The Paired

Liam

The first week was dreadfully basic. All those "Two Truths and A Lie" and "Never Have I Ever" party games that were used as "getting to know you" mechanisms. The only one who dared to pair with me was Finn. He was probably the stupidest creature I'd ever met. Who else would go up to a demon for fun? It was fine, anyways. I was always alone at Father's palace since I didn't like the other demons. They all were stupid ass troublemakers and drunks, and I wanted nothing to do with that. My mother always encouraged me to go out and make friends, but I always refused. It wasn't like I could leave like my father did and meet some hot but scared little mortal. My father had wanted me to take over his job of collecting souls whenever his servants were too busy since so many mortals were dying nowadays. That's how my parents met. Typical love story. Demon king goes to collect sick woman's soul, falls in love, and has a kid. The demon king said to the woman that she could never see the kid for legal reasons, so the woman allowed her soul to be taken so she could live forever as wife of the king of demons. Hollywood ending, I know.

Finally, it was time for the Pairing ceremony. We were all herded to the main building and sat inside an auditorium type room. I sat on the edge with Finn on my right, talking about some stupid nonsense. I didn't pay much attention, as my thoughts were elsewhere, but I knew better than to tell him to shut up. Talking helped calm Finn's nerves—that and tapping his leg or his talons. His roommate, Cedric, was on his other side and was taking deep breaths to calm himself. I didn't know what to think of Cedric. He was half angel, so statistically, we weren't supposed to get along. I didn't like statistics. Or stereotypes. Everyone was scared to talk to me because they expected me to light them on fire or steal their soul. I could only do one of those. I couldn't make fire, but if there was fire in the area, that bastard was screwed.

Lila stepped in front of the microphone and tapped it lightly to get our attention. "Okay, everyone, you've made it through the first week of the Paired Program. Now, you will all be getting your pairs. We'll start by name, yes?" Lila called a few people to the stage, starting in alphabetical order. Cedric got paired with a half tree nymph named Faith. She didn't look thrilled about it and Cedric just looked awkward. Finn got called up a bit after him and got paired with a half siren named Harmony. There was some snickering from the other half sirens, but Harmony just ignored them.

Sadly, I had to get called eventually. I walked up to the stage when she called my name and waited on her left side like all the others did. I looked at the girls that were left waiting and found that I didn't care who I got paired with. They'd be scared of me either way. Lila can say no stereotypes, but that doesn't mean we're going to follow that rule.

"And Liam, your lucky pair is...Melody!" I watched as a girl with wavy black hair and deep blue eyes walked up to the stage. She was clearly a half siren. Her skin was the medium color that all sirens had from staying in moderate sunlight and staying inside when it was too hot. Her hair practically blended in with the black halter top she had on. Her jeans looked too tight to be comfortable, but she didn't seem to mind. Sirens and their stupid fashions. Always beauty before comfort. She flashed me a dazzling white smile that made me feel slightly uncomfortable. We backed up to where the other pairs were standing and realized I was next to Finn. He gave me a dumb grin. I couldn't tell what he thought of his pair, but she clearly was more interested in staring at the ground.

Once everyone got their pairs, we were led to a cafeteria and were told to sit with our pairs. All the tables were only two seaters, so we had to face each other the whole time. Melody was humming and I felt a slight tug in my mind, as if it wanted to do whatever she said. I told that part of mind to back off.

Lila stood in the middle of the cafeteria. "Congratulations on getting your pairs, everyone! Now, here are a few rules you must obey in order to stay in our program and out of trouble. The first and most important rule is that you cannot have a romantic relationship with anyone besides your pair. Violation of this law will get you removed from our program and you will find yourself in an audience with the Council. Two: you must do all activities assigned for you and your pair. If you refuse, it will result in counseling and punishment. If your pair is expelled from the program, another will be chosen for you or you may be let go depending on the circumstance. Counseling will be available, not just as result of rule breaking, but in case you and your pair are having issues. If you are unhappy with your pair, you can bring it up with either myself or Mr. Conner, the facility leader." Lila gestured towards the door where a guy about three feet tall strutted into the room. He had curly ginger hair and a small beard. He was wearing a bright green shirt and black pants and he had a permanent scowl on his face.