Angel Kisses

Chapter 1: a simple life becomes not so simple

High School is a place where people typically find themselves, whether they're athletes or geniuses, popular or an outcast, or anything inbetween. Most times students will figure out who they are and what they want to do with their future. Aaron McConnell was in the same boat as all the other freshmen when he stepped foot into Cedarwood High School. He has a vague idea of what he wanted to do after senior year, but with that being four years away, he decided to keep an open mind. He entered into the large main hall, which was adorned with banners declaring "Welcome back" and "Good luck this year." As he waded through the crowd, Aaron searched for friendly faces among the tide of students.

"Aaron!" A feminine voice called, "get your freckled face over here!"

Aaron turned to see the thick, black curly hair of Angela Edelman, moving through the crowd towards him. He was relieved to see her familiar coffee brown complexion smiling at him. With her schedule tight in her hand, she playfully punched his arm.

"It's good to see you!" She said cheerfully, "I'm practically drowning in this crowd!"

"Yeah, I know what you're talking about," Aaron agreed. "I've never seen so many people. I'm just glad you found me."

They drift through the crowd of students and into an almost empty science hallway where a few students where desperately trying to finish their summer assignments.

"Do you know where Dakota's at?" Angela asked. "They're supposed to meet us around here."

Angela jumped suddenly when a hand was placed on her shoulder.

"Heard you were talking 'bout me?"

Aaron and Angela turned to see the grinning face of Dakota Mcfadden, they're long time friend.

The three of them had been through so much since when they had first met, back when all of them were in the fourth grade. Their friendship had been tested when Dakota had come out as genderqueer in the seventh grade, but with how close they all are, it's no surprise that their bond withheld and grew stronger.

"I have never seen so much anxiety before in my life," Dakota commented with a roll of their eyes. "In fact, there's so much, you could practically cut through it with a knife."

Both Aaron and Angela looked confused.

"How can you tell?" They both said, almost simultaneously.

With a shrug, Dakota replied, "well, I've lost count of the number of people I've seen gripping their backpacks so tight that their knuckles have turned white. And you can just..."

Dakota's voice faded in Aaron's mind. His gaze shifted from his friends to a winged figure behind them at the end of the hallway. The figure was wearing a dark smile that conveyed it knew something Aaron didn't. The being's dark hair fell in its eyes, casting dark shadows over the grim smile, and gave the person a sinister look. The dirty appearance of the figure shimmered slightly and with a huge flap of its wings, it vanished.

As the wind from the being's wings hit Aaron, a pang of dizziness hit him, and as his knees buckled, the world turned black.

[authors note: for anyone who might be confused, Dakota is gender queer which means they don't really fit the male femal gender binary. For more info just consult google]