Barely An Angel (Completed)

12~ Dreaded Mondays

"I was makin' sure you got home safe," Demitri chuckled. "Looks like you did, so I can be on my way-,"

"No, no, you can stay!" Mom exclaimed. "Here, come sit down," she said, leading him over to our living room couch.

"It's quite late, I wouldn't want to impose."

"Nonsense," my mom waved it away as she sat down in a chair adjacent to the couch, facing Demitri. "That's nice, what you did for my daughter earlier," she gushed, turning to me. "He told me when he got here that he helped you."

"It was nothin' really. I sensed she was distraught, quite obviously a new blackeye, and I didn't want her makin' any brash decisions that she'd regret later, is all," he explained. He trailed off then, gazing at my mother with some faraway look in his eyes. When the room fell silent, he seemed to realize he was staring and immediately apologized. "I just...feel like I know you already," he laughed nervously.

I didn't think anything of it; my mom usually had that effect on guys she met, but she hasn't so much as returned a flirt since her and my father, Veren, were separated. They both consider themselves as still together, even though technically they can't ever see each other again.

"That's funny of you to say," my mom murmured, looking down at her hands. Maybe she hasn't returned a flirt all this time because she forgot how to, I thought to myself with a giggle.

I cleared my throat. "Well, I'm tired, so I'm just going to go to sleep. I've had quite the long day," I sighed, turning towards the stairs that led to my room. I received no response, as Demitri and my mom were already caught up in their own little conversation and laughing at each other's jokes. I smiled to myself. It's nice to finally see my mom happy again.

* * *

I dreaded that Monday, as I didn't want to go to school but I knew I couldn't leave Nathan alone for even a day at Black Claw High. But Monday came, and I pulled myself together enough to convince myself to go.

I was quite worried that I'd hurt Nathan. I would never intentionally do anything to harm him, but now that I was a blackeye I couldn't even trust myself. And what would Nathan think, when he sees me like this? Will he avoid me, want nothing to do with me? If he was as smart as I knew he was, his first thought would be to leave me alone. As much as I didn't want that to happen, I was much more worried about putting him in danger.

"You can take a few days off of school if you need to," my mom had assured me. "I know how tough it is, adjusting to this lifestyle."

I shook my head. "I can't leave Nathan alone in that fiasco of a high school."

Mom gazed at me knowingly. "You're stubborn, just like your father, you know," she smiled warmly. "Stubborn and tough, always looking out for who you care about."

I grinned in response before heading back up to my room to apply the sangyris lotion my mom had given me, now that the sun may actually be able to burn me alive. The lotion was made from the oils derived from the sangyris plant, and it offered temporary protection for blackeyes from the sun's unrelenting rays. "One application doesn't last for too long," Mom had warned. "But it should last your whole school day if you only go in the sun when you have to." I didn't know quite how badly the sun could affect me now, since I still had my angel DNA – however repressed it may be – but it's always better to be safe than sorry. The lotion had a slight aroma of sweetness, which was the same scent that exuded from the fruits of the sangyris plant; nyris was a juice of sorts made from said fruit.

Before I turned to leave my room, I walked over to my bed to grab my backpack. As I did, I glanced at my windowsill and saw that the sangyris seed I planted had sprouted and grew about an inch out of the soil, with a leaf uncurling from the stem; much like a fern's leaves. A little smile crept on my face before I left my room, bounced down the stairs, and left through the front door when I noticed my mom had already went down to the basement.

My heart pounded as I neared the school grounds, unsure of what I would say to Nathan when I saw him; or what he would say to me. One thing I was sure of was that the amount of scrutiny from my fellow schoolmates I'd undergo could only get worse. Before, I was weird because I was a vampire and an angel; two completely opposite sets of DNA. But now? Thanks to Demeille and Adrien, I'm a monster that thirsts for what angels have sworn to protect.

The side-eyes and glares I got from the fairies and mermaids I passed through confirmed my fears, whereas the vampires that saw me just looked a little shocked and almost...impressed. It disgusted me. You see, when someone like me; who, under normal circumstances, has fair skin and golden, glowing eyes; suddenly becomes paler than the paper our homework is printed on and all traces of light and color in my eyes are replaced by a soulless darkness, well, people are bound to notice.

My heart skipped a beat when I saw Nathan, sitting alone at a bench in the shade of the big tree on the edge of the school's courtyard. He seemed to be reading the textbook for our Biology of the Supernatural class, taking notes as he went. I timidly approached him, keeping my head down.

"Ramona, hey," he said cheerfully, closing his textbook and setting aside his pencil. "How was your weekend? Oh, and what happened that night you went to get my phone? Not that I'm terribly worried about getting it back, I'm more worried about you." I sat down on the bench with him, putting as much distance between us as I could, saying nothing. Just then, a slight breeze passed by, and it carried his scent right to my nose. I hid my head in my hands, fighting the urge to pounce. I hated that that was my first instinct. "Ramona, are...you okay? Did Demeille do something?" he asked, his cheerfulness replaced by concern.

I nodded my head, slowly raising it so I could look Nathan in the eye. "Demeille and Adrien, they forced me to...to," I trailed off, a sob cutting me short. Tears welled in my eyes.

"Your eyes...wait...are you...a blackeye now?" Nathan's mouth dropped open as realization dawned on him. "They did this to you?" He clenched his fists in anger, letting his eyes scan the school's grounds. "They're not getting away with this."

"Well, well, look what we have here," an all-too-familiar sadistic voice sounded from behind us. I jumped up from where I sat and turned around.

"Demeille, don't you know you've caused enough damage?" I growled through clenched teeth. Nathan jumped up from his spot and stood next to me, but was careful not to get too close.

"Yeah, just leave her alone!" he cried. Demeille's sinister gaze trailed from me to him in disgust.

"You are in no place to be telling me what to do," he sneered, baring his fangs. I stepped in front of Nathan, blocking him from Demeille's view.

"You were terribly mistaken when you thought I'd stop protecting him if you changed me into this," I said. Demeille just rolled his eyes.

"Must be the angel in you talking. And here I thought the blackeye would completely take over. Doesn't matter, though. I know someone who can make that happen."

"You are not doing any more damage than what's already been done," Nathan said, his voice shaky. "When will you stop?" I reached for his hand, but couldn't grab it before Demeille growled in rage, jumping clear over the bench and tackling Nathan to the ground.

~

Okay, this chapter is a bit longer, so that's good. But besides that, I feel like this story is really coming alive now! It may be different for you guys as readers, but for me, when I'm writing it I just feel so good about it. I guess it's because I know everything that I want to happen, since I've already written a first draft of this book. But anywho. Leave a vote if you enjoyed, and I'll see you in the next chapter! :)

~R.J. <3