Our Own House | Closed.

Brian and Matt sat down on the bleachers, watching as Artemis giggled. She seemed to quickly become the center of attention in the formed group and both the werewolf and the demon had a feeling there was something about her that maybe even she didn’t know about.

Artemis couldn’t help but giggle at the pout on Jimmy’s lips. She took one of the bags of food from Zack, looking and seeing whose food was inside and began handing it out to the right people. She knew they had to hurry to eat so they wouldn’t be late to class.

Zack helped hand the food out, sitting down to eat once everyone had their lunch. He ate pretty quickly, surprised that the silence between all of them didn’t feel as awkward as he thought it would.

“Thanks for getting lunch for us,” Fae said as she ate, smiling at Artemis. She ate her lunch, a Caesar salad, sighing contently. She didn’t eat meat, only mostly salad or different kinds of fruits and vegetables. She just couldn’t find it in herself to eat animals. But that was just her personal preference.

“It was an adventure,” Johnny joked, chuckling.

Matt and Brian each quietly ate observing everyone else and what they had ordered. They both noted what everyone ordered made sense for what they were except when they glanced over at all the food in front of Artemis their eyes widened. She had two full plates of food and they were both silently betting with each other whether or not she could eat all the food.

Artemis sat down inbetween Jimmy and Johnny, quietly eating her food unaware that Matt and Brian were betting on if she’d actually eat all her food. “What did you guys talk about while we were gone,” she asked. She really was genuinely curious how things went while they were gone.

“We found out we all like Metallica,” Jimmy stated. “And Matt and Zack met at a Metallica show.”

Johnny raised an eyebrow. “Really? That’s awesome,” he said. He ate his food, looking over at Artemis and smiling as he watched her eat. He was kind of surprised she’d gotten so much food, but at the same time, kind of impressed.

Rae nodded. “So you guys all have something in common,” she said. “I knew there had to be something we could bond over.” She smiled as she ate, looking around at everyone. She wondered if they would eat lunch again tomorrow or all go their separate ways after today.

Matt and Brian continued watching Artemis eat, Brian groaning outloud when the brunette finished her food. The demon handed Matt the ten bucks he had bet, noticing the questioning look he was getting from everyone else but ignored it. The last thing he wanted to admit outloud was that he had bet Matt he didn’t think Artemis would eat all the food she ordered. Brian would definitely have to pull Matt aside later and ask him what made him think she would.

Artemis glanced over at Brian when he groaned, laughing when she watched him hand money over to Matt. She could tell whatever had happened was based around her but decided to not say anything as she put all of her trash in one of the bags. “My older brother and I used to play together before he disappeared,” she mumbled. “I think jamming Primus was my favorite out of everything we did.”

“Disappeared?” Johnny questioned. He knew he should just mind his own business, but the way she had said that just caught his attention. “Sorry, you don’t have to say anything. It’s none of my business.”

Zack didn’t say anything, just eating and watching Artemis. When he finished, he threw his trash away, wondering what had happened to her brother.

Fae looked over at Matt and Brian, raising an eyebrow. “Looks like you two are getting along,” she said, smiling at both of them. “See, this morning was just a misunderstanding. You two can be friends, just like you’re friends with Zack and Johnny. Right?”

“I mean it’s possible,” Matt shrugged. He didn’t know why it mattered if they all got along but he figured if Zack was going to hang around Artemis he might as well play nice and get along with everyone else that was in the group. All Matt knew was he could smell the lust coming off of Zack and he figured right after his friend slept with Artemis things would back to the way they had been. At least that’s how things normally worked with Zack.

Brian was in the same boat as Matt with how he felt. He knew Johnny seemed to have a crush on Artemis and figured as soon as she rejected him the half dwarf would pout and go back to only really interacting with him. Of course Brian didn’t want to be right and have that be what happened. He figured Artemis would be good for Johnny.

Artemis nodded sadly, quickly wiping away a tear that fell before she could stop it. “He was supposed to meet me at our favorite guitar shop and he just never showed,” she mumbled. “We never found him but I know he’s alive.” Her parents had given up on Apollo being alive but she refused to. She could feel it in her bones that her big brother was alive.

Johnny frowned slightly. “I’m sorry to hear that,” he said. “I can’t imagine what that would be like.” Hearing her say that kind of made him feel happy that he was an only child. He couldn’t imagine the pain of losing a sibling or any family member for that matter.

“What did the police say?” Zack piped up after a moment of silence.

Fae could tell that Brian and Matt were both uninterested in being friends with each other, but she knew if they hung out more then they’d probably take a liking to each other. She finished eating and stood up, putting her trash in the trash can. She frowned when she overheard Artemis, walking over and sitting beside the other girl. “Are you okay?” she asked softly. She absolutely hated seeing people upset.

Brian and Matt both turned their attention to Artemis when Fae asked if she was okay. They could tell the human was about ready to burst into tears. She seemed genuinely upset and the energy she was giving off was giving Brian goosebumps. He was worried she was going to lose her shit on everyone and the energy she gave off made Brian wonder if she was really was just human.

“You really think the cops give a shit,” Artemis scoffed. “He’s human and the only good human is a dead human.” The brunette felt more tears fall down her face, quickly trying to wipe them away as quickly as they fell. “If anyone is going to find him it’s going to be me all by myself,” she sniffled.

“I’ll help,” Zack said. “If you give me something of his, and he’s still around the area, I can probably sniff him out. And I’m sure Matt could help in that aspect too. He’s got a great nose for stuff, obviously.” He turned to look at Matt. “You wouldn’t mind helping, would you?” He didn’t know why he felt this strong need to help Artemis, but he did. And if he could help her in any way, then he was going to. Because that was the kind of person he was.

Fae frowned, reaching up and gently pulling Artemis’s hair away from her face, pushing it over her shoulder. “I’ll help too,” she said softly. “Nobody deserves to lose a family member. And if you think he’s still out there, then I’ll support you.” She knew she was jumping into this friendship ten times faster than she’d wanted, or planned to, but she couldn’t help it. It was just her nature to want to help people.

Matt nodded, feeling bad that Artemis felt the at she did. He knew if he was in the same situation he would want any and every type of help he could get. “Of course I’ll help,” he promised. “With Zack and me using our noses and if Brian uses his demon connections we’ll be bound to find out something.” Of course Brian seemed a little annoyed when Matt included him in the impromptu search party but he decided he would help even if it was only as an excuse to get out of the house.

Artemis sniffled, giving Jimmy’s hand a reassuring squeeze as she looked around the group at everyone. She went from only having Jimmy caring about her and offering to help her and now she had five other people willing to do the same. “Thank you guys,” she mumbled. “I need to find him. Everything will be okay again when I do.”

“We can set up a search party this weekend,” Johnny suggested. “All of us can meet up at your house, and we can go from there.” He looked up when the bell rang, sighing softly. “Looks like lunch is over.” He stood up and smiled kindly at Artemis. “We’ll find your brother. It might not happen right away, but we will find him.”

Fae nodded her head in agreement as she stood up. “Yeah, Artemis. We’ll find him,” she said. She smiled at her and sighed softly. “I guess I’ll see you guys tomorrow. Are we doing lunch again?”

“I’m down,” Zack said, glancing over at Matt and hoping the other boy wouldn’t be upset that he wanted to have lunch with everyone again.

“Great, see you guys then,” Fae murmured. She smiled brightly at Brian as she walked past him, actually impressed he’d managed to remain civil the whole time.

The school week had come and gone by quickly and now everyone was meeting at Artemis’s house to help her find her brother. Brian had already put the word out the day before to try and start looking for Apollo that way. It of course helped that Apollo and Artemis had unique first name’s and most of Brian’s demon connected chuckled at the irony of their last name considering Artemis was the Greek goddess of the hunt.

“Nice house,” Matt commented as Artemis lead him and Zack inside. They followed the brunette into the living room, the buff teen examining the items that were placed on the coffee table in front of everyone. He sat down in front of it besides Brian, staring at the photo of what appeared to be a younger Artemis and a boy who looked similar to her except he had blonde hair now brown.

“I got a few of Apollo’s things and a photo of us together,” Artemis mumbled. “I’m hoping his scent is still strong on them.” She sat down besides where Zack had just sat, biting down on her bottom lip as she zoned out. She knew she needed a plan that would help them cover more ground than her just looking with Jimmy ever could. “Maybe we should split up into groups,” she suggested. “We could cover way more ground that way.”

Fae had finally found her way to Artemis’s house, walking inside and following the voices until she found the living room. “Hey guys,” she greeted. “Sorry I’m late, I got lost.” She sat down between Brian and Jimmy, looking at the objects on the table. “So these are his things?” She gently reached for the picture and picked it up. “I wish I could help more, but my magic isn’t as powerful as a witch’s.” She looked up when Artemis mentioned splitting into groups, looking around. “Who wants to go with who?”

“Well, maybe Matt and I should split up with different people,” Zack suggested. “If we’re both going to be sniffing him out, it would be better if we weren’t together in the same group, right?”

Johnny nodded his head in agreement. “Maybe Matt and Brian can go together,” he suggested. “You and I can go with Artemis, and Jimmy and Fae can go together.”

Matt and Brian looked up at each other when Johnny suggested they split up together. Of course they were over the fight they had been in but that didn’t mean they necessarily wanted to be alone together looking for someone they didn’t know. Brian finally gave Matt a noncommittal shrug, letting him know he didn’t mind if they were stuck together. “Whatever works best,” Matt stated.

Jimmy frowned at the groups Johnny suggested, watching Artemis’s reaction as he did. He noticed she didn’t seem to mind the groups much and it honestly bugged Jimmy a little. He didn’t like how close the brunette was getting close to Johnny and Zack.

“Do we all have our phones charged,” Artemis asked. “That’ll be the best way for us to communicate.” At least that’s what the brunette hoped. Of course she was being extremely hopeful that they found Apollo or at least more clues about where he was since there was nothing since the original poor excuse of an investigation that the police had run.

“Yep, all good,” Zack said. He picked up one of the items off the table, pressing it to his nose and smelling it. “What can you tell us about him? Like, what are the last little details you know about where he was or if he was planning to go anywhere?” He felt like one of those detectives from the Law & Order show, and he kind of liked it. Although, he didn’t like the idea of having to look for people who were missing or possibly dead.

Fae frowned slightly, biting her lip. She’d kind of been hoping to be paired with Brian, but she didn’t mind being with Jimmy. Although, by the looks of it, he seemed to be in a very bad mood. And she didn’t vibe well with people who were in a bad mood. Maybe she could change it, though. She sort of had a thing for lifting people’s spirits. She could try, at least. She smiled at Jimmy, reaching over and grabbing his hand. “Hey partner,” she murmured.

“Hey,” Jimmy mumbled. He wasn’t paying very much attention to really anyone except Artemis. He didn’t like how close she seemed to be getting to Johnny and Zack out of everyone. He knew all they would do in the end would be hurt her and he hated seeing her upset.

“He was at his friend Mike’s place,” Artemis mumbled. “When I talked to him he said he was heading straight to the music store from there. Mike’s house was across the street and the fastest way to the music store would be to take a car. Apollo’s car hadn’t left the front yard of the house and there was no sign of struggle inside the house and his car keys were still hanging on the key rack. “Mike’s House is the one with the blue door across the street,” she stated. “It’s the only place and person the police followed up on after they talked to me.”

“What is Mike?” Johnny asked curiously. “Is he a human too?”

“And what did he have to say about it? Did he notice anything strange going on with your brother, or was he acting normal?” Zack questioned. He hoped their questions wouldn’t upset her, but they needed to have some idea of what had happened before Apollo had disappeared.

Fae frowned when Jimmy barely paid any attention to her, following his gaze to Artemis. She sighed softly, deciding she’d question him about it later. She believed him when he said he didn’t have feelings for Artemis, but he seemed to be getting quite jealous that she was spending time with new people. Wouldn’t he be happy she was making new friends?

“Mark is a banshee,” Artemis stated. “He said he didn’t notice anything weird.” The brunette believed Mark because the other boy was like another brother to her. If Mark had felt like Apollo was dead he would have told her but he never told her that. “If he felt my brother was dead he would tell me,” she insisted.

Matt and Brian frowned as Artemis talked. She seemed like she was so sure her brother was still alive and either Mark believed it to or the banshee knew her brother was dead and just didn’t know how to break the news to him. “You, Zack and Johnny can talk to Mark,” Matt stated. “Brian and I will drive the way he would have to the music store and check it out.”

Johnny nodded his head. “Sounds like a good idea to me,” he said. If Mike was trustworthy, and also a banshee, he definitely would have known if Apollo had died. And according to Artemis, if he knew, he should have said something. So there was a good chance that Apollo might still be out there.

“Jimmy and I can do some looking around in Apollo’s room, if you’ll give us permission,” Fae said. “Maybe we can find something in there the police didn’t.” She had assumed the police and probably even Artemis had searched her brother’s room to see if he’d left any trace of anything behind. Maybe he’d planned on going somewhere and had left a note behind somewhere or something.