My friend, Demise

Chapter 3

I have people in my life that most would consider friends by now. I don't. Simply because I was put in a position where I had to show them how cold I could be. They never recovered and refuse to look at me the same.

I sat at lunch alone, poking at my food with my jaw set tight.

I hear a table of teenagers laughing near me, making my fists ball up. I take a deep breath, slowly at first before it started to speed up.

Calm down. My eyes shut, releasing my fists and impatiently tapping on my knee with my middle finger. Idiots...shut up.

"Hey! You're here!" The boy from yesterday plopped down but I snapped at him before I realized who he was.

"Go! Shut the fuck up!"

I looked at him seeing his wide eyes. "Wow... that was scary!" He laughed. "Do it again!"

"What's your name anyway." I relaxed a bit when he sat closer to me, pulling a fry from my lunch tray and popping it in his mouth.

"I go by Demi."

"I said name. Not nickname."

"My dad's in prison." He shrugged.

"I didn't ask for your life story!"

He laughed pretty heartily at that. "I wasn't done yet! My dad's a gangster and he's pretty scary. He named me Demise."

"Like....Denise? The girl name?"

"It's pronounced similar but no. Like death. It's Demise Hitman."

"That's...mildly intimidating."

"Nobody messes with me here because they know about my dad. He killed five officers in a shoot off!"

"Sounds like a real winner." I rolled my eyes.

"He's not. But I look up to his confidence and bravery. Despite his life, he was a really good dad. Nobody in his gang knew he had a kid so I'm pretty safe."

"You'd suit a common name more."

"I know right! I wish I was just named Jared or something! Though...Demise sounds pretty badass."

"Sounds like a chick name. You should pronounce it like the actual word demise."

"Yeah?"

"Yes. Don't go by Demi. Go by your actual name. It sounds a lot better."

"Huh....I like your point of view dude!"

"Don't act like we're friends."

"We are." He smiled. "But...I don't know your name. I've told you mine. It's your turn."

"...I don't have a normal name either."

"Awesome! What is it?"

"Azriel."

"Woah! That's a lot prettier than I was expecting. It suits you."

"A pretty name suits me?"

"Definitely."

We ate in silence, which I found comforting. He knew I didn't like to talk much, so whenever a conversation started he would carry the weight of it. I gave him single worded responses to show I was listening though.

"Excuse me, can I sit with you guys?" A frail girl in pigtails and glasses walked over to us, her arms shaking and eyes glancing around nervously. "Please?"

When I realized she kept looking over at a groups of angry girls, who were clearly trying to come after her, I grabbed her arm and pulled her between Denise and I. I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and pulled the cap from Demise's heads placing it on her own and pulling her hood up over it. "Head down, eat my food and lean on my shoulder. They won't see you."

She did as I said, shakily eating the fries form my tray. "Thank you..."

"What's your name?"

"Amanda."

"What's their problem with you?"

"I let them copy off of my homework and they got caught." She laughed a bit. "They're pretty mad."

"You'll be fine. Even if you're not, I'm not afraid to hit a girl."

"You're a nice guy, huh?"

"I'm really not but I'm feeling generous." I scoffed, tracing my thumb back and forth over her shoulder. "If you don't have a boyfriend, they definitely won't think you're over here."

"I don't."

"Good then. And before that scares you off, I don't date girls. So I'm not gonna do anything. If you're scared I will, I'll give you the mace in my backpack."

"No. I trust you."

"He smells good, right?" Denise nudged her. "Never thought I'd see him take care of someone other than himself."

"Shut up." I glared at him.

I wasn't looking for a fight today. My body hurt from the amount of ass I kicked the day before, so I was pretty tired. If I have to stand up for this chick though, I'll manage. Those girls look pretty easy to manage.

I heard the girls walk behind me, making Amanda flinch. I tightened my arm around her, leaning over to her face and pulling my lips close to her own. "Grab my shoulder. They're just walking by."

If it looks like I'm kissing her, they cants we her face.

She did what I said like before, allowing me to untie her braids and adjust her hair so it hid some of her face. She's blushing. Hope I'm not scaring her.

"You're not scared are you?"

"No."

"Good."

"Excuse me, I have you seen-" one of the girls tried to talk to me, making me roll my eyes and kiss Amanda. "Okay never mind, Demi!"

"Yeah?" He leaned back to look at the girls, clearly annoyed.

"Have you seen Amanda? She's kinda short, glasses. Pretty sure she's on the softball team."

"Why would I know where Amanda is? Last we talked, she was with you guys."

They left us alone and I finally pulled away from Amanda, immediately chugging the water by my side. "Ugh. Sorry."

She actually laughed, pulling her glasses off and giving Demise his hat back. "No. I should be sorry. I interrupted your lunch."

I pulled my hands into my lap. "I don't mind. Hope I wasn't your first kiss. This wouldn't be the best experience for that."

"Don't worry, you weren't." She bit her tongue to hide another laugh. "Thank you. They would've killed me."

"Yeah....don't thank me. I hate that kind of shit. Didn't know Demise was so popular. You're lucky I'm not, otherwise they probably would have asked me instead."

"What can I say, I'm sexy." He grinned. "Not my fault everyone wants a piece of me."

"That's cute but it kinda makes me want to break your nose."

"I'd be even hotter with blood running down my face."

"You're a disgrace."