Pip awoke wrapped tight in Damien's arms. He stared at the blank wall before him, feeling Damien's breath glide over the sensitive skin of his neck. He smiled, his heavy eyelids dropping, and placed his hands on Damien's arms. A comforting warmth drifted through the air despite the raging frost outside. It was far safer inside. Safe with Damien.

'It feels so perfect,' Pip thought with a giggle, 'waking up with my…'

And there was that question again. He shook it out of mind just as quickly as it had come. There was no need to complicate things when they were fine just the way they were, even if sometimes he couldn't help but wonder.

It was Monday morning and the first day back to school. Pip skipped merrily on his way to school, quite pleased but also quite alone. Damien had wanted to have a lie in and saunter in at his own time, but Pip was happy enough to go on his own, eager to get back to school and back into the swing of things. He wanted to see Pocket, whom he had missed all throughout the holidays.

Sure enough, there Pocket was. As soon as Pip started up the hallway filled with lockers the first thing that struck him was the back of a ginger head. He quickened his pace, waving in cheer.

"Pocket!"

Pocket turned around with an ugly frown upon his face. Pip stopped to look at Pocket, for he wasn't wearing their usual school uniform. Instead, he wore a plain white shirt and a red waistcoat that clashed horribly with his large blue bowtie, along with a pair of dull black loafers and matching trousers. He had been searching through his locker with a battered sports bag in hand. Pip took a few hesitant steps closer.

"Pocket? Why aren't you wearing your uniform?"

Pocket looked Pip in the eyes for all of a few seconds before turning back towards his locker. It was almost as though it hurt him to stare at Pip for too long.

"Pip… I'm going."

Pip's eyes widened, "Going? W-where?"

"Back home," Pocket replied bluntly.

Pip watched as he resumed to sorting through his locker and lifting a few books out to place into his bag.

"But…"

"But I can't do this anymore, Pip," Pocket turned around to finally face him after loading the majority of the contents of his locker into his bag.

Pip waited for some sort of explanation, silent.

"I can't stand looking at you every single day knowing that you will never love me and that some undeserving bastard like him has complete control of you. I just can't."

"But Pocket I said that I'd help you find someone else!"

"How can I fall in love with someone else when you're always here and you haven't given me any reason not to care about you? You can't. It's not that easy, Pip. It just isn't easy."

Pip was still, feeling extremely hurt and lost.

"I'm sorry, Pip… but it's what's best."

Pocket took one last look at Pip. He wanted to kiss him so badly for one last time, but he knew that the final kiss is always the hardest to end. He picked up his bag and took a few remaining items from his locker, closing it shut behind him.

"Goodbye Pip," he muttered as he walked on past him.

Pip's eyes filled with tears as one of his only friends walked away. Pocket felt a strong urge to look back at the sweet blonde, but he couldn't torture himself any longer. He needed to get away so that it would soon be all over.

Damien trudged carelessly into their registration room, glancing all around him in search for Pip. He was sitting at their usual table, deadly silent and staring blankly ahead of him. Damien watched him strangely as he approached the boy. Pip didn't even notice the dark shadow that was looming over him. Damien frowned; he could sense that there was something wrong with his Pip. He sat down next to him and began to stroke his silky golden hair.

"Hey," he cooed.

"Oh," Pip turned to face him gingerly, "hello Damien."

"What's wrong?" Damien pulled an innocent pout.

"I… Pocket's not my friend anymore."

Damien's tone rose with enthusiasm, "What?"

Pip's soft face fell into a desperately sad picture and he stared down at the table before him. Damien's expression faltered.

"Pip I'm so sorry."

Pip glanced up at him for a moment.

"It wasn't because of me, though," he added quickly, remembering what had happened to Bill, Fosse and Pip's foster parents.

"I know. It was all my fault…"

"Aw Pip don't go saying that."

"But it is," Pip croaked.

Damien could see the tears building up in Pip's wide eyes as he looked up at him desperately. He hated that look. It always broke his heart. He wrapped his arms around the small boy and brought their bodies closer together.

"Hey now don't be so upset," he hushed as he ran his fingers through Pip's blonde hair.

Pip sniffed into Damien's jumper and closed his eyes. He wasn't feeling any better about it, but at least Damien was there for him. He sat up slightly in order to wrap his arms around Damien's neck and look into his eyes.

"Thank you, Damien."

Damien smiled, placing a gentle kiss on Pip's forehead. He had completely forgotten all about every other member of the class, who all stared and whispered. But as they found themselves becoming more and more infatuated in each others eyes, they felt like they were the only ones in the room. The only ones in the world; their own, little world.

"You're welcome."

Pip buried his face against Damien's shoulder, holding onto him even tighter. He closed his eyes to block away the remaining tears, but it only pushed the rest of them from his eyes and down his face. But right now, he didn't care.

"And the Lord will smite him down and save our souls from his paedophilic sodomy! But if you have become one with the Devil, nothing can save you."

Damien rolled his eyes, his face plonked carelessly on his fist. What seemed to be two hours of blasphemous and bigoted drabble was actually only about twenty minutes long so far. But Damien was unaware of this. He glanced over to Pip, who had an attentive look on his face but was clearly not amused. He flashed Damien a quick look, causing a meek smile to spread sheepishly across his face and mask the displeasure caused by Mr Roper's words.

"So be warned, class, be well warned that if you allow yourself to become a slave to the evil and sexually perverted, you will go to Hell. Heaven is not far away if you love and serve the Lord, but you must be wary to reject those who are not with God."

Damien glared up at the narrow-minded teacher, unaware that he was beginning to push a red button or two.

"You can not leave Heaven once you become worthy enough of entering it. God will grace you with every step and protect you from all evil; Satan and his minions."

Damien frowned, becoming hopelessly angered. He lay his head down onto the table both in defeat and in resistance. He really didn't need to be reminded.

"God will never let the Devil succeed in captivating a pure and worthy soul."

Red eyes gazed upon Pip, who was as unknowing as he was deaf to what Mr Roper was saying. As Damien watched him, he thought more and more about Mr Roper's words. The words he always knew, but Hell did it hurt all the more with the confirmation of the fact that it was true.

"If you are truly a son of God, he will always take you under his wing and cherish you. Choose God over the Devil and you will always be nourished with his love; the greatest love of all. Far greater than any sort of 'love' the devious Devil may offer you."

Damien gritted his teeth, grinding them together as he tried to contain his wrath. As much as he hated to admit it, Mr Roper's words were true. So true that it pained him to think of it and he couldn't even admit it to himself inwardly. He stood from his chair, sick of reality.

"Damien Satan, what do you think you're doing?" Mr Roper demanded.

Just as soon as he said it Damien headed for the door, storming out of the room and slamming the door shut behind him.

"Ah… D-Damien?" Pip called.

He looked up at Mr Roper pleadingly, "U-um sir? Could I-"

"No. Sit where you are."

"But-"

"Do you want to go to Hell, boy? Well? Do you?"

Pip shook his head, unable to make a sound. Of course he didn't.

"Good… then let us continue. Now class if you open your books at page 42 you'll see what Hell looks like. Pay attention, because if you don't play your cards straight then this is where you may end up."

"Um sir?" Stan raised his hand to grab Mr Roper's attention, "This is a picture of a Jewish synagogue."

"Exactly."

Pip dashed around the school frantically. It was lunchtime now and Damien hadn't shown up for any of their classes. He sighed, it was absolutely useless. He immediately made his way into the toilets and closed the cubicle door behind him, taking his mobile phone out of his pocket and dialling Damien's number. He held it to his ear for a while, listening anxiously with every ring. It stopped. No answer. Pip sighed once more as he began to dial another number. This time the phone only rang twice.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Satan? It's Pip."

"Oh, Pip! How are you?"

"Um well I'm fine really. It's just that Damien left during Religion class today and I haven't seen him since and I'm getting terribly worried and-"

"Oh don't you worry one bit, dear. He's in his bedroom."

"He is?"

"Yes, he came home a couple of hours ago. He seemed very upset and a teensy bit moody so I just decided to give him some space. I'm sure he'll be fine when you get back to see him."

"Oh… well I can't leave school at the moment, so I suppose I'll see you both when I get home."

"Alright, see you then!" Satan cooed.

"Goodbye," Pip almost mumbled as he hung up.

He slipped down onto the ground with his phone still in hand, beginning to text something. When he finished, he found Damien's name in his phonebook quite swiftly. The sending screen popped up and dinged as the message was finally sent.

'i miss you'

Pip frowned, wondering whether Damien would even care in his currently strange mood.

Pip crept into he and Damien's bedroom, careful not to disturb the beast sitting silently on the bed with his back to Pip. He didn't want to make things any worse, but sometimes confronting problems actually did do something of some use. At least, that was where his unconditional optimism always took him, even though he didn't have any experience to back it up. He watched Damien for a moment. He was still and yet the catastrophic, gushing rage of his troubles ran through him in a racing, noisy mess. Pip swallowed the sickening lump in his throat before speaking.

"Umm… D-Damien?"

Damien opened his mouth to speak, avoiding turning to face Pip. But he couldn't seem to force the words out that he felt were needed. He sighed.

"I can't do it."

"Can't… can't do what, Damien?" Pip inquired as he drew near.

"Can't tell you to go away. You need it more than I do and despite how important that is to me… I just can't do it."

Pip sat down slowly beside Damien, his eyes unable to leave the back of his head as he placed his hand on Damien's shoulder, "Damien I don't understand."

Damien sighed, "Pip listen to me, all mortals die. All of them either go to Heaven or they go to Hell. You're a good person and you're going to Heaven."

"Well I know that Damien but I don't see how-"

"Don't you get it, Pip?" Damien stood up and turned to face the boy, "Once you die, that's it. No more you and me. No more us. I'll never see you again."

Pip began to gradually understand. And the more he did, the more upset he began to feel.

"And I'll never forget you, Pip. And everyday of the rest of my eternal life I'll be thinking of you and missing you and fighting to get you back, no matter how pointless I know it would be."

"Then… then I repent God," Pip cried as he stood from the bed and stepped closer to Damien, "I repent God! And I'm selling my soul to you!"

Damien blinked, "What?"

"I'm selling my soul to you. If people can sell their souls to your father then I can sell my soul to you. So I have. I'll never leave you Damien."

Tears started to spill from Pip's eyes and his words were caught in his throat. As he forced them out, the tears were forced out even further.

"I'm yours now Damien. I'll never leave you. I love you."

Damien's cheeks beamed red as his eyes widened. But he quickly shoved away all of his inner questions of doubt mixed with belief and rushed to Pip's aid, wrapping his arms around him and embracing him tight and firm.

Pip continued to sob against his body, drowning within the warmth that was Damien's gentle touch. Damien hushed the boy, tracing his fingers through Pip's smooth hair. Pip clung desperately onto his jumper. Needily. Damien needed to smile, but his heart stung too much from seeing Pip like this.

"Please don't cry, Pip…" he whispered, "Please."

Pip proceeded to wipe his eyes dry, only really causing the rest of his face to become wet with tears. He pulled back from Damien, rubbing his right eye in embarrassment.

"You can't sell your soul to me, Pip."

Pip looked up at him confused, "I-I can't?"

He felt his heart sink slightly. It seemed to him that Damien was rejecting their only chance of ever being together as though he didn't want that chance at all. Either that or it was just impossible.

"Of course not. You can't sell anything for nothing. What's your price?"

Pip blinked, "What do you mean?"

"Well most people sell their souls to my dad for a packet of Jelly Tots or a £10 voucher for Marks & Spencer," Damien laughed, "but your soul is far more valuable than that. So I'll tell you what," he drew in closer to Pip, his dangerous eyes turning sweet and flattering, "I'll take your soul in exchange for… my heart."

Pip's cheeks flushed red for the umpteenth time in a row and he stepped back unsurely, "Y-yo-your heart? But Damien-"

"But you love me," Damien smiled, content knowing that the words were true, and he moved in closer still, "and I love you."

Pip's heart quickened its pace, pounding vigorously on his ribs to be let out of its cage, but jumping with joy at the same time. He found himself completely awestruck, unable to even get his mind around what was just said and his tongue tied a knot in his throat so he was unable to form any sort of coherent sentence. But before he could even try either option, he was pulled against Damien's body and he suddenly felt Damien's tongue slip into his mouth.

Pip melted immediately, moaning softly into Damien's mouth as he went weak in the knees. And only then did his brain kick into gear, because he realised that he enjoyed this kiss more than the others. Because this time he knew exactly what it meant.