Barely An Angel (Completed)

4~ Only Human?

Upon my arrival to school the next day, I realized that Nathan had walked there by himself. I was mildly hurt that he hadn't called me to walk with him, but then it occured to me that we hadn't yet exchanged phone numbers. I was worried then about what could've happened to him, or who could've hurt him without me there to defend him against monsters like Demeille. But he was sitting alone, by his locker, reading our Rules of Immortality textbook - which is our first class of the day - and he looked fine. Content, even.

"Hey, Nathan," I greeted him with a grin, before sitting down next to him. Nathan barely acknowledged my presence, seemingly immersed in the textbook. Realizing I probably wouldn't get him to talk for a minute, I pulled a can of nyris out of my backpack and cracked it open, taking a small sip. The thing about nyris is, it comes in all sorts of containers, but even when it's in a can, it is never carbonated. Now, that would be weird if it was. Canned nyris is simply colder than usual, and today I was in the mood for cold nyris.

"So is it true that you can transfer life force from one person to another?" Nathan blurted, looking up at me with wide, intrigued eyes.

I giggled a little at his fascination. "In extreme cases, yes. But...it's a complicated process." I had hoped that answer would satisfy him, but judging by his still-wide-eyed expression, he wanted to know more. I couldn't blame him; it was an interesting topic.

"Complicated how?" He asked. I playfully rolled my eyes.

"Well, for one thing, the person who is receiving the life force has to be dead or dying," I explained. Nathan's mouth changed shape to a surprised O.

"Wow. That's crazy," He whispered. I took another sip of nyris, leaning on him.

"Don't worry. You'll learn more about that in class today," I assured him.

"No, tell me more now," Nathan demanded, shutting the textbook and setting it to his side. "You'd probably explain it better than a teacher."

I laughed out loud. "What makes you say that?"

He blushed, avoiding my eyes. "Well, I don't know...you just seem...like you know a lot about it. Yeah. That's all."

I smiled, nudging him with my elbow. "I don't know what makes you think I'd know more than the teacher, but if you insist, I'll tell you what I know." Nathan bashfully turned towards me, a small smile on his face.

"Sounds good," he whispered. I giggled at how shy he had become.

"So," I began, his chocolate-brown eyes staring intently at me, "not only does the person receiving the life energy have to be on their deathbed, but both them and the person giving the life energy have to be of the same species. Or at least half the same species," I explained. "For example, I could technically save Demeille's life, if the occasion called for it, because I'm half vampire. Not that I'd want to, but I'm not a terrible person." I shrugged.

Nathan's gaze suddenly became distant, as if he was focused on something behind me. "Speak of the devil," he gulped. I snapped my head around and, upon seeing Demeille walking up to us, I shot to my feet in order to position myself between him and Nathan.

"What do you think you're doing?" I spat, getting in his face. He cowered, throwing his hands in front of him in defense. This took me off guard, and I backed up a little. "Wh...what? Now you're scared or something?"

Demeille trembled under my intense gaze. "I...I...came to apologize...for yesterday," he stuttered, glancing over my shoulder at Nathan, who was still sitting on the floor in front of his locker.

I scoffed. "Since when do you apologize for anything?" Then it hit me: whatever Hamiel did, it must've worked. But then, my curiosity got the better of me, and I had to ask what it was. "Wait...what did Hamiel do to you?"

Demeille cleared his throat. "I...uh...I don't know if I can say," he whispered, staring at his feet. I motioned for him to look me in the eye. And when his eyes met mine, my heart just about stopped.

His eyes...they weren't black anymore. They were a deep shade of forest green.

"I...what...in the world?" I breathed, suddenly feeling light-headed. Hamiel better not have done what I think he did. "Nathan, you should come with me," I urged. I grabbed his elbow and dragged him with me through the hall into the main office, leaving Demeille alone. Once inside, I motioned for him to sit on one of the waiting chairs before I hurriedly knocked on Hamiel's door.

"What is it this time, Thorn?" His voice boomed as he turned the knob. Once he saw it was me, his stern features softened. "Oh, Ramona, what do you need?"

I pushed my way past him, into his office, making sure to close the door behind me. "We seriously need to talk. It's about Demeille."

He gazed inquisitively at me, as if he had no idea what could be wrong. "What is it? He hasn't acted out again, has he?"

I rolled my eyes. "Come on, Hamiel. Don't play dumb. You used that spell, didn't you?"

"What spell?" He asked, suddenly becoming quite interested in the patterns adorning the walls while he avoided my gaze.

"You know, that spell. The class three one. The forbidden-,"

"Yes, alright, I did it. I turned Demeille human," Hamiel admitted, cutting me off. My jaw dropped in surprise. While I had suspected as much, it was an entirely different sensation to hear him say it out loud, confirming it to be true.

"I knew it," I breathed, seating myself on the sofa across from his desk. I held my head in my hands, trying to calm my raging heartbeat. "Do you...have any idea...what this means?"

Hamiel's head hung in shame. "I know. Using a spell like that has serious implications. But it was all I could think to do to make sure Demeille couldn't hurt anybody anymore. Especially Nathan, because there are already enough threats here for him."

"But that wasn't your place," I fumed. "By turning Demeille human, you've upset a balance that will be hard to restore, or even impossible. Yes, he was dangerous, but does that mean that now you're going to turn every other blackeye into a human as well? Not to mention, that's a drastic lifestyle change to undergo in just a few minutes."

Hamiel pounded his fist on the table, which caused me to jump. "Listen here, Ramona. I know what I did, and it was for the wellbeing on Nathan; for everyone really. I will take any consequences that come of my actions, but I will not take being reprimanded by one of my students!"

I opened my mouth to say something, then closed it again when nothing would come out. His words and his anger surprised me, as he had never been this way with me before. He was like my second father. I could only guess that the situation was weighing down on him hard enough, and I hadn't helped that.

Hamiel's features softened as he sighed. "I'm sorry, Ramona. But you must understand that I know what I did, and that I have good reasons for doing so. Now off with you," he smiled as he playfully waved me away. "You had best be getting to class, now."

I jokingly saluted him as I opened the door to leave. "Your secret's safe with me, Hammy," I assured him. His eyes widened at the use of that nickname, but he immediately began chuckling as if it were the most amusing thing he had heard all day. As I left, I motioned for Nathan to follow me out of the office.

"Well?" Nathan inquired, eagerly studying my face as he awaited an answer. "What was all that about?"

I grinned at him. "Don't worry about it. All that matters is that you're safe."