I blink in surprise at the suddenly invasion of light and suddenly feel cold. When I come back to my senses, I realize why. Fang has shot into the corner of the room, keeping very still. What did he say? If he stays still for long enough, then he can become invisible. I'm thinking that this may be the best thing to do, considering the staff might barge in here at any moment.
I swallow at the sight of three imposing figures in the doorway. They're three of the girls who were on my team today at baseball. They aren't small girls either. I have a feeling that the bump in my jaw won't be the only injury I will be incurring today.
They take a few steps into the room, and I find myself grateful for the irregular shape of the single room. Fang is safely hidden away behind one of the walls. But that won't be the case if they move further in. I steal a glance to see… nothing in the corner where he had just been, and breathe a sigh of relief.
"So you think that just because you're schizo, you deserve better treatment than the rest of us?" One of the girls snarls, moving towards me. I instinctively back away, my fear of being touched overpowering my command to still my feet.
"Well anyone can be schizo, even me. And do you know what my imaginary friend's telling me right now? She's telling me to beat the shit out of this attention whore," she grins wickedly. She's obvious the leader of the small pack invading my room. One glance at the girl on her left, and the door is closed behind them.
"You think just because you've been here for longer than us, and because you're schizo, that you deserve special treatment? Well you're about to get special treatment. And nobody's going to hear your screams." She holds up a grey rag that looks as though it may have once been white. It stinks of the chemical they clean the floors with and I almost gag.
I back away until I realize that there's nowhere to go in my room. Then I feel air whip around the room, and gentle fingers holding my shoulders. I don't flinch. I turn to see Fang, his wings flared and a dangerous look on his face that I've never seen before. The room grows darker marginally, and he looks like an avenging angel. My guardian angel. Somehow, I tear my eyes from him and look around to see the three girls frozen, mouths ajar.
"Leave her alone." Only three words were spoken from Fang, but they contained more menace than I could've ever imagined. I had a feeling that if Fang could, he'd be growling right now. The girls just nodded quickly with fear rooted in their eyes, and almost clambered over each other to get out of the room.
The door swung open with a bang, and their whimpers echoed down the hall. I look back at Fang, "The nurses are probably going to check on the noise." Fang doesn't say anything, merely stops moving entirely. After a few seconds, I see his image start to fade, and before I know it, I can only barely see his outline.
Footsteps grow louder outside my door, and two nurses burst into the room. "What's going on here?" For a moment I worry that they see Fang, but their eyes aren't filled with wonder or fear, just stern dissatisfaction and a hint of weariness. I shake my head, and sit down on the far side of my bed, so if they were to come to me, they wouldn't have to be anywhere near Fang.
They check my room, doing a visual sweep to make sure that there isn't anyone hiding in the closet or bathroom. Once they're satisfied that there isn't anyone hiding in my room, they turn off the lights and leave, but not before shooting me a look filled with displeasure and pity. Pity that I was "schizophrenic", and displeasure that it was their time that was wasted. They left the room briefly afterwards, sighing at the tray that was almost completely untouched.
The door closed behind them quietly, and I allowed myself to sigh in relief that Fang wasn't found. The bed dips behind me as he sits on the other side of it, and there's silence between us for a moment. Then, "Are you not hungry?" he asks. I pause for a moment, trying to decide if I am or not. I shake my head, "Not hungry." He says nothing, then the weight on the other side of the bed is gone. He moves silently to sit on the floor in front of me. He's always silent, and moves with the grace of a big cat. A predator. My guardian angel.
He cocks his head to the side slightly, "Do you always get picked on by them?" His words are soft and gentle, but I can hear a controlled anger buried deep beneath them. I shrug, "Most of the time they leave me alone. I guess they weren't feeling happy that they lost to the other team and decided to take it out on me."
Fang becomes immobile for a few seconds before he takes a deep breath and releases it slowly. It seems as though he's about to say more about it, but catches himself and leaves the topic alone. His eyes are focused on my plain blanket, and I take this chance to study his wings. Relaxed, they form two black arches behind him, brushing the floor where he sits.
I muster up all my courage. "C-Could you show me? Your w-wings?" my voice trembles, and I curse it for sounding so weak. He only stares at me for a moment before shrugging. He stands a few feet away from me. Slowly but deliberately, and all the while gauging my reaction, he extends his wings, nearly taking up the whole width of the room. The pitch black wings span at least 15 feet, and in the moonlight, I see lean muscles along his wings. The room gets darker by a little, I see that his wings are a very faint purple where the light shines on them. They're beautiful.
"They aren't really," I hear his say quietly. I don't realize I've been speaking. His tone isn't bitter, but nonchalant and a little embarrassed. I twist my mouth into that small smile, and stand up myself. I approach him very slowly. "May I… t-touch them?" The last time I had asked, everything in his body had screamed, "No", but he had been silent. He stays silent for a long period of time. I am about to apologize and move away, but his eyes finally meet mine, and he nods imperceptibly. I raise my hand and lightly let my fingertips touch his wings. When he doesn't shoot away from me, I brush my fingers down the outline of his wings.
Even with that small touch, I am completely amazed. His feathers are soft and smooth, but I can feel the immense power hidden in his wings, and the flexes and pulls of his muscles as his wings move beneath my fingers. I let myself smile a bit more before lifting my hand from his wing.
As soon as his wing no longer touches my fingertips, I feel myself wanting that contact again, but I make myself sit back on the bed and regard him with a small smile. He looks confused. "People are usually… afraid. Are you not?" He speaks slowly, as though trying to find the right words. I shake my head a little, "I've been seeing you since I was eight years old. You've done nothing to harm me. I see no reason to be afraid."
I curse the harsh cold that winter nights bring and feel a shiver run up my spine. He sees it and pulls his wings behind him to sit next to me on the bed, not as far as he had been a week ago, but not too close either. One wing extends to wrap gently around me, and I shiver again out of the warmth that he brings me. We sit in silence for what seems like hours, and all the coldness has been chased out of my body. He retracts his wing and I slip into my bed, feeling the springs press into my back.
All of a sudden, I feel like I could sleep for days on end. I stifle a yawn. "Will you be here when I wake up?" I don't expect him to say yes, and he doesn't. With a small shake of his head, Fang looks almost regretful. "I need to take care of a few things," he says quietly, "I'll be gone by the time morning comes." I smile sadly and nod. At least he'll be here to chase away the dreams, and for the first time, I feel like my trembling has completely vanished. I close my eyes, his proximity and warmth comforting me, and drift off into an easy sleep.