Lucian's Kryptonite

III-VI

Isabelle

"You've been so tired lately," Periwinkle observed. "What have you been doing?"

"Nothing," I attempted to dismiss her with an eye roll.
"Is that what we're doing? We're going to lie? I'm just going to keep asking until you tell me," Jennifer urged.

"Nothing," I said again.

"Monday, you were okay. Tuesday you were half-okay. Yesterday? You were napping in between classes and in another world at lunch. Today? You fell asleep while I was talking to you!"

"Maybe I'm just stressed." I argued as I repacked my belongings.
"You wish," Jennifer persisted. She squinted her eyes at me before dusting herself off and then reaching out to me. I took her hand and helped myself up.

She begged, "Please tell me. You know you can."
I scoffed as I beat the dirt from my skirt. "You wouldn't even believe the things I'd say."

"Try me," she said with folded arms. When I didn't say anything, she took it upon herself to guess the problem. "Are you pregnant?" She asked.

"No," I dismissed the thought quickly.
"Do you think you might be pregnant?" Jennifer questioned.
"What? No! Nothing to do with babies."
With terror in her eyes, Jen grabbed my forearms, "Don't tell me you're moving a million miles away and I'll never get to see you again?"

I giggled before swatting her hands off. "No! Jen how did you even get to that conclusion?"
"Just tell me already before I give myself a heart attack or something," she pleaded.

"Do you believe in angels?" I asked her seriously.
"Pft. If there were angels, I wouldn't have a shitty living situation," she said. "I think some of us are overlooked and we don't get angels. We just get a life."

I pat her back for support. "I believe in all of it. Angels, demons, the whole supernatural thing."

"Is this it?" Jen rose a brow. "Your house is haunted?" With a straight face she said, "That's typical nowadays. Call a priest."

"Will you let me talk?" I stifled a laugh. "I would never stay in a haunted house. The ghost could have it."

"So what are you saying?" Jen was growing tired of my passiveness.
"The devil is real. God is real. They're constantly fighting this battle. This battle for the mighty, for the righteous, for power and glory. Or maybe for order. Who knows? They've been fighting since," I stumbled upon my diction. I didn't know how long. "Since the beginning of free will. And this time, the stalemate might have a turn of events."

Jennifer's slender hands touched my forehead. "You're not hot," she felt. "Are you feeling okay? It's because you haven't been resting. You don't know what you're saying. You're disoriented. You should sleep," she beckoned me.

"Listen to me. I'm not crazy!"
"You sound like Jason's aunt when we went to visit her at the asylum. She's definitely crazy and I think you might need to meet her so you can snap out of it." Jennifer pulled me again but I snatched away from her.

"So you think I belong in a crazy house? Thanks Jen." I sarcastically said with a fake smile. "I'm serious. If you don't believe me, that's fine. You shouldn't have asked. It's exactly why I didn't want to tell you. I knew you wouldn't believe me. It's probably for the best anyway." I pivoted.

"Where are you going? You're not going to skip," Jen asked.

"Maybe I'm going to visit the psych ward so I can snap out of it," I threw a middle finger in the air.

"I didn't mean it like that," she walked behind me and forced me to look at her. "Fine! Everything is real and I believe you. Now what?"

"I gave the devil my blood," Jennifer gasped hearing my news. "Before you say anything, Lucian is the devil. And I think I love him Jen but I don't know if what he's fighting for is right and I don't care, I just had to help or else my life would be in danger. And then we got closer and we started doing all these things and you know the rest," I bit my lip. "But I gave him my blood to help win the battle and I don't know what's going to happen or what my blood would do for them, but I support him and now that I've said all of this aloud, I can confirm I'd put myself in the asylum too if I were you." I finished.

We stared at each other in silence while she tried to form words to say but every time she attempted to say something, she would just close her mouth.

"So are you going to say something or are we going to stare at each other for five minutes?" I asked.

She touched my forehead again. "Seriously, you don't have a fever. Maybe you're just sleep deprived. Or maybe you're telling the truth," she removed her hand. "I don't know but I want you to be safe."

"If something were to happen to me, Lucian would be here in the blink of an eye. Should I prove this to you?"
"No!" She rejected the idea. "No need for anything crazy. I believe you. So why is the devil here? At school?"
"For me," I replied.

"Explains why he's really strong and why I can barely remember him if he's not in my line of sight," Jennifer's brain started to churn. "No way! So prom, did he even drive? What kind of powers does he have? What happens if the dark side wins? Will the world collapse? Will we be living with celestial beings?" The questions flooded her brain and ran from her mouth adamantly.

"Slow down," I tried to calm her.
"Slow down? You shouldn't have told me this. I already don't have a guardian angel. I'd be in more danger," Jen panicked.

I couldn't help but to laugh. "Jen, it's going to be fine. I have a plan."

"What plan? Nothing crazy I hope," Jen doubted.
"Do you want to join?" I asked.
"Always," she quickly responded with a smile.