The raven-haired and I frittered yesterday away by watching movies—and face palming whenever a character had done something moronic. (Mammon was a lot angrier than I was, even though he had chosen the movies.) We had forgotten about the "pillow predicament" quite quickly. I didn't know if it was because our brains had expelled it out of our systems as waste products, or because we were plunged in the movies.
I lolled on the couch, flicking through the available television channels. I had made sure that it was at a low volume, as unlike Mammon, I didn't want to receive a noise complaint. Though, watching the television didn't feel the same as yesterday—I hadn't felt the same thrill or suspense. I hated to say it but, it wasn't the same without Mammon, rather, him screaming what I was thinking at the unhearing characters. I peeked over the couch and at his bedroom door. I could feel the aura of a human, seeping through the thin gaps of his door. I felt them set foot in the apartment an hour ago, but chose to ignore it. It was probably just one of Mammon's friends.
The sound of heels clacking against the wooden floor could be heard coming down the hall—or at least, they sounded like heels.
"Well, someone's finally awake," I commented, looking back at the figure. But I was met by a woman with dirty blonde hair, glaring at me, her eyes glistening with tears—I noticed that she had a heart tattoo a few centimetres below her left eye. The woman was half-naked; her bra was unclasped, but thankfully dangled off of her shoulder, and her skirt was on the wrong way. I tore my eyes away from her rapidly as she stormed out of the apartment, slamming the door behind her, possibly to peeve Mammon. The raven-haired's atmosphere was all over her, and not only that, but her aura was tainted. Which meant they- My entire body shuddered as I stared at my lap.
Mammon came out of his bedroom shortly after, tying the thin strands of his grey sweatpants. They fell slightly as he walked closer, revealing the waistband of his boxers. I screwed up my face at the sight. His torso was slick with sweat, and there were a couple lipstick marks left on his collarbone.
"Put on a shirt," I hissed, glaring at him as though I was forwarding the woman's glare. The raven-haired shook his head, the corners of his lips rising.
"Whatcha' watching?"
I placed a finger on my lip, pursing them at him to signal him to be quiet.
"A local jewelry store was broken into this morning, leaving one dead and three in critical condition," the news reporter announced as pictures of the damage done were shown on the screen. "Police suspect that this was the doing of the Crimson Fa-"
Mammon snatched the black remote out of my hand before turning the television off.
"Hey! I was watching that."
"Sorry, but I'm tired of hearing that shit. There's somethin' new about that gang every fucking day," he grumbled, rubbing his forehead. "I'm gonna' go out and buy a couple things, anything you need angel?
"Can I come?"
He elevated his eyebrows momentarily before grinning, "Sure, you need to get some sun anyway. Just let me take a shower first."
"How many times must I tell you, I can't tan!" I exclaimed at his well-defined back before turning to the television, joy swirling around in my stomach as he rushed to the bathroom. Finally, I would be able to see what this side of town had to offer, and get some fresh air whilst I was at it. I hated being confined in this apartment. I wasn't exactly used to it, since I stayed primarily outside in Heaven, only coming in when Mikkel would get home. Sometimes, my brother would even get Arlo to impel me to come inside.
I rested my head on top of the couch, my mind drifting back to when Mammon took the remote. It sounded like he was really annoyed about it. I mean, he had a valid reason to. I would be irritated as well if something as gruesome as that kept happening in my town. Even then, I was a bit displeased that Mammon didn't let me finish it. If I was going to live here, I needed to know things about it.
I sat on the couch in silence, twiddling my thumbs as I waited for Mammon to finish. He was a bit more...endurable these days. We shared not many moments, but the few we did were good ones. It seemed like the raven-haired had sort of warmed up to me. I was happy about it. This meant that all I needed to worry about now, was guiding him slowly to becoming a better person—or demon.
Quiet footsteps started coming closer. Speak of the devil. I leapt up and turned to face the raven-haired, smiling widely. He was wearing a black puffer jacket and a grey-flecked beanie, locks of wet black hair peeking out from under.
"Where's your jacket?"
"I don't need one, it shouldn't be that cold," I answered dismissively as I pulled on my runners.
"Whatever you say, Luka." Mammon ushered me out of the apartment whilst he stayed back to lock the door.
"So, where are we going?" I stood on the wooden steps, waiting for him to come down.
He threw the keys into his pocket, "To a shop."
"Just a shop? Come on, don't be so boring. Let's go to other places too," I pleaded as I put my hand on the railing.
"Okay, but where?"
I shrugged my shoulders, bounding down the stairs as Mammon looked at his phone. I didn't have a particular place in mind, since I didn't know the area well, but I would be satisfied with nearly anything. "Anywhere you want, but it better not be weird."
"And your definition of weird is?"
I shrugged my shoulders again. I was tempted to give him the actual definition of weird, but I didn't think he would like that. "Anything you think I'll find weird."
Mammon's eyes crinkled slightly as he started at me, placing his phone back into his pocket. "So no circus?"
"Well, a circus doesn't seem that bad."
"Okay, what about an orphanage?"
"A bit random but not that- bad?"
"A haunted house?"
"Yeah no."
He scrunched up his face at me. "So you say yes to an orphanage, but no to a haunted house. Are you lookin' to adopt or some shit?"
"No? I'd rather be around children than tiresome demons."
His eyes widened, "You actually like kids?"
"Yeah," I chirped. "They're all so cute."
"Cute?" The raven-haired scoffed. "They're fucking annoying, and they cry all the damn time."
I looked back at him as I got off of the stairs, "So you'd never have children of your own?"
"Fuck no, too much responsibility. You?"
I grinned. I would love to have a child with the woman I loved—though, I would have to get married first.
"Maybe some day," I answered before we exited the building together, just to be met by a gelid gust of wind—which didn't affect Mammon as much, due to his thick coat. Damn it, I should have listened to him. I stretched out the sleeves of my blue sweater, just enough to cover my hands before wrapping my arms around myself discreetly. God forbid it started raining.
"I told you it was cold out, Luka."
"It's not cold!" I retorted, bringing my arms back to my side.
"Oh yeah, angel? Then why are you shivering?"
"Erm...because-"
I tried to think of something to say, but nothing was transported to mind. Mammon let out an enervated sigh as he watched me stammer. "Do you want my coat?"
I grew red at the question. I didn't think he had the capability of being this nice. "No it's okay, I don't want you getting cold."
The raven-haired zipped his coat back up and strolled further on, leaving me to amble behind him. My eyes gallivanted around as I followed Mammon blindly. The weather in this town was absolutely abysmal. No wonder the passer-bys looked so glum. I had no idea what sun Mammon was talking about, I hadn't felt even a modicum of sunlight on my skin so far. White clouds concealed the sky so often that I' would be happy if a speckle of blue were to grace me.
I stared at the wet path, to stop the colourless clouds from passing its insipidity onto me. Greying chewing gum and discarded cigarettes were all there were to see on the paths. But bored out of my mind, I began counting them.
Sixteen cigarettes and nine chewed gum—I think.
Although the paths were defiled, the buildings were clean and quite modish. As one would expect, most of the shop windows showcased items that would catch peoples' attention, but that wasn't the case with the antique shop we passed. It had objects like old-fashioned clocks, plain based and strange children's toys pressed up against the window. They looked sort of eerie. If you asked me, it seemed more like an occult shop than an antique shop.
I was too busy staring to realise that Mammon had stopped walking, causing me to bump into him. I apologised to him quietly, which he shrugged off before crossing the road and going directly into a supermarket, leaving me no time to catch up with him.
Upon entering, I noticed that there were three aisles, each for different types of items. Mammon grabbed a basket and that was when we started walking down the first aisle—which had many boxes full of different fruits and vegetables. It soon turned into an open refrigerator that had dairy products, like milk and yoghurt, on each shelf. I stood beside the raven-haired as he picked up a bag of oranges and inspected the vegetables before picking up a packet of tomatoes and a cucumber.
"Get the milk for me, alright angel?" Mammon said to me as he sauntered into another aisle.
I looked down at the milk shelf, the cold air meeting my face. Since there were a load of brands, I decided to pick the one that I saw first. The carton was red and blue with a splash of white in the middle—not to mention that it had a cartoon cow on it. Weird. It didn't look like the milk cartons we had in heaven at all, but it definitely was silly.
I rushed into the other aisle, one hand holding the carton, but instead of Mammon being there, there was a couple standing in front of the pastas. He was probably in the next one. I began walking over to the other aisle, my hand starting to feel numb. God, why was everything so cold? I passed the baked goods and cereals before approaching the raven-haired, who was comparing two frozen vegetable bags side by side. The dark blue basket hanging from his forearm, was already full of things, most of which seemed unnecessary—like who needed four cans of tuna?
"Oh, you're back. Y'get the milk?
I nodded, holding it up at him like a child showing its parent their drawing.
"Alright, come on." He kept the green vegetable bag in his hand as we both headed towards the checkout, moving past the alcohol section by doing so. There was on old woman behind the counter, that displayed a large number of chocolate bars, smiling and waving. Her white hair was held back in a bun, making her pearl earrings visible to eye. She looked not a day over sixty.
"Dante!" she exclaimed as I set the milk carton onto the counter, "it's nice to see that you finally left your room!"
They laughed in unison whilst Mammon began placing the items on the counter. Dante? I had nearly forgotten that he went by that name to the townspeople.
"Don't get used to it Nan. You prob'ly won't see me again until another month."
"Oh hush, we both know you'll come back here next week." The old woman turned her attention to me, her smile still as big as before, "and who's this young man?"
I was tempted to tell her that I was much older than her, but Mammon would probably never take me out again.
"Luka, he's my-"
"Cousin!" I chirped, returning the smile.
"Oh, Dante I didn't know you had cousins living in this area." She began humming, the beeping of the scanner adding to the rhythm.
"I don't. My aunt kinda' forced me to take care of him since she's going on holidays, so that's why he's here," he said, scratching the back of his neck.
"Oh, I see. Well it's nice to meet you Luka. You seem like a good kid, unlike your cousin over here."
I snickered at her comment, earning myself a snarl from Mammon.
"What? It's true."
"Yeah yeah, whatever," the demon murmured, delving in his pocket before placing the money on the counter as she put the items into a bag.
"Are you not cold dear?"
"Oh, no I'm fine."
"You should bring a coat next time though sweetheart, these winters are pretty harsh."
"Believe me Nan, I tried but he doesn't listen. He never does." The plastic bag rustled as Mammon took it from her, the amount of items in it putting strain on the flimsy handles.
"Says the one," I whispered but I was sure both of them heard me—I was trying to keep up this act. Mammon prodded my arm softly before strutting over to the automatic doors.
"Make sure not to stay out too late!" she yelled as we returned back to the chilly outside, sounding slightly apprehensive. She seemed like a nice woman, especially since Mammon was quite fond of her. I exhaled, the air coming from my mouth turning into a white mist. It was much colder than before and the sun was in the process of setting, with christmas lights taking its place. They were put along the front edges of the roofs and along the window; some were white whilst others were green, blue or red.
"Cousin? Really angel?" Mammon jeered.
"It was the only thing I could think of," I began, "who was that anyway?"
"Nina, but most people call her Nan. I know her because she caught me stealing when I was younger."
"What?-"
"Calm your shit, I don't steal anymore."
"Suure," I replied, peering at the raven-haired. "By the way, why'd you give yourself a different name?"
"Cause Mammon is too...well demon-ie. So I just use Dante instead."
I chuckled, "What made you choose Dante?"
Mammon's expression faltered, softening as he stared at the ground, his hand clenching those plastic handles even more. "My ma chose the name...she liked it so I decided to use it."
I thought it was rather gratifying of him to use the name his mother chose, but I regretted asking about it. I could see the mix of rage and sadness spreading over his face, like grey clouds when it was about to rain. It wasn't in my nature to assume, yet I knew it pained him a lot to even mention it.
"That's...really sweet of you, Mammon."
I was beginning to realise that demons weren't all malevolent creatures that loved causing trouble. Many of them had a caring side too, even if they didn't show it. I guess, like humans, maybe they had a reason as to why they behave the way they did.
"Yeah."
We both stayed silent for a while, mainly because I didn't want to say anything that would upset him further. That was, until he stopped suddenly and ambled over to the windowsill of an abandoned shop. Mammon dropped the bag full of groceries on the ground as I sat down as well. I wasn't sure why we were sitting down, but it gave me a minute to take in the close-to-night scenery.
"It's...pretty at night, isn't it?" I could see him lighting a cigarette in the corner of my eye.
"Everything always is. The sun brin's out too much of this towns flaws."
"What do you mean?"
"At night, you can't see the shit this town wants to hide, like...run-down buildings an' creeps lurking in alleys." A police car drove right past us as he said that. "You see that police car?"
"Yeah," I responded as both of our eyes followed it out of sight.
"They're always patrollin' the streets at night, but somehow never find any of those bastards." The way Mammon said it, almost sounded like he was boasting. Though, perhaps I was just overthinking.
"It could be that the gang has connections."
"Possible."
"Do you like this town?"
"Yeah. I grew up here so even if it's a pile of shit, it's home."
His answer sort of surprised me. Helena was right: demons and humans really were alike—home-wise I suppose.
"How are you liking it so far?"
I raised my brows. Everytime he was kind or concerned, it threw me off. I wasn't sure why, but I expected him to be cold and not care about what I had to say. It felt...nice. "It's not bad honestly. Everyone here is quite sweet."
"Don't be surprised when someone's a dick to you though angel."
We both laughed before he picked up the white bag and stood up, cigarette in the other hand, "We should start heading back. It's getting late."
I shot up from the windowsill, "Where are we going?"
"Home."
"Mammon, I don't want to go home. I wanna' explore this place," I whined, pulling at his sleeve.
He groaned, presumably at my childishness, "First of all, you don't even have your fucking coat. You're gonna' get hypothermia."
"So?"
"And it's getting dark, and it's dangerous here at night."
"Oh come on, we'll be fine. I can fly away if anyone tries to attack us."
He looked at me as if I were delusional and as I went to point at my wings, I realised that I didn't have them anymore, "Oh."
"Yeah, oh," Mammon mocked before erupting into laughter, which came to an end as soon as he saw my frown. "How about I take you somewhere tomorrow morning? Deal?"
My face immediately lit up, making a corner of his mouth quirk up.
"Deal."