop up and down.
"Well, she managed to ace her English essays in the first month she was here, painted museum-worthy paintings, helped for months in a homeless shelter, and applied for a job and got it. The only reason she doesn't have it now is because she gave it up for me." His hand found mine under the table and our fingers weaved together. He rubbed his thumb over my hand.
"Did she...?" My mom asked again.
"Yeah, she did. She is the kindest person I've met here, and she takes care of anyone she meets. She gave my friend a bar of chocolate just because she saw me smiling with her. Your daughter makes sure to check up on all our friends every week to see if we're doing okay and helps random people study when she sees them struggling in class, I still don't know why though. Your daughter is truly a blessing," He looked towards me, "and I'm so glad I met her."
"But that doesn't mean she can handle herself! Why not work harder for her grades?"
"Mom! Why do you keep questioning them? I know Lyra, if she says she's capable of finishing college here, then she means it." Adrian spoke up after he observed everything.
"I agree." My dad spoke up. "Lyra, I think seeing you today made me change my mind completely. I saw how happy you are and that you made friends," he gestured towards Apollo, who in turn squeezed my hand under the table for comfort, "and I was so sure that questioning you was the wrong choice." I extended my other hand towards his and held it.
I looked back at my mom who had her eyes closed. "Mom?" She opened her eyes and raised her brow. "I promise, I can take care of myself."
She just looked at me silently for a few moments, "Please keep that promise. And you," she turned to Apollo, "please take care of her."
"Mom! You said the same thing to Mariah." Lucy piped up, making my mom let out a small laugh.
"I promise." Apollo smiled at my mother. "I won't let her throw her wallet in a fountain again."
✿ ✿ ✿ ✿ ✿ ✿ ✿ ✿
Later that night, my family decided to go back to their hotel because it was too late for Ajax, and partially because they want to try the hotel's fudge brownies, also because of Ajax. Being the youngest child has its perks. So we decided to meet in a few days to have a picnic together.
Before my parents left, they whispered something in Apollo's ear and then told me to 'stop being oblivious'. I have yet to figure out what that means. So, my curiosity got the best of me and decided to ask Apollo what they told him.
We were walking back to our dorms, the moon hung in the night sky above us with stars sprinkled around it, when Apollo stopped me. "Lyra?" He asked making me turn towards him.
"Yeah?"
"Do you want to know what your parents told me?" He threw me a sneaky smile,
Quickly masking the shocked expression on my face, I acted confused "What? No, no. Its private, doesn't have to do with me." I kept looking anywhere but at him.
"Oh, please. I learned to memorize your curious look. The same one you have when you see me writing lyrics. Besides, it has to do with you."
I sighed in defeat. "Fine! Yes, please tell me." I looked at him expectantly, but what he told me slowly made my smile falter.
"They told me to tell you the truth."
My eyebrows furrowed. "What truth? You've never lied to me."
"About my feelings. About us." He gestured between him and I.
"It's fine, you know you can tell me anything, right?"
"I do. That's why I'm telling you this now." Apollo slowly closed the space between us, till the tips of our feet were touching. His hand slowly rose to my cheeks.
"The damn stray strands of hair, I can't keep using them as an excuse to touch your soft skin." He laughed lightly. "Lyra, you drove me to insanity and past it. I can't feel happiness without comparing it to all the times you made me feel joy. I can't wake up without wishing you were always with me. I can't help but want to freeze time when you look at me."
I softly smiled at him, then lifted my hand hesitantly and placed it on top of his hand that was resting on my cheek. "I might just become a psychologist to help you become sane again. What do you think?"
He shook his head. "No. If this is what insanity truly feels like, then I don't want to be sane again."
"Feels like what?" I asked.
"Like I can conquer the seven seas just to see you smile." My breath hitched.
"We can go on a best friend quest." As I spoke those words, I cursed myself for trying to deny what I feel and ignore what he's saying.
Because I'm afraid.
"You don't get it, do you? Lyra, I was made to write music about you and hold you forever. I can't help but remember you whenever I see the moon. I don't want to be the sun because if you where the moon, we would never meet. I want to be a constellation of stars, so I can shine bright with you. So, I can twinkle every time you smile."
My lungs forgot how to work, and my legs want to give up on me and see if I can defy the laws of gravity. Or if Apollo would catch me.
"Lyra..." He breathed out, waiting for me to give any form of reaction.
"Remember the time I told you how much I loved you?" He nodded his head.
"Like the fish loves the sea?"
"Yeah."
'I love you, a lot. Like a fish loves the sea, or how the stars love the dark, or how-"
'I love you too, like the sea loves the fish, or like the dark loves the stars.'
"That fish didn't just love the sea like it was its home. It loved it like it was its sole reason it's alive. It fell in love with the melodic sounds of waves and the clear color of the water and the sand. It fell in love with everything about it."
"I might just be that fish." He moved his thumb against my cheekbone the same way he did to my hand in the restaurant.
"No, you're not the fish. You're the sea. Your too vast and deep and beautiful. You're my sea, Apollo." My voice shook and I tightened my hold on his hand.
He let out a chuckle. "Are we really that bad at being straightforward that we have to use metaphors?"
I smiled wider. "How do you expect an artist and a musician to express their emotions?"
"Like this."
He slowly leaned down till his nose touched mine. I heard our breaths turn quick and rapid, like this action alone pumped liters of adrenaline into my bloodstream. Apollo opened and closed his mouth in hesitancy, his eyelashes fluttering against my skin.
"Damn you, guitarist." I breathed out. "Do I have to do everything myself?" I closed the last inch of space between our lips and captured my newest prisoner in a dance. I tasted ecstasy and desire and rage and every emotion in between.
Our lips slowly retreating, I let out a breath of hesitancy.
"I get to be greedy for once, don't I?" Apollo imprisoned my lips like I did his, and for the first time, I wanted to be a prisoner of his touch. His mouth molded with mine in a perfect fit. Like it was meant to be there all along.
Every time I thought of pulling back for air, I decided I could spare a few more moments without oxygen, in return for tasting the dripping sugar that is Apollo's lips. That trick only lasted for so long because my lungs cried for them to be spared.
Oh, how I wish I was the moon. I could kiss the stars every night without having to pull away.
I closed my eyes as my lips, unwillingly, were freed from captivity. Apollo softly rested his forehead on mine, his labored breaths matching mine. I opened my eyes to see his already watching me.
"So, you mean we could've been doing this for months if we weren't so blind?" He laughed at my frustration.
He lifted his lips up to my temple and kissed it with a feather like touch, emitting a soft laugh out of me.
"If I knew this was the easiest way to make you smile, I would've done it sooner." He moved his lips to my forehead and kiss it, then to my right and left cheeks, and back to my lips, giving them a slow peck. It wasn't like our kiss that was filled with bottled emotions, in fact it was filled with so much care and adoration, I forgot to breath.
"I Love you, Apollo, whatever love is." My hand moved to tangle themselves in his brown locks.
"I love you, Lyra, whatever love is."
I guess the thing the bloodred sky was trying to tell me about, the thing I never anticipated was that Apollo and I would become each other's moon and stars.
_________________________________
GET ITTTTT
finally! I've been dyinggg to get them to kiss <3 what can I say? i love love.
Love, mariecurie023.