The Unknown God/Goddess

Attempt

August's P.O.V

Mine did her paperwork overnight so that she could go to school with me. It was getting me all hyped up. The human world is so full of surprises, unlike Olympus where battles, wars and deaths are inevitable. It was a good thing that the king is my father. I don't want to take a life that was once enjoyed and experienced. That's against my morale. 

"Why are you nervous?" I laughed as I ask Mine. 

She was constantly looking around the place, in every direction, and her eyes were unsteady. She was gripping the sling of her backpack too tight that her knuckles turned white. 

"I can't help it. These are humans and I hear that they're brutal and cruel from mother." she lets out a shaky breath, making me think about her statement twice. 

"But you have to experience it yourself to actually know if what your mother said is true." she sighs. 

"You're right, but still." 

I've known Mine since I was born. Apparently, Athena had given birth to her a day before I was born. So that means she's a day older than me. It's a bit cruel how she's born older than me, making me look young and immature. 

"Plus, the human world has already adapted to peace, unlike us gods and goddesses. We lose someone everyday in our realm. It's a life for a life." Mine looks into my eyes before huffing and sucking in air before coughing embarrassingly. 

"The air stings." she complains, making me laugh even louder. 

I should thank father when I visit Olympus. He'd known that I would be bored if I didn't have anyone to talk to. 

We walked through the same gate I walked through yesterday but the stares weren't forgiving. They were relentless and on purpose. My heart started beating quickly, as I feel nervous. 

"Why are they looking at us, August?" Mine asks me with the question that I don't know the reason to.

"I can't read minds, Mine." 

"This is making me feel little." 

"Let's ruuun," 

I grab her hand and we run towards the Principal's Office to get her schedule. I laughed when the Principal got hassled. Apparently, Mine did something magically.

"That's funny. I don't remember seeing your paper yesterday." 

"Oh, it's okay, Mr. Principal. I always get forgotten." Mine smiles sweetly at Mr. Principal.

"No, no. That's rude of me. Maybe my secretary put this here. Anyway, I won't keep you long. Here, your schedule. Have fun on your first day, Mine." the Principal didn't call her 'mine', the Principal called her 'mi-ne', from 'Mi-ne-rva'. 

Yes, that's what Athena named her and I was too lazy to call her with those two syllable name and got my brain to think that I should combine those two syllables into one. It kept on getting on her nerves though. 

"Thank you, Mr. Principal! Have a good day ahead!" 

After we had exited the Principal's Office, I look at Mine's schedule and saw that we have same schedule. 

"Tell me, you didn't copy mine, did you?" Mine laughs slyly before running ahead. 

"Nope!" she shouts and I run after her. 

The hallway was our playground and everyone stepped aside as we run. It was like in Olympus when I was just a little deity. They stepped aside for me and they would smile at me politely, greeting me and sometimes, they would bring me food and even sell their daughters to me. 

"August!" I hear my name being called with a sweet tone, mixed with expectancy.

I remembered the voice. I stopped abruptly and turned around with the biggest smile I could ever muster. Mine walks up to my side and pats my back once. 

"Woah." Mine says. 

Rafaela approaches us both, looking at us. 

"Hey, what's up?" my voice were quivering but I had hoped that she didn't hear it. 

"Didn't see you yesterday. You went home directly?" 

The other students were whispering and I could hear them but I wouldn't care less. Her sweets voice was overpowering the many whispers my ears were picking up. Her entire beauty shone and she was all that I could see. My whole attention was on her, and yet I can't even answer her properly. She was making my consciousness waver ever so slightly. 

Mine nudges me back to life. 

"Yes, she went home directly yesterday. She was too nervous to stay." Mine answered for me. 

"You must be her sister? Friend? You two look so beautiful. You both are the talk of the school." she jokes and laughs with Mine. 

"I believe you're more beautiful, really. What's your name, Miss?" 

"Miss? Oh, please, call me Rafaela. Rafaela Wilson." Rafaela extends her hand to Mine and Mine gladly accepted it. 

"Call me Mi-ne." 

Rafaela tilts her head and looks at me then looking at Mine, her eyes judging something. 

"Is that why she calls you 'Mine'?" Mine laughs slyly while nodding and shifting her weight to her other foot. 

"Yep, she's too lazy to utter the two syllables." 

I want to say something but I'm afraid with just one breath, Rafaela will go away. 

"Is she okay?" Rafaela inches her face close to me, examining my averted gaze. 

She was too beautiful to be true. My heart can't handle the pressure and the happiness in one setting. I can't believe she's inching close to me! Our face are almost touching. Ahhhhh!

"Yep, yeah, yeah. She's great, she's just speechless." 

"Why? Is there something on my face?" Rafaela stands straight and grabs her face, inspecting if there was really indeed something on her beautiful face. 

"No, there's nothing on your face. You're just beautiful." I uttered without thinking twice. 

Mine slowly turned her head to me, in horror, and her eyes wide. My eyes went wide as well and I slowly turn my eyes downward, to stare at the floor and curse at myself for being so stupid. 

But Rafaela laughed it off. 

"Hey, Rafaela! We're going!" Rafaela turns away and waves at the two who were with her yesterday. 

"Coming!" 

She turns back at us and smiles. 

"I hope I can see you after school." Rafaela tells me and says goodbye to Mine. 

Rafaela slowly disappears into the crowd of students circling around us. Mine pats my back three times and smirks. 

"I didn't know the Prince could be this stupid." she whispers in my ears, making me push her away. 

My face was burning from the encounter. My heart didn't calm down at all. Her face was so close to mine. I saw how soft and plump her lips was. Her emerald eyes that looked so dreamy, so fascinating. She had captured me at first glance and now she's successfully locked me in the magical world she and I exist as 'us'. 

Mine managed to bring me to our first subject but my mind was elsewhere. I was daydreaming and I have no plans on stopping. She told me that she hoped to see me after school. Does that mean she wants to hang out with me? Or maybe, maybe she likes me too? Ah, no. That's too farfetched. But what if? I mean, I'm already into her from the very first day we've met, what if she's like that too? 

AHHHH. I honestly can't right now. I'm giving myself false hope. If only I could read minds. No, that would sweep away the excitement. Father told me to win her heart fair and square and I'm going to do that. 

The day ended in the blink of an eye. I had no idea it was going to happen this fast. The hour that I've anticipated since this morning, after school time. 

"Who's that big smile for?" Mine teases me and nudges me on the rib. 

"She's honestly too good to be true. Right?" I ask her, my voice getting soft with every word I utter. 

"Yes, now calm down." 

I inhaled and exhaled. I should be calm. I should be sincere and not overly dramatic. I shouldn't freeze like earlier. No, I should be cool and sweep her off her feet, not the other way around. 

"August!" there it was again, her soft voice, ringing in my ears. 

"Yo!" I managed to say back without quivering and utter failure. 

"Nice," Mine commented under her breath. 

"You guys want to hang out with us?" Rafaela's two friends followed behind her and smiled at us. 

I had hoped that it was just the both of us but this can be good too. I can ask her friends what Rafaela likes and dislikes and maybe wiggle my way in Rafaela's heart. I should be careful and not fall prey to my own plan.

"We'd love to!" I said with a smile. 

"Alright, come! Let's go." 

Rafaela and her friends talked in front of us both. Mine looked at me, expecting a plan but I only averted her eyes. I have an unpolished plan, and that wasn't enough. I think Rafaela only sees me as a friend, a new friend, seeminly interesting and seemingly cool. 

"Why are you two so quiet?" Rafaela asks. 

"Well, we don't know who your friends are. We're afraid we might say something wrong." Mine answers Rafaela. 

"Crap, I almost forgot. Yes. These are my best friends, Sarah and Earl." 

I smile and shook their hands as we walk. 

"Mine, August." Rafaela tells her friends. 

"You both are the talk of the school." Earl says with a friendly smile. 

"You don't look like you're from here, are you guys transferees?" Sarah asks us. 

"Yeah, we want to know. The two beauties of Raven High School." Rafaela takes a turn and guided us towards the destination. 

Mine and I exchanged looks. 

"Really? I think we look like normal people." 

"Normal people? Pfft, as if." Sarah laughs hysterically, making me doubt the choice of words that Mine said. 

"We, we're just from somewhere around somewhere, you know." I try to cover up Mine's failure with another failure. 

I facepalmed myself and the three of them laughed. 

"No pressure. We're still practically strangers so we can listen when you want to tell us." Earl nods at Mine and Mine nodded back. 

"So, where are we going? Is this k********g?" I joked. 

"I wish, as beautiful as you? You'd sell more." Rafaela winks at me before bursting out laughing.

My face was flushed. Me? Beautiful? Hearing it directly from her and that wink just made me overheat. My head was thinking of many things at the moment. 

"Stop flirting with the new kid, Rafaela, that's not nice." Sarah pushes Rafaela but Rafaela just laughs. 

"It's better than to just awkwardly walk, you know." she says to Sarah making Sarah shake her head in disbelief. 

"Sorry about her," Sarah says and gives me an apologetic smile. 

"Oh, no, it's fine." 

It's more than fine. Please, flirt with me more until your intentions are resolute. 

"Mind me asking, Rafaela, do you like girls?" Mine asks, attacking the subject directly. 

Her question made me want to clap my hands to compliment Mine's bravery.

"I don't really have a specific type in mind, nor gender. I'm the type to follow my heart." her words were so carefree and so honest that I knew I just had to make her mine even more. 

The fire inside me was scorching hot, motivated. She was one of a kind and I just knew it from a day or two in the human realm. 

"So open. You're not afraid someone might judge you?" Earl asks. 

"Meh," Rafaela shrugs and ducks. 

I look at the bushes in front of us, thick and not groomed. It was so green and alive. Sarah and Earl followed Rafaela through the bush. 

"You first, August." Mine said my name but the tone of her voice was alert, ready to defend me if something were to happen. 

"Alright," 

I duck and walked through a thick bush. After a few steps, the scene changed and it was no more itchy. It was windy and even more cold. Before me was the view of countless of mountains, foggy mountain tops and more green. 

"Woah," I was breathless. 

The scenery was beautiful. The serenity of the place tugged my heart softly. The sun was out but it was still cold due to all the trees around. 

"Is this your secret place or something?" Mine asks. 

"Not really. People come here but today's a cold day so not many come here." Rafaela answers. 

"This is beautiful." 

I stand at the tip of the mountain to their surprise and was ready to grab me from behind if ever I fall. 

"Woah, easy there." Earl says.

"This is so cool." a small smile appeared on my lips. 

"So brave." I hear Rafaela and she stands next to me. 

I could feel the warmth radiating from her body. It feels like I'm floating without even literally floating. 

"These feels nice." Earl says. 

"You guys seem nice and friendly." Mine comments from behind. 

"We're too afraid to regret something someday so we make the most of everyday." Sarah answers Mine. 

"You guys are different." Rafaela turns around. 

"Of course we are. We don't like to pretend. It's too tiring." Rafaela throws her hands in the air and inhales then exhales. 

"That's all I need to know." 

After we spent half an hour on the cliff, they invited us for dinner on a local diner. They said that after they visit that place, they always crave for some meat. They were rowdy, they were fun to be with and they make sure we weren't left out.

"Hey, hey, so ice cream and winter or hot soup and summer?" Earl asks as we all lean over the table. 

I haven't really tried doing human things such as this and if their complaints were true, then I have something to choose. 

"I'd pick ice cream and winter." 

"Aw, whaaat?" Sarah complains. 

"That's too cold, August." Mine whines and rolls her eyes.

"Hey, I'm actually with August on this one." Rafaela saves me and nods. I give her another nod, my confidence building up as seconds pass by. 

"What? Why? Wait, you like winter." Earl rolls his eyes. 

"It has nothing to with me liking winter." Rafaela defends herself. 

"Then what it is?" Sarah asks. 

"I don't like sweat. I hate sweating. So, yeah." Rafaela crosses her arms, proud to tell her answer. 

Mine laughs, entertained by the trio. 

"I completely forgot about that." Sarah says. 

"Here are your orders! Eat up!" a different waitress puts the tray down and there was steaks, burgers and fries. 

They said they were treating us thus they should pick. We were okay with it, really, it means free food. We were going to treat them too, after a few days, and once we're settled in. 

"Thank you, Ma'am!" Earl says with the biggest smile. 

His eyes were glued to his steak, almost watering. Yes, his eyes are almost watering. Like I could see how hungry he was from the way he looks at his steak. Sarah and Rafaela were the same. 

"What are you waiting for? Dig in!" Sarah says and without the elegance, sliced her steak and ate it. 

Rafaela was also slicing hers with precise size before golfing it down pieces by pieces. Earl didn't even bother slicing his steak and just completely ate it. I look at my plate before slicing it to bite pieces. I wasn't thinking whether this was good or not, but I was thinking whether I should eat like them or not. 

Ah, I'll just enjoy myself. 

I fork one piece and put it inside my mouth. Then the next, and then the next. I didn't realize I was going fast until I almost choked. I look for water and saw Rafaela holding it in front of me. 

"We choke most of the time." 

I wasn't sure if I should be relieved or not but I didn't have time to choose. I drank the water that I needed so much and sighed in relief when the pain was gone. 

The steak was good, including its sauce. Actually, I think the sauce was what made it so good. I tasted so good, it went well with the tender steak. The juiciness of the steak molded with the sauce. Like a bed and a blanket. The food tingled all of my bones inside my body, tickling me. 

I look beside me and saw Mine eating fast too. She was so focused that she didn't notice me looking at her. I smile and continued eating. 

When we were done and full, we stayed for a bit to let the steak digest. 

"That was the best meal I ever had!" Mine exclaims, wiping the sides of her mouth, her modesty resurfacing. 

"Oh, yeah? What about you, August?" Earl asks, grinning that we were full, meaning we enjoyed the food. 

"I-" 

"Please, she has a feast everyday in her k- house." she almost slipped. I forced a smile and cleared my throat. 

"Wow, you must be dang rich then." Rafaela comments. 

"Uh, no, no, not really. Why'd you think that?" I shake my head vigorously, trying to prove my point. 

Sarah, Earl and Rafaela exchanged looks. 

"Can we visit your house someday?" Sarah asks. 

"Oh, uh, if you let us visit your houses first." Mine answers. 

"Sure. This is going to be our ritual then." Earl says. 

"Ritual?" I ask, confused. 

"Yeah, we go first since we got here first, and then you follow since you just transferred." I nod my head in understanding to Rafaela's suggestion. 

"Got it." 

"Oh, it's almost late. I should go home." Sarah says and gathered up all of her things. 

"That means I should too." 

Sarah and Earl waves at us while running to the exit. 

"I need to do something first." Mine says, giving me a go signal. 

I am so not ready. No, no.

"Should we too?" Rafaela asks, and stood up. 

"Can I walk you home?" I blurted out.

I didn't want to end today without trying anything. I want to know if I have a chance. Or maybe, I want to close the gap between friendship and lover. 

"You sure? My house is a bit far." I smiled. 

"The farther the better, I guess." 

I didn't think this through. We're now walking towards her house, no one else in the streets but us. This should be romantic but the problem is, I can't say anything and I can't come up with any topic when I had a million question just a while ago. 

I smile in regret. 

"Sooo," she starts, making me inhale sharply. 

"Sorry, I'm just nervous." I scratch the back of my head. She giggles. 

Her melodic voice brought tempo inside me, accelerating. 

"Why? I don't bite." she was smiling and looking up at the skies. 

"It's just that, I've never been with hu-" I stopped talking. 

"Hu?" 

"H-you, youuuu, yes, you." I was about to say 'human'. Crap, I should be careful. 

"That sounds airy." she laughs and turned around, walking backwards just to face me. 

"You're gonna bump into something or someone again." 

"You're going to stop me from colliding with something or someone, like the first time we met." 

I squint my eyes a little, searching her eyes. 

"Right. You trust me that much, huh." she clicks her tongue. 

"Of course." 

Such a carefree soul. 

"Why?" 

"Hmm," she thinks about it for a second and turned around, facing the right direction and went back to walking beside me. 

"Well, call me hopeless romantic but I can see it in your eyes." 

"My eyes?" 

What's with my eyes? They seem pretty ordinary to me. 

"Speaking of your eyes, I've never seen someone who have purple eyes before." 

"Uhm," 

Even in Olympus there was no such deity who has purple eyes. 

"You must have a rare condition." 

"Yes, yes, that's it. I can't look straight up because the sun hurts my eyes. And, and I see better at night." I want to give myself an award for knowing this but a celebration should come later. 

"You should wear sunglasses. But they're so pretty. I love your eyes." 

"You love my eyes?" 

"Yeah. They're so unique and so beautiful. I just have a thing for eyes and yours are, by far, the most amazing set of eyes I've seen." she smiles genuinely at me and looks up the night sky. 

"You seem to look at the stars so much." 

"Yeah, you wanna know why?" 

I nod. 

"I like to think that each star represents someone. People are unique and that's why there's a huge gap between two stars. No matter how close in terms of personality, attitude, achievements and flaws, it's just different because of one simple thing." she looks at the sky, staring lovingly at the stars.

She was so gentle. She was caressing me with her words. They were deep. She was spiritually connected with the world and my father would like her. I could already see it. The future of me telling father that I've found the one. 

"And what's that simple thing?" 

"That simple thing is something that the person only knows." 

She leaps in front, startling me. 

"You're deep." I couldn't think of anything else right now. 

"I just like to think of relations." 

"Rafaela," 

"Hmm?" 

WHY DID I CALL HER? I HAVE NOTHING TO SAY. I just wanted to say her name.

"Nothing, nothing. I just think your name suits you." 

I hope I'm not too obvious. I sure hope so! 

"Really? My - ehem- our friends say that they suit someone who's more holy." she laughs at the recollection of that happening. 

"Do you have a boyfriend?" 

She bursts out laughing, real hard. It echoed through the empty road, the trees and the alleyways. 

"Did I say something wrong?" 

"No, no, it's just that, wow. Why'd you think I have a boyfriend? Or much less in a relationship." she couldn't believe i just asked that. 

"Because you're one of a kind." 

She laughs again. She clears her throat and paced with me. 

"I've had a boyfriend once. He cheated on me but I wasn't sure if I was really fine after our breakup or did I actually love him. The next day we broke up, I was really really fine. And actually, I felt free." 

"Are you sexually active then?" 

"You keep saying and asking the things that always catch me off guard." 

"Sorry," 

I should've analyzed it more carefully. Olympus is different from the human world. s*x is free there and very much entertained, even if you're bound to someone else. 

"It's okay. Believe it or not, others just try to get under your pants after one date." 

"Oh," 

I figured there also certain things that humans are into bad stuffs too. 

"But yeah, I'm sexually active." 

So, we're the same. I want to tell her that, hinting that we should try our compatibility but again, I shouldn't. I should take this slow and sincere, like I had planned. 

"Hey, Rafaela." 

"You must really like my name, huh?" I giggled. 

"Yes. Do you believe in gods and goddesses?"

"You jumper. One topic and then to the other." she bumps into my shoulder and runs her fingers through her hair. 

"Come on, I want to know." 

"I believe in all sorts of things, but I don't know about gods and goddesses." 

"Do you want to meet one?" 

"Woah. No. That would mean I'd be dying." 

I laughed. No one in the human world knows unless we tell them it's us. That was always the case. But gods and goddesses are closer to them than they think. 

"Right, right. I forgot about that." 

"Anyway, here I am." 

We stop walking. I look at the house in front of me, above average, with high gates and some glass for walls. She was well-off, I can see that. 

"Nice house." she shakes her head. 

"You want to come in?" 

I shake my head. NOT READY. 

"Uh, next time. It's getting late." 

"Alright. Thank you for walking me home!" I grinned. 

"Sure thing!"