Chapter Two

The locker rooms were cold once we piled in to change into our swim suits, and because the headmaster was probably some sadistic pervert, the swim suits were just black speedos with a fancy silver stripe down the side.

I wasn't totally self-conscious, though. I'd had thousands of years to hone a body I could be proud of. Matty, on the other hand, still squirmed uncomfortably in his as he grabbed up a towel and held against his front, frowning down at his clothes like he was debating to change back. Dustin and Akira were already changed and heading out to the pool. I headed toward Matty, coming up behind him.

"You look fine." I told him. He almost jumped twelve feet in the air at that, then whirled around to glare at me, but even when he was angry, his cheeks flushed a nice shade of pink and he was trying to close his legs, but it really didn't help the bulge that were there, practically begging me to touch it. I managed to lift my eyes to meet his to see him watching me cautiously.

"Don't do that," He scowled, tightening his grip on the towel in front of him, "You scared the crap out of me. You know I hate it when people sneak up on me like that." I smiled apologetically and risked to touch his arm, which he let me, so I took it further. I guided him up against my chest so I had my arms around him and my heart fluttered in my chest at the contact. I could hear his heart rate jump and pound viciously against the inside of his chest.

"Sorry." I apologized briefly, nuzzling his hair, inhaling the sweet scent of him. It was a masculine scent, but it was light and calm. Unlike his personality, I thought dryly before focusing on his smell as I held him close to me. I waited for him to pull away violently and yell at me for being all cuddly, but surprisingly, he didn't. In fact, if anything, he leaned against me, resting his head in the crook of my neck. He was acting awfully cute and fluffy.

"What's wrong?" I asked. Matty didn't say anything at first, just closed his eyes and sighed against me, his arms drawn to his chest between us before he pulled back to look up at me, eyes studying me.

"I saw you talking to Stephen earlier." He said at last. I stiffened at that and instantly dropped my arms away from him to my sides, fists clenching.

"We weren't talking about anything significant." I told him honestly. Matty scrunched up his nose and it was so obvious he didn't believe me. I hated this. I hated how he didn't believe me or trust me. I know I hadn't earned his trust after what had happened, but he was so suspicious all the time. I didn't want to hurt him, and I wouldn't do it ever again for as long as I lived. Even if it meant having Lucifer take my gifts away and meaning I'd have to go somewhere far away, maybe even kill myself, to avoid killing him. I would never do anything to hurt Matty.

But he didn't believe that and it hurt to the core of my soul. I could still hear Stephen's voice in the back of my head, mocking me for being stupid and still chasing after Matty even though he kept pulling away.

You're just going to end up with the same thing that happened to Jeremiah.

Those words cut through me like ice and I suddenly didn't want to be around Matty, who was looking at me curiously now, like he was trying to take me apart and put me back together with just a stare. It bothered me, so I cleared my throat and stepped back.

"Why don't you head out to the pool? I'll be there in a bit." I told him. Matty frowned instantly at that and put his hands on his hips.

"What's with that? You always want to be alone. You're the one who wanted to date me, and now you don't wanna be around me?" He demanded, annoyed. I was getting frustrated now. Gee, Matty, this would be so much easier if you didn't hate me. I didn't say that out loud, though, because I knew it would spark an argument.

"I'm just not feeling too great." I replied, which was partially the truth. I wasn't feeling too great. Because the person I loved didn't trust me worth a damn, but again, that stayed within me. Matty looked a little worried now, but he didn't come near me. If anything, I'd guess he was probably worried for himself.

"It's not those gift things that Lucifer gave you, is it? Like, they're not going away?" He asked uneasily. That was another thing that bothered me. Lucifer still hadn't taken my gifts away, even after I betrayed him for Matty. Maybe Lucifer understood how I felt and didn't want to torment me? Either way, it still made me suspicious that he would let me keep them after I destroyed his plans.

"No," I told Matty as calmly as I could manage, "I think it's just a cold or something." Matty scowled.

"Vampires don't get colds."

"I'm not a vampire, Matty. Not exactly anyway. I'm--"

"Angels shouldn't get sick either." Matty deadpanned. I rolled my eyes.

"Well, I don't know what it is. What are you, my mother? Just give me a second to get my shit together. You can just go swim with Dustin and Akira. You'd rather be around them anyway." Whoops, I realized as soon as I said that last bit that Matty would be pissed, and I was right. Matty's cheeks flamed and he glared daggers at me.

"Quit acting like a baby," He snapped angrily, clenching his fists, "You can't blame me anyway! Dustin and Akira aren't the ones who.... Never mind, forget it. You're right, I don't wanna be around you right now. Maybe you should just go find Stephen and get all buddy buddy with him." He shoved past me before I could say anything. I didn't go after him, though, just stood there in the locker rooms as I listened to him slam the door shut behind him. I sighed, frustrating as I closed his locker and went to mine, debating whether to just get dressed and leave, but part of me didn't want to.

I couldn't stop the nagging feeling in my gut that Matty needed me.

Even if he didn't want me.

I ran a hand through my hair, plopping down on the bench and tilting my head back against the lockers, closing my eyes to try and relax, but it was so hard. My heart was still racing from holding Matty so tight against me. I could still feel his warm skin against mine, his hot breath on my throat, his scent still lingering in the air around me. I just wanted to push him down and take him, but I had to be patient.

If only my patience wasn't wearing thin.

I know I was being insensitive and cruel. Matty had gone through so much just seven months ago. His life had been completely flipped upside down, from what he thought was reality, to what really was reality. He used to worry about detention and graduation, but now he was worrying about whether or not I'd toss him to another prince of hell or a ghost might creep up on him or something else supernatural.

Asmodeus had done cruel things to him. And so had the rest of us. Matty had thought of us as just regular students, some of us as friends, but we were the ones that handed him over to Asmodeus and Lucifer like a gift wrapped doll. Asmodeus had played with him and hurt him, abused him, and the rest of us just stood by and watched because we were too afraid to stand up to someone like Asmodeus, which granted was a totally rational fear, but we should've been able to overcome it to help someone we cared about.

No, I had to stop dragging everyone else down with me.

This was my fault.

It had happened once before with... And yet, I stupidly fell into the same trap again. I thought I could fight the feelings I had for Matty, I thought I could ignore them, forget them, grow out of them, but I couldn't.

It was just another Jeremiah situation waiting to happen.

And thinking about it made my chest clench tight.

I didn't want what happened to Jeremiah to happen to Matty too. I don't think I could handle something like that happening twice. Lucifer could just find himself a new fallen because I wouldn't be able to do that. And I knew he would be disappointed in me. For throwing all of those centuries of hard work away for one obnoxious teenager like Matty.

But he was so much more than that to me. Matty was slowly weasling his way into every one of my defenses without even realizing it. It was the small things he did that attracted me to him first. The way he would do the hair flip thing without even realizing it. The way he nibbled on his lower lip when he was nervous, or how he slept sprawled out on his back once second and slowly started to curl up into a fetal position. And then it opened my eyes to the fact that Matty himself was perfect. His pretty blonde hair, his sapphire blue eyes, his smooth creamy skin, the way he smiled or laughed when he was truly happy.

Ugh, now I was just depressing myself because I knew I couldn't be around him right now.

And the fact that he blamed me more than the others also hurt, but I knew he was in the right. Matty had every right to hate me.

I groaned, frustrated as I lowered my head down onto my knees, my arms limp at my sides and touching the floor. I tried to wipe my mind clean, to suck it up and go out there, but then I felt it.

An icy cold chill swept through the locker rooms and my eyes flickered open. I jerked my head up and looked around, eyes narrowing as the cold chill continued to dance through the room. I breathed, watching a small cloud form before vanishing. I could only guess who had come to make my day worse.

"Jeremiah?" I asked aloud. I didn't receive a response, not even Jeremiah himself. Just the cold air that gave me goosebumps. I slowly got to my feet, looking around the locker rooms carefully.

"Jeremiah, I know you're here." I warned. I wasn't so scared of Jeremiah as Matty was. Jeremiah could touch Matty and pull on him and drag him around, but Jeremiah wasn't strong enough to make me budge an inch. He'd just go right through me if he tried to attack me. And he knew that, which is why he probably wasn't showing himself. He was scared that I would exorcise him or probably flat out torture him...

But I wasn't like that anymore.

"Jeremiah, I'm not going to hurt you," I spoke clearly, doing a full circle to scan the locker room, "If you're here, you must want something." Still, I received no response. I frowned, breathing again and sure enough, there was a cloud there, but there was no Jeremiah. Had Stephen really locked Jeremiah's bones up in a containment box? Was he trying to escape and this was all he could manage?

Either way, it unnerved me. Before, Jeremiah had only shown up when something bad was about to happen to Matty.

I immediately snatched up my towel and went into the pool room. Much to my relief, Matty seemed to be just fine, splashing in the pool with Dustin and Akira. He seemed more relaxed than he had been with me in the locker room.

"Yo, Zeke," Dustin exclaimed, leaning on the edge of the pool to look at me as he wiped the wet hair from his face, "Where have you been, man? Get in!" Akira splashed at him and Dustin sputtered, then went after him while Matty watched with a grin before he glanced at me out the corner of his eye as I made my way over to the pool, setting my towel down on one of the benches.

"Is it all right?" I asked Matty quietly, studying his face as he stared up at me now. His cheeks darkened as he cleared his throat and shifted away from the edge of the pool.

"Yeah, I guess." He replied huffily. I smiled at that, relieved that he seemed to forgive me for the argument from earlier. I climbed into the pool, grimacing at the way the water seemed to wrap around me like a blanket. I lowered myself down until the water came up to just above my waist. I stood there stiffly, uncomfortable at the way the water felt against my skin. The water rippled and sloshed as Matty made his way over to me. He had lowered himself down until the water came up to his neck, his arms and legs moving under the water to keep him afloat.

"It's not gonna bite." He told me with a smirk. I didn't bother trying to smile because I was incredibly uncomfortable. Why was I doing this again? Oh yeah, because I was worried about Matty and felt the need to be around him 24/7. At the same time, being in the water was making me wish I could just crawl out and go back to the dorm room, but that would probably just strip me of every last bit of masculinity I happened to have.

"But it could." I muttered to Matty, making him smile. He lowered himself further into the water until he was on his knees and the water came up to just above his lips, but I could still see him smiling up at me. I could also see him sucking water into his mouth before he jumped up and spit it in my face, making me shudder.

"Ugh, gross." I groaned, wiping the water off my face. I cupped some water in my hands and splashed my face with it, watching Matty laugh and flip onto his back in the water, paddling away from me until he was a few feet in front of me, watching Dustin and Akira splash around and play in the water.

Things seemed normal enough, but I still couldn't shake the feeling that something was going to go wrong. And I had a sneaking suspicion that it had to do with Jeremiah's presence in the locker room.

I made a mental note to pay Stephen a midnight visit.

Not that I wanted to. What I really wanted to do was suffocate him in his sleep, but obviously that wouldn't go over well with him, so a visit was all I could manage. I would have to see if he had a containment box of Jeremiah's bones. If he didn't, that meant something else had happened to Jeremiah months ago. If he did, well, I'd have to give Jeremiah the funeral he deserved.

A splash in the face distracted me from my thoughts and I sputtered, shaking my head and looking up to see Matty beaming at me cheekily. All my focus on Jeremiah's bones and Stephen were scattered as I felt a smirk creeping onto my face. It was really hard to ignore Matty when he was looking at me like that.

God, he's adorable.

I waded through the water towards him and he dunked under the surface, but seeing as we were in the shallow end, he didn't get very far before I scooped him up out of the water, making him yelp and squirm. I laughed and swung him around, tossing him into the water and watching him flail before he resurfaced, spewing water into my face. I snorted at that, wiping my face.

"Gross." I complained again. Matty made a face at me as he swam over until he was holding onto my arm so he could float around beside me.

"You have no problem sticking your tongue in my mouth, but my saliva in your face is gross?" He asked mockingly. I rolled my eyes and pulled my arm away from him before shoving him under, only for him to pop back up and grab me around the waist to stay afloat.

"Your logic is crap, Zeke." He teased, burying his nose against the small of my back before he hopped to his feet, ducking behind me to avoid a splash from Dustin that got me instead. I made a sound of disgust and kicked water into Dustin's face, making him sputter.

"So, how'd we get in here anyway? They don't open the pool, except during school hours." Matty commented as he swam in cricles around me and I splashed him on occasion. Akira smiled daintily.

"Student Council privileges." He answered. Matty whistled and swam around me on his back, one hand laced with mine as I led him around.

"Being in Student Council sure has its benefits. You should join." He told me. I scoffed.

"I'm the stereotypical juvenile delinquent. That's like asking Al Capone to run for president." I replied, lowering myself into the water while making Dustin and Akira laugh. Matty scrunched up his nose, then shrugged as he closed his eyes and let me guide him through the water on his back.

"Yeah, well, if Stephen can join Student Council, then you can-- And Stephen's more Satan than Satan is." He answered nonchalantly. I shared looks with Dustin and Akira, who both shrugged.

"We do have an empty position," Akira pointed out, making me raise an eyebrow in surprise that he would even agree with Matty, "The vice-president position still needs to be filled. Stephen took over for Jason." I frowned at that and Matty cleared his throat, pretending to be interested in the water and my arms. He didn't particularly like talking about Jason considering it was kind of his fault that Jason was killed... and mine as well, but Matty was more guilty about it than me.

I had never liked Jason. Like Stephen, Jason was out for himself. While I admit, he looked horrified when I had killed him, but I had no doubt that Lucifer was babying his soul now, probably fostering it for reincarnation or something of the sort.

"I'm really not cut out for that kind of crap," I told Akira honestly, watching him lift a brow, "No offense. It's just not my style to be part of authority. I have a knack for breaking the rules." Akira shrugged in defeat at that. Dustin scoffed.

"You'll be on the student council, bitch, you can do what you want." He replied. I rolled my eyes at that and shook my head.

"I don't think so. Not to mention, I already don't like being in the same building as Stephen. Any closer and I might just go homicidal on him." I said with finality, letting go of Matty, so he went under the water with a yelp before he popped back up and punched me playfully in the shoulder. I smirked at him and made a kissy noise before he pushed his hand against my face in refusal.

"Well, after this year, we won't have to worry about him anymore," Matty decided confidently, folding his arms over his chest, "After this year, we can do whatever the hell we want.... Like take that road trip we talked about." The road trip that Dustin, Matty, and I had planned for the past few years. It was originally just a joke because Dustin and I assumed we'd never get out of the mess with Asmodeus, but apparently, Matty had taken it completely serious.

And I found it oddly endearing.

"With what money," Dustin pointed out, making Matty pout, "We get our money wired from Tobias and company back in Italy. They only fund us for as long as we stay at St. Salvatore's. After that, they usually move us to a new school." Matty looked surprised.

"You do? You mean you haven't stayed at St. Salvatore's all these years?" He asked, looking at me. I shook my head, slicking my dark hair back from my face.

"The Sisters would get suspicious when they realized we hadn't aged. We move from school to school. Eventually we come back and just claim we're relatives of the first students, but it doesn't last for long. Even if half of the Sisters die and are replaced by new ones. We still need to worry about the photos they take of us. After this year, we probably won't come back to St. Salvatore's." I explained, watching Matty's lips work into a frown.

"And what am I supposed to do?" He asked, sounding disheartened. Honestly, I hadn't really thought about it. Again, I had assumed Lucifer would have taken Matty by now and tossed him over to Asmodeus and Stephen to fight over his remains, which made me shudder to think about.

But really, what would Matty do? His parents surely wouldn't want him back. From what I was told, Matty's parents were temporary parents who only raised Matty from infant to teenager before they tossed him to St. Salvatore's, just as they'd been told by Michael. Had Michael set something up for Matty after he left St. Salvatore's, or was he going to abandon him too? The thought made my heart clench.

"Several centuries of Algebra is starting to get annoying," I admitted, watching Akira and Dustin stare at me in surprise as I looked at Matty, who perked up at my words, "I don't really think I need to hear the same lectures in different languages. I don't mind going cross country with you." Matty smiled at that, a genuine happy, relieved smile.

"What about Lucifer," Dustin pointed out grimly, making me frown, "He probably already knows about you and Matty. But there's no way he'll let something that insignificant get in his way of coming back to earth. He's Lucifer. He was an archangel."

"Dustin's right," Akira agreed with a frown, "We're just angels. Fallen angels at that. We're weakened by the curses that Michael bestowed upon us when he threw us from Paradise. Lucifer is the only thing keeping us from destroying humanity right now. If you abandon him, he might take those gifts back and..." His voice trailed, but we all knew what he meant.

If I abandoned Lucifer now, he'd take the gifts back and I wouldn't be able to resist the urge to rip Matty's throat open and suck him dry. The thought sent a pang of pain in my chest and I looked helplessly at Matty, who clenched his fists in the water and ground his teeth together before he splashed angrily at the water.

"That's stupid," He declared loud enough so that his voice echoed off the walls of the pool room, "That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. If Lucifer can give you the gifts, then... Well, someone else can."

"Like who? No one wants to get involved with fallen. We're fallen for a reason," Akira told him with a weary sigh, "We betrayed our Father and His Son and His Archangels. No one else will trust us."

"Well," Matty said slowly, "What if... What if I could convince Michael to take the curses back?" Before I could stop myself, I was laughing and Matty was glaring at me as I managed to sober to a degree, still chuckling in disbelief as I spoke.

"Michael hates us. Does betraying our Father mean nothing to you? We betrayed God. We went against His Word. We questioned It. Michael would rather see us writhing in pools of our own blood than ever helping us. You'd have been luck convincing Lucifer to not invade earth. And that feat in itself is impossible." I explained, making Matty scowl.

"Yeah, but Michael doesn't hate me." He stressed past clenched teeth.

"Yeah, and no offense, but he doesn't really care about your opinion either. Michael may be your father, but he thinks he knows best just like all the other fathers our there. So he's going to tell you you're stupid and we deserve to suffer for our treason. Come on, be realistic, Matty." I insisted, growing frustrated with the topic. We had just gotten out of an argument, but I could already see the red flags going up around me to signal that another argument was rearing its ugly head.

"But he's still my dad," Matty insisted, "He has to at least listen to me. Maybe if you guys promise to do something--"

"Promise to do what? Not follow Lucifer anymore? Promise to come back to Paradise? Matty, if we go back to Paradise, which is impossible and not even an if anymore, we would never see you again. Paradise is meant for the pure, powerful, and worth to be in God's Palace. The fact that Lucifer wanted you because you were the purest at this school doesn't mean you're the purest in the world. You were born out of wedlock. You're technically a bastard child and even though it was Michael's fault, he'd sooner cut his own tongue off than let you step foot in God's realm."

Today must be National Zeke Is Stupid Day because I was saying stupid shit left and right. I watched Matty's cheeks turn red and before I could say anything, he splashed water in my face and climbed out of the pool.

"I hate you, you jerk!" Matty snarled at me when I tried to reach for him. I winced, but didn't go after him as he stormed into the locker rooms.

"Wow," Dustin whistled, making me flinch and glare at him in irritation, "You have got to be the smoothest man in the world, Zeke. Nice job flappin' those lips. No wonder Michael bitch slapped you."

"Fuck you." I returned heatedly, pulling myself out of the pool.

"He probably wants to be alone." Akira pointed out as he swam up to the edge of the pool. I shook the water off myself, grabbing my towel as I dried my hair off.

"I have to go with him," I told him sternly, "Something's wrong. I can feel Jeremiah trying to get in contact with someone, and my bets are on Matty." Dustin and Akira shared surprised looks, but I wasn't going to stick around to chat with them. I hurried back into the locker rooms, pausing as soon as I entered to feel the icy chill in the air. I shivered, feeling goose bumps cling to my skin, my breath coming out in clouds.

"Matty?" I asked aloud, coughing at how cold it was inside the locker room. I waited, but there was no response and my panic rose into my throat. I let the towel fall around my shoulders as I walked past the first aisle of lockers, but there was no sign of Matty. I paused by the showers to listen, but again, I didn't hear a single drip. I frowned, hesitating to look around when I heard Matty's voice croak my name.

I bolted down to the last aisle of lockers and spotted Matty curled up in one corner of the lockers, hugging his towel tightly around himself with his eyes squeezed shut. I rushed over to him quickly, dropping my towel over him. His teeth were chattering, his fingernails digging into his arms.

"Matty, are you all right?" I demanded in concern. Matty shook his head vigorously, peeking his eyes open before they widened at something behind me and he managed a choked name. I whirled around and froze, staring into a pair of empty eye sockets.

"Jeremiah!"