Wings that Guard Me

Chapter 21 Seraph

It's my first day of school, despite the fact that I already know everything that they are going to teach me I'm excited. I quickly get ready for the day. I set out my clothes the night before, a cute black skirt and a baby blue blouse that hangs loosely off my shoulders. After taking a shower and getting dressed I sit at the desk in my room and look through the many earrings and bracelets that I have. Finally I settle on small blue or diamond studs and a single gold bracelet so my ring doesn't look that out of place. I brush through my hair, it's mostly dry at this point, and leave it to hang over my forehead.

I skip down the hall to the kitchen and smile cheerfully at Grey. He doesn't seem too happy this morning, but I ignore that small detail as I start pulling out my breakfast. "Morning Grey!" I chirp as I take a seat at the counter. The tension in the air as we eat breakfast in silence is thick. I finish my breakfast quickly and grab my backpack.

"Bye Grey!" I give him a peck on the cheek as I rush by and out the door. I'm met by a pleasant surprise. Tony is on the sidewalk waiting for me. He looks up when I close the front door.

"Hey," he smiles at me in greeting. I smile back and we start walking, the school isn't that far away. "Ready for your first day?" I glance over at him when he asks to find him looking at me. I know humans don't have enhanced senses so I'm awed at the fact that he can walk so easily without looking where he's going.

I nod my head animatedly in answer to his question. He lets out a small laugh watching me, still not missing a step. "Forget how to talk today?" He asks in an amused voice. This time I laugh and shake my head. He gives a short laugh in reply, "Well it sure seems like it."

I laugh quietly and glance down at the sidewalk. I hadn't noticed how long we had been walking until he calls out to someone. "Hey Raph!" I look up at the person in front of the school. He turns towards us.

Any human would have difficulty seeing his face from this distance. I guess it's a good thing I'm not human then. I use my superior senses to get a good look at him. He's short, well my height, but still short for a guy his age. His darker complexion and tousled black hair look good on him. His face seems to be set in a permanent state of boredom or mild irritation. But it's his eyes that really shock me. They're mismatched, and not in any normal human way. One of a stone cold grey and the other is hazel.

I watch him closely as we approach him and him and Tony talk casually. I notice his interest in me immediately. I guess I'm not the only suspicious one here. Tony finally notices the guy's glances towards me and introduces us. His name is Raphael. That's a devil's name. In my culture, he culture of the Righteous, everyone knows there are certain names you never give your angellet. Those names are touched by the devil, or so the councils says. This new boy's name is one my people consider to be touched by evil. I'll have to keep a close eye on this one.

Then he seems to notice something about my name. "Angel?" He whispers as if he isn't sure. My head snaps in his direction. "What did you say?" He raises an eyebrow at my urgent response, "Seraph? As in angel?" I have to force myself not to freeze in shock. "I'm not an angel," I practically hiss out the words. He smirks at me and I'm instantly uncomfortable, "I never said you were, Angel." That smile of his sends chills down my spine, he can't possibly know, right? There's no way he could know!

Before I can show any signs of my inward panic Tony takes us inside and to the office. We get out paperwork all figured out. I'm so thankful that Grey took care of the paperwork for me. Otherwise there would be a lot of unanswered questions if I came in and did my own paperwork. I'm not entirely sure how I would have handled that. With Tony's help I get my schedule and we exit the office just as the first bell rings. I look at my schedule and at the map of the school they gave me. I catch Tony looking over my shoulder at my schedule. "It looks like we have the same first hour. Come on, I'll show you the way." The three of us walk through the halls that are now full of students and Tony takes us to our first class. I sit down in a random seat and feel someone watching me. I look over at Raphael and he smirks at me, winking. I huff and turn away from him, ignoring him.

One of the benefits of being as old as I am is that I already know everything that the humans learn in school. This is easy, I learned this over a hundred years ago. And another perk of being celestial is that I have perfect recall, this meaning that I haven't forgotten any of it. Not even the unimportant stuff.

So during this class I use my ever so useful abilities as an angel to keep tabs on this new character while also seemingly paying attention to the class.

After class we find out that all of our schedules are practically identical. This is obviously no coincidence. I know why mine is almost exactly like Tony's, but what is Raphael's excuse? There is no possible human way for that to happen. And there's no such thing as coincidences, especially in my line of work.

For most of the day we ignore Raphael during out passing to other classes. Me and Tony just talk most of the time, he's a very curious person. This is however making things difficult for me. I don't have all the details of my cover story worked out so all these questions are troublesome. I am very aware of the fact that Raphael seems to take a keen interest to some of my responses, or lack there of.

Finally lunch comes, what a mercy. Or so I think. Of course a devil touched child would ruin that. As I sit down to eat he starts up a conversation. "Hey Angel, how's your day so far?"

I huff and reply, acid dripping from my voice. "It was great until you got here."

"I thought Angels were supposed to be sweet." I roll my eyes a little at this response. "Yeah well, I guess you're an exception."

He smiles at this, causing my suspicions to rise. "I can't help that I'm exceptional." Again I give an eye roll, "Yeah you're exceptional. Exceptionally irritating."

"So you admit that I'm exceptional." Ugh! Won't he just take a hint and leave me alone? "In a way," is my outward response.

"I didn't think you had it in you to admit I'm better." He responds. Can he get any more annoying? "Better at being a prick? Not exactly what I'd call an accomplishment." I retort.

"Depends on what you consider an accomplishment. For example, I feel very accomplished that I've rattled you." Apparently he can be more annoying. That's unfortunate.

"Oh really? And why is that?" To be perfectly honest, I wanted to know, simple as that. Honestly this bickering is pretty much how lunch went. I'm internally screaming at myself for letting him get to me.

Finally the bell rings and I grab my bag and rush to my next class. Thankfully this is one of the classes that we do not have in common. After that infuriating lunch period though, I'm determined to ignore him for the rest of the day. And so I do.

(A/N: ok I know this chapter is late and I'm sorry but I've either been really busy or recovering from an injury of some sort which is unfortunately common for me. Please comment! I'd love for some feedback! Thanks for the patience guy!)