Barely An Angel (Completed)

5~ Stalker

In the school days that followed, I was perturbed to realize that Demeille and Nathan were growing closer as friends. On the one hand, I was grateful that Demeille was no longer a threat to us, but at the same time, it was almost too good to be true. I could understand it in part; Nathan just had this glow about him that invited everybody in and made them feel welcome. But I secretly had hoped that Demeille would be immune to it, as I didn't feel comfortable having him around. I was especially disturbed at the beginning of the week, when I had arrived to school to find Demeille and Nathan conversing underneath a large oak tree.

My heart had raced as I jogged towards them. "Nathan! What are you doing?" I hissed, pulling him away from Demeille.

He yanked his arm away, laughing. "Ramona, it's okay," he had assured me. "Demeille told me about his...transformation."

My eyes widened as I shifted my gaze to Demeille. "Did you really?" I questioned accusingly, crossing my arms.

He smirked. "Yeah. Relax, Ramona. I'm not going to tell anyone else."

I stepped towards him, getting in his face. "You better not," I jabbed a finger at him. "Because you won't be the only person you put in danger."

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. We done here? 'Cause I'm starving. Still getting used to this human diet, you see," he chuckled.

That brings us to the present moment, after school Friday in the same spot in the school's courtyard. I found myself eager to walk Nathan home, but I didn't want Demeille coming with us because something told me he shouldn't know where Nathan lives.

"Alright, Demeille, have a nice night," I stretched the nicest smile I could manage across my face, hoping that he'd take the hint and just leave. "Nathan and I should really get going now."

He raised an eyebrow. "You know, Ramona, it's no secret that you're still uncomfortable with me around, and that's understandable. But if you want some alone time with Nathan, just let me know and I'll oblige," he said, raising the corner of his mouth in a smug smirk.

I decided to play along. "Yes, Demeille, that's exactly what I was thinking!" I relented. "We would like some time alone." I snuck a glance in Nathan's direction, only to see his face contort into an expression that said, What in the world are you talking about? I discreetly mouthed at him to play along, and his mouth widened into an O.

"Yeah, totally, like, dude you know how it is," he awkwardly stated, laughing nervously. Demeille nodded knowingly in response, before retreating to the other side of the courtyard, where the sunset had cast its shadows. If anybody had been standing there, we could not have noticed them for they would've been hidden by the darkness.

I led Nathan almost off of the courtyard, pulling him out of sight behind the large oak tree for a moment. To his slight protest, I offered the explanation that I wanted to make sure Demeille wasn't going to follow us. This was something that, given the chance, I knew he would do. He may not be a blackeye anymore, but even as a human he was still fully capable of being a monster.

I narrowed my eyes when I caught sight of him. "Is Demeille...talking to someone?" I elbowed Nathan. "Look, can you tell?"

Nathan studied Demeille's silhouette. "I think so, it's hard to tell with all that shade," he whispered. I continued staring as Demeille stepped out into a ray of sunlight, whoever was with him stepping out as well. The mysterious figure was wearing a black ski mask that only revealed its wearer's dark, soulless eyes. I could only guess that the mask acted as a sort of protection from the sun, which meant that this figure had to be a blackeye.

"That's gotta be either Adrien or Dario," I gasped. "Why would he be talking to them?" Ever since he had become human, Hamiel explained to Demeille that he would be better off if he avoided his old friends. Hamiel told him it was because they could hurt him, but I knew better - Hamiel was afraid that Demeille could convince one of them to turn him into a vampire again. My heart quickened its pace, realizing that's what must be going down.

"Ramona, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Nathan breathed, scooting closer to me. "That Demeille wants him to...-,"

"Yes," I interrupted, "That's exactly what I'm thinking."

Right in that moment, the mysterious figure's eyes found mine, and I immediately hid behind the tree. "Nathan, we have to go. Now. He just saw me."

"What?" He whisper-shouted. "Seriously, Ramona?" He sighed, running his hand over his face.

"Let's go," I said, motioning for him to jump on my back piggy-back-ride style. He rolled his eyes before he did so, gripping my shoulders for dear life.

"You're not gonna do that turbo-speed running thing that vampires do in movies, are you?" He whimpered. I smirked, before taking off in a run as fast as I could down the road. Nathan let out a small scream before he buried his face in my hair. If I tuned out the whistling of the wind, it almost sounded like he was crying.

I glanced over my shoulder every few moments to make sure that neither Demeille nor Adrien were following us, and to my relief, they weren't. It wasn't too long until Nathan's house was within view, and I slowed down significantly until I stepped foot on his front lawn.

When Nathan's grip on my shoulders didn't loosen, I let out a small laugh. "Nathan, hey, you're home," I giggled. He slowly released his hold until he was finally able to plant his feet firmly on the ground.

"Woah," he whispered, blinking his watery eyes repeatedly. "That was crazy."

I grinned. "We'll have to do that again sometime," I teased, knowing full well that was the last thing he wanted to do.

His eyes widened. "No, seriously, please, not again. Once was more than enough. It felt like my brain was melting, I was so dizzy."

"Nathan, there you are!" A woman that I assumed was his mother rushed out of the house, enveloping him in a hug. "You had me so worried, I thought school ended a while ago!"

"Yes, it did, but Nathan stayed after to help me with some homework," I explained, smiling sweetly.

She studied me with an amused glint in her eye. "Ah, I see. Nathan, is this your lady friend you were telling me about? Why don't you introduce us?"

Nathan hid his face in his hands. "Mom, seriously?" He whispered under his breath. He cleared his throat. "Mom, this is Ramona. Ramona, this is my mom."

"Nice to meet you, sweetie," she smiled, winking.

"It's nice to meet you too, Mrs. Scott," I gushed.

She waved her hand. "Oh, please. Call me Emily. No need to be so formal," she laughed. "Anywho, I'll be going inside now. Nathan, just come in whenever you're ready!" She sing-songed as she shut the door behind her.

"So, you've talked about me before?" I snikered. Nathan blushed again, running his hand through his floppy locks.

"What? No," he laughed nervously. I raised my eyebrow. "Okay, fine, I have," he relented. "But what did you expect? You were my first friend at school."

I grinned at how shy he was acting. "Sure, that's the only reason," I teased, earning a punch on the arm from him. "Well, I'll see you later," I called as I began walking away, waving to him. He smiled widely; a kind, genuine smile; before he disappeared into his house.

I sighed as I made my way down the street, towards my own house. Once I was only a block away, I saw something; rather, someone; that caused me to freeze in my tracks. Across the street; standing still, observing; was the figure from the school's courtyard that had been speaking to Demeille.

So we had been followed after all.

~

Hello, just a quick announcement here! I would really appreciate your feedback on these new chapters so far. How are you liking them? Do you prefer these over the old chapters? And please don't forget to vote if you enjoyed, love you all!

R.J. <3