Fell For You

Chapter One

She woke to the sound of thunder crashing and rain pelting her window. She cracked her eyes open grumpily and sat up gathering the many layers of blankets tighter around herself. Two very different places kept flashing in front of her. One light, pure, and holy. The other dark, bloodstained, and brooding. Heaven and Hell.
    Fake.
    She was used to it, and they were harmless. Both sides wanted her bad for some reason. Neither would tell her why, seemingly out of spite. Both would send personal reminders that they were after her. Both were easy to spot. Demons were well hidden but given away by lifeless dead eyes. They hid in crowds, very in tune with social structures and modern day cultures.
    The angels could hide their wings all they wanted, but they still stuck out like a sore thumb. Generally they kept to themselves, and were beyond awkward in social situations. Angels also had an unnatural grace and elegance around them; that was the major clue.
    And an angel was in her room now, six brilliant wings spread out behind them. Yay. A fancy one. She coughed a few times and gently rubbed her throat before greeting the angel. “Whaddyou want this time?”
    The angel hadn’t been expecting her to speak, and stuttered out her response. “N-nothing ma’am. I’m simply one of the angels assigned to keep watch over you to keep you from the demons.”
    Alya sniffed and let out a single laugh. “Great. Well if you’re not going to do anything but watch me sleep, could you at least grab me a glass of water and maybe some Tylenol if you’re feeling generous.”
    “Y-yes ma’am. I will return shortly.” The angel stepped into the hall to search for the requested items. During her watch, it was her duty to fulfil the sick girl’s wants and needs. It had been a long time since Heaven prioritized a dying human so highly- or at least, that's what she had been told. She was fairly new, only a few centuries old. The problem was that the girl had no idea what she was, and sadly, Heaven’s leaders planned to keep it that way.
    The angel fumbled around in the girl’s kitchen, searching for a glass. She filled the cup with water from the sink and returned to the girl’s room, not knowing what a ‘Tylenol’ was.
    The girl gladly accepted the glass of water, and gulped down half of it in one go before speaking to the angel. “Thanks. No Tylenol?”
    “I am afraid that I do not know what a Tylenol is ma’am. I apologize for my ignorance.” The angel looked at the ground, ashamed.
    The girl settled back into her blankets, sighing. She popped a cough drop in her mouth before speaking. “It’s fine. I was teasing. You guys don’t ever really pick up on it though. SOme of the older one’s have started to catch on. They’ve been around long enough.”
    “If you don’t mind my asking, how long have the angels watched over you? I am fairly new and I am afraid I do not have much information on your situation, and I would like to know of it.”
    The girl thought for a moment before answering. “I think they’ve been there as long as I can remember.”
    “And the demons?”
    “They’re more recent. They showed up when I was about ten.”
    “How old are you now?” The angel looked genuinely interested, unlike a lot of the other angels.
    “Seventeen. I’ll be eighteen in a few months- that is, if I make it that far.” The girl was sent into a coughing fit, sounding mucousy and miserable.
The angel felt a pang of pity for the small human girl. Pity was a feeling the angel took pleasure in feeling, due to it being one of the few she still had left. Emotions weren’t a big factor in Heaven, except for pity. What the angels pitied, they protected and tried to make stronger, and when the bored of it, they left it alone. Humans were the first to defy that fact. There was always a new generation of prophets or some other thing causing them to evolve or change. Humans were always to be studied- God’s orders.
    The girl fell back on her bed and sighed. “Welp. I’m going back to sleep. Feel free to continue watching me as you angels do or whatever.” The girl closed her eyes.
    “W-wait!” The angel stepped forward in a mild panic. “I have one last question.”
    The girl opened one eye and cocked an eyebrow, “Yeah? What is it?”
    “I would like to know your name if it is not too much trouble.” The angel looked nervous, like she’d said something wrong.
    “It’s Alya. Now if that’s all, I’m gonna hit the hay. Sleep is the best medicine as they say or whatever.” Alya gave the angel a strange look before closing her eyes once more.
    The angel took the hint and decided against further questioning as to why Alya would strike farming equipment. She sat and watched Alya as she tossed and turned before getting comfortable and finally drifting off. HUmans were a concept the angel couldn’t quite grasp. They were such weak and fragile beings, yet they did nothing to make themselves stronger, only making life easier for themselves so they hardly had to work for anything but money. Good Lord was money a farfetched concept. Trade green paper and metal circles or a plastic rectangle in exchange for goods they could grow themselves? Humans were strange and silly creatures.
    A few hours passed before her shift was over and a burly four-winged angel took her place. Alya awoke with sunlight streaming through the window and landing on her face. She was hoping to get more information from the previous angel, and was disappointed to see her replacement. She desperately drank down the other half of the glass of water before speaking. “Tell whoever’s in charge to send that other angel more often. She was more pleasant than you other d-bags.”
    The angel simply sighed, used to Alya’s badmouth. “I can make a recommendation but I would not expect results. She is new and was simply a replacement for the angel who normally watches you during that shift.”
    “Why’s she look so fancy if she’s so new then?”
    “It was simply destined to be. One should not question the fates.”
    Alya knew how to push all the right buttons and no amount of practice would fix that angels are insanely prideful beings. “And I guess you can’t help that you were destined to be forever worse-off in the angel hierarchy?”
    The angel glared and responded coldly. “Do not test me by twisting words with guile and cunning.”
    Alya ignored him and continued on. “I suppose she could replace you! She is higher up than you after all. And I need simply the best!”
    The angel curled his lip in a snarl and poofed away- presumably back to Heaven. Good. It’d been awhile since she’d had any free time without being trailed by an angel. She stood to grab the hoodie hanging from the back of her desk chair and heard a voice from behind her.
    “Well howdy. Been awhile then hm? A tad hard to reach you with the damn angels hanging around. Don’t need to get smited now do we?”
    Alya rolled her eyes and sighed, fed up with the angel-demon bullshit. “Do you really have to be here? I just got rid of the angel asshole and haven’t even eaten breakfast yet.”
    The demon put a hand to his chest in mock hurt. “Alya, dear. You hurt me so. I am here for two reasons and two reasons only.”
    “And what exactly would those reasons be?” Alya asked sarcastically, not really caring for the answer.
    “Well for one, because as you put it, ‘you got of the the angel asshole’. And two, to take you to breakfast silly girl.”
    Alya was skeptical. “A demon. Taking a sick teenage girl to breakfast.”
    The demon grinned devilishly before answering, “I am not just any demon, much like you are not just any sick teenage girl, my dear. For I am the King of Hell and you- well. You are special, my dear.”
    “Special enough to be tormented by angels and demons? Lucky me.” Alya pulled the hoodie over her head and didn’t bother fixing her hair. “To breakfast then oh King of Hell?”
    The demon chuckled. “Oh please, if I know your name you may as well know mine. I am Zagan, King of Hell at your service.” He paused and pursed his lips for a moment before continuing. “Breakfast will need to be a tad rushed. I hear from one of my men that angel duties shift off soon.”
    Alya sighed and checked the clock. Yep, it was nearing the time the angels switched off.
    “If you’re so displeased, how about we cause a ruckus in town when they do decide to switch off.”
    Alya chewed her lip. “Yeah. What’s the plan?”
    Zagan grinned. “If I know Heaven at all, they’ll overcompensate for leaving you alone, with one of the warriors- tough ones mind you. They have little very little tolerance with my kind, terrible manners really, and when they see the King of Hell meandering about with their precious Alya, they’ll be sure to cause a scene.”
    Alya thought about it for a second before responding. “Yeah, alright. Let’s give the angels a bad rep.”
    “That’s the spirit my dear! Now pull on your shoes, I’ll get us there in a snap.”
    She leaned down and pulled on a well worn pair of black Vans before standing up. She waited for Zagan to teleport them for a moment, when he suddenly smirked and grabbed her by the waist, pulling her flush against his chest and teleporting them to an alleyway near a breakfast cafe. Alya gasped and pushed him away, leaning dizzily on the wall for support. Sure Zagan was charming, but not that charming. Teleporting was never meant for humans, and made them terribly dizzy when they did. Zagan only laughed. “I’m the King of Hell, Alya, what did you expect? A kiss on the hand and the tip of a hat?”
    Alya let out a sound of frustration and replied shortly, “Whatever. Just get me breakfast.” Zagan grinned and guided her to a table, pulling out her chair for her. A waitress took their order and returned shortly with tea for the both of them and a steaming plate of waffles for Alya. She began to wolf down the waffles and Zagan took a sip of tea before saying, “I really wish you wouldn’t have cut your hair. It was very pretty when it was long, and it would certainly fit your role better.”
    “And what would that role be?” She spoke around the waffles in her mouth, one eyebrow raised.
    “Well wouldn’t you like to know.”
    “Yeah. I do. That’s why I asked.”
    Zagan smiled. “So you did. And while that may be true, I will tell you nothing of the sort.”
    Alya gave him a look and kept eating her waffles. Zagan watched her closely, piercing eyes glaring at her, making her wonder what she did. Then she realized that he wasn’t glaring at her, but something behind her. She turned to look, but Zagan stopped her, voice cold and commanding. “Don’t. It appears that we have wasted too much time. Your angel friend has arrived.”
    A knife stuck in the table, inches from Zagan’s hand. A dignified, condescending voice from behind Alya. “Leave now hell spawn and you shall remain unharmed. Continue to fraternize with the Vessel and I shall be forced to strike you down. Understood?”
    “Sorry, I don’t speak featherbrain. As you know, the ‘Vessel’ has every right to choose her own side. Simple persuasion couldn’t hurt anything. Toodles.” And Zagan was gone.
    Alya felt a hand grip her shoulder too tightly, and she was back in her room. “You are not to leave this house. Read one of uninteresting human books. Do an equally interesting craft project. I do not care, but do not bother me.” The eight winged perched himself on Alya’s bed focusing intently on something unseen.
    The assholes just kept getting fancier.