An Angel's Wings.

Ch. 8 December.

Months passed by faster than I thought they would. Everyday Angel managed to keep me happy when I was sad. And before I knew it. It was December. December was always the most bittersweet month to me. It was the month where I had only one memory of my father, and it was also the month he left. Making Christmas more mournful than cheerful. Over 13 years and it's still like he left yesterday.

So as I trudged through the snow to school, Angel was the last thing on my mind. Memories of the nights I'd spend crying praying my father would come home, all those nights hurt more in December. Stepping into the school, the people who sort-of knew me were giving me concerned looks. I managed to trip every morning. This morning I was so out of it that I didn't even trip. Just kept walking. Even when Raven positioned herself in front of me I just walked past and kept walking no matter what she shouted at me. I knew mom and I would silently hang up christmas decorations, buy cookie batter and never bake it.

Walking into the classroom, I sat in my usual seat beside Angel. Every morning I greeted him with a smile, but now I just sat down silently. Angel inspected me, his eyes were a mixture of light and dark blue. "Twelve are you alright?" I looked at him, and it took a few seconds to process the question. "Yeah, I'm alright." I answered, letting out a little sigh, and looking down at my forearm. I'd been wearing long shirts everywhere. Even gym. Picking at the hem on the sleeve of my sweater, Angel continued to inspect me. "You know you are the worst liar I've ever met," I looked over at him. He was staring right back at me with a penetrating dark blue gaze that seemed to see into the darkest depths of my mind.

"Seriously Twelve, what's bothering you?" He asked, he sounded so concerned there was a little shock in my heart and I knew I couldn't lie. "It's just, I've been thinking about my dad lately." I answered, he nodded slightly, the concern becoming more obvious. "What about him?"  He asked, "Just about how he left. I never met him but it had a huge impact on my life." I answered, and I felt the tears start forming in my eyes. Quickly I wiped them away. Before Angel could say anything else, the teacher started talking and we turned to the front.

My mood didn't perk up as the day dragged on.

Every time Angel saw me, it's like his eyes were an even darker shade of blue.

Finally as I stepped out of school at the end of the day, shivering from the cold, I felt someone grab my wrist. Whipping around, it was just Angel, I flushed a little at him touching me, his hands were still warm despite the cold. I hoped that he didn't notice and that it was concealed because I was already flushed from the snow. "Come with me," he urged, "Where?" I asked. He tugged at my wrist like an impatient little kid trying to drag his parent somewhere. "If I told you that would ruin the fun Twelve," He complained, I stumbled as my meager strength gave way to his. "I'm freezing already!" I whined, knowing he was going to drag me along anyway. He smiled at me, "I'll keep you warm Twelve." He responded, winking. My whole face flushed in an instant as he turned back around.

I was completely silenced as my heart started pounding and he started dragging me along at a brisk pace. My mood lightened just because I'd never seen Angel look so... excited about something before. He was like a kid in a candy store, a shopaholic with no budget.

We raced through this wooded area, and at this point we were both running. Of course, naturally, I tripped a couple times, well more than a couple, but Angel's strong grip always yanked me back up before I could face plant. Finally we reached a small clearing. He let go and I wrapped my arms around myself, shivering. My breaths coming out in visible little puffs.

Somehow Angel managed to get a large fire started, and he wiped off a long log and gestured for me to sit with him. I did, huddling into my sweater. Angel smiled at me as I was retracting in an effort to conserve warmth. "Why are we here?" I asked, he smiled a little at the fire. "This is where I go," he answered simply. It was a short sentence but I understood completely. To be alone, to be safe from others. To relax. This is where he went, this is where he still goes. Suddenly I felt a little guilty. I didn't want to invade his space. "It's nice, minus the fact I'm basically getting hypothermia." I joked, he chuckled a little. "I can assure you that won't happen." He replied.

"I don't know how to cheer you up when you're sad Twelve," he started, I looked at him in surprise. "It's maybe one of the, if not the most, frustrating feelings ever," he continue, staring at the crackling fire. "How can you cheer up the person who makes you the happiest you've ever been?" Angel rambled, I felt a pang of something in my chest. I made him the happiest he'd ever been?

He stared back down at me with a gentle expression. "I'm not used to having someone to talk to. Mainly I just keep to myself. So whenever you're upset I just get really frustrated with myself, because it's not easy for me to talk or do anything social, I don't know how to make you feel better," his tone got increasingly frustrated as his gaze wondered back to the fire. I wondered how hard it was for him to tell me this. "So I just wanted to say," he let out a little sigh, and looked back at me, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for not being a normal human being who can just talk. I'm sorry." He sounded so genuine, so sad.

Leaning forward, I hugged him, and I felt him stiffen up in surprise. "Oh Angel, you don't have to be someone else to make me happy." My response was muffled because of his thick jacket getting in the way. Slowly he hugged me back, and smile formed on my face.

Maybe December wouldn't be so bad after all...