I knew it had been a mistake. That simple offer of a ride to and from school was just a ruse. His intentions were less than pure, and I was grateful for my little protector. The second Sebastian walked through the door, Cosmo was between us. Teeth bared, he growled menacingly at my disapproving guest. Sebastian looked ready to kick my dog out of his way, his disgust glaringly obvious. Scowling, I snatched my bag out of his hands.

"I think it would best for you to leave."

Stunned, he stared at me in silence.

I angrily gestured to the door.

"Get out. My dog doesn't like you."

He gave me an incredulous look.

"This has to be a joke. No one in their right mind would trust the judgement of a beast."

Cosmo snapped at his leg, and Sebastian gave him a scathing look. My dog started to tremble, but retained his position. Furious, I stepped past Cosmo and shoved the surprised man out the door.

"If you ever come near me or my dog again, I will kill you. Do I make myself clear?"

Mouth agape, Sebastian couldn't even stutter out a response as I slammed the door in his face. Cosmo had vanished after I locked the door so I went searching for him. To my dismay, he had shoved himself under the couch and had gotten stuck. He was still shaking, and flinched when I petted him, but I managed to free him. I spent the night stroking the terrified creature as we watched anime on Hulu. Curled up in my lap, he buried his head beneath the blanket I kept on the couch. At one point, his head shot straight up, and he whimpered at one of the windows. Forced to carry him, I peeked outside, but didn't see anyone. Cosmo continued to cry, clutching to me for dear life. I cooed softly to him, telling him all the horrible things I would do to Sebastian if he even looked sideways at him.

"No one will hurt you, baby," I reassured him, "I will protect you, and kill anyone who hurts you. Okay? There's nothing to fear! Sebastian won't live to see another day if he goes near you!"

I squeezed him gently before closing the curtains. He had seemed to calm down a little bit, so I decided to go to bed. It was hard doing my nightly routine holding a forty-pound dog, but I didn't mind. So long as Cosmo was happy, I was happy. I wasn't even bothered when he kicked me in his sleep that night. Normally he slept on the other side of the king-sized bed on his pillows, but tonight he curled up as close to me as possible. When I finally fell asleep that night, Cosmo had laid his head on my chest, snoring softly.

I didn't see Sebastian the next day. He left before I was even awake, and he didn't get home until well after I did. I asked my downstairs neighbor to call me if he saw anyone go into my apartment just in case Sebastian tried to go after Cosmo while I was at school, but he reassured me that no one had gone anywhere near it. The next few weeks dragged on, and I only saw Sebastian in passing at the school. He never made eye contact with me or acknowledged my presence, but when I wasn't looking, I felt his eyes on the back of my head. He didn't seem to be angry with me. If anything, he seemed to be curious. Regardless, I carried on with my life. I went to class every day, did homework, and hung out with my handful of friends in between classes.

On Saturday, I decided to do clothes. I had put it off for as long as possible, but now my hamper was overflowing, and I had nothing to wear. After ensuring Cosmo had everything he needed, I locked up the apartment and headed to the laundromat. As my luck would have it, I ran into Sebastian. He was filling up one of the three dollar washers when I arrived, but he stopped when I rolled my laundry basket to the washer next to his. I ignored him, choosing to stuff my clothes in the washer in stony silence. He didn't say a word when I sat down in a chair a few spaces down from him, but I seemed to pique his interest. Continuing to ignore him, I played my 3DS while I waited. Sebastian seemed content to read a book with a title too faded for me to read. We sat there for about twenty minutes before something caught my eye. An older woman had entered the laundromat, dragging a mesh bag of clothes with some difficulty. Still outside was an older man struggling to walk and carry a second bag of clothes. None of the people outside paid him any mind as he desperately looked around for help. Pausing my game, I stood and straightened my skirt. Sebastian looked up with mild annoyance as I went outside, presumably tired of my silent treatment. When I neared the man, I smiled and reached out a hand.

"Could I take that in for you?"

The man beamed, thanking me profusely as I took the bag. I introduced myself as we entered the building, and I spotted a look of shock on Sebastian's face out of the corner of my eye.

"Sweetheart, are you familiar with these machines?"

I nodded.

"Very. Do you need help with them?"

He looked relieved.

"Oh, could you? My wife and I aren't used to these things."

Smiling, I helped the couple move their bags to a washer and loaded up their clothes for them. The man handed me a bottle of cheap detergent almost apologetically.

"My wife and I are on Social Security, and we could really only afford this, but it doesn't wash very well."

"Are you allergic to Gain?"

He shook his head.

"I don't mind using some of mine, if you want. I have plenty."

The two beamed, profusely thanking me for my kindness. The man even tried to give me a tip, but I waved it away.

"I don't need it. It's really nothing."

When I retrieved my detergent, I found that Sebastian had vanished. His washer was still running, but there was no sign of him. Shrugging, I dragged my container back to the other washer. Once it was going, I promised to return to help them with the dryer. Returning to my washer, I noticed that both mine and Sebastian's washers had stopped. With the man nowhere in sight, I took it upon myself to transfer both my clothes and his into the dryers. I even used my snack money to start up his dryer. Lamenting my lack of soda, I sat back down and played my DS until the two dryers went off. I quickly stuffed my clean clothes back into the basket, knowing that the older couple's washer would be done soon. Leaving my basket near my stuff, I headed over to where they were sitting and helped to transfer their clothes into two dryers. Again, I was thanked profusely. This time, however, while we were conversing, the matter of my Fibromyalgia came up. The man had never heard of it, and I explained the symptoms as light-heartedly as I could while tossing clothes into the dryer. Shaking his head, the man asked to pray over me. I agreed, and paused long enough for him to do so. While not exactly a religious person, I had respect for those who were.

"I don't know how you do it," he admitted when he finished, "You are so fast, and so caring. Most people nowadays don't care."

I chuckled.

"You usually find that the most caring people are those who are damaged and broken. We know how hard it can be, so we go out of our way to help others. Someone has to."

With that I started up the dryer and returned to my seat to find that Sebastian had finally reappeared. He was folding clothes at one of the nearest tables with an odd look on his face. Upon seeing me, he stopped what he was doing and handed me a bag. Shocked, I peeked inside to find a couple of tacos from Taco Bell. Before I could ask, Sebastian left to empty his dryer. With a shrug, I sat down and snacked on the tacos. I watched a young woman around my age go to the snack machine counting out a small amount of change in her palm. Crestfallen, she slunk back to her seat on a nearby bench holding her stomach. Grabbing a taco out of the bag, I got up and approached her. She looked up at me skeptically when I asked if she was hungry, but it changed to gratitude when I handed her the taco. I was thanked sheepishly as she devoured the taco, and I brought her a second one before leaving her to eat in peace. Sebastian had the same strange look on his face when I sat back down. By then, he had finished folding his clothes and was starting to pack up. When I refused a ride home, he asked me why.

"That older couple's dryer is almost done. I'm going to help them get their stuff to the car before I head home."

He studied me a moment before nodding and leaving me to my game. As he left, the dryer finished, and I hopped up. After taking the time to fold their clothes for them, I dragged their bags and my basket out to their car. After being thanked for the last time and receiving a kiss on the cheek, I loaded the bags in their trunk and headed home.

After a long and tiring walk, I reached my apartment and found a small bag stamped with the Bath and Body Works logo on the front. Inside was a container of bubble bath called Hello Beautiful. After making sure it didn't include lavender, I opened and smelled it. It was a wonderful mixture of flowers and citrus scents; I couldn't help but smile. I didn't expect such a sweet gift from him. First Taco Bell, and now this. Shaking my head, I went inside. Cosmo eagerly helped me put clothes away by sniffing them and laying on my stack of towels. While he rolled around like a mad dog, I noticed that he kept looking at the window and wagging his tail. Intrigued, I checked outside. There were a few people walking on the sidewalk and fewer cars, but nothing of note. I closed the curtain and went back to my little helper.

He sat on the roof, dangling his long legs over the side. The beast had seen him, but he didn't mind. Knowing how willing the thing was to die for its master, he couldn't help but to respect it. Most dogs fled from him when he gave off his Demonic aura, but that ball of fur had stood its ground against him. He chuckled. Yes, he respected that stupid beast. He laid back against the shingles, watching the stars. That girl was still a mystery. The willingness to kill him had been there, no doubt about it. That beast was important enough for her to defend, but she could be so compassionate at the same time. The humans he had encountered were always greedy or corrupt or selfish. They always wanted something, and many were willing to give their souls for it. This girl went out of her way to help others. Her feelings and desire to help were genuine, something that he found to be extremely rare. She seemed to hone in on people whose suffering was starting to taint them. The couple she helped were dealing with a flooded apartment. With no children to help them, they had been forced to clean up the aftermath themselves. What little money they had went into replacing what the flooding had ruined. He had felt their souls darkening from their helplessness and despair. The man had been so close to pleading for help from someone like him, but the girl changed that. By going outside and taking the time to do their clothes for them, she had rekindled the light in their souls and pushed out the darkness. The woman she gave food to had just fled an abusive household. Her father raped her daily and her mother blamed her for her father's actions. Her soul was almost dark enough for him to consider pursuing, but then the girl intervened. The simple kindness of giving her food and talking to her had helped to lift some of the darkness. The woman was hopeful again, and watching the girl help the couple seemed to increase this.

This amused him more than it irritated him. He had never met someone who could remove darkness from a human soul, and it intrigued him. Maybe that's why he felt the need to reward her. The food was more of a repayment for helping him, but he couldn't seem to justify the bubble bath he left in front of her door. Was it the knowledge of her painful and cruel illness that spurred him towards the mall up the road? He frowned. Demons weren't known for their kindness or compassion. It should make no difference to him how that girl felt. It was just a way to get closer to her so he could retrieve the information he was ordered to get. It had to be. If it wasn't, that would mean…