Flirting with Sanity

Chapter Two-

-*-Middle Earth-*-

I’m coming, my sweet beloved, Aquarius thought determinedly, as Hermes, the carefree Messenger God gently landed him on the ground.

Hermes had a sun-kissed complexion, wild reddish-brown locks; a small and thin frame hardened by muscles, and was always dressed in a satin green tunic made for everyday travels between the mortal and immortal worlds. A pair of small spectacles rimmed with rare, red dragon scales, only accentuated his sparkling blue eyes.

Hermes sadly watched the handsome youth awkwardly attempt to walk after hundreds of years of living in Olympiana, where gravity had no affect on the creatures or beings.

Aphrodite, the lovely dove, has committed yet another cruel joke, Hermes thought as he caught Aquarius by the arm in lightning speed before he crashed to the ground.

“Steady there, dear fellow, we wouldn’t want you to smash your brains out before you carried out your punishment.” Hermes said good-naturedly.

Aquarius steadied himself and asked firmly, “Hermes, please grant me one favor.”

Hermes warily glanced at the youth’s face, for everyone on Mt. Olympus had heard of Aquarius’s remarkable cleverness. There was a burning intensity in the young boy’s amber eyes, and Hermes heaved a heavy sigh and said quietly, “What is it?”

If any of the gods or goddesses heard that Hermes, the mighty son of Zeus, was taking favors from a mortal, there was going to be a lot of rumors and tittle-tattles at Mt. Olympus.

“Take me to her! You know who she is, my darling!” Aquarius begged from Hermes, kneeling on the hard ground and grasping his hand. Aquarius was only able to touch Hermes since he had resided in the immortal world for so long.

“Aquarius, I don’t know if that’s a good idea… Time has passed in the mortal world and she has probably passed away.” Hermes said seriously, a rare emotion in the light-hearted Messenger God.

“No, she’s not dead, I can feel it! I may seem delirious, even insane, to your eyes, but I would know if she was dead. I would have been able to feel it in my heart. I would have…I would have died if she had already passed away. Do you understand, Hermes? Will you at least try to find her?”

Hermes argued with his inner conscious for a few minutes before reluctantly closing his eyes, his body spiritually lifting from his physical form, and his essence taken to all four corners of the Earth.

He asked the fearsome hawks, the lazy leopards, the spotted geckos, the blind fruit bats, the tiny beetles and snails, and sneaky boas—looking for the lost damsel with gray eyes, fair skin, and raven hair.

Finally, his search was over when his spirit hovered above an insignificant, highly observational, but scatterbrained cockroach that dwelled in a crack of a building.

“Have you perchance seen a pretty girl with black hair, gray eyes, and fair skin?” Hermes asked for the millionth time, his voice slightly hoarse from talking so much with the chatty flies and mosquitoes.

“Sire, not to be rude, but there are a lot of pretty girls with that exact description.”

Hermes was relieved to have a creature that understood the vagueness and frustration that he felt trying to find Aquarius’s girl.

“Mr. Cockroach, this girl is exceptionally beautiful. The lad that loves her turned down the perfect immortal beauty, Aphrodite, to be with her!”

The cockroach shook his head, either from disbelief or resentment, Hermes could not tell, but the little bug replied, “Aye, I think I know who she is. Her name is Vicky, no wait, Vanessa, hm, no, that’s not it either. Oh, oh, yes, it’s Valerie! Her last name starts with a E… it’s on the tip of my tongue, and—“

Hermes inquired, “Do cockroaches have tongues?”

Mr. Cockroach didn’t seem to care for the question as he continued, “—she always wears a red ribbon in her curly black hair—“

Hermes could not help but ask, “Aren’t cockroaches colorblind?”

The cockroach made an annoyed, puckering sound, “Sire, do you want the information, or not?”

“Oh, yes, yes, terribly sorry. Please continue!”

“She goes to this here building everyday from 7 to 2:30, except for Saturdays and Sundays. May I ask, who is the youth that wants her?”

“Aquarius.”

The cockroach muttered “damn fools” and “everyone wants her” under his breath, and before Hermes could question him again, the little bug had squeezed into its crack and gone from sight.

Hermes traveled back to his body and to the patiently waiting Aquarius. It took a few moments for Hermes to control his wild essence before his pale blue eyes became focused and the bright golden wings attached to his feet fluttered to life.

“Well, did you find her, Hermes?”

Hermes cheerfully slapped him on the back and responded, “Yep, and all because of a little cockroach!”

Aquarius eyes shined with excitement as he gave the smaller Hermes a crushing bear hug. “Take me to her, Hermes!”

Once he was released, Hermes looked at Aquarius from the tip of his light golden head to the soles of his leather bound feet. Aqaurius was 5’11 and still growing, whereas Hermes was 5’3. The lad still looked exactly the same as the day Aphrodite lured him into the forest.

He had light golden hair that cascaded down to his shoulders, a delicate nose, well-toned muscles, and a hidden grace and nobility in his large amber eyes that were lined with long eyelashes. He looked like a Greek youth from ancient fairy tales.

“I’m afraid times have also changed modern fashion. Your tunic and leather sandals will not settle with today’s young folk.”

“Then what shall I wear?” Aquarius asked doggedly, now fully aware that his sweet love may not recognize him at all.

Hermes thin pink lips curved into a smile as a mischievous gleam formed in his perfect baby blue pearls. With a snap of his fingers, Hermes changed his normal, satin green tunic into a form-fitting green t-shirt that said “Flying Lessons for Free” and baggy cargo jeans with gold lightning bolts on the back pockets.

Aquarius stared at Hermes’s new look and announced that it looked “profoundly alien” and “odd”. Hermes took the insults with good humor and replied, “Young folk say the darnest things these days. Let’s see you in today’s fashion!”

Once more, there was a snap of fingers, and Aquarius was fitted into a burgundy button up shirt, slouchy dark jeans with a turquoise cowboy belt, brown sneakers with lightning bolts on each side, and an Aquarius metal charm around his neck.

Hermes whistled at the change of appearance. Aquarius still had his shoulder-length pale golden locks, but he looked suave and mysterious in his new get-up.

Ladies will be sticking like flies to honey, Hermes thought happily. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt hanging around Aquarius for a little bit. Besides, I have all the time of the world, and I could show him around.

Before Aquarius could state his complaints, Hermes tackled him by the knees, lifted Aquarius on one shoulder, and flew into the air towards the gray-eyed beauty at godly speeds.

~*--Mr. Crawfish’s Homeroom--*~

“—One nation, under God, indivisible and with liberty and justice for all.” The room of uniformed kids chanted solemnly, with a few exceptions in the back, who stifled giggles the whole time.

Valerie rolled her eyes at the two boys and two girls that caused the exceptions. Could those dim-witted buffoons stop flirting for five seconds, or at least long enough to say the Pledge of Allegiance?

Valerie smoothed out her gray skirt, when a flying note landed on her desk without causing mass suspicion from her friends. Yes, she loved her friends to death, but sometimes, they needed to learn how to kill the motors in their exquisite hunt for some poor, defenseless, albeit cute guy to admire. They had their eyes on the naive, sport-loving Ryan, who was finishing his math homework at the current moment.

Expertly, she slid the note underneath her desk, and unfolded it without making a single sound. Then little by little, she revealed the surface of the note to her eyes, speed-reading her best friend’s scribbling.

It read:

To: Val

I have a feeling that something bad is going to happen today. No joke. Your horoscope today says that you should avoid all guys with the sign of Aquarius—since they’re probably bad luck. [Valerie had to bite her lip from laughing aloud]

Can I eat lunch with you today? Or does your man-eating friends have a law against guys eating with them? Tell me later. [Valerie raised a confused eyebrow. Since when did Ares, her overly cocky bf have to ask her if he could eat lunch with her?]

Well, the rest of the guys say hi. (hint: say hi to them in the hallways)

Oh yeah, and I found out that two guys are crushing on you. (hint: one of them is in our homeroom.)

See you, Snow White.

Ares

Wow, Valerie thought as she quickly dismissed her despicable childhood nickname and folded the note, second day of school and already I have two admirers. Must be a world record or something.

Valerie smiled, it probably was.

Well, for her, at least. Who would like a tomboyish, opinionated nerd like her? Certainly not her best friend, Ares, who’s been there for her since forever…

Who the hell am I trying to kid? Ares liking me? Snap out of it, Val, the only way he sees you is the rosy-cheeked, Disney cartoon version of Snow White. Valerie thought miserably.

And as she glanced at Ares playing paper football with his blonde-haired, jock friend, David, she wondered for a split second, I wish there really were fairy tale romances with handsome heroes and fainting damsels in mortal distress. That way I don’t have to pretend about my feelings…

David’s eyes sparkled devilishly right before he flicked his finger as hard as he could at the poor paper football. His aim:  the stubborn Snow White—the only girl that ever turned him down.

Ares didn’t have time to holler a warning to Valerie before the paper projectile decisively whapped her in the forehead.

All the guys in the class sniggered while silently pumping their fists in victory and softly giving high fives—especially the man who scored the paper touchdown. David was being treated like a hero coming back from a long and difficult war, bloodied up from the tragic events that ensued.

Retards with no damn dicks, thought Valerie, her eyebrow slightly twitching with annoyance.

However…revenge is always sweeter when the prey is unsuspecting. Valerie added as she glanced at David, who was waiting to see her comeback. Ares only had a weak grin on his face as he shrugged his shoulders.

Then the bell sounded off, and homeroom was over. Time for period 1 of the 2nd day of living hell.

As Valerie grudgingly shouldered her black bookbag and left the classroom, Ares slung a friendly arm around her shoulders and said, “Aren’t Wednesdays just the best?”

Valerie rolled her eyes and said, “Ares…” she mentally stopped herself from saying ‘retard with no dick’ and continued on with a lighter version of, “Ares, be a dear, and come back down to planet Earth, will you?”

Ares laughed softly, gently squeezed her shoulder, and said, “I already did—just to be by your side.”

Valerie shook her head, unsuspecting of the hidden meaning of her friend’s words, and slightly leaned on him—cherishing this single moment.

AN: Please review! Tell me if there are any mistakes, grammar crap, you know, the whole thang.

Well, not many gods have been added—yet. Hermes is my favorite god, so you’ll see the 5’3, red-haired, winged God a lot. He’s based on one of my guy friends, but his physical and personality traits are basically the same as in Greek mythology. He has winged feet and has a great sense of humor.

Yes, Aquarius will see Valerie in the next chapter—but can Aquarius handle seeing Ares by her side?

And what are Ares and Athena’s real identities? Well, you probably know, but hey, I thought I’d write it down to get your brains jogging. I wonder, though, if I should keep the scatterbrained cockroach in the storyline—I had a lot of fun writing out his dialogue!

Erm, thank you for reading my story! Stay tuned!