“Get in the car, Chill, we're leaving.” I spit the words out of my mouth with as much venom as I could manage as I gave Hades my best death glare.

“Come on, sis, he just needs to ride with us once and he'll get why your precious is so perfect.” Chill tried to sooth my ire. I knew without looking that he was probably a bit panicked. I might not be the best angry driver in the world.

“I said get in the car!” My voice might have raised three octaves. It barely missed being called screaming by about a half an octave. I turned and leveled my death glare at him.

My brother leaped to his side of the car and before he got in, he did his own version of a death glare (which looked surprisingly like mine) at Hades. “You owe me for this. I'm probably going to die from her road rage now. I expect payment in small unmarked bills if I survive this.” He tucked himself into the passenger seat and quickly buckled his seat belt.

I whipped my gaze back over to the persona non grata. “Take your hunky mountain of a body and awesome lips back over to that hunk of cheese motorcycle and get yourself lost, you uncouth contrary... contrary... TROLL!” I climbed into my beautiful car and twisted the ignition. My baby came to life with an angry roar. I yanked the wheel and reversed with gusto, then I peeled out of the parking lot in a small shower of gravel. I hoped some of it hit that rude person who shall now be referred to as He Who Shall Not Be Named! No, wait. That name is already taken. I mean he shall be referred to as No Name! Wait, that name's been taken too.

I spent the rest of the drive trying to come up with a good name for the evil wizard who called my baby, junkie. I was still trying to come up with a fitting name when I pulled into the driveway of our ugly as sin, ranch style rental house. I was just shutting the car door when a giant of a man, riding a motorcycle pulled up to the curb in front of our house.

“Nope, I'm done. That was the most terrifying drive ever. I'm scarred for life. You deal with him.” Chill said, as he hugged his recently purchased goodies to his chest and scurried for the house. How is it fair that Chill can make scurrying look cool? It's not fair. At. All.

I locked up my baby and stomped over to where Hades was dismounting from his iron hunk of metal. “Are you stalking us now?” I made that face you use when something has gone off in the fridge to die.

He unzipped his jacket and pulled off his helmet. I gave him props for the helmet, at least he knew enough to protect his pea sized brain from getting splattered if he ends up launched from the back of his motorcycle. He tucked the helmet onto the end of the seat, then turned to me. “I'm here to talk to your parents about the goblins and your lack of protection.”

Hades walked passed me, towards our cruddy dwelling. “They aren't here, come back later.”

“Then I'll wait.” He continued to walk.

“Then you can wait out here.” I ran in front of him and stopped, forcing him to either stop or move around me.

He picked option three and picked me up and continued walking.

“What is it with you and picking me up!?” I was beginning to get frustrated with this guy. More like way past frustrated.

“You're always trying to hurt yourself. I would have run you over if I didn't pick you up. Now, you will invite me in, you will be hospitable, and you will stop being angry with me. I've just been trying to keep you safe!” He sounded like a dad, but I refused to be cowed into doing his bidding!

“I wasn't trying to hurt myself, I will invite you in never, I will be hostile, and you haven't seen angry yet. You. Called. My. Baby. Junkie! There is no coming back from that.” I stuck out my lower lip in a ferocious pout.

Hades set me on the porch and turned me to face him. “Look. I'm sorry I called your eighty-five mustang convertible, junkie. I didn't mean it. It's actually a cool car and it sounds amazing. It roars almost as loudly as my motorcycle. Please, let me inside your house to wait for your parents. You really are in more danger than you realize and I don't want your beautiful face to be fairy food.”

That made me stop and blink at him. He called my face beautiful and he said my baby was cool. It was hard to stay mad after all of that. I pursed my lips to keep a goofy smile from making me look stupid. I sniffed, “I guess you can come in.”

He took a deep breath and let it out in a whoosh and his shoulders dropped slightly as if he just released some tension. He ran a hand through his dark hair and breathed a quiet, “thank you.”