Cough cough... moving on now.
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Eight- Scarlet and Hazel -
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Being a demon, it goes without saying that Drew had been through a lot of painful, awkward, and generally stressful situations. He had seen his 'classmates' brutally ripped in half without a thought, had been stabbed in the back of the skull with a flaming iron rod, and been summoned to his dangerous (and rumored to be bisexual) White-eyes' quarters many times. He had seen it all, done it all, and came out on top. Or so he thought.
Then along came May.
Her unusual (to say the least) deal had forced him to publicly ask her out on a date a week after the drama team tryouts, and now he was standing on her front porch, shifting his weight from foot to foot and keeping his face as calm as possible. He was wearing black jeans and a dark green hooded sweatshirt on account of the mildly chilly night.
Behind him, Gary was inwardly dying of laughter, facial muscles twitching slightly as his brown eyes flickered with the golden light of mirth. Drew could actually HEAR the brunette's laughter in his head.
He shot his most murderous glance at the Shade, mouth framing a demon curse word. Gary blinked innocently at him before his face cracked into a smile, a snicker slipping out between his teeth.
"Ah! It's Drewwie! " Caroline Maple was standing in the doorway, wrapping Drew in a sudden motherly hug and getting flour all over his face from her apron. Releasing him, she turned around to chirp something to her husband who gave the green haired boy brushing flour from his hair an impassive stare before grunting and leaving the scene.
May was pushed forward suddenly, dressed casually in jeans, a red polo and a medium blue jacket, face scantly concealing the same feelings Drew had. The brunette girl forced her shyest smile and waved to her mother as Gary stepped forward to speak of such formalities as how long they'd be gone, his cell phone number, the movie they were watching, and etcetera.
From the upstairs window, Max poked his head out and glared at Drew before making a v shape with two fingers and drawing twin invisible lines from his eyes to Drew's. I'm watching you.
Drew jerked his gaze away, keeping his face hidden behind the mask of minor nervousness though his eyes glowed with mixed distaste and mirth. Gary was watching the female Maple with polite indifference on his face, his eyes hard but not unkind. He's hiding something, the Messenger thought. I just wonder what...?
Caroline Maple kissed her daughter on the top of the head, murmuring a few more words of reassurance and praise. "Be good, sweetie. Have a nice time. " Her mother beamed.
"Thanks, Mom. " May tried to grin back, but only managed a tight little smile. Gary stepped neatly in before Mrs. Maple could question her daughter. "My apologies, Mrs. Maple, but we're going to be late... "
"Of course. See you later, May! "
If I survive, the girl thought morosely.
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For the entire movie, Drew paid little or no attention to the screen. It wasn't that he didn't find crime and violence interesting- it was other things caught his attention. Namely, the girl sitting beside him who, every so often, would steal a glance at the screen of her phone.
I wonder what she's looking at, he pondered.
At last, the movie was over, and all the people (and the two demons) were filtering out of the dark room like a colorful brook, babbling and chuckling as it moved on outside to the streets. An old Italian lady was peddling roses on the corner, speaking in broken English to the people as the passed by without so much as a glance in her direction.
May had slipped out her phone again, and was so engrossed in the picture she didn't sense someone walking up behind her. "What's that? "
The brunette girl jumped slightly, then clutched the phone to her chest to hide the image of a puppy from him. "Don't sneak up on me like that. And... you'll laugh, so go away. "
Drew raised one eyebrow, unconvinced. "One, I didn't sneak, I just walked, and Two, I swear I won't laugh. "
"Really? Well... ok. " She let him have a better look as she explained. "This...this is Hazel. She was my dog.. and my best friend before we had to move. Brendan my cousin said he'd take good care of her. But... he called me yesterday. She ran away... and... they don't know where she is... so whenever I look at her, I make a little wish that she's looking for me... and someday we'll find each other. "
Behind them both, Gary coughed to conceal a snicker that somehow escaped his throat. Drew shot him a glance before turning back to look at May's phone again. "I don't think that's funny. "
"You... don't? "
"Not really. It's... different, to say the least, from what I'm used too... but it's not funny. Really. "
May shivered, and reached for the coat she had tied around her waist. It was gone. "Oh, crap! I can't find my jacket- "
"Check the theater. No one's stolen it yet, but you'd better hurry. " Gary called in a low voice over his shoulder. When May had gone, he gave Drew a piercing look and raised one eyebrow. "Nice acting. I couldn't even tell you were lying. "
"Hm? Oh.. yeah... " I wasn't acting, a little part of Drew's mind thought even as the rest of him smirked from the compliment. "Wait until you see the follow-up. Excuse me, miss..."
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Gary skidded his bike to a stop at the end of the Maple's long driveway. "Here you go. Good night, May. "
"Thank you, Mr. Oak. " May placed the helmet she had been wearing back on the bike seat. Drew fidgeted slightly as both of them walked back to the house.
May hated awkward silences. "It's a nice night. "
"Mm-hmm. "
She frowned slightly, but would not be deterred. "I enjoyed the movie. Did you? "
"Mm-hmm. "
"Thanks for not laughing about Hazel. I miss her a lot, you know, and- huh? "
Something scarlet was thrust into her line of vision, Drew's head in the background turned away from her, but she could see him watching her out of the corner of one eye. "Here. "
"A... rose? Thank- "
"It's not for you, " he interrupted, flicking his hair out of the way, " it's for Hazel. Promise me you'll pass it on to her when she finds you, ok? "
"Uh...huh... " May said slowly, mind spinning from the sudden turn of events. He cleared his throat, then abruptly walked off, leaving her a few steps away from the porch. "See you on Monday. "
"Ok. " She slipped the rose into her inside coat pocket, feeling a strange need to hide it from her family's prying eyes.
Am I wrong about him? Or is this just part of his facade?
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Yeah, so the phone-picture thing.. totally ripped from my shiny new game! Hope you all enjoyed this chapter- I did! At last, I think I'm on track!