Thank you for over 8k reads on here loves, and for all of you adding it and voting on this book. It's means the world to me, really, and I still can't believe it. Each one of you is so important to me, and I'm sorry for leaving you waiting with this update.

I have finally-officially-finished all of my studies, is updated will be much more consistent! I hope this is good news to you all, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Song: New York, Ed Sheeran

Zanthus' POV

Angel and I didn't talk much after Monday. It was a bit odd, at first, trying to come to terms with a new form of communication between the two of us that didn't consist of actually talking, much contradicting to traditional ways of communication and a bit complicated to accommodate to of course.

Monday was brilliant. Monday was tragic. Monday was brilliant because I got to hug Angel, I got to hold my Angel in my arms as close as I'd like for as long as I'd like. Something I had been dreaming about doing since I was an awkward, lanky twelve-year-old lad who could barely manage himself on his own feet whenever I saw her face.

Not that six years has given me much of an advantage on how to handle myself around her.

Monday was brilliant. Monday was tragic, Monday was tragic because it sunk in just how much I've cocked up my chances with Angel. I was in such high graces after our embrace, it was a proper punch in the gut when I heard her offer amends through the settling of a friendship between us.

Friendship.

She wanted to be friends, she wants to be friends and no matter how much I'd like to scream from the top of the hills just how much I repent the idea of us being classified as friends, I'm not fit to do such a thing. I've got to accept her decision, and I've got to do so with profound character.

So I did just that.

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, consisted of me swallowing my pride and my strangling emotions and being 'friends' with Angel. Undeniably, it hasn't been pleasant, is what necessary.

Who am I to deny Angel of her wishes?

Angel. My Angel.

Monday. I did my best to keep a convincing smile upon my face the entirety of the day, and I'm pretty sure it did its job to my good news. No matter how ecstatic I was over the hug I had shared with her in the morning, the word, 'friend's seeping from Angels' mouth didn't leave my head once.

After school had come to end I was bidding her goodbye on her porch, let's start with. Sum of it all, I drew near to kissing her cheek. That would have likely been disastrous, and I realized this soon enough to correct myself. Rest assured I listened to 'It's Gonna Be Lonely' by Prince on repeat while driving the stretch from her house to my own.

Tuesday. I picked her up for college again, having text to ask the night prior if it were alright. The car ride over was rather tense, to say the least, comfortable silence is far overrated. Angel must've initiated conversations with me over the day around sixteen times, apologizing profusely each time of course when she recalled the new arrangement we had agreed on but were yet to take initiative on progressing.

The drive home wasn't much better in comparison to the one we endured this morning. Though it didn't conclude with three rushed apologies from the party who'd been sat beside me in the passenger seat each time she accidentally began an attempt to converse with me.

I was a bit taken back, or more to say absolutely out of my head when I received a text from her while I and Xander sat on the settee while Hades and Dimitri played FIFA and Jax shouted random strings of course just because. Hades had to proper knock me upside the head before I had half a brain to reply to her.

Xander shook his head with both amusement and shame, the ladder on my behalf of course. We exchanged, but nothing too extreme. She may have been the one to end the conversation by saying she was going to sleep, and it may have been just seven forty-two when she sent this, and I may not have believed her, but I still went to bed with a smile on my face as I reread our conversation to many times to be healthy.

Wednesday, Come Wednesday morning things surely fell a bit more into a routine with us. By the time I pulled up to Angels' house she was already waiting patiently on her porch. Despite the bit of upset, I was that she was waiting in the cold air, it was rather endearing, and gave me a reason to lend her my jacket as well, which must I add looked exceptional on her.

Angel. My Angel.

She had gotten a bit more accustomed to my speaking habits, or lack thereof to put it. There were a few awkward minutes of silence and apologies between us. The car ride was enjoyable, consisting of my songs drifting through the speakers filling the air around us, each song courtesy of Angels' choosing. Though I was quite disheartened when she did return my jacket after I let her out of the car.

I refrained from commenting, of course, because we're only friends.

Friends. I'm not upset over being her friend. Not in the slightest. It's what Angel wants, so why should I be upset? I'm not. I don't want anything more from her. I don't.

My heart doesn't ache when I remember Angel just wants to be friends.

It doesn't. It does. So much it does. It can't. I can't bare it. It doesn't.

It doesn't.

She got notably comfortable with the lads by Wednesday, specifically Jax to my dismay, by this day. I wanted to pull him away from her so she could have her attention on just me, so it could just be the two of us talking with each other and the world around us would be irrelevant like it always is when we speak.

But we're friends. So I didn't, I let them be and reminded myself we're just friends.

Though on the positive end of it, lunch wasn't some battlezone to maneuver around and fill with painfully obvious cover conversations, to hide the awkward unestablished dynamic Angel and I held. Rather it consisted of playful banter amongst everyone seated, excluding myself of course, for obvious reasons.

The drive to Angels' was quite alright, she even leaned over the console to bid me a goodbye hug. I did well at not squealing like a nob when this encounter occurred, but no promises regarding that when she smiled one last time at me and then shut her front door.

Thursday was exceptional, all the way through. The now unspoken routine of me picking Angel up every morning had become of ease. She even made little [one sided of course] comments in the car ride over to the sixth form,  and of course, my heart tugged every time her voice picked up in my ears.

She gifted me with her presence gracefully through the entirety of the day. Our lack of shared words wasn't much of an issue anymore, surprisingly. The silences that we shared were now actually worthy of being considered comfortable, and no longer as overrated as they came across prior.

She had become accustomed to filling the empty spaces that I left within conversations, and did so in such a natural way. She didn't ask questions that required too much talking on my end, mainly yes or no's unless they were rhetorical. It blew me away, how well she picked up on how to act around me, how much effort she put into me, into us.

Friends. Us as friends, of course. Nothing more nothing less. The despair I felt from this reminder of her words Monday morning was only me being childish, selfish. I shouldn't be upset that she just wants to be friends. I'm not upset. I like being her friend. I do.

I'm not upset. I'm not.

She had taken the jacket I placed on her shoulders when I found her guilty of waiting in the cold for me yet again that morning. This time, though, much to my pleasure she didn't take it off when I let her out of the car. Or when we walked through the campus.

She didn't take it off when we walked to our lectures together and she didn't take it off when lunch came. Lunch went along as it did the other day, the chatter entirely fluid, not a breath of unfamiliarity could be taken from the lot of us, much to me and I believe everyone else's surprise.

I didn't ask for the jacket-which fit her practice as a coat-back when we arrived at her as we did perusal. She didn't offer it to me either, so I assume she either forgot about it or she was choosing to keep it. I was just fine with either option, honestly.

She texted me that night to tell me how incredibly sorry she was for keeping my jacket. I told her she looked quite cute in it, and from there we just kept texting. I didn't realize it was nearing two in the morning and I was smiling at my phone like a kid at chocolate until she pointed out she was going to be out of her head during school the next day.

I told her she could use my jacket as a makeshift pillow. Maybe because I felt inclined to give her the bright idea so she wouldn't be uncomfortable, or maybe because I wanted to see her with my jacket again.

My morning may have certainly been rough come today, as I didn't really end up falling asleep after Angel finally said goodnight at two forty-six, but it was worth it. It's not like I get much sleep anyways, so I braved it well. Though fuck, if she isn't the most beautiful person to walk the earth in my jacket, I could surely do with losing ownership of it. It was one of my favourites, but I don't mind giving it to her in the slightest.

Angel. My Angel.

Angel didn't look as well when she got in the car, she looked absolutely knackered, beautiful nonetheless though. But it was obvious staying up until near three texting a boy wasn't a usual occurrence for her.

I would be lying if I said I wasn't chuffed over this realization.

I walked her to all of her lectures of course, well up until now that is as she said she had to take a stop at the washroom. She was profoundly adorable each time she emerged from her study halls, even more so in the ones I had with her because I got to sit beside her the whole time. That as well had settled in without being addressed, us sitting beside each other. It began Monday and never stopped, and I surely wasn't opposed. 

"Got a certain Angel on your mind yeah?" Hades nudges my side as he sits down beside me at the table. I can feel myself turn red, and honestly, at this point, I don't even attempt to hide it, there's hope really. "Right, I assumed as much. You're proper gone for her"

"N-no, I'm no-not." I doubt my denial is doing any good for my case.

"So then you'd be alright if I asked her out when she comes for dinner? She's quite fit, wouldn't you agree?" Hades taunts, much to my displeasure. "Ouch! What'd you do that for?" He near screeches while he rubs his freshly assaulted shoulder.

"I told you taking the piss out of him with Angel wouldn't end well." Jax sniggers without glancing up from his friends.

"Oh belt up, you twat. You're the one that suggested it." Hades retorts and leans over to flick the inattentive boy's forehead.

"Oi, don't abuse my baby!" Xander's voice rings through the air as he comes up behind Jax, pulling the now obnoxious whining boy into his arms in feigned defense.

"I thought I was your baby, what does this mean for us now?" Maxim cries from besides Jax in faux hurt as he holds a hand over his heart.

"You're cheating on me? Wanker!" A gasp emits from Jax as he yanks his head around as much as he can to focus on Xander.

"Angel, save me from these imbeciles. I don't know if I can do it much longer." Xander groans as he drops his head back and lets it loll with shut eyes.

It doesn't take more than a second before I've got my eyes locked on Angel who's looking at me just the same. I feel my breath hitch and watch her face redden when I take note of the jacket which is engulfing her small form at the moment.

My jacket. My jacket that she had taken home the night beforehand. My jacket that she hadn't been wearing in her earlier hours, but she is wearing it now.

My jacket that makes her look absolutely precious and so much more.

Angel. My Angel.

"Careful there Zanthus, wouldn't want you to strain your neck now." I hear Jax tease from just across the table but I don't have any motivation to pay mind to him at the moment.

"Erm, sorry. It's uh, it's really really comfortable, and warm as well. It was just..." She trails off, a deep shade of red this time but it's incredibly adorable.

"Th-that's a-alright." I force myself to speak before my staring gets to be plain odd. I don't get a response from her, just a bashful smile as she slowly darts to take a seat to my left, and I instantly accommodate my body to face what I hope is discreetly in her direction.

"Sorry I'm a bit late-" Hades cuts her off with an exasperated sigh from my left before she can continue.

"You haven't got anything to apologize for, you do it far too much. We've been over this yeah?" He tells her straight, but you can hear the playfulness in his tone so it's not offensive in any way.

"Right, right." Angel smiles his way.

"I'm still upset with you Xander. This issue needs to be addressed before it tears us apart." Maxim speaks up, and just like that the focus falls solely off of Angel and the natural banter amongst the boys begins.

"Have you heard of the new film that's coming out tonight?" Angel shoots my way, her eager tone instantly grabbing my full attention.

I shake my head softly at her question, though truly I have, I just want to hear her talk about it.

She claps her hands as she launches into a very hearty description of the romance movie plot that I had already been educated on. I didn't have to worry about nodding or laughing at the appropriate times, it all came naturally with her. I didn't have to feign attentiveness, it was impossible for me to not be absolutely enthralled by any words that tumbled from her mouth.

"Are you on about that new romance movie?" Maxim pipes up after some time, of course having accidentally nosed his way into our conversation.

Well, more so Angel talking with no end while I listen earnestly, but it's our conversation nonetheless.

"You know of it?" She brightens as she turns her focus to him making me unintentionally pout a bit.

"Course I do! Zanthus is a mug for love stories. He's been on about it himself for over a  fortnight." Maxim laughs as Angel turns her focus to me. I don't think I could get any more embarrassed than I am right now.

"Zanthus?" Angel queries, her tone not sounding teasing though it didn't fully ease the mortification hanging over me. "Well look at me won't you?" I can tell she's not being demanding to me, but surely she does actually want me to bring my eyes to her, and who am I to ever deny her from her wishes.

"Much better. I prefer to be able to look at you, you know?" She teases, her smile bright as ever and my heart pounding harder. "Why on earth did you let me ramble on about the film for so long if you already know what it's of." Her tone isn't accusing, a bit more incredulous for lack of better word.

"I-I like li-listening t-to you ta-talk," I admit after the pause between us begins to grow unbearable. I wasn't expecting her to burst into near flames at my words, but she does and she looks absolutely beautiful as she appears to attempt making herself smaller with the use of my jacket.

"Oh." Her tone is almost a whisper while she says this.

"Zanthus, have you not invited her to watch it tonight?" Xander's tone is scolding and rhetorical in one. "Have I got to teach you everything? Bloody hell, Z." His tone is assertive but I can hear the softness behind it that he always holds.

"You're watching it tonight?" She asks, obviously attempting to contain her excitement, which is a precious sight to see.

"Yeah, at his. Zanthus and his connections got him a copy of the film earlier this week, he's been waiting to watch it. Said he wanted to wait for a day he could invite you over. So it's a bit confusing why he hasn't done that." Jax explains to Angel without shame, leaving me to deal with that part of it.

"You'd like me to come to watch it with you?" Angel's question makes my stomach flip, and her smile as enrapturing as she turns her attention back to me. I nod mutely, scrambling in my head to conjure up a response to her.

"I-I'd r-really like th-that." I settle on, almost choking halfway through the small sentence.

"Well, then I'd like that as well." Her cheeks are tinted with a rosy shade, as I believe mine are as well.

It goes quiet between us, and thankfully the boys have gone back to conversing on their own terms at this point so there's at least some sort of a prominent buffer. I tug the bottom hem of my shirt as a distraction, finding less solace in it to what I'd prefer. I can't help but be a nervous wreck under Angel's watch.

"I re-really like y-you in m-my ja-jacket." I blurt out, wishing I had said anything besides what I did once I've let my words sink in. My skin feels as if it's on fire and the slight laugh that I hear from beside me lets me know that I really have just made a fool out of myself, per usual.

"What?" Of course, Angel is taken back by my absurdly random declaration.

"Y-you just..." I stumble over my words, forcing myself to take a breath before I attempt to speak up again. "Y-you look r-really p-pretty in it. L-like you al-always look p-pretty, b-but you just, I-I-" I feel Angel grab my now white knuckles that had been fisting at the fabric of my shirt, my hands instantly relaxing into hers as she slips her fingers through my own.

"Thank you, Zanthus." Angel offers me with a stomach-turning smile, in the best way of course.

"S-so-sorry. I-I just a-always want to t-tell you that b-but I-I'm t-" Angel's soft laugh causes me to stop talking, and I can't help but turn red all over again.

"ZeZe, it's fine. I swear it." She tells me, though sobers up from her fit of giggled when what she's said sinks in. "I'm, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to, I-" I'm the one to cut her off this time with a tight squeeze to are still conjoined hands.

"I-It's o-okay. I l-like it." I tell her with a bashful smile wish she returns, both our cheeks afire, but neither of us paying mind to that fact.

"You do?" She asks me, and I can't help but smile wider at how precious she looks with her cheeks all red and her smile shy and her eyes practically glowing.

"Yeah." I close to whisper, and the added pressure to my fingers entrapped with hers makes me aware that she's appeased with my response.

It's quiet again, and I find myself admiring my hands fit with Angel's, because it's impossible for me to keep my attention off them.

Friends.

My heart drops every time I remind myself of those words, that forsaken label she's given us which surely wasn't the one I was hoping for. Of course, I'm in no position to get upset with her, it's not like I ever expected for her to actually see me as more, to want me as more.

It still hurts, but I've got to take what I'm dealt with.

We're friends. We're friends because on Monday Angel said she wants to be friends and I have to respect that. Who am I to go against her wishes?

I can do friends. Friends can still surely hold hands, and friends can care about the other to no end. Friends can share jackets and friends can bond over romance movies together. Friends can be the two of us, we are friends.

"So tonight then, yeah?" Angel breaks the silence stretched amongst us, and I bring my eyes back to meet her gleaming set.

"To-tonight, yeah," I confirm, a little spaced due to being so lost in my thoughts so I shake my head a bit and recollect myself to be fully present with Angel. I feel her squeeze my hands a bit, and I return the favour. Possibly tenfold with how on edge I was at the moment, but if that was the truth she didn't comment on it, just kept her hold tight as well.

Friends. Just friends.

Angel. My Angel.

"Tonight"​