It was another normal day in school for our demon prince. Damian is walking with his hands clutching onto the strap of his backpack as he strolls through the hallway of the academy. He then carves a smile at the sight of his friends in front of the lockers. One of his hands releases it's grip as he waves it at them from afar.
Sahara who was talking with her friends noticed Damian waving his hand further up. She instantly carves a smile as she replies with her own excited wave of her hand. The others took notice and soon follows with their own waves and smile.
Damian puts a pep in his step as he makes his way to his friends.
"Hey guys!!" He greets them full of energy as he stops at the group.
"Hello Dame! Bro, you're looking pumped!" Vince commented at Damian's unusually high energy.
To Damian who's always hyperactive, this was on another level. The reason was due to his new discovery he made yesterday on his new power. The heights he achieved with his wings. He couldn't stop thinking about it all night. However, he knew he couldn't let anyone know about it much to his dismay.
"It's nothing really, I uhh... had too much coffee this morning!" He lies to them with an innocent look. Vince leers at Leo with an unconvinced look but Leo just replied by raising his shoulders and shrugging it off.
"Didn't you hear?!" Addison suddenly intervenes with a concerned tone.
"Hear what?" Damian turns his head towards him with curiosity.
"About Kayla? She was attacked last night!" Addison continues with his concern.
"Oh that! Nah, don't worry about it! She's fine!!" Damian shrugs it off which made his friends confused.
He then noticed his friends perplexed looks which confused him.
"Why? Did I say something?" He asks them as Sahara takes the next statement. She shook her head before opening her mouth.
"No... but... how did you know she's fine? I've just heard about it from Mr Zech. It's surprising you found out about it before us... who did you hear it from?" Sahara mentions which made Damian clicked.
"Way to go genius! You're not supposed to know, REMEMBER!!" Athena grumbles as she folded her arms.
"N-NO! I just thought that it'd be impossible that she couldn't handle herself! She's a beast you know! Nothing can stop that kangaroo, haha.." He laughed nervously at the end hoping his bluff would go through.
"R-rrrrright... I just thought you'd be a bit more... worried..." Sahara just looks at him now joining the perplex twins on the abnormality of Damian's behaviour.
"You're okay man? You're sweating a lot!" Vince points out as he nudges Damian's shoulder.
"I ummm, anyway gotta go, bye!!!" Damian speedily talks before he zips out of there in high speed.
The four people just looked at each other with perplexed looks before each one of them decides to shrug it off. After all, they knew that he was most of the time, quirky as hell.
The theatre door opens as Damian spun inside before slamming it shut behind him as he laid flat against the door. He was breathing in an out, his chest pumping at record speed as drops of sweat trails down his cheeks.
"That was close!" He pants out because of the fastest sprint he did to escape his friends paired with the sheer nervousness due to his incompetency in keeping his mouth shut.
"I wouldn't be surprised if the whole school finds out about you tomorrow!" Athena snarls at him as Damian whips his face towards her.
"Hey, I can't help it okay!" He lashes at her with an angry look.
"Yeah, sure..." She rolls her eyes exposing him with her usual sarcastic tone. It annoyed him to the very core but unluckily for him, he can't do anything to her since she's a girl. Plus, he can't actually physically touch her since she's just a mental projection of the Holy Gem inside him.
Instead, he shots his face away and crosses his arms. He stood there for a while, not talking to her. But guilt soon fills him as he knows that he did mess up... a little. Not a lot, just a little. Out of the tiny ounce of guilt in him, he slowly turns his head towards her. It seems she was doing the same thing he's doing and both their eyes met awkwardly.
However, neither tried to lose eye contact but maintained it because they both knew it would be more awkward. Damian couldn't stand the awkwardness and being a gentleman or so he thinks, he was the first to make his apology.
"Fine, fine. I know I almost screwed up, I'm sorry bout that! But at least understand that I've never been in this whole 'top secret Peter Parker' shit before! I don't know what to do!" Damian tries to explain to her as Athena suddenly looks at him with sympathy. She sighs slowly before turning to him with a smile.
"Well, I guess I'm sorry as well., I should've been be more vigilant, that's on me... But can you please try to make this top secret Peter Parker 'shit' work next time? It's kind of a big deal Damian!! You know what happened to Uncle Ben right?" Athena educates him while sprinkling in some jokes here and there. She wants to be more light hearted but she knew she needed to have some seriousness from time to time. Damian on the other hand looks at her with confused eyes.
"What? Did he fell down the stairs?" Damian asks her nonchalantly making her grit her teeth.
"DAMIAN!!!" She screams at him angrily for not taking her seriously.
"Hey, chill, I'm joking alright!! I know I know!" He regretted his decision as he puts his hand up blocking her rage filled eyes.
"I'll try harder, I promise! I won't mess up next time!" Damian continued as Athena cooled down. A chuckle suddenly escaped her mouth as her lips curve upwards. She suddenly bursts into laughter which catches Damian off guard.
He was perplexed at the sight of Athena laughing hysterically before he lowers his guard.
"What's so funny?" He asks her with a smirk on his lips. She tries to withhold her laughter as she looks at him.
"Well, it's just, you were so scared earlier... it's kinda funny that you're actually the 'chosen one'!!" Athena remarks making him grumble.
"Hey! I might not be the most prepared but at least I'm actually trying!!" He crosses his arms as he stares daggers at her turning his head away in embarrassment.
"Alright then, I trust you!" Athena responds to him as she looks to the side.
"Huh? Wonder why they're gathering around for?" Athena asks as Damian forgets his flush and turns his head in the same direction to see what she meant. He then saw a bunch of his fellow club mates gathering around at the stage, even Jackie was there.
"Let's... go check it out." Damian says to her in curiosity as he walks down the stairs.
As he gets closer he could hear the sounds of people discussing and murmuring. The most prominent voice he could make out was Kayla's.
"What's going on?" Damian mutters as he arrives at the group.
"Oh hi Damian!" Jackie gleefully greets him with a vibrant smile.
"H-hi.. What're you guys doing? You're summoning Satan or something? Cause the next best thing just arrived!!" Damian jokes with them but he barely got a response except for Jackie and Spam who's just smiles at him.
"Tough crowd?" He awkwardly tries to save the situation.
"Oh, yeah, since Damian just arrived, maybe Kayla can explain her story again? It can be a great lesson, well terrifying but still great!!" Jackie turns back to Damian after asking Kayla to explain it.
"I...uh...umm..." Kayla then stumbles in her words when trying to explain to Damian.
"Well, to put it simply-" Jack suddenly intervenes and saves Kayla the trouble. Jack nods at Kayla giving her a reassuring look as she replies with a smile. He knew she has trouble talking with Damian.
"Last night, she got attacked by a bunch of thugs!"
"AND ACTION!!" Athena mocks a director's tone and reminds Damian of what he has to do.
"What?! Are you okay Kayla?!" Damian asks with a fake concerned tone as a worried look was plastered on his face.
"Good acting, bravo!" Athena suddenly commented.
"Yeah, but I really don't enjoy this!" Damian tells her back in dismay. As important was it for him to lie, it didn't sit well with him.
"I... I'm f-fi...
"ARE YOU BLIND, YOU IDIOT?! She's standing right there! Of course she'd be fine!" Zill suddenly lashes out cutting Kayla off which struck a nerve in Damian.
"I wasn't asking you Mexican Frankenstein! Why are you being annoyed for? You know she's not your girlfriend anymore, amigo!" Damian growled back which made Zill grits his teeth. His fists started clenching as he suddenly storms towards Damian.
Suddenly, as he was inches from Damian, his hand charges for Damian's collar as he claws onto it. Zill's furious eyes were met with Damian's unrelenting jewels. Both of them were at a battle for dominance before Zill's lips open revealing his fangs.
"You don't know what you're saying punk! You better watch tongue with me next time!" Zill warns Damian as he responded by clicking his tongue and grinned at him.
"So aggressive! Why? Jealous?!" Damian bravely mutters which gain murmurs from the people around them.
"WHY YOU LITTLE B-
"BOYS!!! STOP IT NOW!!!" Jackie suddenly bursts out with anger which is rare of her and it made the two boys into a standstill. Zill grunts before reluctantly releasing his grip, freeing Damian from his grasps.
"I don't know what's going on with you two, but fighting amongst yourselves isn't the way. You're not proving anything to anyone! Understand?" She looks at Zill with a serious look.
Zill notices her glare as he nods in silence. She then turns to Damian with the same pressure and Damian was forced to apologize.
"I'm sorry!" He looks down in shame.
Jackie just sighs, relaxing her shoulders before returning to her usual cheery attitude. A bright aura filled her posture as her jolly smile returns.
"And that's when you came along...!" Jackie points at Damian.
"So, perhaps Kayla can continue the rest of the story?" Jackie turns back to Kayla.
"W-well... as I was saying..." She was still scared in front of Damian's presence so she tries to shift her gaze towards her usual group of friends... and Zill.
"I had no way of escaping... then... 'he' came!" Her voice suddenly shifts in tone towards that of awe. She trails off from the conversation looking at her hand.
"He? Who's he?" Zill asks her.
"His name is Red and you actually might not believe this but..." A chuckle filled her tone at the end as she was still in disbelief.
"He's an angel!" Kayla says as the rest of the group except Damian carved a surprise look.
"A-angel? Are you sure you didn't hit your head on anything?" Jack asks in disbelief.
"W-what?!" Kayla was flustered at Jack's question.
"Of course not! He was real! H-he came and he saved me. And..." Her voice sounded sad as she stops her words. Her hands grab tightly onto each other.
"He disappeared... but not before he told me his name!" Kayla explains as the entire group was just baffled at what she said. A moment of silence passed by the group but the air around them was suddenly stirred in motion by the skepticism of the ex.
"I'm not buying this guy!" He blatantly says out loud causing Damian to clench his fist unaware but luckily Zill didn't notice. In fact, none of them did since all of their focus was on Zill. It is because he has a point.
"W-what do you mean? He saved me... so wouldn't that clear him up?" Kayla asks Zill in a soft tone with a frown plastered on her face.
"Kayla you can't trust someone you just met! They cou-
"Not even if they saved my life?!" Kayla's tone rose up a bit as Zill catches the hint but he firms his ground.
"No! Don't you see it? This... majestic angel suddenly comes down like a knight in shining armour... after all this decade with other crimes, when people needed their help more everyday, but instead... he just came down to save, what? A girl in an alley? Doesn't that seem fishy to you?" Zill tells her wanting to knock some sense into her sense of safety.
Kayla's mind becomes boggled and shaken. Zill did have a merit in his statement. No matter how grateful she was, it did seem suspicious once Zill pointed it out. She didn't want to believe his words but it seemed that no one was agreeing with her.
"H-he's right Kayla." Jack suddenly adds as Zill nodded slowly at him.
"I mean... we all learned from Ms. Carrie's class, don't angels live in solitude from the rest of all other beings? It wouldn't make sense for them to meddle with 'earthly' affairs... I'm not saying you're wrong but... Zill does have a point..." Jack tells her as her other friends nods slowly in agreement.
Inside Kayla, doubt started seeping into her skin, she didn't know what she believed in. She wants to believe in the good of those who help people but it seemed like a lost cause. Her own thoughts betray her, until...
"I believe in him..." Damian suddenly voices out of nowhere. The group including Kayla all simultaneously turn their faces towards him with the same thing in mind. He must be trying to make a lame joke but... instead what they laid upon was a demon with a serious look on his face which was rare especially from a prankster like him.
"Y-you do?" Kayla suddenly asks him, her surprise cuts off her fear for a short while.
"Well y-yeah... I mean..." Stutters started to form in his words as he was taken aback by the number of eyes looking at him including Kayla's.
"Look, I hate angels as much as the next demon but..." He tries to maintain his cover as Athena gives him a thumbs up.
"I actually rather believe someone for what they do, not for what they can do... Let's not forget that, that guy, whoever he is, he's the reason she's still standing here right? She wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him!" Damian says with a serious tone as his words got into others even including Zill who couldn't deny the truth underneath his words. Instead, he just turns away from him, keeping his silence.
As Damian realised the silence building up, he takes a look at his colleagues and instructor, all of them looking at him shocked. He starts to panic inside thinking he said something off the lines.
"D-did I say something weird?" He asks them as Jack was the first to talk back.
"N-no, it's just... you're actually serious?" Jack asks still flabbergasted by his cousin's words.
"Yeah, of course I am! Why? Is it wrong?" Damian asks them again.
"Well, truthfully, I agree with what you've said! Don't the rest of you?" Jackie asks the rest of her students as they slowly nodded except for Zill.
"It's just, we've never seen you be so serious about something before... Did you like mature in the past few days?" Jackie asks him as Damian was slightly annoyed at that notion.
"Wha?! I'm 16 not 12!!! Of course I'm mature!!" Damian rebuttals as he crosses his arms. Secretly, he shared a glance at Athena besides him.
"R-right?!" He asks her just to be sure.
"Well, it is progress I would say!" Athena cheekily remarks.
"Is that why Kayla avoids me all the time? Cause she thinks I'm a kid?!" He starts speculating in his mind but Athena just shook her head at her hopeless host.
"Well, that and... a LOT of other things!" Athena strikes a burn inside Damian to which he twitch slightly in anger.
"W-what are you doing?" Vanexa suddenly asks him to which he snaps out from his telepathic communications.
He realised that the others was still looking at him, probably thinking why he was dazing for such a long time.
"I-uh... was just thinking about what you've said! Maybe I did mature!" Damian saves himself by covering his voice with a joyful tone trying to shake any of their suspicion away.
"Well took you long enough!!" Jackie gleefully commented before shifting back towards all her students.
"Anyways, now that show and tell is over. Let's discuss our plans for the next performance! We need to be on our A-Game for this!" Jackie excitedly says to them as the students started to perk their ears at the plan.
5 Hours Later,
sigh*
Damian was looking glum after school ended. He grumpily walks along the school corridors not looking forward for what happens next. Athena who was floating besides him could tell his frustration.
"It's alright, we'll just have to do our best. And if we succeed, well, more leniency in training, am I right?" Athena tries to cheer him up. She could tell some of his spirit were lifted, a small amount thought as he was still unconvinced.
"IF we succeed... With my dad so hellbent, no pun intended, in stopping me from going back topside, it's no surprise if he decides to 'suddenly' upgrade the training regime. I'll probably be dancing on his palms for the rest of my life!" Damian comments on his father's tendency to control his everyday life.
"Don't be so down, you're actually lucky to have a father that wants what best for you!"
"Best for me? I doubt that!" He scoffs at the thought.
"You might be a millennia old being but you don't know my dad as well as I do... He only wants things to go his way. I'm just a piece on the board he's constantly shuffling around." Damian spoke to her catching her by surprise.
"Wow, where did you learn that phrase?" Athena was surprised at the way he spoke.
"I-I don't know. Maybe I got the old people virus for being stuck beside you for so long!" Damian jokes at her as she grumbled at the mention of her age.
"Hey!! I'm not old old! Even if I'm thousands of years old, I don't act like one!" She pouts as Damian couldn't help but agree with her.
"Now I'm acting immature because of you!" Athena spoke back before both of them bursts into laughter.
"Hey what's so funny?" A voice suddenly came from besides him as Damian turns to his side in a flash.
"Oh jeez, Sahara, you surprised the shit out of me!" Damian couldn't help grasping his chest trying to lower his heart rate at the sudden jump.
"Sorry, but you're sure you're okay? You're a lot more jumpy this day... and... well nevermind!" Sahara decides to shrug it off.
"Anyways, me, Addie and the boys are heading towards the carnival tomorrow! So, you're in?" Sahara excitedly invites him but ultimately was let down when Damian shook his head.
"Sorry dude, I can't. My pops asked me to do some work! But you guys have fun!"
"Damn, that's a bummer! Seriously though, your pops need to chill! He knows his boy got a life somewhere else!" Sahara commented on that as Damian couldn't help chuckle as a smirk crawled on his face.
"Trust me, I've been saying the same thing since I was born! Well anyways, I gotta get going. See you Sahara!" Damian held out his fist as Sahara bumps it with hers.
"See you Dame! Wouldn't wanna be ya!" Sahara jokes as she waves her arms at him a she left the corridors.
"H-hey wait!" Damian suddenly calls out to her as she turns her back puzzled.
"What's up?" She ask him but he suddenly shook his head.
"Uh it's nothing! Forget about it!" Damian didn't tell her.
"O...kay? I'll peace out then!" She continues to leave the corridors leaving him behind.
Athena was also puzzled at Damian's action as she asks him.
"Why did you stop her?" Athena asks Damian as he shook his head.
"I just... got a bad feeling..." Damian reveals making Athena curious.
"About her?"
"N-nah, it's probably nothing. Maybe I'm just stressed about tomorrow!" Damian sums up as Athena nudges him on the shoulder.
"Don't be! I'll give you my full support! There's nothing to worry about!" Athena clenches her fists and strikes her arm into the air, pumping with energy.
"Yeah, let's do this!" Damian carves out a determined smile forgetting about his worries as he left the academy.
Kayla was slowly arranging her books inside her locker when she remembered the scene earlier. Damian believed and stood up for her even when she didn't even believe in herself.
"Thank you Damian!" A small whisper and a little smile formed on her lips as she was grateful to him. Unknowingly to her, a part of herself was opening up to him despite her fears. Maybe, he wasn't so bad after all.
It's an progress unknown for Damian but still a feat nonetheless. As for him, all he could do, was wait for tomorrow. A day where he would be challenged for something out of his league.
Catastrophe