Olympus College

Slight Anxiety

Apollo sighs loudly from beside me and I roll my eyes.

Another sigh.

I ignore him.

A louder sigh.

I sigh in return and turn to face him, my expression hardened in annoyance. "What is it?"

He looks at me coyly and shrugs. "You zoned out and weren't listening to me."

I furrow my brows before turning away again. "Attention whore."

"And I'm not afraid to admit it," he laughs and I can hear him shifting as he leans against the wall.

We're waiting outside again, about to present our speeches. This time there aren't half as many people, though that could be due to the fact that we were scheduled individual times to arrive. Apollo and I are scheduled roughly within the same time frame, so we're waiting together. He happened to drag me out of bed a lot earlier than I would have chosen, but he strode in my dorm with an enthusiastic smile and a coffee in hand that I couldn't necessarily refuse.

After pulling me out of my dorm we ate breakfast together at a picnic table on campus. I appreciate his effort, but it doesn't undermine the deep-set anxiety layered in my stomach that is proving impossible to forget.

Yet another sigh erupts from the impatient god beside me. I tilt my head towards him, closing my eyes as I gesture for him to speak.

"You okay?"

"What?" I open my eyes to look at his concerned expression.

"You just looked stressed, that's all." He looks up at the sky. "You know, for someone who presents so confident you're surprisingly insecure."

I scoff and frown. "I'm not."

"Okay, then maybe stressed?"

I stare at the ground, not giving him a response.

"Look, Hermes I didn't mean to embarrass you. It's not a bad thing at all, but if you want to talk I'm always here. Sometimes it's kind of hard to reach you, you know?"

I think back to my old friendships, then to my recent relationship with Eros. I believe they all cared, but not enough to notice when I couldn't advocate my thoughts or put them into words. I was always dragged behind them, agreeing to whatever they put on the table and acting upbeat while feeling disconnected. Maybe that's my own fault for not speaking up. It's not as if my confidence is a facade, there can be sides to a person without one of them being imaginary.

I speak, still staring at the grass under my feet. "Maybe."

Apollo breathes out before placing a hand on my arm, his other extending to tilt my head to face him. His expression isn't one of pity, but one of concern. His stark blue eyes are crinkled in worry, but a small smile rests on his lips. I place my hand atop of his and nod in acknowledgement.

"Is there anything I can do?" He asks.

I shake my head. "No, I'm alright. Just a little anxious about the speeches I guess."

His hand drops from my face and he chuckles lightly. "Fuck, me too. I'm practically shaking."

I laugh with him, both of us leaning against the marble exterior of the building, our heads tilted to the sky. I feel my phone buzzing in my pocket and frown when I see it's an unknown number. I pick up and hold the phone to my ear.

"Hello?"

"Uh, hi." A gruff voice responds awkwardly.

"I'm sorry who is this?"