Angel and Devil

Trace

My heart hammered fast in my chest. Our lips were about to touch. I could feel John’s warm breath on my lips. I slowly closed my eyes, ready to embrace the big moment—
“Ahh! Ouch!” someone yelled not far away. I snapped my eyes open, drawing back. John had snapped out of the almost-kiss too. I looked to the side and saw an old lady with grey hair sitting on the floor – she must have slipped. I went to her side quickly to help her up.
“Are you okay?” I asked her.
“Yes, I guess so,” the old lady replied, rubbing her hips, thank you, young lady.”
“Are you sure? Did you hurt yourself?” I asked again, a bit worried. It looked like she had fallen quite hard, and she was so old.
“I think I’m really alright,” she said, flexing her arms and legs.
“Be more careful next time!” I told her before she thanked me and walked away.
I smiled, feeling happy that I had helped another person. I looked back at John, and he was looking at his feet, his head hanging low.
I sat down next to him again, “What’s wrong, John?” I asked.
“Nothing, really,” he mumbled.
“If you say so,”
“Shall we go now?” he looked up, expressionless.
“Okay,” I stood up, feeling confused. I wondered what his true problem was. He always acted weird suddenly. And I wondered what was with all those girls I had seen with him. When I realized the jealousy was coming back to me, I quickly stopped my train of thought and looked at John. He stood up slowly, with his hands in his pockets. He looked down at the ground again while we were walking. I followed close behind him.
On the way home, neither of us spoke. John kicked anything in his way along the way, like small rocks or some rubbish. I could tell that he was in a bad mood.
At last we arrived home. We stopped in front of my house.
“So,” John began, looking into my eyes, “I guess… I should head home now.”
“Don’t you want to hang out?”
“Uh, I’m not feeling well,” he scratched his head.
“Okay… Thanks for showing me around,” I tried my best to smile at him, “Goodbye.”
“Bye,” he smiled back slightly, and walked back to his house.
I went back into my house to sit down and think. I had to find out what John was hiding, and maybe who those girls were. So I decided to follow him tonight, as he might go out again like last night. But the problem was, how was I going to follow him without a car? Perhaps the people in heaven had foreseen this problem, so I went to the garage to check out if there was a car. I had never went there.
And when I opened the door, a shiny black car stood in the center.
“Wow,” I could not help but gasped aloud.
I picked out the best outfit for tonight. I would have to wear something dark to hide myself and something similar like the girls I saw. I would have to dress like them to get myself melted into the background. I bet John met the blond girl like he did with the brunette, I was quite sure, now that I thought of it. They looked and dressed quite similarly.
So I ended up with a lacy black tank top with a black leather jacket, a black miniskirt and black leather boots. I laid them out on my bed, with the boots on the floor.
Then I went around the house trying to make time pass faster. I watched TV, read books, made dinner, had a nice warm bath, and even played dressing up.
At last when I glanced at the clock, it was about time. John went out around this time. So I put on the clothes I had chosen earlier, fixed my hair and makeup, checked myself in the full-length mirror, then went downstairs to wait for the sound of John’s car.
I sat on the sofa without turning anything on, even the lights. I hoped in that way John would not notice if I went out and follow him.
All I could hear was my own breathing. But suddenly I heard some sounds from the direction of John’s house. He must be in the garage or something now. I slipped out of the house quietly, heading to my own garage. I got ready in the car, and when I saw John’s car zoomed away in front of me, I waited for a few seconds, and then followed him.
I did not know where I was heading, but I followed closely, and tried to be as unnoticed as I could manage.
He went to the area where there were lots of clubs and pubs. He parked the car on the roadside, and I followed suit a few cars down. I waited until he disappeared through the door of one of the clubs before I got out from the car.
I went in front of the club. I had never ever been to a club before, and I was actually very nervous. The few men scattered around the entrance outside who were checking me out did not help calming me down. I took a deep breath, and told myself that the sooner this ended, the sooner I could go. I squared my shoulders and stepped inside.
Music was blasting loudly inside, with people chatting everywhere. There were small groups of people gathered around some tables and sofas at the corners, and a bar with blue lights in the background stood in the center of the room. I looked around, trying to find John.
“Hey, babe,” suddenly, a man with dark hair put his arm around my shoulder. I could smell a strong scent of alcohol instantly. I quickly pushed him away, and went into the crowd. I looked back and saw the man had stumbled into another girl who was wearing a very low cut top.
I pushed further inside the crowd, and finally spotted John sitting at the bar. I found a spot near the wall to observe him.
He was wearing a denim jacket with spikes on the shoulder parts, black skinny jeans and silver hightops. He looked gorgeous as usual.
He drank a few drinks, then suddenly a blond girl wearing a tight long-sleeved one piece short dress sat down next to him. They started talking, and I could sense that my jealousy was returning. I gulped, trying to force it away.
But then the girl leaned into John. From my angle, it looked like they were about to kiss. I could no longer force the jealousy away; I was practically boiling.
“Hey!” a large man suddenly came into view, pushing John away from the girl, making him fall down onto the floor. I automatically stood straight and stepped forward. But then I held my position, trying to figure out what was happening. I recognized the man was the one who put his arm around my shoulder.
“Whoa, buddy,” John said, standing up, “What’s with that?”
“How dare you kissed my girl?” the man boomed. Now more people had gathered and formed a circle around them, keeping a distance.
“I didn’t!” John retorted, “She tried to kiss me!”
“So you did kiss her!” the man pushed the blond behind his back and leaned closer to John, towering him. The man was so large. I started to panic. Not for myself, but John.
“I didn’t mean to!” John said.
The man did not reply but just punched John in the stomach. John stumbled back a few steps, and I quickly pushed pass the crowd to stand in front of John, trying to protect him from the man’s next punch.
“STOP!” I yelled, standing in front of John. I could feel John had got back on his feet behind me.
“(Yn)?” John whispered, confusion filling his tone.
“It’s you again!” the man spat in my face, “The girl who rejected me! I won’t let you escape too, little brat!”
He tried to grab my neck, but I dodged. I grabbed John’s hand, and made a bolt for the exit. The people around made way for us.
“Come back!” I could hear the man following close behind.
“Quick! Into my car!” John pulled me with him once we were outside, and we sprinted towards his car. We got in quickly, and John started the engine. As we sped down the road, I looked back and saw the man standing in front of the club, red in the face.
John drove straight back home, and along the way, silence filled the car. At last we arrived in front of John’s house, and he parked his car into the garage. He cut the engine, but did not unlock the door.
I looked at John, and he was already looking at me. I could sense there would be a long talk ahead of us…