The Winged Guardian - 22 Budding Romance

My Peace piececonsisted of shades of blue. I could not seem to get Conner’s blue eyes and the sky in them out of my mind whenever I thought of ‘Peace’ later. It was the feeling giving out of the pair of his, total and absolute peacefulness. I was not sure if it was the consequence of the painting. Stix and friends lost in the dusk and it was a pretty peaceful way back home which I had not had for a long, long time. Taking some more time on the walk, I indulged in it gladly until the sky turned into the color of Dylan’s wings. Jingling of the keys reminded me of how quiet the evening was. Too much of peace did have quite the opposite effect. The picture of the broken rocks and the green grasses in that graveyard floated up and crept me. I quickly pushed myself into the house. Light dinner was enough for today. I went upstairs to take the rest of the day, or rather…to find the mess of the day. A little provoked, I drew back at the sight of my demon. Dylan was sitting on the window pane. Alright, he was cool and looked princely. But he even invited Stix and friends into my bed room. The picture of them chatting against the starry sky was like those only in a fantasy dream land. But this wasn’t some imaginary kingdom, it’s my room! The raven soared across my bed and landed on my shoulder. “Don’t fly in my room Stix!” Stix aa-ed. I wasn’t sure if he understood me. “Hello Leigh.” It was a regular hello thing but the vibe in the air wasn’t right. Maybe it was just me feeling guilty about the rumor and being with Conner. They were enemy. I clutched my painting, bit by bit putting it down on the floor. “Hi.” “I heard you were out with the art class.” I nodded trying to hide my surreptitious talk with Conner. “Is that your work? Can I?” He seized it away from me before I could set it on the ground. “Nice.” “Th¾thanks.” The praise untied the tension knot in me. Nobody actually ever praised my paintings but him. I started to talk. “I got an idea from C…” “Hmm?” “Clouds, the sky.” I almost blurted out Conner’s name. Then, it occurred to me, maybe Dylan would know about Conner. They seemed to be friends before. I could learn more about him from the demon. I will just ask…straight but carefully. “Do you know anything about…Conner?” “Conner?” Dylan, still admiring my painting (Smile), said uninterestingly. “I don’t know him. I only know Seth.” “What were–” I sat on my bed, not sure if I was getting too nosy. “you and Seth–” “We were good friends,” Dylan put my painting down, face darkened. “until he discovered that I’m a demon.” “Was he–” Stix’s friend number one jumped onto my lap. “your first contractor?” “It would’ve been easier that way.” Dylan said and gazed out of the window, into the emptiness of the dark sky. It sounded to me like they were ex-lovers of some sort. But Dylan isn’t gay…is he? There was a long pause in our conversation. I dared not say anything more or be the first one to speak. I sat restively on my bed patting the ravens. I was glad they were in my room now and hoped that they would do something funny to break me out of this awkwardness too. I shouldn’t have asked him. It got me to nowhere but this disturbing ambience. “By the way Leigh,” Dylan said in his outgoing tone. I attended to him eagerly. Finally, a chance to get back to our normal attitude.

“Did you tell Natty I’m gay?”

Ouch! It was like a huge rock hit on all four directions of my head. I was completely nonplussed.The demon sagged forward closer as the horror began. His face, in all seriousness, went plain rigid. I should have thought about this beforehand. But it was the only way to get away from Natalie at the time. And I did try to avoid Dylan the whole day…alas!

Wind wafted over my head. I wondered where it was from because the window was still close. The ravens’ call rang in my head. They jumped about the room flapping with panic. I went panic with them too.

His inky wings fanned out, oh…the wind was from them, and blackness ran up his arms. He’s turning into a demon! Shit! I’m gonna die today! He’s going to eat me for spreading the rumor he’s gay! What to do? What to do?!

Pupils were the last part. As the color of the sea sparked, it slowly unfurled over the circles. I was rather mesmerized by it than scared. His eyes were the only part that always fascinated me. Those colors were other-worldly, almost too beautiful to be from earth.

I winced as he grabbed my wrist. Okay, it’s not time to be admiring his eyes. “I didn’t mean to!” I shouted and tried to edge away.

“DO YOU–”

The demon was using his echoing voice again. It tripled my fear of death. I skirted my bed continuing to the wall and the window on it. Two ravens were chilling out at the cooling night breeze. They had to move away when I got there, complaining a little bit. The demon, not letting me go, followed, wings hanging him in the air. I leaned out onto the empty frame, for a second, hoped I had wings too.

“Do you,” Dylan voiced again. This time it came out normally form his mouth. But my fear didn’t fade. “Do you…like me that much?”

Huh?

“Do you really really like me?”

Huh? Wait.

Was he being sarcastic? Or had my hearing ability gone nuts? Flabbergasted, my eyes, my mouth, and even my nostril formed an ‘O’ shape. My brain certainly was having an ‘O’ in there too, an ‘O’ shape void that contained no thoughts in it, and I was about to crack my head for what was happening in front of me.

“You want me all to yourself,” Dylan contently went on with his narcissistic optimism. “you told everybody that I am gay so I will only have to stay with you all the time.””That’s not–”

“I know I’m too popular.”

“I don’t–”

“It’s also difficult to be born looking good.”

“I mean–”

“If you really like me, you can just tell me. I’ll devote all my time with you.”

Really, please don’t! I thought because there was no way I could break into his talk, now that he was just going on with himself.

“We are soul mates after all.”

I’m not your soul mate! Umm…think carefully, maybe I am…GOD! NO!!!!

In that horror instant, by trying to get away from the condescending demon, I did a somersault and fell backward out of the window. All around me was dark. Only white band of something appeared now and then, probably my house’s wall. Only a short scream and I was stopped in midair, head still pointing down to the ground. Dylan was holding me and I, to him. His eyes, leveled with mine, set off with the dark even more brilliant and vivid than ever. Forgetting everything that happened earlier, I went off course into the realm of the ocean gem. It at times casted out blue, occasionally flared green, most of the time just both colors span and fused and whirled together. The more the colors shined, the more my heart desired. It hammered at my chest that if I had not got a strong chest bone, it would unquestionably jostle out and went to the ocean gems. Was it the colors that allured me?

Dylan turned our heads skyward and delivered me back safely into my room. I broke myself out of the sea’s spell when light returned, but my heart would not stop its crazy rhythm. It was presumably the after-effect.

Dylan stroked my head. “Are you hurt, Leigh?”

Now, it was like there were a hundred drums in me.

“T-thanks.” That didn’t help when Dylan stopped his hand at my cheek. It wouldn’t go away, the drums. And I feared they were getting bigger, the people hitting them were getting stronger too.

I decided to try something else and looked at his face. It did not help. It was so angelic, so well-carved, so strikingly… Ow! No, no, no, no, no! Okay, let’s try the wings. Oh my god, they are so shiny, sleeky, and soft! The color, it just goes with his eyes–shit! Not again! Not the beautiful eyes again!

I moved without much success onto his black arms next. They seemed to be stronger and wonderful somehow. I accidentally touched them and had to bounce my finger back for it felt so good, full with muscles. Lastly, I could only go to his hair which, coal black and at the right length, had no flaws and had no help. What the hell? What the hell is this?

Am I falling for him? Why am I falling for him now? Because I fell out of the window? And there was his heart waiting for me in that air? That’s ridiculous! No. No. I’m not falling for him. I can’t just fall for a guy who is so full of himself and had just said I like him. He said the same thing Conner said today. The ‘Are you hurt’ just brought back the déjà vu with Conner. Heck! Why are there only those eyes floating in my head? This isn’t right. This isn’t right!

I tried to analyze it. No, it wasn’t the same with Conner. Heartbeats with Conner was brief, but the peace was the real deal. While this, this with Dylan, it was just pure chaos. I, I must be really scared of him.

The conclusion allowed me to ignore the energetic heart.

I couldn’t have liked Dylan, let alone love. He’s a demon. He would eat me one day or in my next life. But he did help me many times. I was rather in debt than in love with him.

Pray, it be that. Please!