Mike hated going to the mall.

He didn't always hate it, despite what one might think. Coming to the mall on Christmas was normally a fun time for him, and on a few other days he liked coming to this money-draining hellhole.

Today, however, wasn't one of those days.

Mia had dragged him to the mall that day because the demon wanted a part of shoes that she just had to have. She had thrown him into the back of her family's car that day after finding out online that their local shopping mall had them in stock. Her parents, less than thrilled about him tagging along with them, drove the pair to the mall, so their child could get what she wanted so badly.

The singer could never understand girls, and their obsessions with getting fancy shoes, or makeup, or other typical things they did. He had no interest in it, though he put up with it all due to his partner being so into it. He didn't understand why Mia had insisted that he go along with her, when she was just going for some shoes. It wasn't like she was going to be gone terribly long.

It would have saved him the nasty glares and overly passive-aggressive comments by her parents on the way there too, but she had promised to get him some yummy treats after it, so he didn't put up much of a fight. It would all be worth it at the end of the day.

He regretted that choice right about now.

The second the two got into the mall, Mike got a bad feeling; like he was about to have the worst time of his life. His red-haired girlfriend grabbed onto his hand, dragging him toward the store that she needed to get to.

The store, that Mia was rushing towards, was deep within the mall. The feeling that Mike had gotten earlier had intensified, making a knot form in the pit of his stomach. The mall, as he looked around, was packed today. No matter where one turned, there was a high chance of bumping into someone with how crowded it was. Due to Mia's eagerness to get her shoes, she had no problem with nearly crashing into strangers while pulling her boyfriend behind her. That caused him to have people he didn't know brushing up against him or pushing him to get him out of their way.

The deeper the couple got into the mall, the louder the crowd got. Chatter echoed around the building, people speaking loudly, so others could hear them over the other noises. Music blared over the speakers, which on any other day, he wouldn't mind, but right now, it was too loud. He could only hear random gibberish and a mix of other odd sounds from it. Other noises began to mix in as he started to spiral. Echoes of footsteps against the floor, the vending machine flaring to life, kids yelling and shrieking—the sound of mall games sounding from where they played out in the open—. They all cut into his nerves like a hot knife.

He could hardly think anymore. Why were he and Mia here again? It felt like they had been walking for hours at this point, but in reality, it had only been five or so minutes since they ventured off to the store. He was too out of it to realize it, the sense of time was out of his control. Mike's breathing picked up slightly, not enough to be noticed by his girlfriend, but enough to cause him discomfort.

Mike's stomach twisted into another painful knot, it grew ever larger. Mia moved her hand around his, locking their fingers together. If it had been any other day, he would have been happy to hold her hand, but right now, it only made him more uneasy. Mia, being a demon, had long, sharp nails, that dug into the rapper's flesh. The singer knew that his girlfriend couldn't help it, as it was a part of her, even if she cut them, they grew back quickly. She didn't bother to cut them due to that. On any other day, Mike wouldn't mind it, but right now, he wanted nothing more than to tug his hand away from her.

Yet, he didn't want to hurt his red-haired girlfriend's feelings. What kind of boyfriend did such a thing? Despite how badly he wanted to pull away, he kept his hand in hers, allowing it to rest in its own pocket dimension of pain. Mike's movement became sluggish, his legs heavy as stone. Walking became difficult, as his feet were beginning to refuse to continue walking. He just wanted to curl up into a ball and disappear. All he could hear was a static fuzz, nothing but empty noises at this point. It tore through his subconscious like paper in a paper shredder. Tears began to well up in his eyes that he had to fight back against. The haze was so bad that he didn't even realize that Mia had called his name. He didn't notice the second time she did, either.

Mike noticed that he and Mia stopped walking when a hand touched his shoulder. He jerked back in surprise, glancing up at his girlfriend. She was looking at him now, having turned around to face him when he'd been more lost in the haze. She gazed at him with concern, lowing her hand that she had placed on his shoulder. The demon glanced around for a moment or two, before she gently grabbed onto her boyfriend's hand, making sure her nails didn't cut into him.

Mia tugged him along like before, this time it was gentle and tender. He followed, stumbling on his weighted feet that felt as though he was beginning tied down. She took him to the nearest bathroom she could find, not caring if it was a girl's bathroom, a man's, or gender-neutral. That was the last thing on her mind right now. She took him to one of the stalls, shutting the door behind them once they were both inside. She placed the slide down, gesturing for him to sit on it. Mike did so on trembling legs, taking his sweet time. She knelt down in front of him, not caring how gross it was. She had bigger things to concern her than a dirty bathroom floor.

"Mike? Are you okay, honey?" she whispered, trying to be as quiet as she could. Mike could hear her now, since there was no one else in the bathroom with them, and the noise outside was muffled. Still, he found it hard to focus.

Breathing heavily—perhaps even more since earlier—the singer shook his head, clenching his hands on his lap.

Mia paused for a moment or so, studying the look of her boyfriend. Having finally noticed just how bad off he was, she wanted to kick herself. What kind of girlfriend was she? She should have noticed it sooner, and done something much quicker than letting him get this bad off. She could make up for it now, and she would.

"Mike, sweetheart, can you try to breathe for me?" she asked, placing her hands on her lap, not daring to touch him any further right now. She didn't want to make it worse.

Mike shook his head, letting out a tiny whimper. His lungs were starting to hurt, his breathing still too rapid for his and his girlfriend's liking.

"Come on, honey... Will it help if I do it with you?"

He nodded slowly.

"Okay, in for four, hold, then out for five... Repeat after me, dear..."

Mia began doing just as she said. She drew a breath in, and held it for a few seconds, before releasing it for five seconds. She repeated the action once more, in through her nose, out through her mouth then two, then three... Mike found it hard to follow along for a few moments, but soon enough, he got the hang of it. After a while of doing the breathing exercise, the singer's breathing was almost normal.

"Great job, honey!" she praised, lifting a hand before she stopped. She looked at her boyfriend, unsure if she could touch him yet. "... Can I touch you?"

Mike didn't reply right away, but she was willing to wait until he did. Once he gave the A-Okay, Mia placed her hand on top of his, gently rubbing circles around with her thumb. She put her other one on his head, tenderly running her fingers through his short blue locks that were visible under his hat. He squeezed his eyes shut, continuing to breathe to calm himself down.

The duo sat in silence for a while, every so often someone would come into the bathroom, and Mia would hiss at them to leave, but made no move to leave the stall. When he got his breathing under control, Mike opened his eyes, his body relaxed from how tense he'd been before. The singer leaned into his girlfriend's touch, earning a small smile from her.

"Do you wanna go home?" Mia asked, moving her hand from his hair to gently cupping his face.

Myke's eyes flashed with guilt. "But you didn't get the shoes you wa—"

"The shoes can wait. You're far more important to me," she said, cutting him off. She brought their foreheads together, looking into his blue eyes, before giving him a quick kiss on the lips. It was far too short for his liking, but the tiny gesture made him more at ease than he had all day.

"Yeah..." Mike whispered. "I wanna go home..."

Mia nodded as she stood up, dusting herself off from sitting on the disgusting ground for so long. "Would you like me to carry you?"

Heat rose up to his face as Mike nodded, a tiny smile forming on his face. The red-haired demon chuckled before she knelt down, picking up her small boyfriend, and holding him close to her. She stepped out of the stall, having him press one ear against her before she covered the other with her hand. She pushed the door open, exiting the room, so they could go home.

Mia was his savior. She might have been a demon, but to Mike, she was an angel. Finding her was the best thing that ever happened to him, even with all the trouble it caused him at times. All of it was worth it.

"I love you," Mike whispered.

Mia looked down at him, a smile forming on her face. She leaned down to give him a kiss on his cheek. "I love you too, Mike."

So worth it.