Beer Pong Is a Sport

Angel opened her eyes to find herself in the same dark room. She realized it was another dream. He was beside her once again except he faced her this time with the sheet draped across his abdomen and legs. Angel fought the urge to wrap herself around his sleeping body. Fuck I said don't dream about him and what did you do?! She mentally screamed. She looked for an exit.

It's her mind right so there should be some way out? A door, a window, something. Her mom used to say if your having a nightmare, imagine an exit, then use it. But no matter how hard she imagined the door appearing, it wouldn't.

The place where a door should have been, was covered with more wall. Why would she come back? Just to remind herself of the insanity of the whole situation? The connection wasn't real, or at least, wasn't mutual. It's just a fucking crush. You like a hot guy, so what? He's a god and you're, you, whoever that is. She scolded herself. The sooner she let her infatuation go, the easier it would be when she left hell for good.

"Wake up!" she hissed out loud, trying to slide from the sheets without waking him.

"Why do you want to wake up?" He looked at her from under his disheveled hair. He pretended to sleep at first, silently waiting for her to make the first move, but now he sat up to meet her eyes, "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?" she laughed to herself, then mumbled, "What isn't wrong is probably the shorter answer."

She didn't feel the need to answer her own projection of him so she sat silently. Trying to wait out her sleep cycle.

"I don't generally like being ignored," he sneered. Her mind had really captured his personality well. Chauvinistic, self-centered, rude. She felt as annoyed by him here as she when she left the throne room. But she begrudgingly answered him, having nothing better to do in the dark room.

"Because I don't belon—I mean I don't want to be here."

"Why do you think you don't belong here?" He asked, even though she hadn't finished her sentence. He propped himself up on his elbows. She ignored his nude torso but wondered again how she could know what his tattoos looked like.

"You're my subconscious so you should know why I don't want to be here, why I don't belong here."

He puzzled at her for a moment before realizing she didn't understand what was happening. Of course she didn't, she wasn't of his world. She'd never heard of dream walking and even if she had, her memory might have erased it. He felt like he'd taken advantage of a drunk girl last night. What the fuck is wrong with me? He thought. He knew better. Secretly he knew it was wrong. That's why he'd fought against his brain, that's why he felt the odd need to care about whether he was making the right choice. What would happen if she found out?

She thought she was simply dreaming of him, like any human would. She couldn't know he was using his power to pull her mind into his dream space. He'd grown too accustomed to the goddesses who knew what they were getting into with him, knew where they stood. Angel didn't. He felt guilty. But instead of leaning into the guilt, and admitting what was happening, he resolved to keep up the lie. Lying to her seemed like a terrible idea, but telling the truth seemed worse.

Even though it hadn't been physical, it had still been sex and he knew now that she didn't understand that when she consented. Fuck. She would never find out. She could never find out. She obviously found him attractive to believe she was having a real sex dream about him, that would be enough to confuse her.

"Well let's just say you're subconscious wants you to say it. Humor me," he insisted, furthering the deception.

"This connection isn't real. The sooner I let it go, the better!" She sighed deeply, "In the real world, he's a god and I'm a human in transition whatever the fuck that means and I'm pretty sure he wants nothing to do with me. Why would he want a human when he could have a goddess?"

Hades looked at her strangely for a long while. Angel was right and wrong at the same time. She should let him go if she knew what was good for her. His world would only break her more than it already had. And he needed to let go of her as well. He felt emotional towards her, like he wanted to protect her.

He was trying to fight his urges in the real world but he couldn't stop bringing her to his dream space. The first time had been surprising and so satisfying he assumed it would sate his hunger. But he felt more like a starving man than ever. Every time he was near her, she weakened his resolve. He wanted her, needed her, more than either of them could possibly understand. Her raw emotions bled into everyone around her.

"If I wanted nothing to do with you, if that were really true, you wouldn't be here, affecting me like this." His lips collided with hers before she could register anything. The pleasure pulled her into him. He sucked at her collarbone and he lowered the straps of her gown until she was bare before him. Every inch of skin he touched made him crave her more. He wanted to bite her, fuck her, love her, possess her. The fibers of his being pulled him down into her ecstasy and he couldn't pull away. He wouldn't. He would just have to maintain the lie. She could never know.

---

Angel awoke to a tightness in her chest. It wasn't painful, just pressure. Every day she felt more exhausted and the dreams weren't helping. How many times was she going to torture herself with pleasure. In the dreams, everything made sense. The fear and anxiety seemed to melt away into his skin but waking up felt worse every time: hollow and heavy.

She slowly brushed her teeth and examined her red baggy eyes. Crying herself to sleep wreaked havoc on her. Her streaky brown face would be hard to fix. She looked as exhausted as she felt. She swore not to dream of him anymore. It felt like she hadn't slept at all. She showered then returned to the room to find some clothes. She could only find the outfit she arrived in—a green crop top with cap sleeves and a pair of distressed jeans. Still no shoes. But at least the clothes were devoid of blood.

She shuddered momentarily wondering whose blood she wore when they found her. Was it true? Was Thia right? Had her loop been about hurting someone else? She rubbed her arms as if to banish the thoughts and got dressed. She wasn't sure if she should wait for Thia to come get her or risk leaving the room on her own. In the end her anxiety made the decision for her. She'd rather meet her fate head on then wait for it to come for her.

No one was in the hallway outside her door as she cautiously stepped out and began walking. She noticed that outside her door there was another just like hers across the hall. Hades' room she suspected. Thia said theirs' were the only two rooms in this area. She walked across slowly, clasping the long bar of a handle. The odds of him being inside at that exact moment were slim. No king spends his time lounging in his room. Shouldn't she just take a small peek?

She debated for another minute and then pulled the door open. She peered in and gasped. It was the room from her dreams. The exact same room. Down to the sheets and bed posts. How could she know that? She couldn't. She had never seen his room or slept in his bed. How could she know the layout down to the placement of the fireplace?

She thought back to the strangeness of the dreams and how she always felt like the room was real even though she'd never seen it before. Another thought seized her, how could she know what he looked like naked? She had thought about it before. She couldn't. Even Thia said no one saw his body tattoos. Angel had certainly never seen them. But they were in the dreams nonetheless.

She backed out of the room trying to make sense of it. Was she psychic? Did it have to do with her transition? They were definitely dreams right? She had confirmed herself both times that she hadn't had any physical intercourse. The whole thing hurt her head. She decided to find Thia.

After taking a few turns through the long corridors of doors, she came to a large open area with a giant set of doors. Next to the doors she could see Thia and Brazz in an intense conversation. She recognized Brazz because of his white hair. Zero stood next to them. Thia's eyes broke from his face and smiled at Angel.

"Angel, over here!" She waved her hand, "How are you feeling?"

"Like I was hit by a bus," Angel said bluntly, "Also, I need some shoes. And I'm hungry."

"Aren't you the bundle of joy this morning. You look like shit," Brazz mocked. But then he thought back to what Thia said the night before. Would the girl continue to deteriorate in front of them? Thia passed her a pair of sneakers and watched as Angel put them on.

"I was planning to bring them to your room but you beat me to it," Thia rolled her eyes, "We're going to have to get you some clothes soon. You're dressed like you're going to a party."

"Maybe I am?" Angel glared slightly. Her mood turned sour with the stress of her dreams.

"Food's this way," Thia pointed to an alcove, ignoring Angel's snip. They walked through to reveal a large room of banquet style tables. Trays and chafing dishes spread along the back wall. Angel's hunger began to hurt as she smelled the bacon and waffles.

She got in line behind a few other men in black vests and waited her turn. Then she greedily piled as much food as would fit. She watched in awe as whatever she took refilled immediately, like magic. When Thia, Brazz, and Zero were finished filling their plates as well, they all walked toward an empty table near the entrance.

"Where are the other two?" Angel asked absent-mindedly.

"They're handling some things back at the dorm Brazz smirked, "something about a beer pong tournament..."

Angel didn't pay much mind to it as she unceremoniously plowed into her food. She barely came up for air through the first mouthfuls. She casually looked up from her plate to see their eyes on her, a mix of interest and disgust.

"Sorry," she mumbled sheepishly with a full mouth, trying to swallow, "I'm fucking starving. Wait, did you say beer pong? Like high school jock beer pong? Like Hu-man beer pong?"

"Yea...you play?" Brazz asked, "Me, Zero and Daw are terrible but Rig's got talent. He usually does all the heavy lifting himself, usually just needing us to not fuck up the lead."

"I mean...I don't like to brag...but yea I'm pretty good. Everyone thought I was too competitive though. Can I play? Maybe let off some steam?"

"That's a terrible idea," Thia laughed, "If you beat them at their own game, how are you going to make any friends?"

"I don't see why not," Brazz shrugged, "You're under the king's protection so no one would dare try anything and it'd probably be nice for you to do something that makes you feel normal. Of all the things to remember I think it's hilarious you'd remember how to play Beer Pong!" Angel tried not to react to his words. The king's protection? Was that just because she was a guest in his palace or was it more? She didn't know if she wanted it to be more or not.

"Thanks so much," Angel jumped up. Her stomach growled loudly, making her blush and sit back down, "after breakfast though!"

"No by all means, you haven't eaten since we found you. You're probably starving," Zero said but the corner of his mouth curled up into a heinous smirk.

"I didn't know dead dudes could even eat," she replied with the same smirk. At that Brazz and Zero genuinely laughed.

"We're not dead, just really, really fucking old," Brazz said between laughs.

"Speak for yourself," Zero mused as he bit into a muffin, "I'm only four hundred."

"Four—hu—hundred," Angel coughed.

"We look like this because we're hellraisers," Brazz said, "We guard and operate hell so we don't die but our souls do continue to age. When I was on my death bed, the king offered me a choice. He saw some necessary attributes in me so he said I could either die, or he could save me. With the caveat that if he saved me, I'd be in his eternal service. And here I am."

"Same. And we can glamour ourselves to look like we once did when we have to go to earth but here, you're seeing us as we really are. The only way we really show age anymore is through our hair which fades from black to white the longer we've served."

"So....Brazz is old as hell?" Angel smiled before everyone erupted into fitful laughter, "But seriously, how did he save your life? Like magic?" She took another bite of food.

"Not really magic. Their blood, you know the gods," he said motioning to Thia, " Their blood can heal. Depends on how much you drink and how badly you're injured but they can just about heal anything short of death."

"That's...useful?" Angel laughed.

"Well I'm not in his service," Thia insisted, "I'm a goddess so I can leave whenever I want. I could live here, Olympus or earth. But it's better here than on Olympus and I lived on earth for a while but I haven't been back in i don't know, fifty years give or take?"

"Really? I thought Olympus was supposed to be heavenly," Angel said between mouthfuls of eggs, "Wouldn't everyone want to live there."

"Did the gods and goddess you met in the throne room feel...heavenly?"

"Fair point." Angel had to admit most of them seemed vapid and manipulative. She couldn't imagine living with them all the time. She found it curious, in fact, that she actually liked these people in front of her. Or whatever they were: hell raisers, gods, it didn't matter. They all continued eating in relative silence. When they were finished Angel walked out into the main room with them.

"Follow us." Zero said, pushing open the giant doors in the main hall and heading down the stone steps. As she followed behind, she tried to take in her surroundings. The men in black vests were everywhere: walking and getting into vehicles. And they all stopped to look at her for a moment each time she passed by. She realized that not all of them were like her four. Most were probably fine, but there had to be bad apples too. Everyone had those.

She tried to ignore it and rushed up behind the others who already halfway across the field, headed toward another large stone building. Angel felt happy to have shoes at last.

"So you probably don't remember but this is the hellraiser dormitory," Zero slowed down to Angel's speed so they could talk, "we usually hold the tournament in the meeting room, which you probably do remember. Hades usually oversees it."

"The king of hell watches a bunch of old-as-fuck dudes throw a ball in a cup?" Angel scoffed, disbelieving.

"That hurts," Zero inhaled sharply, holding his chest as if he'd been stabbed, "It's a sport okay?"

"Well if you guys take it so seriously, you'll hate to lose to little mortal me," Angel's cocky attitude was infectious.

They ended up in the meeting room quickly and headed over to Rig who was in the corner, yelling at Daw.

"You two have a fight?" Angel joked at their serious faces.

"Thank hell you all are here! Please somebody else take my spot! I can't play with this competitive maniac!" Daw hollered.

"Funny you'd mention swapping," Brazz joked, "Angel wants to play." If Rig's face had any color it would have drained out. He looked at Brazz then back at Angel as if someone was supposed to say it was a joke.

"No fucking way. No offense girlie but this tournament is serious. This is bragging rights around here and I'm top shit!" Rig huffed.

"But imagine the bragging rights of saying you won the tournament even with a weak little human on your team?" Angel beamed, using reverse psychology to her advantage, "and if we lost, you'd be able to blame me without reproach!"

She caught Rig in a pickle. It did seem to be win-win and if she was half as good as she was feisty, she'd be a hell of a teammate.

"Fine," he conceded, "just don't fuck up my lead!"

Angel took the opportunity to survey the room. It wasn't nearly as full as the meeting she witnessed but there were still few hundred people gathered between teams and spectators. She even eyed an area of women who seemed bored. The pong table was centered right in front of the throne which was empty.

"So when does the music, liquor and fun start?" Angel asked excitedly, rubbing her hands together, "I like a couple of pre-game drinks before we start. Can't play sober amiright?" They all looked lost.