Devil-ish

Chapter 9

"I sold my soul to the devil for designer,

They said, 'Go to hell' but I told 'em I don't wanna."

Ψ CITY OF ANGELS - 24kGoldn ψ

***

           By the time Angie made it to last period, the weight of Luce's jacket had morphed from a quiet comfort into a troublesome tease. On the way back inside, her personal devil had said nothing, simply turning a corner into some unknown corner and leaving her with his coat. Not only had it been an unnecessary accessory that she fumbled to hold in her arms along with her books, but it was also an unwelcome reminder that she had both Mia and Luce to face before her day could be over.

           She could've left it in her locker, but she wanted to hand it back to Luce as soon as she saw him again to rid herself of its existence. And there was no way she could wear it. It felt strange enough to wear his jacket outside where no one could see, but to wear it in the halls? Her stomach twisted at the thought of all the stares and questions it would provoke. Now that she thought about it, maybe even a "normal" boyfriend would be too much pressure. If she could go back in time, maybe she would've wished for a boyfriend more on her level... not one that felt like every girl's fantasy but her own.

           She crumpled the jacket further in her arms, trying to hide it in her sweater as she filtered into her last class of the day. To her relief, only a few students were already seated, and none of them were Mia or Luce. She attempted to gather her thoughts, stuffing her books and the jacket into the desk.

           "Angelisa Stephens!" Mia's voice made her look up from her frantic organization. Her nose was a few inches away from an accusatory finger. "You have got a lot of explaining to do, missy." Her dark-haired friend dropped her books onto the desk and slumped into the chair, beginning to exaggeratedly massage her temples. "You told me he was just a friend, but clearly something is going on between the two of you. I feel so out of the loop."

           "I'm out of the loop too," Angelisa admitted, eyeing the door for any sign of Luce. She was sure his ears had to be ringing with all that they'd be talking about him. If thoughts counted too, his whole head would be on fire. "But be quiet, okay? He's supposed to be in this class."

           Mia gasped, fighting hard to hide her excitement. Angie noted how she shifted forward in her seat, blatantly staring at the doorway. She wanted to grab her and pull her back, trying to avoid Luce finding out just how much he'd been cursing her brain these past few hours. "If you need me to dig up some dirt on him, I can do it. Did you know him before now and not tell me? As much as I know that my best friend is gorgeous and the ultimate catch and that all boys should try to take her off the market, it's so unlike you to be okay with it. Unless you've been secretly rendezvousing with him without my knowledge."

           If only she knew that not only had she been "rendezvousing" with Luce, if you could even call it that, but that she'd also been to his house and met his dad. The same dad that just so happened to be one very famous dude. Mia would absolutely lose her marbles if she knew those details, and that's why Angelisa had to keep her mouth shut and think of some sort of lie.

           "He's a family friend," she blurted out. "An old family friend. His family just moved here." She was shocked at how easily her brain came up with the lie, but she couldn't complain. It would be easy to pretend one of her parents knew him from years ago; the excuse was almost foolproof. As long as Luce didn't say anything that didn't line up with her excuse. "I didn't know him until almost a week ago, but he's been over for dinner a few times since then."