Under The Jasmine Tree ✔

🖌 Affection

Lyra;

I tossed and turned in bed, trying to get rid of the noise around me. My eyes slowly lifted themselves, losing their sleep, and searched my surroundings for the source of the sound. I almost expected to see my friends arguing, only to see an empty room. Struggling to get up, I noticed the strong arms around my waist keeping me still, and the warm body that seemed attached to me. The sounds of sadness and despair were coming from it.

My eyes, still half-way asleep, where fixated on the person beside me. They were shivering uncontrollably, and it wasn't due to the room's low temperature, because they were heavily sweating, too. My fingers slowly made their way towards their forehead, moving pieces of hair that were drenched in sweat away from his head.

.

My mind slowly registered the setting I'm in. Apollo was writhing against...nothing. Fighting against an invisible force. He was yelling as tears streamed down his face, the front of his shirt exhibiting a line of sweat. No coherent sentences came out of his lips, only mumbles and fragments of words. Putting my hands on his shoulders, his arms still wrapped around my waist, I shook his body softly, attempting to wake him up.

He continued to wrap his arms around me, not budging a bit, holding me closer, like I'm anchoring him from slipping away into his void of fears. His head twitched to the side a few times as he voiced a few mumbles, which I can only make out a few coherent words from. They were in the lines of 'No' and 'please'.

It broke my heart seeing the person who made me smile everyday crushed like this. He was my source of happiness, and I haven't once asked if he was fighting his own demons. I haven't once helped him fight them. He made me realize many things about myself, and one of them is how I am.

"Apollo," I called him, hoping he would wake up from his nightmare. He instead trembled more violently and cried louder.

"Apollo!" I sat up hastily, suddenly realizing the seriousness of what Apollo is going through. I grabbed a nearby water bottle, unscrewed the cap, and sprinkled a few droplets of cold water on his face. He only flinched as the water made contact with his skin. I unwrapped his tightly held arms from around my waist, hoping it would give him space to breath. Even after calling his name multiple times, he hasn't stopped his shivering or opened his eyes.

Abruptly, both his eyes snapped open, and he sat himself up. His chest heaved and ascended as he exhaled and inhaled. His eyes frantically searched the room until they met mine. His brown eyes mirrored mine, both in color and expression. I let out a breath, slumping my shoulders in relief. I looked back up at Apollo trying to register what was happening. His tears were still falling, like his eyes didn't get the message that he left his fear landscape. His hands went through his hair, trying to sooth it down. I lifted both my hands up to his cheeks and moved my thumb across them, wiping away any physical remnants of his sorrows. He let out a shaky breath without removing his eyes from mine.

No words were spoken between us for a bit, all I could hear was both of our rapidly beating heart beats, until I couldn't bear the silence anymore.

"Are you okay?" Instead of replying, he closed his eyes and shook his head. Before I could grasp what was happening, he already had his arms wrapped around my waist again and his head rested on my shoulder. He had to hunch his back over to place his head on my shoulders because we were both still sitting on his bed.

"I'm so sorry that you had to deal with that." I ran my fingers through his hair. I felt his warm breath across my collar bone as he rested his head at the crook of my neck.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He shook his head and we sat in a comfortable .

"I just want to hold you." Apollo spoke for the first time since he woke, his voice still raspy and sleepy. He suddenly started shaking again as he sobbed against my shoulder. I held his trembling figure on my arms, like he was going to break at any moment.

Little did I know that the past was going to repeat itself with those same words.

"It's okay." I repeated that into his ears like a prayer, trying to convince both him and I that it was going to be okay. I started humming a lullaby, hoping to calm both our heart beats.

"You sing like a dead chihuahua," I couldn't contain my laughter. He wakes up from a nightmare and he still has the energy to make fun of my melodious voice. "You can paint a Greek sculpture, but you can't sing 'twinkle twinkle little star'."

"Not all of us are born as hot and talented musicians named Apollo Atlas Davis." I rolled my eyes playfully.

"Did you just say that I'm hot and talented? Calm down on the compliments, I might think you like me." Apollo lifted his head from my shoulder, showing me his signature smirk.

My face flushed in embarrassment, and I hid my face in my hands. I groaned when I heard his small chuckle. Apollo suddenly attacked me with tickles, making me erupt in giggles and fits of laughter.

"Stop! Stop-" I laughed even more. "I surrender!" He slowly stopped tickling me, making both of us comprehend the position we were in. Apollo was laying above me with both his arms on either side of my figure. We were both breathing heavily, never breaking eye contact.

All he did was gaze into my eyes, and I did the same to his. They had a small flicker of gold, not literally, like they hide a certain mischief behind them. He let out a shaky breath, but this time it was out of nervousness.

"What are you doing to me, Lyra Garcia?" He shook his head letting out a small chuckle.

✿ ✿ ✿ ✿ ✿ ✿ ✿ ✿

Hello my lovely readers! (And my sister who pesters me every day for a new chapter) I know this was a short chapter, but I wanted to show how much Lyra and Apollo rely on each other. To me, lyra is kind of like Apollo's guardian angel/the girl he falls in love with.

This marks the end of the first part of the story & the start of the second part! Put your seatbelts on!