Cherub.

15

Angelo snuck away from Cassiel who'd do her daily errands in the morning. The fellow angel gave him lessons on hygiene so Angelo now smelled clean, he looked clean and he'd even trimmed his facial hair. Though this vessel is not yours, you must still treat it with care. Treat it like you love it, she told him. So he did. The vessel even seemed to appreciate this new level of care; the skin glowed and the eyes twinkled now.

As he stumbled down the sidewalk, Angelo couldn't help the familiar feeling of anxiousness.

He was going to tell him.

He was going to tell Gemini who he really was. For real this time. He didn't care if the man hated him now—he just wanted him to understand.

As he headed down the familiar sidewalk that lead to the man's studio apartment, he mentally prepared himself. Maybe an angel can love a mortal after all. Gemini will understand now. He will be patient and then he will love me. Who could not love an angel?

I was created to be loved, after all.

The cherub wasn't ready to give up just yet. Despite feeling as though Gemini was worth a life with no wings , he was still hesitant. He'd turned his back on God for a mortal who thought he was too much—maybe this was his punishment for disobeying his father. Angelo didn't know. But what he did know was that he was like Cassiel in many ways; willing to lose his holy duty for this. For a mortal.

"Mere?" a concerned voice called. "Mere?" It called again. Angelo ignored the calls and continued his walk, figuring that it was one of the many conversations he'd overhear during the day.

He disregarded the frantic voice until a man stood in front of him—the man was Kahlo. His eyes lingered over Angelo as if he didn't believe what or who was looking back at him. Angelo mimicked this expression before pulling Kahlo into a hug; the man winced at the pressure against his arm. It was in a sling.

Kahlo didn't seem to like the act of affection because he pulled away quickly, a look of bewilderment now replacing his concerned expression, "Kahlo." Angelo whispered. He wanted to reach out and touch the demon—something was different. This wasn't Kahlo.

"What?" He reeled back. "Samere, what happened to you? Where have you been? Your family's looking for you." He asked, giving the angel a once over. Something wasn't right. "I woke up in a hospital four weeks ago. Do you know what happened to me? What happened after we left the library?" He said in one breath.

It clicked.

This vessel did not belong to Kahlo any longer—when Kahlo left, this allowed the owner to come back. But how? How did this body survive such trauma? Angelo had never seen anything like it. He was too stunned to speak; the celestial stood with his mouth agape at the realization. "I.." He stammered. "I..don't know you." Was all he could muster up the courage to say.

The man frowned. "Do you know your name? What happened to you?" He grabbed Angelo's hand—his eyes widened at the aged bruises along his arm. Hues of purple, yellow and green danced across the brown skin. Sometimes the vessel was still too weak to hold the cherub.

"Please," Angelo whispered, gently pulling his arm away. "I have to go."

"Your name is Samere Ali!  You're nineteen years old," The stranger cried as he followed Angelo down the sidewalk. A few onlookers watched as the scene unfolded. "I'm your best friend and my name is Dorian! You have two sisters and your mom and dad are missing you, Samere. Please remember me–"

"Enough!" Angelo turned on his heels.  This was too overwhelming. The feeling of guilt made him lightheaded.

That poor boy.

That poor soul.

He would condemn a boy to a lifetime in limbo if he were to keep inhabiting his body—this poor mortal.

"Stay away from me." Angelo ordered the boy, Dorian. His face mimicked a wounded puppy then contorted into a look of defeat—Angelo was guilt-ridden at the sight. This wasn't right. He stumbled back as memories began to speed through the vessel's brain.

Birth; small eyes blinked open to see a teary eyed woman staring into them. She smiles and sets a warm, comforting hand over his cheek. "My baby," She stammers as tears streams down her cheeks.

Christmas; a mere boy, no older than 10. He plays with a train set as the room is filled with warmth and the sounds of laughter wafted over the heat of the fireplace.

Graduation; cheers fills his ears as he raises a diploma. through the sea of eyes and smiling faces, he sees his mother smiling back at him, mimicking the expression she wore when she birthed him. pure love.

Before; the boy gasps as a beam of light glows from afar. The trees surrounding it were hiding what was the cause of such a phenomenon. the light begins to move, almost as if it were flying and it was then that the boy felt a pain he'd never experienced. like his skin was trying to rip away from him. the light continued to move, quickly inching closer. "what's going on?!" his friend called. then everything is black

"What have I done?" The man was gone now which left Angelo standing in the midst of a crowd.

He blinked away the feeling and stood for several moments before continuing his walk to Gemini's home—this was a terrible decision. Just as he was about to turn around, Gemini spotted him.

He'd only seen the back of Angelo's head but he immediately recognized him. Nyma was snuggled in his arm as he smoked a cigarette with his free hand—the man decided to sit on his stoop today. "Angelo?" He called.

The cherub turned around.

a/n:
it's been a while guys! sorry i'm so inconsistent; i have this thing where i think i'm an octopus and can keep up with a billion books at once ;-;

what do you think will happen next?