"Kore..." Aidoneus whispered ever so softly into her ear. Kore rolled her head over not realizing how close her lips were to Aidoneus's. She opened her eyes and met his with hers. She froze, turning beat red. Aidoneus gripped his thigh tightly to stop himself from kissing her. She opened her mouth but all that came out was nothing.
Aidoneus leaned back; Kore sat up straight. She didn't mean to sleep on his lap like that. She recognized that they were at her apartment building but in the back by the dumpsters.
"I figured we should park here since we don't want to bring too much attention to us" Aidoneus rubbed the back of his head and looked out the window. Adrian smirked; he now saw why Peter spoke of the two so nonstop last night.
"You're right, your fancy as- butt car will defiantly draw attention like it did when you parked outside of Mrs. Roe's flower shop" Kore grabbed her belongings and adjusted herself. Aidoneus was out of the car before she finished her sentence and already had her door open.
"Adrian, please stay with the car" Aidoneus helped Kore out of the backseat, he closed the door once she was by his side. Adrian nodded in agreement, turned the car off and cussed at Aidoneus's phone constantly going off.
"May I?" Aidoneus gestured to Kore's dress. She nodded and handed it to him; she then proceeded to pull her keys out of her small hand purse. She walked up to the back gate and opened it, Aidoenus grasped the gate to let her in first. They entered the small garden area, that was filled with all sorts of beautiful flowers.
"Panémorfos!" Aidoneus gasped, looking at all the flowers. Kore walked up to one that seemed to be dying from lack of light. She bent down and gently touched it; the flower slowly started to gain life in it again. Aidoneus stared, shocked at what he had just seen.
*Beautiful*
"Yea, I grow these myself" she adjusted the newly blossomed flower while tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. She saw how Aidoneus was staring at her. She shrugged sheepishly.
"You showed me yours, now I showed you mine" she said grinning knowing her play on words. Aidoneus blushed slightly, caught off guard by her joke.
"Kore, this is amazing. I've never met someone else outside of the family that had any kind of powers." He took a step towards her, her mood shifted ever so slightly.
"Amazing to you, but not to me. My whole life..." she looked up at the sky that was dripping rain "My whole life I was made out to be some bad person" she looked back down with the drizzle dripping from her face. She looked like one of Zen's statues. Aidoneus walked over to her and placed his hand on her shoulder. They both felt that same shock they felt from the ball. Kore looked at Aidoneus longingly.
"Let's head inside agápi̱ mou, we don't want your dress to get ruined by the rain". Aidoneus didn't want to push her on her past. He wanted her to open up when she was ready.
Kore led the way to the lobby of her apartment building. The receptionist desk was empty, the paint on the walls peeled and the mailboxes gave off a rusty look under the orange hued lights. The stairs were metal and rusted, Aidoneus could hear the creak in them as Kore took a step up.
"It's not as bad as it sounds" She laughed a little and extended her hand to guide Aidoneus up. They hit the Second floor where her apartment was. On cue room 66 opened their door, ever so slightly. When Aidoneus came into view the door closed quickly.
Aidoneus raised an eyebrow and looked at Kore.
"Just my neighbor Collin, he's a peeping tom" she shrugged it off as she opened her door.
"Kore, that's not ok" Aidoneus grumbled while Kore held the door open for him. Kore bent down to greet an ever so happy Sam.
"It's not like anything can be done Aidoneus; the police don't really care for this part of town. Especially this apartment complex, the city wants to tear this down and make it a parking garage" she giggled while Sam was franticly licking her face.
Aidoneus sat her dress down on the back of a chair that sat at the kitchen counter, stood up and adjusted his shirt. "Agapité*, I can do something about it" he used his low cold tone that she heard when they first met.
* Agapité: dear*
She grabbed his arm while holding Sam and shook her head no. She didn't want conflict. She couldn't afford any other place at the moment, and she didn't want to be out on the streets again. Aidoneus took Kore's hand into his and kissed her fingers. Kore blushed.
"You tell me if he does anything" he made eye contact with her, and she saw the ruthlessness in his eyes.
Sam looked at Aidoneus curiously while panting. Aidoneuslooked at the odd-looking dog as it wagged its tail.
"Guess Sam's growing up" Kore chuckled "He usually tries to kill any guys who come into my apartment".
"You have had other men up here?" Aidoneus questioned slightly jealous.
"No, silly" she joked as she headed to the kitchen to feed Sam. She pulled down a cup and filled it with water. She handed the water to him, "Here, this is to keep you from snooping while I change" Aidoneus pouted. Taking the cup, Kore giggled and turned to head into her bedroom.
"Guess it's just us skýlos*" he said while patting the couch he was sitting on to bring the dog closer.
* skýlos : pooch*
Kore closed her bedroom door and headed to her closet. She shuffled through her clothing and found an open knit pink sweater, a white tank top and a pair of ripped jeans she took off the hangers. She changed, folded up the clothing she borrowed from Aidoneus. She held the shirt in her hands. She pursed her lips together and stuffed the shirt in her drawers. She didn't want to get rid of something that reminded her of him. She headed to the bathroom to brush her hair and teeth.
She exited her room after about 15 minutes, her hair was luckily easier to deal with on these kinds of days, she didn't know why moisture helped her curls brush out easier. She closed her door and looked up to see Aidoneus rolling on the floor with Sam.
"Skýlos! "He chuckled as the puppy started chewing on his finger "Stop it, you're a scrapper!" Sam let go of his finger and went to hit Aidoneus with a slew of face kisses. Kore laughed behind them.
Aidoneus looked up at her, he was still on the floor, he reached out and pulled Kore down to them.
"Aidon-" Kore was cut off as she fell, Aidoneus caught her before she completely hit the ground and rolled her over to his side, Sam lunged at Kore and got tangled up in her hair.
"Sam-" Kore giggled as she fought off Sam's kisses. Hearing Aidoneus laugh next to her made her heart swell. He propped himself up on an elbow and was telling Sam to get her. Sam ended up really entangled in Kore's hair, he kept nipping at it to fight it, but his efforts were useless.
Aidoneus reached over and helped her untangle the poor pup. He held Sam in one hand while slowly and gently pulling Kore's hair through his finger. He got lost in her beautiful pink-red hair; Sam nipped his cheek to pull him out of his trance.
"Skýlos, you're lucky you're feisty like your mother" he chuckled while looking at Kore. She looked down at the floor with a smile. Aidoneus put Sam down and got up. He extended his hand for Kore to take so he could help her up. He pulled her up gently.
"Thank you Aidoneus" she bushed Sams hair off of her.
"Agápi̱ mou, you may call me Aidon" he smiled at her. She blushed again 'He must think I'm sick or something with how red I've been turning this past day' she thought to herself as she headed to grab her purse and an umbrella.
"Bye Sam, you protect our home, ok?" she said, bent over scratching under his chin. Sam whined like he didn't want her to leave. "Miss you buddy, I'll be back I promise" she said while gently closing the door. Sam leaned around the door to catch the final glimpses of Kore and Aidoneus he'd see for today.
She shut her door and locked it. "I feel really bad, I've been so busy these past couple of days I haven't had time for Sam" she put her keys in her purse with a saddened look on her face. Aidoneus was peeking at room 66, the door did not open.
"Well, agápi̱ mou, I can dog sit if you ever need it" he ushered Kore to walk in front of him as he kept glancing at room 66.
"No, that's too much to ask you for" Kore said as she took her step down the first step.
"Peter would make him a guard dog" he chuckled once they were out of view of the peeping-tom.
"He'd actually probably would be a good one, he usually tries to bite everyone" she giggled as she hit the first floor and turned to take the last flight down. Aidoneus crossed his arms in disapproval.
"There you go again saying to everyone who visits. Do I need to fight off other suitors?" He said raising an eyebrow at her. Kore turned her head towards him as they took the last step.
"You know, I had friends up until recently Aidon," his name came out so simply for her, she didn't have to force herself to remember like she had to with Mrs. Roe. "They all kind of, went on their own separate ways" she finished while looking at the ground. She knew it was her fault; she didn't really like anyone getting close to her. The fear of rejection caused her to cut ties with mostly everyone she knew.
Aidoneus planted right next to her. "Well, I won't be so easily dismissed agápi̱ mou," he placed his hand next to her, extending a pinky to graze against hers. She looked up at him with tears in her eyes from her painful memories. She swiped them away with the back of sleeve and walked in front of Aidoneus heading for the car. He chewed the inside of his lip and clenched his fists. His eyes started to glow a faint turquoise as the air became hotter around him causing the stairs to groan from the temperature change. The pain in her eyes caused him uncontrollable anger. 'I will burn the world for you agápi̱ mou' he stuffed his hands in his pockets and exited the building behind Kore.
Adrian was opening the door for Kore to enter the car. She climbed up, turned to Adrian, Aidoneus could she her mouth thank you to him. Adrian waited for his boss to enter the vehicle before heading back to the driver's seat. As the door closed behind Aidoneus, he felt Kore inch towards him.
She sat just an inch from Aidoneus while looking out of the window. She wanted his touch to comfort her, but her emotional scars would not let her get closer. She could sense that Aidoneus wanted to let her go her pace. She appreciated how he respected her. She knew how close Aidoneus and she grew in one day, and it felt different, it felt natural, unlike her past interactions with men. The last "man" she was with was the boy Randy, who took her to prom, just to try and force himself on her, not get his way and then spread rumors about how she tried to curse him.
Adrian pulled up the car's GPS and asked Aidoneus if he were too next. Aidoneus spoke smoothly, "Cyllenian wireless please", he heard his phone go off in Adrian's pocket as Adrian typed in the address. Adrian cursed under his breath; the phone was getting on his nerves.
As they pulled out of the complex and headed towards the upper part of town, Kore inched a little closer to Aidoneus. Her floral smell was wrapping itself around his nose. He turned his head away and looked out of the window. This woman was making something inside of him wild.
"So, Adrian, is it?" Kore asked the driver while looking at him in the rear-view mirror. Adrian nodded.
"How did you and Peter come under the employment of Aidon?" she tilted her head slightly towards Aidoneus. Adrian looked at his boss to get his approval. Aidoneus nodded in approval.
"Well file mou*, Aidon met me and Peter in high school, we were always ..." he stopped and looked back at Aidoneus again, who nodded in approval "We were always picked on. Aidon would stand up for us. He taught us to fight, and we eventually just became outcasts, all of us, we relied on each other when things got... difficult" Adrian turned his blinker on to turn right.
*My friend*
Kore looked at Aidoneus, who had his arms crossed.
"I was picked on a lot due to my appearances and my family spreading rumors about how weak I was," Aidoneus looked back out the window as he continued "I had to learn to fight from the get-go, it was killed or be killed. Everyone in my family got sent to prestigious schools while I was sent to that high school from hell" he was getting visibly unsettled. "Father said it'd make a man out of me" he uncrossed his arms and glanced at Kore.
Kore was processing this new information and got a puzzled look on her face. She turned to Aidoneus and tilted her head.
"Did you... did you happen go to Morning Springs high?"
Aidoneuslooked at her flabbergasted. "How did... You" he was cut off by Kore.
"Oh, my goodness! I knew you looked familiar, and not just because you're a Doukas brother! "She playfully shoved him. Aidoneus sat there shocked. 'She went to the same high school?' he turned to Kore.
"How did I... not ever see you?" he gestured to her hair. She giggled.
"I was always in biology class; I never really went out. I heard the teachers talking about a blonde hair blue eyed scoundrel causing trouble in every class." she giggled. "You probably heard of my rumors" she playfully pushed into him again "The witch of Biology 101" she made a silly scary face.
"That was you? Aidoneus laughed. "I thought they were talking about Mrs. Marshall! She looked more like a witch than you" he playfully nudged her. Kore let out an infectious laugh that had Aidoneus and Adrian joining in with her.
"I dyed my hair my final year hoping it'd stop the rumors, but I ended up needing to cut it all off because it looked like mud." She laughed, it pained her to recall these memories, but she was with someone who she could laugh it off with.
"I was nicknamed swamp thing" Adrian chimed in.
"That's right!" Aidoneus snickered and pointed at Adrian "You got tangled up in seaweed on our class trip to the beach, you stunk up the whole back of the bus fílos mou, I sat next you, cursing anyone who tried to say anything. "He chuckled as Adrian snorted from the memory.
* fílos mou: my friend*
It felt good to laugh at these memories. It helped Kore realize, that's all they were. She laughed even harder picturing a young Aidoneus trying to fight everyone on a bus for his friend. Adrian wiped a tear from his eye from laughing so hard. He turned the turn signal on and made a left.
"You know the one thing I miss about my high school journey" Kore said while rubbing her eyes from all the laughter. Her and Aidoneus locked eyes and simultaneously said "Hamburger Thursdays", they both let out thunderous laughter
"Lunch lady Murial always made sure to make everything horrid except those burgers" he chuckled while leaning his head against the window. He was catching his breath as he looked at how happy Kore was. Kore was trying to catch her breath and leaned into Aidoneous's shoulder.
"Oh, my god, it seems like it was just yesterday" she let out a long sigh. Aidoneus took in a deep drag of Kores smell and closed his eyes. He wished he had met her during those days.
"So, what about everyone else who lives on your mansion grounds?" Kore piped up.
"They're all employees, I don't have maids or butlers, I hate those terms. I see everyone who earns my respect as an equal. Unlike my brothers, I do not believe respect can be beaten into someone." Aidoneuslooked down at Kore who was looking up at him.
"My personal guards are just Peter and Adrian. They trained under me before everyone else. I require all my employees to train in self-defense in case someone attempts to enter my property without my permission" he adjusted himself a bit in the seat, making sure to not move Kores head from his shoulder. He continued "Each and every one of my employees were fired from my brothers' houses, I figured they'd all be more loyal if we all have a common enemy" he chuckled. "The only female I employ is Iris. She doesn't hold a residence at my home, but she runs the events my family throws and is a receptionist at the office where Hippio works"
"What about..." Kore paused, sitting up "Minithe?" she asked sheepishly. Adrian's mouth tightened as Aidoneus glanced at the floor.
"She works out of office with Iris." he sighed and returned to looking out the window. Kore didn't want to push the subject. She placed her hand on top of Aidoneus's as a silent apology.
"You've arrived at your destination. "An electronic female voiced as Adrian slowly pulled up to the shopping district.