The Next Day...
Through the back door of the café I cautiously enter inside, ready to be bombarded but instead I am regularly greeted by the staff like it's any other day.
"Mornin' Abbey." Emily says as she unlocks her locker that is beside mine.
I smell the cigarette smoke that arises off her clothes and I try not to cough. "G-good morning." I kindly say as I quickly switch out of my casual clothes to my uniform.
So far no one has brought up what happened the night before, so I take it upon myself to be the first to say something about it.
"So about what happened the other night..." I begin to say, but pause. What the hell do I say?
"Don't worry. I covered you" Emily winks.
"Uhh...Thank...you?" I show an uneasy smile.
"More importantly." Emily slams her locker and smiles evilly. "I know what's up, don't try to hide it."
"Hide what?" I look at her dumbfounded.
"Uh...that hot guy that showed up?"
There were six guys! I gulp and I feel a sweat drop roll down from my temple. "W-which guy? I don't recall." I sheepishly laugh as I try to make my way out to the dining area.
"Whoa, hang on their little missy." Emily blocks my path. "That guy...the blonde hair, princely smile, weird uniform but is super attractive?"
"Teorus?" I blurt out.
"Ha! So you knew who I was talking about. So what's the deal with you two?" She urges.
"N-nothing. He's just...some guy." I shrug and push past Emily as she follows me out into the dining area.
I turn and my eyes fall upon Teorus, who couldn't have picked a worst time to show up.
"Teorus?!" I choke as I'm in complete and utter surprise to see him.
"You promised we'd always be together, didn't you?" He pouts, as he presses closer to me.
I quickly look around me and see the attention of the few customers that are around trying to mind their own business by can't help but pry.
I harshly whisper. "I-I didn't say anything like that."
"Oh, well look who we have here." Emily nudges my arm, teasingly. "I see what's going on here. It's about time, good for you girlie."
"No...really, you got it all wrong." I groan.
"Hey goldie, who's this cute girl?" Teorus asks as he looks over at Emily.
Emily introduces herself. "I work with Abbey, my name is Emily."
"Wow, what a cute name." Teorus smiles.
I feel irritable and sick watching Teorus flirt.
"I'm Teorus. Take care of my goddess for me while she's at work, okay?" Teorus then plants a light kiss on Emily's hand.
Now I felt like I was going to throw-up and the nearest thing I could run to was the potted plant near the front door.
Emily is taken aback by the sudden action. "Uh..." Emily looks at me then back at Teorus. "Well I wish the two of you the best of luck."
I blink repeatedly in surprise as I've never see Emily so caught off guard by a guy.
Emily rests a hand on my shoulder and whispers. "Your boyfriend is so handsome. I'm super jealous."
I'm ready to rip out my hair as I grumble. "I'm telling you he's not my boyfriend...far from it."
"Then why are you blushing?" She laughs.
"Wha—?!"
"So how long have you two been together? Emily asks.
"D-don't you have a job to do, Emily?" I ask her.
I'm ignored as Teorus answers. "Hmm...how long? Well I guess since before Abbey was born.
Oh for the love of god... I face palm.
Teorus continues while flashing me and Emily a bazillion-watt smile. "The stars aligned tens of thousands of years ago to decide we would meet."
Emily gasps in amazement and her expression is frozen as if she couldn't believe her ears. "Oh my god. That's so romantic! I wish someone would say that kind of stuff about me too!"
I stand there feeling completely embarrassed wanting nothing than to drink till I forget this all happened.
Emily comes beside Teorus, patting him on the arm. "You seem like a great guy, Teorus. Abbey here has never had a relationship before, so she might be a bit timid and rough around the edges but by the looks of it, you could change all that."
"Please stop..." I sigh. "We're not together. Now go wait some tables!"
"Sure, sure...you can quit trying to pretend you're not blushing right now." Emily turns her attention back to Teorus. "So what do you do for a living, Teorus?"
"I'm a god." Teorus says, nonchalantly.
"What?" Emily looking confused.
"Whoa! Hey!" I jump in front of Teorus as if to shield him, waving my hands in a panic at Emily. "Teorus...is...what he meant was that...he is...an actor?"
Emily thinks about it for a moment then claps her hands with excitement. "Oh I should have known! He would have to be with those good looks."
"Y-yeah...so I've heard..." I tiresomely chuckle. "A-and so he's playing the role of a god!"
"Well, I know I would love to have your autograph sometime, Teorus." Emily says.
"Of course!" Teorus smiles again.
"Well, would you look at the time we've started our shift ten minutes ago and we haven't started working! We're never going to hear the end of it if Jack catches us, now let's get to work!" I say while pushing Emily towards the kitchen.
"Okay, okay!" Emily finally agrees.
"Uh, Teorus, I have to work now...so you should probably go."
He begins to sulk, looking at me with sad eyes. "We're going to be separated again?"
Urgh...not that face again. No! I can't keep letting him get his way every time he tries to sway me with his good looks!
I ignore Teorus and get straight to work.
Later That Day...
"Abbey, sweetie!" Hannah calls me from the kitchen.
"Yes, Hannah?" I reply.
"Why don't you go for your break now?" She smiles sweetly.
"Okay." I agree and tuck away the cloth I was using to clean a table into my front apron pocket.
I quickly ask the chefs in the kitchen to whip me up a sandwich as I get a can of soda from the fridge. I go to sit outside on the patio, feeling the refreshing breeze as I eat my lunch. Then it hits me all at once the exhaustion and that once I'm done work I'll be sucked into the world of stars and gods.
"I wonder how much longer this is going to go on for..." I mumble as I sip my soda.
Then I hear a rustling noise come from beside me in the nearby shrubbery. I raise an eyebrow but think nothing of it as it's probably just a stray cat or something.
Instead someone jumps out from the bushes.
"Whoa!" I yelp.
Teorus stands there pouting. "Geez...the layout of this building is too complicated."
"Teorus?!" I yell. "What are you doing?"
"Huh? Goldie? What are you doing?" Teorus ignores my question and ask one of his own.
I gesture him with my hands that say what-the-hell-dude. "Uh...I'm eating."
"Where did you go? I was looking for you." He looks really upset now, with his cheeks puffed out like a child that's ready to throw a tantrum.
"You got lost?" I ask.
"I wasn't lost, I was looking for you."
"How long have you been looking for me?
"Hmm...about two hours in earth time. I couldn't seem to find you, and I didn't know how to get back to where I was before."
I sigh. "Yeah...that's call getting lost."
"WAAHH!!!"
Nearby a little girl sitting on a bench bursts into tears.
To get away from Teorus I stand up and walk over to the child. "What's wrong?"
She sniffs. "M-my ice cream..."
I notice the empty cone in her hand and follow her gaze to the melted ice cream by her feet, and she starts wailing even more.
"Shh...It's okay." I try to calm the crying child and speak to her but she continues to cry.
Teorus walks over. "Leave it to me." He says.
Teorus crouches down in front of the girl. "Please don't cry, princess. I'll get you a new one."
In a swift motion Teorus touches my hand and snaps his fingers, and next thing I see is a brand new ice cream cone in the little girls' hand.
"Here you go." Teorus smiles.
She gasps. "Wow! That's amazing! Are you a wizard, mister?"
"Nah, I'm a god." He responds.
Does he seriously not care about his identity and how crazy it sounds to us humans?!
"A god? Wow!" The little girl buys it and is overjoyed.
"Be careful not to drop your ice cream again." He tells her kindly while patting her on the head.
"Okay! Thank you, Mr. God!" The smiling girl runs off into the direction of an older lady, of which I can only assume is her mother.
I look back at Teorus and think to myself. So he's not just a flirt... he actually has some good points.
Later That Evening...
I'm released from my duties as a waitress for the day and step out the back door into the alley. Keys in hand, seeing my truck parked on the other side of the street. However when I make it in front of the storefront there's a crowd of people by the entrance. Which I assume is odd since I don't recall there being a reservation for a large group tonight, and it's unlikely we get this busy out the blue like this. But when I approach, who do I see standing in the center surrounded by women.
Teorus.
"Taurus is a winter constellation. If you want to find Taurus, you should try finding Orion's belt first." Teorus explains while looking at a poster and talking about constellations. "Then go a little bit west of the stars in Orion's Belt and...there it is! You bump into the first start of the Taurus constellation, Aldebaran."
The girls gawk over Teorus as he speaks. Probably having no clue what he's actually saying, and doubtful that they're even interested in the stars.
"I'm glad you're all so interested in stars." Teorus smiles proudly, his usual superstar smile.
Then through the crowd Teorus notices I'm here, and I quickly try to get away.
"Oh! Goldie! Finished with work?" Teorus calls out to me.
Every girl quiets down and I can feel their daggers for eyes penetrate me.
I, however, ignore Teorus and continue to walk to my truck at a fast pace.
"Goldie, wait! You're my favorite goldfish!" Teorus runs after me, calling out for me.
Shut up shut up! I scream in my mind.
It feels my truck is getting farther and farther out of reach as I try to get there while Teorus comes after me, calling out for me. When I place my hand on the driver's side door handle, Teorus is next to me, taking my hand in his.
"Geez, what are you leaving me alone for? Let's go home together." He pouts.
"Pfftt...he called her a goldfish." Someone in the crowds mocks.
"How weird is that?" Another girl pipes up.
Then the crowd of girls start laughing.
Looking at the crowd of laughing girls my vision blurs, and its changes to something I've seen before. Before my eyes now is a vivid scene of bunch of dark hooded people, shouting and laughing at me.
One hooded figures steps up and says in a feminine voice from one of the girls from the crowd before my vision changed. "What do you think their deal is?"
"She's my goddess." I hear Teorus' voice and it snaps me back into reality.
I realize I'm standing there, my back to my truck, my keys gripped so tightly in my hand I could almost feel it puncture my skin as I feel my limbs tremble. I take a deep breath and look at Teorus.
Did...did he just call me his goddess?! In front of all these people!?
The crowd of women look angry and disappointed.
"Don't worry. I belong to everyone." Teorus tells them. "If you want to see me, just look up and make a wish on a star. I'll be waiting." And the top it off Teorus flashes them his brightest smile.
The girls go from being disappointed to going back to be crazed shrieking fan-girls.
Exasperated I get into my truck, starting it up, and leaving Teorus behind as I drive off.
A few minutes pass as I drive down the road, suddenly someone steps into the middle of the road. I brake just in time and my headlights flash right on to Teorus. He stands there pouting.
I catch my breath and roll down the window. "Are you crazy? I could have ran you over!" I shout at him.
"You didn't wait for me, Goldie!" Teorus continues to be upset. "I said we could leave together."
I rest my forehead on the steering wheel. Then I lean over to unlock the passenger door. "Fine...get in." I bark at Teorus.
Teorus does what I say and gets in.
"Won't your fangirls miss you?" I ask, while continuing to drive.
"They'll be fine. Besides I wanted to go home with you." He smiles at me sweetly.
"Like I said before, you have to stop drawing so much attention to yourself." I say.
"Well...I was just teaching one girl about the constellations at first, but...there were a whole bunch of girls there before I knew it."
"You sir, are the definition of a chick magnet." I tell him. "You stand out a lot in the human world, Teorus. You should be more self-aware. You don't know what kind of crazies are out there."
Teorus nods. "Okay. Got it. But everyone loves me so much. This is so much fun! I was even able to make that little girl with the ice cream happy. I hope she remembers me when she grows up."
"Oh but who could forget you, Teorus?" I say sarcastically, realizing that there was an ulterior motive behind that kindness he showed off.
And just when I was beginning to think he wasn't so bad...
"By the way. A sudden change of topic here, you mentioned doing penance to erase your sin. What do you have to do?"
Teorus thinks long and hard when I ask this. Then opens his mouth to speak. "I don't know."
"What?"
"All I know is that the goddess holds the key"
I sigh. "Of course..."
"But earth is pretty fun. We can take our time trying to find a way to return me to the heavens."
"I rather not...." I mumble.
I finally arrive home to my apartment complex and Teorus escorts me to the door of my building. "All right, well this is me. Thanks for...uh...walking me to the doors." I say awkwardly.
"You're welcome." Teorus happily says. "Well then, goodnight."
"Good—" I'm caught off guard by the graceful movement of Teorus as he takes my hand, lifts it up, and kisses it. "Night..." I manage to whisper.
"See you tomorrow!"
I stand there dumbfounded as Teorus smiles and leaves.
I stumble into my apartment complex and collapse on my couch. And as I lay on my side I stare out my balcony window door. As I lift my hand in front of my face feeling a weird tickling sensation on the patch of skin.
No one has ever kissed me...
I sit up and shake my head furiously. "Ugh! It means nothing! He does this with all the girls!" I stand up and step out in to my balcony. The cool nightly breeze running its way along my face and through my hair.
I look up at the sky, seeing the twinkling stars, and it happens to remind me of what Teorus said before.
"When you look up at the sky, you don't look at just one star. You look at them all."
"Yup...and that's exactly how he feels about all girls. So how am I any different?" I stand there for a few minutes in silence before I start laughing to myself. "I'm thinking way too deeply about this. I'll just pretend it never happened. No big deal."
Few Days Later...
I flick through the channels on my T.V, while I hold my face in my other hand, in between my fingers rests my pencil that I can feel indenting my skin the longer I keep it there. When I find a show to watch, I look down at my coffee table to see scattered pieces of papers with fail attempts of potential songs and weird doodles.
My mind can't help but to focus on Teorus and how my life has been flipped upside down ever since. It bugs me that I can't talk to anyone about this, other than a therapist who would most likely drop my ass at a psych ward.
Beneath the stacks of papers scattered all over, my eyes seem to catch a glimpse of a notebook. I dig it out and flip through the pages that have random stuff written here and there.
I get an idea.
Tearing out thepieces of paper that have been used, I grab a pen and draw a failure of adrawing of Teorus. I can't help but laugh. But then, I begin jotting down the eventsthat had happened with the gods and with Teorus.