Katcha's POV

The next night fell. Aiden laid in bed, staring at the ceiling with glassy eyes. I kept quiet, waiting for him to fall asleep. See, there was something nagging at me. Something I needed to investigate. I didn't want to tell Aiden because I didn't want him to worry about it, (besides, he's sick enough already) so I would just have to wait for him to fall asleep before I could leave. That didn't seem like it would be happening anytime soon, though.

I sighed and eventually caved.

"Aiden, there's something wrong," I said. He looked up at me.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"It's nothing for you to worry about, just... I think I might be needed somewhere. But I don't want o leave you and—"

"Nah, go ahead," he said, "I'd probably fall asleep easier without being watched, anyway."

"Well, gee, thanks."

"No offense."

"Alright, you sure you'll be fine without me?"

He rolled his eyes.

"Yes, Katcha," he said, "I'm alright, really. I can breathe just fine without you. I'm not going to spontaneously combust, or die of a heart attack, or suddenly explode without you in the room."

"Okay, okay. Just checking."

Sometimes I feel I'm overprotective. Isn't that my job? Other angels don't have this problem, do they? Well, other angels don't usually guide angsty teenagers through portal hallways where their human could be in mortal danger at any given moment...

I left Aiden in the room alone. That thought gave me chills, but I knew Aiden was right about not being in danger at that moment. I knew I was doing the right thing, following that feeling in my gut to where there might be trouble.

Okay, the thing about me is that I'm never actually sure what's going to happen, I just have an intuition of knowing what to do. If I'm lucky, I'll experience visions or flashes of the future, but it's mostly just a feeling. And this feeling led me to Petra.

I came into her room, floating through the door. She was lying in bed, fast asleep.

"Why here?" I asked, "I don't see anything wrong!"

But there definitely was something wrong. I could still feel it.

I checked around the room, under the bed. Nothing. I scanned it twice thoroughly. Nothing.

"Uggh, this is so frustrating!!" I groaned, beginning to get aggravated. "Fine then! If there's nothing wrong here, then I'm leaving!"

I floated back into the corridor, when I heard something coming from Petra's room.

"Okay, of course now something happens," I said, turning around.

"Petra, there's something serious I need to tell you about," said a voice other than Petra's from behind the door. "There's something going on with your friends! You have to wake up!"

Petra's voice groaned a little, then she said,

"Urgh, what—oh, Ethro? W-what are you doing here?"

"Ethro?" I muttered, "Who the heck is that?"

"Petra, it's something really important I need to warn you about," he said.

"Go on," she said.

"Your friends—they're planning to turn on you!"

Petra made a noise like she almost laughed.

"What? They wouldn't do that. You mean Jesse and Lukas? 'Cause... I've known both of them forever. There's nothing that can break us."

"Not them—yet. I heard Maya saying some things, okay?" This "Ethro's" voice sounded anxious. "She was really considering getting rid of you."

"Uh... what?" Petra asked, still not sounding convinced, "Look, Ethro, I appreciate that you're worried about me, but you're being paranoid."

"No, I'm serious. She and... and the rest of them! What are their names... Juniper? A-and Dan! Juniper, Dan, Magnolia... the whole crew! And then they'll tell your friends about it."

"I'm sorry, Ethro, but you're sounding ridiculous right now. Tell my friends about what?"

"It sounds crazy, alright, I know, but you've got to believe me. Maya was saying how your little panic attacks were being a disruption to the group's progress of getting home. She thinks it'd be best to just... throw you back into dead character land because that's where she thinks the attacks originated from!"

"Oh, did she?" Petra asked, her voice sounding a bit offended, "And did she say anything else about me?"

"Well, she thinks that it's your fault they're never getting back home. I'm sorry to... y'know, be so blunt about this, but I don't want to sugar coat anything..."

"No, no. That's perfectly okay. I like things blunt," Petra said, anger rising in her voice, "Maybe Maya just needs to realize that it's not my fault for getting kidnapped and that I was only trying to save Jesse because she was being stupid!"

"You think that Jesse's stupid?" he asked, his voice going soft.

"That manipulative creep!" I muttered. I kept listening.

"Well, no, b-but—"

"You said she was being stupid."

"Well, yeah, I did, but—"

"So, she's stupid?"

"M-Maybe... Look, Jesse's usually smart, it's just that... she lets her feelings get the best of her sometimes... she didn't exactly make the smartest choice back there, is what I'm saying."

"And don't you think that when Maya gives her the news about you, she'll believe her? After all, her emotions guide her more than... rational thought..."

"It's not news! It's a flat out lie! She... she won't believe that..." Petra sounded reluctant, like she was saying one thing but thinking the opposite.

"I-I just wanted to warn you," Ethel, or whatever his name was said, sounding as innocent as a child. Yeah, I'm calling him Ethel from now on.

"Well, thanks," Petra said, "Tell me if anything else happens, will you? I'll... I'll try to get that pen for you soon."

"Sounds like a deal," Ethel said.

"Oh my gosh, he's totally using you!" I exclaimed.

"D-Did you hear something?" Ethel asked. I quickly covered my mouth. He must have some tie to a spirit realm if he heard me.

"Hear... what?"

"It's probably nothing. Sleep tight."

Then there was silence. I couldn't help but wonder if Maya really was saying those things. I highly doubted it, though. She's a bit.... careless with her words at times, but that just didn't seem like a Maya thing to say. To me, it didn't.

It appeared I had a case on my hands. Who was this Ethel Petra was talking to? Was he a guardian angel too? And why did his voice sounds... peculiarly like Aiden's? Questions swirled in my head like a fan blowing a stack of papers.

My plan for the next day was to watch Maya. Veerrry carefully. Like a hawk, I say. I had to prove Ethel wrong. Then I would tell Aiden about it, he would tell Petra the guy's a creep, she would expose him, she would be all thankful to Aiden, they would be happily in love, they'd all go home, Katcha saves the day, the end!

I sure hope so...

Aiden's POV

I woke up the next morning. Katcha was waiting anxiously by the bed.

"Oh, hey," I said, sitting up.

"Hey, good morning," she said hurriedly, "how ya doing?"

"Uh, fi—"

"Good. Listen, Petra's getting into something she shouldn't be getting into. I need you to help me investigate. I can barely lift anything on my own, but I need you to—"

"Katcha, slow down!" I exclaimed, "What are you even talking about?"

"Okay, there's this guy she was talking to last night named Ethe—Ethro! He's like a siren! He's a creepy... creep! He's manipulating her and—"

"Wait, what? Who?" I asked, "You're... you're moving too fast. When did this guy show up... what... what's going on?"

"You're gonna have to see for yourself."

"Where do I find this guy?"

"I... don't actually know. I don't even know what he looks like."

"Well, how am I supposed to find him if I can't see him?"

"I—I don't really know... didn't... think that through..."

"I'm sorry, Katcha, but I can't help you. Come back when you have some concrete evidence. You're just... confusing me."

Katcha grunted.

"Fine!" she said, "I'll just figure this out myself! But I was thinking that if you're the one who exposes Ethro, Petra would be all grateful to you and you'd have an excuse to get together!"

"I'll... I'll just think about it, okay?"

I liked the idea of helping Petra out. I just wasn't sure if Katcha was serious or not. She could have been just making a big deal out of nothing.

"We don't have time to think about it. If you're not in, then I'll do it myself. I can lift small things, I'll figure something out."

My own guardian angel flew out of the room. I was left alone to wonder if I had made the right choice.

---

Hey, guys. Sorry this was a bit late, I've been struggling with the much feared creative block disease. I'm not even sure why this arc is so hard to write... So, if you know any ways for getting past creative block, I'd appreciate it if you let me know! Thanks for reading.