collision

chapter 9; pantheon

Majestic, white, ancient.

That's the first three adjectives coming to Troye' mind when he opens his eyes to the next world. It's not like anything he's seen so far. It's the blatant opposite of Wonderland—everything here is thoroughly and thoughtfully constructed, marking every corner and way with massive marble poles, reaching up and up and into the sky. You can't see them end, and Troye wonders if they ever do.

The few houses they can catch a glimpse of don't even look like houses. It reminds Troye of tiny churches, chapels, all white with detailed handwork engraved on porches and roofs.

"So," Jacob starts, blinking a couple of times to get used to all the white. "This isn't the
Underworld, it's too bright. And it isn't Olympus. It's not Earth, I'm guessing it's nothing of the

Norse, either, because this environment is too similar to the Greek."

Troye is about to ask him what his conclusion is, but there's a sudden, joyful, and very unfamiliar voice behind them answering in his place.

"Yeah, you're in Pantheon."

Marc flinches so hard he almost knocks Jacob over, Jacob inhales sharply, and Troye flies a fair bit over their heads, all three turning with the speed of light to find out what creature has found them.

The guy standing before them is blond, short, and most remarkably, the happiest creature Troye has ever seen in his entire life. He's actually positive he hasn't ever seen a smile that unapologetically wide before; not even on himself. And that sure is something. Two small, feathery and white wings are poking out from his back, and Troye almost want to reach out and touch them because they look so soft.

"Hello boys!" the new guy greets them cheerily, letting his eyes scan the three creatures before him quickly. "I'm Cory. And none of you are from here, are you?"

Marc clears his throat, taking it upon himself to explain the situation. Which is good, because he seems to be the one to recover from the surprise first. "Um. No. Not really. We actually, we have no idea where we are, so if you could—"

But he doesn't get to finish his request.

In the time he's stepped forward, opened his mouth and started talking, the new boy has managed to completely drop his dumbly enthusiastic smile and shoot up to him until they're only inches apart. He presses a pale finger to Marc's lips, effectively silencing him.

Now, this is getting a little bit weird.

"You are Marc," Cory declares, and he seems almost wonderstruck at first. Troye watches as an amazed kind of haze swoops over the boy's features, to then again be replaced with the giddy, overly excited smile he'd had on before, and he backs away from Marc's space.

"You, the Red Queen, this guy," Jacob whispers to Troye. "What exactly is this fixation with Marc?"

Troye stops a loud snort from erupting in the last minute, and settles for a faint smile and a roll of his eyes. "He's adorable, Jacob, that's what. Likeable. You wouldn't be familiar with the phrase."

He gets a scoff in response, but Troye sees the slight deepening of Jacob's left dimple, and Troye can't stop the corners of his own mouth to perk a tiny little bit upwards.

(This is weird. They're not supposed to smile. This is a harsh exchange of words. What is going on. Troye doesn't know.)

Marc just kind of stands there, swaying uncomfortably back and forth on his toes to his heels, and he awkwardly scratches his nose, the words he was going to say before Cory's interruption completely forgotten in his fluster. "Um. Yeah. That's me."