The hum of voices surrounding me was almost suffocating, they all sounded so loud to me now. It wasn't too long ago that they were easy to tune out, but now my senses had gone into overdrive – it was like I didn't have a choice but to listen.
It was strange to be here, sat alone in the school cafeteria, reading a book. It was exactly what I had been doing for years, so why did it suddenly feel so foreign to me? The angels had irreversibly changed my life, making it difficult to adjust to life without them. Still, it wasn't like I had much choice. Even if things were different and they hadn't betrayed me, I would have still had to return to school at some point.
I had spent the night catching up on all the work my teachers had given me to make up for missing a week of school – it hadn't taken me long, schoolwork was surprisingly easy for me now. I was glad to have something to occupy my mind for a few hours, it was a nice break from the endless thoughts going through my head.
Noah... Andrew... I couldn't stop thinking about them both. The hurt that Noah had caused me, and the mystery surrounding the newcomer. Andrew didn't seem particularly malicious, I didn't feel like he was going to hurt me, but I wasn't sure that I could trust my instincts anymore. Perhaps it was a gift that all angels had, Fallen or not, to appear trustworthy.
I wondered if there was anything going on in Heaven, I felt out of touch to be down here alone, like there was some sort of broken connection between the two parts of me, human and angel. But it would most likely always feel that way, not human enough for the Earth, and not enough of an angel for Heaven.
Interrupting my thoughts, I heard someone pull out the chair opposite me. I sighed, not wanting a repeat of yesterday's conversation.
"Charlie I really don't have the answers you're looking for." I put the book down and looked up. To my surprise, it wasn't Charlie. In front of me, Andrew was sat inhumanely straight, looking perfect as expected of an angel – not a golden blonde hair out of place on his head. "Oh, it's you."
Looking at his posture, I noticed that I was sat in the exact same way – quickly, I forced myself to slouch, looking around myself warily, wanting to ensure that none of the humans had noticed.
"You aren't eating?" He asked, nodding at the empty space in front of me.
"I'm not hungry." I stated bluntly, looking away to instead focus my sight on the slightly peeling paint on the wall furthest from us – like I was trying to pretend he wasn't there.
It made me a little uncomfortable to talk to Andrew, as though I was betraying Heaven or something. Was I? I wasn't too sure, but I didn't want to ask anyone either – fearful of what I would be told. Besides, what could I really do to stop him from following me around?
"Are you ever?" He asked, staring at me intensely with those dark brown eyes. There was a brief silence before he realised I wasn't going to answer. "So, who's this Charlie?"
"No one." I sighed. "He's just... an acquaintance."
He didn't reply right away, seeming deep in thought. "Does he know?"
"Know what?" I frowned, watching as he reached a hand across to slide my book towards himself.
He inspected it for a few seconds. "What you are?" He slid it back to me, seemingly uninterested.
I took the book and put it away in my bag. "I don't know what you're talking about. I'm nothing special."
Chuckling, he shrugged. "Alright. I guess I'm nothing special either. Here we are, just two, completely normal humans, having a friendly conversation."
"What are you doing here?" I asked, "You said you're curious about me, can't you just... observe from a distance or something?"
"Ah, I'm not here for you actually." He said, shaking his head. His hair caught the light as he did so, making it look like liquid gold.
"You aren't?" I didn't quite believe him.
"Nope." He paused, "I figured I'd try out the school experience again... I've not done it in quite a few years."
I supressed a smile at his obvious lie, no one with a choice of schools would pick the one in Entilin, it wasn't exactly award-winning. "Is that so? What do you think then, so far?"
"It's... interesting." He offered me a smile.
"You could say that." I smiled back without thinking, and I noticed him smile a little wider in response. I looked away quickly, wanting to act as though that hadn't happened. It probably didn't mean much, but I didn't want to act as though Andrew was my friend – I didn't want to give him the wrong idea.
"Are your friends around?" He asked, dropping my gaze to look around the cafeteria for a moment.
I shifted in my seat uncomfortably. "Um, no. I don't exactly have any of those."
I bit my lip, anxiously awaiting the further questions that were bound to come my way. The angels had been my only friends, and look how that had turned out – maybe I was just cursed to never have friends, was that part of being a Nephilim? It seemed like it.
"So how come the Angels decided to let you live?" He asked instead. I raised an eyebrow in question, surprised that he was changing the subject. It was... oddly nice. His expression was innocent enough, but did he have an ulterior motive?
"Maybe we should go for a walk." I glanced at the other students around us as I stood up, I didn't think any of them had been listening, but I didn't want to risk it.
He nodded and followed my lead in standing up. I picked up my bag, slinging it across my shoulder. He gestured for me to lead the way. It made me a little nervous, having my back turned to him, even If it was only for a second before he was stood walking at my side.
Once we were safely out in the hallway, he repeated his question. "So why did they?"
I shrugged, "They didn't discover me until I was grown. My father kept me a secret for a long time. Until very recently, that is. I didn't... even know what I was, until the angels found me."
"That's a big secret to keep." He commented. "How did he hide your powers from them for so long?"
"Well..." I couldn't quite believe I was telling this to a Fallen, but I couldn't seem to help myself. It felt like such a relief to talk about it, to have someone like me around, who understood, at least to a point. "I didn't have any powers. I'd been kept away from angels my whole life so... I guess the powers didn't get, um, activated, until I was around angels."
"Huh." He seemed surprised, yet thoughtful. "So, what now, they know about you? And you're allowed on Earth alone?"
"Yes... I wasn't at first. They think I have sufficient control now, I'm not deemed dangerous anymore."
"Do you agree with that?" He asked, his eyes narrowed slightly like he was trying to analyse me.
I shrugged. "Who am I to argue with an angel? Still, sometimes it feels like I'm a stranger in my own body. But... I probably shouldn't be telling you all of this."
"Because I'm a Fallen?" He sounded hurt, I couldn't tell if he was faking the emotion or not.
"No." I shook my head. "Because I learnt the hard way not to blindly trust everyone that I meet."
He seemed to ponder my words for a while, his expression blank. "So, which of the angels found you?"
I didn't answer that one, I didn't want to talk about them. I didn't want to answer any of his questions about Noah or the others.
"I wonder..." He said, pausing. "How can I prove myself trustworthy to you?"
I took a moment to think to myself. "Tell me the truth, about why you're here. Did someone send you?"
"No, no one sent me." He told me, I tried not to feel too relieved, for all I knew, he could be lying to me. "The truth is that I stumbled upon you by total accident. None of the other Fallen know of your existence. Perhaps... we should keep it that way."
I was surprised. "You... aren't going to tell them?"
"I'd like to observe you myself for a while first... when they find out, which I'm sure they will, eventually – nothing ever stays a secret for long – it will be a big deal, and I'm not sure what the consequences of that will be." Well, he seemed sincere... "I just need to know if you're worth the trouble or not."
"Have you decided that yet?" I wasn't sure I wanted to hear the answer.
"Well, you're certainly something special – I can't deny that, I can't help but be curious." He stopped walking, I realised that we were stood before the front doors. He turned to face me, smiling again. "I think I'll stick around for a while longer – I can't seem to help myself."
"Are you sure that's the best idea?" I asked, frowning.
He shrugged, pushing the front door open. "Maybe not. I'll see you later."
He seemed to rush out of the door, before I had a chance to follow, I heard the rush of air that came with wings and heard the soft thud that indicated he had taken off. I looked up to the sky, and for a brief moment I thought I saw a spec of gold, fading into the distance.
I wondered if I should have been more careful while interacting with the Fallen. There was a part of me that badly wanted to trust him, he seemed to be telling the truth, honest about his intentions... but I've been burned before – I didn't want to let my guard down too easy.
"Hey, Emilia!" A voice called out from behind me. I let the door swing shut as I turned to face Charlie. He was rushing towards me, a tiny bit out of breath.
"Hey Charlie." I greeted, forcing a smile onto my face. I was scared that he was going to ask me more questions.
"Jackson wants to talk to you." He told me, "About you being away. I explained to him about your great aunt, but I think he should probably hear it from you."
"Right, yeah." I nodded, surprised that he had told our Boss my excuse about where I had been when he didn't seem to believe it himself – did that mean he had let it go?
"I'm driving straight there after school if you want a ride?" He offered, smiling.
"Oh, um. Sure." I agreed, though hesitant. "Thanks."
I didn't want to be alone with Charlie for long, but he was right about me needing to speak to my boss, and the journey wasn't long.
"Cool. I'll see you, then." He smiled again, quickly turning away and jogging down the hall. He seemed oddly jumpy, and that made me a little anxious. But no doubt I would find out the reason why.
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Please vote/comment if you liked this chapter! I'm going to be writing 40 chapters total, so we're 3/4 of the way now! However, I will be writing a sequel!
Thanks!