Matt's POV

The crowd erupted in another roar as Noel went for the winning hit that would take our team to state again for the second year in the row and I had no doubt Noel planned on putting a new state champion's patch on her letterman. Two of the people in the back row dove for it, but reacted a moment to late as the ball hit the floor, and the game was won. Parents, students, and teachers cheered with all our might at the regionals win. Coldwater High School's volleyball team would be the top seed once again. Noel's parents couldn't make it tonight because they had gone on vacation to France, though Noel said they felt guilty for unintentionally missing her regionals games. I jogged off the stands and after three volleyball rhymes in a row about victory, Noel noticed me, and threw herself into my hug as I light spun her around. She giggled and kissed my cheek before I put her down still keeping my arms around her and her arms around my neck.

"I am so proud of you baby girl," I said as we kept our foreheads pressed together and she grinned with one of her sunshine smiles that I loved the most. She looked at her most gorgeous when she had that smile on her face.

"We should go out for—" Noel didn't finish as all the lights went out in the gym. A gunshot rang out and I felt the force of it miss my shoulder by only a couple of inches. The bullet ended up lodged in the floor and I could see the eerie blue glow of devil craft emanating from it. Noel noticed it to and I felt her push closer to me. From what had been cheering just a few moments ago had turned to fearful screaming. I could hear people pushing against the exit doors that seemed to be jammed by something on the other side. It was complete darkness and all I could feel was Noel's arms around me.

The doors that lead into the school instead of out of it might not be blocked. We need to try through there. I told her and she moved her hand down my arm until her fingers clasped with mine and I pulled her toward the direction of the doors. The advantages of being a football player were that you trained everyday to push through people and I did it now. Noel kept her other hand hooked around the waistband of my shorts as I made our way through the crowd until we found the cove that should have the doors. The door opened and I pulled her through. We sprinted toward the nearest exit doors and found them to be blocked as well. I rammed my shoulder into it, but the door barely gave the tiniest budge before something reaffirmed its weight on the other side.

"Matt, I heard footsteps, down that hall; I swear to God I heard footsteps!" Noel snapped and I pulled her behind me as I backed away from the exit doors. Apparently the entire school didn't have power because everything was darkness out here too. I could hear the footsteps in the art hallway too. We backed up, doing our best to remain quiet, and I could tell we were making our way toward the main lobby. It was impossible to know if whoever it was had turned the corner until another shot rang out and Noel yanked me down with her where it would've lodged in her head. I yanked her into a run and we could hear the footsteps pick up pace as whoever it was followed. In the cinderblock that we passed, I could see once again a blue glowing bullet.

We need to split up. They're after me, not you. I'll keep running while you test exits. Tell me when you find one. Noel tried to pull her hand from mine, but I just held on to it that much tighter.

No, I'm not leaving you alone with whomever the hell that it behind us, not now, not ever. I could feel Noel's resistance, but then she squeezed my hand in agreement. No matter what, I had to keep Noel safe, none of it mattered if I didn't keep her alive, and with a little less priority, myself. She'd once told me she didn't want to go anywhere I wouldn't be and that choice went both ways when it came to us.

Remember that football move I showed you where you go two steps to the right and then go straight across the other way. That's what we're going to do now. Instinctually, I knew two halls split off at the same time, so I took two steps toward the right one, and then we sprinted down the left one. I heard a curse word from our pursuer as he lost valuable time. We took the stairs at full speed using the walls to let us know when they twisted to continue going upward and we made it to the second level. Noel's hand found mine again as we chose to go right this time, still using the wall for guidance until I found the room I was looking for and we went inside. Luckily, the doors were kept unlocked so the janitors could get it. I locked it behind us and let go of Noel's hand and ran to the windows. Below us, there were huge bushes that had been planted when the school opened. They should be able to cushion our fall enough to avoid major injury. I shoved the rolling book shelves out of the way as I cranked one of the windows as fast as I could. I felt Noel's hand rest on top of my free one before the door gave a rattling shake. I finally cranked the window open enough for us to get through, but it was too late as the door burst open, and the gun was pointed directly at Noel.

"Little speed demon, aren't you?" It was the feeling of a fallen angel that shouldn't exist that went down my spine. I took a step toward Noel to put myself between her and the bullet, but I heard the dangerous click of the gun that told me a bullet had been loaded in the chamber, and I stopped where I was. The fallen angel was poking against my mind, trying to find an opening, and I closed everything off, and that meant closing off from Noel too. From the faint moonlight coming in through the window, I could see her eyes fixed on the fallen angel, and her eyebrows pull together in concentration. The hand that was still over mine, I gripped tightly, and she squeezed. The last thing I ever expected was to get reassurance from her and not be the one giving it.

"I can feel you trying to get in my mind, Noel, daughter of Patch and Nora, and I'll tell you right now, it won't—" He didn't finish as he groaned in agony, stumbling into the nearest desk. He shot his arms up and over his head, tilted the gun back, and shot two times in his wing scars before collapsing to the ground.

"Two more are in the school and they're probably coming this way, so I suggest we go out the window," I stared at her for a moment before realizing she must've picked through his mind for answers. I helped her slip out of the window and she landed on the bushed a lot more gracefully than I did when I went out the window. We were careful as we walked around the school to get to my Dodge Ram and found the police had gotten everyone out of the gym. Acting as if nothing had happened to us, we got to my truck, and both heaved an enormous sigh when we got in. I didn't bother turning on the truck as I leaned against the window and pulled her into my arms, she was straddling my lap, and I could feel every breath she took until they fell in sync with mine.

"They knew where I went to high school and somehow knew my parents were out of town. His name was Tristan, the other two that we didn't see were Sam and Dabria. He wanted me dead, something about that I was too powerful, and there were blurry images in his mind of where he'd been, but it was like he even didn't want to remember.

"How'd you get him to shoot himself?"

"I didn't necessarily have to invade his mind; I just hooked on to his energy, and controlled him like a puppet. Dad showed me how. It was a trick he couldn't do, but he knew the mechanics behind it," She kept her head under my chin, one of her hands on my shoulder rubbed back and forth while the other had a grip of my t shirt in her fist.

"Do you think they knew where you live? I whispered next to her ear.

"It didn't seem like he did. They were betting heavily on killing me here. I know where all the guns are at in my house and the security system is state of the art. Dad had them set up all the electrical work for it inside in the basement, so that no one could cut the power from outside. It's safer than anywhere else at the moment," She kissed my jaw before easing upward so I could see her better. I cradled her face in my hands and saw the fear fade from her eyes as she pushed her face into my touch, lips grazing over the inside of my wrist, and my tense muscles finally relaxed. Noel was safe, we'd made it through, and we were all right.

"We'll go to your house tonight. I already told my parents that I was spending the night at Josh's who is actually having Taylor spend the night, if you know what I mean, so my alibi checks out. You should call yours," Lucky for her, Noel had put all of her stuff in the truck before the game, nothing would need to be retrieved from the police, except for a lonely water bottle that she hated anyway. I turned out of the parking space, Noel sitting in the middle, and watched her call her dad's cell phone.

"No answer," She did the same with her mom's cell phone and shook her head, "They're probably busy going to a five star restaurant or climbing the stairs of the Eifel Tower or other things that I try really hard not to think about. They'll call when they see they missed me."

"They'll kill you if they find out I spent the night," It wouldn't be the first time, but they'd always been in the house when it happened. Noel smirked at me before laying her head down on my shoulder as I set my free hand on her lower knee as I took my place in the long line of cars that was being inspected by police officers before being allowed to leave.

"You did kind of run around school with me from a deranged fallen angel; I think that gives you leniency points. Besides, I don't want to sleep without you to keep me safe," She said it normally enough, maybe even a tad bit mischievous, but I knew she was doing her best to hide the fear that was in her mind still. I kissed the top of her head, easing up next to the stern looking officer.

"Anyone injured?"

"No sir,"

"Did you catch a look at the shooter?"

"No sir,"

"Get home safe," He said and I was able to drive onto the main road. Noel only lived about a mile from me and the short route lead us right by my house, but I didn't want to risk my parents spotting my truck, so we looped around the long route until we pulled up in the driveway. Noel opened the security app and selected something, causing the garage door to open, and I pulled inside next to her Chevy Avalanche. We hesitated, both searching for any mental signs of fallen angels, but everything was quiet in her house when we finally entered. She used her app again and lights came on in the living room, kitchen, the main level hallway, and the upstairs hallway. She trailed behind me as I did a thorough search through her entire house, but found that there were no signs of anything evil. We ended up back in the kitchen and she pulled some leftovers out.

"Your girlfriends are checking in, asking if you're okay, no one was hurt except that Sadie has a bump on her head which Uriah is taking good care of, winky face. Are all of our friends having sex tonight or is that just my impression?" I set her phone back down at the end of my comment to look up at her from where I sat at the dining table. Noel watched me for a long moment, trying to hide whatever was going on in her head, before bending over with a laughing fit. I couldn't help but follow suit until I was gripping the edge of the table, my stomach aching, and yet I couldn't stop until she finally pushed off the counter and came over to me. She sat down on my lap, pressing her hands on either side of my face, and then kissed my forehead.

"I love you Matt, I love you so much," She kissed my forehead again before we rubbed noses and she stood back up. I held to her hips though and she ran her fingers through my hair, waiting for me to say something.

"I love you too Noel," She smiled before leaning down and sharing a quick kiss before she went back to the counter to heat up leftovers. I ended up with a plate of two deep fried chicken breasts, mashed potatoes, and fruit jello. Noel had turkey, rice, and the rest of the fruit jello. We didn't speak while we ate or even as we did the dishes. It was midnight, so I scooped her up, a laugh escaping her lips, and carried her upstairs to her bedroom. The walls were a navy blue and a light turquoise with a white trim. Her bed had a white canopy over it with navy blue sheets and white fleur-de-lis pattern all over it that was outlined in turquoise, custom made and silk sheets to go with it all. Noel disappeared in her bathroom and it didn't take long before I could hear the water in the shower running. I took off my shoes, socks, and shirt before getting under the covers to relax. One of my football jerseys hung neatly, the neck of the hanger hooked around the doorknob to her walk-in closet, and I smiled. The water stopped and a few minutes went by before she came out of her closet in one of my old t-shirts that I'd let her steal. It came down just passed her butt and she smiled at me before crawling under the covers. Her head rested between my chest and shoulder, one hand wrapped around my arm, the other running up and down my chest, and our legs tangled together.

"You know, Taylor thinks it's freaking insane that we sleep like this, but don't sleep together," She murmured after a while, a finger carefully tracing the grooves of my abs.

"Taylor doesn't really get a say in what we do, now does she?" I whispered back, feeling the dip of her spine through her shirt, and curve of her hip.

"Abstinence till marriage is a very foreign term to her, she kept making fun of Coach in health class every time he gave us the abstinence speech, and said he only talked so much about it because he's never done it," I chuckled because Taylor's sense of humor was so opposite of Noel's.

"Well it's not a foreign term to us," I responded before breaking out in a huge yawn. She laughed and pulled up her body until she flat out laid on top me, her elbows propped up against my chest as she looked down at me. From under her shirt, she pulled out a plain silver chain that had a promise ring hanging from it.

"You know, I feel your heartbeat, and I know I'm safe. Even if we were surrounded by a thousand armed fallen angels' hell bent on my destruction, as long as I'm with you, I know I'll be okay," She smiled when I did and I pushed a couple of stray strands of hair back behind her ear.

"I love you gorgeous,"

"I love you too handsome," She laid her head down in the middle of my chest and I stroked her hair until I fell asleep myself.

AN: You do a great job, but I'm going to say it anyway, please review!