Chapter 3

It was Sunday, November 20th, 1982.

Damien was handling his feelings a lot better. He accepted it about himself. He was Damien Thorn, he was 17, he was the Antichrist, and he had a crush on Bella Giles.

What he wasn't handling well was that Bella had been avoiding him the past few days. He was concerned about her. He also felt guilty. Every time he came around, she'd found some excuse to leave. Damien felt horrible about it.

He sat in his room wearing a button up shirt and slacks thinking. He felt conflicted about what to do. What did he do to upset her? He couldn't find one thing he did wrong. If it was anyone else, he'd be furious and say good riddance. But that's the thing about when you care about someone; you want to just get past it so things can be normal again.

It was a shock when there was a small knock on his door. He opened it to see Bella wearing a purple and black plaid skirt with a black blouse and black flats with her headphones around her neck and her tape player in her back pocket. She certainly took advantage of wearing-whatever-you-want-on-the-weekends rule.

"Bella? What are you doing here?" Damien said both shocked and happy.

"May I come in?" She said quietly. Normally, Bella wasn't a quiet person. Damien moved aside and let her into his dorm room. Seconds after closing the door, he found himself being hugged by the blonde. He slowly hugged her back.

He moved her to sit with him on his bed before moving her chin up so they could face one another.

"Bella, what's been going on these past few days? I've been feeling like a twit who did something wrong to you and have been going bonkers trying to figure out how I offended you." Damien said completely concerned.

"It's not you, it's me... I... Damien, I like you. I like you a lot. The way Teddy likes Rose... I like you more and more every day... And I-" she was cut off as Damien hugged her tighter, this was different though, more caring. Bella hugged him back.

"I feel the same way about you." Damien whispered in her ear.

"Damien... Before we do something we could regret I need to tell you something important."

Damien pulled away and looked at her.

"What is it?"

Bella reached her hand behind his head and his sixth sense gave a red alert and he immediately grabbed her wrist, perhaps a little harder than necessary his eyes widening.

"Bella... You really don't want to do that." He warned.

"Because I'll feel the 666 mark on the back of your head?" Bella said simply. Immediately he grabbed her other wrist and pinned her under him with her wrists above her head and his legs on either side of her body, his face lingering above hers.

He felt so upset. He might have to kill another person he cares about, but this was a different kind of caring. He knows he'll have to do whatever he has to do... But he really, really didn't want to.

"What do you know?" He asked.

"You're the Antichrist. Your mother was a jackal and your father is Satan. You've known this since you were 13, and someday... You'll have a wife and children. With a woman prophesied as the Whore of Babylon, a woman who will help you become the man who will take over the world in the name of your father. And the Whore of Babylon is just a girl with a really bad childhood who just wants to be with you." She said crying.

Damien let his guard down and let her go and lay beside her and held the blonde girl as she cried.

"You're the Whore of Babylon, aren't you?" He said rubbing circles into her back.

"Y-yes... In theory, I'm your soul mate." She looked at him. He rubbed her tears away and held her close. He knew he could believe her.

"When did you know?"

"When I was twelve, my father paid a babysitter to take care of me named William Baylock, who revealed why such bad things were happening to me and explained about you and what had happened to his wife... And he taught me things, like what I'm supposed to do and what I need to do. And when we became friends... Damien I'm crazy about you... I-"

"Bella. Stop talking. I told you, I believe you. And I feel the same. I want to take you on a date."

"A-A date?" Bella said blushing deeply.

"Yes. A date. Anywhere you'd like to go."

"Well... There is Winter Fest in Town during our Winter Break. When I was a little girl I'd go with my family every year."

"Then I'll take you there." He said getting off the bed and getting out a piece of paper and a pen and handing them to her.

"Write your address and phone number on here and I will get details. Until then, can we continue seeing one another every day and do what we've always done? I've missed you."

He handed her the paper and pen. She wrote her address and number before hugging him again. She kissed his cheek and left the dorm with an "I missed you, too."

Damien held his cheek in his hand and smiled wide. He had a date.