It was Tuesday night, which meant girls' night and lots of partying, but neither Shanya nor Lily was up for it. Shanya because she was drained with all the deadlines she had to meet at school, and Lily because she was at odds with Graham. Again.

So they sat together on the white bench with cushions outside their front porch, two bowls of popcorn resting on their laps.

Usually, they played games but today, probably because of the still stars flaring in the night sky in a look-alike image of Orion, the topic was on Greek gods and goddesses.

She and Lily did not have a lot in common. But they did share a love for Greek myths. They were both deeply fascinated by the proud and complicated gods and goddesses of old and captivated by their strange stories. Shanya's personal favorite was Medusa's. Sad, cringe-worthy, and totally undeserving. A beautiful loyal maiden destroyed by a desire-driven god and a jealous goddess. Although Shanya had to admit that having the power to kill men with just one look was one cool gift.

"Aphrodite or Nemesis?" Lily asked, her rich brown eyes daring Shanya to pick the worst.

"Nemesis, definitely. Love is overrated." Even as the words left her lips, Shanya's heart skipped a beat. Nemesis was the goddess of retribution and in Shanya's opinion, the most powerful goddess of all time. Vengeful, a purveyor of justice. She was actually the one who led Narcissus to his death. Seeing the handsome hunter Narcissus treat his admirers with contempt, Nemesis lured him to a pool where he saw and fell in love with his own reflection, eventually withering away and dying from being unable to look away from his own beauty.

If Paris were here, she'd have told him he could learn a thing or two from that story.

She wished she could stop thinking about him.

"Here, here," Lily agreed with a subtle shake of her head, her gold-tipped braids glimming. Under the night sky, her hazel-nut skin was smooth and lovely, it all but shone. Honestly, it was a little unfair that Lily naturally looked so beautiful—especially while wearing boyfriend jeans.

"Love is overrated," she continued, sending a sly grin at Shanya. "So are we gonna talk about that kiss you and Paris shared, or are you going to continue acting like it never happened or that I never saw it?"

Shanya felt her insides flare up but kept schtum, knowing that when it came to scandalous activities of an intimate nature, Lily was a dog with a bone.

Said dog gave her a mischievous smile. "From what I and practically everyone saw at that engagement party, you could have that guy eating at your feet."

"I could say the same about you and Travis."

Lily flinched. It was so automatic that Shanya laughed out loud, especially when she noticed how deeply troubled Lily seemed about it. "You know he likes you, right?"

The way Lily averted her eyes confirmed Shanya's statement. "He's been very... honest about his feelings towards me."

A few seconds passed and Lily said nothing else which was unbelievable since she loved to talk and rarely remained tight-lipped about juicy information. It made Shanya all the more aware that this was not some superficial connection. "Well? What did he say?"

Lily turned contemplative. "He said he's wanted me since the first time he saw me laughing at him atop the stairs on that day when you kicked him in the balls."

Shanya hid a triumphant smile as the sweet memory flared up in her mind. Lily went on.

"....and that he knows I feel the same way. Well, he's right on that score. But I want every hot guy I meet. He's not special."

Shanya chuckled as she gazed at the cold determination on her friend's face. Lily may be materialistic and talkative, but when it came to matters of the heart, she was well guarded, her walls thicker and higher than the Great Wall of China.

"But when he kissed me—"

'He kissed you?" Shanya's eyes widened to the point where she thought it would pop out. She was glad there were no popcorn in her mouth because she certainly would've choked. "When did that happen?"

Lily lowered her eyes a little. "The first time he came to give you driving lessons. It was a chaste kiss, it meant nothing."

Her first driving lesson. That was nearly two months ago. A new thought hit her just then. Lily had flown to Hawaii a few days after for her baecation with Graham. If they had actually shared a kiss, it was no wonder she'd gone. Knowing Lily, she preferred to run away the minute something felt real.

It meant nothing, Lily had said. Riiight.

Shanya was laughing. "I thought you hated the dude."

"I do. Did. I don't know." There was genuine puzzlement in her friend's tone and a faraway look on her face. Shanya could already guess what her friend was thinking. Graham. Personally, Shanya didn't care two shits about him. Graham was a tool and unless he somehow un-tools himself, she was #TeamTravis. And if she was being honest, Travis had begun to grow on her. He might be a total ass, but he was a much better candidate. However, that was really up to Lily to decide.

Shanya placed her hand on her friend's.

"So all that animosity towards him was because you felt guilty about Graham."

Lily nodded, and Shanya wondered how she had missed it.

"Do you like him?"

"I don't dislike him."

Shanya rolled her eyes and returned her hands back into her bowl of popcorn.

"You deserve to be alone, Lily Harris."

"Oh yeah?" There was a mischievous glint to Lily's face as she cradled her popcorn bowl. Shanya knew that look all too well. She tensed and sat up properly on the bench.

"Lily... if you're thinking of throwing that at me, don't."

Lily gave her a side grin. "See, that statement confuses me. Do you mean don't throw it, or don't think?"

With that, Lily emptied almost all the popcorn in her bowl on Shanya, giggling uncontrollably as Shanya shrieked and flew off the bench, frantically brushing away the sticky contents off her body.

"Jesus Lily, what are you, 12? This is my favorite shirt!" She glanced at her now messy white cotton sweatshirt, adorned with flakes of popcorn and sugar.

Lily simply continued to laugh, gripping her belly. Shanya was about to empty all the popcorn in her bowl on her friend's pretty head when Lily suddenly ceased laughing. Then a familiar voice spoke a little ways behind her.

"Don't stop on my account."

Shanya whirled around to find a grinning Travis walking up to them, dressed in black jeans and a light blue shirt that displayed his biceps rather attractively. She glanced back at Lily—her entire body had tensed.

O-oh.

"Travis? You're three days too early for our driving lessons, Bud."

It was a stupid thing to say and she knew it, but she would have said literally anything to end the awkward tension and raging hormones that hung in the air.

He came to a stop at the very edge of the porch. His eyes lingered on an apprehensive Lily before turning his gaze to Shanya, hands folded behind his back.

"Relax, I'm not here for you."

Duh.

"I meant to congratulate you on that erotic kiss at your engagement party, though," he teased. "Could've fooled me."

Shanya only glared at him, deciding she wouldn't feel bad about the hell she knew was going to break loose and burn him soon enough.

Lily finally broke her silence. "Why are you here."

A demand. Not a question.

Travis flicked his eyes back at her, his gaze solemn. "I want to talk to you."

"Ever heard of a phone call?"

"Does that mean you're finally willing to give me your real number?"

"Only if you swear you'll leave."

"Depends, will you run to Antarctica if I kiss you before I leave?"

Shanya gulped, shifting from one foot to the other. Nope, she was wrong. She was feeling very bad standing here, enduring this... What was this anyway? Doesn't matter. This was too much emotion and awkwardness for one day. And it was getting out of hand.

Just as Lily rose up from her seat, her eyes glistening with defiance, Shanya cleared her throat uncomfortably. Two pairs of eyes stared back at her.

Another gulp. She took two steps back, her hands rising up in defense.

"Didn't mean to er, interrupt this little lover's quarrel so, I'm just gonna go... anywhere else."

Besides, she needed to change her popcorn-infested sweatshirt, and judging by the way her body was itching, it was safe to say that some had attached themselves to her bare skin. She disappeared behind the front door before the two could say anything as a response.

Releasing a small sigh of relief, she leaned against the door, waiting. Just because she felt highly uncomfortable witnessing them argue did not mean she couldn't listen in. Shanya tiptoed her way to the nearest window and peered out. Thankfully, the lights in the living room had been switched off so they couldn't see in, but she could very well see outside because of the lit front porch. She had the perfect view of them. Their expressions could use a little more light, but she could see enough.

Satisfied with her hiding spot, Shanya settled in.

"—fully grasp the situation here. I don't know you," Lily was saying, her shoulders still tensed.

Travis took a step forward, not exactly too close to Lily but close enough. She seemed to be keenly aware of how dangerously close he was too because although she squared her shoulders, she took a small step back.

"My name is Travis Junior Williams. I was born in West Virginia, 1990. I'm the second oldest brother to a family of eight. I love dogs, hate cats. Love Ketchup, hate mayonnaise. I'm a Saggitarius, an improvisator, and a Marvel fan. When I was younger, I wanted to be a preacher. My mother was one, her mother was one, her mother's mother was one so I believed it was predestined. But I soon realized that all the things I really liked to do were either immoral or illegal so I became a bodyguard. I don't believe in second chances or coincidences. I don't believe in miracles, I don't believe that right is right and left is wrong. I believe in simplicity, open windows, and clarity. I believe normal is overrated. I don't have a lot of friends and I've never really been in love. But," he took a step forward, trailing his hand along one black braid on her hair, " there's this girl, beautiful and wicked, whom I adore."

"Travis—"

"I adore you, Lily. I have... for a while. I want to know everything about you."

Lily stared at him for a few seconds and Shanya could see she was trying her darnest not to break out into a sob. Poor Travis was baring his soul to her friend, letting her see into his heart—all the good and all the bad, and she had a feeling Lily was going to tear his heart out.

Subtly, Lily shook her head and took another step away from him.

"Look, Travis, we have chemistry, that's it. I will even say that this, whatever this is, might have some potential. But that kiss? It was just one unimpressionable kiss, not a marriage vow. A moment of passion and a lapse of sanity do not make soulmates. So what are you doing?"

Before Shanya could blink, Travis crossed the rest of the distance between them and cradled Lily's face tenderly in his hands. To Shanya's utter shock, Lily let him.

"You know what I'm doing. You've always known. Stop looking for excuses. Stop running away from me. Stop denying what you feel. I know you have a boyfriend and I don't care. Alright? I don't care. I only care about you. About this spark between us."

From her post, Shanya was grateful for the silence of the night as she could pick up every word. How juicy! Paris would bare his teeth when he found out he missed this. Again, she wished she could stop thinking about him.

"I'm - I- " Lily's voice was breaking. But she looked up and squared her shoulders in determination. "It doesn't change anything."

For once, Shanya agreed with her friend. Merely caring for someone wasn't the end all be all in a relationship. She certainly wouldn't leave her boyfriend for someone who only "cared" about her.

Travis was gazing directly into Lily's eyes, his hands still on her cheeks. Shanya couldn't see it properly but she knew they were intense.

"If I told you that you're the last thought I have before I sleep and the first thought I have when I wake," Travis said as he kissed her forehead. "If I told you that kiss you called unimpressionable meant more to me than I could ever hope to understand—nevermind the fact that when I think about those same lips against your boyfriend's all I want to do is slam his face against a stone building," Lily scoffed at that but he laid a kiss on her left eye, "If - if I told you my life has no meaning without you, Lily," Another kiss on her right eye, "would that change anything?"

Holy crap, what is happening?

Shanya could scarcely believe her ears or her eyes. Travis said that? Travis? Who knew the rascal was such a romantic. A little voice in her head told her this was too intimate for her to be eavesdropping on, but her curiosity overrode it.

If Travis so much as said the L-bomb, she was very certain Lily would run into the streets and let herself get run over by a car. So she was staying right here... To prevent that, of course.

Lily looked like she wasn't breathing. Several minutes passed, and Shanya started to wonder if she had to swoop in to save the day. But then Lily's hands traveled to the nape of his neck, their lips were so close they were almost touching.

"Yes."

"How?"

"Because it would help me admit that I feel the same."

Shanya's jaw hung open just as Travis pressed his lips against Lily's. She slowly kissed him back, and he pulled away for a moment, looking into her eyes as if asking for permission to continue. Lily all but crushed her lips against his, deeply and full of need.

Shanya was too stunned to do anything but watch.

"Travis," Lily said into his mouth.

"Yes?" His mouth was still moving against hers.

"Did you really want to be a preacher?"

Travis laughed, "You're never gonna let me live that down, are you?"

"Not ever. And by the way, your stubble is scratching my face."

"Oh!" Travis released her mouth abruptly and they both began to laugh. Lily put her hand on her chest, her eyes glistening with tears while Travis rubbed his jaw, matching her hilarity. Shanya felt her heart soar at the sound of their laughter and the utter happiness on their faces but stopped short at Lily's next words.

"And we have an audience."

She'd been caught. Again, two pairs of eyes turned to her and her face warmed deeply despite the chill in the air. Lily shook her head, her hands folded across her chest. Beside her, Travis was rubbing his jaw, his eyebrow raised quizzically as if to say "enjoying the show?"

With more tenacity than she felt, she opened the window just a fraction and smiled. "Carry on."

She shut it just as quickly and headed straight for her room, the red roar of embarrassment never leaving her stomach.

When Shanya opened the door to her bedroom, there was something that made her nervous. It could have been the tincture of another aroma or the temperature being too cold—like a window had been opened in her absence. She wasn't sure. Her instincts told her to run, call for Travis, but she decided she was being silly and walked in regardless.

No sooner had she hit the light switch than a golfing iron hit her in the head. She felt the sharp pain and saw the second blow come for her abdomen before she lost consciousness.

A/n: my, shanya can't catch a break. but your votes help:-)