Chapter Five

I bussed tables at The Borderline, and to be honest, it wasn't awful. It gave me a place where I could be un-surrounded by Fallen or Nephilim; to think and plan; and to keep my hands busy. It was also the only legitimate job I'd ever had, and it was a nice break. I didn't need the job, nor the money, but it needed to look like I had clean money from somewhere. Illegally, from Chauncey's money and my "jobs", I was a millionaire. Legally, I had just enough money to feed myself, and not much else. Luckily, food was one of the few things that wasn't on my mind. Two things on my mind was the mysterious person following Nora, and Nora herself.

I wanted to focus on the person. I wasn't able to find anything on this person, because I didn't know anything about the situation. I highly doubted Nora would tell me anything, probably because she couldn't believe it'd happened herself. How was I supposed to find someone when the only proof I had was a glimpse? I'd checked out Vee's Neon; it was spotless. Whoever it was used a mindtrick, which meant they'd be that much harder to find. Shit. The best I could do with the information I had was to move faster with my own plans, and see if they came around Nora anymore.

Nora. What was it about her that I liked? Her beautiful, red hair; those curvy lips; those intelligent gray eyes. She was as perfect as the female angels I'd once been among. I liked her intelligence; her self-control; the way that she carried herself. It was regal in a way that was unlike the other children her age. She had a passion; a passion that drove her to do well in school, to lead, to great things. Maybe she should have been the angel; she'd have done it better than me.

Her drawbacks? She was stubborn, beyond reason. If it didn't make sense, she would rather force it to make sense for her instead of thinking outside of the box. Her self-control was sexy, but she was too confined to her own comfort zone because she felt the need to control a little too much around her. That passion rarely showed its face for fear she couldn't control it. The reason she was so confined was because she was so judgmental. Maybe she'd always been that way growing up, but I had a feeling that she wasn't as harsh towards life before her father died.

I always felt bad about what happened to Harrison Grey. I always knew he was close to Barnabas, Rixon's vassal, and I always felt that he noticed a little too much. Intelligent, like his daughter, he never mentioned anything. But I'd always felt that the way he died…well, it was too easy. It was almost like he was taken out; executed. It had nothing to do with me, and I never felt the need to connect it to the Nephilim underworld, so I'd let it drop. Shame that I had to kill his daughter.

I walked to the next table, and I overheard some teenagers speaking excitedly about something.

"So, dude, there's a party that's going to be out near Orchard Beach on Sunday. You up for it?"

"I don't know…my mom's kind of mad at me right now cus' of grades. She might not let me go."

"That's the worst thing ever. I know that my mom—"

I zoned that out as I began clearing the table. Ugh. If only my issues were as hard as disgruntled parents. I needed to get Nora alone. Not just class-alone, but actually alone. I needed the chance to actually watch her be herself, because when she did, she'd trust me. Wait- Someone was watching me. I turned to find the culprit.

Nora Grey.

I couldn't contain my grin. If I didn't know that the Heavens were completely against my plans, I'd have called it divine intervention. I began to walk towards her, and snickered inside as she resembled a deer in the headlights. Seeing no way out, she scooted into the booth.

"Well, well. Five days isn't enough of me? Had to give me an evening, too?" I teased. I could tell that she didn't remember where I worked, and it was only that much more amusing.

"I apologize for the unfortunate coincidence." She answered drily. When I sat, she rose in her seat, looking defensive.

"All the seats here are taken," she practically growled. And? I wanted to respond. When I didn't back down, she snatched her glass from me and began drinking it. In her rush, she choked on an ice cube.

"Shouldn't you be working instead of fraternizing with customers?" she gasped, trying to maintain some dignity.

I smiled, and took my chance. "What are you doing Sunday night?" I need to figure out what I'm going to do with you.

She snorted, and rose her chin. "Are you asking me out?" Oh?

"You're getting cocky. I like that, Angel." It sort of slipped out; the nickname. I'd been thinking about it before, and I kind of liked it.

"I don't care what you like. I'm not going out with you. Not on a date. Not alone." She was being much more forceful than normal; eyes flashing and everything. "Hang on, did you just call me Angel?"

"If I did?" Surely, there were worse things to be called.

"I don't like it."

Only because I said it. "It stays. Angel." Looking at her, I noticed that some of the gloss from her lips had fallen off to the side. It looked awkward, so I reached over and wiped it off.

"You'd look better without it." It was the truth. It was simply another way for her to put up a barrier between herself. She'd look just as radiant without it.

She seemed frozen, unable to react from my touch. Finally, she tossed her hair, and put on a business-like face.

"Anyway, I'm not allowed to go out on school nights."

"Too bad. There's a party on the coast. I thought we could go." I genuinely wanted her to say yes. Oh come on, Nora, please?

She looked at me, and I saw her defenses slowly come apart. I didn't think she'd say yes, but I could see that she was considering the option. Then she pretended to yawn.

"Well, like I said, it's a school night. If this party is something you'd be interested in, I can almost guarantee I won't be."

Angel, I really could give a fuck less about where we go, as long as you're there.

Suddenly she turned to me. "Why are you asking me anyway?" Her eyes were so open, so honestly curious, that I couldn't help my quick answer.

"I want to get you alone." And just as quick as she'd asked, her eyes became guarded once again.

"Listen, Patch, I don't want to be rude, but—"

"Sure you do." Of course she did. I was pushing past all of her defenses, and now the only thing she had left was to be blatantly rude to me. I must be getting somewhere.

"Well you started it!" Ha! "I can't go to the party. End of story."

"Because you can't go out on a school night, or because you're afraid of being alone with me?" I needed to know.

"Both."

Hm. "Are you scared of all guys…or just me?"

She rolled her eyes, and I realized that maybe Nora wasn't as vulnerable as I thought. No, she was vulnerable; I was just the only one who knew where she was vulnerable.

"I make you uneasy?" I asked quietly. Something about being the only one made me…satisfied. Her eyes widened.

"I'm sorry, what were we talking about?"

"You."

"Me?"

Yes, you. "Your personal life."

She laughed, an uncomfortable sound. "If this is about me…and the opposite sex…Vee already gave me this speech. I don't need to hear it twice."

So she had some concept about attraction then. "And what did wise old Vee say?"

Blushing, she began playing with her hands. She hid them under the table. I didn't think she knew she had a small smile on her face.

"I can't imagine why you're so interested." She answered quietly. I shook my head.

"Interested? We're talking about you. I'm fascinated." She was pleased, then, even if she didn't know it. I smiled in response to the thought, and she gasped.

"I think you should go back to work," she said, quickly.

"For what it's worth, I like the idea that there's not a guy at school who matches up to your expectations." There wasn't anyone in the school who deserved her anyway.

"I forgot you're the authority on my so-called expectations."

I looked her up and down, drawing on all the observations I'd made on her.

"You're not cagey, Nora. Not shy, either. You just need a very good reason to go out of your way to get to know someone." No, she wasn't shy. Anyone who was willing to bust through Bo's wasn't shy. I just needed to find that reason for her to know me, and at the moment, school was all I had. That's why I'd never move seats.

"I don't want to talk about me anymore."

"You think you've got everyone all figured out." I continued.

"Not true! For example, well, for instance, I don't much about…you."

"You aren't ready to know me." The time she would really know me, know my intentions, would be when she was taking her last breaths. The thought didn't make me forthcoming.

"I looked in your student file." She blurted.

So I wasn't the only one fishing for information tonight.

"I'm pretty sure that's illegal." Consider me impressed, however, that she did something "bad". That must have been the crux behind that phony bomb scare at school. Oh, what an amateur.

"Your file was empty. Nothing. Not even an immunization record."

Nothing that says I'm human, or even that I exist. Smart girl. I leaned back in my seat, measuring her up.

"And you're telling me this because you're afraid I might cause an outbreak? Measles or mumps?" I mocked her.

"I'm telling you this because I want you to know that I know something about you isn't right. You haven't fooled everybody. I'm going to find out what you're up to. I'm going to expose you." She stated, ignoring my tone.

Exposure on both sides? Sounds fun. "Looking forward to it." She flushed when she finally caught the innuendo. Finally, she scooted back.

"Vee's coming. You have to go." I didn't move.

More and more, I was impressed. Of course I couldn't let her "expose me", but that fact that she'd even bothered to figure anything out shocked me. The girl I'd met, the one who continuously tried to get away from me, was also the only one who'd ever paid this much attention to me. She confused and intrigued me so much- the girl I needed dead, and the girl I wanted alive.

"Why are you looking at me that way?" she demanded. I leaned forward, looking her in her eyes.

"Because you're nothing like what I expected." I'd expected a girl who'd be easy enough to convince; easy enough to get alone; easy enough to remove like any other girl I'd been with. Nothing about Nora Grey was easy, except for the ability to respect her.

"Neither are you. You're worse." She retorted.

I smiled and walked away from her table.

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