The sound of the bus screeching to a halt in front of me snapped me out of my daze.

Beside me, Kael made a small, very undignified squeak, mouth

falling open.

Yup.

Definitely his first time seeing a bus.

I was pretty sure he would’ve walked right up and examined every inch of the thing like a museum curator inspecting a newly unearthed artifact if I hadn’t grabbed his sleeve and yanked him back.

“What is this metal construction?” he demanded, eyes wide.

“There are humans inside? Is it a public carriage? Is it alive? What’s it called? A car? A taxi? Answer me, goddammit!”

I sighed and rubbed my brow as the relentless assault of questions continued, the Lord-knows-how-old demon poking me like an overexcited preschooler.

“It’s called a bus,” I said flatly. “And get in before it leaves.”

“The mighty oracle finally answers,” he grumbled, stepping onto the bus and then promptly freezing, unsure what to do next.

I had to physically drag the demon to a seat.

Quite embarrassingly, I might add, because every single person on that damn bus was staring at us.

I wanted to vanish.

When we finally found an unoccupied seat, I breathed a sigh of relief, escaping at least some of the stabbing stares from the passengers.

Unfortunately, Kael did not believe in silence. Or simply decided to ignore such action.

“What’s that little girl bowing to?”

“It’s a phone.”

“Oh.” He nodded thoughtfully. “One of the condemned souls spoke extensively about longing for one of those. He described it with the desperation of a junkie.”

That earned us more stares.

As the bus moved through the city, Kael sat wide-eyed, soaking in everything the buildings, the streets, the people. He smiled at random things, pointing occasionally, like the world had personally decided to entertain him today.

New to everything.

New to the world.

The evening sun cast a warm glow on his brown skin, the light catching in his eyes in a way that made my chest feel… strange.

It was peaceful.

It was beautiful.

Until it wasn’t.

“How’s this?” Kael asked suddenly.

I looked up from rummaging through a rack and froze.

He was holding up a criminally red, completely see-through mesh V-neck no dignity, no shame, no laws of decency acknowledged. A dumb grin was plastered across his face.

I stared at him for a solid second before yanking it from his grip and shoving it back onto the rack.

“No,” I said flatly. “You’re visiting my brother in a hospital, not a gay club in Florida.”

“A what now?”

“Forget it, Kael.”

He shrugged and wandered straight toward the spandex section.

Oh no.

I lunged after him, nearly tripping over my own feet. Great.

After another round of scanning, bantering, and me repeatedly stopping him from committing fashion crimes, we finally paid and left. I could’ve sworn I heard the staff sigh in relief as we walked out.

With his new clothes on, Kael looked like any regular guy you’d see on the street.

If regular guys all looked like models.

He drew attention, a lot of it, but didn’t seem to care, too busy fiddling with my phone.

“When will I get one of these?” he asked, glancing up at me.

“Honestly? Not anytime soon.”

“Why?”

“I don’t want to know the shenanigans you’d get up to with a phone.”

“Oh, come on,” he said, stepping closer, voice smug. “Your age isn’t even a quarter of mine. That makes me more responsible.”

I shoved him away lightly. “I’m broke. I can’t afford one. Maybe later.”

“Well, well. The man has no racks,” he said with mock pity. "Quite depressing.”

“If you’re unsatisfied, grant me wealth,” I shot back, walking ahead.

He jogged after me. “Absolutely not. You couldn’t afford the price. No fee waivers available.”

Then he squealed.

Actually squealed.

I turned to see him pointing excitedly at a smoothie stand.

Noticing my blank stare, he crossed his arms defensively.

“What? Don’t tell me you can’t afford simple refreshments. You’re not eating.”

“Huh?”

“You know,” he continued, nodding seriously, “like you ate, but you are not eating. Ate-ing is incorrect. So. Eating.”

He looked proud, like he’d solved world hunger.

“Just shut up,” I muttered. “I’ll get you a drink. What flavor do you… forget it, you

won’t even know.”

“That’s insulting,” he said. “And I’ll have strawberry.”

I rolled my eyes, biting back a laugh, and went to grab the drinks.

When I came back, Kael was in a standoff with two people, a girl tugging at a guy’s arm, trying to pull him away from Kael, who was staring back with visible disgust.

I left him alone for ten minutes.

Just ten freaking minutes. 

“What’s going on?” I asked, stepping in.

“Piss off,” the guy snapped. “This is none of your business.”

I ignored him and turned to Kael. “What did you do?”

“Me?!” Kael scoffed. “You are leaping to conclusions. I am innocent.”

Before I could respond, the guy rushed forward and punched Kael.

“What the hell?!” I shoved him and swung back, but he dodged. I stumbled and then a punch landed square in my face, sending me to the ground.

“And stay the hell away from my girlfriend,” he snarled.

The girl finally spoke. “Babe, it’s okay. Let’s just leave. People are staring.”

“Wow,” I muttered my voice dripping with sarcasm “She speaks.”

“What did you say?” he snapped, stepping toward me again but she grabbed his arm and dragged him away.

I turned to Kael, who was trembling, fists clenching and unclenching, rage practically rolling off him.

I crawled closer and placed a hand on his back. “Hey. It’s okay. Let’s go, alright?”

He looked at me, anger sharp enough to make me flinch, he then closed his eyes and sighed.

When he opened them, it was gone.

“Sure,” he said quietly. “Let’s get out of here.”

“At least the smoothies are still intact,” I said weakly.

That earned a chuckle.

“Now hand me my strawberry,” he said. “I deserve as much.”

“Can I have yours too?”

“No.”

“Oh, come on”

“No.”

*************************

I hope y'all are enjoying my work as much as I do writing it.

Please leave a comment and likes it encourages me to toss my uni notes aside and write.

XO ~~your broke author