by Melody Rose
After that declaration, he promptly shut down the conversation. Our topics turned to lighter and more scandalous subjects, but his words about Psyche never left me. It forced me to think about Ansel, who I had seen only one night during the molding process.
We slept together again, with just as much fervor and passion as the three times prior. The pair of us laid in one another’s arms, and he asked me how the bow and arrow were coming along.
“We should be all set tomorrow,” I announced proudly. “Then he needs a day to charge it, he says, and then he can start the healing process.”
As I rested my head on his chest, I felt Ansel’s breath leave him sharply. It caused me to shift and lean up so I could face him. “What is it?”
“Part of me wishes we never found a cure,” Ansel whispered like it was a blasphemous secret. “Everyone seems so happy, and it’s… it’s refreshing.”
“Ansel,” I sighed, not wanting to get into this again. He knew why we were doing this, why I was compelled to return everything back to normal.
“I know, I know,” Ansel chided. He ran a sympathetic hand through my hair. “I just want to be with you, and when things go back to normal, we won’t be able to be together anymore.”
“When things go back to normal, you might not even want to be with me,” I scoffed, trying to ignore the pang of hurt in my chest as I said the words. “You’ll be cured of your Love Struck, and we’ll go back to the way it was.”
“They never diagnosed me fully, Cheyenne,” Ansel reminded me.
“But you still had traces,” I countered. “We don’t know what will happen when those are erased.”
“Cheyenne,” Ansel said, suddenly serious. He gently shifted so he could sit up against the headboard. I followed up to the same position but sat next to his knees so we could face each other. “I have liked you ever since I walked into the museum forgery and saw you in that atrocious yellow dress.”
I barked out a laugh. “Oh gods, that dress.”
“That dress,” Ansel recalled, a chuckle in his voice as well. “I’ve spent more hours than I want to admit thinking about you. You are one of the most beautiful and most talented and most magnificent humans I have ever met. It’s been torture being so close and yet feeling so far from you.”
His words caught me off guard. They were complimentary and kind. None of them matched the other buzzwords that the Love Struck couples said to one another.
Something shifted in my chest as I realized exactly what Ansel was saying. He picked up my hand and intertwined his fingers with mine, seeming nervous, like he needed something solid to hold on to.
“These past few days have been some of the best for me,” Ansel’s face broke out into a smile as he recalled the memories. “Not just the sex, but holding you, laughing with you. Not on a mission or fighting monsters. Just together. And I get why that might have to stop, but if...”
Ansel swallowed his words, catching in his throat like a trap. He cleared it and then continued on. “If afterward, when you graduate, you still want to be with me, then I would like to be with you. For real.”
A balloon of hope inflated in my chest at his words. Maybe this wasn’t the Love Struck talking. Maybe, just maybe, he’d felt like I had all this time. I chuckled and shook my head in disbelief. Quickly, Ansel’s face fell.
“Is that a no?” he wondered, clearly worried.
“No, no, I mean, yes, I mean…” I slapped my forehead in dismay. “Yes, I would like to be with you after graduation.”
“Really?” Ansel brightened.
“If you’re willing to wait that long,” I said, thinking of the two-and-a-half years until then, “then I will too.”
He swept me up into a celebratory kiss that led to celebratory making out and that led to celebratory sex. It was wonderful.
However, everyone’s fun was about to come to an end. Because after five days of hard labor and more patience than I ever thought I had, Eros and I completed the brand new golden bow and arrow.
It was small, no bigger than the god’s forearm, and the bow curved into its classic heart shape so that when he pulled the string taut, it created the perfect replica of the iconic shape. The arrow was a thin but beautiful thing with a point sharp enough to cut through glass. There were six trimmed gold feathers, thin as paper, that balanced out the back.
Eros spent a day resting and charging the bow and arrow so it would have the power to cure everyone on campus. The god of lust stationed himself in the med bay, as agreed upon with the Olympic Officials, who were the first to be struck.
Like the inspections for the disease, the vaccine dosage was issued in waves. I returned to class after having been excused for the past week in order to finish the bow and arrow. It was kind of nice to say I got called out of class by a god, a rare instance for any demigod.
Grecian Art was uneventful, especially since Benji wasn’t there to amuse me. He was scheduled for his dose that morning, so I opted to sit next to Janet.
“Have you been to the med bay yet?” my roommate asked, leaning over while we tried to sketch out a cornucopia.
“I don’t need to go, remember?” I reminded Janet out of the corner of my mouth, trying to be discrete.
“Oh,” Janet said, and she settled back onto her stool. There was the briefest of pauses before she started talking again. “Because I just thought, you know, if you had been, you could tell me what it’s like. I’m just really nervous.”
I reached out and patted her knee. “You’ll be fine. Eros is making it short and sweet for everyone.”
“Ugh, Cheyenne,” Janet suddenly groaned. “You got charcoal on my pants.” She quickly brushed me away, as though my hand was a spider. Then she scowled at me and worked furiously at trying to scrub away the mark.
I rolled my eyes and returned to my work. So much for trying to help.
I bolted out of class when lunch rolled around, eager to eat with my friends for the first time in days. Eros had us quarantined to the studio or the forge while we were working together. I missed my friends desperately and secretly hoped that Benji would join us, now that he was cured and would no longer be compelled to sit with Zach.
The cafeteria was a mix of emotions, thick and heavy the minute I stepped in. There was also a clear divide between those who had been dosed and those who hadn’t. Smartly, the Olympic Officials decided to dose known couples together so as to avoid any fights or disruptions. It would be way worse if one of the pair was still madly in love while the other one had been cured.
Still, the Love Struck students sat on the far side, while other students broke out into their usual groups of first years, second years, and the four branches. I smiled at the sight, knowing that things would soon be as they once were. People would have freedom and control over their emotions again. Another pang struck my chest like a gong, and I fought to ignore it.
I wasn’t taking away anyone’s happiness. I repeated that to myself like a mantra as I tried to fall asleep the night before, knowing it was the last night I would be in Ansel’s arms for a very long time. While they all thought they were happy, it wasn’t true happiness because they had been forced into it. I had to believe that if any of my fellow soldiers were in my position, they would have done the same thing.
As I stood gazing about at the other students, one site caught my eye that made everything worth it. I saw Temperance sitting with a group of friends. I must have been staring too long because when she looked up, the Fotia soldier caught my eye, and a huge smile broke out on her face. She moved her way over to me, and I couldn’t help but mirror her bright smile.
“So, rumor has it I have you to thank for getting me reenlisted,” Temperance said, her voice tight with emotion.
“Oh, I don’t know about that,” I said sheepishly. “There were a lot of us--”
“There’s no need to be modest, Cheyenne,” Temperance said with a firm tone. “You should take the credit, especially when it’s due. No one else made the bow
and arrow that helped all of us. That was all you.”
“Well,” I said with an audible swallow, “thanks. I’m glad to see you’re back.”
“I’m glad to be back,” Temperance agreed.
“And Charlie?” I asked cautiously. “Is he--?”
“Yeah, he’s back too,” Temperance informed me, with a small smile playing at the corner of her mouth. “But they stationed him off-campus as an extra precaution.”
“I’m sorry,” I said, my heart hurting for her at the loss of him.
“It’s okay,” Temperance said with a shrug, but her soft eyes let me know that it wasn’t really okay. “It’s not like we could be together anymore, anyway. Once everyone’s cured, the relationship ban will go back into effect.”
“Yeah, I guess it will,” I said, the guilt returned to my stomach with a grumble.
“Anyway,” Temperance said with a sharp inhale, “I just wanted to say thank you. I don’t know what I would be doing without your help.”
I tried to relish in the fact that I had basically saved two soldiers’ lives and their careers with the Military. But there was still some lingering guilt that I wished would go away. My eyes scoured the cafeteria for one of my friends, hoping for an immediate distraction.
I spotted Darren at the end of one of the long tables and immediately went to him without even grabbing a tray first. I was excited to see him, but I paused cautiously when I approached my friend. The last time we had seen one another had been at the dance when he tried to kiss me. I didn’t know what he remembered of that night, but I knew I would do my best to move past it. So I inhaled some courage and slid into the seat across from him.
“Hey you,” I said, perhaps a little too brightly.
Darren looked up from his meal of baked mac and cheese. The spoon paused on the way up to his mouth as he caught sight of me. The noodles slowly drooped off the silverware and collapsed back into the bowl with a sploosh.
“Cheyenne, I…” Darren started, but I held up a hand.
“Apology accepted,” I said right away, not missing a beat.
The spoon clattered back into the bowl as Darren dropped his head in his hands. “I can’t believe how foolish I acted. I don’t even know what came over me.”
“It’s okay,” I reassured him. “You weren’t yourself.”
“But that’s the thing,” Darren said, suddenly looked up, his face grave. “I was. I was aware of what I was doing the whole time I was doing it. It was like I had no filter, no sense of right or wrong. It was unnerving.”
I grimaced at his description. “That sounds like hell.”
“This whole semester has been hell,” Darren complained. “Do you know how many sex-related injuries I have had to deal with in the med bay? Lost condoms, genitals stuck in things or other people, or things stuck in people. And demigods may have thick skin and fast healing, but we still can get STDs, okay! And they are not pretty.”
Darren collapsed again and stared into his mac and cheese with a somber expression, as if someone had just spit in it. I waited a moment to see if he would continue, but it seemed as though he had run out of steam.
“That sounds shitty,” I said sympathetically.
“You’re telling me,” Darren grumbled. “Not only that, but the stupid Olympic Officials have also gone back to ignoring everything I say.”
“What now?” I prompted.
Darren leaned in and beckoned me forward with a finger. I obliged his request and listened.
“Don’t get me wrong,” he began, his voice low and conspiratorial. “I’m super grateful you made the bow and arrow with Eros, and the whole Love Struck thing is going to be over, but something’s still bothering me.”
“What?” I asked, a mix of intrigue and worry coming over me.
“We still don’t know where it came from,” Darren whispered. “We have no idea what the source was of the initial strain.”
“Esme stole Eros’ bow and arrow,” I explained, not understanding the problem. “I thought Tené and Fiona explained that to you.”
“You’re telling me that Esme was jumping around campus hitting people with a magic arrow without anyone seeing her?” Darren said skeptically. “You and I both know that they beefed up security after the harpy attack and her escape. There’s no way this was her.”
I rubbed my cheek with one hand, not liking what my friend was implying. “Then what was it, Darren?”
“That’s the thing,” Darren said as he threw up his hands and raised his voice. Catching himself, he lowered his arms and his voice once again. “I have no idea, and they won’t let me try to figure it out. They’re just satisfied with Eros’s cure and his explanation that the other arrow will die out. Well, that’s nice and all, but what happens if there’s another outbreak? Are we just going to throw a dance every time and hope Eros shows up?”
“Gods, I hope not,” I moaned. “That dance was a lot of work.” Then a thought occurred to me, I might take a chance to make my distressed friend laugh. “But hey, Eros and I are best buds now. Maybe I can drop him a line or something, huh?”
Darren was not amused. He stared at me blankly and blinked once. “I’m serious, Shy.”
“I know you are,” I adjusted back to my regular tone, no longer joking. “And I think you’ve got a very valid point. I wish we knew where it started too, but right now, we have to focus on getting everyone cured.”
“But then I won’t be able to study them anymore if everyone’s back to normal,” Darren complained.
I wanted to say something more substantial, something that would make him feel better, but I got the impression that anything I said right then that wasn’t explaining the origin of the Love Struck disease wasn’t going to do anything to change Darren's mood. Luckily, Violet swooped in with the next best thing.
“Hiya, friends!” she said cheerily. In each hand, she carried tarts the size of her palm. She set them down in front of each of us, accompanied with a spoon. “You looked gloomy, Darren, so I thought I’d bring you an apple tart and a pear one for you, Cheyenne.”
“Ooh, thanks, Vi,” I said as I scooped up one of the spoons and dug in. The tart was like a mini pie, still warm in the middle as I dipped in. The crust broke with a satisfying crunch, and I hadn’t even taken a bite yet.
“I’m too worked up to eat,” Darren said, bouncing in his seat a little.
“Oh, come on!” Violet pushed. “I used the apples from my orchard. They’re some of the only ones left in the season before winter takes everything over.”
“If he’s not going to eat it, then I will,” came another voice from behind me.
I whirled around, looking over my shoulder as I recognized the voice instantly. Benji stood with his hands in his pockets, a perfect swoop to his hair, and a genuine smile I felt like I hadn’t seen in ages.
“Benji!” I cried out. I jumped to my feet and wrapped my friend into a big hug. He met me with equal enthusiasm, squeezing me so tight I thought my lungs might explode.
The son of Demeter released me and offered Darren a fist bump across the table, reading his friend well enough to know that he wasn’t in any mood to hug. Violet held out the apple tart like an offering, and he lifted it from her hands regally.
“For me? Oh, you shouldn’t have,” Benji said as he sat down next to me, swinging one leg over the bench.
It was great to see my friend again. He walked right over to us and sat down like he did for every meal last year. There was something clean and clear about his expression, like a fog had been lifted from around his eyes.
I thought back to the last five days with Eros, making the bow and arrow, and then even to the difficult moments before that, like planning the dance and dealing with Oliver’s stupid performance. All of it had been for Benji. I had done it for the campus too, but throughout the whole process, my friend had always been at the forefront of my mind. It was amazing to know that it had paid off.
“How are you feeling?” I asked, putti
ng a hand on Benji’s shoulder, just as he was about to dig into the tart.
He put his spoon down to answer me. “I’m feeling good. Kind of stupid about the whole thing, but what’s nice is that I don’t regret anything like some students do.”
“You’d think Eros would be able to clear that up too,” I said as I rolled my eyes. “I should talk to him about adding some sort of mental forgiveness or wipe or something like that.”
“Since when do you just ‘talk to Eros?’” Benji asked through a mouthful of tart, no longer waiting.
“You miss a lot when you don’t sit with us at mealtimes,” I said, only half-joking.
“Sorry,” Benji said with a shrug. He took another bite and moaned. “Gods, Violet, this is so good.”
“Thanks,” our friend beamed. She put her chin in her hand. “So, what was it like? Being Love Struck?”
Benji licked some crumbs off his lips. “You know, it wasn’t all bad, I’ll be honest. But most of the time, I felt like I was just watching myself. Like, I knew what I was doing, and I had these feelings for Zach, but it was also exhausting because it was like the only thing I could think about.” Benji flattened his hands down on the table, having scooped up the tart in three and a half bites. “Even when I wanted to focus on schoolwork or go work out or anything, the world wasn’t clear around me unless he was with me too. Everything I did, I had to do with him. There just wasn’t any alternative. It’s like we were…”
“Connected?” I asked, supplying the word I’d come to loathe throughout the course of the last several weeks.
“Yes!” Benji said, snapping his fingers. “Exactly.”
“Well, that sounds utterly miserable,” I said as I clapped a hand on Benji’s back. “We’re glad to have you back.”
“It’s good to be back,” Benji said. Then he put a fist to his chest and heaved out a burp right in Violet’s face. She reeled backward, completely disgusted, while both Darren and I laughed at her reactions and the red spreading up Benji’s face.