Gehenna's Gate

Angels Fall

"Now that was a scream,"

What..?

Vena's eyes flew open, her head frantically whipping around as she surveyed her surroundings in a panic, heart beating so fast she felt as if she would barf any second.

The faint feeling of an arm having been around her faded as her gaze finally settled on the figure before her as he stepped away, testing to see if she was okay enough to stand on her own now.

They were back on the entrance to the carts of the Archangel.

"How did I get here..?" She whispered accidentally, confusion obvious on her face as her gaze drifted away from him, trying to make sense of what she swore she'd just experienced.

Xiao raised his eyebrows at this, yet his usual smug smirk was gone, his mouth just barely above a flat line as he watched the girl silently.

"The ride ended, and you were too scared to move, so I had to help you out of the car." He answered simply, his voice giving away little emotion as he leaned back against the wall next to her, waiting patiently for her to regain her bearings.

A cold sweat clung to her skin, hands still shaking and heart still fluttering like the wings of a hummingbird. Her knees felt weak, threatening to bend under her weight as she struggled to keep her balance.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone." Gently, he reached over just enough to wipe his thumb barely across her cheek, catching the one singular tear that fell from her eyes as she blinked up at him in disbelief.

Vena involuntarily flinched at his touch, clearly still shaken by the incident and caught off guard by his actions, but if he'd been offended by it, he didn't act like it.

"I thought I was going to die." The girl spoke out barely above a whisper, unable to shake the feeling as she wrapped her arms around herself in an attempt to warm away the cold sweat covering her entire body.

"I believe that's the point." And there, the faint smile made its return.

"No," She shook her head, feet shuffling to take a step closer to him now, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she looked on at him for answers.

"I thought I'd been flung from the car. I felt the wind against my skin, that sickening feeling in your stomach of falling... I saw the ground coming closer. I was seconds from becoming a pancake!"

Xiao's rough chuckle caused her to flinch again, not realizing what she'd said had sounded like a joke, but it was very real.

"Vivid imagination and a good set of lungs," Xiao continued to chuckle darkly, shaking his head.

"You may have busted my ear drum." His hand theatrically went to his ear, covering it as if it still hurt from the sound of her screams.

Vena stayed silent, her gaze falling to her feet as she was drug into her thoughts, confused.

Am I really losing it? I know everyone deals with grief differently, but am I actually seeing things and hallucinating? Do I need to call my psychiatrist about this..?

"It's getting late, want a ride?" The boy had gotten off the wall now, coming to stand beside her, leaning down just a little toward her as he tried to snag her attention.

"I- uh... Rae left earlier, I was going to ask my friend Kazuha to give me a ride home, he lives near here." Vena found it hard to find her voice, still shaken and trying to come down from that whirlwind of emotions.

"Kazuha?" Xiao questioned with a relatively blank expression, taking a step now toward the exit as he waited for her to follow beside him.

When she finally did, the two continued walking side-by-side together, back toward the parking lot by the shoreline.