A.N.: Admittedly, one way in which I am not like Harold is that I am not a smoker. Harold smoking isn't because I think it looks cool per se, but it's kind of a symbol of "I don't give a shit." Some people think that "I don't give a shit" is equal to "cool" and maybe it is, but I don't know. I don't give a shit.
Justin fired a blast of golden energy from his wand, hitting the Ether Bunny, drawing its attention in much the same way that Mike had earlier with his firearm. It was easy to effect this, because the Ether Bunny was already looking for the group.
"You wanna dance with me, huh boy?" Justin said, sounding strangely like the stereotype of a southern good old boy. "Come and get it!"
Justin took off, running toward the Ether Bunny, but also in attempt to pass it the other way. He wanted to lead it away from his baby sister/lover. He knew that it was a gambit - the Ether Bunny could easily pick him up with his large claws, and then toss him into his gaping maw.
"I have to admit," Harper said to Harold as she ran. "I'm not sure what I can do here."
Harold considered that. "Mike!" he cried. "I'm going to take the Sleepwalker to safety!"
"A'ight," Mike said, running on ahead with Jackal, both of them following Justin.
Harold led Harper away. They ran into a coffee shop, which had mostly been abandoned due to the large monstrosity that was outside. The only one left was the bored cashier. He glanced up at Harper and Harold, and then back down. Harold was still at the lower frequency where normal humans could see him, mostly for Harper's sake. He motioned for Harper to take a seat and went and ordered coffee.
"This is weird," Harper said when Harold returned with the drinks. "A giant bunny-monster is raging outside and I'm having coffee with an angel."
"I've seen weirder," Harold said, sipping his coffee nonchalantly.
"I'd imagine." Harper looked at Harold closely. "You know, you're kinda cute for an angel." She blushed a deep crimson. "I mean, I realize that being an angel, you can't exactly date, but..."
Harold grinned. "Yeah. It's appreciated, though. I mean, angels do tend to be pretty...well, besides the weird-looking ones."
"Isn't it sad, missing out on the love and romance aspect of life?"
"Nah. I mean, it's way different to be an angel than a person. As an angel, it's literally not a concern of yours at all. No more than, say, going to college is a concern of squirrels. Not a perfect analogy, but nothing is."
"I have to admit, I'm torn about Justin dating Alex. I mean, not just the incest. Like I said, I had a pretty big crush on Justin. But if I do love him, shouldn't I want what's best for him? Shouldn't I want him to be happy, no matter the cost? Moreover, I love Alex too - like a sister, I mean - and shouldn't I want her to be happy? And I'm even dating Zeke, but I still feel jealous. And then I feel terrible for feeling jealous because it feels like I'm betraying Justin, Alex, and Zeke by doing so."
"Eh, don't feel bad about feeling jealous. It's natural, really. You're human, after all. You know what humans without emotions are? Sociopaths. I mean, some of them have feelings like jealousy and whatnot, but the truly emotionless are terrifying."
"I still don't feel closure with Justin, either. I dunno, I feel like I want him to know how much I love him and how much he means to me, but that would be super awkward, and wouldn't feel right to me to do that to Alex. But like I said, without that, I don't have the closure and I feel like I won't get it any other way. At least I'm not in love with someone who doesn't know me. Haha, imagine if I were in love with a celebrity. I can't think of a single way that I'd be able to tell them that without it coming across as creepy and stalkerish. Thankfully I'm not a guy and older than the object of my affection...that'd be far worse."
"Yeah, if you were in that position, I might say you'd need professional help," Harold said. "But anyway, the funny thing about closure is that you feel like things aren't certain, right? It's like the old saying, 'all's well that ends.'"
"All's well that ends well, you mean?" Harper asked.
"You're lucky if it can end well. Most of the time it's enough that it ends," Harold said. "The problem is though, nothing really ends."
"Huh?"
"The universe is cyclic, and your life is forever. True, there is change and an evolution to the universe, but they are just stages, and the last stage is infinite."
"That sounds hard to deal with," Harper admitted.
"By the time you have to, you will be prepared for it," Harold assured her. "In fact, it can't happen until you are."
"Oh. How's that help me now?"
"I didn't say it would."
"Oh. So I'll never get closure?"
"Well maybe. You would be surprised at how your feelings can change. Sometimes gradually, without you noticing it. Sometimes abruptly, and for no apparent reason."
"Being human sucks."
"Yeah, it kinda does," Harold agreed.
"So, it's weird - I thought we left our bodies at Michael's office, but here we are," Harper said, changing the subject.
"Hmm? Oh, right," Harold said. "No, this isn't your real body. It's a physical manifestation of an Astral Body. Hell, you could get 'killed' right now and you'd just wake up in the office. And before you ask, no, it wouldn't actually kill you because of the cutting of the silver cord."
"That would explain why Justin's being so reckless."
"I'm not sure he's actually aware of that, at the moment. I mean, I know he would be if he stopped to think about it because he did cast the spell to manifest his Astral Body. But he's probably too worried about Alex to think of that at the moment."
"Wow, that's dedication."
"Yeah. Also it'd be hilarious if he thought he was going to die for her, and then didn't."
"What! Hilarious?" Harper cried, surprised that an angel would suggest such a thing.
"Well yeah, in a certain way."
"I guess. Still kinda weird."
"Yeah, somewhat fucked up I suppose," Harold said.