Devil-ish

Chapter 14

          "You're not wearing pink," she mumbled, her voice sounding muffled as she looked back at Luce in the mirror. Her teeth were clenched, keeping their grip on the hair tie between them as she finished braiding the other half of her hair.

          "I wasn't aware that was a requirement for this party." Luce's voice was cool, his eyes looking back to meet hers in the mirror. "But let me change into something more satisfactory for you."

          He vanished from the reflection and she used the hair tie between her teeth to tie off her braid. She flipped the braids behind her shoulders, questioning her choice of clothes. She'd dressed casually, because that's just what felt right for this type of party. A light pink sweater dotted with a bunch of black hearts rested over her upper body, half-tucked into a pair of light wash jeans. Though she usually never bothered with makeup, she'd swiped on a basic layer of lip gloss and even added a bit of mascara. "You look nicer," Luce had said when he noticed. "Literally nicer. Like you don't want to stab me today."

          She doubted it was the makeup so much as the idea of mingling with kids her age who didn't think she was a dweeb-- or her fake boyfriend who was contractually obligated to hang out with her. It made her heart feel a little bit happier, and maybe it did make her like Luce a bit more.

          He reappeared suddenly, stepping back a few steps to situate himself on her bed.

          "Well," he said, crossing his legs. "How about now?"

          She allowed her eyes to coast down his body. He still looked almost the exact same-- a black Metallica shirt fitted around his chest, tucked into a pair of black jeans that made his butt look really nice, which she hated herself for noticing earlier when he'd turned around briefly. The only thing different now was the slight pop of color on his feet: a pair of pink Converse Hi-Tops, reaching up to meet his folded-over jeans.

          "Classy," she decided. And somehow so Luce. "I would've gone for more pink, but that's cute."

          "I didn't realize you liked Valentine's Day so much." Luce leaned back on her bed fully while she gathered her things, crossing his arms behind his head. "Should I have gotten you some chocolates and flowers? A cute teddy bear? Or maybe a sloth. You seem like you'd be the type of girl who's really into sloths."

          Angelisa chose to ignore whatever that was supposed to mean.

          "If you were a good fake boyfriend, you wouldn't have had to ask if you should've gotten something."

          Luce inhaled sharply, an edge of drama behind the action. "Ouch, babe. Ignore everything I said about you looking nicer today."

          "Sure," she said, slipping out the door without waiting for Luce to follow. "I already ignore most of the things you say anyway."

          Luce didn't skip a beat, immediately appearing by her side with an amused smile. He always moved so quickly, seemingly one step ahead of her, that she never knew if that was just his half-devil reflexes or if he was constantly magicking himself to reappear in places that annoyed her. She wasn't sure how his magic worked, but it must be at least somewhat draining. She made a mental note to ask him at some point.

          Angelisa walked quickly through the hallways, trying to ignore the way Luce seemed to be glancing around, taking glimpses of the family photos on the wall or the decades-old art on the refrigerator. She realized this must have been the first time she'd allowed him to step foot outside of her room. Usually, he disappeared and reappeared inside of her room or outside-- never this painfully personal inbetween, but Angelisa had made the mistake of telling him her mom wasn't home.