『Guardian Angel』»〈skephalo〉

IX

•zak•

My fist connected with the door in front of me, creating a knocking sound. I heard it echo throughout the house, so I knew Clay must've heard it from inside. I swallowed nervously, unsure of how the confrontation was going to go.

It was a bright and sunny Sunday afternoon. It was one of those feel-good days. The birds were chirping, the trees' autumn leaves were glowing orange and red, the smell of pine trees filled my nostrils. It would seem like one of those days in a teen movie, but instead the movie is actually a thriller about demons raiding the mortal world.

I heard the latch from the other side of the door before it swung open, revealing Clay's figure standing before me. My friend gave me a small smile. "Hey Zak, what's up? You know you could've just texted me, right?" He said to me.

I returned a grin, trying to show that I was showing up on good terms. "Yeah, I know, I guess I just didn't really need to since I live next door," I replied, rubbing the back of my neck.

We stood there in awkward silence. The birds chirping was starting to annoy me at this point.

I cleared my throat. "So I came to... sort of like... ask you a question?" I told Clay, fidgeting with my fingers in front of me. I wasn't really sure how to confront him on the situation without seeming like an asshole, but I knew it had to be done.

Clay raised an eyebrow. "Okay... what is it?" He questioned impatiently, crossing his arms as if he was getting annoyed by the situation at this point. I didn't blame him, I sort of showed up out of no where and decided to interrogate him.

I took a deep breath. "Okay, so... we live right next door to each other, right? And like, your Jeep is kind of loud when it starts up." I swallowed nervously a second time, running my fingers through my hair. "So like... I can't help but hear it start up every night. At around eight o'clock or so. So I'm just kind of wondering... where you're headed every night?"

Clay stared at me with a frown.

"I uh... I know it's a weird thing to ask but... it's also weird that you've been doing it every night. Sort of suspicious." I bit my lip, staring at the ground and shuffling my right foot.

"Suspicious of what? You think I'm some sort of criminal?" Clay asked, uncrossing his arms and shoving his hands in his pockets. "Huh? You think I... sneak off to do drugs or something?"

I shook my head quickly. "No, no... it's just, I can't help but hear it-"

Clay sighed loudly, interrupting me. "You know, Zak, I get that we live next door to each other, but sometimes I don't tell you things because I'm not comfortable with revealing anything about it yet. Understand?"

I just gave him a blank look, not really sure what he was talking about. "No... I don't actually," I responded.

Clay groaned, rubbing his face with his hands. "Okay, let me put it into simple words. It's none of your business. Okay? It's none of your business! I'll tell you all about it when I decide to, but for now, it's our secret."

I blinked. "Hold on... our secret?" I asked with disbelief. I knew there was two demons.

Clay's eyes widened. Then they quickly turned from shocked to anger. "You're an asshole," He growled, then slammed his door in my face.

"He's the demon..." I whispered aloud. My heart beat began to pick up. My breathing quickened. "There's... no other explanation... holy shit." I ran both my hands through my hair before running back to my house.

I bust through the front door, marching into the kitchen to see Darryl snacking on Mac and Cheese.

"Clay's the demon," I announced in a shaky voice. "But there's two of them. Darryl, there's two demons and one of them is one of my closest friends..." My voice trailed off.

"Woah woah woah... calm down," Darryl immediately replied. He quickly walked away from his food and stood in front of me. "Zak... you don't know that. Clay might just have personal business. I used my powers to listen to you guys from afar... Clay might still be innocent."

I shook my head. "No... there's no way, you heard him. He's obviously hiding something, there's no doubt in that." My voice was still trembling as I spoke. "How was I so stupid? Clay has always been annoyed by Dave, I should've known from the start."

"Relax," Darryl told me in a soft feathery voice.

"How can I relax Darryl!?" I exclaimed. "Clay probably has Dave in his basement right now! What if Dave is dead?"

"Hey hey hey," Darryl whispered.

I clenched my jaw, looking down at the floor with frustration. My best friend is a demon that kidnapped another one of my friends. I can't believe this.

"Zak," Darryl announced.

I didn't pay any attention to him. Darryl was blind to the situation. It's so obvious, why won't he listen to me?

"Zak, look at me." I raised my head from staring at the ground, locking eyes with him. "Take deep breaths," His gentle voice seemed to soothe my body. His eyes slowly began to glow a gold color, sending waves of relaxation throughout my body. Suddenly I felt warm and calm, as if the weight of the situation was lifted off my shoulders.

Darryl brought his hand up and caressed my face, resting his hand on my cheek. I leaned into his palm, feeling the warmth. "You're stressed. Making big decisions in your state of mind is a bad idea," He hummed to me. "Once we both take a moment to breathe, we can talk more thoroughly about this, and hopefully come to a more appropriate solution."

I nodded. "You're right," I replied.

Darryl withdrew his hand from my face. My body felt at loss from the warmth his hand gave me, but I didn't tell him that.

The guardian gave me a warm smile. "How about you go to the couch, find a fluffy blanket to snuggle in, while I go make some popcorn. Deal?" He proposed.

I nodded. "Well, actually... I was thinking we could use your wings instead of a blanket." Darryl gave me a look of surprise. I chuckled sheepishly. "They're soft," I admitted.

The angel laughed. "Yes, I suppose so. Go get comfy, I'll make popcorn, and we'll discuss the situation."

I don't know what I'd do without Darryl.

A/N: I'm really starting to like this story... lowkey like it better than Popularity but don't @ me 

(for those who don't know, i also wrote Popularity so i'm not just attacking some random author lmao)