X. A Star on Earth

As Hayden got out of the elevator, Mihai ran by his feet, rubbing his nose to his leg. He bent down, petting him. I was still scarred by the puppy and refused to even look at it.

“Ready?” Hayden asked as we stepped into the elevator that takes us up to Earth.

“Yup,” I replied with a smile and stepped inside. We ascended to the Earth's HQ and as the elevator doors opened, three agents were waiting for us, with their guns pointing at the door. They all stare at us shocked and lowered their guns, apologising to Hayden for the miss understanding. One of the agents offered to take us to my uncle and we followed him. When we walked through the door, we saw my uncle behind his desk, on the phone. As he looked up at us, he hung up the phone and rushed around the table to hug me.

“What are you doing here? Has something happened?” He questioned us, letting go of me and shaking Hayden’s hand.

“We got a lead on a Titan that is currently living on Earth, so we are here to investigate.” Hayden smiled pleasantly.

“Thank god. I was worried something awful had happened. Do you need me to arrange your accommodation?” Uncle was always equipped with anything one needed. Security, accommodation, cars, jobs, all of it.

“I have a penthouse uptown but thank you.” Hayden’s tone was always very professional. Even while talking to his friends.

“You’ll stay with me, sweetie?” My uncle looked at me as I watched Hayden and I snapped my head quickly.

“Of course,” I replied with a smile. I had gotten used to being two minutes away from Hayden’s room. I secretly wished I could stay with him.

“I'll get a car arranged to take you from and to work,” Hayden assured me.

“That isn’t necessary Sir.”

“With Titan’s roaming around it’s not safe for you to walk around on your own.” Once again Hayden had proved to care for me, despite his tense and professional exterior.

“I agree.” Uncle nodded his head.

“For today we should rest and tomorrow morning we will visit our friend” I nodded agreeing and he said goodnight and left. As much as Hayden continued to hide his feelings, I knew he cared about me. I decided to wait for my uncle to finish work and go back home together. I hadn’t realised how long that would take and began to rest my head on one side of his couch, falling asleep.

I felt somebody touch my face and as I opened my eyes, I could see Hayden standing in front of me. Smiling from ear to ear, he caressed my hair. I jumped awake as my uncle’s cold fingers touched my skin, telling me we’re going home.

The next morning, I awoke feeling sore from the couch in my uncle’s office. I showered and dressed and made breakfast. It felt like an eternity waiting for Hayden to arrive. I’d gotten used to seeing him every day, yet I was still nervous. The sound of a car door shutting outside made me jump out of my skin and I walked over and opened the door. He looked as tired as I was but smiled as he said hello.

“Would you like a coffee before we go?” I asked politely, making him smile.

“Thank you, Miss Lockwood, but I hope we get all we need today and return to the Underworld by evening tomorrow, so I would like to get started.” He waved his hand towards the opened door.

Of course, sir.” I quickly grabbed my bag and jacket and we left. He opened the car door for me, and I smiled as a thank you. He got in and we drove off. I had already thought of a plan to see Star on my own. Since we were staying separately, I figured I could go back to see her in the evening, once Hayden went back to his penthouse. We drove in silence.

“What do we wanna know exactly?” I asked breaking the silence between us.

“Anything she can tell us about the Titans or if there are any scheduled attacks.” He replied taking a sharp turn.

“What makes you think she will speak to us?” I asked as I had initially warned him that she would be cautious about speaking to somebody like him. A King. A God.

“She will. I’ll make her if I have to.” I stared at him for another minute, hoping we didn’t have to result to violence.

We arrived at an old block of flats and walked up to the second floor. Hayden knocked on the door and we waited. We heard somebody approaching and a young girl opened the door. One of her arms were behind her back and she waited for us to tell her why we were there.

“Hi. My name is Eve. We are looking for Star?” I began as Hayden stood beside me tense and awkward.

“Nobody on Earth calls me Star. Who are you?” The girl was dressed in worn, dark scruffy, clothing and spoke with an attitude. She seemed defensive.

“You know exactly who I am, so let’s not play this game. I’m not here to hurt you or take you down to Tarus. I just want some information.” He said walking closer and she exhaled letting us in. She moved her hand from behind her back, exposing a large weapon.

“What do you want Hades?” She asked again annoyed. It seemed like perhaps they had some sort of past.

“Why are you here?” He questioned her standing beside the door.

“I live here.”

“I mean all of you. Why are you roaming the Earth for Artefacts?” His tone was a lot harsher. He seemed impatient. I hadn't really seen Hayden interact with somebody he seemed to hate. I didn't ever want to be on the receiving end of that stick.

“You think we’re planning an attack?” She laughed.

“Why else would you need so many Artefacts?” As they talked, I looked around her flat. Fairly empty with no personal belongings or pictures. She doesn’t live here.

“When did you hire snoopy over there?” She pointed at me as I looked at her. I quickly returned besides Hayden and kept quiet.

“How many of you are there?” Hayden asked and she walked around, avoiding all his questions.

“Look, we’re just borrowing a couple of them and they will be returned to their owners eventually. There’s nothing to worry about. We aren’t planning on any attacks anytime soon. Not that I know of anyway.”

“Who else can we speak to?”

“I’m not giving you anyone’s information and then being called a traitor by the others.” She replied rushing around us. “I have things to do. Are we finished?” She asked walking to the door and opening it for us. We stepped out and the door slammed behind us.

“Well, that was a pointless lead.” Hayden looked defeated.

“She was lying to us. She could be lying about the attacks too.” I said walking down the stairs, back to the car.

“How do you know she was lying?”

“She said she lives there, but there were no personal items that would make it a home. No pictures or clothes scattered around. She was lying to us.” I reiterated.

“We should go back to the HQ and see if they have any information on other Titans living on Earth. We can go back again tomorrow and see if she’ll tell us more.” I nodded agreeing and we drove back to the HQ. We sat up for hours looking through files of information with no personal information on the Titans, which would make it impossible to find them.

“I think we’re done for the night. Need me to drive you back home?” Hayden asked, getting up from his chair and stretching. His shirt lifted slightly, and I could see his perfectly lined abs.

“I’ll wait for my uncle. Thank you, Sir.” I replied with a smile.

“Goodnight Miss Lockwood.” He left the office with a smile.