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See, contrary to the beliefs of anyone gazing upon you from above with all-knowing, omniscient eyes as they judged every decision you made, you were not stupid.

You really were not.

"I mean, yeah, we can drop you home," Hana and Aurem grinned at each other as you rubbed the back of your neck bashfully, regretting (not for the first time today) your decision to run to the bus instead of your car that was only a few blocks away in the museum parking lot because you'd gotten up at an ungodly time that morning, far too late for your liking, and you'd been too busy trying to make yourself coffee without waking Taehyung up that you hadn't thought about the entirety of the situation you were caught up in. "You just need to spend more time with us, huh?"

You rolled your eyes as you lightly backhanded Aurem in the stomach, something you'd done for years, had done all morning, and would continue doing for the rest of your life.

And yet the situation you were in still struck you beyond thoughts of the rest of your life. As you said before, you weren't really aware of it this morning, with the ambivalence of it all...

But now you were.

And you were also aware that it was bordering on 5:30 in the evening, when the shadows were beginning to lengthen and your classes had ended, instead leading to your daily library study sessions with your best friends...

And although you had been pretty stupid in the morning, taking public transport when you'd been warned that there were monsters on your a*s and Taehyung was about a quarter mile away, you were not going to be prideful and idiotic and get yourself killed like those dumb leads in horror movies because monsters liked to hunt after dark.

No, you weren't going to get yourself killed.

You were going to ask for a ride.

With pepper spray and a mini taser in your backpack.

See? You were smart!

You didn't need a certain red-haired demon who had given you permanent brain damage over the month you'd gotten to know him to protect you.

You didn't need him beside you with his infamous boxy grin that shielded his playful smirks, arm slung over your shoulders or curved around your waist like it was meant to be there in a sign of possession that never failed to send your pulse ticking.

You didn't need him here, messing up the logical side of your brain and complete and utterly ruining the only weapon you could wield, the only tool you could defend yourself with.

Your mind.

Taehyung was messing with your mind, and that was something that you'd never be able to stand for.

You took a long, steadying breath, the deepening blue of the sky above you giving you something to tether to. You'd been having a very calm, demigod-free day up until now. There was absolutely no need to ruin that.

"Hey! Y/N!" Aurem called from the shotgun seat, snapping you from your thoughts and flashing you a sweet smile that made your lips involuntarily curl upwards too, "Get in the car, unnie, Hana and I have somewhere to be!"

Your eyebrows arched as you slipped into the backseat of Hana's black Dodge, leather seats cool beneath your palms as you slid to the middle, dark interior of the car a complete contrast to Aurem's head of pale pink, short bob of hair. "You two have somewhere to be?" you echoed, the lilt to your tone going unnoticed by Aurem but making Hana's eyes (hazel contacts today) flick to you in the rearview mirror, suddenly dangerously panicked, "Without me?"

Both Hana and Aurem's eyes went big, but for different reasons. Not catching on to the mischievous smirk that danced over your lips, Aurem turned back to you with a realization sparking over her face, suddenly looking very guilty. "Not— oh, not to leave you out or anything, Y/N!" she rushed to correct yourself, and you but down on your lips to contain your laughter as Hana gave you very clear 'STFUUUU' eyes in the mirror, "We just... Hana and I were going to go watch a movie tonight, for fun. If you want to come, you totally can, we just assumed, since you're so busy these days—"

You were half tempted to take that offer, actually. One, because this was literally a dream come true and you needed to tease Hana as soon as possible for managing to score this with the love of her life, and two, it would be so much fun to see Hana squirm... but no.

You couldn't do that to your friend. Hana would probably kill you if you said yes.

And besides...

A flash of guilt rippled through you as you once again looked at the sky, then down at your phone as Hana rolled out of the parking lot, checking the time. 5:36.

Taehyung... Taehyung was probably worried sick.

No, no, that name is forbidden.

"Nah, you two have fun," you winked at Hana through the rearview mirror and tried to hold back your snickers as she flushed a bright red, "I think I need to study some more anyway."

"You dry-a*s b*tch," Hana clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes, scoffing, "you're literally the last person on the planet who needs more studying, smarta*s. Why don't you go do something fun? Or is that impossible when we're not there to hold your hand every step of the way?"

"Don't be mean!" Aurem admonished, even though you were laughing yourself (that was how you and Hana communicated: deal with it), "But yeah, I mean, she kind of does have a point."

"Okay, come on, we all know classes and studying is boring, but they're important!" you admonished, making both of your friends groan, reach back and call you a nerd, "Stay in school, you heathens!"

"I won't if my psych major keeps acting up," Hana grumbled. You leaned over the driver's seat and tweaked her ear, and she yelped in pain, whipping her hand around to swat at you but stopping when Aurem giggled and gently pushed her in the shoulder. 

THEN she softened and melted like an ice cube, red flickering over her cheeks and smile making her lips turn up. 

Lovestruck dumba*s. 

Aurem's voice turned more sly when you settled back in your seat, chuckling. You three had been chatting all day, this sort of banter was normal for you— the constant complaining from Hana about her psych major was also a huge topic point (with you smacking her upside the head every time she said the words 'drop out'), but despite that, you weren't exactly prepared when Aurem let her dainty eyebrows turn up, eyes widen innocently: "Okay, sure our exams are important, but you should be going on more... outings... with Taehyung, you know? Surely a minute with that man couldn't possibly be boring, and you definitely need the distraction. Get out there on another date!"

You, as expected, promptly choked on your spit as the car drove over a speed bump, mouth moving faster than your mind. "Da— dates? What in the world do you mean by dates? More dates? I've never even been on a date with—"

Hana slapped Aurem in the shoulder and she quickly corrected herself. "Well, I just assumed you've been on dates with him... you know... uh... fancy clothes, and all?"

You reared back in suspicion, her awkward words tickling something in the back of your mind, but you didn't pay that much attention to it as Hana quickly chimed in, her voice lowering to a mischievous, teasing purr that was very unlike her. "But even if you haven't, what stopping him from making a move soon?"

A lot of things. A lot of things were stopping him.

You let out a quiet sigh as the fight left you, instead leaning against the window dully.

See, this was what wasn't fair. Because Aurem and Hana could be snickering at the wholly affronted look on your face right then, but they wouldn't know how much torture your brain had been through trying to regain control over itself. Trying to sort through the mess of emotions that had stemmed from last night.

Guilt. Regret. Confusion. A flustered sort of smile that always managed to wound on your face whenever you thought of a certain Kim Taehyung.

Yeah... you were tired of this.

Almost as much as you were tired of the feeling of complete and utter weakness that had infested your being so much that you were seeing a certain red-haired demon in every flash of red in your mind's eye.

Like, for example, how you were totally just minding your business in class earlier today and BOOM, out of nowhere, in the corner of your eye, you could almost see that lean, long-legged form with his legs spread in a position that screamed 'cocky bastard', that arched, strong brow, that sly, mischievous smirk around the lips that chewed on the back of a pen when his dark eyes cut to you.

And his grin would widen when you stiffened at the fingers that would reach out, play with the hem of your shirt and graze your skin until you lost it and glared at him for disturbing your concentration. His sultry gaze would deepen, hold yours and he'd get far too close to your face in a slow, teasing manner that would be in NO WAY socially acceptable for a lecture hall, but his whisper would be husky and deep and mischievous and close enough to your ear that a shudder rippled down your spine, ever-responsive to this powerful, powerful man.

"Aren't I more deserving of your attention than this dull lecture, love?"

And then you'd snap out of it and promptly want to rip your own hair out.

Frankly, your brain should be cancelled.

CANCELLED, DAMN IT.

Unconsciously, your fingers reached up to tug at your hair, tangling the strands around your digits and pulling at them hard enough to sting, just a little bit.

This wasn't the first time Hana or Aurem had made a sly comment about your 'boytoy' today, but you still couldn't help your lip from curling and you letting out a long sigh, letting your head defeatedly rest against the windows and watching the city whizz past.

(Something Taehyung still tended to enjoy doing, despite having lived with you for over a month and having been in enough car rides to get over the novelty of the sight).

Your friends exchanged glances as you finally, after a long day of studying testing strategy and going over review work for your upcoming exams, allowed your mind to wander.

You, staring out the window and half-listening to Hana complain about her immensely irritatingly nice teachers, decided that you hated Kim Taehyung.

A lot.

Because he made you feel things that you weren't supposed to feel.

You were doing things that you had promised yourself a long, long time ago that you could
never again do.

And yet here you were, weren't you?

You weren't supposed to be gazing at him with interest and faint admiration as he dramatically recounted tales of his back when he was still free, stories of his bravery and wild spirit and skill with his swords, because how could you not be completely enamored with a free history lesson? You weren't supposed to be taking him to parties and letting him hold you in your points of weakness and introducing him to your friends so he could charm them to hell and back. You weren't supposed to be kissing him on the cheek when in the lair of the f*cking goddess of love. You weren't supposed to be buying him strawberry cake when at a dinner with your brother and his friends because you know his tastes. You weren't supposed to be letting him tickle you within an inch of your lung capacity or teaching him all the domestic parts of your world or fixing his hair or liking him so much.

You weren't supposed to like him so much.

You weren't supposed to like him so much that now, after everything, after the struggle you'd gone through to get him gone, your heart was hurting and it wasn't supposed to.

And then! And then! This motherf*cker, after having the audacity to cast this spell on you, after piercing through the chinks in the armor you'd so meticulously crafted and yet it somehow still failed, after wrapping you in his web of his deeper-than-the-pacific-ocean voice and sultry touches and constant, constant flirting, he still had the audacity to pin it back, blow your guilt back at you.

You didn't get why Kim Taehyung was telling you he was going to miss you when he was just making it harder for you. It had frustrated you to no end, actually— you were trying to look for the positives in the situation, trying to make yourself a little more confident that him leaving wasn't going to hurt you, is was actually better for both you and him, it was what you wanted anyway, and yet he decided to absolutely tear it all down.

Like, seriously.

And to top it all off! To top off the fact that Taehyung had been plaguing your thoughts like a vile, incessant insect all day...

Adra had said that the two of you were supposed to stick together, that there was basically a reward on your head and that monsters were going to be after your a*s... and you knew it was kind of a dumb idea to leave without Taehyung anyway...

So you'd basically been glancing over your shoulder and looking like a psycho after constantly half-reaching for your pepper spray after anyone happened to invade your personal bubble, but the alternative to all that was worse.

But how in the world were you even supposed to look at his face? His jaw-droppingly perfect, stunning face, from his even-odd eyelids to his sharp jaw to his box-shaped, happy grin that hid his killer smirks and oh-so-perfect lips.

This. Was. The. Problem.

Because he was perfect but he wasn't yours to have, much less to keep.

Last night had been somewhat of an eye-opener for you. You knew you were supposed to be over the moon when you'd heard the news that in a week, and only a week, of you two just sticking together and going through the motions, Taehyung would be out of your life. Probably going to meet up with your brother and go on epic quests to step on Phobos and Demios's jugulars (and hell knows you wanted to do that just as much as he did) or plead his case to Olympus or just flash a big f-you to his a*shole of a dad, who the hell knew.

And you? Your life would return to normal (well... mostly). No more chaotic demigods f*cking up your apartment, no more curses, no more stealing from your workplace...

And no more Taehyung.

Which made you hurt, even though it wasn't supposed to.

You were just trying to make it easier for yourself. But Taehyung just... refused to let you! Which was absurd! He was supposed to leave! That was the entire point! And then he got offended when you tried (far too late) to convince yourself that was what you wanted again!

But... he had feelings too, didn't he?

Maybe you'd hurt him in you trying not to hurt yourself.

In the end, after your day of clearing your mind and trying to revert things to normal, at least for one day, you were the one who ended up feeling like a jerk. Especially when you'd gotten that phone call from Namjoon telling you to be careful and hang on to Taehyung, because the curse was definitely weakening but the demigod's trying to break the curse had nothing to do with that, but maybe it had to do with how the two of you were getting to trust each other, putting your fear aside. It made you feel like a jerk when, hours later, laying in bed and trying to reason with your sleepless mind, you'd heard Taehyung hesitantly knock on your door and ask if you were awake, if you wanted food at least, before you went to bed. It made you feel like a jerk when you'd watched his sprawled, shirtless form on the couch wth such attention to ensure he didn't stir whatsoever as you threw things in your bag and left for your classes.

You just... you felt bad.

But you didn't know what to do about it.

"Y/N, are you even listening to me? This is an important conversation, right here!" Hana demanded as she twisted her head at a red light to mock-glare at you, tearing you from your unending cycle of thoughts. You hurriedly lifted your head and nodded quickly, a sheepish look flitting over your face before you could stop it.

"Yeah! I was!" you laughed nervously, raking your hair back and out of your eyes as Hana's eyebrows arched.

"Really," she said skeptically, shaking her head, "okay then, what was I talking about?"

"Uhhh..." you blinked, trying to rack your brain for the words that had been flying around you but you'd forgot to give any attention. Thankfully, you'd always been good at subconsciously storing away information. Athena thing? Who knew. "Weren't you... um... talking about how your teacher could kindly f*ck off and give you a break because I quote: 'We have to deal with Choi Aurem and her dumba*s of a brother? And watch romcoms with them until we need bleach for our eyes? I think we can skip the pre-exam lectures we've been hearing since middle school without you yelling in my ear for being on my phone'?"

Hana's eyes narrowed as Aurem let out a disgruntled huff and jabbed your taller friend in the side, pouting. "Romcoms aren't that bad," she reiterated for the second time. You, on the other hand, nervously grinned in the face of Hana's terrifying gaze until she rolled her eyes and promptly reached back, slapping you in the back of the neck.

"Ouch!" you glared playfully at Hana as you rubbed the back of your neck even as you were met with equally mock-irritated hazel contact-covered irises, gleaming as the sun hit them just right, her bold, feline liner making her already-judgmental face seem all the more skeptical. "What the f*ck, dude!"

"When I'm talking to you, I expect you to listen to me, peasant," Hana huffed frostily, tipping her chin upwards in a haughty pout that made you roll your eyes and look away. "However... you're off the hook this time," she muttered pointedly, making you lift your hands in surrender, laughing.

"See? I was listening!" you stuck your tongue out at Hana, who exchanged a look with Aurem and twisted in her seat to look at you, their playful laughs fading.

"Were you really?" Aurem picked at her nails after a moment of taking place in an eye-conversation with Hana, her voice so deceptively, casually, charmingly curious, it didn't even make you bat an eye.

"Uh huh," you hummed, turning to look out the window once more.

"So... nothing's... on your mind, then?" Aurem continued, shrugging easily when you shot her a suspicious look. There was no way she was onto you. You had to give yourself credit: you were very good at hiding your emotions. Most of the time.

"No?" you scoffed, instantly getting a little defensive, "What's with the questions? Didn't you say I was off the hook, or whatever?"

Your voice was a curious blend of half-teasing, half-irritated, a voice you often used when you were trying to get a point across without sounding too rude about it.

And your best friends knew it.

From the way Hana's eyebrows arched and Aurem's gaze went mildly wide, that, clearly, was some sort of trigger.

You didn't even have time to react.

"Actually..." Hana trailed off for a minute before eyeing the tall building in front of you, only a few blocks away (your apartment building), and instead taking a right, the opposite direction of where you were supposed to go. Your throat went dry when she and Aurem exchanged yet another secret glance and pulled up right in front of the coffee shop Soobin worked at, with Aurem lifting her feet to rest against the dashboard as soon as Hana parked, a small, rueful grin on her lips when your decidedly more scary friend turned back to you with a wicked smirk. "I lied. You're not off the hook."

"Wait a m—"

Aurem hurriedly locked the door and smiled at you.

"Now," Hana shrugged nonchalantly as you continued to stare at the two of them in stunned silence, "Aurem and I have a movie to catch, and you may be pretty busy with doing whatever, but we're not going anywhere until you tell us what the hell has been going on with you all day."

A/N: Double update today :)