Thunder seemed to shake the very core of the Earth as Jaemin lifted his last bag into the trunk of his parents minivan. Little droplets of rain ensued the cries of Mother Nature, the cold against the warmth of his skin sending a shiver down his spine.
"This is just a bad omen!" His mother screamed, slamming the old screen door of their recently sold house behind her, "I already told you this was a horrible idea—and this just proves my point!"
Ignoring his mother's dramatics over something as silly as rain, Jaemin climbed into the back seat and tried to prepare himself for a three hour drive to their new house.
Mayport, the town they were moving away from was one of the few places yet to integrate angels and demons. It was a religious town that believed in living up to your truest form of purity as an Angel—that included staying away from demons and anything demonic whatsoever. That being said, when Jaemin's father announced he had accepted a job at Halcyon Cove, one of the most integrated cities in the state, he was sure his mother was going to have an aneurysm.
Jaemin didn't mind leaving per se...he'd never even seen a demon before, but Mayport was lonely. He hoped a new school was an opportunity to finally make some friends.
At his old school, he wasn't exactly popular...but he wasn't unpopular either. It seemed that he was quite honestly...invisible. He didn't particularly fit in with the guys because he didn't play football or rave about cars—and maintaining a friendship with a girl was nearly impossible. The classrooms were separated by gender and besides school, the only time they would see each other is at church...and well talking during service was frowned upon.
The rain had only gotten heavier as the drive went on, the rain drops beating against the windshield as if they too were looking for a place to hide from the weather.
"Jaemin, honey," his mother started, reaching back to tap his knee, "keep your eyes down, we're about to go through a...demon town."
Jaemin felt the smooth asphalt change to something rough and uncomfortable to travel on. The road shook the luggage in the car, almost knocking a suitcase onto his lap.
The woman's words and his own curiosity convinced him to lift his head and look out the window. It was quite dark outside because of the storm so he had to squint to see anything. Everything looked the same except it was much more rundown. The roads were mostly potholes and a lot of the homes had broken windows and splintering wood.
✨✨✨
A dramatic sigh fell from Jaemin's lips as he let himself fall backwards onto his bed. It was nearly ten at night and the most he had accomplished since arriving at the new house was making his bed. Unpacking all of the boxes and unloading the suitcases sounded like torture—and Jaemin still had a month of summer break left to actually do it.
He'd never felt so conflicted on whether to feel excited or nervous for his first day of school. Rather than the obvious factor of never meeting a demon, Jaemin wasn't quite sure how the angels in that area were supposed to act. His whole life there had always been somebody leaning over his shoulder telling him what to do and what to say—but now he was all alone.
All alone with his thoughts and feeling...and not at all sure how to work through them. But he had some time to figure that out before he was thrown into a whole new life. He planned to remain invisible for the next few weeks as he sorted things out so there wasn't a chance of messing any first impressions up too horribly.
"Hey, kid..." Jaemin's father spoke gently as he slowly pushed open the door, letting himself in when he didn't hear any protest from his son, "all done for the night?"
"Yeah...I'm really tired, it's probably because of the car ride," Jaemin responded, sitting up so he could have a conversation with his father.
The man let out a quiet hum before nodding. "I wouldn't stress about unpacking," he reassured, "take some time to get used to things."
A small frown formed on Jaemin's lips, eyes falling down to look at his lap. "There's a lot to get used to, dad, and I'm...I'm not sure how to...do that."
"Jaemin, life is going to be full of changes, but all I can tell you right now is to be open minded. If you're going to bring anything from Mayport with you let it be kindness—because god forbid they teach any tolerance..." his father let his words dissipate, shaking his head after realizing what he said, "I'm sorry, I don't mean to talk bad about Mayport."
Jaemin's eyebrows knit together as he asked, "Did you want to leave?"
"Of course I wanted to leave," he nearly whispered, a smile forming on his lips, "The world has moved on from this...separation...and it's time we do too."
"But mom she—"
"Your mother is going to have the hardest time adjusting out of all of us, but I think it's necessary for her. Some changes are necessary, kid."
———
Hi lovelies! If you paid attention to my message board...this was option number three. I just started college so please bare with me if I miss a day updating or whatnot.
I hope you liked the first chapter, thanks for reading <3
