Kellina stared at the document on her laptop screen and sighed heavily, blowing her bangs out of her face momentarily. The professor had not yet shown and students entered the lecture hall, sometimes in singles, sometimes in small groups of two or three. They scattered around the large lecture hall, sitting in varying seats, some up close, some further back, but mostly clustered in the middle. 

“Is this seat taken?”

Kellina looked up at the cute, curly-haired man that stood beside her with a warm smile. Her cheeks reddened slightly and she attempted to hide them by adjusting her hair. She pulled her gaze away and cleared her throat.

“Uh, no.”

He sat beside her and stretched his legs out, leaning back. She checked him out at the corner of her vision, noticing that he didn’t have a laptop or even a notebook. She didn’t recognize him, but the class was large and she never paid much attention to any of the other students.

“You can’t use my notes,” she said simply, turning her attention back to her laptop. The professor finally entered and stood at the podium, and the idle chatter disappeared.

“Last week we left off -”

“Oh, I don’t need notes, thanks,” he whispered to her. 

She glanced at him. “Are you, like, a genius or something?”

He pondered this for a moment, his eyes turned up. “Hm. Maybe. I never really thought about it.”

“Right,” she said slowly. 

“I’m Capricorn, by the way.”

Kellina typed quickly as the professor spoke. “Uh-huh. Kellina.” She felt him lean in to look at her screen.

“What’s this class about, anyway?”

She paused, then met his gaze. “Have you not been here all semester?”

He grinned. “No, actually.”

She took a moment to go over the whole conversation in her head, and her brows furrowed. “Did you say your name is Capricorn?”

“Yup.”

She turned her focus onto the professor. “That’s an… interesting name.”

“I get that a lot.”

She resumed her typing for another moment before speaking again. “So, why are you here then?”

“Wanted to talk to you.”

“Why? We don’t even know each other.”

“Maybe. But I’ve seen you around.”

“I’m not interested in going out with you.”

“That’s not why I wanted to talk to you.”

“Oh.” She frowned. “Then, what?”

“I think you met my friend Apollo.”

Her lips pursed as she thought back. “The guy that bought my coffee the other day?” He was cute, too. He had struck up a conversation with her while they stood in line. He had asked her about her field of study, commenting that she would make the best nurse. “I don’t want to go out with him, either.”

“I should hope not,” Capricorn said. “Still. You’re not a very available person. Which is why I had to come here to talk to you for him.”

“For him?”

“You kept ignoring him. At the coffee shop, when he gave you his cab, and helped you when you dropped your books.”

Her brow furrowed deeply. “My… books…” Was that the same man every time?

“You’ve been ignoring his messages, too.”

“What messages?”

“In your dreams. The one where he told you about the Gigantes.”

“The what?”

“And that’s why I’m here,” he said. “To finally talk some sense into you.”

“Talk sense? To me? What are you on about?”

“It’s just as Apollo said,” Capricorn started. “The Gigantes threaten the fate of the entire universe and we need you to help stop them.”

“Awa’ n bile your head.” She turned back to her laptop and continued typing.

“As ridiculous as it sounds, it’s the truth,” he said. “I am your Ouranos; your guide through this war. We need your help.”

“Sorry,” she said. “I have plans this weekend.”

“Do you?”

“Yes,” she said in a huff. “I’m spending the week with a friend in London.”

“Last hurrah of the semester?”

“Yes. So, as you can see, I have no time to help you save the world or whatever.”

“Well, that’s too bad.” Capricorn leaned back in his chair and watched as the professor continued his lecture, unaware of their conversation, and he smiled.