"BOO!"

In any other situation, literally any other situation, Adam would have probably jumped up, turned, and slammed his fist into the face of whoever the fuck had just decided to pop up behind them and start screaming. But he didn't, for two reasons; One, he was reading a book that he didn't exactly want to have to put down, and two, Michael had completely doubled them over, gasping, one hand clutching their chest as the archangel struggled to recover from the scare. It was almost funny - and Adam would have laughed if he hadn't been startled, himself. No, the demon was more or less just pissed off now.

"What- the heck- Belphegor-" Michael finally managed to choke out, and Adam paused for a moment, then let out a groan. The past few days had been… well, they'd been absolute hell, for both Michael and Adam. For the archangel, it was just a matter of trying to get over Lucifer's death, struggling to keep himself together - as well as, now, worrying about recovering and getting himself back to full power again. For Adam?

Well, his hell came in the form of one completely obnoxious, horrible, annoying, spiteful, maybe-demon, who he completely despised, and who apparently completely despised him. Or maybe it was Michael he despised - or maybe it was both, but the fact of the matter was that during the past few days, Belphegor had done nothing but torment both of them. Even now, when they thought they had found a classroom far enough away from everyone else and actually thought they might fucking be able to have some time alone, he finds them. Effortlessly.

He was really beginning to regret their decision to stay…

Scowling, the demon lifted his gaze from the book he was reading and instead focused his intense, cold glare on Belphegor. Who, grinning, had propped himself up against the desk beside him, his head tilted downward toward Adam and Michael. His grin seemed to widen the second Adam looked up at him, as if he could see the pure fury on his face. Hell, maybe he could. "Bitch, I will fucking destroy you-"

Michael, meanwhile, had gotten settled again for the most part, though he was kind of tense now. Adam noticed that, every time Belphegor was around, the archangel just seemed completely on edge, uneasy. Of course, the maybe-demon wasn't exactly helping matters, with the way he acted toward the two of them, but his wariness just made Adam even angrier toward the maybe-demon, as if it were just another reason to hate him - not that the demon needed any more reasons, he already hated him enough for several…

"Adam, don't," Michael groaned, swallowing hard and forcing them to lean back a little, just in case Adam did decide that the book wasn't worth it and tried to go after the maybe-demon. The demon rolled their eyes a little, but fell silent, looking down at the book.

It was a Stephen King novel - Cujo - that the demon had found in the library. Reading was something he'd actually somewhat enjoyed before his death - he was surprised it hadn't changed after his Transformation, considering. And Michael, well - he didn't seem to mind. Sometimes he would retreat slightly, surrendering most of the control over to Adam and reading along with him.

Belphegor was still laughing, still victorious, and it took just about everything Adam had not to look back up at him. While Michael was trying to recover and restore the rest of his power, when Adam wasn't reading, the demon had put a little more focus in trying to control the constant fury. Granted, he was only two days into this new decision and was already about to call it quits and snap Belphegor's fucking neck, but he was trying. Mostly because Michael had enough to worry about now, beyond keeping the demon calm; So, Adam was trying to keep himself calm.

"You know what I've realized?" Belphegor asked suddenly, pushing himself away from the desk. Adam slowly let his gaze trail back up, and Michael sighed a little internally - he wasn't too fond of the maybe-demon, himself - as the other moved forward, circling around to stand in front of them. "You two are literally the most boring people here. There's five year olds, in this school, that are more interesting than you."

Adam visibly twitched, opening his mouth to respond, but Michael beat him to it. Raising their head, the archangel sank back into the chair again, raising an eyebrow at the maybe-demon. "Great, then, why don't you go bother them?" He suggested, calm as ever, but there was a slight edge to his tone now. Michael was patient, Adam could vouch for that, but even he was steadily beginning to lose his patience with Belphegor.

Belphegor's lips twitched, unfazed, as he leaned over the desk, closer to them. Adam twitched again, going completely still, and the maybe-demon turned his head downwards a little to face the book that they were reading, raising an eyebrow as he did so. "Reading? That's what you've resorted to?" He asked skeptically, looking back up. "The mighty archangel Michael, and a demon, are faced with the end of the world - and you're reading?"

"Michael is recovering," Adam spat, finally losing his nerve, "and, I'm sorry, what are you doing, exactly, big shot? How are you contributing at all, anyway?"

Belphegor pursed his lips, thinking about that for a moment, then shrugged. "Well, I mean, I want the souls back in Hell, so I'm trying to figure out how to do that. Oh! And, of course, I did do that whole thing with the mile-wide salt ring, so, yeah, I'm contributing a lot." He leaned forward a bit more. "So what are you doing, then, hot shot?"

A growl rose in Adam's throat, deep and rumbling, but Michael had other concerns now. The archangel retreated a little, confusion replacing the very slight irritation that had curled up in his chest, and while he didn't say anything aloud, he did call Adam off internally. Hey, hang on a moment…

Adam paused, shifting his focus off of Belphegor. What?

He did the salt ring? Michael questioned, almost skeptically. How does a demon pull something like that off? They don't have that kind of power. And even if he did manage to… He trailed off, but the confusion lingered, growing stronger by the second. Adam paused, his gaze slowly drifting back up to Belphegor, who had redirected his attention to the book. Adam, I'm telling you, Michael finally continued, he's not… he's not a demon.

Adam narrowed his eyes slightly, looking back up at Belphegor. Even he could sense something was off about him. He couldn't say much, as he'd never been around other demons - but he definitely did feel power. And even beyond that… the way he acted put them both on edge, regardless. The demon frowned.

Belphegor lifted his head slightly, eyebrows raising toward Adam almost questioningly. "What's with the face?" He rested his elbows on the desk, shifting so he could lean his chin into his hands as he smirked slightly at the demon.

"What are you?" Adam asked simply, and the smile on Belphegor's face froze in an instant. Then, slowly, it melted, as he lifted his head from his hands, laying both arms flat against the table, and tilted his head downwards, just an inch. His eyebrows knitted together, as if he were thinking - but his response came barely a second later, slow and deliberate.

"I'm a demon. Duh."

"I don't know what you are," it was Michael who was speaking now, his voice quieter, a little less accusing than Adam, but still confident in what he was saying. "But you're no demon."

"Maybe you just have trust issues," Belphegor replied casually, but a small frown was slowly forming on his face. Something akin to frustration had appeared on his face, but neither Adam nor Michael could place it; The lack of eyes made that hard, too. "That's your problem, you know, the both of you - you're too suspicious of everyone."

"What is it they say?" Adam shot back sarcastically, "never trust anyone?"

"Horrible way to go through life," Belphegor commented, and a smile appeared on his face again, tight and and forced. Michael narrowed their eyes slightly, studying him carefully. "But what else is it they say… keep your friends close…" He leaned back, quirking an eyebrow at them as he pulled his arms off of the desk. "But keep your enemies closer?" At this, Adam growled again, the sound rumbling deep in his chest, inhuman and dangerous. Belphegor just inclined his head forward a little, his plastic grin widening further. "Maybe you're the one that's not a demon," he noted icily, "sounds more like a hellhound to me."

"Go to Hell," Adam hissed, barely keeping the snarl from breaking past his lips now. Belphegor chuckled, but it was hollow, mirthless. After a moment, Michael finally stepped in - and, honestly, thank goodness for that, because Adam was two seconds away from lunging now. Forget controlling his anger - he wanted this motherfucker to burn.

"Okay, enough," the archangel ordered, and Adam bared his teeth slightly, but he fell silent, his gaze never moving from Belphegor. The demon just smirked at him.

"Better listen to your daddy, Adam," Belphegor taunted, finally backing away from the desks completely. Adam visibly twitched, at that, and Michael had to force him down a little, severing his control, to keep the demon from slamming the book shut and standing up. "Don't wanna get grounded, do you?" The corner of his mouth twitched, a half-grin appearing.

It disappeared in an instant, however, when Michael raised their head, eyes sharpening, a faint blue sparking to life in the cold, angry eyes. "I said enough."

Belphegor licked his lips, eyebrows pinched together, but for all his belligerence, he was silent now. Finally, after a moment of staring, the maybe-demon took a few steps away and raised his head again, a much colder edge to the smile that appeared on his face now. "A'ight."

Michael continued to stare, silent, cold, before relaxing. Adam huffed a little as he rose up, taking back the control that the archangel had forced away from him. You didn't have to do that, he snapped, but he was more angry with himself than he was with Michael. He couldn't help it, not really - when he got mad, he got mad, and he raged, and he wasn't completely sure why, even now. But he could at least have more control over it than he did - he should at least try.

It's alright, Adam, Michael muttered, patient once again, but the exhaustion lingering from the archangel didn't go unnoticed from the demon. He's just trying to pick a fight. You can't let him get to you like that, he chided, albeit gently. Adam didn't respond with anything more than a grunt, tearing his gaze away from Belphegor and looking down at the book once again.

"Well, with that, I'm out." Belphegor backed away after a moment, eyebrows raising at them slightly. Adam slowly looked up again, his scowl returning at once as he focused on the maybe-demon, and Belphegor only shot him a sweet but sarcastic smile in response. "Have fun isolating yourself and not at all contributing to helping stop the end of the world, hot shot."

"Have fun being a Grade A douchebag and pissing everybody off, big shot," Adam snarled back in response, and Belphegor just grinned, ever so slightly, a faint trace of anger evident as he backed toward the door. Michael sighed, reigning the demon back in just a little more, but they both relaxed at once when Belphegor finally left the room. "Fuckin' hate that guy."

"I know…" Michael trailed off, sighing.

They were silent for a while; Michael retreated, allowing Adam to take control once more, and the demon returned his attention to the book, flipping a page absently and finally starting to read again. They both finally relaxed, and Adam zoned out, tuning everything else out and shifting his focus completely to the book. He was almost at the end when Michael suddenly jolted and lifted their head, gaze ripping away from the book, toward the doorway of the room.

"I just got to a good part-"

"Something's happening at the barrier," Michael mumbled, abruptly shoving the chair back. Adam flipped the book over at once, laying it down open on the table before they'd even completely stood, and reached to push another chair out of the way as Michael headed for the doorway. Now that he was paying attention, he could hear it distinctly, Sam and Dean speaking in the distance while an unfamiliar voice explained that something of a rift had opened in the barrier, and that spirits were escaping. After a moment, though, Adam tuned them out again.

"Halo. Michael, buddy, it's not our problem," the demon insisted with a frown. But Michael just shook his head, having absolutely none of that, and checked the hallways before stepping back and spreading his wings out. "What are y-"

What happened next was abrupt; Adam only heard the sound of Michael's wings flapping, before the ground abruptly vanished from under them. Adam's knees almost buckled beneath them - but Michael held them steady and still as everything else around them blurred and vanished - and then, in the next instant, they were standing on solid ground again, no longer indoors, but right outside the barrier now instead.

"Fucking shit Michael you asshole warn me fuck!" Adam yelled, burying his face into their hands and letting out a low, muffled string of curses. Michael stopped to let him recover, giving a genuine, internal apology in response, and it took the demon a few seconds to compose himself from that. The nausea lingered long after he had dropped his hands, as did the rage. "Ass."

"I'm sorry," Michael insisted, "but-"

He cut off, jolting slightly when something suddenly rushed straight for them. The archangel staggered a little, eyes widening - but the orange streak darted upwards at the last second, zig-zagging through the air sharply, and took several turns before abruptly spiraling back down toward them again. Adam jerked them backwards just in time to avoid being hit, getting a glimpse of the streak in the process - it was a soul, and judging by its attacks, it wasn't a very happy one at that.

"Watch it, bitch!" Adam yelled, and Michael did his best to shush him - not that Adam was listening, he was still pissed at the archangel, thank you very much - as the soul dove back down toward them, emitting a screech in the process; Adam growled, and Michael jumped backwards, using his wings to pull them back even further.

Only for something to knock them forward again; Whatever it was had sliced at Michael's wings, bringing a startled, pained roar from the archangel as he stumbled forward. Adam turned at once, fury blinding him completely at that point, and lashed a hand out; It passed straight through the soul that had attacked them, unable to touch - but, seeming startled, it jerked away from him and shot upwards into the sky with the other one at once.

"Halo?" Adam demanded, slightly breathless as he spun around, eyes darting around warily now. The souls in the sky circled around each other, seemingly waiting for another chance to strike; the demon bared his teeth and clenched his fists, ready to fight.

"I'm okay," Michael huffed out, slightly strained, and lashed his wings backwards a little. He flinched, and Adam grunted a little, an uncomfortable, sharp jolt running down his spine; It didn't quite hurt, but it was bordering between discomfort and pain, enough for Adam to know that the archangel was most certainly hurting more than he was letting on.

"This is why we don't rush into battle, idiot," Adam ground out, still watching the souls as they flickered through the sky, diving down slightly on occasion but seeming reluctant to get close now. "One of these days I swear, you're gonna get yourself killed- you're gonna get us killed!"

"Adam, if they reach the school, people could die," Michael protested, flinching back slightly as one of the souls dove down toward them again, only to screech to a halt and jerk upwards before it could get close enough to touch.

"We could die!"

"Just- Alright, enough!" Michael raised a hand as one of the souls swooped down again; A quick snap of his fingers diminished it in an instant, a blinding, bright flash of light and a pained scream later, and then there was only one soul in the sky - who jerked a little bit higher into the air now that its battle partner had been obliterated.

And the archangel faltered the second the light faded; They would have fallen if Adam hadn't surged up to take enough control to keep them up, staggering a little but managing to stay upright. "What the fuck, Michael? What did you do?" He demanded.

That took a lot more than I thought it would, Michael admitted, a rush of anxiety flooding their chest from the angel's side as they turned their gaze to the remaining soul, who was now flickering wildly through the air, zig-zagging in random, distinct patterns and flying higher and higher up with each second that passed. There's only one left, though, maybe I can-

An earsplitting scream cut Michael's internal suggestion off; At once, Adam turned - and immediately took a few steps back, eyes widening slightly, pupils shrinking, as they focused on the sight in front of them. The archangel stiffened, anxiety intensifying.

At least fifteen souls had streamed through the rift, and more were following. Some of them lunged straight for Adam and Michael - only to dart upwards at the last second - but most of them retreated to the sky almost immediately, circling around them like vultures, ready to strike. Michael swallowed, and Adam took a few steps back, his heart dropping to his stomach.

Yeah, Michael muttered, I don't think I can smite all of them.