S'Agapo

I walked to the park and started to jog with Wrath. He was naturally toned, and I absolutely loved him. I had always wanted a dog of my own, but because I was so busy, I knew I wouldn't have time to love him properly. Wrath started barking at a group of people. I pressed my fingers to my lips and he stopped. For other people, Wrath probably wouldn't have stopped, but for some reason dogs always listened to me, no matter what. Only rarely did I find one that didn't like me.

After about two hours I decided it was time to take Wrath home. I was near my house so I decided to just pass by it to show him what it looked like. But as I turned the corner, I saw that Apollo was in front of the house with a few friends. Cathy was there, and so was Carrie. However, they didn't notice me coming up to them because all of them were huddled in a circle, doing something.

"Oh, yeah, she used to be so nice!"

"Yeah, I don't understand why she turned into such a bitch."

"Actually," Cathy said, "I wonder why she didn't try to kill you, Kevin! I mean you broke up with her for another girl in Florida, not just because of your dad's job at the university! If I were Laurel, I would have totally castrated you!"

"You should ask her Cathy."

"Pfft, yeah right, she'd totally cut off my head! She's like psycho now!"

Apollo saw me standing in on the sidewalk, glaring at them.

"Well, I think you ought to, seeing as she's standing right there."

Everyone stood up and turned. Cathy went red. Kevin was looking at Wrath, who was growling at them.

Cathy smirked and put her hand on her hip. "Well, that's a nasty trick, Laurel. Sneaking up on us. It's not nice to eavesdrop you know."

I sent her a glare and Wrath bared his teeth at her. "Well, this is my house, stupid."

"Oh. Well, since you're here, I guess you ought to answer my question."

"What question?" I walked up to Carrie and gave her the leash. As I put out my hand for my money, Cathy pouted and said, "You know what I mean! Why didn't you get revenge on Kevin when he dumped you for a better quality girl?"

I opened my wallet and stuffed the money in. Wrath continued to growl, his mismatched eyes flashing.

I looked up at the sky. It was a beautiful full moon.

I went to go inside, but Cathy grabbed my arm and asked me again.

"Why didn't you get back at Kevin?"

I sighed and turned to look at Cathy. She gasped and pulled away. I smiled softly and looked at Kevin.

"I'm not like you Cathy. When I was with Kevin our relationship was serious. When he left me for that Florida girl, I didn't try to hurt him for hurting me because I loved him. I refused to hurt him, even though he had caused me pain. After all, isn't love supposed to be selfless? If he was happy, that was all that mattered to me. Because one of us was better off because of the break-up, I was satisfied. Even though my heart was broken, I was glad he was with someone he felt could understand him better than me. That was all that mattered."

They all stared at me for a minute, and Apollo looked stunned.

"If you don't mind I'm going to go to sleep. Tomorrow's Saturday and I have to go shopping. Good night, Wrath!"

Wrath broke free of Carrie's grip and bounded up to me. He licked my hand sympathetically. I rubbed his head.

Kevin came up to me and said, "I didn't know...I'm sorry, Laurel."

I looked up at him. "It's okay, Kevin. Besides, I don't really give a crap about you anymore. I've moved on, and I've realized that I have more important things to worry about. So tell your girlfriend thanks for waking me up, okay?" I turned and went inside when someone wrapped their arms around me. I stopped and came to my senses. Pulling out of the grip I turned and slapped Kevin hard across the face.

"I said piss off already!" I glared and slammed the door shut. After a second I sighed and opened the door again.

"Apollo, get in."

"But..."

"In!" I screamed, and he ducked indoors. I stuck my tongue out at his friends and slammed the door shut once more. I jumped onto the couch and flicked on the TV. Apollo stared at me.

"Laurel...did you really love him?"

"Yeah. I was really fond of Kevin when we were dating. What of it?"

"I'm just surprised...that you meant what you said."

"Well, I didn't mean to. My heart just took over. I don't know why they were all looking at me so strangely though."

"You looked so different when you were speaking just now. You were...kind of glowing. You looked beautiful."

I sighed. "Hardy har har."

Apollo went to the bathroom and I pulled my turtleneck up over my mouth. I grinned and blushed.

'He's so stupid, saying that. He obviously didn't mean it though.' Nevertheless, I couldn't stop blushing. 'Stupid compliments.'

After dinner I changed into my pajamas and came downstairs. Apollo was sitting on the couch. I sat down next to him and we watched some TV together. Then, I got bored and yawned.

"Good night." I stood up and went up the stairs. I was in front of my bedroom when I felt something brush up against me.

"Apollo?"

His head collapsed on my shoulder. I staggered under his weight.

"Apollo! Are you alright? You have a big head, I can't hold it up much longer!"

He sighed. "I didn't know you felt that way. How you used to be, no wonder you've become this way. It's natural for people who are so sweet and innocent to become corrupted by the cruelties of loved ones. I wish I had done more research on the subject. I am truly sorry for not understanding, Laurel."

I blushed. "What are you talking about? Don't be silly, I'm just-"

Apollo lifted his head and spun me around. He hugged me so tight that I was sure he would break my arms. "I promise, I'll never, ever use you, or hurt you, or act so insensitively to you ever again. Laurel, I don't know what Zeus wants from me, but I do know that I'm not allowed to go back to Mt. Olympus until I've found someone to love. That's why I'm down here in the first place. I took away someone he loved, because I loved her too. He was angry with me, and said that I didn't understand how he felt. So, he took away my powers and forced me to live here with you. He thinks that it'll be hard for me to find someone to love me while I'm with you. But, I think he's wrong. I think you can help me, Laurel."

I pulled away from him. "Stop that! You don't know what you're saying. How I acted outside, how can you be sure that I wasn't lying?" Even in my head I knew I was being stupid; I'd already told him I had meant what I'd said outside.

He smiled softly. "I don't think you were acting. There was no way you could have been pretending."

"W-well, I was. So just go away, and don't touch me again or I'll rip your arms off." I was completely flustered, trying desperately to keep my head from spinning. It had been a while since I'd been held for so long.

"No you won't." He grabbed me and pulled me into a hug again.

'Damn it. I shouldn't have let my cover slip like that.'