Cole's POV:

"Brother, relax. Elle's fine. Beelzebub and Maizen are protecting her, and she can hold her own against even Lucifer" Zaach rests a hand on my shoulder, trying to reassure me, but it's not working.

"I know, but I can't reach her through the Bond. I...I know it's stupid, but I'm scared." A cold sweat breaks out on the back of my neck, and I try to rub it away.

"Then stop being stupid. It's not hard." He shrugs as if it's a simple solution, and I glare at him, daring him to say another word. "Sheesh. Just trying to help." He walks away fuming, his expression hard as he passes Moniqué.

"If you're trying to cheer him up, don't. It's a suicide mission." She pats him politely on the back as he walks away, then turns to face me.

"Why are you so worried? We've all seen how well she can handle herself. Even better now that she has powers. Haven't you seen that?" Her eyes shine sympathetically, and her tone is quiet and understanding. I can see why Elle chose to be her friend.

"I know, but I can't stop worrying. My head feels empty without her voice. I know I've only known her for a few days, but I feel like it's been my whole life, and now I feel so lonely without her. What am I going to do all week while she's gone?" I bury my face in my hands, feelings of empathy for Ralem creeping into my mind. If Elle's only been gone a few hours and I can't handle it, I can't imagine eternity without her.

Moniqué's resigned sigh brings me out of my thoughts. "I wish I could say that I knew how to make you feel better, but I can't. All I can say is that you can't dwell on her absence. It'll drive you insane. Keep your mind off of her. We both know she'll be back safe and sound, even stronger because of it.

"We just have to trust her to protect herself."

"You're right; I knows you're right. I just can't. When she left this realm of life, it was like she took half of my heart with her."

She rolls her eyes, and I know how lovesick I must sound, but I don't care. "Think about it this way: she's in Hell, you're on Earth. You can't get her part of your heart back until she gets back, so all you can do is hurry up and wait. Some of us were going to go watch Fast and Furious 1-3. Wanna come with?"

"Sure. I need something to do. Elle needs her own life. When you love something, you have to let it go, and if it comes back, it's yours. So I guess if she comes back and decides to be with me instead of Lucifer, I have nothing to worry about." I look at her to see if I understood her point, and she nods proudly.

"Exactly. Come on, let's go. Paul Walker needs people to honor him now that he's dead." She tugs me by the arm, and I allow myself to be pulled away, but thoughts of Elle circle my mind, leaving a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach.

**********
Six hours later:

The end credits of Fast and Furious 3 roll, and the movie theaterstretch my stiff legs before gently shaking Moniqué awake.

She turns, and her 3D glasses fall crooked on her nose as she mumbles something about nothing being good enough to skip work for.

"Moniqué, wake up. The movies are over and we have to go back to the house." I shake her again, and she pushes her glasses back up onto her nose. "Oh. It's you. Why are you in my bedroom?"

I roll my eyes and pull her glasses of, showing them to her. "I'm not. The movies are over, and we need to get back to Elle's house." Just saying her name leaves a pang of loneliness in my heart.

"Oh. Thanks for waking me up. Let's go. By the way, do you have my keys?" She digs through her small bag, a frown spreading across her face.

"Yeah. They're right here." I reach into my jacket and pull out her small carabiner key ring.

She grabs them and steps around me into the aisle, not waiting for me to catch up. As I stand, my legs buckle from the long period of doing nothing. I grab a seat to catch me, and Moniqué turns at the loud crash, her face pale in surprise.

"Want a hand?" She smirks at me and holds out her hand, leaning back to brace herself against my weight. I stand up, testing my legs and happy they don't collapse again.

We walk out into the lobby and see all the couples holding hands and exchanging private words, and my heart sinks to my stomach.

I wish Elle was here. We could be one of those couples, having a good time together, ot worrying about anything but each other.

I sigh sadly. Not only can we never have such a simple relationship, but I can't think about her right now. I'm going to drive myself crazy if I focus on Elle. I need to live in the present, like a normal human. If Elle isn't immortal, I can't think I have forever to make my decisions.

Moniqué stops, almost like she can read my mind. "Stop thinking about her, Cole. There's nothing you can do until Monday. And any relationship has its own circumstances. There is no such thing as a 'simple relationship'. It's just that some people maneuver within those circumstances more easily."

"How did you...how did you do that? How did you know what I was thinking?"

She looks at me like I'm crazy. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, how did you know what I was thinking to the 'T'?" I've never heard of a human being able to read a person so accurately.

"I don't know. I've just always been good at being able to know how people are feeling. It sorta looks like...a color, I guess. Like a mood ring that everyone always wears, I guess."

I blink repeatedly. Did she just say what I think she said? "Can you tell what a person is thinking from the color?"

"Yeah. And the subtleties look sort of like marbling. Yours just now was blue with some green streaks. Blue with sadness and green with envy. Amazing just how accurate those sayings are." She exhales deeply and focuses on a group of girls with their backs turned, her expression becoming angry and harsh.

"We new to hurry up and get to the car. Now." She yanks me forward, lengthening and quickening her strides. Out of my peripheral vision, I see one of the girls turn and smile evilly, gesturing for the others to follow her.

It's the girl from the lunchroom. The one who was trying to get Elle to move so that she could sit with me, Ralem and Beelzebub. I move faster, almost jogging, and Moniqué struggles to keep up.

As I shoulder the door open and Moniqué runs out, I feel a hand tug on my sleeve. So close yet so far.

"Cole, if you wanted to cheat on Elle, you should have at least chose someone with a little more social status." I look into the eyes of the girl, who's taunting me with a conniving smirk.

"I'm not cheating on anyone. Not with Moniqué, and definitely not with you." I snap my sleeve out of her grasp, and Moniqué slowly walks back to the doorway. I don't blame her for not wanting to get in the middle of this.

"That's what they all say. And where is Elle, anyway? Since Friday, she's been clinging on you like a desperate little leech."

"She's on a trip. And if you ever call her a leech again, you'll be deeply sorry."

"Ooh. I'm so scared. Not. Look, she doesn't deserve you. She's just going to ignore you for all her brother's friends. Have you seen them?"

"If she doesn't deserve me, you don't deserve to talk to me. And actually, one of her brother's friends introduced us, so stop pretending you know what you're talking about."

She rolls her eyes, and huffs. "Fine. I'm going. Talk to you later, Cole. Moniqué, unfashionable as always."

Moniqué narrows her eyes and smiles evilly. "Nice to see you, Bethanie. Obviously, easy is agreeing with you."

"I'm not even going to reply to that. Bye." She turns and struts away, her boots clicking on the hardwood floors of the movie theater lobby.

Moniqué and I walk to the car and climb in. The ride back to the house is nothing but awkward silence.