Monique's POV:

Me and Beelzebub sit in the car cruising down the highway, when my phone suddenly starts buzzing and ringing and flashing...which I assume isn't all supposed to happen simultaneously.

"Turn that off! Please!" Beelzebub shields his face and turns his head away, and I fumble with my phone to stop the thing from quite possibly frying.

I almost punch in my passcode when I see text notifications piled one on top of another.

How do you suppose you'll win?

Why do you think you and those Fallen can beat us?

It's hilarious how pitifully unaware you are of your demise.

I frown, punch in the code and open my text messages to find at least twenty more of the equally threatening messages.

My small frown turns to an angry glare at the phone when a new message pops up.

I know you're reading all of these.

Resisting the urge to curse out loud, I type a reply.

Who is this?

At almost exactly the same time as I hit send, a new text appears.

Really? You don't remember me?

A small grin makes its way to my face as I reply.

No. I deal with too many annoying jerks to remember them all.

A reply appears, and what it says doesn't surprise me much, though it does make me hesitate.

I'd think you'd remember the man who threatened your mother and baby sibling.

I narrow my eyes at the screen and angrily type.

Oh. It's you. How much of an idiot are you to talk to me again? Or is it just that you just need to get beat up again?

I can almost picture Daevon laughing before the next reply pops up.

Lovely. I thought you might have forgotten about our little meeting.

I continue to frown, almost at the point of shaking in anger and frustration.

Get your head out of your ass. The only reason I remembered you was because I've never seen a guy beaten so easily by a girl.

The typing icon flashes for a split second before another rapid reply appears.

You're kinda hot when you're pissed. Has anyone ever told you that?

Gritting my teeth, I type and send my message before exiting the messaging app.

Go screw a pencil sharpener.

"Idiot." I mutter under my breath and put my phone away, surprised when Beelzebub looks at me.

"What did you just call me?"

I shake my head and smirk. "I wasn't talking about you. Just someone who was texting me."

Beelzebub shifts his grip on the steering wheel and watches the road. "Well, who were you talking to?"

I tap my chin in thought, trying to think of a way to answer but not give away the answer completely.

"Well, I'm sure you know him. Or knew him, rather."

Beelzebub nods his head, mulling over the information. "So it's a guy, and I used to know him. What else?"

"He's kinda a jerk and deserves to be punched in the face repeatedly. No, he's really a huge jerk and for someone not to punch him would be a sad thing."

He laughs and shrugs. "Is it Lucifer?"

"No. Lucifer isn't as bad as this guy, in my opinion. This guy's horrible. At least Lucifer has boundaries."

Beelzebub looks at me, slightly grimacing. "Is it Daevon?"

I sit quietly in shock for a moment before nodding. "Yeah. How'd you know?"

He shrugs and glances at me. "I've had the same wish to punch him a few times." He pauses for a moment. "Speaking of which, good job in all but breaking his face."

"No. I did it for all the people who had always wanted to but never had a chance." A small grin shows on my face, and I glance over to see Beelzebub sharing my expression.

"Okay, now do we need to take this stuff back to your house?"

I give him puppy dog eyes and nod, feeling grateful for all his help but a little guilty for not being all that nice to him at all.

"Please and thank you. I owe you a bunch."

He grins and shrugs. "Not really."

I nod and smile. For a Dark Angel, he's pretty modest. "Yeah, I do owe you. You helped me run errands and now you're willing to help me take them back home."

He rolls his eyes, the corner of his mouth turning up into a smirk. "You humans are so stubborn."

I bat my eyelashes and grin. "Thank you. It's a special gift of mine."

He laughs and turns to me, locking eyes for a split second. "What's your address? I don't think you gave it to me."

"Oh yeah. Here." I type it into the GPS, and the car starts spewing the directions in the mechanical and monotone voice.

In about twenty minutes, we've reached my house, and as soon as Beelzebub stops the car, I jump out and run to the door.

He looks at me confused for a moment before running after me.

"What are you freaking out about?"

I point to the door, which has been left open.

His slightly playful expression quickly turning serious. He passes me and walks in, but I grab the back of his shirt and yank him behind me, shooting him a glare that dares him to try to pass me again.

"Mom?" I walk quietly through the main room of my mother's small house, listening for a reply.

I hear murmuring, like a conversation, before it stops.

I hear the sound of someone clearing their throat, then a reply. "In here, sweetheart."

Glancing back at Beelzebub, I walk toward the kitchen, stopping in the doorway when I see a boy sitting at the kitchen table, swirling a straw in a cup of raspberry lemonade.

He tips his chin up at me and grins, showing sharper-than-normal teeth, his eyes partially covered by his hair.

"Sweetie, this is Devin. He just moved here a few weeks ago and he said he goes to school with you.

"Yeah. I know." Glaring at Daevon, I hardly realize when my mom pulls me into the kitchen, leaving Beelzebub and Daevon alone in the dining room.

"Why are you being so rude to that poor boy in there?!"

Gritting my teeth and crossing my arms, I reply. "I just don't like him."

"Don't be so rude. You can't judge a book by its cover."

Almost growling, I narrow my eyes at the floor. "I don't need to judge the book by its cover. I already know it isn't worth reading."

My mother frowns at me and grabs my face in her hand. "Young lady, you will be polite to our guest in there, or you will regret it and not be happy with the consequences."

I scowl and walk out of the room, letting my mother have the last word.

She stays in the kitchen to finish the food, which I'm glad for when I walk into the dining room.

Beelzebub has Daevon pinned to a wall, spitting angry words at him while Daevon kicks and punches at him.

I walk up to them and shove them both to the ground.

"You two are idiots! You're going to get me in trouble, which probably will be me getting grounded. And I am not getting grounded because you two couldn't wait until my mother isn't in the next room to fight."

Beelzebub mutters an apology and looks down at the floor in shame, while Daevon just grins at me.

"What's so funny?" I glare down at him and cross my arms.

He answers my question with another, the grin widening like the Cheshire cat. "How do you think I got your phone number?"

"I don't know! Some heebie jeebie demon crap?! You really didn't have to come to my house, stalker."

He stands and looks at me, smiling smugly. "You wish I'd stalk you."

"No, I wish you'd shut your mouth or be my punching bag." I smile innocently at him, having to tilt my chin up to meet his eyes.

"You got a free pass. Next time you try to beat me up, that's all it'll be. You, trying."

I roll my eyes and help Beelzebub up off the floor. "Sure. We'll pretend that's what'll happen."

He glares and opens his mouth, probably to say something less than polite, when my mother walks in with a huge plate of food.

"Wow. This looks amazing." Daevon's expression rapidly changes as he sits down at the end of the table, and my mother sits at the other end across from him.

So I have to sit next to him. What a wonderful coincidence.

Sighing unhappily, I flop down into the seat and scoot closer to my mother, then back to the original place when she sends me a look telling me to be nice.

Out of the corner of my eye, I can see a smile on Daevon's face. I see hsi smile falter for a second before his hand brushes against my leg, sending a shock up my side.

I clench my fist around my fork and grit my teeth, breathing deeply and trying not to glare at him with my mother sitting beside me.

Taking a last deep breath, I turn to my mother and smile sweetly.

"So mom..." I push my food around my plate with my fork, the hairs on the back of my neck rising from Daevon's stare. "Where's little bro?"

My mother looks at me weirdly and laughs. "Daycare. You forgot?"

I laugh back and smile sheepishly. "Yeah. I guess so. I'm just really busy and stressed lately."

Glaring at Daevon through the corner of my vision, I start to pick at my food and eventually set my fork down to sit quietly at the table while everyone eats.

"Monique, why aren't you eating?" My mother covers my hand with hers, and I barely stop myself from saying something about Daevon.

"I'm not that hungry, that's all." I force a smile, somehow fooling my mother but earning a suspicious look from Beelzebub and an eye roll from Daevon.

Almost a half an hour later, my mom finishes eating and leaves to her room without trying to talk to the three kids who haven't said hardly anything.

Craning my neck and listening for footsteps up the stairs, I wait for the sound of her going into her room.

Almost instantly, I turn around and tackle Daevon, pinning him to the floor.

"Why are you in my house? With my mother.  When you know I'm not home and that I won't think twice about mopping the floor with your face?!"

He laughs and twirls some of my hair around his finger, smirking. "You and I both know you wouldn't."

Glaring at him, I dig my knee into his gut, not even trying to hide my smirk as he cringes.

"I would, you're just trying to not have to answer."

He rolls his eyes and easily pushes me off, then sitting in a comfortable position. "I came here to find a little bit about the sweet little buttercup who almost got me demoted."

I laugh and glance skeptically at him. "I find it hard to believe a demon can be demoted."

A muscle in his jaw tics, and his voice sounds strained. "Dark Angel. I am a Dark Angel. Not a demon."

I roll my eyes and exaggerate my apology. "I am so sorry. I meant to say I find it hard to believe that a Dark Angel can be demoted."

"Well we can, and you were almost the reason it happened. Because I didn't want to hurt a poor human."

"I will gladly fight you again if you need validation that I fairly beat you up." I cross my arms and stand, glaring back at him as he stands up and looks down at me.

"Gladly."

"You two should probably stop with all this fighting. Monique's mom might come down and–"

"Be quiet, Beelzebub!" Daevon snaps at him, and I glare at him before pushing him toward the table.

"Mind your own business, or the next time we meet, I can show up unannounced at your house."

"See, but I most certainly wouldn't mind." His expression turns to a smirk, and I clench my hands into fists at my side to stop from doing anything stupid.

"Beelzebub, you look a bit red over there." Daevon's grin grows wider, and I grit my teeth.

"Can you just stop being an annoying leech of happiness for a little while?"

I feel a scowl grow as he shrugs and starts to walk away.

"I'll leave you to figure this obviously confusing situation out on your own. If you want to talk, you have my number." He turns and winks, and I shake my head.

"Just go before I decide to beat you up again." I point to the door and watch him as he shrugs and walks out.

As he walks out the door, my phone buzzes, just long enough for me to be sure I'm not imagining it.

Tell Beelzebub I hope he knows a good auto detailer. It'd be a shame for that pretty car of his to have such an ugly scratch.