Archive of Our Own

Erin calmly stared out of the window, watching the raindrops gently glide down the windowpane. There was a low hum in the coffee shop as small crowds and complete loners went about their day; low droning of conversation, the clinking of glasses and the click-clacking of laptop keyboards flooded the ears. Jacob leaned against the wall, watching her while he waited for their coffees. When he posted the advert for supernatural beings to have an interview with him, he didn’t expect a gorgon to respond. He knew he would get the typical faerie, goblin, and mountain troll; they were abundant in city landscapes. He even got a werewolf to apply. They were quite common, but most people did not want to out themselves as a werewolf, the stigma against them and other cursed beings still prevailed within human societies.

A minotaur, two centaurs and even other satyrs had also applied to be interviewed for Jacob’s documentary. But a Gorgon? He had no idea that they still existed.

Erin was the last interview for the day and of them, she seemed the most human. She looked like any other woman, a beautiful one of that. The only giveaway was the rose-tinted glasses, and the snakes neatly tied up in a yellow headwrap. In myth, gorgons were supposed to be horrific and repulsive creatures with snakes on their head. When he imagined her hair as dreadlocks, Erin looked like any other African-American human woman.

And a stylish one of that; her yellow headwrap matched a shirt adorned with a sunflower pattern. She wore a denim jacket and blue jeans; from memory, she was wearing white sneakers. Jacob always found himself jealous of people who could wear shoes. She must have had a dark sense of humour, golden snakes hung from her earlobes.

“Payne!”

Jacob sheepishly grabbed the tray with the two coffee cups on it and made his way towards the booth. He had no idea how someone could look at ‘Pan’ and read ‘Payne’. He gently slid the tray along the table, Erin’s eyes shot up at him and smiled softly as she took the white mug from the tray. He didn’t know too many people who drank Long Black, everyone he knew drank cappuccinos or lattes. Jacob was the only person he knew who drank mochas.

“Thank you for coming today, Erin. It’s good to meet you.” Jacob said as he shuffled into the booth. “I’m Jacob Pan and I’m going to be interviewing you today. Do I have your permission to record our conversation?”

Erin took a sip of her coffee and chuckled lowly. “Don’t they normally do interviews in private places?”

Her voice took a lot of getting used to. He couldn’t understand her at first, she spoke quickly and with a harsh lisp. Her voice was less reminiscent of a snake and more akin to a person with a swollen tongue. It was obvious that she was hiding her teeth. He didn’t want to say anything. That would be rude.

“This is just the first part of the interview. This section is about getting to know the people I’m talking to and interviewing over the next few weeks. I’d like it to sound more…natural, I guess.” Jacob said as he opened five sugar packets and poured them into the mug. He could feel her eyes glaring at him through the large, round glasses. Jacob laughed uncomfortably. “I know, I know. I hate the taste of coffee.”

“Then why’d you buy it?” Erin grinned at him.

“The sugar is free here and it’s perfect for drowning out the espresso taste. And besides, I’m not going to be the grown man who orders hot cocoa.” Jacob rubbed the back of his neck with one hand and stirred his drink with the other. “Did you get my email explaining the interview process?”

She looked down to her phone on the table and pressed the home button. “Not yet.”

“It’s okay, I’ll send it again once we’re done here.” He reached for his notepad and pen. “So for this section of the interview, you’ll be answering questions. These are all from humans and I’m not censoring any of it. But, if you don’t want to answer, you don’t have to.”

“Okay.” She nodded, one of her snakes limply fell to the front of her face. She noticed Jacob’s wide eyes glued to her hair. “Don’t worry, they’ve already eaten this week.”

Jacob lurched forward and snatched his sound recorder, turning it on and pressing record. “Sorry, sorry. Um, why shouldn’t I worry about the snakes on your head?” He said, his voice high-pitched and panicked.

Erin giggled. “The snakes have already eaten this week. People are always so scared of them but they’re harmless. They’re the same kind of pythons you keep as pets.”

Jacob smiled brightly, his goat instincts made him mildly fearful of snakes. “Alright, sorry thank you for that. I thought that it might be worth having that in the recording.”

“It’s okay.” She sipped her coffee.

“Alright, now let’s just start back at square one. Start with your name, age and occupation.”

“Alrighty.” She cleared her throat. Jacob noticed that snake scales covered her face where baby hairs normally would be as she instinctually pushed hair that didn’t exist behind her ear. “My name is Erin Wallace. I’m twenty-two years old and I’m an art student.”

“At Grimm University?”

“Yeah, you go there too, do you?”

“Yeah!” Jacob jumped in his seat, his hooves kicking the backboard of the booth.

“Makes sense, that’s where I saw your advert.” She lisped with a faint smile. “Are you studying media or something?”

“Close. Majoring in journalism, history is my minor. I want to make documentaries for a living. I just love it. I’m already a fully trained filmmaker. Just…trying to pile on the degrees.” Jacob said awkwardly sipping his sweet, sugary coffee. Sitting in front of her, he felt old and he was only three years her senior. “So, you’re studying art?”

“Yeah. I fancy myself an artist.” Erin said as she clinked her long ‘nails’ against the ceramic mug. “I major in the fine arts, minor in arts. Liberal Arts.”

Jacob tried his hardest to ignore his attraction to her. She looked like a strange, snake-haired hybrid of Rosario Dawson, Zoe Saldana, and Beyoncé – all women he deeply romanticised despite looking like Shaggy Roger’s older, hairier brother. Were all gorgons this beautiful?

“I’ve said art too many times, it’s lost all meaning.” She chuckled to herself. “Art, art. Art. Art. Art!”

“What kind of artwork do you make?” Jacob sipped.

“Sculpture.”

Jacob gulped loudly before slamming his mug on the table and coughing helplessly. “Wow.” He wheezed, trying not to choke and laugh simultaneously. “That’s…Sorry, that’s so-”

Erin laughed, making sure to hide her teeth. “You’re allowed to laugh. It’s okay.”

“That’s just so funny. Have you always been into sculpture?” Jacob coughed hoarsely into his sleeve.

Erin clasped her fingers together and gently rested them around her coffee mug. “No. To be honest, I was more interested in pottery at first. Pots are basically porcelain sculptures anyway, so it was a natural progression of things.”

“I’d love to check them out sometime.” Jacob breathed deeply. He was scared he would never be able to breathe again. He scanned his notebook. “Let’s…Let’s stay on track, shall we?”

“Alright.”

As his finger traced over the first question, ink smudged across the paper. “First question: what is your ‘hair’ care routine like?”

She smiled sweetly, she pulled a snake to the front of her head and gently stroked it.

“It’s less haircare and more like pet care. I always feed each one a mouse once a week and I make sure to keep a bottle of water and a bowl on me, I can sort of get a feel for when they’re hungry or thirsty. It’s kind of like how you can feel that you’re teeth are dirty, if that makes any sense.” She said as she gently stroked the snake’s head.

“Do they shed their skin?” Jacob winced.

She turned her attention to him and grinned. “Once every few months or so. It’s only like four times a year. I’m just glad that they all shed their skin at the same time.”

“Do you just peel it all off in one go?”

“Oh no!” Erin hissed. The snake slithered back into her headwrap. “That shit hurts to peel off for some reason. I had one of my stoner classmates try to peel the skin off and it hurt like a bitch! She was like ‘wow that’s so cool, so aesthetic’ and I kicked her ass for it. I keep it all wrapped up when it sheds. It’s less painful that way.”

Jacob cocked a brow. “I didn’t think pulling the skin would hurt.”

“I think it’s just a gorgon thing.” She shrugged. “Something about trying to get rid of the snakes, yadda yadda. People mistake them for dreads all the time until they get a closer look.”

“Are people usually scared of your hair?”

She leaned back on the cushioned seat and rested her shoulder on the window. The denim jacket wiped a layer of dew off the glass. “People who are terrified of snakes certainly are. I think once people realise what I am, they get scared. Don’t want to look me in the eyes.”

Jacob shook his head. It was rather easy to look into her eyes through her rose-tinted glasses. He didn’t turn to stone, if anything he felt limp like jelly looking into her eyes. Her pupils were completely black.

“You know, I have to wear these prescription glasses for your protection.” She sighed, tapping the metal frame of her glasses. “Specially made for us so people can see our eyes and never have to worry about being turned to stone.”

“At least you don’t have to be blindfolded or wear dark sunglasses all the time.” Jacob shrugged, poking at his drink.

“That’s a more optimistic view of things.” She looked down at her hands and sighed. “Sometimes I wish it was the other way around, other people wear glasses to protect themselves from me. But, that’s not realistic. Just one of those bullshit things you deal with.”

He leaned in closer to her. “On the bright side; I think they look cool.”

“You think so?” Her face cracked into a smile.

“Yeah, kind of wish the lens was yellow to match your outfit.”

She looked up to him and smirked. She reached into her small backpack and pulled out a black glasses case, revealing another pair of glasses. These were the same as what she was currently wearing, just with a yellow lens.

“These are better for outdoors,” Erin said as she tucked the case back into her bag. “I didn’t think you’d have such a keen fashion sense.”

Jacob’s face flushed red. “I’ve always had a mild interest in fashion. Not that there’s much of anything for me to wear anyway.”

She cocked a brow and snickered. “Why’s that?”

“There’s not too many pants options for men with goat’s legs.” Jacob sighed. “It’s either shorts or sweatpants. Neither is a good look at any formal event.”

“Do you even need to wear pants?” She squinted at him and lifted the coffee cup to her mouth. “I mean…It’s all brown fur down there…right?”

“It is.” Jacob scratched his arm. His black, cotton shorts felt hot over his fur and looked tacky paired with a striped shirt and grey overshirt. “But…It makes humans more comfortable around us if we wear pants. We don’t look…Well, we don’t look like we’re walking around half-naked to them.”

“Aww…I’m so sorry.”

“Could be worse.” Jacob smiled weakly. “I could be a centaur.”

Erin had to stop herself from taking a sip as she curled in on herself and chuckled softly. Jacob’s face cracked into a grin, feeling rather proud of himself for making a pretty girl laugh. She sighed with a wide smile, revealing the fangs she tried to hide.

“You’re funny.” She breathed. “How would a centaur even wear pants?”

“Women can wear skirts made for them.” Jacob nodded. “If memory serves, the men have to wear specially made pants that look vaguely similar to bicycle shorts.”

Erin leaned against the table and sipped from her cup. “The bullshit we have to do to keep humans feeling safe, huh?”

Jacob scratched his head. “I guess I don’t blame them. They’re much weaker than us but outnumber us by a landslide.”

“Hey, wait!” Erin giggled. “If you’re one of those goat people, where’s your horns?”

He pulled his dark brown hair back and turned his head to the side, revealing a short, thick horn which started at his hairline and curled along the curve of his skull. His long, thick mop of hair concealed it perfectly.

“Cute.” She smiled.

“We’ve gotten off track,” Jacob said, smiling awkwardly at her. He quickly scanned the page. “Um…Do you blink?”

Erin chuckled, mockingly blinking at him.

“Right…Sorry.” He flipped the page, looking for the next question. “How does a gorgon style their hair?”

She smiled. “Ball pythons like to curl and cling to things. It’s actually really easy, all you have to do is coax them into the right position and wrap them up like I’ve done here.”

“Is it just the hair on your head that’s snakes, or is all of your hair snakes?”

Erin pointed at her black eyebrows and grinned. “Just the hair on top of my head. I don’t know why that needs to be said.”

His eyes darted to the page and he winced, he didn’t like the question one bit. “A similar question is: are your pubes snakes?”

Erin snarled, revealing her fangs to him. “What kind of question is that? Who wrote these? God damn humans.”

“I-I’m sorry…Uh, I got my co-workers to ask questions.” Jacob flinched when she glared at him. “The guy who wrote this one down is a bit of a creep.”

She frowned. “God, if I had a dollar for every guy who’s asked me that. Makes me wish I did have snakes down there.”

Jacob laughed awkwardly. “It was a stupid question. But it’s an honest question.”

“Is it?” Erin sighed. “Sounds like every other joke at my expense. To be clear, it’s just the ones on my head. Medusa had her beautiful hair transformed into snakes by Athena as a spiteful punishment. Because the Gods are assholes.”

“You…You weren’t born like this?” Jacob asked weakly.

“Didn’t you know?” Erin sipped the last of her coffee. “Modern Gorgons are just lesser versions of Medusa. Women cursed by spiteful gods.”

“I didn’t know. I’m sorry.” Jacob sculled his drink, feeling a strong sense of guilt for even asking.

“It’s alright. Can’t know until you learn, I guess.” Erin said softly. “That lack of knowledge or understanding is what creates fear in people. Tends to happen with historically evil creatures like me.”

“Can you help me understand then…Was Medusa evil?” Jacob leaned forward.

“You’re studying history, aren’t you?”

“A good historian cites multiple sources.” Jacob beamed at her. “Who needs a textbook to tell me about gorgon history when there’s a gorgon right here?”

“I only know what other, much older gorgons have told me.” She sighed. “From what I’ve been told and what I know now as a gorgon, I think Medusa wasn’t always evil. That is until she turned her into a monster.”

“And Athena was the one who turned her into a monster?”

“She turned us all into monsters!” Erin hissed. “The stupid cow.”

Jacob blinked. “Why would she do that?”

She exhaled deeply, a sad look washed over her face. “You really don’t know? It’s pretty…yeah.”

“If it’s uncomfortable for you, you don’t have to tell me.” He reached out his hand and delicately placed it on hers.

“No, it’s fine…Gorgons are women who are punished by a god because of a crime committed on them.” Her voice was shaky, but her eyes were firmly placed on Jacob’s hand. “When a woman is…assaulted…on sacred Athenian ground. Athena curses her, turns her into…this as punishment.”

Jacob squeezed her hand and she breathed deeply.

“I wasn’t born like this. I never asked for this. I never wanted this.” Erin held her other hand on top of his. She looked him in the eyes. “When I got back to my hotel room the next day with the man who I thought was my friend…I turned into this and turned him into stone.”

“I’m so sorry.” Jacob gasped. She seemed taken aback that he did not avert her intense gaze.

“I’m not. I have pieces of him in a jar at home as a souvenir.” She said, coldly.

“That’s pretty…intense, Erin.” Jacob gulped.

“Is that a bad thing?”

“No…It sounds kind of cool. Hardcore.” He blushed.

“Like…I got into sculpture because I became a gorgon. Part of me was drawn to it after the transformation…And I thought it was pretty funny.” She chuckled. “There’s no point in hiding it. No point in feeling sorry for myself.”

“I wish I could be as…open about it as you are…Being a supernatural.”

“Sure you can.” She smiled sweetly at him. “Style your hair in a way that shows off those cute little horns of yours and stop wearing pants.”

“I can’t do that!” Jacob gasped.

“Why not?”

Jacob brushed his fingers through his hair and sighed. “Because it’d make people too uncomfortable to be around me. Can’t imagine what would happen to my job. No, it’s just not possible for someone like me. But, it’s awesome that you can.”

“I get the whole pants thing, but…Really? Your horns make people uncomfortable?”

“Yeah, my horns have made people uncomfortable.”

“Well, I’m not uncomfortable around you.” She smiled. “I spent too many years bending to the needs and desires of humans when I was one of them. Maybe becoming a gorgon made me lose touch with my humanity, but I just don’t care about them at all. I’ll play by their rules so long as they play by mine too.”

“What kind of rules?”

“I’m not hiding my hair for no HR department for one.” She snickered. “Some other ladies at my last part-time job have let their natural hair out because of me. These snakes are no different from the black girl hair I had before.”

“You look really good like that,” Jacob said with an awkward grin. “It’s…well, it’s beautiful.”

She blinked slowly and smiled brightly. “Thanks.”

Jacob coughed, pulling his hands away from her and smiled awkwardly. “Do you want another coffee? I can go get us another one.”

“Oh, no, let me pay!” Erin said, standing up and shuffling out of the booth. “I insist!”

“Are you sure?” He gasped, fumbling to find his wallet. “I can pay, I was the one who invited you out here…for the interview.”

“It’s alright!” She chuckled. “It’d weigh on my conscious knowing that I’d owe you.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure!” She said firmly. “Do you want hot cocoa?”

Jacob sheepishly looked to his hands and clasped his fingers together. “Yes, please.”

She smiled before turning around and walking towards the counter. Jacob sunk in his seat and breathed deeply. His eyes glanced over to the recorder; the red button continued to flash. He sighed, flicking through the notebook, and reading ahead to the next few questions.

They were just more boring, borderline offensive questions. He didn’t want to upset her anymore after she had told him her story. He quickly looked back to Erin, she was still waiting in line to order. Jacob smiled, clicking his pen and hurriedly writing down as many questions about her as he could think of. These questions would hopefully teach his audience new information about her whilst avoiding bringing up her past. Halfway through, it dawned on him that these were more akin to questions you would ask when speed dating.

As he scribbled onto the page, he wondered if it was worthwhile asking her out. Would that be creepy, he thought. He had brought her out here for an interview, it was highly unprofessional to ask her. She might feel like she had to say yes, and he didn’t want to make her uncomfortable. He should have counted himself lucky he was going to see her again for the second half of the interview.

The rain outside stopped pouring. Jacob hoped it’d stay that way.

A human waitress came by the table and collected the two cups and carried the tray away as Erin approached with fresh, hot beverages.

She giggled. “They make good cocoa here, you don’t need to worry about your masculinity.”

“I know.” Jacob chuckled, opening five sugar packets and dumped the contents into the mug. “I come in here all the time for them.”

Erin stared at him with wide eyes and her mouth slightly agape. “I thought you put in that much sugar to drown out the coffee taste.”

“I do. Coffee tastes too bitter.” He smiled as he stirred. “I just like sweets.”

“Is that a goat thing?” She grinned at him.

“God, I wish it was.” He chuckled. “That’s actually a good excuse, I should use that on my human friends. Do…Do you like sweet things?”

“On occasion.” Her eyes traced down to his coffee mug. “Definitely wouldn’t put that much sugar in anything.”

“I don’t blame you.” He shrugged. “That leads in nicely with this question: What kind of diet does a gorgon have?”

“I don’t eat rats if that’s what they mean.” She snickered and blew on her coffee. “I eat like any other normal person would.”

“So, you’re not a ferocious carnivore is what you’re saying.” Jacob sniggered. “I had no idea.”

“No, I’m just ferocious. My diet is basically the same as a normal person, but I tend to prefer meats. Technically, I could live off nothing but raw meat. But why would I do that?” She said before taking a sip. “It tastes better when it’s cooked and seasoned.”  

“Yeah.” Jacob blushed. “It was a dumb question. What’s your favourite food?”

She furrowed her brow as she pondered the question. “There’s a Korean barbeque place not too far away from my apartment. They have this meat platter that’s fifty dollars…you get like six different kinds of meat. Pork neck, belly and rib, duck, and some wagyu beef. Comes with sauce and soup.”

“All that for fifty?”

“The neighbourhood is full of carnivores, and…the owner might be a werewolf.” She mused. “It’s really popular. You should try it out.”

Jacob awkwardly shifted in his seat. “I would if I could. All satyrs are either vegetarian or pescatarian.”

“No vegans?” She grinned.

“Probably.” He shrugged. “Not that I’ve heard. I’m just glad that there’s plenty of options for us around my place. Home-cooking is hard for me.”

She laughed. “How hard is it to make a salad?”

“I am a terrible cook!” He chuckled. “Every time I cook something, it’s at least thirty percent hair.”

She giggled. “I can just imagine it.”

“Please don’t.” He blushed. “I ruined my co-worker's potluck dinner because of that.”

She rubbed the headwrap. “What do you do for work?”

“Department store greeter. The boss gets to feel good about himself for putting his token supernatural beings at the front of the store and I can chase down any shoplifters. Helps when you can run at thirty miles an hour.” He said, taking a sip of his cocoa. “I only work weekends, he’s got other guys for weekdays. What about you, Erin?”

“Got let go from my receptionist job last week.” She groaned. “It was complete bullshit. Apparently, it’s a bad look to have me out the front of a spa. Snakes are unprofessional or something like that. Some humans started to complain.”

“That’s awful!”

“Yeah. Makes me wish I had the time to sue those bastards.” She rubbed her eyes under her glasses. “But, I don’t.”

“I’d say you have grounds to sue. That’s straight-up discrimination.” Jacob frowned. “You put up with a lot of shit, Erin.”

“We all do.” She sighed. “What’s the next question?”

“Oh, right!” Jacob gasped. “What’s one thing you wish all humans knew about you. Like, the gorgon experience.”

She grinned. “That I keep the glasses on twenty-four-seven. It’s not worth the risk at all.”

“Really?” Jacob raised his eyebrows. “Like, all the time.”

“From dusk till dawn. When I go to sleep, I put on an eye mask. When I wake up, the first thing I do is put on my glasses, even before I turn off my alarm.” She threw her hands up in the air. “They never come off. Ever.”

“Even in the shower?”

“Yes!” She gasped. “Everyone is scared that they’ll come off. But they don’t! I’ve been knocked onto my ass by my neighbour’s hellhound and they didn’t come off. They are literally designed to stay on my god damn face!”

“I think I can kind of relate.” Jacob nodded. “I had a lady come to my house to buy some of my old books and she accused me of being a pervert. I never wore pants in my own home, but after she called the cops on me…yeah.”

“Exactly!” She smiled sweetly. “I could be sitting at home reading a book in the middle of the night and I still wear them.”

Jacob grinned. “My roommate thinks I’m weird for wrapping a towel around my waist of a night-time.”

“You have a roommate?”

“Yeah, another satyr.”

“Shit…At least you can have a roommate!” Erin chuckled. “Even if I wanted one, no one would want to live with me.”

“You live alone?”

“Not by choice.”

“Do you have many friends?”

“Not really. I’ll hang out with my classmates but that’s about it.” Erin sighed, looking into her coffee cup. “It’s not so bad. I…I don’t mind being alone.”

Jacob’s eyes quickly scanned the next, blank notebook page.

“So…Being a gorgon has a serious effect on your relationships?” He said slowly.

She sipped her coffee. “Like you wouldn’t believe.”

“How so?”

“No one wants to be friends with someone who could kill them in a single glance. It’s about self-preservation. I’m sure it’s nothing personal.” She leaned closer to him and frowned. “Anyone who does get close to me does it out of pity or out of some sick curiosity.”

“Sick curiosity?” Jacob chuckled.

“Snake pubes.”

“Ah.” Jacob blinked at her. “I guess that answers the love life question.”

“You have no idea.” She chuckled.

“No…No, I think I do.” Jacob winced, remembering his ex-girlfriend.

Erin gasped and jokingly poked his shoulder. “No way. Tell me more about these goat fuckers!”

He smiled weakly. “My ex was obsessed with the idea of dating a supernatural being. She would never stop pulling at my horns and my tail.”

“Yuck. So, she was a fetishist or something?” Erin frowned. “I’ve had a few of those. Would not stop touching my god damn hair!”

“I think so.” He scratched the back of his head. “It was really weird. One day, she was obsessed with me and then the next thing I know she’s the one who’s breaking up with me.”

“Aww. That’s sad.” Erin pouted. “She must’ve gotten bored of satyrs.”

Jacob sunk into his seat and sighed. “I don’t blame her. I’m a bit boring.”

“Well, I like talking to you, Jake.” Erin giggled. “Funny. I would’ve picked you for the one-night stand type of guy.”

“Really?” He blushed.

“No. Absolutely not.” She smiled. “I’m joking. Did you even have sex with her?”

His eyes shot down to his drink. “H-hey, I’m the one who’s supposed to be interviewing you.” He mumbled, his face bright red.

“Most of the men who want to sleep with me think they’re some great hero for doing it.” Erin chuckled. “But…They chicken out once they reach the gorgon’s den.”

“Do…Do you normally go for that type of…relationship?” Jacob asked softly. “One-night stands…?”

She grinned at him. “Is that part of the interview?”

“The love lives of supernatural beings might be a pretty interesting topic.” He shrugged.

She nodded and looked out the window. “I tried using dating apps for a brief period sometime last year. That was when I was particularly sad and lonely, got kind of desperate for some kind of connection. It wasn’t very successful, but I learned a lot from that time.”

“Like what?”

She exhaled. “It’s hard to form a connection with someone if they can’t even look you in the eyes.”

Jacob smiled rested his arms on the table. “They obviously weren’t trying hard enough; I can look you in the eyes just fine.”

Erin shook her head with a giggle before sipping some more of her coffee. “Dork.”

“I-I just meant because of the glasses!” Jacob shot backwards and blushed. “The glasses…They make it so I can even look you in the eyes. You have nice…You have good eyes!”

“You’re cute.” She grinned.

He blushed. “You really think so?”

“Yeah. You’re like if Shaggy had goat legs.”

“And horns.” He interjected.

“I can’t see your horns.” She shrugged.

He giggled. “Everyone says that about me.”

“What?”

“Everyone says that I look like Shaggy.” He sighed, rubbing his eyes. “I can’t tell if it’s a good thing or not.”

Erin beamed at him. “Trust me, it’s not. Everyone loves Shaggy.” Her voice suddenly didn’t have a lisp.

“Woah. Okay, sorry if this sounds rude but you don’t have an actual lisp?” He gasped.

Erin blushed, slamming her mouth shut. “The fangs scare people.” Her voice returned to a lisp.

“I thought you didn’t care about that.” Jacob cocked his head to the side. “It’s not scary at all. You kind of get used to it after a while.”

“You mean you’ve seen them this whole time?” Erin glared at him. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

He shrugged. “I didn’t want to be rude and I didn’t think it was that big of a deal. I’m sorry for not saying anything.”

She looked him in the eyes and smiled weakly. “No…It’s okay. I thought you would’ve said something sooner.”

“They’re your teeth.” He shrugged again. “It’s not like you can do anything about it. I say that to my sister all the time.”

“You have a sister?” She grinned. “Does she look like a hairy Velma?”

“She’s more Daphne than Velma.” Jacob chuckled. “Not that I’d call her hairy. She’s a bit sensitive to it. Are there male gorgons?”

“No, the curse is specific to women.” Erin shrugged. “I guess Athena thinks men can’t be…assaulted.”

“From what I’ve heard, being a woman sucks. Being female and a supernatural sucks for you too, right?”

“I’d say so. I have to deal with people assuming I’m a murderous and evil monster all the time.” She sighed. She sculled the last of her coffee. “I think I only have it easier because, as a rule of thumb, people don’t like interacting with me. It’s really no different from when I was human.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I used to be a real bitch when I was eighteen or so. After the transformation, I sort of just became a cynical asshole.” Erin pushed her cup to the other end of the table. Jacob drank the last of his lukewarm cocoa and followed suit.

“I noticed that you’re a glass-half-empty type.” He said, wiping milk from his goatee. “Not that I can blame you or anything. You’ve been dealt a rough hand in life.”

“Says the goat man.” Erin chuckled.

He twiddled his thumbs together. “I don’t think I have it so bad. At least compared to others out there. I live in a nice neighbourhood even though I make virtually nothing. I have friends, family, my cat. Humans are comfortable around me for the most part. It’s not so bad.”

“Spoken like a true optimist.” She snickered.

“All the bad stuff is things I can’t really control. So, I just try to worry about what I can control.” Jacob scratched his jaw. “What’s life without a few roadblocks?”

“I wish it was that easy.” Erin sighed.

“From what I gather, a lot of your problems are out of your control, Erin. The curse, the people, this crazy world we live in.” Jacob smiled sweetly. “I think you’re being harsh on yourself.”

“You think so?”

“Well, I don’t know you very well at all. But, I like you. I’m not scared of you. You’re actually a really nice and lovely person to talk to.” He scratched a finger against the wooden table. “Before today I had no idea what a gorgon looked like.”

She leaned closer. “Did you think we were all hideous monsters? Like the tales?”

“Yes, actually.” He leaned in closer to her as well. “But you’re not…Oh, actually while we’re on that… Are all gorgons as pretty as you?”

Erin’s face softened into a smile. Their eyes were locked as Jacob gave her a timid, yet sweet smile.

“You think I’m pretty?” She gasped.

“Oh, come on. You’ve looked in a mirror, right?” Jacob scoffed. “You’re beautiful. If I’m Shaggy, you’re freaking Beyoncé with snake dreadlocks!”

“Everyone says I look like Beyoncé.” She rolled her eyes with a giggle. “White people need better black girl references.”

“Oh…Sorry.” He blushed.

“You’re giving me a compliment. You don’t have to apologise.”

“True…Everyone loves Beyoncé.” He shrugged at her.

Erin’s smile slowly faded as she eyed the sound recorder. “Hey…Is the red dot supposed to blinking?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh, cool. Because it’s not.” She said limply pointing to the black box on the table.

Jacob groaned as he picked it up and scanned the exterior. He hoped it had just run out of battery.

“Did we record everything?” Erin cocked her head to the side. “I hope it got everything.”

“So do I!” He groaned. “I don’t know how long it’s been since it stopped.”

“You pressed record, right?” She chuckled.

“I did!” He whined. “God, how did it run out of battery?”

“We have been talking for a while,” Erin said softly, pointing to the near-empty and silent coffee shop around her.

Jacob reached into his pocket, grabbing his phone and pressed the home button. They had been there for an hour and a half.

“Wow. It got late fast.” He gasped.

“Time flies.” She shrugged back at him. “So, what do we do now?”

Jacob sighed. “Well, the interview portion is officially over. I guess you could leave if you had anything to do.”

She chuckled. “I have nothing better to do than read my textbooks. I’m good.”

He blushed. “What are you going to do then?”

She smiled brightly. “You doing anything tonight?”

“No.”

“Want to walk me home?” She averted his gaze. “It’s dangerous out there for frail little women like me.”

Jacob laughed. “You’re making fun of me, aren’t you?”

“Not at all. What makes you say that?”

“You’re anything but frail,” Jacob said, standing and shuffling out of the booth. He bent down to collect his things from the table and curtly chucked them into his backpack. Erin stood beside him as he stood upright. Her head came up to his chin. “And you’re certainly not little.”

“What? You’re so much taller than me!” She chuckled.

“Most women only get to about here.” He said putting his hand over his chest.

Erin thanked the waitress who dashed over to their booth and quickly cleaned up the cups and wiped down the table.

Erin didn’t live too far away from the café; it was only a ten-minute walk until they made it to the entrance into the ‘Carnival’. That was the name of the neighbourhood she lived in; it was given that name because this was where the population of non-humanoid supernatural beings were forced to live. The human government felt it best to keep them all secluded far away from human societies as there was a fear that they would come to harm. Humanoid beings still inhabited the neighbourhood, the real estate there was infinitely cheaper here than in any other area in the city.

Some humans couldn’t afford to live anywhere else.

The rain returned and continued pouring from the sky. Jacob pulled out a small, red umbrella from his backpack and opened it. It was just barely large enough for them both to fit underneath it. He tried to ignore the sensation of her hand brushing against the back of his. She stopped in her tracks and rummaged through her bag. Jacob awkwardly stood near enough to her to cover her under the umbrella.

She pulled out her black glasses case. “Sorry, it’s kind of hard to see in the pink.”

“That’s okay.”

“Do you walk everywhere you go?” Erin asked, skilfully switching glasses with her eyes closed. “I do.”

“Yeah, I walk basically everywhere.” He tapped his hoof on the pavement. “Got legs built for it.”

She shoved the case back into her bag and continued walking. “You’d probably have to if you drink hot cocoas the way you do.”

“Hey, listen. I exercise when I can.” He chuckled. “We satyrs have excellent metabolisms. I’ve eaten a whole cheesecake by myself once.”

“Did you pour a pound of sugar on top if it?” She snickered.

He rolled his eyes. “For your information, I had ice cream with it.”

“How many scoops?”

He looked down to his hooves. “Um…It was a sixteen-ounce tub of Ben and Jerry’s.”

“What flavour?” She grinned up at him, her glasses reflecting the light from the streetlight above.

“The cookie dough one.” He said weakly.

Erin nodded with a wide, fanged smile. “Hey, that one’s my favourite!”

“Mine too.” Jacob smiled softly back to her.

As they turned down the main road, Jacob felt incredibly small and afraid as minotaurs, dragons and giants towered over them. There had to have been at least twenty on the main road alone. Jacob gulped audibly as he passed a minotaur on the street.

“Don’t look so nervous.” Erin laughed. “They can smell fear.”

“They can?” He gulped again.

Erin nodded to him. Jacob struggled to figure out if she was being sarcastic or not.

“This is the Korean barbeque place I was talking about.” She knocked on the glass window. Peering in, the place was crowded with creatures hungrily gnawing at their cuts of meat. “It’s always busy though.”

“I see…Bit of a hipster, are we?” Jacob sniggered at her.

“Shut up!” She burst out laughing. “I’m more like a perpetual loner than anything else.”

Jacob eyed the interior as they walked past. “Do you know if they have any vegetarian options?”

“In the Carnival?” She mused. “Closest they’d have is the soup options. Why do you ask? ”

“Well, it’s your favourite restaurant, isn’t it? Kind of wanted to check it out for myself.” He shrugged coyly.

She giggled. “They just have my favourite food at a cheap price. Besides, they’d eat you alive in there. What’s your favourite restaurant, Jacob?”

“Hmm. Sumo Square.” He nodded. “It’s a Japanese place in the Oberons. They have really nice ramen noodles there.”

“Do you live in the Oberons?” She gasped. “Fancy! Fancy goat man!”

“No, I live in Olympia Garden.”

“Ahh. Never been that way. Is it just as nice there?” Erin smiled softly.

“It’s nowhere near as cramped as the rest of the city because of all the centaurs. But, it’s kind of basic compared to the Oberons.” Jacob shrugged with a smile. “You’d think rent would be cheaper, but no.”

“My place is just down here.” Erin turned on her heel and walked down a dark alleyway. Jacob stared into the alleyway with wide eyes as he took in his surroundings. Erin walked halfway down and stopped to pull something from her backpack. She turned to him and grinned. “You coming, or what?”

Jacob shook his head and dashed towards her. He ground to a halt, his eyes meeting hers as she pulled out her keys.

“Wow. You are fast.”

“When I want to be.” He breathed.

Erin stepped towards a green door on the side of the building. It had yellow eyes painted on it. Jacob chuckled, they were supposed to be snake eyes. She opened the door and stepped a foot inside and pat the door.

“I still get shit from the landlord for painting the door.” Erin chuckled. “I think it adds character.”

“What kind of apartment building has its entrance in an alleyway.” Jacob gasped.

“The cheap ones,” Erin said bluntly. “Bit hard to live in the lap of luxury when you can’t keep a job and no one wants to buy your sculptures online.”

“At least you have a roof over your head, right?” Jacob cheerfully grinned, his ears and tail pricking upwards.

She smiled brightly. “Where have those ears been this entire time?” She huffed.

“You lisp to hide your teeth. I fold my ears back into my head!” He chuckled, rubbing the back of his head.

She smiled and leaned her head against the door frame. A soft hum escaped her lips. “Thanks for walking me home.” She said softly.

“It was no problem at all.” Jacob bowed awkwardly at her.

“Do girls ever tell you how cute you are?” She mused loudly.

“Uhh…Not since I was a kid.”

“Ha! Kid. Goat. Goat man.” Erin giggled. “You’re fuckin’ adorable, dude.”

He furrowed his brow and scratched the top of his head. “Is…Is that a compliment?”

“Yes, Jacob. It is.”

Jacob could practically hear his heart pounding in his chest. He tapped his hoof, looking around the dark and empty alley and averting her eyes. She just continued to stare at him and he felt silly standing in front of her.

He smiled weakly and awkwardly waved to her as he turned to leave. He could feel her eyes on his back as the light of the main road hit his face.

“Hey!”

He turned to see Erin standing on the steps outside the door.

“Thank you for today.” She called out.

Jacob smiled and stepped closer to her. “It’s no problem. Thank you for your time today.”

“It was nice meeting you.” Her voice was shaky.

“Oh, speaking of meetings, I need to send you that email!” Jacob fumbled to grab his phone from his pocket. He opened his email and resent his information package to ‘[email protected]’. “Did you get it?”

Jacob’s face felt numb when Erin looked to him with a sad look in those dark eyes of hers. A whistle ringtone sounded from behind her.

“Yeah, I did.” She smiled weakly. She cocked her head to the side and stared down at the floor. “Seriously, Jacob. Thank you for today. I thought this was going to be some boring thing but…I had a good time.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I really like talking to you. You get me if that makes any sense.”

Jacob smiled brightly, stepping even closer to her. “No, it makes sense…I like talking to you too, Erin. You’re such a lovely person. I hope we can hang out again once these interviews are over.”

“We can hang out now if you wanted.” She said looking down.

“I’ve got nothing else on.” He shrugged. “What’d you have in mind?”

She pointed to the green door and smiled. “Could come up to my apartment and just…hang out?”

“Is that a good idea?” He gasped. “I don’t want to be unprofessional or anything.”

“You don’t need to worry about a thing. We’re just two people hanging out, after all.” She shrugged. A faint smile crept onto her face. “I’ll make you some hot cocoa.”

“Well, in that case, how could I refuse?” Jacob laughed uncomfortably and rubbed his eyes. He felt light-headed.

Erin smiled sweetly and opened the door wide so that he could enter the foyer and follow her up the stairs to her apartment. It was only small. The kitchen and living room were within the same area, and at the far end of the room sat her bed. At either side of the bed was the bathroom and the closet. The walls were off-white, and all of her furniture was black, looking reminiscent of IKEA furniture. Potted ferns and succulents coated every available flat surface. The room was incredibly humid, with the faint scent of incense in the air.

She walked towards the kitchen, kicking off her shoes and unwrapping her hair. The snakes hovered in the air for about ten seconds before each individual snake curled and slithered around on the top of her head. She looked as if her hair was in zero gravity.

“It’s a pretty nice place you’ve got here.” Jacob put his hands on his hips. “Warm, though.”

“Sort of needs to be. Snake-lady things.” She chuckled, pressing a button on a coffee maker. “Five sugars? Or the honey equivalent…I’ve got honey.”

“Please!” He called out, sitting down on her rock-hard sofa.

“Make yourself at home.” She sighed. “Ah! Shit, I don’t have any cocoa powder left. Is tea okay?”

“You lied to me!” He laughed and shifted his rear on the couch in a vain attempt to get comfortable.

“Sorry!”

“No, it’s alright. Tea’s perfectly fine by me.”

“I’ve got the earl grey stuff, hopefully, it’s not too bitter for you. What would you like to do?” Erin said as she made their drinks in the loudest way possible.

Jacob gulped. “Um…You invited me up here. You decide.”

“We could watch a nature documentary and just hang out!”

“Sounds fun.” He chuckled. “I’m down.”

Erin blushed as she sat down on the couch beside him, handing him his tea. “I never have people over, so I don’t really have a lot for us to do.”

“It’s alright, I’m the same way at my place.” He chuckled. He spent most of his time at home studying or watching TV with his roommate or cat. “And I live with another person.”

“What’s your roommate like?” She sipped her coffee. This woman drank a lot of coffee.

“Marc? Yeah…He’s alright. Marc is studying education; always wanted to be a gym teacher or something. He’s like, really passionate about it.” Jacob sighed. “Can’t say nothing bad about him other than he refuses to clean up all the hair.”

“Is it difficult to clean up?” Erin chuckled.

“If our neighbours weren’t also satyrs, they’d hate us. We have to vacuum every day or so, it gets pretty bad.” He sighed. “Especially, with the cat hair in the mix.”

“Oh righ…You have a cat?”

“Patty. Short for Cleopatra.” He grinned. “Egyptian Mau or something.”

Erin frowned. “Why not just call her Cleo?”

“She responds better to Patty.” He shrugged.

“Jealous. I can’t have a pet.” Erin sighed. “They either get eaten or die.”

“Speaking from experience?”

“I had a lizard once, but my hair attacked it.” She averted his eyes. “I had a few fish for a while, but they all died within a month.”

“Do you consider your hair to be like a pet?”

“In a way, yeah, they are.” She reached up with one hand and gently pet one of the snakes. “I feel like it’d be kind of weird to outright call them my pets.”

Jacob smiled awkwardly as one of the snakes looked blankly at them. “Can I touch your hair?”

She chuckled, hiding her face behind her coffee. “You’re really going to ask a black girl if you can touch her hair?”

“Well, I mean…It’s looking right at me.” He glared at the snake.

“I think she likes you.” She blushed, gently coaxing the snake closer to him.

“Are they all girls?” Jacob said, gently stroking his fingertips against the soft scales of her hair. “Or is that a stupid question?”

Erin shivered at his touch. “I have no idea. They’re just the upper half of the snake, so I have no way of knowing. I could assume they’re all female because I’m female.”

“Do you?” Jacob chuckled, running his whole hand along the snake’s belly.

“They’re just snakeheads. I don’t know, feels weird to assign a gender to my own hair. But, I use ‘she’ for everything.” She breathed deeply. “Would you mind stopping that?”

“Oh, sorry!” He said, throwing his hand down onto the couch. “Does it hurt?”

“No.” She chuckled. “It felt um…Nice.”

“Oh.” He blushed. “Good to know…That it didn’t hurt.”

“Yeah.” She also blushed, pushing hair that didn’t exist behind her ear. “What kind of documentaries do you like?”

“I like history ones the most.” He nodded at her. “Kind of a sucker for wildlife documentaries.”

“Me too!” He grinned. “I was watching one about the African savannah the other day, if you wanted to watch that one.”

“Uh…Seeing gazelles and deer be viciously eaten by predators hits a bit too close to home.”

“Really? Damn, those are my favourite parts.” She said, reaching for a TV remote and turning the black box on. “Used to love drawing wild cats when I was younger.”

“So you’ve always been an artist?”

“Yeah, ever since I could remember.” She said scooting closer to him. He gulped loudly, her butt smacked against his rear. “Always loved doing it. Any kind of art. All artforms. Art. Art, art, art!”

They both laughed together before sipping their drinks in complete silence. Erin navigated the TV and opening Netflix. Jacob started sipping loudly, coming to terms with the fact that he was actually going to be Netflix and Chilling with this woman. His face flushed red as looked over her recommendations list.

She really liked cartoons.

“Don’t judge.” She hissed, opening up the search tab. “I like all kinds of art.”

“It’s okay.” He chuckled. “My Netflix is full of true crime documentaries. I like all kinds of documentaries.”

She grinned. “What are your thoughts on ocean documentaries?”

“They help me fall asleep.” He giggled.

“Same here.” She grinned at him, choosing a documentary seemingly at random. She leaned back against the couch and rested her head on his shoulder.

Jacob’s body became tense as he felt her head nuzzle against him and three of her snakes tickle his neck. He stared directly at the TV and listened as the female presenter talked about the deep, blue unknown.

“Is this weird for you, Jacob?” She sighed. “I can practically smell the anxiety attack coming.”

“Oh, what?” He hummed. “No, it’s fine. It’s just your snakes are…tickling me.”

“Whoops. Sorry.” She said brushing the snakes away from his neck. “Is that better?”

“Yeah.” He sighed, sinking into the couch and relaxing his muscles as best as he could. “This is really nice. Thank you for inviting me up here.”

“Thank you for hanging out with me as long as you have.” She nuzzled her head against him. “It’s been so long since anybody did…anything like this. This is nice.”

“I’m glad.” Jacob sipped at his tea.

He breathed deeply as he felt one of her snakes curl itself around the back of his head and through his hair. He couldn’t concentrate on the documentary at all, he was too focused on the sensation of Erin against him. His eyes darted wildly about the room.

“You know…If I didn’t know any better, I’d think this was a date…or something like that.” He chuckled to himself, sweating profusely.

“Would…it be so bad if it was?”

“I…uh, what?” Jacob loudly sipped the boiling hot tea and placed the mug down on the coffee table in front of him.

“Not to sound like a creep but,” She sat upright and look to him with sincere eyes through her lens. “would it be so bad if it was like a date…or something?”

His heart stopped and his face turned beet-red. “That depends.” He said weakly. “Would…Would you even want to go on a date with me? I mean…We met only a few hours ago.”

“Sounds stupid, but yeah!” She casually sculled the rest of her coffee and set the mug down next to his. “I think you’re really cute.”

“Oh…Wait! Me? Really? Uh…No, I look like Shaggy. Remember? You said so yourself.”

“That was before I saw your ears.” She smiled softly. “With your ears out, you give me James McAvoy in Narnia vibes.”

Jacob’s jaw dropped and his ears flickered out of his hair. “Really? Wow.”

“Yeah.” She blushed. “It’s weird, isn’t it?”

“Yeah – No! I mean, no. Not weird at all.” He gasped. “But…You’re an attractive woman…surely there’s, like, other guys you’d rather go for, don’t you think?”

“I don’t know too many guys who could look me square in the eyes.” She giggled, her eyes hungrily looking into him. “Let alone come into the gorgon’s den.”

He chuckled at her. “Come on, you’re too nice. You don’t scare me at all.”

She gave him an evil grin, her snakes adjusted themselves so that they all stared directly at him. They all hissed and wriggled on her head. “How about now?”

He gave her a wide, goofy grin. “Jokes on you; that was hot as hell.”

She threw herself backwards on the couch and laughed hysterically. “How?”

He blushed and scratched the back of his neck. “Easy. Just focused on the part of you I liked.”

“And which part is that?”

He averted her eyes and grinned. “Uhh…All of it.”

Her entire body softened, only her mouth tightened into a weak smile. “Dork.” She gasped before leaping forwards and slamming her face against his. Her nose clashed his, as she pressed her lips against his. However, one of her fangs tore into the soft flesh above his lip.

Jacob lurched backwards, daintily tapping the cut with his fingertips. Erin gasped, curling herself into a ball and hiding her face.

“I’m sorry.” She winced. “Are you okay?”

He chuckled. “Yeah. ‘Tis but a scratch.”

“I’m sorry.”

He blushed. “Hey! I’m just glad that you kissed me first.” He tapped at the cut again. “See? No blood!”

She didn’t budge.

“Do you want to try again?” He chuckled. “Take two?”

She peeked her head out from behind her knees as Jacob shuffled closer to her, his goat leg just barely tickling her toes. She giggled as Jacob rested his head on her knee and puckered his lips at her. They grinned at each other before Erin lightly pecked his lips.

“That wasn’t so bad, huh?” He chuckled. “How’d…That feel for you?”

“It felt good.” She said softly. “So, what does this mean, exactly?”

“Well, for me, it means that I think you’re super hot and I would like to know you better.”

“So do I.”

“You said I was cute.”

“Shut up. The point still stands.” She sighed. “What now?”

Jacob’s eyes glanced towards the TV and he adjusted his position to sit facing the screen. “We could finish this documentary while I give you my number.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He unlocked it and opened up his contacts before handing the phone to her. “Or, you can give me yours?”

She smiled as she gently took the phone from him and started entering her details. “You’d better call me.”

“I will.” He blushed. “At least I won’t have to get in contact through your emails this way.”

Erin looked down at the phone and stuck out her tongue. She chuckled as she handed the phone back to him. “Contact picture.”

“Cute.” He grinned, putting away the phone. “I’d love to get to know you better, Erin. We could go to Sumo Square sometime. My treat.”

“With the ramen noodles?”

“The best ramen. Guarantee it!”

“Deal.” She grinned. “So, we’re just going to watch the documentary and then you’ll go home?”

“I have to go home eventually.” Jacob sighed. “Marc’s not home until later tonight so there’s no one to feed Patty. I’d stay over…But I’m not that kind of guy.”

“Easy, tiger.” She giggled. “I wasn’t suggesting you spend the night.”

He cocked a brow at her. “You were suggesting something.”

“We could make out a little.” She shrugged.

“Right now?” He gasped.

“Yeah. Why not?”

“Oh no, you’ve already got me in your den, gorgon!” He chuckled, bringing his cup to his mouth. “You won’t get me that easily!”

Erin pouted at him. “Aww…Are you sure?” She gave him a devilish grin. “I bet you taste sweeter than honey.”

Jacob’s heart stopped and he froze in place. His eyes glazed over as he stared into the void and his breathing got deeper. He sipped his tea and yet his mouth still felt dry. All he could hear was static and all he could think about was kissing her. He blinked slowly. His whole body felt limp and numb.

She leaned into him. “And…I love sweet things.” She purred into his ear.

His eyes slowly panned over to meet hers. He exhaled and shook his head at her. “Oh…You are evil.”

If someone had told him that the day would have ended with him making out with an insanely attractive woman, Jacob scarcely would have believed them. Even as Erin’s fangs brushed against his lower lip, even as her sharp claws brushed through his hair and even as his hands traced along the smooth serpent scales on along her spine, he scarcely believed that it was happening.

He waited for his eyes to open and for it to be a dream. He waited for the punchline, for her to roll over and laugh at him for even thinking that she could be attracted to him. But she didn’t. When she finally did pull away, she gave him a goofy smile and kissed his nose.

Jacob didn’t go home that night; he stayed and watched the rest of the documentary with Erin until they both fell asleep on the couch. He couldn’t stand to leave her alone; a sore back the next day was a small price to pay to make a pretty girl happy.