High School Again? Ugh! Ch. 06

"Artemis," I said, realizing who she was. This little girl in front of me was the virgin goddess of the hunt and Apollo's sister.

"Yes, yes," she said impatiently. "I'm the goddess of the wilderness and wild animal. It's said that I'm also the goddess of childbirth, but that's not really true. Men seem to think that all the goddesses have to have a link to what they think women should be. Pigs."

I'd thought Nemisis was bad and there was no argument that she was dangerous, but Artemis was dangerous and unpredictable. She also seemed to hate men. That was far more frightening. Of course, even she wasn't as bad as Hera. I'd never forgive that goddess for what she did.

"Get in line. Hera has a way of making enemies," Artemis sighed. "In fact, if she didn't, I might actually be on her side in all this."

"Her side?" I asked, but the goddess just shook her head.

"Didn't I tell you to stop thinking so hard and listen?" she asked. I knew better than to do anything else other than nod and clear my mind once more. She looked at me in silence for a moment and then nodded. "That's better."

"I can see that you've realized that Tyche sending you back in time had little to do with a personal vendetta. She was simply placating the Fates," the goddess said, staring off into the distance. She fell silent for a few moments. I waited as patiently as I could. She finally looked at me once more and added, "You're a man and I know what I'm about to tell you will be hard for you to accept, but try. You see, you aren't the lead in this tragedy. You've only a minor role and it's coming to a close."

"What?" I asked, not really expecting an answer. I was fighting hard to understand what she meant, but Artemis was clearly unimpressed with my efforts.

"Zeus, give me strength!" she sighed, but then the goddess's eyes grew sad as she added, "If only you could father."

"Are you trying to tell me that I'm going to die soon?" I asked, shaking my head as I tried to come to grips with the possibility.

"That's not what I said," the goddess said with forced patience. "Although it's certainly a possibility, especially if you resist playing your part."

"What exactly is my part?" I asked.

"Why to father the next generation of gods of course," she replied.

"Of course," I said, nodding, but having no idea what she was talking about. "And doing so is only a minor thing?"

"Rutting like a beast and supplying some seed," Artemis said with a disgusted expression. "I'd call that a minor role. Wouldn't you?"

"You do realize that I have no idea what you're talking about, right?" I sighed, rubbing my temples with both hands.

"I'm not surprised," she replied with a shrug. "I told the Fates that you wouldn't get it, but they insisted I try and explain it to you. I don't know why they chose me, but that's the Fates for you."

"How can I be the father of the next generation of gods?" I asked. "I'm only a human."

"Oh, I know it doesn't make sense," she said in agreement. "Let's be honest, you're not even a particularly impressive human at that, but the Fates have spoken and they're seldom wrong."

"But wouldn't any children I have with a goddess be demigods? I mean, it's not like it hasn't happened before. Hercules, Perseus and Archilles are just a few of the gods' bastards by humans." My mind was racing as the words spilled from my mouth.

"There you go again, being a man," she sighed. "Why would you think any goddess would be willing to have your child? You're done nothing particularly heroic in your life. You don't have anything to offer better than any other man. I've already told you, it's not about you."

To say my head was spinning was a complete understatement. I was actually feeling nauseous and I didn't think it had anything to do with the beer I drank. Artemis was still speaking, but it was hard to focus on her words at this point.

"By the way, you're mixing your mythologies. It's Heracles, not Hercules. I never much cared for how the Roman's adopted us. Besides, I hate the name Diana. It so common."

"Sorry," I said, at a loss for words for a few moments. Artemis surprised me by waiting until I could form another question. I thought long and hard before asking it. "If I'm going to be the father of the next generation of the gods, then who will be the mother?"

"Now we're getting to the true heroine of this story," the goddess smiled. "You're role could be filled by any man really, but the fates spent thousands of years working toward the birth of the mother of the next generation of gods. She is the key. The time of the next Golden Age grows near. I only hope I'm around to see it."

"Are you going someplace?" I frowned. The goddess shrugged.

"Perhaps," she answered cryptically. "I would be sad to leave this existence, but I do miss my brother Apollo. It will be good to see him again despite him being a man."

"Where is he?" I asked.

"Tartarus of course," she replied. "The gods cannot die, but nothing is forever. When our time on this plane is done, we go to Tartarus."

"And Apollo is there." It was more of a statement than a question. I thought about what she'd said earlier about only meeting female gods. "All of the gods are there. Only the goddesses remain free."

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Artemis snorted. "I think the last two thousand years have been great, but nothing lasts forever and our time grows to an end whether I want it to or not, whether Hera wants it to or not."

"Hera is against this?" I asked, not really surprised.

"Yes and no," Artemis smiled oddly. "She's known it was coming just like the rest of us. I think Hera's real issue with it is that she's not going to be the mother of the next generation of gods. She has reason. There are presidencies, but the Fates cannot be denied."

"I don't understand," I sighed.

"I know," Artemis replied in an uncaring tone. "But my task here is ended. I've done as the Fates demanded. You won't be able to absorb anything else I say tonight anyway. Just remember, you have a part to play in the coming of the next Golden Age. It may be minor, but all the parts are important in this tragedy. Don't screw it up."

It bothered me that she kept calling what was happening a tragedy. I thought that the Greeks called all plays tragedies, but I wasn't certain. Besides, if I remembered correctly, most of their plays did end tragically. I was about to ask her what she meant by it when I heard cries in the distance. Some were human, some not.

"My hunt calls to me," Artemis said, her eyes turning oddly feral. "Remember what I've said here tonight." And with that the goddess ran off into the woods, disappearing in moments.

"Wait! You never told me who the mother of the next generation of gods is going to be!" I called after her, not really expecting an answer, but I was wrong. I heard ever so softly on the winds in Artemis's sarcastic voice, "Tara, of course."

"Of course," I said, completely stunned.

Tara. The woman I loved, my soul mate. She was the one. The Moirae spent thousands of years playing with the fates of people so that my Tara could be born. It didn't make sense. It couldn't, but deep down I knew it was true. I just couldn't face it.

I let my mind move on to other questions. Things like, what did Artemis mean by the next generation of gods? Why were the male gods sent to Tartarus? Who had the power to do it? Was it the Fates? Hera? Neither seemed to make sense, but I found it hard to believe that Zeus and the others went willingly. Yet no matter how far I let my mind wander, it kept coming back to Tara.

Was she human? I'd thought I'd been protecting her all these months by staying separated from her. Was the reality of the situation that she was actually trying to protect me? Did she really love me or just want me to be the father of her children, whatever they might be? Did the answer to these questions matter in the end? I had no idea.

"Artemis was right," I found myself saying aloud. "This is a tragedy, or at least I think it is."

I had my ambitions like most men, but Artemis was right about me too. They were small things that would make me happy. I never planned on being someone who changed the world. I'd lived a full life before being tossed back to my eighteen year on body. I'd learned long ago what I was about. I was looking for a simple life. Sure, I wanted to get married and have kids, but not the type of kids that Artemis was talking about.

I'd spent the last six months waiting for the gods to be done with me so I could move on with my life. That dream was gone. Artemis just told me that my living a normal life with Tara was a fallacy. I knew I could walk away from it all, but despite everything, I did love her. I just didn't know if I could survive that love.

"Buddy, are you okay?"

I blinked and looked up. There was a guy standing only a few feet away from me. He looked honestly concerned.

Y-Y-Yes," I stuttered. It was then I realized just how cold I was. I was standing outside half freezing to death while my mind tried to come to grips with what I'd just learned.

"You're pale as a ghost and your lips are turning blue," the guy frowned.

"I'm g-g-going inside n-now," I got out and turned toward the house. "Thanks." I saw the guy watch me for a moment before he started unzipping his pants. I couldn't help smiling despite everything. I was saved because yet another guy wasn't willing to wait in a line to pee. Maybe Artemis was right about us.

My humor was short lived. I made it inside easily enough, but the place was still packed and I felt suddenly claustrophobic. My life would never be normal again and I couldn't cope with it. The smart thing to do was leave, but I was well beyond doing the smart thing. Instead, I went and got myself a beer, downed it and poured another. It didn't take me very long to finish that one as well.

At that point I looked around, shaking my head at what I saw. The place was still crowded with teenagers having a good time. My eyes bounced from person to person, couple to couple, group to group. These kids had no idea how tough life could be. They had no idea of what they'd have to face in the coming years. I envied them.

It all felt so unfair. They would live their lives without any interference from the so called gods, while I would have to continue to deal with divine interference for the rest of my life if I followed my heart. Yeah, I was definitely envious of them for a number of reasons, but it all came down to one thing. I was jealous of their normalcy.

I shook my head a second time and tried to clear it. I noticed a small group of people laughing and gathering in a circle to one side. There was some Irish music playing on a radio. I'd forgotten it was St. Patrick's Day until that moment. I moved to the crowd and saw the O'Shea sisters doing a jig of some sort. I guessed it was from their show. I had to admit that they were very good, especially considering that it was obvious that neither of them were particularly sober.

The song ended and another song came on, but it was more contemporary. I saw Jake go to Patty and start dancing with her. There were at least three guys circling Bridgette trying to work up the nerve to ask her. I could see why. Patty was a little prettier than her sister, but Bridgette was still beautiful. Her body was amazing too. Add to that the way she carried herself and she could be quite intimidating. I only stared at her for a moment before making my way over. I stepped in front of a guy who was about to ask her to dance.

"Yes?" she asked, somewhat coldly. I wanted to forget the gods, fate and everything that came with it. I didn't want to forget Tara, but I did want to forget what she was and what loving her meant. We would have our conversation tomorrow, but at this moment that was a lifetime away. This was probably my last chance to feel normal and I couldn't pass it up, so I kissed Bridgette.

"Whoa!" someone said, but I ignored him. Bridgette was stiff in my arms at first, but then she relaxed into me and started returning my kiss. I heard the same guy say, "I'll be damned!"

It felt good to have Bridgette in my arms. She was pretty, slim and frankly, her large, firm breasts felt amazing against my chest. The combination made her one of the most attractive women I'd ever met. She could grace the cover of any men's magazine in the world and not be embarrassed. Yet, despite all that there was something very real and normal about her, and that's what I needed at that moment.

"What was that for?" Bridgette asked softly when we finally broke apart.

"For reminding me that it was St. Patrick's Day," I said, having no idea what I meant, but for some reason she smiled in acceptance.

She took my hand and led me to the keg. This girl was obviously in the mood to party. I didn't mind. I could use the distraction. I poured two beers and handed her one. Bridgette surprised me by downing hers and throwing the cup on the floor.

"Let's dance!" she grinned, dragging me to a neighboring room. Bridgette started moving. I laughed and joined her. The room we were in had become an impromptu dance floor. I was never really much of a dancer, but I had fun as we moved to a handful of songs. I'm sure the couple of beers I downed when I first came back inside helped.

Eventually a slow song came on and I took Bridgette in my arms. We swayed. The party was still going reasonably well, but it had emptied out considerably. There were four or five other couples dancing around us and I was happy to see that Jake and Patty were one of them. They looked good together. Again, I felt envious. It wasn't because of their growing feelings for each other, but because they would be able to deal with those feelings without any interference.

I was distracted a moment later when Bridgette tilted her head and directed her lips toward mine. We kissed. I didn't love Bridgette. She didn't love me, but it was obvious that we wanted to be with each other tonight, or maybe we just didn't want to be alone. I wasn't sure and in the end I guess it didn't matter. We continued to kiss until the slow song ended and a fast one began. Bridgette pulled back and we started dancing again. I noticed her sister and Jake pull apart slowly.

"Let's get some fresh air," Patty said to him instead of starting to dance again. He smiled and nodded.

"It's pretty cold out there," I warned. Jake shrugged and followed the redhead toward the back door.

"I have a feeling that they'll find a way of keeping each other warm," Bridgette interjected, watching her sister and Jake leave. She smiled, but there was also an odd sadness in her eyes.

"What's wrong?" I found myself asking.

"Nothing," she replied automatically, but then she shrugged and added, "I guess I'm still getting over my old boyfriend."

"Aha!" I cried, trying to make her smile. "I knew there was a reason why a girl as beautiful as you was alone tonight. What brain damaged fool let you slip away?" She smiled at my attempt at humor, but didn't laugh.

"If you don't mind," she said instead. "I don't want to talk about Sean. Tonight's St. Patrick's Day and I promised my sister we'd go out and have a good time." It was obvious that the wound was still raw. I was tempted to push because I thought Bridgette could use someone to speak with based on her reaction, but I didn't. Tonight was supposed to be about fun and talking to her about her old boyfriend would definitely not be that.

"Well, Patty's obviously having a great time," I offered instead. "What can we do to make your night better?"

"More dancing! More drinking!" she cried, finally laughing again, but the sadness was still there in her eyes. I led her back to the keg and poured two beers again. She drank most of hers and wanted to dance again before I took more than a swallow from mine. I shrugged, put my beer down and took her hand.

We danced again, only this time Bridgette was a bit frisky. She rubbed up against me every so often, teasing me. It was very distracting to say the least. Bridgette knew exactly what she was doing to me. Oh, she wasn't grinding against me or anything, not like the kids did in my memories of my former life. This was a different time, but what she was doing was causing the expected response from my body.

This continued until another slow song came on. This time when I took Bridgette into my arms I was the one who initiated a kiss. Her teasing got to me, but clearly she was enjoying herself as well because her body molded against mine. There was no way she couldn't feel my excitement pressed against her stomach. The almost innocent flirting we'd been doing to each other was quickly developing into something more.

"I think maybe we should take a walk outside as well," Bridgette said suddenly, stepping back. I looked down into her eyes. I couldn't tell if she wanted to go outside because she wanted us to be alone or if our closeness suddenly frightened her. I think maybe it was a little bit of both.

"Okay," I found myself saying despite remembering how cold it was outside. I did make sure we found our jackets first.

"Ah, there they are!" Bridgette grinned once we were outside. I assumed she meant Jake and her sister, but I didn't see them until I followed the direction of her gaze.

"Smart," I said with a laugh. Bridgette was looking at a car with steamed windows. I recognized it as Jakes. "Should we go bother them?"

"I have no idea what they're doing in there, but I can guess. My sister and I are close," Bridgette laughed. "But not that close." I laughed along with her until she added, "How did you get here? It's freezing out here, but I'm not ready to go back inside yet."

"This way," I said, taking Bridgette's hand and leading her down the street to my car. We got in quickly. It was still cold, but not nearly as bad as outside. We didn't immediately start kissing like I half expected. "You want me to turn on the car so we can put the heat on?"

I can't say that I wasn't enjoying myself, but between the cold and all the dancing, I was starting to sober up. Bridgette was a beautiful girl and built crazy hot. I could feel myself responding to her on more than one level, but for some reason I hesitated taking her into my arms again. She was clearly expecting me to do exactly that. For the life of me I didn't know why I didn't, at least not at first.

"No," she replied. "At least not yet."

"Okay," I said, looking at her once more. I knew that she would let me make love to her tonight. It was all there in her eyes. Only it suddenly hit me that even though we would both enjoy it, it wouldn't be right for either of us. Bridgette was in pain over this Sean. She'd made herself drunk trying to forget him. Maybe having a one night stand would help, but for some reason I didn't think so.

I was fighting to cling to something that didn't really exist. My life stopped being normal, if there is such a thing, the moment Tyche threw me back in time. I needed to accept that. I also knew that I loved Tara no matter what secrets she was keeping from me.

I was attracted to Bridgette because there was something very human about her and I wanted to stop thinking about the gods. Okay, it didn't hurt that she was gorgeous. Yet, as I pictured Tara I realized that she was the most human girl I'd ever met despite what Artemis said. She was also the most beautiful.

"John, is everything okay?" Bridgette asked, confused by my expression.

"It's fine," I smiled, taking her hand. "Now tell me about Sean."

"What?" she cried in surprise. "No way!"

Ten minutes later I was holding the redhead in my arms while she cried. Unsurprisingly, her story was a very human one. She and Sean had agreed to date other people when they went away to school, only she'd heard from a friend that he was getting very close with some girl. I had no idea how everything would end up, but I let her talk and held her while she cried. The only advice I offered was that she should talk to him and tell him how she felt.