Amanda walked through the familiar, droll halls of school with the marble floors and extravagant "spirit week" decorations. Her costume was simple: Black lipstick, nailpolish, and gothic paraphenalia. Raziel was at her home, in a sort of state of torpor while asleep in her closet, which she had cleared out, arranging her belongings in a corner of her room somewhat neatly.
Her best friend came up beside her. She was a good person, but as of late she had been pulling herself away from her, withdrawing into her realm of magic and now, of course, Raziel. It had only been a couple of days... but still...
"You know that guy you like? Chris? He's going out with someone," Janessa said quietly.
Amanda said nothing, walking around that morning, unzipping her jacket now that she was safely inside the warm halls. There were few people here so early in the morning, around a quarter after seven-o'clock.
"Are you okay?" Janessa said, her voice lilting high in nearly frantic worry. She was always dependent on her friendship, far more than Amanda needed hers. Janessa was not ugly. She was, actually, dangerously thin. Amanda blamed anorexia; the girl insisted otherwise.
"I'm fine," Amanda said in a smiley, false convincing way. "Just thinking."
"Where were you for school yesterday?"
"I was kind of bogged down with a quick flu. Puking, y'know, all that."
"Oh."
With a wordless command, they moved to the cafeteria doors like creatures of the same mind. Amanda sighed; she didn't want to go down there. Rather she wished to be alone and try to think of a way to return Raziel to his world. Nosgoth....
They sat at the table. She only half-listened to Janessa speak, a terrible feeling of guilt creeping into her because she knew she should have been. But when one's world is suddenly turned upside down by the arrival of a truly unique individual. He wasn't exactly who she expected, though...
"Amanda!" Janessa said, almost in irritation as she shook the girl's arm. "That guy's been staring at you since you've been here."
Amanda turned quickly toward where Janessa's eyes went. Through the wired glass of the cafeteria doors she saw him, but as soon as their eyes met briefly in a flash of green-against-gray he fled, vanishing out of view away from the door.
"He was cute," Janessa grinned.
Amanda ignored her. "Stay here." And she fled, hearing her startled exclamation as she abandoned her backpack and books to go through the doors and look up and down the hall.
"Hey!" she yelled, feeling a thrill shoot through her. She never raised her voice, especially now. She stepped forward, turning left then and into the halls. Her sneakers squeaked loudly on the floor but she didn't care. "Come on... whoever you are, why the hell do you keep looking at me!? Hey--"
A hand clamped over her mouth. Another arm around her waist, pulling her inexorarably into the pitch blackness of a utility closet. Her shriek was muffled and useless and she strained against the rockhard, ungiving body.
"I don't know who you are," a gutteral, British voice murmured, "or who your new little friend is... but your secrets won't last long."
"What do you want?" she managed to choke past the cold fingers over her mouth.
"Your friend you summoned beat the blighters out of my boys, miss," the voice replied smoothly. "They are my best customers and my favorite servants. I don't want you bludgeoning them up on any bloody night of the week you want."
She was pushed. Rather hard, out into the hall. The floor met her hands before her face did; the impact was softened. Still, her cheek stung and she saw a pair of black worn boots pass in front of her vision. There came a loving caress that chilled her to her core through her hair.
"Poor young thing," the man went on. "Time is so short... better hurry... or you'll soon find yourself running out of it..."
The boots faded away. She closed her eyes before sitting up, blinded by the sudden presence of light. "Are you okay?" the janitor said.
"I don't feel so good all of a sudden," Amanda mumbled. "I think I'm going to go see the nurse."