Chapter Seven:
Odysseus Levasseur
Nicodemus
My Shadows and I were sitting in the backyard as we waited for the Gods and their children to arrive for the ‘welcoming party’ my parents had planned. I was a bit nervous about the event, but was glad to have them by my side so I had a sense of familiarity. Dad was attempting to fasten a grill together, swearing like a sailor as he pounded on the grate that wouldn’t stay down, while Mom ran around the house making sure everything was pristine and perfect. I was running my fingers over a copy of The Scarlett Letter for Dad’s first essay, which Alice was reciting by heart for me as well, when the doorbell rang. Mom yelped in surprise, but calmed herself and went to greet the group of excited families.
“I don’t think I’ve had an old fashioned Deveraux cooked meal in years!” Dad cheered as he and Deveraux dragged groceries into the backyard, slamming them down on one of the plastic tables I had helped set up a couple hours prior.
“Nothing beats my curry chicken! Then again, it is Zephyrine’s mother’s recipe.” Deveraux commented as he finished fixing the grill grate so he could set a pot on it.
“Too bad Zephyrine burns water!” Dad called over his shoulder, which he received a smack in the head for from Deveraux’s hissing wife.
“Really, Ash, we should give him some time…?”
“Oh, it’ll be fine! He needs to spread his wings a bit; besides, he likes the kids a lot.” Mom encouraged Zephyrine, who sighed miserably.
“Sebastian is a lot to handle for a shy kid…?” She groaned back.
“Stop making excuses and bring them out here!” Mom declared, shaking Zephyrine.
“Fine, fine… Kids…?!” Zephyrine wearily sighed as she went back inside, and Elizabeth came out to hug Mom warmly.
“The house is coming together so nicely, Ash! I love it so much! Where’s my adorable nephew?” She cackled in delight.
Mom turned to see where I had run off to; “Nick, where are you sweetheart?” She called, coming around the corner with Elizabeth.
“Over here, Mom!” I called from under the tree I was pressed up against.
She let out a little breath of relief; I realized I had been gone most of the morning, and with her being such a worrywart, I probably wasn’t helping her already frayed nerves by hiding like this. She crouched beside me and flicked the corner of my book, “Make sure to put that textbook down and come spend time with everyone; you can read anytime other than tonight.” She patronized with a kiss to my cheek.
“Hey, Dad’s the one who scheduled an essay for Friday,” I snorted as I closed it.
“Leave it to your father to be so unbearably annoying…” Elizabeth teased as she hugged me sweetly, “Is everything going well so far? I hope Valyce has been treating you well?”
“Yes, it’s been great. I really like the academy.” I assured with a big smile.
“OH, NICODEMUS….!” Sebastian’s shrill voice broke through the air, which made the adults laugh hysterically at the way I jumped violently. He marched into the backyard and gasped like a little kid before bolting full speed through the grass so he could jump on me just as he had the day we met. “Hello my sweet Angel…!”
“Why are you always knocking me over!?” I hacked as he rubbed his cheek against mine like a rabid cat, forcing me to stay locked in his iron grip.
“I see you two have met?” Deveraux teased from the grill.
“This is my new best friend! Isn’t he so cute, Dad!?”
“I'm not a puppy…?” I attempted to protest between squished cheeks.
“Sebastian likes to collect people,” Soren plopped down beside us, “His main goal in life is to make as many friends as utterly possible. He has quite the infatuation with you, though.”
“Look how cute he is Soren! How could I not love this squishy little face!” Sebastian shouted before smooshing my cheeks again, while our parents laughed like hyenas.
“Yes, he’s very cute, now calm down… Sebby, give him some damn space!” Soren bellowed as he grabbed Sebastian’s waist and wrenched him off of me.
I wheezed and decompressed like a stuffed toy when I was released from his iron grip, but ended up giggling to Soren’s surprise, “It’s ok Soren, he’s just excited, and I don’t mind.”
“You’re funeral,” Soren scoffed as he let go of Sebastian, who wailed and threw his arms around my neck again.
“HE DOES LOVE ME! OH MY SWEET BABY ANGEL…!”
“You just signed a death wish, kid,” Griffin teased as he joined us as well.
I smirked sadly as I hugged the arms Sebastian had wound around my neck like a vise, “Well, I’ve never really had friends before, so I kind of appreciate how friendly he is.”
My words made the kids’ cheerful attitudes fade, including Sebastian, who loosened his grip to properly sit beside me. “You’ve never had a friend?” He asked with a pout to his words.
I shrugged, “You don’t meet many people when you’re home schooled. I'm used to hanging out with spirits in the graveyard, so it’s nice to have met you guys.”
Sebastian sniffled loudly before letting out a wail and ripping me into his chest, “I promise we will love you more than anyone in the world, Angel! You’ll never be lonely again!”
“You’re going to wish you were when he’s through with you,” Praxis laughed.
We collectively erupted into a loud conversation about our homework as the adults took over cooking; the airiness that consumed the backyard made me feel much more at home. It was almost too normal that we all meshed together like this, but instead of prying on that thought, I welcomed this newly formed family that had been nothing but purely welcoming to me. “Well look what the cat dragged in; took ya long enough!” Dad called as the backdoor opened again, and the sound of crinkling tin foil filled the air.
“Cram it; some of us do our jobs once in a while, unlike you, Bag of Bones.” Blaine laughed as he punched Dad’s arm.
When Blaine arrived today, he was sporting a skittish kid that looked to be our age, who was suction cupped to his waist as they walked. What made me gasp in awe was the fact that I could, somehow, see what he looked like. He had chin length dark brown hair that hugged his cheeks, masking a set of pure gold eyes and a pair of glasses. He looked absolutely petrified, but Blaine paid no attention as he waved to us. “Afternoon, guys!” He called, pausing to tower of me intimidatingly, “Oh, you, mister hot shot math kid…” He scoffed with playful betrayal in his tone.
“Hello, S-Sir…?” I stammered.
“Who would have thought something spawned from Atlas would actually have a brain cell!” He laughed, ruffling my hair before sighing, “Sorry I'm late; did we miss anything...?” As he spoke, his son peeked at me with one gold eye, which made my own widen.
Why the heck could I see him so clearly?!
“Glad you’re here, Blaine. We could use a hand?” Deveraux reminded him.
I heard Dad whisper something to Mom about the way I was staring at Blaine’s son, and the two moved to the side to continue studying my reactions. Blaine turned to the shaking boy beside him and tilted his chin up to get his full attention. Underneath that hair was a face that made my heart explode, and Sebastian and Soren giggle at whatever expression I was wearing. I had never seen anything or anyone, (literally and figuratively) that I’d ever thought was as beautiful as that face, and all I wanted was to creepily run my hand over his cheeks and feel the heat from the blush he was sporting.
“Think you can hang out with the guys for a bit?” Blaine asked hopefully. The boy smiled and nodded excitedly; Blaine patted his hair before he lead the way over to us. “Nick, this is my son. He’s very sweet, but extremely shy. You probably won’t get many words out of him, but he is listening when you speak. Keep an eye on him for me, please? I don’t need Sebastian torturing him while he’s still under the weather.”
“Sure thing!” I managed to reply, though my heart was still racing wildly.
“Don’t get into too much trouble over here!” He left the boy standing as straight as a pencil and walked off to join the other dads at the grill.
We all tilted our heads at him before Sebastian paraded over and began barraging him with questions despite Blaine’s warning. The boy didn’t utter a single peep, but nodded slowly with his face buried into the neckline of his shirt. Sebastian finally gave up and moped his way back to my side, groaning, “He’s extra quiet today cause he’s sick, but still…!”
“Griffin, honey, can you and Soren come help with setting the table while Praxis and Sebastian finish this potato salad?” Elizabeth called over Sebastian’s talking.
“I swear you only had kids to use us as slaves!” Griffin whined obnoxiously, though they all still obeyed his mother, “We’ll be back, guys. Try not to bore him to death.” Griffin said to the boy, who giggled like a mouse at Griffin’s teasing wink.
Once gone, the boy peeked down at me before shyly hiding his face in his shirt again. I swallowed and cleared my throat, “Um, hey, I'm Nicodemus. I'm new, as I'm sure you’ve heard. I’m not going to harass you, but if you’d like to come sit down with me you can. It may be more comfortable then waiting for them to come back?” He didn’t move for a moment, so I shrugged and pulled my textbook back out. He watched as I felt for the bookmark, then sighed before he began to slowly crab walk over and plop beside me, shoving his glasses up higher on his nose. I chuckled a little, which made him flash me a side eye. “I know we just met, but you are so darn cute.” I said without being able to suppress myself, which made him flash a brilliant red.
After a moment or two of silence, he sucked in a breath that sounded as if he had inhaled his lungs before snapping his eyes up and screaming a “HI!” that made me jump out of my skin. He slammed his face into his sleeves after the outburst, trembling harder as I caught my breath.
“Well hello there; welcome to the planet, Space Cadet.” I replied, laughing obnoxiously at myself. A soft giggle escaped him at my joke, which made me set my book down curiously. “Are you laughing at me?” I teased as he peeked at me from over his hands.
“Maybe,” he whispered a little clearer into his fleece.
“Two words! Wow, I’m on a roll! What’s your name?” I asked excitedly, wanting him to tell me himself even though I knew it.
He blinked, then pursed his lips, “Too long…” he squeaked nervously.
I smacked myself once in shame, “I’m sorry if I sound like I’m making fun of you; I truly don’t mean to if I am. I’m just being annoying.”
“I know, it’s ok…” He paused, then laid his cheek into his hand so I could see his entire face, while he looked at me upside down. “My name’s… Odysseus…” he finally declared. His voice, now that I could hear it clearly, was as smooth as velvet, and held an innocence to it. He spoke in low tones, and the sound caused butterflies to envelop my stomach.
“Odysseus? Odd-eh-sus… That’s a very pretty name. I like that you pronounce it differently than everyone else does,” I said, swallowing slightly to calm myself.
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“Thank you. I… like your name, a lot.” He replied loosely, though his eyes sparkled.
“Do you? I don’t know how I feel about it.”
“Nicodemus, right? It’s really pretty. I love long names like that,” he cooed lovingly, which made me kick my legs shyly. He abruptly inched closer, his smile growing wider by the minute, “I like you…” He crooned, which made me tilt my head curiously.
“You do?” I asked. He nodded confidently; I wrung my hands with an awkward grin, “I’m happy your talking to me?” I offered with a wicked blush.
“Me too,” he whispered, blinking at my textbook, “Are you, blind?” He asked sadly.
“Can’t tell?” I joked.
He surveyed me for a long moment before shrugging a little, “It seems like you’re looking right at me, so I didn’t…?”
I bit my lip as I thought of a response, “I, yeah, I know. Somehow, I can… see, you...?” I sheepishly attempted. His cheeks flushed a deep pink at my comment; I wrung my hands before clearing my throat, “Maybe you’re special, or, something…?”
“Special…?” He echoed, his gold eyes filling with wonder.
Somewhere in this I heard that Blaine had returned from the kitchen, and was standing frozen in absolute shock. Dad was with him, and he and Deveraux were trying to get him to talk as Odysseus tugged on my shirt. “Oh, yes?” I mumbled, turning from the black where Blaine should be back to the shining gold beacon beside me.
“What’s your element?” He asked like a little kid.
“I’m a Death Elemental.”
“How many Shadows do you have?” He whispered, mesmerized, as I smirked.
“Four; two boys, two girls. What about you? What’s your element?”
“Life,” he replied simply.
“Life? That’s so cool! I haven’t met any Life Elementals yet, besides my Mom.” I excitedly replied, bubbling in awe that our elements seemingly fit so well together.
“We’re rare,” he said matter-of-factly in his sweet sing-song voice.
“Are you going to be coming back to school soon?” I asked. He shrugged nonchalantly, which I frowned sourly at. “Oh, I see. That sucks.”
“Why?” He asked, tilting his head like an owl.
“Cause you’re cool, and I’d like to hang out with you more; you’re not obnoxious like those guys over there.” I snorted teasingly, which made him turn to my cousins, who were arm wrestling for a bottlecap they found. He let out a string of odd chortles, which made me laugh hysterically until I was in tears. “What was that!?” I screamed, which made him squeak louder, “You need to laugh more often! You sound like a goose!”
“Hey!” He cried, giggling like a mouse into his shirt.
“You got him talking!” Praxis cried, racing over like Odysseus was an animal in a pet store window. Odysseus automatically shut down as Praxis tilted her head at him. “Huh; guess he only likes you.” She whined jealously.
“You know I like you, Praxis…?” He whispered to make her smile.
“I don’t think he feels good is all, so the space is helping.” I said to his relief.
“Yeah right; well, you continue flirting with your new boyfriend!” She mocked, making me squeak as she cackled like a demon and bounced off to find her brother.
Odysseus peeked up from his shirt slyly, “Is she gone…?” He peeped sheepishly.
I smacked my hands to my waist, raising an eyebrow at him, “So you’re doing it on purpose, you rude little thing!”
“I like talking to you… you.” He reminded me sweetly.
“So you ignore everyone else!? Who taught you manners?” I snapped jokingly, which made him laugh a full laugh this time that made everyone turn in shock to us, “Blaine, your son is a brat!” I called over his hysterical giggles. Blaine, to my surprise, was sobbing hysterically, and Dad was trying to console him to the best of his ability. It was the last reaction I ever thought I’d see from Blaine, but Odysseus didn’t seemed as bothered as I was. “Whoa, what’s up with him?” I asked Odysseus, worried I had offended Blaine somehow.
He fell quiet for a moment before picking at his sweatshirt string, “He likes when I talk.” He finally admitted before standing to shuffle off and console his father.
╪
Everyone ended up crowding around the main table beside the grill so we could converse and complain about Dad and Deveraux’s mix matched cooking style. Each family had been patient enough to suppress their questions for me, but the excitement was beginning to be too much, and they were ready to squeeze out every ounce of information possible. The Gods were smart to let their kids fire off the questions so they could get what they wanted while not being the ones to force it out of me themselves. “So, how old are you, Nick?” Praxis began as she poked a straw into her soda so she could blow bubbles in Griffin’s face to agitate him.
“Seventeen; I’ll be eighteen in October.” I replied past a bite of chicken.
“When did you meet your Shadows?”
“I was around one when we first made contact. Claude, who’s kind of the ring leader, has always been able to talk to me, but I met everyone in the Human Realm for the first time when I was four. We’ve been pretty inseparable since.” I pointed to my head, “They’re rumbling around in there with me, so we’re always together.”
“Have you guys trained at all?” Soren prompted.
“Of course; you were there when I killed that Cerberus after all. My Dad is obviously a perfect coach for my element, so we’ve done everything I could handle while running off a lack of Elemental energy. I do a lot of small things myself as well, like helping lost souls cross over and such to keep practice. I'm excited to really get into the big stuff!” I declared to assure Blaine, who was radiating the same proud energy from the day we had met.
“You’re going to love going on assignments! We’ve been all over the world hunting down monsters and working with the environment. Last month, Soren and I suppressed a humungous volcano before it erupted and flattened out a few islands!” Praxis sang proudly.
I laughed at her tone, “That does sound fun. I'm sure I’ll be working with the dead guys a bit more than volcanoes, though.”
“Not necessarily; if you can control other elements using your Shadow Walkers, then you’ll be useful in multiple areas.” Sebastian pointed out as he reached across the table for some ketchup.
I pursed my lips at the thought, “Hmm, I suppose so. I can control Electricity, Water, Fire, and Earth with my Shadows, so I guess I can help out quite a bit.”
“That’s a lot!” Griffin yelped, “How the heck do you keep up with that many elements? I can barely handle one!” He added with a nudge to my shoulder.
“I’ve gone through thousands of training sets I want to work on with you, and you just added a thousand more.” Blaine cackled darkly, which made everyone explode in laughter.
I rolled my eyes, but smiled sweetly to him, “I feel like you’re going to torture me because I solved your problem the other day?”
“I'm going to torture you because it’s fun,” he replied teasingly.
Odysseus, who was zoned out on his phone, abruptly picked his head up and glanced to me, “You and I are probably going to work together a lot,” he said casually.
I blinked hard before biting my lip to try and contain a ferocious blush trying to claw its way up my face, “That would be cool; I haven’t had much training with Life Elementals, though it makes sense for Life and Death to hang around one another.”
“Life and Death always end up hooking up,” Soren snorted, not realizing what he was referring to, but jumping when he did, “I, uh, mean they always get paired together…!” He cried in shame as Odysseus and I turned blood red.
“Subtle, Soren.” Griffin scoffed.
“On another note…” Sebastian pulled a notebook from seemingly midair, and slammed it onto the table top, “We have to figure out what kind of club you’re going to join!”
“Club? Is that a requirement?” I questioned innocently.
“With Sebastian, yes,” Praxis whined.
Sebastian shoved her playfully before continuing, “I run the music club, and would love to have you join, but I also am more than willing to help you find one that fits your tastes!”
“Seb is an amazing singer. You have to stop by and hear him practice,” Griffin added.
“You kind of do everything around here, huh Sebby?” I offered lovingly.
“He’s a walking welcome committee.” Deveraux called over his shoulder.
“Saves me money,” Galaxy joked, which made Deveraux howl behind his sweet tea.
“How often do we get new kids, especially ones this special!” He barked back.
“Special? That’s a bit overkill,” I scoffed with a shrug.
Sebastian gasped so hard that I jumped, “I do NOT tolerate self-deprecating comments like that on my campus…!”
“I thought it was my campus?” Galaxy teased, which made me giggle at his joke.
“I'm your son-in-law, so it’s mine, too!” Sebastian pouted.
“Oh, are you dating one of the boys?” I asked sweetly.
Sebastian cleared his throat cautiously, rubbing his arm with an uncomfortable tsk, “Um, yes. Soren and I are together… Does that, uh, bother you…?” He sheepishly stammered.
“We, wanted to wait to tell you…!?” Soren tried, terrified of my reaction. The other Gods were just as worried as the boys, as if this was meant to be some kind of make or break moment in the friendships we had been building.
I snorted in surprise, “Bother me? Why would that bother me; I think that’s great! How long have you been together?!” I cheered, cupping my face casually with a genuine smile.
Deveraux and Zephyrine sighed in pure relief, and cooed to one another sweetly at my response and the fact that Sebastian’s new infatuation was so accepting. The two in question, however, fell quiet for a few beats. Sebastian finally inched forward to wrap his arms around my waist and press his face into my neck. The change in his aura was surprising, and I didn’t know how to react at first. He took a deep breath before squeezing me tighter, a smile deep in his voice, “You’re going to be my bestest friend in the whole wide world…” He sang adorably, with genuine love in his tone, which made me tsk and hug him back warmly.
╪
Odysseus kept his distance for the time he and his father stayed, more so because he was still feeling ill. Blaine, who always fronted his tough guy attitude, had melted down to cuddle his son sweetly while he chatted with the group, something they had obviously grown used to. Odysseus did occasionally glance over to peek at me, but I couldn’t stop myself from watching his every move. I was absolutely enamored, and every little movement he made mesmerized me, even when Blaine ran his hand through Odysseus’s hair. I could see him so clearly that it was as if he were a spirit, and even though Blaine’s hand was invisible to me, the way the sun caught Odysseus’s highlights and turned them caramel made my heart swoon. Sebastian had to smack me three times to get my attention on numerous occasions.
After we had eaten, Blaine declared that he should head back and get more medicine into his son, who was holding back some harsh coughs to try and stay as long as possible. Everyone crowded around to say their goodbyes, including myself, who was towards the back behind Odysseus with my hands stuffed in my pockets. He abruptly darted around like a bird, and when he saw me standing off to the side, he grabbed my arm with his face full of fear, “Can we talk again sometime?” He begged to the group’s disbelief.
“Of course we can,” I assured. I handed him a small slip of paper and reached over to ruffle his hair, which made his eyes widen in utter awe, “Make sure to text me while you’re getting better, ok? I’d love to hang out with you again soon.” I chimed, and though I sounded confident, I wanted to throw up all over the buffet table.
Odysseus nodded sweetly, “You bet…” He giggled before Blaine coaxed him to the door.
Once the two had departed, I made my way through the yard to find Dad’s arm, where he was sipping a beer and talking with Galaxy about the academic course schedule. “What was Blaine’s deal earlier?” I whispered as Dad wrapped an arm around my shoulders.
“Truthfully, his son hasn’t spoken more than a few words to anyone in years, so your conversation kind of took him off guard.” My jaw hit the floor, and I turned back to the door they had left through in shock. “You truly are a special kid,” Dad cooed in a proud tone.
“I like him, Dad. I hope I can hang out with him again soon...” I declared.
“I think he likes you too.” Galaxy chuckled.
I waited a beat before tugging on Dad’s arm again, “Hey, can I ask you guys something, weird? How come I can see Odysseus?”
The two froze, their cheerful demeanor sinking, “See him?” Dad snapped so harshly that I flinched. He turned to his brother in pure astonishment, his hand shaking enough that I could hear his beer sloshing around in the glass. Galaxy didn’t have an answer, so Dad tried to piece one together for me. “I...I don’t know, Nick...?” He made little sounds of confusion as he tried to say something further, “What did… What did you see? Can you describe him for me?” He continued, motioning Mom forward in horror.
I pursed my lips before responding, “Well, I could see him, but everything else was black. He had gold eyes and glasses, and dark hair; his sweatshirt was black and had white lettering on it. Everywhere he went I could see him, but whatever he was near or touched was still black. I thought I could only see spirits, but I saw him plain as day, which is weird considering he’s alive.” I explained with a small shrug.
Mom lightly took my shoulders, “Sorry to ask like this, Love Bug, but can you see anything now? Anything at all?” She said as she waved a hand in my face. I knew she was doing this based on how her bracelets clinked together from the movement.
I turned my head as far as I could, blinking wildly to try and provide a good answer for her. After a few moments, I turned back to where she was crouched before me, “Nope, not a thing. There’s a spirit up in the tree, and Dad’s Shadows are playing a card game near the fence, but other than that it’s the same; just the dead guys.”
“That is… peculiar, to say the least,” Galaxy hesitantly offered.
“To be honest…” My voice fell a few octaves as realization slowly hit me, “He looks just like the boy from my dreams…” I whispered, mostly to myself since they knew nothing of my reoccurring dream. Before they could ask, I turned and abruptly walked away to find a place to collect my thoughts, my face frozen with fear.