The morning was met with a thick fog outside, gray clouds obscuring the sun once again. Olivia’s room remained relatively dark, as she was curled up in bed with an odd dream lingering in her head. People usually dream vividly, and have at least a full awareness of their dream’s environment to interact with. In her case, she didn't even feel like she was there; it was as though she was the spectator looking in. Standing from afar, Olivia could still perfectly recognize the silhouettes.
The entire area of the dream was swathed in darkness, for there were no visible structures that vaguely resembled the real world at all. No grass, no dim lighting from street lights, no sky, no moon, no faint outline of nearby buildings. It was simply the pitch black darkness that only encompasses a nightmare. An unseen source of light cast spotlights down on the figures; Olivia could see herself, on one knee, holding someone who looked like Vee in her arms. Her doppelganger was weeping softly, but her sobs echoed loudly throughout the empty space. Although there was no rain sweeping the area, the sound of rain hitting the grass hummed-- the only white noise that accompanied a vast expanse of nothingness. Another spotlight appeared behind her dream-self to reveal Nicor, looming over her; his hair obscured his face. Vee’s limp body changed to that of Damien’s, although Olivia was too far away to determine how he was dead or even injured. Olivia wanted to run towards the light and dispel the illusions before her, but she found herself unable to move forward, essentially frozen in place, cementing her as an intruder of her own mind’s constructs.
Each time she tried to move forward, she felt some kind of unseen force stand before her and push back with great resistance, urging her to simply watch.
“Humans don’t ever change,” Nicor’s voice didn’t echo, but it cut through the tunneled ambience like a knife.
“They never learn. Just fragile little playthings that break each other-- ribcages nursing broken hearts that can’t keep the promises they make.” She watched him walk around her doppelganger, who kept her head down and continued to weep softly. It was difficult to ascertain whether she was ignoring him or not.
“You cause your own suffering after all-- at the mercy of your hubris,” his face became visible as he talked down to the doppleganger. It looked strange. He had coal-black buttons for eyes, with a crudely drawn mouth forming a smile end-to-end. The crayon-mouth never moved while he was talking.
“That’s not true… we make each other happy too,” the doppelganger finally replied. Her voice was strained to a raspy whisper. “Our existence doesn’t have to be about pain.”
“But some people can only learn through pain.”
Olivia felt a cold hand touch her shoulder, startling her into looking behind her. The weight of the hand lacked any gentle touch that a human would have; it felt hard, synthetic even. What stood before her was a young woman that reminded her of the doll that was in her room. But she looked artificial, for her hands had a series of lines that looked like articulated joints on a ball-jointed doll. Her skin was pale and had the same appearance as porcelain without the reflective finish. Olivia could very faintly make out spiderweb fractures around her eyes and at the joints of her arms. The most distinctive feature about the strange woman was her eyes-- they looked like glassy obsidian gems framed by sets of long eyelashes. Her delicate face had a set of cupid’s bow lips that formed a gentle, sympathetic smile.
“Why do you think he left this place, child? You, an interloper, are powerless. You can’t lend him any strength.” As harsh as the woman’s words were, her tone was gentle. She embraced Olivia in a gentle hug, patting her head like a mother consoling a child, but the action felt stiff. It felt as though the doll woman didn’t really know what a hug was, and was merely mimicking the motions. “You poor thing. Fate is such a cruel mistress for tricking you...” After a moment of silence on Olivia’s part due to her inability to speak for herself, the doll spoke for the last time.
“He doesn’t belong in your world anymore.”
Before Olivia could really begin to understand anything she saw or heard, the dream was interrupted by the sound of her blaring alarm clock, jolting awake with a cold sweat. Her mind was so fixated on the strange dream that she nearly forgot why she woke up to begin with. Olivia glanced over at her nightstand where the clock stood-- it was thirty minutes until seven o’clock. So foggy was her mind, it didn't occur to her that she intended on waking up early to finish her math and history homework. The girl made a move to lay back down, tiredly not caring about why she woke up early to begin with, until she saw the doll from last night was tucked right under her arm. How did that get there?
“I should do my homework. I'll be in big trouble if I don't.”
It was a tiny, quiet voice, and sounded just like Olivia’s. But she never opened her mouth. Olivia, too sleepy to seem startled by a thought she didn't create in her head, obeyed it and slumped toward her desk. For a minute, she hesitantly stared at the dolly sitting so innocently laid against her pillow, and internally scolded herself for being so silly as to consider it wasn't her own brain. After all, simply thinking is a relatively involuntary action.
My face hurts like hell…
Olivia idly touched her face and winced at the area around her nose bridge. It was still tender from the previous day, and she could feel some healed scrapes that were left from her face hitting the bark of the tree. No doubt would she find obvious bruising, but she hoped that it wouldn't be so bad after putting ice on it. Forcing herself to wake up and concentrate, Olivia plopped the math textbook down on her desk and began to work her way through the assignment. After a few easy problems, her mind started to wander back off again, so she resorted to just looking up the answers on her phone. Usually, she was genuine about her schoolwork, but after a hellish two days where she could have no restful sleep, Olivia felt entitled to a day of being lazy. The assignment she couldn't cheat on was the history assignment, which required her to actually read the book. After another half-hour of working hurriedly, it was already time for her to make her way to school since the first class began at 8:30 a.m. sharp.
I didn't even get my outfit out of the closet. Whatever. I don't care.
Agitated at how disorganized she was for the day, Olivia just put her hair up in a messy ponytail and slipped on a pair of insulated sweatpants. She wasn't concerned with getting in trouble at school for not wearing something that wasn't indicative that she practically rolled out of bed. Veronica and Damien were her primary concerns once she woke up a bit more. The morning rush made her forget about the strange dream plaguing her night; the vague memory of it upon waking was quickly drifting out of her conscious as the need to begin her daily routine took priority. Neglecting to have checked her phone, there were plenty of new messages on it-- most of them from her mother, presumably sent during the widespread outage Capricorn had caused, but never got through until the late hours. After swiping those aside, she found a few new texts.
6:00 a.m. - Mom
“I’ll be at work til 8 tonight because of meeting and big to-do list, left money on counter so you can buy urself something for dinner. Be safe, love you, XOXO!!! <3”
Olivia’s mother worked as health administration at one of the bigger hospitals in Seattle, so she would usually get home around sunset. But today, it seemed like a busy day full of more tasks than usual. Olivia paid no mind to it, although she felt too paranoid and restless to just nap in her house all alone. She figured she could just find something to do with Vee and Damien after school… if either of them felt like it.
The other new texts were sent earlier.
11:18 p.m. - Vee
“Glad ur okay. Hope you didn’t send this before the big outage, cause I just got your text. I’m coming back to school tomorrow, so don’t forget to let me borrow your notes for Mrs. Brown’s class! 
”
11:19 p.m. - Vee
“Also, sorry again about making you follow Damien home the other day… I really didn’t think this would happen. Maybe you should steer clear of him since he has that thing with him.”
‘Maybe you should steer clear of him.’
Olivia’s stomach sank as she read that line, the words echoing in her head. Her initial shock dissolved into a numbed feeling of indignation. Forcing herself to swipe out of the message onto the next, she instinctively deleted the second message together. She didn't want to look at it or even think about it.
“What am I gonna do?...” she muttered under her breath. The situation was too complicated to be thinking about so early in the day. What Olivia needed to do was process everything one step at a time. The existence of demons, the Zodiac spirits like Capricorn, Damien, Vee’s trauma. All of it was something she had to deal with separately. By herself, for the most part, and this she understood. There were no new messages from Damien, which was to be expected. He was only gone for a year and went radio silent on her end, but it was also possible he wasn’t able to get her phone number a second time. After the way she treated him last night, it was probably for the best he left her alone until the morning regardless of whether he still had her in his contact list or not.
...
“Oh… it’s Friday,” Olivia realized. Maybe she could invite Damien over and sort things out by acting like normal kids for a couple of hours. Maybe even go to catch a movie somewhere, or play games at her house. But then, she might upset Vee. The constricted feeling around her lungs from the building anxiety distracted her again, so Olivia perished the thought out of guilt before finishing preparations to leave for class. It took all of Olivia’s concentration to stay aware on the road but she arrived to the school on time. To her relief, nobody paid any attention to her outfit or the hastily applied makeup that at best obscured the bruising, but looked off anyway. She didn’t want to draw any attention to herself as she rushed through the hallway towards her locker.
After retrieving her notebooks, Olivia briskly walked to her social studies class. The classroom wasn’t completely full of students, but they chattered away mindlessly to each other and paid no heed to her. For this class, all the desks were aligned such that one half of the class sat in rows off to the left while the right side mirrored the arrangement. It was meant to discourage chatter between students and facilitated a better learning environment for discussing the short documentary they were supposed to watch today. Olivia was tired and her eyes practically ached with fatigue; it would be a good chance to catch a quick nap in class without being detected. Damien sat in the last row of chairs whose backs touched the bookshelf that stood against the wall, and glanced up at her for a second before hiding his gaze. Olivia figured it was because he wanted to keep his distance, but if anything, she didn’t want to feel lonely.
She plopped her backpack down on the empty desk next to Damien. The sudden movement near him made Damien flinch in his seat, letting out an “oh, hey” as she seated herself. She dragged the bag off her desk and onto the floor, offhandedly noting how heavy it felt for some reason.
“Morning,” Olivia greeted, propping up her head with her hand under her jaw. Damien narrowed his eyes worriedly.
“You don’t look so good. Are you feeling okay?”
“I’m...” she abruptly yawned. “...Fine.”
Damien continued to look her over worriedly. “... have you been sleeping properly? Or are you usually this sluggish-looking?”
Olivia snorted. “How do you with a life like yours?” It didn’t sound hostile or accusatory; a comment merely made in jest.
“Hm. Well, I got used to it.” Damien chewed on the metallic part of his pencil as he watched more people walk through the door. Class was in ten minutes, so they both must have figured out the same thing-- to at least act like normal teenagers talking about normal things, and dissolve this suffocating distance between them even if only temporarily. He noticed none of them even glanced Olivia’s direction as they took their seats, much to his surprise. He figured she was a social butterfly, but that really wasn’t the case; Veronica suited that picture more. Catching himself doing his nervous habit, he stopped and attempted to hide it.
“S-so, um, do you… have a place where I could eat lunch? I, uh, I’m still kinda new here, so I haven’t really made friends to sit with.”
Olivia hummed with a smile on her face. It was small but it made him nervous to meet her gaze for some reason. “You’re in luck. The table I sit at has an opening. A couple, actually. Though, I figured you were the kind of guy who wouldn’t have trouble making friends.”
“I thought the same about you!” Damien said, feigning indignance as a dramatic joke. “But looks like we’re both terrible at socializing without someone to help us with it. Doomed to be introverts forever, I guess.”
“Speak for yourself! You had to at least have one friend at your old school, or else you would’ve gone mad,” Olivia laughed before stopping. “Where was your last school anyway?”
There was a moment of silence where Damien hesitated to answer. “New York,” he finally said. “I didn’t go to school in the city though, it’s in a small town. Way smaller than here in Seattle.”
Olivia’s eyes widened in awe and for a moment she drew the attention of other students. “No way, you went to New York!? That’s all the way across the country! Did you go to Times Square?! I’ve always wanted to go there! Actually… I’ve always wanted to go traveling, but with my mom’s job and stuff, I’ve never done it.” Her cheeks began to flush after the admission. “There’s a ton of places here in Washington I’ve never been to. Seattle feels like I’ve only explored a little of it.”
The few students who were occupying seats near them turned around curious about the conversation.
“Whoa, you've been to New York? What’s it like?” One asked.
“I bet it always smells like smog over there. It's probably the most polluted state around!”
Damien seemed caught off guard by the sudden inquiries, so he had to muster up his strength to not make it look apparent. “Oh, uh, we did get to go on field trips a couple of times, to New York City. Like I said before, my school was in a small town, so we only went on those kind of field trips around the winter and the spring. If we did well on big exams, they'd let us have a day to go there.”
“Wow, really? I wish we could do that… and yours was a public school?”
“A boarding school, a-actually. We didn’t really go on those kind of trips all that often, they were always sticklers about learning above all else.”
“Hah, figures! Is it nice around the places that aren’t crowded with people and buses?”
“Well…”
Olivia noticed he was getting more hesitant the more they pressed on with the questions. He almost looked like he had said too much by the time he let that slip. After he answered more of their relatively mundane questions about his stay in New York, using shorter answers, they returned to their own conversation. Harmless questions, but with his predicament, he must constantly have been on guard about any aspect of his life outside Seattle. She heard a quiet sigh from under his breath.
“I’m not that good talking to strangers…” Damien rubbed his neck and slouched a bit in his seat. “But…”
“What?”
“...Is it true you haven’t done a lot of stuff here in Seattle? There’s plenty of cool things to do, it’s just a matter of picking a day and doing it. With the weather being as rainy as it is and all,” Damien ventured while poking his index fingers together, trying his best to hide what he felt was a blush coming on. The suggestion made Olivia seem more awake, with her expression brightening even further.
“It’d be even more fun if I had an old friend come and do it with meeee~” She singsonged. “Vee’s a party girl, she’s not really into sightseeing and stuff. We usually do stuff on Fridays like going to the movies, but I don’t know if she’d feel like it. N-not that it’s cause of anything from the other day, it’s just, you know… she wasn’t at school yesterday,” Olivia stammered to clarify her previous statement, keeping her voice at a low whisper so nobody else would hear.
“Yeah…” Damien averted his gaze for a moment, the memory of what happened with Veronica putting an instant damper on his mood. “Is she still sick or did she decide to come today?”
“She texted me saying she’d be here today, so...” Olivia didn’t want to bring up anything Vee had sent her regarding Damien, and from her understanding, she planned on keeping her distance from him for a while. “We eat at the same table, but…”
“Let me guess,” Damien interrupted, “she doesn’t want to talk to me?”
“... probably not,” Olivia whispered back. “But it’s just you at school, so I think it’ll be fine. Mostly. As long as he’s not with you, she doesn’t have anything to be afraid of. Don’t take it personally.”
“None taken.” Damien had begun to write something on a clean page of his notebook before turning it for Olivia to see.
It’s kind of why I was trying so hard to stay away from you, the message said. A risky statement that was too personal for any eavesdropper to catch. They both exchanged glances before Olivia reached for the notebook to write her reply, but she was stopped by the distinct buzz of the school’s bell-- class had to begin. Mr. Stuart, their social studies teacher, ushered in a couple of tardy students to clear out the halls as he entered the room, closing the door behind him. He was a favorite among the students since he was the only history teacher that could make the subject interesting enough to learn about. He was no pushover however; despite his laid-back demeanor, he didn’t tolerate sloppy work of any kind and especially wasn’t one to let slackers doze off at their leisure. Mr. Stuart usually relegated them to the very front row, depriving them of any potential Z’s they could catch. He broke his silence after the mandatory Pledge of Allegiance and reading of the day’s announcements were performed.
“Good morning, everyone. It’s Friday, meaning it’s Documentary Discussion Day. Pass in your worksheet about the Industrial Revolution so we can watch the video on the Gilded Age and have our class debate...”
The sound of shuffling papers swiftly filled the room, students passing their papers to the person next to them so that the person at the end of the row could hand in the stack. Olivia had been furiously writing down the remainder of the answers during the announcements, only turning in her sheet after the stack ended up on her desk. She passed the pile of papers to Damien, who slapped his on top before letting Mr. Stuart take it with the other stacks. Preemptively, Olivia reached into her backpack again to take out her pencil case, but reflexively jerked her hand away when she felt a foreign object laying at the bottom of it. It felt soft like yarn. Lowering her head down to examine the contents of her bag, she was startled when she discovered the doll from her room was sitting atop of her pencil case. Olivia exhaled through her nose, scolding herself for getting a scare out of that.
Since when did I put that stupid dolly in there? I really must be tired… she thought before covering her mouth to stifle a yawn. Geez, I’m definitely sleeping in tomorrow so I can retain my sanity. At this rate I’ll be afraid of my own shadow.
Olivia quickly zipped the bag back up hoping nobody would notice it and gingerly set the pencil case down on her desk with her notebook in case she needed to take any notes. Knowing their teacher, he’d probably put details from the video on the next unit test just before winter break. But such expectations were lost on someone who hasn’t slept properly in the last two days; a nap sounded much more enjoyable, especially since it was Friday. Olivia could even feel the burn of sleep deprivation on the edges of her eyelids, enticing her to close them and rest her eyes just for a moment. Damien watched her get into a comfortable position to sleep while pretending to be awake before turning his gaze toward Mr. Stuart trying desperately to get the documentary to begin projecting on the dry erase board.
……
Capricorn walked down the halls barefoot, still expressing her annoyance with Cancer treating her like a child. “Stupid crab-boy…” she muttered. She wanted to know what Cancer teased her about, but it was impossible to ask Libra about it without drawing suspicion. Capricorn wasn’t sure if what she did would qualify for punishment of any kind from Libra. Cancer was her mentor, so maybe he was doing it to scare her? Was she really going to be punished as badly as he was making it out to be? She couldn’t tell-- Libra was strict, but she was also kind and understanding.
“It is our job to watch over the humans when Zeus and his legion cannot, but you are strictly forbidden from directly communicating with those who know not of the other realms,” was what Libra once said. “So you must exercise caution when I send you on Overworld missions.”
“Don’t humans know about angels and demons already? What’s the point about making sure they don’t see us?” Capricorn remembered arguing.
“Thousands of years ago, back when many Gods and Goddesses lived in the Overworld alongside humans on Mount Olympus, it wasn’t such a concern. We were the neutral beings that served to protect humans when they were subject to the manipulative will of Gods time and time again,” Libra said. “That was before the War of Ruination. Many fled Mount Olympus in anticipation of destructive battle between Typhon, the Monster King, and those who decided to stay and defend the Overworld. Us included.”
“Oh yeah! Feels like I forgot about that…”
A small, knowing smile formed on Libra’s face, although her eyes were obscured by her long fringe. “It’s not a bother. When the Zodiac spirits are reborn, we lose our memories of the past life in exchange for a new one. I am the exception since I must keep balance of many natural orders.”
“The Gods agreed to leave the Overworld to the humans after the world ended, didn’t they? It’s why we have to deal with rogue demons running amok all the time, ‘cuz Hades is a lazy bastard,” Cancer chimed in.
“Your unnecessary comment aside, yes. But we are the closest thing humans have to neutrality in terms of divine interventions. As far as they are concerned, Gods watch over them from an unseen realm since it’s been so long since they have walked the Earth. The oracles also lost their purpose, so the history of human life before the War of Ruination disappeared with time. Based on what Gemini has discovered from her observations of humans since then, they know little of the ancient world lost to the earth’s tomb. The modern humans are a unique case, to say the least. They have not needed our divine guidance since the Gods have left, so it is more important that we perform our unseen duties and contain the scourges that plague the Overworld. Humans don’t see angels and demons as tangible beings; instead, it seems that they’ve been reduced to mere legend. The human world has practically forgotten about us except for the Hunters.”
“Maybe it’s best it stays that way. Hunters like Solomon needn’t be resurrecting the Old World to mortals that don’t need to know,” Cancer said.
“Hm…” Capricorn remembered the conversation was a serious matter in Libra’s eyes, so she needed to ask someone that she knew was able to keep secrets.
“I know! Virgo might still be here.” The spry spirit made way down the seemingly endless hall of pillars leading to Virgo’s part of the Sky Temple. Virgo was a spirit that tended to keep to herself when she wasn’t given any hefty tasks to deal with, and Capricorn often found her in her garden rather than her actual room she used for sleeping. Taking a sharp left at the end of the hall, she could hear the faint strums of a harp echoing through the archway, indicative of the Zodiac’s presence.
Virgo’s garden was a product of her magic that manipulated the earth, so the room was an extension of her Earth constructs. The floor was an endless blanket of grass soft to the touch and cool under Capricorn’s bare feet, swathed in a sea of flowers with vibrant shades. She could hear the hum of flowing water from a distant pond being filled by a waterfall coming out through one of the walls. Capricorn passed by many pink and purple wildflowers of many types, soon approaching an area filled with white morning-glories that upon close glance, gave off a warm glow. Seated on a tree trunk in the middle of the flowers sat the Zodiac spirit Virgo with her back turned to Capricorn.
Virgo was a young maiden with a warm overtone of skin only the sun’s rays could bestow. Her short, wavy hair stuck up in small tufts, kept tame by a crown of morning-glories that sat on her head. Today, she wore a pale orchid-colored dress with many translucent layers. Attached to her arms were three cuffs that had the same type of light fabric attached to them; her ethereal attire piled up at her feet, but did not obstruct her playing of the large harp nestled in front of her. Each note was gently plucked, delivering a soothing lullaby to anyone within range. Just the harp alone made Capricorn feel instantly relaxed, but after she stepped forward and closed the distance between herself and Virgo, the continuous flow of notes stopped. Virgo looked over her shoulder to look at the silent spectator that entered her peaceful space; her deep emerald eyes were dull, lacking the shine that one would normally see. As though her eyes alone absorbed the light. This effect made her rather gentle gaze look intimidating to anyone who wasn’t used to looking her in the eye.
“... I was practicing,” came her quiet voice.
“I-I know. Sorry. I just… wanted to talk.” Capricorn sat down on the grass next to the trunk Virgo was sitting on. “It’s kind of a secret only me and Cancer know about, so you won’t tell anybody, right?”
“That depends,” Virgo replied. “Did you do something bad?” Her hands gently traced the notes she was originally playing, without plucking the strings as she kept her eyes trained on the younger Zodiac. “Libra will be angry.”
“W-well, I don’t really know if I did something bad. It’s just something I need to talk to somebody about that isn’t Libra. You’re good at keeping secrets.” Virgo was one of the higher-ranked Zodiacs; she was both experienced and powerful after all.
A quiet sigh came through Virgo’s nose before she smiled. “I suppose you’re right. I never did say Cancer was the one who damaged the pillars during his sword training.” The memory caused both of the girls to chuckle softly with each other.
“Then I’m counting on you not to tell anyone! So this is what happened…”
...
...
...
Olivia had enjoyed her small nap during social studies class, and luckily managed to get away with it for about 20 minutes while Mr. Stuart used the time to grade papers. Damien didn’t have such a luxury for napping at school, so he decided to do her a favor and share his notes with her on the footage so that she wouldn’t be lost on the off change she was called on to participate in the discussion. Neither of them had any more classes together for the rest of the morning, so they merely gave each other awkward glances and nervous smiles that were pinched a little too tightly. Damien almost let Olivia walk to her next class without any other exchange of words, but put his hesitation aside to stop her by grabbing hold of her jacket sleeve. She looked at him over her shoulder, surprised.
“Yes?”
No resistance. Damien wasn’t expecting that after their ‘conversation’ from yesterday. It caught him off guard that she wasn’t trying to keep her distance or put up a front of hostility. For a moment, he almost lost the courage he mustered to catch her attention for a minute.
“Would it be okay,” he started out slowly, not wanting to stumble on his words. “If we sit together for lunch?” Even though they discussed the matter before class, he wasn’t sure if she had already forgot about that and didn’t want to make things uncomfortable later.
Olivia blinked at him with a blank expression before her mouth pulled up at the corners with an apologetic smile. “I already said it was fine, dude. It gets boring sitting with the same people everyday anyway. See you later!” She took off to her next class before Damien could say anything else.
He exhaled through his nose with a lopsided smile.
I guess she isn't that upset with me, but we really do need to talk about it at some point.
The only problem was that it was a risky endeavor and he already just wanted Olivia to forget about everything, as impossible as it was. He wished for both her and Veronica to simply not remember any of it, lest it follow them forever. Normal people weren't supposed to know what he did. Anxious about the eventual confrontation, he tried his best to focus through the rest of the classes until the lunch break. When the time finally came, he made a beeline for the cafeteria to get the best food first. His nerves began to affect his appetite, so Damien chose to snag the first tray of chicken nuggets he could see. Accompany that with a handful of smiley-face tater tots and a milk carton with an apple, and he had a simple enough tray for a stomach whose sensitivity was hardwired to his nerves. Although, his last school was in a small enough town that had more appetizing selections, but that was because it was a private school that was better equipped with its budgeting choices.
Never know what you got until it's gone, huh… Damien joked to himself. Then, he turned around to see how full and lively the cafeteria was. Teenagers bustling between seats like a school of fish. But he was unable to spot Olivia in the sea of heads until he caught sight of her arm. She was waving him over to a table where Veronica was also sitting. A few other girls he didn't recognize were also occupying the seats around them. They didn’t look like people Olivia knew, so he figured they were Vee’s friends.
“Thanks for savin’ me a spot. Place is packed,” Damien said to Olivia while sitting down. He gave the girls staring at him curiously a shy smile and and a wave. “Oh, uh, hey…”
“Who’s the new guy? Is he your boyfriend, Olive?” One of the girls teased, causing Olivia to go red in the face. Veronica didn’t say anything, choosing to take a bite out of her lunch and avoiding any comments.
“No! We’re just... friends,” Olivia stammered, pressing a hand onto her cheek to try and hide it. “He’s not a new kid anyway. He moved back after spending a while in… New York?”
“Huh? Was that the kid you used to hang out with until like… a little after eighth grade graduation?” This one was a girl Damien somewhat recognized, since they went to the same middle school. He forgot her name, but knew who she was relative to Vee and Olivia’s clique.
“Y-yeah, we’ve been basically friends since we were in first grade.” Olivia laughed nervously, her flush fading. Damien let her do most of the talking so that he could simply eat his lunch in peace. After some back and forth banter, Veronica finally broke her silence, although unexpectedly.
“Geesh, you girls are too nosy! It’s been forever since they last got to do anything together, so we should leave them be!” Vee said boisterously. Damien didn’t think she would do it considering the air between each other was rather tense. “The line got pretty short, so you’d better snag what you can since you’ve been blabbing away.”
“What? No way! Quick, Violet, they’re gonna run out of the good stuff!”
“Shit! That’s what you get for sticking’ your nose where it doesn’t belong and asking dumb questions!”
Vee rubbed her temples at how annoying her friends could be, but she was relieved to buy them some time alone as a small group without any outsiders nearby. “Sorry about that. They’re just so… ugh sometimes.” She handwaved them dismissively.
“Vee…” Olivia trailed off.
“Before you ask, I’m fine now.” Veronica looked at Damien with a slight grimace. “As long as that thing isn’t around you, we’re cool, alright?”
The no-nonsense statement threw Damien off. “Of course. If I knew you guys were there, none of that would’ve happened. I’d have made sure of it,” he managed to get out.
“It’s fine, I guess… at least, if Olivia is letting you sit at the table, it’s fine with me. I know you guys have been friends longer than I have with either of you.” Veronica clapped her hands together. “So let’s lighten up the conversation cause I don’t wanna dwell on this any longer. You got the notes I asked you to bring, girlie?”
“Oh, uh, yeah.” Olivia awkwardly shuffled papers around in her backpack, trying to keep Damien from spotting the dolly out of avoiding any further embarrassment. Quickly, she pulled out the notebook containing her history notes and slid it across the table, zipping up her backpack swiftly after.
“Nice, nice!” Vee took out her phone and began to take photos of the notes for later copying. “I already went around all my classes’ rooms to get the homework I missed yesterday. They’re giving me an extension since I called in sick, but it’s all due Monday,” she reported.
“Aw, man… does that mean you can’t come and hang out at my house tonight?” Olivia pouted. “Assuming you’re even gonna do it all tonight anyway.”
“Hey! I’ll have you know I have a relatively consistent work ethic,” Veronica said. “I’ve got enough homework that I can’t leave it for Sunday like I usually do anyway. So hanging out is a no-go for me tonight.”
“Do you guys hang out every Friday?” Damien asked.
“We try…” Veronica replied.
“My mom’s gonna come home kinda late today, so… I don’t want to be alone in my house…” Olivia whispered the last part of her sentence into Damien’s ear since he was sitting close by. “Are you free Damien? It’s okay if you--”
“I’m free tonight,” Damien responded without thinking. He blinked hard realizing what he just blurted out. Olivia cocked an eyebrow, not expecting him to have said yes at all.
“Really? D-don’t bring--”
“I won’t. He’ll be fine having my house to himself as long as I come home before my mom does. Which is usually around 9 or 10 since she’s always working overtime,” he affirmed. “I’ll just call my house phone and he’ll probably answer it.”
“I see… then, I’ll give you a ride back to my house. Mom left money so I can get myself dinner, but we should be able to stretch it for a pizza and some snacks. I got drinks at home.” Olivia began to talk excitedly at the thought of finally getting to spend some time with Damien like normal people for once.
Veronica looked between the two with furrowed eyebrows, looking a bit annoyed at the idea of letting a magnet of misfortune like Damien get anywhere near Olivia. Straightening out her expression, she haughtily chimed in. “Guess I won’t have to worry about my lil’ Olivia being alone to herself. Nothing is worse than having a free night and nobody to hang with. Have fun, cause we’re supposed to get more rainy weather tonight. No surprise there though.” Vee said with a lopsided smile. In the end, she wanted nothing more than for Olivia to be happy, and to forget about the ordeals she was going through for a little bit.
“Say,” Vee asked Olivia, “What’s up with your face? It looks kinda funny around the nose. Did you forget to put makeup everywhere else?” She joked.
“And what’s up with your neck? It looks like you used the wrong shade to cover up the marks,” Olivia retorted.
“Can you see the bruising?” Veronica paled.
Olivia held up her hands nervously, smiling apologetically. “N-not at all, I was just joking, Vee.”
"Geez! Don’t mess with me like that!" Vee puffed up her cheeks. She glanced up and saw the girls come back with their food, starting up another conversation about nothing in particular. Damien looked over, noticing Olivia never got a tray from the cafeteria. It looked like she ate whatever she found in her pantry; a meager granola bar and a juice box. Worriedly, he slid his tray over towards her and began portioning all the food that remained on his tray. Olivia began to reject his offerings.
"I’m fine, I’m just not feeling well…"
"You literally slept through class this morning and you’re eating like three bites of food. I don’t mind sharing,” Damien insisted. “I doubt you ate breakfast either."
“You’re such a mom,” Olivia groaned before yawning impulsively and taking a bite out of a shared nugget.
“Hey, it’s called having a
routine. At my old school, we had to do exercise all the time to stay in shape, so I’d pass out if I didn’t eat breakfast beforehand,” Damien said indignantly. “I’m also on the swim team. A couch potato like you wouldn’t understand,” he joked before sticking his tongue out childishly at her.
“I very much enjoy a low-energy lifestyle! Granted, I’ve never been one to eat breakfast in the morning. I’m never hungry around then…”
The rest of lunch flew by with little boredom, as the teenagers kept each other amused and relaxed, at least until the bell buzzed to send them back to the classrooms. Olivia, however, was so excited about the evening’s prospects that she couldn’t pay attention in her other classes. Giddy with delight, she was busy writing down ideas for what snacks they could buy and what they could do once they would arrive at her house. Movies? Old shows? Video games she hadn’t taken out for some time? There were many options, but it was perhaps easiest to stream some old comedy shows that they used to watch together. Hopefully he was still into them, and if not, they could play some multiplayer games on her old console that’s still plugged into the wall. Olivia scribbled down a short list of shows they would easily find through the on-demand services available, and luckily wasn’t caught by her teachers for not paying much attention to the subject matter at hand. It just looked like someone taking diligent notes. The minute the school’s bell rang to announce the end of the school day, Olivia rushed to her locker for a quick exchange of notebooks and textbooks before making a beeline for Damien’s locker.
“Hey! Ready to go?” She asked him excitedly.
“You know it! So, what’s the plan? Are we gonna raid the grocery store first?”
“Yup! I got the list and everything. We just need to be careful about our budget.”
“Bah, that’s easy. We’ll just get everything off-brand. They taste mostly the same anyway,” Damien said as they walked through the halls, heading into the parking lot with the oncoming flood of students ready to celebrate the beginning of their weekend. He took pride in being a bargain hunter.
“Sounds good to me. As long as we get enough change for pizza.” She quickly unlocked the doors to her car for both of them to get in. Damien took out his phone and called his home phone. After a few rings, it finally picked up.
“Yeah?” Nicor’s husky voice was on the other side.
“Don’t wait for me. I’m going to Olivia’s house, so feel free to do whatever you want. In the house,” Damien emphasized.
“Who’d have thought you’d be up to pretending like you’re a normal teenager? Well, it is the big city, so you’re bound to get bored doing the same-old same-old. Have fun, kid.”
“You’re awfully… cheery.”
“Because I get the day off without any brats like you bothering me! I get to do whatever I want and relax! A demon’s gotta have some R&R too, y’know. Even if I’m an Exile.”
“Yeah yeah.” Damien hung up the phone and sighed in relief. He was kind of glad to have such a slacker demon like Nicor, because he was content with leaving Damien alone for a short while. They’ve been forced to be in the same space ever since they started the Contract, so a little breathing room was nice. “Alright, I’m ready to roll.” The two exchanged genuine smiles before beginning the drive to the supermarket in search of their customary party food.
