A D O N I S
I'm a demon, who has been killing for years, collecting souls, wearing blood on my face without ever smiling once.
But now, I stand, looking in my mirror. I wear a suit and tie. I put gel in my hair as I get ready to go to a dance I do not care for with people I do not care about.
A knock comes from my door. I look at my reflection for a moment longer before opening the door.
Stella and a bunch of other vampires stand there, waiting. God, it was fucking annoying. How the vampires followed me around like a bunch of lost goddamn puppies. If I wasn't aware of how beneficial it was to have them on my side, I'd kill them all in seconds.
I walk with them. They talk about things I once again do not care about. Lights flash, people hold cups, it was a yearly party. I had skipped it my first year here.
I'm not sure what it's for, but I don't care enough to ask.
We walk further in, a vampire whispers to a witch who puts a spell on their cup, changing the water to alcohol. While the vampires look around, wondering who to dance with, who to drink with, I look around to see who the angels are.
As I look around, my eyes land on Valeria. She straightened her hair and wore a tight black dress. Silver star hair clips kept some hair out of her face and matched her earrings. I look at who she dances with. Her friends. One of them is a guy. My head tilts.
"Adonis, dance with me," Stella says. I keep watching Valeria. I watch her walk off by herself, probably on her way to get something to drink.
I don't answer her as I leave the group and walk over to Valeria. I cut her off, stepping in front of her, making her almost run into me. She goes to apologize until she looks up and sees that it's me.
"Did you read the book?" I ask her.
"No," she says.
My eyebrows lower slightly. She then says, "I see your girlfriend trying to murder me with her eyes from across the room."
I look over my shoulder. Through the crowd, I can see Stella. I flash a look at her and she turns around, taking her eyes off us. I look back at Valeria.
"I'd say your boyfriend is doing the same, but you don't have one," I say. "And bless the poor soul who is your first."
"First? You think I've never had a boyfriend before?" she questions.
"No, I don't," I say. "Any sane man would run."
"Then why are you standing here, Adonis?"
"Do you believe me to be sane, Valeria?"
The music suddenly changes from a happy song to a slow dance song. I grab her hand in mine, holding it in the air while my other hand goes to her waist. I don't let her run from the conversation, I make her dance with me.
"No, I don't," she says, her hand so small in mine, so warm. "A sane man wouldn't have the reputation that you have."
I know some people look at us. Some girls who I'd never even glance at shoot Valeria daggers, I know she doesn't want to dance with me, I know she's worried about her reputation after being seen dancing with me.
"You should give the book a chance," I say as we sway slightly. I begin to say a quote from it. "There are all kinds of love in this world-"
She cuts me off and finishes the quote, "But never the same love twice."
My eyebrows lower. I say, "You did read it."
Her lips turn up slowly. She says, "Read it and finished it."
She turns to the side and looks at something. But I look at her. Her features are quite beautiful, her eyes are dark yet so warm, her skin so tan, she is a beautiful girl. If she was a demon, the men down there would do anything to get her attention, her features are Heavenly.
"I wish somebody would look at me like that," she says, pulling me out of my thoughts, and I finally look at what she sees. It's a man admiring his girlfriend's beauty while they dance.
I cleared my throat. She looked back at me and asked, "Are you okay?"
"Fine," I say. The song comes to an end and I step away from her.
"Have a fun night with your friends," I say before walking away. I know she was confused, but she didn't stop me.
I'm not sure what it was about this witch. I'm not sure why I did not hate her as much as the rest, but the fact that I did not hate her, made me hate her even more.
I take a seat next to the vampires under the flashing lights. One of them says, "Guys, we should pull a prank on them. Pull the fire alarm and make the water go off."
They all begin laughing and agreeing. But as I sit, I look at Valeria. She smiles with her friends. She's happy. She's having a good night.
"Let them have fun," I say.
All the vampires exchange confused looks. One of them asks, "Are you serious, Priest?"
"Do you have a problem with that?" I ask. My tone is not threatening, but it is at the same time.
Slowly, he shakes his head.
I look forward and watch for the rest of the night.
𓆩♡𓆪
I'm where I usually am after school hours. In the library. I take a night off angel hunting and walk up and down the aisles, looking at the many books.
But I cannot escape her. Across the room, I see the back of familiar brown hair, reaching up for a book.
I walk over to her.
"Do you never sleep, Valeria?" I question.
My voice does not make her jump. Book in hand, she turns around. She looks me up and down once before saying, "I could ask you the same thing. Although, I guess vampires don't really need sleep."
I've been avoiding sleeping lately. All my life, I had never dreamt, sleep was an empty escape. But now, every time my eyes shut, I'm cursed to dream.
She faces me now. She gives me a strange look, one I can't explain.
"Everybody says you're a bad person," she says. The words don't upset me.
"They do," I agree.
Her eyes dance around my face. I'm not sure what it is she's thinking. She takes a step toward me while saying, "I don't believe you're a bad person, Adonis."
My eyebrows lowered. Telling a demon they aren't a bad person. I have never laughed before, but it was a close first. I question, "You don't? Come on, Valeria, don't be that stupid."
"Maybe I am stupid. Maybe I am wrong," she says. She then pauses. "But I've gotten to know you. All you've ever done is help me."
I'm unsure of what to say. So I say nothing.
"I'm not exactly sure all the things you've done, Adonis," she says. "But I feel that everything you have done has a justification behind it."
I'm not the way I am for fun. I'm not hunting the angels down as a hobby. I'm doing it for revenge, for my people, to free them from the curse the angels put on them. I am not evil for fun. I am evil by default to the people who cursed me.
"Am I right?" she asks.
I suddenly regretted coming here. I wouldn't have if I knew the questions she would ask me. I'm not sure why this witch finds the good parts in me.
I didn't enjoy being bad. I didn't bathe in the fact that everybody besides the demons would hate me if they knew what I was truly doing.
I confess, "Everything I do, everything I've done, is always with reason."
Why am I confessing this? Why am I still here? Why do I keep talking to this girl?
She nods. It's silent for a moment. She says, "I don't see you the same way everybody else at this school does, Adonis."
She should. The second I release the demons, they will come for everybody. Witches included. They will force everybody to accept that they lead now, and they are to become the followers. Valeria only likes me because she does not really know me.
And yet I don't leave.
"I think I consider you a friend," she says.
She shouldn't. She shouldn't call me a friend, she shouldn't even talk to me, it will only hurt her in the end when she learns who I truly am and hates me the same way everybody else will. Betrayed. That's how she'll feel. I know that I am betraying the girl in front of me.
A light suddenly flashes. The custodian asks, "Is anybody in here?"
The flashlight almost hits us. I place my hand over Valeria's mouth, pushing her back against the bookshelf, the front of my body against hers, one inch away from being hit by the light.
"Hello?" he calls out again. I keep my hand over her mouth as her big brown eyes look up at me.
The light finally leaves as he steps back into the hallway, and even as I step away from her, her soft perfume lingers in my nose.
Word Count: 1574