Eeep! It’s the last week of the Warm Fuzzies Blogfest! It’s been a fun month getting to know other authors and spreading the writing love around and I have to say a big Thank You to Juliana for hosting 
And for the last blogfest challenge she’s given us a very warm fuzzy: What is a scene that you are proud of? One that made you go “Yes! I can do this!”
Since most of the scenes I’m proud of in Fie Eoin are near the end and give away major plot points, I’m going to put up something from Apollo and Daphne. I haven’t really talked much about Apollo and Daphne on this blog, but I love this story (based on the Apollo and Daphne myth) and I LOVE these characters. I plan on working on Apollo once Fie Eoin is out on submission, and I cannot wait!
So, although the scene itself isn’t so warm and fuzzy, it is one that I’m proud of. I give you: Apollo and Daphne!
The bell rang for homeroom and everyone began to amble out to their first hour class. Eros had an evil look in his eye that Apollo didn’t like, but ignored him as they walked into the hall.
“That’s quite the face,” Eros said and Apollo kept walking. “Did Daphne kiss it for you? Make it all better this weekend? Or was she the one who beat the shit out of you?”
“I was in a car accident.” Apollo didn’t slow down. His next class was all the way on the other side of the building and he didn’t want to be late.
Eros didn’t let up though; it seemed he didn’t care if he was late to his next class, which was in the opposite direction. “So she dumped you for no good reason, huh? I know how that goes.”
Apollo stopped so quickly that Eros almost ran into him. He turned and scowled into Eros’ face. “No. She dumped you for a very good reason. She dumped you because you are a scumbag and a bastard of a human being.”
“Huh,” Eros grinned. “And here I heard that you were the bastard.”
It was something in the way he said it that Apollo knew Eros wasn’t talking about his behavior. He was talking about his father.
“You see,” Eros continued, the grin on his face growing at the same rate as the dread on Apollo’s. “I was making friends with the Niobe kids the other day. And they were telling me that there were two other students at Oly with an interesting parentage-“
Rage took over and Apollo shoved Eros into the lockers, holding him there as he tried to shrink back. Apollo’s arm came back to punch him in the face but someone grabbed his wrist and Apollo turned on them, teeth clenched and all of his anger in his eyes. It died inside him as Daphne flinched back and he dropped his arms, releasing Eros.
“Don’t hit him,” Daphne whispered.
“Give me one good reason not to.” It felt like a growl in his throat instead of words, he was so angry. Angry at Niobe’s kids for telling, angry at Eros for using it against him, angry at Daphne for stopping him.
“He’s already halfway down the hall,” she smiled briefly, then swallowed. She looked guilty, apologetic, and worried. “Eros isn’t worth it.”
“You were the one who told me to punch him next time.”
“Yeah, but not at the expense of everything. Are you trying to get kicked out of UW? Because NYU isn’t going to accept you if you’re suspended for fighting.” She tried to smile again before she looked down at her feet.
She was trying to joke about it? Right now, when she had dumped him as both a boyfriend and a friend just for being accepted at UW? Apollo made a disgusted noise in his throat and walked away. Now she wanted to reconcile? Now after everything that had happened? No thank you.
“Poe, wait.”
He walked faster.
“Apollo, stop.” She ran to catch up with him and grabbed his arm. He winced – it was still bruised there – and she let go quickly. “I want to talk to you.”
“Well, I’m sorry, but you had your chance. I don’t want to talk to you anymore.”
He turned again to leave but she stepped in front of him. He thought that was pretty brave since he had just slammed someone into a locker and tried to punch their face, but he supposed she knew he could never hit her. Even telling her that he didn’t want to talk took all the anger and courage that he could afford. When she stepped in his way his shoulders sagged and he closed his eyes.
“Poe, I really need to talk to you.”
“Did you know,” he said, his voice quiet so that no one else would hear him, “that when Hyacinth died I tried to kill myself? I took a bunch of pills and my mother had to rush me to the hospital and pump my stomach. Because it was so hard to deal with.” He opened his eyes and looked at her, “but it’s been even harder trying to deal with you dumping me. Because I’m still hurt from Hy’s death, and because I know that if she had the choice she would have stayed with me, but you? You dumped me, and fired me, and then told me that you wouldn’t even be my friend anymore. So maybe my car accident was less an accident than an attempt to get away from it all. Because it hurts. It hurts So. Fucking. Bad.”
Daphne was silent as she stared at him. He had shocked her into silence, and he preferred it that way. And while she was still in shock he stepped around her and continued on his way to class, stepped in just as the bell rang and sat down next to Cassie, who smiled at him.
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