“Wait so your name is actually Mirror?” she asked in disbelief. “I thought you just gave me a fake one or something.”

“It’s not my real name,” I admitted with a smile, “but I don’t remember my birth name, so in a way I gave you a fake one. Why’d you get named Raven?”

She scoffed, handing me her basket of clothes and pulling down the ladder on a fire escape. “What’s wrong with my name?” She didn’t give me time to answer. “Kidding, I know it doesn’t fit. My mother named me before I was born. She didn’t know I’d end up like this.” She gestured to herself as she turned around and grabbed the basket back, balancing it on her hip while she climbed up with one arm.

“White ravens are a real thing, you know?” I pulled myself up after her. “They’re bigger, smarter, and stronger than other ravens.”

She chuckled. “I’m none of those things. And why do you know that?”

“Because I know things.”

She hummed and without warning dropped her basket and trapped me against the railing of the emergency stairs. “Or maybe you’re just hitting on me,” she smirked, her face a breath away from my own. “Calling me pretty, stalking me, telling me I’m smart.”

I smiled, relaxing against the railing. “I still maintain that I’m not stalking you.”

“But you don’t deny the rest of it.” She pushed herself ever closer.

I cocked an eyebrow. “I didn’t agree either.”

She pulled away and scoffed. “Ugh, you’re one of those,” she muttered mockingly.

Without warning, I clamped a hand over her mouth and wrapped my other around her waist. Her eyes went wide, and she started to push against me. “Shut up,” I whispered harshly. “You were wrong about the sweep time.” She nodded, her gaze turned frantic, and I gave her her space back.

Part of me wished I’d had the time to ask her what she meant by “those."

“Where?” she whispered back, crouching in the shadow of the wall. “I don’t hear them.”

“You wouldn’t.”

She frowned, but kept her voice low. “What? Because I’m some mistake? Because I’m a fucking albino I’m supposed to be less human? Less capable? Fuck you.”

I shot her a look and rolled my eyes, but I doubted she could see in the dark. “Not everything’s about you, thief.”

It probably wasn’t the best way to diffuse the situation, but it worked.

“There’s a boy two blocks up the street,” I whispered. “We passed by him on our way here. He’s hiding behind a dumpster. Lacks the commitment to get in.” I rolled my eyes again. Kids like that didn’t deserve to make it through a night on the streets, and if I was right, he wouldn’t. “The guards will reach him first.”

I nudged her toward the next set of stairs, making sure to keep my footing in case the metal rattled when I moved. “When they do, we climb. You’re gonna have to leave your clothes, but the roof has a lip around the edge, and as long as we keep low, they shouldn’t notice us.”

She looked at me with a mix of anger and confusion, and I was glad my eyesight was good enough to catch it. “I’m not leaving my clothes. I literally just washed them.”

“That sucks for you,” I said, lacking in sympathy. “I for one would rather not have to get in a fight tonight, but if you’re really so desperate...”

She sighed, and we sat in silence until we heard the screams. And then we ran, as quietly as we could, up the rusting metal stairs to the roof. We both collapsed to the ground as soon as we made it, not daring to look over the edge and risk being seen by the guards.

“We shouldn’t have to stay here all night,” I murmured. “They’ll have to take the boy in at some point.” We could still hear his screaming and the guards jeering and laughing. They weren’t even half demon and they were complete assholes. I at least had an excuse.

The screaming was incessant, and God it was annoying, but then we heard a gunshot echoing through the cold night air and everything fell still again. Raven flinched, evidently upset by this course of action, but I just smirked. Served the damn kid right for being a wimp.

Despite my rather unsympathetic mindset, looking over at Raven laying there shivering with her arms wrapped tightly around her torso made me feel a little guilty. She probably wasn’t as amused by the situation. I scooted closer to her--just barely--so that my elbow bumped hers. Her pounding heart slowed a little and I almost smiled at my success.

After a long hour or so of pure, mind-numbing silence, I sat up and looked around. “We should be good for tonight. I think we can go.” As I moved to stand up, I glanced down the street where they had grabbed the boy. He was still there, face down on the pavement in a pool of his own blood.

I turned Raven the other way before she could see. “I’ll walk you home.”

She protested, saying something about her basket, so I held up a hand, telling her to stay, and went down to grab it for her.

“Why did they sweep so early?” she asked. “I was sure they wouldn’t make their rounds for at least another couple hours.” Her eyebrows were knitted together in confusion, and I couldn't help but find it adorable.

“Gotta change things up sometimes,” I said, attempting to hand her the basket of clothing. She shook her head and gave me a mischievous smile.

“You said you’d walk me home. Doesn’t that mean you’re supposed to carry my stuff for me?”

“This isn’t a movie,” I sighed. “And we aren’t dating. But sure, I have nothing better to do anyway.” I'm not sure why I let her have her way, or why I took her home that night, but I really didn't have anything better to do. I have since attributed my charity to boredom.

She grunted as she lowered herself onto a balcony of one of the many rundown apartment buildings in town. I could have sworn the roof was going to cave in as we walked across it, but it was still nicer than a lot of places. I wasn't sure how she managed to afford it.

Raven slid the door open and walked inside. I doubted she wanted me to leave her laundry outside, so I stepped in a set it on the floor. I was about to leave when she turned back to me wrapped in a blanket and tugged her hair tie out.

It was mesmerizing watching her hair fall down across her shoulders. She seemed to glow in the moonlight, and if it weren’t for the red eyes, I might have believed I met an angel.

“I have a feeling,” she said, snapping me out of my trace, “that you didn’t need to wait for me to take you home.”

I leaned back on the door frame and crossed my arms. “And what makes you say that?”

“Well.” She took a step closer. “For one, I didn’t manage to take you home.”

I smiled a little. “We can’t blame that entirely on you.”

She took another step. “And you seem to be just fine dealing with the night sweeps on your own.”

I shrugged. “I may spend a few nights on the streets now and then.”

She stopped directly in front of me, a smirk across her face. “It’s not hard to find a place to sleep, you know,” she said, a suggestive lilt to her voice.

I raised an eyebrow, leaning down to meet her eyes. “Are you offering?”