Matthew

Scratches

I sat in the front seat, next to my dad as he drove us home. I felt incredibly awkward, the feeling growing every time I glanced back at the guy in the backseat.

Kindle was oblivious to this at the moment, having his head in his hands as he gazed out of the window. Hair flicking up at random points as it tended to do, eyes wide. I'd be a liar to say I didn't notice the longing in them.

"So." My dad began, breaking the silence. "Not that I'm not thrilled my son is making new friends, but how come I've never seen you before..um.."

He waited for his name, and Kindle started just barely when I panicked and broke in.

"Kyle is pretty new around here. He and I have just recently gotten close." I blurted, and Kindle's eyes trailed over to me, pairing perfectly with his confused expression. Kat may have been convinced by the strange name, but I wasn't taking any chances with my dad. "Decided to hang around this summer." I finished.

"Oh, that's cool." He said, and Kindle looked at him now, a little alarmed. "Well, Kyle, you're welcome at our home anytime."

"I'll probably be around for a while." Kindle mumbled, and my dad turned the corner.

"How come?" He asked, chuckling a bit. "Can't stand your family, huh?"

"Uh..yes. they're rather...hellish."

"And we're here." I muttered quickly, and undid my seat belt as we pulled up to the house. My dad parked the car and pulled out the keys, exiting rather swiftly. I was about to leave myself when I noticed Kindle frantically trying to undo his.

"This isn't letting me go." He said, his face desperate.

I shuffled in my seat, turning around and sitting on my knees to stare at him, baffled as I gripped the sides of it.

"Did you press the button down at the end?" I asked, voice dull.

"What button?"

"Oh my god, Kindle." I groaned, and gently hit my face against the headrest. "You know where you locked the seatbelt before?" I asked, and he peered down at it. He let go of the seatbelt for a moment, a hand hovering over the red button.

"This?"

"Press down on it." I said, and he did. He looked astonished when it clicked and the seatbelt whipped back into place.

"That's absolutely fascinating." He said, blinking down in awe at the simple contraption. I rolled my eyes and got out of the car, going around to his side and pulling his door open.

I grabbed his arm, and tugged him out of the seat. "Totally. Come on, then."

Now a little embarrassed, Kindle pulled away from me and trailed behind. He nervously ran a hand through his hair, which I still remembered used to be flames. What did he have to be nervous about? The demon's disguise was pretty convincing.

I made my way to the door, pushing the already ajar entrance further open. My dad now sat at the table, and my mother was near him. Her red hair was down for once, resting at her shoulders in all it's frizzy glory. She held a bottle of water in her hands, muttering to my dad as he just smiled softly and leant forward to kiss her on the cheek. I knocked my hand against the wall to make my presence known, and they both looked up.

I listened to Kindle shuffle up behind me, and it was hard not to picture the tall, awkward demon just staring at my parents in confusion. It must be weird for him, the only humans he probably ever saw were the ones..downstairs. I had a feeling they weren't exactly peaceful.

"Took you guys long enough." My dad joked, and I smiled uneasily at him.

"Seatbelt issues." Kindle said from behind me.