as we fall ✤ octavian ✓

seven

The second bus the trio clambered onto was far cleaner than the first, though the company they shared was not in any way pleasant. A man near the back kept eyeing Laoise with what she could only assume was lust, and a woman had her pet chicken in a cage, that kept pecking at the bars every time someone walked by her.

"Her name is Beyonce," the woman said without being prompted, as Logan began to play with it, placing his fingers in between the bars and letting the chicken peck at him.

"What kind of name is that?" Octavian sneered as he sat down in the window seat. Laoise let out a sigh, knowing she'd be stuck in the middle, sandwiched between the two boys.

"She's a pop star, idiot," she elbowed him, and he responded with a frown.

"The chicken is a pop star?"

"You're hopeless," she let out a breath, doing her best not to laugh at his stupidity, if not only to give him the satisfaction that he could induce a positive emotion out of her.

The bus took off, letting out a shaky rumble as the gas caused it to speed up. The driver was either drunk or simply reckless, as his driving skills seemed to be nonexistent. He paid little mind to pedestrians, nearly running them over with the bus, and dodging between cars left and right, causing an endless amount of honking.

It was a relief indeed when they finally stepped off the bus, and Laoise found herself grateful that she hadn't lost her life due to the bus driver's ridiculously reckless behavior. If she was going to die on a quest, it wasn't going to be due to the stupidity of some bus driver.

The harbor was only a couple blocks away from the bus station, though the blistering heat made it seem far longer.

"It's hot," Octavian complained, wiping sweat off of his brow.

Laoise gulped, looking away as her heart began to race from disgust. "Of course it's hot. It's Southern California, in the summer."

"I'm not hot," Logan piped.

"Of course you're not. You're literally the child of Vulcan," Octavian grumbled. "What I wouldn't give to switch parents with you right now."

"Of course you'd want to switch," Laoise chided. "You're not even a demigod. Just a legacy."

He shot her a furious glare. "You think I don't know that? I'd do without you reminding me every five seconds."

"As long as you remind me of my Godly parent, I'll remind you of yours."

At the mention of Cupid, his expression soured, as though something with a particularly bad odor had crept underneath his nose.

"What, do you have something against my father?" Laoise snapped, noticing his disgusted face. "Are you forgetting he bailed us out of jail, after you foolishly messed up? We would've been astronomically fucked without him."

She watched in earnest, searching for a reaction from him as his jaw shifted. "He's an asshole," is what he eventually settled on, avoiding her gaze as he spoke. "A complete asshole."

"You said a bad word!" Logan exclaimed, as Laoise bit on her tongue to prevent herself from agreeing. The last thing she wanted to do was validate Octavian in any way, but she felt the exact same way he did. Cupid was an asshole, through and through, no matter how many times he'd saved her.

Octavian simply rolled his eyes, but the trio kept silent as they approached the harbor. An array of boats were sprawled across the decks, some even with keys in the ignition, ripe and ready for the taking.

"Rich bastards don't realize what they have," Octavian murmured, more to himself than to the pair.

"What's a bastard?"