Ethan gently placed his hand on the small of Paige’s back, “Well we better hurry before ol’ Miss Jenson decides to take off without us” Ethan said, shooting a knowing look at Avery. “See you tomorrow Avery” He gave the blonde a smile as he ushered Paige past the pair towards the bus.

“O-Okay...” was all Avery could say as her eyes followed them.

The moment that they had disappeared behind a line of cars Avery crouched to the floor and covered her face in distress. That went… Horribly.

First and foremost, Ethan now thought that Azrael was her ‘boyfriend’, which, much to her dismay, she blamed herself for not thinking of and giving him a story this morning.

Secondly, Azrael told them that he was transferring into the school next week meaning that he would be around her constantly. Now, this was what she had imagined when she was still contemplating the contract. However, after seeing the reaction from Paige and Ethan, along with the drama Azrael had already caused with Aiden, she knew that his presence would bring numerous changes to her high school experience.

Lastly, he had told them that they both would be attending the party on Saturday. Although Avery had nodded to Sadie in the cafeteria, she still hadn’t fully made up her mind - what if it turned out to be a trap.

She took a deep breath as Azrael’s deep voice broke the silence, “Well, shall we go home then?”.

The question stirred something inside Avery. It was such an indifferent, normal question and she wondered how Azrael didn’t feel the conflicted energy radiating from her.

Avery pushed herself back up to her feet and turned to the demon with a scowl, “You just made a big mess! And you’re talking about just going home?” Avery hissed.

Azrael raised his hands in front of his chest, taking a step back from the small blonde human.

“Now hold on a second, I told you that you would need to make up a story for me. You didn’t have one so I made one for you” he retorted, looking her up and down with squinted eyes.

“That’s-!” She began, throwing an accusatory finger towards him as she thought about his answer, “T-That’s...”. Avery’s expression quickly changed back from anger to dread as she pondered her involvement in his story making.

“You’re right...” She grumbled pressing the palm of her right hand to her forehead as she looked down to the ground.

This wasn’t the first time that Azrael had been part of the Blonde’s outburst and each time was more amusing to him than the last. His lips curled into a smirk as he listened to her scrambled thoughts; What now? Ethan thinks that he’s my boyfriend. I didn’t want this, this was the very last thing that I wanted.

“What? Do you have a crush on him or something?” He asked, curiosity sparking in his eyes. “He looks pretty friendly with that bitch…” Azrael mumbled, bringing a finger to his lips mockingly, “what was her name?”.

At this Avery raised her hand and smacked the demon on the arm, knowing that the impact would not hurt him in any way.

“Stop reading my mind! I know it’s some kind of demon power that you have!” She assumed, glaring at him with embarrassment, pink returning to her cheeks as she thought about her crush on the jock.

“Stop thinking so damn loudly then” He responded, crossing his arms over his chest while giving her an annoyed look.

“I thought you’d be happy about me coming to school with you anyway, you were thinking about me sitting with you at lunch remember? Yeah, I heard that too”.

Avery raised her hand to try and give him another soft punch but he caught her wrist in his hand.

“If you hate it so much why did you go along with my story?”.

Avery’s expression changed to one of frustration and confusion as she looked up at the red-eyed boy holding her wrist in the air.

“I...” She mumbled, not having any other reason besides the fact that she couldn’t think of anything better, “It doesn’t matter! That’s the story now. We can just… I don’t know… ‘break up’ later” she sighed.

Azrael released her wrist, letting it drop back down to her side as she took another deep breath trying to register all of the events of the morning and afternoon.

It wasn’t until she saw the blur of yellow through the trees that she remembered that she too, was supposed to catch the bus home.

“Ugh...” another sigh escapes her lips, “This whole thing is a disaster”.

Azrael opened his mouth to make a snarky comment but thought better of it and instead ran his fingers through his hair before turning to walk away from the blonde.

Avery’s eyes shot up to him and with quick footsteps she followed after him, “Where are you going?” She snapped, reaching up to snatch a handful of his shirt in her fist.

“Away” he answered simply, not bothering to turn to the human trying to pull him to a stop with very little luck.

“Away…?” She questioned, trying to decide whether ‘away’ meant someplace not of this Earth, or just anywhere away from her. “Stop for a second!” Avery ordered with another tug and after one last stride, Azrael came to a halt with a sigh.

For a moment the blonde was confused but then she remembered that this boy wasn’t in fact, an annoying school friend who followed her around, but instead the demon who was contracted to follow her orders. That’s right… all it takes is a command.

Avery let go of his shirt and readjusted the bag straps that tugged at her shoulders, “Since you made me miss my bus, I command you to walk home with me!”.

Another low sigh escaped Azrael’s lips as he turned to stare down at the girl that held his contract against him on such stupid terms, “Fine”.

A smile threatened the blonde’s lips and she turned away from him, beginning towards the first street on her forty-minute walk home.

Azrael trailed behind the human, eyeing the back of her head every now and then between looking at the neighbourhood houses. This is nothing like the place I grew up, he thought, noting the green groomed front yards, white picket fences and brightly lit living rooms. Some kids were out with their scooters and bikes and shot him strange looks as they rode past.

As much as his ‘walking home’ was a command, he enjoyed strolling through the neighbourhood. It was relaxing and he knew that after his time with this blonde high schooler he would likely be thrown back into the disgusting smoky office of some big shot CEO who demanded more than they deserved. The thought brought with it a sigh of frustration, much like the way someone felt the Sunday night before another week of work.

Avery glanced back at the black-haired boy who dragged his feet behind her with a curious look.

“What do you want?” He asked, giving the human an indifferent blank gaze. She slowed down, waiting for Azrael to reach her side before she continued to walk.

“I have some… questions” She began, giving the demon a side glance to determine how he felt about her asking more questions. His expression was unwavering as he responded plainly, “Okay?”.

Avery thought for a moment, letting her gaze move back to the pavement below her feet. “Can you really… you know… read my mind?” She inquired, realizing that although she had already decided that he could, it was nothing but an assumption.

Azrael sighed, “Yes and no. Only prominent thoughts. Ones that are very clear in your head, but nothing else”.

“Can you read other people's thoughts? Or just mine?”

“Everybody, but I have to consciously listen to them”

Avery took a moment to process that information, trying to decide if there was any thought she had had around Azrael that she didn’t want him to hear.

“You haven’t thought anything too dirty” Azrael grinned as Avery shot him a glare, the exact reaction he was hoping to elicit from the girl.

“What do you mean ‘too’ dirty?” Avery repeated, the soft pink once again gracing her features. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to know.

“Don’t you remember what was going through your head when I caught you eyeing me while I was shirtless?” His grin turned into a smirk as he shot her a knowing look.

He- He heard that? Avery’s mind flashed to him standing at her desk, rummaging through her draws, the way his muscles moved under his skin, the ink dancing with each small roll of his shoulder blade.

She turned away from Azrael as she tried to shake the images from her head before he could hear her thoughts.

“Don’t look at me! Stop listening!” She managed, and Azrael’s eyes wandered back to the road, forced to follow her orders. His smirk didn’t fade as he imagined the kind of images that must be floating through her mind.

“From now on if I’m ever thinking something… like… like that, you have to stop listening!” She commanded.

Azrael sighed, way to ruin my fun. “Your wish is my command” he grumbled sarcastically as Avery turned back to him, her cheeks still crimson.

“Good. You can look now” She replied, now incredibly aware of what she was thinking about.

As Azrael’s eyes settled back on the blonde who had continued down the sidewalk he noted how incredibly robotic her thoughts now sounded; I’m not thinking about him. I’m not thinking at all. I am definitely not thinking about that night. Nope. Azrael felt a small smile tug at the corner of his lip, she's an idiot.

Azrael stayed silent as he eyed her, it wasn’t long until her thoughts stopped being so robotic. A human could only stay consciously aware of what they were thinking for so long. After all, it wasn’t a conscious action to begin with. He decided not to intrude further as her thoughts wandered back to their encounter with the boy called Ethan. Seems like a classic fucking jock, those guys never like me.

“What are we going to do...?” Avery began, not turning to look at the boy that followed her, “You know… next week when you come to my school”.

Azrael didn’t know what Avery expected him to say, he was just going to start following her to school and meet her at lunch. “What do you mean?” Azrael asked, not expecting her to have any idea what she meant either.

“Well… I’ve never had...” She mumbled, fiddling with the straps of her backpack, “I’ve never had a boyfriend so...”. The embarrassment was clear in her voice.

She refused to turn around and let the demon behind her see the blush on her cheeks, although she was sure that he was aware of it considering he could read her mind.

At this confession, Azrael’s eyes narrowed into a squint but after a moment they softened with a sigh, I should have known, considering her reaction to me taking my shirt off in front of her last night.

“Don’t overthink it. I’m not gonna do anything, I’m just gonna hang around you and act like your friend”.

Avery’s expression set into a frown at those words. She wasn’t expecting him to do anything and she didn’t want him too.

But those last four words; ‘Act like your friend’ brought with them a heaviness in her chest. She kept forgetting he was nothing but a demon who had to hang around her because of a contract she signed, he wasn’t a ‘friend’, he might never be.

That thought made her heart sink to her stomach.