Fantasy Would You Fall In Love With Me Again?

[PastelBambi]

“I’m breaking up with you.”

A devastating sentence one could never truly be prepared to hear. No matter how many times they’ve heard it, or how many times it may have fallen from their lips, it always did sting.

Seraphina could only sit there stunned. Her carefree smile looking ill placed after hearing such news. Her mind racing a million miles a second, trying to figure out where this was coming from. Had she done something wrong? Was it fixable? Perhaps it was some joke, a real fucked up one, but a joke nonetheless.

Her boyfriend…well newly ex-boyfriend shifting uncomfortably under her stare. “

We’ve been talking for a while now, and I feel I just have more of a connection with her….”

…

“Not that I don’t feel a connection with you, or at least at first I did. You know I love you, I just feel that we’ve grown apart lately.”

….

“Say something, please—the silence is killing me…”

“How long have you, been talking?”

The question fell out of Seraphina’s mouth before she could stop it. Judging by the way Milo cringed, it had to been more than a week. Slowly she sat the glass down in her head, the shock of her sudden breakup making her forget she was even holding it.

“It just got more serious a few days ago. But….we’ve also been hanging out for the last two months.”

“Oh—more than just talking then.” Scoffing, Seraphina turned gray eyes to the window she sat beside. Cursing how beautiful the afternoon was when she felt like—well like shit. “So all those times I’ve called or tried to plan a date with you —-you’ve been with her?”

“Yes…but no, I was busy….some of those times. Sera, look at me.” Just as Milo went to reach for her hands, Seraphina abruptly stood up, leaving him grasping for nothing but air.

A cold glare sent a shiver down Milo’s back. More so as his former lover looked him up and down with nothing but disdain. Seraphina wanted to say something, wanted to take a dig at the man in front of her—however she couldn’t find the words.

The lump pressing against her throat was growing larger by the second. Threatening to break free as she stormed out of the little cafe, Milo desperately calling after her, yet not daring to follow.



Seraphina would never admit it, but that night she cried herself to sleep. Cursing Milo, his stupid girlfriend, and the world itself.

——

A week had passed, and yet she still found herself unable to leave her little apartment. Thankfully she had overtime and sick time to use at her job, unfortunately being able to out of work left her obsessively checking social media; specifically her ex-boyfriend's social account. In less than a week he had already posted pictures of his new girlfriend. The so-called “Love of his life.”


“She’s not even that pretty,” zooming in on a photo of Milo with a stunning redhead. With a loud sigh, Seraphina tucked her phone under her pillow. “, both of you suck…” closing her eyes, she pulled her blankets over her head thinking of taking a third nap that day. Well—that was until she heard her apartment door slam open. “Alright you depressed hoe, you are leaving the house today!”Stomping footsteps could be heard making their way to her bedroom door before it too was thrown open. “Come on Phina, it was one lame-ass guy. He wasn’t even that good-looking. You’d probably have ugly babies you. Consider this the world doing you a favor.”


A familiar voice echoed in the room, “Come on, let’s let some light in.” Throwing the curtains open, Lynette opened the window before going to Seraphina's bed. “Up and at them girly.” Grabbing the blankets there was a brief struggle of tug and war between Lynette and Seraphina. With one good tug, Lynette got the upper hand, ripping the blanket from Seraphina's grip—tossing the blanket onto the ground.


At first, Lynette held an almost angry look on her face, however that quickly softened as she saw just how….sad Seraphina looked. The other woman looked as though she was holding back tears once more.

“Phina look, you can’t just mope around forever. Milo’s moved on—-it’s about time you do the same. The girls and I have planned a little group—outing tonight,…” Lynette carefully avoided the word “date” “,…it will be good for you and I’m not taking no for an answer.”

“Lynette…I don’t feel like it. Besides, I know what you really mean. This group outing is just going to be a group date for you and the others. Then I’m going to get stuck watching you all get drunk and making sure nothing creepy happens.”

“No…no this time it will be different Phi! I promise!”

——

Of course, Seraphina had been right. That night had been no different than all the other group dates she had been on. With her included it had been four women and four men. A large group of eight that wasn’t so easy to watch over. At first, the pack had begun their date mini-golfing, a fun competitive way for everyone to get to know each other. Then the ‘excitement’ moved to a karaoke room. With unlimited snacks and alcoholic beverages, it wasn’t long until everyone was feeling at least a slight buzz.

Everyone except for Seraphina. While she was trying hard not to be a total killjoy, it was obvious she did not want to be there. Each attempted flirt was met with a cold stare or a roll of the eyes. Every playful competitive comment during mini-golf was completely ignored. Every so Sera would feel a quick jab to the ribs after a joke. A forced, half-hearted laugh left her throat. Dying as quickly as it came, eventually, she was left alone. She watched as the group started pairing up in the karaoke room—leaning into each other, sitting on one another’s laps, a playful squeeze being found here or there as songs were poorly sung.

Seraphina stood up as soon as one of the men came to sit beside her. Excusing herself, muttering something about needing some air. Once outside, the woman took a deep breath. Allowing the cold, crisp air to circulate through her lungs and the rest of her body. Cleaning against the rough brick of the building, Sera pulled out her phone.

Midnight.

The karaoke bars usually stayed open till five in the morning—but given how they’ve been out since four that afternoon, she was sure no one would blame her if she went home early.

“Hey Lynette—I think the alcohol got the best of me. I'm going to head home. You guys have fun! Let me know when you get home!”

Only a few seconds passed before her phone buzzed with a response.

“K! Thanks for coming out, love you!”

“Thank god…” truthfully Sera had been worried Lynette was going to talk her into staying. It seemed as though she had been pleasantly distracted.

Thankfully some buses still ran late into the night hours. With a heavy sigh, Seraphina began her track to the nearest bus stop—more than ready to go home and rot in her bed once more.

 

[Society of Strays]

Kaiser's knuckles whitened as he gripped the steering wheel, squinting his dark eyes against the darkness to try and make out faces of the people he was slowly passing as he crept up the road. This wasn't even his car. It was Marco's. He'd said he was going to get some food and hadn't come back. The son of Aries was vulnerable to getting himself into trouble, so it wasn't out of the ordinary, but Kaiser was silently cursing that he'd chosen tonight of all nights. The two were on a quest. A sort of silly quest, looking for a make-up gift for Persephone since Hades was oh-too-busy to find something on his own. It bothered Kaiser at times, the way that quests often just seemed to be the gods sending their children on errands for them. And calling it a quest. He guessed anything that dealt with the mythological beings was inherently grandeur.
They'd partnered him up with Marco. It had become increasingly important for demigods to navigate the world in pairs or groups. Solitude was allegedly becoming even more dangerous. There was a rise in dark forces, more monster attacks as of late. And last month, Josephine had gone missing. Since then, the rules had been strict. All quests would be done by multiple. But, now, Marco had put both their lives in danger and was outright breaking the terms and conditions of their voyage. He'd disappeared, wasn't answering his phone, and had left Kaiser with no information to help with finding him. Luckily, a child of Aries was usually fairly predictable. Kaiser was roaming the nightlife district of the city, searching for any potential bar fights. "I'm gonna have to actually go into the bars, huh." He muttered to himself after nearly an hour of fruitless patrol. With an audible sigh, the male found a parking space and began walking up the sidewalk. He tried to keep a low profile as usual, keeping his head down and shooting sideways glances at the people he passed to ascertain their features.
He'd tried two bars with no success and was on his way to the third when he was stopped in his tracks. Seraphina. The boy's mind went blank, shock waves rattling through his being. Seraphina. It was actually her. Grown now from her awkward pre-teen form, but unmistakably her. Golden hair fell in loose waves well past her shoulders, her unforgettable gray-blue eyes that always brought him the same comfort that gray stormy skies had, her smooth skin and strong features. She was walking alone, leaving a karaoke bar. Kaiser had stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, his dark optics locked on her, his lips parted slightly in disbelief. He'd imagined her so many times over the years... How she'd look, the person she'd become. He'd dreamed of meeting her again someday. He couldn't believe she was actually here, just waltzing up a New York sidewalk in front of him. In the next moment, Kaiser realized his mistake. There was a reason she wasn't in his life anymore. She couldn't be. Not for her own safety. He should have left, pulled his hood over his head to disguise his features and vanished into the nearest building. He should have kept her safe. But, he'd waited too long. The shock had taken too long to wear off, he'd stared at her for too long. Their eyes met and he couldn't pretend he hadn't just been ogling her like he'd seen a ghost. He blinked, snapping out of his stupor. "Seraphina... I... Hello." He managed. He assumed she'd recognize him, probably even wonder what had happened to him, why he'd disappeared after the attack so long ago. He swallowed against the lump that had formed in his throat and awaited her response.​

 

[PastelBambi]

“Seraphina... I... Hello.”

Seraphina paused mid-step as an unknown voice called out to her. She had seen him from the corner of her eye staring, watching her. She had hoped he was just some weirdo going to ask for change, or a lost tourist working up the courage to ask for directions. Unfortunately, neither seemed to be the case, worst of all this complete stranger knew her name. A small amount of dread filtered its way through her system. Did she have a stalker? Now that she was finally alone on the streets was he going to act and kidnap her?

Just in case, Sera pulled her wristlet closer to her. The pepper spray that dangled like a key chain now falling into her hand.

She regarded Kaiser with a cold stare, one he was all too familiar with. While it was never directed at him in childhood, it certainly was directed at the bullies who dared to step against her friend. A simple, silent warning—make one wrong move and it was over. Either fist would start flying or she was going to find a flaw and tear you to pieces.


“Who are you?” No warmth was found in her voice, no excitement or recognition at the sudden reunion of old friends. Perhaps she didn’t recognize Kaiser all grown up. Surly if he brought up some of their time together she would remember, wouldn’t she? Years of training left Kaiser the ability to see the tension resting in her shoulders. The way her body tensed preparing to defend or attack, how Seraphina was already calculating her next move. Glancing behind her, she took a look at the karaoke bar and gave a small nod in its direction. “If you are with Lynnies group, your friends are still inside. Their drinking well past their limit, so if you don’t want to babysit tonight I suggest maybe just avoiding the place.”

Looking back to Kaiser, gray eyes followed down his face to his feet and back up again. Perhaps he was a friend of Milo’s that she didn’t remember. God, she hoped that wasn’t the case either. Honestly, she would pick the stalker scenario over her ex-boyfriend’s, friend’s pity. If he thought she was looking for a rebound then he was sorely mistaken…though he was kinda cute…

And if he was a friend of Milo’s, then she could potentially go on a date with this man, post it all over social media, and rub it in that two-timer's face!

Haha look at us dating! We are both happy and so in love!

No…no…stranger danger!

Alarm bells rang in the woman’s head, causing her to shake off such thoughts. While the validation would feel good, she couldn’t see the point in going through with it. Besides…Milo did look happy with his new girlfriend. Happier than she had seen him in a while, he’s probably going to get engaged to her soon.

The sudden thought of Milo moving on stung deeper than what Seraphina thought possibly.

Why was she even thinking about that now?

The sensation of tears prickled the back of her eyes, it would only be a matter of time before they’d get glossy and red-rimmed. “I should really get—“

Her words were cut off as someone came rushing down the sidewalk on one of those motorized scooters, it was clear they had no intention of stopping or even slowing as they approached from behind Kaiser, on the contrary, it appeared they had sped up. Without thinking, Seraphina grabbed Kaiser by the arm, pulling him to the side of the building as the person sped past laughing at the near collision.

Like a sudden sea storm, Seraphina's anger flashed to life. The woman quickly turning around to cuss the motorist out.
Unsurprisingly, her vocabulary had grown since the last ten years. No longer was she just calling people “butt-head” or “ugly dorks”. No, no she had now evolved to calling people “dumb mother fuckers” and “pieces of shit” all in one breath.


Seraphina was without a doubt a mortal, but sometimes it was a wonder how she wasn’t a daughter of Aries or even Poseidon with how quickly her mood changed.

“Fuck, people are freaking idiots anymore. They aren’t suppose to be riding those stupid ass scooters on the sidewalks. Honestly, it should be illegal to own one—even more so when idiots like that are running about.” While it wasn’t ideal, the little scare did distract Seraphina from Milo and his hypothetical new life. No longer did tears sting the back of her eyes, her heart no longer aching—but beating fast from pure adrenaline. Her grip remained on Kaiser's arm for a few passing beats, firm yet oddly comforting.

A familiar sensation from childhood. Back when her small footsteps could be heard like rolling thunder. Stomping her way to Kaiser’s side, not caring who she elbowed or pushed her way through. Grabbing his arm and always tugging him behind her, his human shield as some of the kindergarten teachers would call her.


Of course that was only a fleeting moment, Sera dropped his arm as quickly as she grabbed him. “Have we met before? Are you one of Milos friends or something?”