Wingless {Clifford A.U}

Chapter Four

"So, out of all the people you could watch over, you picked me?" Astrid asked the angel who she found out's name is Michael. They were sitting in front of each other on her bed. She's been asking him questions nonstop since she found out that he was her guardian angel.

"Well, not necessarily, the angel council leader, Isadora, assigned me to you, but either way I wanted to help you." He said and she nodded.

"So am I the only one who can see you, or can everyone see you?" she asked.

"Only you can see and hear me. No one else can. There's this glamour type thing that surrounds angels, so even though I can touch you and other objects, to other people the glamour makes it look like something else happened, it's kind of complicated. Even I don't fully understand it." He said.

"Oh, so why exactly do you not have your wings? I thought that all angels had wings..." she trailed off and he sighed.

"Well, it all depends on how you die, and how you were while you were living I guess." He said and she gave him a confused look.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Well, what I mean is, say if you gave your life for someone, you would get your wings for doing something heroic. If you died of natural causes, you're weighed on how you were in your life, if you were a good person you get your wings, if you weren't depending on how bad of a person you were, determines if you get a chance at trying to earn them or if you go to hell. And finally, if you were murdered then you have to earn your wings." He said and she nodded.

"What about suicide?" she asked and he looked at her seriously.

"If you commit suicide, you'll be stuck in this place called the between. It's on Earth, and you just remain there doomed to watch the world go on, unless you find a way to prove yourself worthy of moving on to the heavens." He said and she looked down.

"Oh." She whispered and looked down at her hands, self-consciously tugging her sleeves further down and hugging herself. He gave her a sympathetic look.

"It's okay, I'm not going to let that happen to you, and you don't have to cover your scars in front of me...I have them too." He said, rolling up his sleeves of his T-shirt, thin little lines went across his wrists. "They never went away, even after death." he said as she stared at them, feeling less self conscious about her own. She switched her gaze and looked him in the eye. She wouldn't admit it out loud, but he was a beautiful boy, she couldn't help but wonder what made him feel so terrible that he would purposely scar himself.

"How-how did you die?" she asked, changing the subject. He bit his lip and looked away from her, avoiding her gaze.

"That's not exactly a topic I enjoy talking about..." he trailed off.

"Oh, I'm sorry; I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable or anything. Dammit I didn't mean to." She mumbled. He looked back at her and gave her a reassuring smile.

"It's alright. I just don't usually talk about it. I was murdered, but I'll spare you the gory details. It happened a little over a year ago." He said.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." She said sympathetically.

"Don't be, I wouldn't be helping you right now if it never happened. I just wish I could get rid of the memories." He said, shuddering.

"You can remember how you died?" she asked both horrified and curious.

"Unfortunately, it's disturbing. I can remember every detail, and who did it. I remember everything from my life." He said trying to shake the memories away.

"Let's not talk about that anymore." She said playing with the silver chain that hung around her neck that held a ring with a small engraving that she could never read, it was the only piece of her mother she had.

"Okay then, tell me something that I don't know about you." He said and she thought about it.

"What do you not know?" she asked and he shrugged

"There's a lot that I don't know. Like what do you do for fun, what's your favorite music genre, your favorite movie, favorite color, what you want to do with your life, I don't know stuff like that." He said and she nodded.

"Okay, I like drawing and writing, my music taste ranges, it can go from Rihanna and Shawn Mendes to Twenty One Pilots to Three Days Grace, my favorite movie is probably Divergent but it's hard to choose, and my favorite color is black, or blue." She said and he smiled at her.

"What do like drawing or writing about?" he asked.

"Different things, I'll show you my book." She said handing him the sketch book and he flipped through the pages.

"These are amazing."  he said and she blushed.

"T-thanks." she mumbled shyly.

"This really cool." Michael said honestly, handing her sketch book back. She smiled at him, a real smile, the first one in a really long time. He looked at her, her smile was beautiful.

"You have a really pretty smile." He said and she blushed.

"Thanks, I don't really think so." She said and he tilted his head to the side.

"Well, it is, you should wear it more often." He said and she nodded.

"I think I will." She said, that's when they heard Naomi yell from the other room.

"For God's sake Astrid, will you shut up and stop talking to yourself?" she yelled. Astrid didn't answer her but looked down at her comforter.

"I hate her." She mumbled and Michael nodded in agreement.

"I know, don't worry, you won't have to deal with her for much longer." He said. They both glanced at the clock.

"I guess I should start trying to go to sleep." She said with a sigh and yawned.

"Good idea." Michael said and she pulled the comforter back.

"Where are you going to sleep?" she asked.

"Angels don't have to sleep." He said.

"Oh, okay then. Goodnight Michael." She said as he walked over and turned the light off.

"Goodnight Astrid." He said quietly, but she didn't hear him because she had already fallen asleep surprisingly, the sound of her slow breathing filling the room. Michael sat in her desk chair, watching her as she slept peacefully.

He was happy that he was going to be able to help her, maybe they'll end up being really close to each other. He was only hoping that there was actually hope for him, he wasn't always the greatest at helping people, but maybe this will work.

A/N: Hey guys! Another chapter. I hope you enjoyed it, it was a bit of a filler chapter, but anyway, please vote or comment, I like getting feedback. Love you guys.

-Xx E.J