Our Love: Against All Gods (a Percy Jackson Fanfiction)

R.E.D.

We'd been together for a week.  Rachel kept saying something about a threat. that she was a threat to Apollo by being with me. I refused every time, telling her I'd protect her from anything. It was always followed by a sad smile from her, like she knew something I didn't.

          We were sitting on a park bench, off campus. Rachel was leaned on me, her head resting on my shoulder. "I thought I'd never have a chance..." she muttered under her breath.

"Rachel." She looked at me, her large green eyes so innocent, her smile held promise of happiness for us. "I've been meaning to ask you for a while. Are you sick?"

"what?" her eyebrows dipped down, concerned. "John, I-"

"It's the way you talk." I couldn't look at her. I just looked up at the sky. "Rachel, are you dying?" I looked back at her. she was still staring.

"I'm- I'm sorry." she turned away. "I'm not ill, John. Nothing's killing me, it's just-" she sighed "As far as I can tell, it'll be sudden."

"What? your death? Rachel, if someone's out to get you, you need to tell someone."

"Nobody believes. That's the thing, it's the mist." She looked in to her lap. "You don't even believe in Apollo, do you?"

I hesitated, but with shaky voice I said "No, I don't. I can't."

She nodded "its what I expected. I can't blame you, you're mortal."

I took her hands "Rachel, so are you. you're mortal, and you could die. I don't want that to happen. Please."

She looked at me again. "Don't tamper with the gods' plans, John." She reached up and put a hand on my cheek. "Dying at their hands is better  than living forever without you."

"Don't be an idiot." I begged her.

"Look, I won't be going for a long time, now. Aphrodite favors us." She smiled. "But, it's only a matter of time until Apollo wins.  I'm sure Artemis will be on his side, her being a maiden and all." She had an expression of though painted on her face.

"What does that mean?"

"It means, I'll die for you, John. I... I can't say I love you. That way, it'll come slower."

"Don't die. I don't want the death to come slower, I want it to stop."

"I wasn't talking about dying. If I don't say I love you-" She pecks my cheek with a kiss. "Maybe I won't notice I am utterly falling for you."

"I want to notice."

"I'll die for you."

I leaned in to kiss her on the cheek. "I'd sooner kill myself."

Her stare hardened. "John, don't you dare. I've seen too many people die."

"You've seen people die? Rachel Elizabeth Dare, what in the world are you?"

She shrugs, stands up and stretches her arms above her head. "I'm going back to campus. I've got... art stuff to do. I'll see you later, okay?"

"Alright. I can't say 'I love you'."

"I can't say 'I love you', too." She smiled that smile girls smile when they're overjoyed. I've never gotten one of those. She turned and walked towards campus. I looked at the seat beside me where she had sat. A folded piece of paper, no bigger than a Chinese cookie fortune lay on the wood. I picked it up and unfolded it.

I'm a myth.

It read. Rachel never wrote anything after I asked her that. How had she known?