What was he doing here?
I tried my hardest to pay attention to my professor as the entire class hung in their seats, occasionally taking notes.
It was psychology... of course. Because why wouldn't it be?
The human mind fascinated me.
Unless I was distracted.
I glanced nervously to my right, finding him still sitting back in his chair, on his phone as he kicked up his feet onto the seat in front of him.
Jesus, have some courtesy.
He looked back at me then, and we locked eyes for a split second.
The moment a smile peaked through his lips, I immediately averted my gaze to the front of the room.
But I could feel his eyes on me.
"And as you can tell," my professor went on, "the brain stem is connected to the medulla. The medulla controls our body functions that are needed automatically, like our breathing and heartbeat. This is why—generally with fatal injury—when there is excessive pressure on the brain, it pushes the medulla into the spine, which kills the person immediately."
I scratched down notes, deciding not to look at him again.
She just went on about the brain stem, and I shifted my feet uncomfortably.
"Fascinating," he said from next to me, "isn't it?"
I jumped then, almost screaming but I manage to hold it down.
I looked to my right, finding him sitting next to me with his feet kicked up on the chair... the same position he was in originally.
How did he move so quietly?
He gazed down at me with his slightly reddened eyes, smirking. "Do you like psychology?"
I remained silent, trying my best to stay calm.
"I'll take your silence as a 'yes'," he responded then, gazing back up front. "Don't be shy. Feel free to take notes. You're here for a reason, anyway."
I blinked and stared back down at my paper, gazing up at the slides before jotting the information down.
"So, little kid," he said then, making my gaze snap up, "what're you doing in college?"
Did he just... did he just call me...?
I gripped my pencil tightly.
Little kid?
Anger burned through me then, boiling into outrage words that threatened to tear from my mouth.
I was going to kill him, I swore.
"I," I said silently, hearing the lead of my pencil snap, "am not... a KID."
He looked down at me then, seeming amused at my reaction. "Oh? Why do you look like one then?"
I just gazed down at my paper, jotting down more notes.
He doesn't remember me, does he?
I guess it doesn't matter. I haven't seen him in years, anyway. I thought he would recognize me from back then, though, because my apparency barely changed.
I glared down at my paper.
Goddamn angels and their curses.
He leaned forward then and watched me. "Are you ignoring me now?"
I continued jotting down notes. "You don't even know who I am. Stop bothering me."
"Ah, but you clearly know who I am," he stated then, making my lashes lower. "Why else were you giving me googly eyes?"
I remained silent, knowing he was trapping me into an argument, and I wasn't going to give in.
He chuckled then. "Alas, you are wrong, I'm afraid."
I gazed over at him in annoyance.
He just smirked, eyes glowing a slight red. "Luca Belle. Age thirty-two. Height four-foot-nine. Weight of ninety-three pounds. You're a skinny thing, aren't you?"
I went cold.
What...? Huh?
I stared at him for a moment.
"Was I on the dot?" he said, leaning back in his seat and clasping his hands behind his head. "Well... I did sneak your medical records."
I sat up fully then. "What do you want, Dante?"
He glanced over at me, a smirk crossing his lips. "You remember my name?"
"How could I not?" I growled low. "You were always there in my childhood. We're the same age, anyway."
He pursed his lips, curling them back into a smile. "Someone's bitter today."
"If you aren't going to answer my questions, then go away," I said then.
He glanced over at me before he smirked. "I've been searching for you for quite some time."
"Uh-huh."
"I remember your scent and then I lost it when you moved away," he stated, pouting. "You masked your scent with a new one. Care to share?"
"Do you know how gross that sounds?" I snapped.
"I'm a demon," he stated then, smirking, "my entire existence is disturbing."
"You're disrupting the class," I stated then.
"Ah, no, I'm not. They cannot hear us or see us right now." He tapped his forehead, indicating that he was controlling their minds. "Now, my friend, care to share why I couldn't track you?"
I just closed my notebook and stuffed it into my backpack.
"Where are you going?" he said then.
"To get a drink," I said then, zipping it up. "Because I'd rather die of alcohol poisoning then talk to you."
"Ouch," he said then.
I stood and walked out the door, instinctively pulling my sleeve down over my hand.
The moment I opened the doors and closed it behind me, I gazed up.
To find him leaning against the wall.
He just checked his fingernails. "You know... leaving like that's considered rude."
"Says the demon," I snapped back, starting down the hall.
He suddenly appeared in front for me, making me stop in my tracks.
I glared up at him.
He just set his shoulder against the wall, smirking. "It's twelve in the afternoon," he stated then, "how about I buy you some coffee? There's a café near here."
"Fat chance." I moved past him.
He just caught my wrist, making me stop.
"Let go," I said then.
"What are you hiding under that sleeve, Luca?" Dante questioned. "I noticed you pulling it down earlier."
I just tugged my arm out from his grip. "Leave me alone."
I started down the hall again, but he remained in place.
"Luca," he said then, but I kept walking. "Luca."
I turned then. "What?"
He just lowered his lashes. "I need to talk to you. It's important."
"Ah," I said sarcastically, "did you practice saying that in the mirror for ten years after you left me?"
He gazed up then, lips parting.
I just scoffed and turned, walking back down the hall. "You have some nerve showing up here. Asking to be my friend again after what you did."
He appeared in front of me then, and I sighed through my nose, stopping again.
"What..." I said angrily, "do you want?"
He just stared down at me. "For the record, I didn't leave you. I've been searching for you for years and you just poofed out of existence. I couldn't track you." He scanned my form. "Your scent has changed now."
"How comforting," I stated in annoyance.
He looked over my shoulder before gazing down at me. "Let's go somewhere more private, yes?"
I glanced back to find a man watching us, and then he shrank behind a wall.
Dante gazed back down at me, brows arching.
"I want to go home," I said then.
Dante just remained silent for too long.
"Luca," he warned.
"I said I want to go HOME." I just shoved him out of the way and kept walking.
He caught my wrist again, making me stumble backward when he pulled me back.
"Dante," I argued then. "don't you know when to QUIT?"
He just pulled me backward more before he caught a pencil from my bag.
"Hey!" I said then.
He just threw it forward, and I stared as it spun like a saw in the air... and then suddenly plunged into a student's eye.
They fell backward then, dropping their book.
My eyes widened when a gun hidden behind the text clattered to the ground.
My breaths shortened, and I stared helplessly at the body.
"Yes, coffee sounds nice, doesn't it?" Dante said then, pulling me backward.
I stumbled a little, body rattling with tremors. "You just... You just... killed someone."
He glanced back at me then, amused. "Tell me you're not surprised. Have you forgotten what I am?"
When I glanced back at the dead body...
It was gone.
My eyes widened immediately, and I snapped my gaze back at Dante. "What do you want?"
He stopped then and turned to me, lashes lowering.
"Do you want a contract, is that it?" I snapped then. "Am I a valuable casualty? I know you demons drink blood."
He just watched me. "No, I don't want your blood."
"Then what do you want?"
He smiled slightly. "I want you."
I stared for a moment.
I just tugged my hand away, stumbling backward. "Are you INSANE?"
"As a matter of fact, I am," he said then.
"You're crazy," I breathed then. "I don't even KNOW YOU."
"You know me well enough to know I'm a demon," he stated. "You know my name, you know who I look like. Now... do tell me... why is your scent different?"
I just glared. "I'm not telling you anything."
He just scanned my form. "Is it related to the fact that you still look like a nineteen-year-old boy? A very short one. You still sound like one, too."
"I am THIRTY-TWO!" I yelled then. "HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO EXPLAIN THIS?!"
"My, my," he said then, covering his mouth with a fist, "that's a touchy subject for you, I see."
I was seething now. "Stop messing with me."
"Ah, but it's fun," he stated then.
"I'm going to kill you," I hissed then, starting around him.
He just kept his back to me, but I swore his amusement grew around me like thickened smoke.
"Is it somehow related to the angel mark on your wrist?" he said then.
I stopped in my tracks then, lowering my head as anger consumed me.
"Is that why you keep lowering your sleeve?" Dante asked me. "You aren't fond of it, are you?"
"Shut up," I said then, "you know nothing about me."
"Nothing?" he echoed then, turning to face me. "I can challenge that."
"Screw off. You liar."
"Ah, maybe later," he responded. "And I'm not lying. I know that your father died when you were twelve-years old. I know your mother became an alcoholic and stopped taking care of you. I know you ran away from home that same year in hopes to find a better one. And I know that something horrible happened, and you were taken."
I clenched my fists, darkness forming deep inside my heart.
"To a drug trade nonetheless," he continued. "At some point in your events, you were kissed by an angel, weren't you? Or cursed. And now you're forever looking like a tiny angry teen." He clicked his tongue. "That would explain why your scent is different. The angel mark changed the sweetness of your blood to something sweeter."
"Shut up," I said quietly. "Shut—up."
He just gazed up. "You can't run from me, Luca. I will find you."
I just snapped my gaze back to him. "WHAT DO YOU WANT?"
Students passed by us from the sides of the hallway, completely ignoring my screaming and our conversation all together while circling around us.
His mind control.
Goddamn him.
Dante just gazed up, his hair blowing slightly over his face as his eyes glowed a dark red. "I already told you, Luca. I—want—you."
"Why?" I demanded.
He just smiled. "That's a secret."
"You're deranged," I hissed.
"I know," he responded coolly.
I glared sharply as his eyes scanned another person who clutched a knife tightly, scanning the halls as Dante's mind magic kept us invisible. "And... as a matter of fact... it seems that others want you, too. Pity."
I just breathed uneasily.
"I can protect you from them," he stated then, glancing back at me. "Just tell me what they want from you."
I just turned away and walked off. "Leave me alone."
"You're going to be resistant?" he asked me then. "That's fine. I can kill them every time they get near you without knowing what they want."
"Have fun," I stated sarcastically.
"Oh, I will," he stated then.
"You certainly are a demon," I growled under my breath.
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