SUNNYVALE

(97) THE HUMAN MATCH

Jessie sighs.

If there is one thing she absolutely despises, it is not achieving the task she has been handled by the person hierarchically higher than her - and in that case, Satan herself. 

Life in the University of Melas was nothing like what she's experienced before - although there were very few, of no common points between Hell and college, being a demon sure wasn't the most fulfilling career ever - thanks to her angelic characteristics, she was one of a kind, and was indispensable. 

And Jessie was enjoying this phase of discovering herself all over again, and discovering the true meaning of freedom.

This morning, she was quite intense: after following a 3-hour class about robotics (which she knew nothing about), Jessie joined the girls from the soccer team (including Christen), a sport she knew nothing about but fell in love with - and she was pretty decent at it too. After this morning's training, she took her shower and proceeds on walking back to what was given to her as 'dorm' - this is the word they use for a tiny room with only space for a bed and somewhere to put your clothes in. 

Humans are weird, Jessie thinks to herself, amused. 

At noon, she sits down next to Quinn - this very nice person from the soccer team Jessie could definitely be bff with - as they were lost in their thoughts for a moment. 

Hopefully, Magda joins them at their table - and if the Swede looks more tired than usual, with dark circles under her eyes, she still greets her with a quick hug and says:

"Hi, newbie, you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, you?"

"You know... college life can be too much sometimes" Magda smirks, before her eyes become sad all of a sudden. Under Jessie's surprised eyes, the blonde explains herself: "I've just had the weirdest encounter with someone I thought was one of my best friend, and she said some hurtful things, and now I can't get over it..."

"You mean, Crystal?"

Jessie bites her lips: shut up, you fucking idiot, or else she'll suspect something. And, indeed, Magda had just frowned.

"Oh, I didn't realise you guys met already..." the blonde slowly says, suspicious.

"Yeah, she just showed me around the other day" Jessie lies, trying to seem confident and normal.

"Anyway" Magda lets out, ending the odd moment, "Crystal seems so different since last week, and she's acting super weird: I mean, she even broke up with Julie for God's sake!"

Jessie nods in agreement. 

But before she can say anything, her eyes had just seen a person that stood out from the rest: a brunette with a few long locks of blonde hair, with dark brown eyes that could see right through Jessie's soul it seems, appears in her field of view. She seemed to be the same age as her, if not one or two years younger, but still she was so well-dressed and her hair were so perfect that she looked unreal. She then approaches the group of girls hanging out and studying together, passing by Jessie without even seeing her.

Deep down, Jessie knew what that feeling was, but she pushed it aside: if there was one good point about being only half-angel, it was that her demonic side kept her from being God's bitch, but also prevented her from falling for that soulmate bullshit. 

Following Jessie's cold stare, Magda laughs softly and says:

"Don't even bother: may I present to you Miss Mallory Diane Pugh, the headmaster's precious and prestigious daughter, who got to Melas three years in advance - that girl's untouchable, on top of being a mythic bitch."

Jessie smirks.

"Ugh, she doesn't seem nice either way" the brunette then comments, but for some reason she could not look away from the other girl, who ignored her once again...

***

Rosella feels like she's been hit by a train. 

This morning, as she woke up, she felt like today wasn't going to be a good day - she could feel it in her veins, in her guts even: and boy was she right. 

Up to the night, everything was going more or less okay: she went to class, did her presentation without a single problem, went to her AA meeting, and met Magda right outside the place where the meetings occur, as always. And, as always, the blonde was waiting for her with two bubble teas and macaroons to congratulate her best friend. Therefore, the say seemed to be ending on a high note.

But, while Magda and Rosella walk home from the AA meeting, they suddenly feel uneasy - a groupe of four or five guys were walking behind them quite fast, whispering, probably about them. When they get to the edge of the street, and come across from three more guys, they soon understand that this was an ambush. 

Rosella immediately jumps at one of the guy's throats but, him being way more muscular and strong than her, he managed to put his fist in her face and make her eat the ground. His friends all laugh, while one of them says:

"Woah, your little friend's really cute..."

And another: "Yeah... I haven't been pleased for a long, long time..."

"I bet she's a cock sucker..." a third one concedes.

When one of them grabs the back of Magda's head, forcing her on her knees, Rosella opens her eyes, feeling a burning sensation inside of her guts, as anger was getting stronger and stronger. One of the guy was on top of her, keeping her from moving the way she wanted to, her face half-crashed on the ground.

Magda starts screaming and exclaiming when the guy she was forced to kneel before starts unbuttoning his pants, a vicious stare coming out of his eyes.

"Leave her alone!" Rosella yells, and suddenly something odd happens.

Indeed, when the guy on top of her wants to make her look at him, he realises her eyes were literally red, as if flames were going through them. He feels his hands burning, and when he looks down he sees that the girl's hand had just caught fire - real fucking fire. Screaming in pain, the dude and his five-degree burns falls on the ground, crying like a little boy.

His friends cannot believe their eyes: Rosella was now on her knees, and her whole being had just caught fire: when she looks at the guy Magda was kneeling to, she feels a deep rage taking over her whole body, not exactly knowing what was going on. A ball of fire suddenly erupts from her hands, that she had stretched out toward him, and hits him directly in the face. He screaming a little, but when the fire goes inside his mouth and throat, he falls on the ground, dead. 

"What..." one of the guys start.

But when they see Rosella getting on her feet slowly, losing her own composure, they start running away from her as fast as they could. She caught two more with her fire balls, before they disappear at the end of the street.

Three dead bodies were now lying at her feet, while Magda looks down at her, terrified.

"O-o-oh my G-Gosh" the blonde stammers, her eyes so wide they were about to pop out.

Rosella suddenly feels weak, and when the flames start burning, her body becomes normal again - and stopped literally catching fire. Only, the combustion had destroyed her clothes, and she now was all naked in front of Magda, before collapsing on the ground.

Magda rushes toward the brunette, trying her best not to look at her - I mean, can you blame me? I'm gay and she's hot as fuck, Magda thinks to herself, before covering Rosella's body with her long coat, before calling for help.

A realisation hits her: she caught fire, but still has no burns... What the fuck...?