Athena

Chapter 34

"All that you are is all that I'll ever need"
-Ed Sheeran

"Honey I'm home!" Apollo's voice booms through the house.

I roll my eyes while shouting back.

"Kitchen!"

Once we arrived home Ares was quick to leave us and head to his room while Grayson and I made sure to give Ivan some food. That's where we are now, gathered around the kitchen island with a bunch of snucks laying around.

Apollo enters with a giggling Noah in his arms, trying and failing to get out of his hold.

"Apollo, put me down!" He laughs.

"Not gonna happen little man. Told you not to look inside the bag." Apollo smiles while tickling Noah.

"I promise I'm not gonna tell Athena! I promise, please..."

"Not gonna tell me what?" I pipe in.

Both their heads turn around and their eyes widen comically. Apollo stares pointedly at Noah who looks down guiltily while muttering a small 'nothing'.

"Well?" I look at Apollo expectantly and Noah gets his chance to escape his arms.

"It's nothing. Just a little something I... It's not important." Apollo fumbles with his words and looks everywhere in the room but me.

In his attempt to avoid me he spots Ivan who sits innocently at the table and eats a chocolate bar.

He freezes and his eyes fly to mine, past conversation forgotten.

His mouth falls open and closes again while his eyes travel between me and Ivan.

"I swear I didn't even smoke that much. It's just that Jake had some on him, and he offered, and I... I promise it was not enough to get me hallucinating and shit." Apollo rushes out.

Gray and I exchange curious glances.

"And this is, obviously, relevant because..." I trail off with furrowed eyebrows.

Apollo narrows his eyes at a wide-eyed Ivan, with a worried expression on his face.

"Because I think I see the blonde Russian kid in our kitchen."

Ivan huffs out an annoyed breath. "What is it with you people and my hair color!"

"He speaks!" Apollo exclaims.

"Of course he speaks you dumbass..." Gray starts, shaking his head, "He's real, your not hallucinating him."

"But I'd like to see you tell Alex all about the smoking incident." I continue when a voice chimes in from the kitchen doorway.

"Yeah, I'd like that too." Alex walks in with Aaron right behind him. "But that can wait until later. Now I'd like to have a word with Ivan in my office, if that's okay."

Ivan looks up and nods slowly. "Yeah, sure."

I see how nervous he is and send him a reassuring smile to ease his worried expression.

"I'll be in my room if you need me." I announce and start to leave the kitchen when a hand rests gently on my shoulder.

"Mind if I come?" Gray asks and I nod with a small smile.

We quickly climb the stairs and reach my room. Gray doesn't waste a minute before he jumps on my bed and lays in a starfish position with a lazy grin on his face.

"Cuddle?"

"Gray..." I begin but he cuts me off.

"Please!" He almost whines. That's not the same Grayson that was in the kitchen just minutes ago.