Gray Clouds

Chapter 2 - Your Story Doesn't End Yet, Eli.

Eli yelped in fright in response to the sudden voice, having fallen off the balcony anyway if he hadn't grabbed onto the railing. He turned to see the source of the voice, and to his shock, someone else was there with him.

The man was pale and his blonde-to-auburn hair reached down to his shoulders, styled in a messy half-pony. His hands were shoved into the pockets of his dark red rockstar jacket, black fur attached to its assorted, pin-decorated collar. Knee-high boots with white heels clicking against the smooth balcony floor as he lazily strolled over to Eli's side. What was most striking about this man's appearance were the black, feathery wings the size of his body and the black halo hovering over his head. Standing next to Eli, he was just an inch taller than him.

Eli couldn't help but stare. Not because the man was attractive—though, that was one reason—but because he had never seen this man before. Who was he? Why was he in his house? What's with the wings and the halo?!

But before Eli could ask what this man's deal was, he spoke first.

"Were you going to off yourself just now?" He asked in a husky voice, his eyebrows raised in curiosity. Eli responded with a nod, still trying to make sense of who this man even was.

"Well, don't." The man said nonchalantly, leaning on the balcony's railings carelessly. To Eli's disbelief, one of his wings raised to pat Eli on the head. "I don't wanna fail my job in just one night. That won't be a good look on me."

"Who even are you?" Eli asked, a little put off by the stranger. He pushed his wing off of his head, the feathers surprisingly soft in between his fingers. "Why are you in my house?!"

"It's Gray." The man answered, smirking. "I'm your specially assigned Guardian Angel."

Gray pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, taking a stick out. He flicked the end of the cigarette, and it ignited. "As for why I'm in your house, I'm not exactly inside it, am I?"

Eli stared at Gray as if he had just called him a slur. Eli put his face in his hands.

"This is just a dream... I'm probably hallucinating." Eli grumbled in his palms. "Angels aren't even real."

Gray chuckled at Eli's misery and denial, taking a drag of his cigarette.

"Oh, I'm real, dear." Gray replied. "Besides, you've got nothing to hallucinate on."

"Listen here... You're either a result of me going insane, or you're a stranger who just broke into my house in an attempt to mess with me or murder me." Eli stood up straight, his eye twitching in disgust as the stench of tobacco invaded his nose. "Also, can you not smoke on my balcony, please? It smells like shit."

Gray sighed, rolling his eyes as he mimicked Eli's movement to look at him eye-to-eye. "You're not going insane, otherwise you wouldn't be able to smell the tobacco, and I already told you why I'm here. I'm your Guardian Angel."

"You certainly don't act like an angel. What if you're just a demon in disguise?" Eli asked accusingly.

"You really think all angels are perfect?" Gray raised an eyebrow, his lips curling in an amused smirk. "Big man Lucifer was an angel once, and look where he's at now."

Eli narrowed his eyes. "...And they sent a fallen angel to look after me?"

"I'm doing this to take a shot at a chance of redemption. Besides, I'm as capable of an angel as the next." Gray replied. "In fact, I like to say that I'm better."

Eli frowned. "And why do I need a Guardian Angel?"

Gray barked out a laugh. "Oh, I don't know? Maybe it's because you were just about to throw yourself off of this balcony!"