"Heyyaaa!" 

A blur whizzed past Delilah's face, and glass shattered against Ryland's head.  

He slumped to the ground, luckily aught under the arms of Paris.  

"You're all welcome," Melon Head shouted from the car window.  He pulled up with an arm out, the dark smile gleaming under the moonlight.  "What's popping, familia?"

"That was so fucking random," HB stated in a monotone.  

"What?  I just saved all your sexy ass'.  Ryland was about to find out he's an angel," Melon Head replied. 

"What?"  Lucan stepped out of the tattoo parlor.  Before his eyes landed on Ryland knocked out, he ditched to the side of the curb and threw up.  

"Guess we won't have to worry about him," Melon Head said.  "Anndddd the body bag goes back."  His arm shuffled inside the car before resting back on the steering wheel. 

"So what do we do now?" HB asked, shrugging her shoulder.  "We can't keep this secret forever from him.  At this rate, Delilah could go into labor at any time."

"We carry on with our life.  He's slowing growing onto her," Paris stated.  He gave Delilah a sideways glance.  "You notice it too, right?  Keep up your facade and he'll fall for the fake you again." 

Something coiled in her stomach like a snake and she swallowed hard.  "Yeah." 

2 MONTHS LATER

Their gigs were a hit.  Delilah and HB trailed behind the boy band during their concerts, watching them grow into the biggest stars of the industry.  

Tonight was their first huge show; performing on the Lennon stage where hundreds of legends were born.    

Ryland stared into the darkness, blinking back at the bright light shining his eyes. Shapes of shoulders and heads rested among the darkness. He searched through the sea of faces and teeth, panic rising up his legs, seizing him to the spot. A sharp light beam shone on him and he blinked back.

Then that shiny black hair and furry blue coat grabbed his panic, and chocked it out of him. He gulped at the discomfort and kept staring at her until he was calm and he saw those white teeth flash.

He smiled and turned to the hand on his shoulder. Paris gave him a nod and Ryland held the microphone.

"We're the Boys of the Dark. We hope you get lost with us."

He closed his eyes, finding that quiet part of his mind. He clicked the key on his pad and the comforting sounds encompassed his heart and mind.

He pressed his finger down and felt the vibrations run through his finger. The comforting sound of cars running by set him to that one part of his mind he knew was the perfect getaway.

Paris broke into the first verse, the Jack beating the drums down to a good rhythm. Once the chorus rolled around, Ryland was lost in the dark.

The boys were lost in the dark.

By the time the final song rolled around, the crowd was moving in their seats or hopping on their shoes.

Ryland's throat was sore once he took his solo, singing into the microphone and shaking his head back.

Paris plucked the final string and an echo sound resonated throughout the room, leaning everyone high on this ringing tone.

The crowd cheered, phones flashing in the dark and hoots riding over the applause.

Ryland turned around and exchanged smiles with the rest of the boys. He let out a cheer and the crowd heightened their excitement.

"Yeah!" He laughed and waved the crowd goodbye. "Thank you!" they screamed and left the stage.

The thrill still held onto Ryland as he went backstage. He got attacked on the back by Paris who piggy backed with a pumping fist. "We killllllled it!"

Lucan did a backhand high five and Brody happily slapped another down.

"Congratulations, You guys sounded less shitty than usual," HB said, pushing off the metal beam she was leaning on.

Paris picked her off the ground and spun her around before pulling her to a hug. "I love it when you support me."

She sighed and patted his head. "Okay. You can let go now."

Delilah arrived a moment later with big arms. "You guys fucking rocked!"

Lucan swooped her off her feet and she laughed, feet swinging before he set her down.

A knot formed in the pit of Ryland's stomach. He clenched his teeth but as soon as her gaze met his, his jaw relaxed and he lifted his arms up. Then he brought them down again and shoved his hands in his pockets instead. "Heyyy..." he began.

She tucked her hands in her back pocket and moved one up as her voice remained happy. "You tore the fucking roof down out there!"

He nodded, the thought of that bringing that smile back. "We did!" And he added. "Your voice sounded good!"

"I didn't do anything," she said.

"You were here," he said and she grinned back at him.

He felt it again.  That familiar tingle running up his arm.  It happened each time she smiled.  

The stage began to rumble.   

Ryland heard the crowd screaming his name. Screaming his friend's name. Screaming the band name. It was electrifying. The sound was like dancing in gold.  The familiar tingle vanished at this ravishing sound, his heart swallowed into the desire of fans. 

"Ryland?" Delilah called, but he was already lost in the flashing lights of cameras and roar of the crowd wanting more.  

This was only the beginning.  

After the show, the money started piling in. 

Another month later and Delilah was starting to lose her angel.  Fed up and frustrated, today was going to be the day.  She was going to tell Ryland the truth.  The pregnancy, her true identity as ruler of the underworld... his true identity.

Because the closer she was to falling for Ryland, the farther away he seemed to get.  

Her hair was done up in a messy bun. Just how he liked it.

That was probably the same style she had it in when they first met. Delilah coloured her lips in a lipstick called Devil Red which she thought was extremely funny.

She squeezed her body into a little red dress for the occasion and she knew Ryland knew very well she never wore dresses. So the fact she was doing it for such a special night made the little voice inside of her hope that he'd appreciate these small notions she forgot about.

She tucked the loose curl behind her ear and took one last look in the mirror. Her human, brown muddy eyes stared back, the bulbs of the backstage mirror actually showing off this human features she wasn't used to.

Well actually, she was now more than used to it ever since she came here.

Delilah didn't understand what was about it but the human world was much more comforting than Hell.

Perhaps it was the emotions tied into the world and the touch and feel of things that seemed so REAL made the moment much calmer and easier to live in. The simplicity of it all compared to the other universes.

She sighed and puckered up her lips once more before turning to leave. She grabbed the jacket off the chair and diamond clutch purse.

Ever since the boys started getting money, they started to treat her and HB with fancy gifts. Boys would be boys, and she hoped they wouldn't get into the habit of spending too much.

Sometime she wished she could let the humans know when you have the capability of holding the world in your palm, it isn't that much of a fantastic feeling as you thought it was.

She slipped into a pair of high stilettoes, ones that made her five inches taller and opened the door. She left the small trailer. Most of the crew already off the grounds and on the stage, she tucked her arms into the sleeves and walked towards the stage across the other side of the field.

The wind whistled, the eerie night playing a tune with the wind. The moon was full, bleeding light across the field and casting shadows of the trees and trailers across.

She shoved her hands in her pockets, pieces of escaping strands flying past her cheeks. By the time she got to the stage building, her cheeks were numb and her legs were shaking. It was weird to finally the power of touch and feelings, but it was funny—because it was real.

For seven sins, Delilah didn't think she could ever get used to that term "real".

She scanned her card over and the door clicked.

She stepped through, the warm wrapping around her bare skin first, draping over her legs and face. She undid the belt of her trench coat, a giddy feeling in her gut. She couldn't wait to see Angel's face when he saw her.

Stage members were running around, not even giving her a glance as they shouted into their walkie talkies and other strings attached to their belts.

Their keychains around their necks swung back and forth as they ran, some holding clipboards and others holding two trays of coffee.

She thought against asking someone, not wanting to disturb anyone, and kept walking through the backstage. It was thrilling even though she wasn't even performing.

She thought about when the boys were back in Paris's house, playing around and writing songs they didn't think anyone else but them would hear. She found herself smiling, that bittersweet swing of nostalgia hitting her hard.

She kept walking until a familiar sign that read "performers" was hanging down the hall. Her head naturally went higher and she straightened her back, fixing her hair although it looked the same after she touched it.

She hated how her fingers were shaking and how it suddenly felt like she could fall on her face with these shoes.

For a millisecond she thought this was stupid, dressing up for this, but she scratched the thought. This was for Ryland. Someone who she cared immensely for.

She turned the corner towards the performer section and saw the names of the boys on each door. She kept walking until she saw Ryland's name on the last star.

But it was already open.

She frowned and peeked through the door and found the room empty.

"Where are you?" she whispered lowly and kept walking down the corridor.

Then another door that read 'Boys of the Dark' on a golden star caught her attention. She paused in front, hesitating if she wanted the rest of the boys to see her like this. Then she shook her head at how outrageous this was to worry about what they thought.

God, she felt like some stupid teenager.

"Confidence, Delilah," she said, voice thick of a dominating tone.

Instead of knocking, she just opened the door and had enough of this wait. She needed to see him.

She wore a big smile and walked in to find only one member of the band. "Lucan?"

He turned, his hair spiked up in a way that made her stomach churn. Dressed in black jeans and a white muscle tee, he grinned at her and waved. "Hey." Then his eyes widened and she shyly fought her hands to stay by her side instead of flying up. "You look...great."

She grinned. "Thanks. Your getup looks terribly comfy in comparison to this."

"Why so fancy?"

"HB insisted," she lied and wondered if her friend could would. Probably not.

"Oh. Well I'm glad she did. You look...wow." His eyes took another round again and Delilah suddenly felt all warm and fuzzy.

She clasped her hands together and walked around the room, trying to get the conversation moving away from her. "So where's the rest of the group?"

Lucan shrugged. "Not sure. I just know they're going to get something and that they'd be back soon!"

"Oh." She paused and turned towards the door. She kept walking around the room, unable to settle with the antsy feeling in her body. She had to keep moving.

Her hands were still shaking and her mind was wrapped in the idea of Ryland and his face and his smile and everything about him. She clutched her head and Lucan advanced a step.

"Are you okay?" His voice was heavy of concern.

"Yeah," she assured.

But he insisted further and took another step forward. He put her hand down and pressed the back of his head on her forehead. "You don't seem okay."

He helped her sit down on the couch, the leather squeaking as they both slide beside each other. "Let me get you some water," he said and got up.

She heard the water running and at least found the coldness of the leather cool off her skin. Why did she feel so off?

He came back with a glass of water and she cupped the plastic cup. She first took a sip and then increased with a gulp, needing more of this coldness. However, she still felt all hot and bothered.

"Are you sure you're feeling okay?" he asked.

"I don't know." She let out an easy laugh and took another sip, trying to pace her intakes.

"Want to talk?" he asked. "I mean, if this is all"--he waved his hand over her--"emotion connected then it's good to let it out."

"I don't want it to be all about emotions." She sipped again. "And it's...well. I don't know. I usually don't feel this way in terms of emotions."

"Did you eat something?" he asked.

She nodded. "Yeah, I mean. I ate a bit of lunch with HB when you guys were at your preshow."

But her voice wasn't even in Lucan's mind as he kept staring at her. "What?" she asked.

He didn't say anything and kept staring. She arched her brow and he quickly snapped out of it, taking the cup out of her hand. He mumbled something about getting more water and he left her again. She heard the water jug burp and the water squirt back into the drink.

He returned, and Delilah was already fanning herself with her hand, the heat rising again. "I don't know what's going on."

"Does your head hurt?" he asked.

"No. It's just so warm in here."

He put the back of his hand on her forehead again, some of her heat going onto his skin. Then he pressed it against her left cheek. Then her right cheek. Except his hand stayed there, on her cheek.

"Am I warm?" she whispered.

His gaze held hers and he stroked his thumb over the top bone of her cheek. "Hot. Extremely."

She didn't tell him to remove his hand as a sudden coldness radiated off of his hands. "Your hands are awfully cold," she said aloud.

He didn't say anything again. He kept staring until the gap between them got a little smaller. But for some reason, Delilah should've scooted away.

But his body was cold and she needed anything that wasn't hot and he was the perfect option. The coldness radiating off of him cooled her down so she let his arm drape over her neck.

She rolled her head back, closing her eyes as she sighed in relief at the coldness.

"Why are you so cold?" she asked.

"As a boy of the dark, I have to be cold."

She let out a small laugh, feeling a bit better. She felt her blood run cold and didn't even notice the sudden change in her body temprature. "Makes sense."

"Delilah."

"Mhm?" She didn't even open one of her eyes, too comforted by his arm resting behind her and the coldness he gave off.

"You're beautiful. You know that?"

"Mhm."

"You're an amazing being."

"Mhm."

"Delilah. You have to get out of here."

Her eyes flashed open, the peaceful state she was in now shattered. "What?" Her spine snapped upright, not liking the tone in his voice. "You have to go," he repeated.

"Why?" she asked, in disappointment. "Why do I have to go?"

"It's not safe for you here."

"Why?" Heat began to radiate off of her again, slowly getting through the cold sensations of others. "Why do I need to leave?"

"It's not safe," he repeated.

She noticed the change in voice---hells bells, she knew that sudden change in voice.

Her back snapped upright and she took in Lucan. "Oh my god."

"I'm sorry, Delilah."

+++

A/N:

Way to drop a cliffhanger, huh?

Sorry for the sudden update.  I kind of want to finish this story now so I'll be updating the rest of these chapters. 

Stay golden, folks. What are your thoughts of this story?

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Xx 3.14