I wish I could say that I hated parties. The truth was, the deepest part of my conflicted soul loved them. I loved observing those in attendance from afar. I would never search for love myself, but there was a guilty pleasure in watching it happen. For example, earlier in the evening, a sickeningly sweet union of the football team's quarterback, and a sweet, yet timid girl from the yearbook club caught my attention.
The reason for my cynicism was not for what one may think. Crowds of sweaty bodies and blaring music weren't exactly my thing. However, they were tolerable given the nature of a creature like me. I wanted to hate-dislike might be more appropriate- parties, because I wanted to be alone. I wanted to want to be alone. The very nature of my being wouldn't allow that, and it grew tiresome to fight it.
It always felt so mundane to me, repetitive in nature. Love, I mean. Two strangers would meet at a party and have their happy ever after. Marriage, children, and rocking chairs on old oak porches, the whole romance novel wrapped in a bow. I voyeured the beginnings, because they were beautiful, enchanting, and intriguing.
If I had to take my pick of the plot for romance, though, the endings would win every time. The screaming, the crying, and the hopeless, emotionless stares, all contributed to that. It confirmed my belief that the path of love is that of destruction every time without fail, and who doesn't love being right about things?
I was perched on a low hanging tree branch in a backyard. Whose? I couldn't be sure, but a party was reaching its climax, and it was nearing the break of dawn. A couple having their rom com moment in the center of the yard gathered all of my attention, and things were getting good.
"Brandon! I love you, please! I'm sorry!" The girl's cries were nearly swallowed by the bass escaping the open door of the house.
"Lydia! He was my best friend! How could you do this to us!" Brandon, shouted at her, trembling.
There was a dramatic pause between them. Even I held my breath in anticipation. My head leaned further in the direction of the couple, desperate to catch their next words. Neither had the courage to say anything more, until Brandon wiped at his face and let out a low breath. "Whatever we had is done, just get out of my face." His voice waivered a bit at the end, and I could see his shoulders sag.
With that, he walked past her and through the back door, leaving a distraught and heartbroken Lydia in his path. I couldn't help the grimace on my face as she fell to her knees sobbing. The air of the backyard thinned a bit, and a few birds chirped from the branches above me.
My fascination came to an end, and the heaviest of feelings hit my chest as I thought back to the couple that met only about thirty minutes before this. That would inevitably turn into some version of this encounter, and my heart broke for them, and for their future.
Lydia gathered her strength, and lifted her head, boosted with confidence and determination. There was something comical about it, and I chuckled as she all but sprinted into a man exiting the same door she was trying to get through. He muttered something before he stepped off the back porch, and pulled out a joint, sparking it with ease. He couldn't see me, the leaves gave enough cover. They made me near invisible to his view. I was grateful for that, because this guy happened to be Valentino Cooper Eros, or Coop, as his friends call him.
Both of us arrived at Adolphus Academy, four years ago. Coop was in a few of my general classes. He had a habit of flirting with teachers and students alike. I mean, on brand though, being the son of Eros. Dangerous, but not because of his bad boy-type. He looked the part, with the intricate tattoos, and leather jacket ensemble he always seemed to don. Intricate black vines wove up his neck, peaking through the white fabric, and it was criminal how enchanting they looked. With a pretty goofy, free spirited attitude, Coop reveled in chaos, and stole hearts while doing it. He had teachers coiled around his perfectly manicured fingers, and he was friendly to nearly everyone.
He took on a literal godlike appearance. Golden hair that he kept perfectly disheveled, gorgeous brown eyes that shifted to pale pink when provoked to use his powers. A complete package, and he knew it. When he did have a problem with someone, then they'd probably need to move out of the country and soon. I've seen Coop's temper, though not flared often, burn hotter than Hades' realm. That's the reason I avoided him. A friendship with him could only head one direction, and it wasn't pleasant.
Coop inhaled the joint between his lips. He held the smoke for a few moments before exhaling deeply. As if the weight of Mt. Everest had lifted from his shoulders. Two of his friends tumbled through the back door in a drunken stupor, and greeted him with a handshake. "Coop! Man, what did you do to that chick, Lydia? Brandon's all fucked up about it." One of them, Trey Greene, asked as Coop took another hit and passed it to him. Trey looked obliterated by the alcohol, and I wondered if that particular herb would be beneficial to him in his current state.
"Listen, Trey, I didn't wanna. Really. You gotta know that. My dad made me, it was one of my assignments." Coops voice had lowered in shame, and he shook his head. "I hate having to do this every weekend." He muttered, taking the joint from Trey when he nearly choked on the smoke.
Though I was never sure up until this point, it made sense that he was responsible for the recent cinematic blowout. He was present for most of breakups at these parties, and I didn't know how to feel about that. He had a hard job to do, and witnessing multiple breakups, had to mess with his head. The fact that now I knew he was conflicted about certain aspects of his job, stirred similar confliction within myself.
Trey, though wobbly and not entirely coherent, placed his hand on Coop's shoulder. "Brandon and Lydia weren't endgame, Coop. They have soulmates, something none of us can have. Don't stress too much about it, and grab a beer with us." his words were slurred a bit, but still warming to the heart. Coop tossed the joint onto the porch, stomped the embers out and headed back inside the house. His buddies followed after, laughing at Trey's attempt to catch himself on the weathered door frame. I checked my watch and slipped my backpack onto my shoulder. It was time to get some sleep. I had an early class the next day, and I needed to make it back to the caves.
Like any nymph, I felt at home in the forest. I refused to sleep in the dorm they supplied for me, so I found a few cave systems in the forest on campus. I switched between them often enough so the headmaster couldn't track me down. I didn't make them permanent residences, and everything I needed for class resided in my backpack.
I sighed and wove my hand through the air. Intricate vines sprouted from the tree and braided themselves into a staircase leading down from its trunk.
I held my backpack a little tighter and descended the steps slowly. When my bare feet hit grass, my hand once again wove through the air, and the staircase receded into the tree trunk. My eyelids were heavy and drooping to the grass when a gust of wind passed me. I whipped my head in its direction, and a fear-filled gasp escaped as a red arrow lodged itself into the tree behind me.
"What the fuck?" I whispered as I pulled it out and examined it. I really tried to not let anger wash over me, but I could feel the thick emotion begin to seep in.
When my eyes met his, he looked...scared? For some reason, I marched towards the demigod. My brain begged me to walk away, my legs however, were stubborn.
My rapid advance to Coop halted when I was about three feet away from him. He was on the porch, frozen, and I was just in front of the first step.
"Can I just ask, what the fuck was that?" I tried to keep my voice level before, but now the venom was flowing freely, my tongue sharper than my conjured thorns.
"I'm sorry, truly. I was playing with this dumb thing cause it wasn't firing, and then it just flew out. I didn't see you there. I didn't hit you though. you're not even supposed to see the damn thing!" He was motioning towards the little contraption bound to his wrist.
It looked like a mini crossbow, but in the shape of a bracelet. The contraption was cool, but his smirk had my eyebrow twitching, and the anger was driving me mad at this point. There would be trouble in evading security if it got any later, and I just wanted to sleep.
I debated continuing escalating this argument, the irrational side of me did anyway, but I really just pushed past Coop, not wanting to waste anymore of my time.
"Penny for your thoughts, little nymph. Anger doesn't suit a pretty face." I stilled at his words, my hand resting on the knob of the back door. My head turned slightly, eyes meeting his.
"Penny for yours, arrow boy, don't fuck around with a loaded weapon." The faintest of smiles rested on my face, and confusion fluttered inside of me.
Why was it so hard to be so indifferent around him? It had to be his bloodline's influence, nothing more.