"I can resist everything except temptation."
- Oscar Wilde
It was Halloween, October 31st, a Saturday afternoon, pouring rain beat outside Ophelia's dorm window. She had no classes today, states away from home attending a university in Massachusetts. Her parents resided in Long Beach, California, it was starting to get colder out as it was nearing the end of fall moving swiftly into a crisp New England winter. Serena had gone home for the weekend as she was originally from Long Beach so Ophelia had the dorm all to herself, which she didn't mind. she quite enjoyed her quiet time alone. Ophelia figured she could finally finish her story.
She settled down into the chair at her desk and began to finish the Abduction of Persephone by Hades. She was able to get past the first few sentences and suddenly there was an insistent knock at the door.
She opened it, unsure of who it may be, and there stood before her was Damien, his dark hair soaking wet, a few strands plastered against his forehead, along with his black t-shirt and jeans, his boots were muddy. There was a bloody gash on his forehead, his eye was a bit blackened underneath and his lip was cut.
"What the hell happened to you?" Ophelia tucked her golden hair behind her ear looking at Damien puzzled but he was offering up any explanations, Ophelia, the second year medical student, was always prepared for these situations so she went for her first aid kit in the closet.
"Get the hell in here, let me clean it up," Ophelia threw the hydrogen peroxide and band-aids down on the bed. Damien crept into her room, his golden curious eyes looking around at every little thing that was out in the open, then he plopped down on her bed next to the band aids. She began getting to work cleaning the blood off his face as he admired her.
"Your eyes are stunning," He had an expectant smirk on his face as if he waiting for a compliment in return, however, Ophelia had already decided she did not like him. Before she could retort with a witty response, she realized something a little more unsettling.
"How did you know where I went to school?" Ophelia pulled her hands away from his face, unsure how concerned she should really be, Damien didn't seem dangerous, maybe just a bit of a jerk.
"You know that harlot of a woman in a cat custom you saw me with at my party?" Damien touched Ophelia's hand in an attempt to refocus her back to cleaning his wounds. Ophelia rolled her pale blue eyes, she remembered vividly the way Damien stared at her the entire time he led Madison up the stairs, it was tantalizing.
"No," Ophelia lied, she wouldn't give him the satisfaction.
"Yes you do, you were looking right at me, I inquired of you to her, she said she has seen you around this campus, she said she might've been a nursing student, I don't know exactly what she was saying because she was yelling, you mortals really do get envious," Damien laughed as if he was some otherworldly being, he sure did talk like he was one. Ophelia was growing annoyed with him, she raised her eyebrow at him shocked and frankly, bothered by his conceitedness.
"Who do you think you are?" Ophelia questioned him not even sure why she should have to explain the reason Damien was so out of line.
"If I told you I don't think you'd believe me," Damien's tone was ominous, his words left Ophelia feeling intrigued, Damien was never boring, there wasn't a boring bone in his body. Ophelia stayed silent as she finished cleaning his wounds applying small band-aids where she could, Damien watched her in silence himself, admiring Ophelia quietly as if she was a painting in a museum. Too magnificent to touch, one could only be lucky enough to look.
Once Ophelia was finished, he lingered sitting on her bed making small talk to prolong his departure, his clothes still dripping wet dampening her blankets.
Damien slowly reached for the hem of his shirt lifting it over his head slowly revealing a perfectly sculpted body covered in all different types of tattoos, his abs flexed as he stretched before discarding his sopping shirt onto the ground and sulking back into her bed. Ophelia stole glances while attempting to seem busy putting away her medical supplies, she prayed that Damien didn't notice her noticing him, but to her dismay, Damien noticed. Ophelia scrunched up her nose to thought of Damien noticing every little damn detail.
"You can touch me if you want," Damien laughed teasing Ophelia, she glared at him with pink stained cheeks.
"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" She rolled my eyes.
"Don't you have some place to be?" Ophelia crossed her arms over her chest, Damien looked amused with her annoyed attitude.
"No, not really, you see, I'm on something of a vacation, I'm only in town for a short while," Damien explained but he sounded cagey.
"A vacation from what?" An inquisitive Ophelia inquired, an unimpressed impression still resting on her face, her body language still closed off. Damien furrowed his brows, this time taking his time to think before speaking which was very out of character for him in Ophelia's experience.
"From my father's legacy, I have expectations, a predetermined destiny if you will," He began toying with a photograph of Ophelia's parents that sat on her nightstand. Damien spoke about a life Ophelia could not comprehend yet.
"And what might that be? Sleep with every girl while you're in town?" Ophelia snorted in derision getting the impression of a womanizer. Damien looked at Ophelia crossly, but then he relaxed himself quickly as if he was never bothered by the comment to begin with.
"Love is a beautiful thing, I'm sorry you haven't experienced it," Damien retorted slamming the photograph down. Ophelia swallowed hard, she didn't expect to be confronted with thoughts of Michael, her first boyfriend but most recently, her cheating ex boyfriend. Michael Evans, the man Ophelia had thought to be the love of her life, but she quickly learned that everyone feels that way about their first love. Ophelia wanted to send a verbal militia at Damien but he had no idea, he didn't know her, just on the surface. So instead Ophelia didn't say anything.
Ophelia opened the light blue curtains that fell against the window, the rain had gone now, the sun was peaking through the dissipating clouds with thin rays of warmth. Ophelia was desperate to talk about anything so she didn't have the feel the remembrance of Michael.
"So are you going to tell me what happened to your face? I'm assuming you didn't just wake up with those marks," Ophelia inquired again as Damien avoided answering previously, he exhaled loudly as if the story of how he got so bloody could ever be so exhausting.
"It's not important, it's taken care of," Damien's tone suggested something darker that Ophelia didn't understand, she chose not to pry as it wasn't her place.
"So you're going to be a doctor someday?" Damien asked running his tattooed fingers through his hair, even with the black eye and the abrasions that were scattered along his face he was strikingly, stunningly, the best thing Ophelia had ever looked at, but she would never tell him that as she had a feeling that he already knew.
"You're pretty good at changing the subject, but yes, that's the plan," Ophelia was very certain Damien was here for all the wrong reasons. She looked outside her window, a shiny black motorcycle was parked leaning up against the tree, the chrome gleaming in the sunshine, carelessly leaving a trail throughout the grass leading out to the sidewalk.
"Want to go for a ride?" Damien asked noticing that Ophelia had taken an interest in his bike. Ophelia was interested in anything that got her adrenaline pumping however she wasn't sure of Damien's intentions with her, after all, he didn't make the greatest first impression on her.
"Why are you here? Why didn't you show up at cat girl's dorm?" Ophelia didn't trust him, she couldn't allow herself to trust any man after Michael's betrayal, she hadn't even begun to consider getting back into the dating scene again.
"I like the way you don't give into the temptation, it's taunting if I'm being truthful," Damien flicked the ends of Ophelia's long wavy blonde hair that ended her waist.
"Is it difficult?" Damien leaned in close to her, his eyes were gold unlike anything Ophelia had ever seen, they were like liquid gold, his lips inches apart from hers now, teasing and taunting Ophelia before a devilish smile spread across his face, he exhaled deeply chuckling at the tension he had caused before he pulled away.
"You're truly exhausting, how long are you going to bother me for and how can I get you to stop?" Truthfully if Ophelia were to answer his question, every time Damien looked over at her, his deep golden eyes scanned her body she couldn't help but feel the heat spread within her turning her cheeks pink. If Ophelia were to be honest with Damien, every time he wasn't speaking, because that's when he screwed up, it became increasingly hard for her not to stare. When Damien walked into a room, even the still paintings on the wall took notice of him, it was almost unfair that somebody could be so alluring.
"I'll be in town for undetermined amount of time, however, I decided I'll be spending some of that time trying to figure you out, let's start with your name, Angel?" Ophelia laughed when she realized he still didn't even know her name.
"It's Ophelia," He picked up the book she was reading.
"You like those stories, Ophelia?" A dark look fell upon Damien's face.
"Yes, you interrupted me as I was finishing it," She rolled my eyes at him, she didn't understand why he was still lingering around now as she had finished taking care of his mysterious wounds.
"What do you think about Hades?" Damien asked, he made fascinating eye contact with Ophelia, Damien couldn't wait to hear what she had to say.
Ophelia thought about it for a moment, she didn't really know. She didn't think Hades was all bad, but she definitely didn't think he was very good morally either, none of the gods were, they were all selfish and ignorant in their own ways.
"Hades isn't all bad I would say, none of the Greek Gods were all very good, they are all selfish and ignorant in their own ways, morally speaking, what do you think?" Ophelia asked him, she was pleased to find somebody who shared her niche hobby.
"I think that he's a narcissistic, controlling, arrogant, manipulative..." Damien began ranting as if he knew Hades himself.
"You have some of those traits yourself," Ophelia pointed out, Damien's smile faded away to a slight frown, he pursed his lips, he looked like a wounded animal. Ophelia didn't know what she said wrong.
"You don't know anything about me, you really don't want to see what happens when I get angry, Ophelia," Damien's golden eyes darkened, his voice deeper and louder now. Ophelia's heart beat a little faster now, realizing she had overstepped and to a stranger. Ophelia felt uneasy with his reaction and the way he now stood over her seething. His casual and relaxed demeanor was long gone.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you," Ophelia furrowed her brows at him apologetically. Damien opened his mouth to say something however his phone began to ring cutting him off.
"I have to take this," Damien put his phone to his ear and took the call outside in the hall. Within a few minutes Ophelia heard him shouting into it through the door but she couldn't quite make out what he was saying.
A few moments after the shouting ceased and everything was silent again, her dorm room door creaked open,
"I have to go," Damien was relaxed again but his mind was elsewhere now.
"I said sorry, I didn't know you'd be so mad," Ophelia crossed my arms over my chest.
"It's not you, Ophelia, you leave me feeling quite insatiable, I just have somewhere I need to be, do not pout, I'll be seeing you," Damien touched her lip with his thumb, Ophelia felt the heat spread throughout her body again, this time it left her flustered, a feeling she didn't like, so she pushed his hand away and he pulled away to take his leave.
"What about your shirt?" Ophelia reminded him that he would be leaving half naked.
"Keep it," Damien shouted from down the blue halls. Ophelia watched him speed off on his motorcycle secretly smiling at him through the window, no helmet, and no shirt.
Ophelia thought about Damien as she relaxed in her chair, she touched her lip where he had touched her, she felt a slight lingering tingling sensation. Ophelia didn't allow herself to fall for his romancing as she figured he'd do the same with another. She picked up his t-shirt that was slightly heavier than usual from absorbing all the rain and took it to the laundry room.
She curled up in her bed with her book and finally got to finish it. After finishing The Abduction of Persephone, she thought maybe Damien was right about Hades, after all, how selfish could one be to believe that another person belonged to them?
Ophelia yawned and began drifting off to sleep thinking about the wonders of Greek Mythology, hoping to wake up in a dreamland where she could be magical herself.