S'Agapo

I yawned. Apollo had gotten better, and I was waiting for him to come downstairs so we could get to school. He had forgotten to call Cathy and ask her to pick him up. Apparently, my boy had absolutely no problem asking a girl for rides. And I had no reason to get him a car. 'Well done.'

I folded the saran-wrap over his ham and cheese sandwich, and tucked it neatly inside the brown paper bag. Then I folded the bag and grabbed his water bottle, wrapped it in a bounty so that the condensation wouldn't leak into the sandwich and wrapped them into his 'manly'
lunch bag. It was one of my old ones, with the edges torn up. The top lid had a frown face on it with X's for eyes.

"Okay, let's go." Apollo came down looking scruffy and tired. His eyes were blood shot, and I had the urge to tell him to go back to bed. He blinked and suddenly he was wide awake. "I keep forgetting how pathetic human bodies are. You're so weak, always needing sleep.
There's never enough time for you mortals, all you do is run around, acting like the world is going to end. At least Cathy takes it slow." He yawned and I rolled my eyes.

'If only he knew.' But I wasn't going to tell him. For one, he wouldn't believe me, and for another, I didn't want him going on a killing rampage. 'That would be bad.' I threw his lunch at him and grabbed my keys.

At school, all of his friends came up to Apollo and asked him if he was okay, if he was feeling any better. I was shoved into some fat kid. I rushed an apology and went to my locker. When I opened it, a letter fell out. I caught it in midair.

Hi laurel,
I don't care if you say this relationship is over, I still want you back. And I won't stop wanting you back. Please, at least come meet me by the back door after school. You know, the one where we always used to meet. We have to talk.

I rolled my eyes. I ripped the letter in half. "We already talked, moron."

At lunch, I was glad to see that Apollo actually ate something other than Cathy's face. He must have still been feeling the after effects of his flu, because he resisted her 'charms'. Jake was on the phone with someone again. I had no idea who it was, and I didn't really care. I sighed and glanced out the window, at the beautiful scenery. The sky was a soft muting white. Then I realized that it was snowing. I smiled to myself. Snow was my favorite type of weather.

Jake's POV

"Yeah, she's fine Tom, I swear." I smiled. Tom was always looking out for Laurel. He was so sweet!

"I promise, I'm making sure no one's doing anything to her, she's basically staring out the window. Okay, bye."

I hung up the phone and sighed. Last month I had finally gotten over my crush on Laurel. Now she was just like a sister. Now, I felt those feelings for someone else. I glanced at my 'recent phone calls' on his cell. Almost all of them were from Tom, except for a few from the other band members.

Laurel POV

I yawned. School was finally over. One week until school would end. I went outside and stretched. My long-sleeved shirt protested as I pulled it over my hands. Grabbing my jacket, I decided to make a run for my jeep; the letter from this morning was completely wiped from
my memory. As I jumped into the car, my cell phone beeped. I looked at the id.

"Hey Tom."

"Hey. Come see the band play today, I want your opinion."

"Aw, you want me back?"

"hardy har-har. No, I just want to get your opinion on the new member."

"What, who'd you sack?"

"Steve."

"Seriously? For who?"

"Joan."

"okay. I'll come around four."

"Kay." I started the engine and drove out of the lot.

At four I went to Adam's house. His garage was in the backyard so I opened the gate and went back. I was about to lift the door to say hi to all of them, but then I heard them start a song:

-I can't, I can't, I can't
Take this any longer
when the world is so rejecting
And my mind won't stop reflecting
On everything I've got
And everything I've lost

Don't leave me in this place
without a soul to rest my head on
'Cause baby ain't it true
that I ain't nothing without you

When the world won't stop turning 'round
And my head can't help but spin in circles
Everything gets so confused
Everything gets so muddled
My heart is hurting, my head keeps turning
and I need your presence to keep me safe tonight.-

They added a stronger beat, and I started to dance a little. Unfortunately, the garage door was mechanical and I accidentally hit the switch. I still kept dancing until I heard them stop. I turned and saw them staring at me. I grinned sheepishly and waved. "Hi." They continued to stare at me, "That...sounded good," I cleared my throat and avoided looking at them straight in the eyes, "So, when exactly does the awkward staring stop?" The blush was creeping down my neck.

Tom shrugged. Adam said, "Wait for it... wait for it... wait for it...okay. It's over."

I relaxed and stepped inside. "So, what are we working on? I heard way too many grammatical errors, and it kind of pissed me off. Especially that double negative."

A few alterations later, and the songs were sounding a ton better. I left because it was getting dark and Apollo had called my cell phone at least thirty times asking for dinner.
As I walked out, Adam suddenly jumped me and pulled me into a rib-cracking hug. I kicked out and screamed, "Air!" He let me go and I turned on him, "What the hell are you killing me for?"

Adam grinned. "It's not my fault you're so cute!" He attempted to grab me again and I ducked.

"Lay off the Japanese cartoons, Adam. Seriously."

Jake laughed. "Oh come on, it's not that bad, is it Laurel? I mean he's just showing how much he loves you."

"Stuff it Jake." I sent a deathly glare his way. Jake whimpered and jumped behind Tom.

"Save me!" Tom made a face and wrapped his arms protectively around Jake. "Don't worry, I'll protect you from her highness's evil glares!!!"

I stared in disbelief. "You've been hitting the movies a little hard, haven't you?"

After dinner, I went upstairs and collapsed on the bed. It was freezing. I wrapped the quilt around me and tried to fix the heater. "Shit." I slammed my head against the wall.

"Why is it so cold all of a sudden?" Apollo was standing next to me, hugging himself.

I sighed. "Nights are colder than mornings. I think it might snow tonight."

"Can't we heat up this freezer?"

"Well that would be nice, but I forgot to call the oil man."

At midnight I got up to go to the bathroom. I passed Apollo's room and found it was empty. Not thinking anything of it, I did my business and returned to my frigid room. I crawled into bed and felt something slip around my waist. I screamed, of course. I also kicked out at whatever it was. Apollo fell off the bed and sat up. "Damn it, Laurel! I'm freezing! Why are you so mean!"

I blinked at him and started laughing. "Most men suck it up!"

He huffed. "I don't care." He pouted. "I'm cold and I need warmth. And you're warm. So let me sleep next to you until you call the oil man."

"No."

He made a weird noise. "What? But why not?!"

"Because you're a guy that's why!"

'Well, Laurel, in case you haven't noticed, I completely respect you and I would never make you feel uncomfortable, but please just let me sleep somewhere warm! This isn't fair!"

"No way!"

His features briefly darkened. "Well then fine, I will take you by force!" He jumped back on the bed and grabbed me close to him.I tried to pull away, but he actually used his strength on me, and I was completely helpless. Finally, I gave in. But the next morning, I immediately called up the oil man.