Sparkling Fog and Black Nightrods

♪Lolli lolli lollipop dalgomhage dagawa, Lolli lolli lollipop naege soksakyeojwo♫

Annette groaned loudly as her ringtone brought her out of the best dream she’d had in weeks. She lie silently and let her phone ring for a little longer, vainly trying to return back to her already forgotten dream.

♪Let’s go now, saekggareun rainbow, nal neuggin sungan neon bbajyeo beoringeol ara, You just can’t control♫

“S**t…” she cursed as she grabbed her cell phone. “What?” The line was silent for a moment, “You’re going to be late, Anne.” Annette furrowed her brows, “Who is this?” the person hung up the phone. Annette pulled her phone from her ear and gave it a confused gaze before scrolling through her call history. “Private caller…naturally.” Her honey green eyes bulged as she noticed the time. “Crap, I am going to be late!” she shrieked as she ran out of bed.

She frantically brushed her hair and teeth while trying to change into her school uniform; Annette flew around the dorm room like an angry tornado.  “Why the hell didn’t Evelyn wake me up?” she thought to herself as she noticed Evelyn’s perfectly made bed in her spotless room. Annette hopped on one foot as she put her white leggings on, and then shoved her arms into the sleeves of her white button front shirt. She tightened the small charcoal tie and straightened the silver pin that held the academy’s emblem engraving pinned into the cloth.

With her black shoes on, she made her way for the door. When she felt an unfamiliar breeze, she stopped dead in her tracks with her hand on the silver door knob. “Damn it,” she ran back into her room and grabbed the charcoal-gray pleated skirt she’d forgotten to put on. “I would have died, literally died,” she thought to herself as her cheeks flushed red. Annette made sure she had all her clothes on this time before snatching her black messenger style bag and heading out the door.

She was halfway down the hall when she realized she’d forgotten to close the door. Annette looked around quickly and, deciding it was safe, mentally closed and locked the door before running towards the elevator. Her foot tapped the ground impatiently for a few seconds as she watched the number of floors at the top. Hers and Evelyn’s dorm was on the 7^th floor, there were 15 floors in total. The elevator was at the second floor now. “Come on…” she bit her lip.

“Screw it,” she ran down the hall to a window. She looked around, the place was practically empty. She looked at her watch, “S**t, s**t, s**t!” Annette decided against her better nature, and leaped out the window.

Her sandy hair fluttered wildly as she flew over the large lawn that separated the girl’s dormitories from the boy’s.  Shade Academy was a lot like most schools; it’s purpose was to teach young minds, it taught the basic subjects and offered many advanced courses of studies, and, most importantly, it was home to a diverse faculty as well as a mixed student body. Within the diversity of the people lied the one thing that made Shade Academy not so similar to other schools: it housed a handful of…extremely gifted students, students like Annette and Evelyn. These students held within them unearthly abilities—powers, of which they were forbidden to use unless given specific permission by Headmistress Rosalyn, who also had a special ability herself; along with a number of teachers sprinkled around campus.

Headmistress Rosalyn worked to gather hundreds of students with abilities at Shade Academy for a number of reasons: to protect them from Enma, to help them learn to control and use their ability, and to prepare them for a possible future working for the Organization Shade, through which Shade Academy was funded. The school was mainly populated by ‘normal’ people—for every person with an ability, there were ten normal students. By doing this, the students with powers were shielded, and Enma couldn’t detect their powers. That was the main reason Headmistress Rosalyn had restricted the use of powers, the less they were used, the slighter the trail became for Enma to follow.

But everyone knew the school was protected by a very complex barrier—a barrier that could not be sensed by Enma, but also allowed for students to ‘slip up’ and use little bits of their powers without being sensed by Enma. Annette didn’t disregard the golden rule often…only in emergencies, like the one she was experiencing now.

Annette could see the large fountain settled in front of the steps to the academy’s main entrance. She noticed a dark figure out of the corner of her eye, and before she could react she felt something large crash into her. She tumbled to the ground with Dante landing on top of her, knocking the breath out of her, and probably cracking a few ribs. “What the hell, Dante?!” she screeched as she mentally threw him off of her. Dante got to his feet and brushed the dust off his charcoal-gray pants and straightened the collar of his shirt. “Don’t start with me, Annette. What the hell did you think you were doing? Flying around in broad daylight?!” Dante’s blue eyes were piercing with fury.

Annette stood up with an arrogant look, “I didn’t want to be late.” Dante gave her an incredulous look, “You were willing to risk the safety of the students and this school in order to keep your perfect attendance record?!” Annette scoffed, “Do you think I’m stupid enough to not make sure that there were no witnesses? Plus I was only flying, not actually using my ability.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “I think you’re pretty stupid to be using your powers when you’ve been told to refrain from doing so.”  Dante began walking towards the main school building. Annette briskly walked by his side, “I know,” Annette said in slight defeat, “But…” her lips curled into a smile as a thought struck her, “You on the other hand, are as much at fault as I am.” Dante glared at her, “What??” Annette shrugged, “Don’t tell me that you could jump high enough to tackle me in mid flight. Don’t chastise me about using my powers, you god damn hypocrite.”

Dante exhaled through his nose angrily. Annette stuck out her tongue and winked playfully at him. Before Dante could speak, a pair of arms wrapped around his neck. “Dante!” An excited Cyrus squealed as he jumped onto Dante’s back. Dante groaned, “Good morning, Cyrus.” Cyrus beamed and turned to Annette, “Good morning, Annette!” Annette laughed, “Morning.” Cyrus fell silent and his smile began to vanish. He put his chin on Dante’s shoulder, “Get off your high horse, Dante. You use your powers more often than Annette does, and for even dumber reasons.” Dante scowled, “Oh, and like you have any room to talk,” Dante thought to himself. Cyrus bounced on Dante’s back, “I’m not telling you to stop using your powers am I? I’m simply telling you to take a look in the mirror before trying to reprimand others.”

Dante pulled Cyrus’ arms from around his neck. “Yeah, yeah, just keep the hell out of my mind.” Cyrus walked around to face Dante, “It’s for your own good, silly. Someone’s got to keep your ego in check.” He bounced up to kiss Dante lightly on his forehead. Dante quickly looked around, making sure no students had witnessed Cyrus’ showing of affection. He glared at Cyrus, “You know you’re not supposed to do that.” Cyrus laughed, “There you go again. You fat hypocrite.”

Annette couldn’t help but burst into laughter. The group had stopped at the bottom of the stairs. She felt a pair of familiar arms curl around her waist. “Good morning, Vince.” Annette spoke with a small chuckle as she placed her hands on top of his. “It is now,” Vincent kissed the top of her head. “They’re so cute,” Annette cooed as they watched Dante and Cyrus fighting. “They’re practically husband and wife.” Vincent agreed.

Annette turned to face Vincent and wrapped her arms around his neck. She stood on her toes and lightly kissed him. Vincent’s silvery eyes lit up and he pressed his forehead against hers. Annette pulled her head away after a moment and brushed some of his brown hair away from his face. “So,” Vincent started, but Annette’s attention was diverted as she spotted Jett over Vincent’s shoulder. Jett was the rebellious type, naturally—rarely showed up to class on time, always ditching, leaving academy grounds without permission, and he never wore his uniform the way he was supposed to. Annette had seen him smoking and drinking many times, how he was able to get away with it she’d never know.  Maybe he’d promised the headmistress that he wouldn’t turn students to stone when they pissed him off; Jett had a habit of using his powers to solve his social problems.

Jett strode to the stairs, all of it seemed in slow motion to Annette. His white shirt wasn’t tucked in, sleeves were rolled up, and he left a few of the top buttons undone. He had slung the matching charcoal jacket over his shoulder, his dark locks seemed to bounce lightly with every step he took. Annette couldn’t keep the thought from her mind: only Jett could pull that look off. Before he reached the bottom step, Annette noticed him giving her a side glance and she could have sworn she saw a smirk pull at his lips.

“Annette?” Vincent called back her attention. “What?” she’d forgotten what he’d asked her. “Thursday?” Annette shook her head with a smile, “Of course.” She smiled up at him. Evelyn quietly walked up to Annette’s side, “Good morning, everyone.” She spoke quietly.

Annette laughed, “How is it that I wake up to find you long gone, and yet you get here later than I do, Evee?” Evelyn just shrugged.

The first bell rang, causing a frenzy of students to walk every which way to get to class. The five of them all had a different class 1^st period and they all hated it; having to start the day separate. But thankfully, they shared every other class with at least one person from their little group, and they all had their last class together—English Literature.

Vincent gave Annette one last kiss before dashing up the stairs to his first class, Dante and Cyrus said goodbye before parting, Evelyn gave Annette a small smile before walking off, and Annette stood alone at the bottom of the stairs. She was in no mood to go to her first class, she absolutely hated math. She lifted her foot to take her first step when something sideswiped her shoulder. “Watch where you’re walking, Annette.” Annette rolled her eyes, “Of course, Amber. You obviously are not at fault despite the fact that you ran into me.” Amber stood a few steps up with an obnoxious look on her face. She was flanked by the two most annoying girls at school, besides Amber herself—the Serpacue twins. A couple of blond bimbos that were convinced they were God’s gift to men and couldn’t comprehend an empty bank account. Amber flipped her fiery hair behind her shoulder, “I’m glad we agree on something.” The two blonde snake sisters cackled in unison.

Annette scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest. Amber turned on her heel and walked up the remaining steps followed by the snake sisters. Jett sat leaning against the wall next to the entrance. Amber smiled seductively at him and puffed her chest out slightly as she neared him. “Good morning, Jett.” She spoke as if she were trying to sound pretty, the damned witch. “Mhmm,” Jett nodded slightly, but never made eye contact with her. Annette had turned her head to watch Amber’s pitiful display. Amber was, in short, a s**t, and that was the only reason she was so popular among the student body. Annette never knew why Amber acted as if she had some vendetta with her; Annette never hung around her or said anything to her. All she knew was that Amber had her eyes locked on Jett; no girl could even look in Jett’s direction without getting verbally attacked by Amber.

Annette locked her eyes on Amber’s feet and waited for the perfect moment. Once she stepped over the threshold, Annette made the slightest mental block in front of Amber’s foot. Amber tripped and fell flat on her face. Her posse frantically ran to her side and helped her to her feet. Amber shrieked, “Where’s my mirror?!” One of the girls produced a compact, and Amber tore it from her hand angrily. “Thank god!” Amber cried as she looked at her face, “Heads would have rolled if anything happened to my face.”

Annette had to turn around to hide her smile. She burst into laughter right when the bell rang. Amber threw the compact back to one of the girls and strutted down the hall to her class. Annette wiped the tears from her eyes then made her way up the stairs still bearing a smile. She was in too good a mood to notice Jett watching her intently as she came up the last few steps. The second she stepped over the threshold he spoke, “Good morning, Anne.” Annette stopped dead in her tracks; her smile vanished as she turned her head to look back at him. His face showed no emotion, but it was a godly face nonetheless. Annette found her voice, “Good morning, Jett.” She sounded almost as if she were asking a question instead of greeting him.

He pushed himself up from the wall and stood at her side. “After all that, you were still late, Anne.” The words confused Annette, but she just shrugged them off, “Such is life.” She began walking down the hall, Jett walked slowly to keep up with her; his legs were so long, he was a couple inches taller than Vincent.

Annette gave him a side glance every few seconds, wondering why he was walking alongside her. It soon hit her that he shared 1^st period with her. She’d never really noticed before, mainly because he rarely showed up to 1^st period. Annette wondered why he showed up today, and on time at that. Why was he talking and walking with her? The questions bounced around in her mind, but she knew they wouldn’t get answered unless they took form and escaped through her lips. “You never show up to 1^st period, Jett,” she started and waited for him to turn his head to her. “So what’s special about today?” her honey green eyes bore into his emerald eyes.   

She found herself letting out a small gasp when a crooked smile formed on his face, “I just had a feeling that I would be needed today.” Annette furrowed her brows in confusion; she hadn’t even realized that they’d stopped in front of their classroom.  Jett and she just stood there looking at each other while the entire class stared at them.

Their teacher cleared his throat, Annette tore her eyes from Jett and felt her cheeks warm with embarrassment. “Would you care to join us, Miss DeMonte? Mr. Earnhart?” Annette gripped the strap of her bag and walked into class, “Sorry, Mr. Wickhem.” Annette kept her eyes downcast as she walked to her seat next to the window.  Jett’s jacket brushed her shoulder as he walked to his seat, two desks behind her in the row next to hers.

The teacher continued his lecture on…God, it could have been trigonometry or baking the perfect Baked Alaska for all Annette knew. She usually had trouble concentrating, but today she couldn’t listen or absorb a word. For some reason, she couldn’t stop thinking about her conversation with Jett this morning. It’s not like it was their first time talking, it was just the first time he’d started the conversation—usually Annette spoke to him first, but she stopped once Amber had developed an eye for Jett; being social with most of the student body wasn’t worth getting into a spat with Amber.

After a few minutes of staring out the window and thinking, she found herself glancing over her shoulder at Jett. His green eyes were glued onto her, and he smirked as if he had been waiting for her to glance his way. Annette drew her eyes away and looked across the room. She caught Amber glaring daggers—bombs would be more suited for her—at her. Annette looked back out the window, “Damn it,” she sighed to herself. “Of course Amber would have to have this class with me too.” Annette spent the rest of the period staring at the sky, all the while she could feel Jett’s gaze and Amber’s glare on her back.

Annette mentally groaned, “The only two people in the world that could complicate my life, together in my least favorite class, at my least favorite time of day.” She dropped her head on her desk for the last couple minutes of class, and when the bell rang she practically flew out of that class to avoid Amber and Jett. “I really hope he doesn’t make a habit of coming to 1^st period on time,” she thought to herself with a frown as she briskly walked to her next class.

Annette noticed Dante walking down the hall before her, there was maybe 20ft between them and the classroom door. Annette forgot about her traumatic math class experience as her eyes met Dante’s deep blue orbs. A smirk grew on both of their faces before they took off running, weaving in and out of the pool of identically dressed students. She and Dante got some strange looks, but they were too focused on one another to pay any mind to the spectators.

The two turned sideways and skidded on their shoes as they got to the door. After harshly bumping into each other’s side, they ran into the doorway—and that was as far as they went. “Christ, Dante!” Annette shrieked, “You need to lay off the cookies in the cafeteria!” Annette shoved him roughly to try and get in. “Don’t start with me you hippo!” Dante threw back at her.

For the second time that day, Annette’s attention was called by the clearing of a throat. “Will you two act your age for once?” their teacher chided. Annette used her powers and mentally tugged on Dante’s shirt, pulling him back far enough to let her in. She smiled innocently at her teacher, “I’m sorry, Mrs. Ferganson.” Annette sat at her lab table and was soon joined by Dante.

“Kiss a*s,” he whispered as he sat down. Annette stuck her tongue out, “You can kiss mine.”

Mrs. Ferganson began lecturing on cell replication, the lights were dimmed as she projected slides of the different phases. Her tall, curly dark hair always made an irritating shadow on the white board, but she rarely noticed it. “Any volunteers to tell me what phase this is?” Annette and Dante’s hands shot up, and Mrs. Ferganson sighed. “Not to be rude, but does anyone other than Annette or Dante want to try?” Annette frowned at the woman’s bluntness; she put down her hand and crossed her arms over her chest.

The teacher sighed again, “I know you two will get it right, but other students need to participate as well.” Mrs. Ferganson eyed the other students. “Cyrus!” she called out. He sunk down into his seat and began to twiddle his fingers, “Uhm…Anaphase?” Mrs. Ferganson sighed, “No, sweetie. How about you, Vincent?” He sat straight as a board in his seat and studied the slide for a moment. “Metaphase.” He said confidently. Mrs. Ferganson gave a small smile, “Close. Anyone else want to guess at least?”

Dante raised his hand again. “Alright, Dante?” “It’s late Prophase.” Annette’s hand shot up, but she didn’t wait to be called on, “No it’s not, it’s early Prometaphase.” Dante glared at her, “Are you blind?” Annette scoffed, “Are you? It’s early Prometaphase, nitwit.” Dante grinded his teeth together, “It’s obviously late Prophase.” “No, it isn’t—”

“Cool your jets, you two.” Mrs. Fergason ordered. Annette and Dante faced forward, obviously waiting to see who was right. Mrs. Ferganson sighed, “You both get credit because you’re both technically right.” “I don’t understand,” Dante cocked a brow. “The answer was supposed to be Prophase, or late Prophase to get into specifics.” Dante smiled triumphantly. “But, that was just the book answer. It really is early Prometaphase, we just don’t teach that phase in class.” Annette hid her smile as Dante’s shoulders slumped. Cyrus and Vincent both mentally groaned.

The next three classes went smoothly enough, but weren’t nearly as fun as her 2^nd period. Art class with Evelyn and Cyrus, Foreign Language class with Vincent and—surprisingly—Jett as well, and English Lit with everyone, minus Amber, thankfully. Amber would have had an aneurism if she had that class with them and saw how Jett practically stared at Annette the entire period. They had a circle discussion, all the desks circled around the room. Jett sat across Annette on the other side of the room, Vincent sat a few chairs to Jett’s right, Cyrus sat two seats from Jett’s left, Dante was only a few seats from Annette and Evelyn sat on Annette’s right.

Annette and the rest of the group agreed that Mr. Moreau was their favorite teacher. He was the youngest faculty member, making him a lot easier to relate to, and he also had abilities like them. He was their mentor for the most part. Today, they were discussing Milton’s Paradise Lost: Book IX, and whose fault it was exactly for the fall of mankind.

Annette stood to speak, “According to Milton, Eve was obviously the cause, based on the fact that she was the one that ate the forbidden fruit.” Another student rose up to challenge, “If it’s anyone’s fault, it was the Serpent. He approached her, led her to the tree, and told her to eat it.” Annette’s eyes fixed on the boy’s eyes. “He did approach her, but Eve was the one that asked to be led to the tree. And once there, she was in no way forced to eat from the tree.” The boy adjusted his glasses, “The Serpent heavily persuaded her to do so.”

“Persuasion is a far cry from forcing or threatening.” Annette smiled. “Eve had the free will to choose what to do.”Annette’s gaze was attracted by a girl standing up to speak. “The blame lies with God. He’s the omnipotent being that knew all of this would happen. He could have done away with Satan to begin with, or he could have at least not even bothered making the Tree of Knowledge.”

Annette focused her attention on her, “God could have. But then there would be no way to distinguish good from evil. And if he had never made the tree, there would be no free will.” The girl and boy sat confused. Mr. Moreau spoke up, “I think you need to explain, Miss DeMonte.” Annette nodded, “Without evil, a.k.a. Satan, in the world, how would humans be able to know good? One needs to know evil to know good, and vice versa. Also, by creating the Tree of Knowledge and giving them a single rule, God gave Adam and Eve free will. Eat, or don’t eat, that was their choice and Eve chose to eat, ultimately causing the downfall of mankind.”

Jett gave a small, almost inaudible chuckle, but Mr. Moreau easily caught it. “Care to add something, Mr. Earnhart?” Jett shrugged, “Gluttony, greed, wrath, envy, sloth, pride, lust,” Annette slightly shivered when Jett glanced at her for a split second, “They’re all evil. And if what Anne said is true, that you need evil to know good, what are we complaining about?” He drew the attention of the entire class with his last remark. “Most people want good in the world, so they shouldn’t complain about a little evil here and there.” Annette couldn’t keep her eyes off of his, their staring at one another was obvious but everyone in the class was too busy contemplating his statement.

Annette slowly sat down at a loss for words. She tore her eyes from Jett’s when he grinned. “He’s right,” Evelyn spoke softly. Annette looked at Evelyn, “I understand what he’s saying, I just don’t understand why.” Annette couldn’t help but look back Jett’s way, meeting his green eyes again. “Very good observation, Mr. Earnhart.” Mr. Moreau smiled.

Annette stood up briskly, “Yes, yes, but I fail to see the relevance of it to our discussion.” She challenged Jett’s cocky gaze with a hard stare. “Calm down, Miss DeMonte. It is irrelevant, but I asked him to share.” Annette sat back down and crossed her arms over her chest. “For those of you that participated, you did a wonderful job. I hope our trials go as well as the discussion. Now, if you would please put your desks back to their original place before the lunch bell rings.”

Annette walked towards the area where they ate lunch, she couldn’t get Jett off her mind and it really unnerved her. She turned the corner of the library building to find one of the many small ponds scattered across campus. Evelyn was sitting on the edge dangling her feet just above the water talking quietly with Vincent who sat a few feet away against a large willow trunk. Dante stood leaning against the tree on the opposite side of Vincent and Cyrus sat against the tree right next to Dante. His pale blond hair was shaggy and stuck up slightly as he leaned his head against Dante’s leg.

Annette let out a happy sigh at the spectacle, not even Jett could ruin her lunch with her friends. Vincent beamed when he noticed her walking up to the group. “There’s my little lawyer,” he spoke childishly and opened his arms up to her. Annette rolled her eyes and dropped her bag, “Can it, Vince.” She laughed and sat down leaning into him as he wrapped his arms securely around her waist. He placed his chin on her head, “You were so cute in Lit class, getting so worked up when Jett made a good point.” Annette sighed as she took out her lunch, “Jett is the last person I want to think about right now.” She engulfed a mouthful of spaghetti. “Why?” Annette took a minute to think of a viable excuse while she chewed and swallowed her food. “Amber’s going to claw me to death for speaking to and having eye contact with Jett.”

“He talked to you?” Dante broke in. Annette nodded as if he could see her, “He said ‘Good morning’ to me, we walked to class and I asked him why he bothered showing up that morning since he never did. He told me, verbatim, ‘I just had a feeling that I would be needed today’. Then Mr. Wickhem made a spectacle, and Amber glared at me the entire period.”

Dante nodded, “Yup, you’re as good as dead.” Cyrus lifted his head and smacked Dante in the leg, “Dante! Don’t say things like that! Annette, don’t worry. Amber can’t hurt you.” Annette laughed, “I know. Besides, I don’t think she’d have the gall to use her powers even if they could work on me.” Evelyn spoke up, “That doesn’t stop her from using her powers on others.” Annette lost her smile, “I doubt if even Amber is brave enough to butt heads with Headmistress Rosalyn, and even the Organization.” Evelyn looked up from the water, her eyes were fading from crimson back to their natural silver—she’d had a vision. “It’s not Amber I’m worried about.” Right as the words passed her lips, the bell rang. Evelyn got up and stretched her hand out to Annette, “Time for practice.” She gave a small smile. Annette warily grabbed her hand and got to her feet. She knew Evelyn wouldn’t tell her about her vision or what she meant by not being worried about Amber, so she kept her mouth shut.

All of them had afterschool sport practices to head to. Dante had football, Cyrus had golf, Vincent went to water polo, and Evelyn and Annette had volleyball. Afterwards, they all carpooled to the outlet center a few miles from school to their part-time jobs. Vincent worked at a yogurt shop, Cyrus sold tickets at the movie theater, Dante worked at a hamburger joint, Evelyn worked in a toy shop, and Annette was a barista at a café.

Dante drove everyone over in his dark blue jeep and they all parted at the fountain in the middle of the outlet. All of them got off around the same time, and met back at the fountain to drive back to school. Annette groaned as she flopped into one of the chairs inside the café; people had piled in that day, so she had to take her break a lot later than normal. She checked her watch to see that she had about ten minutes left in her shift. “Thank God,” she thought to herself as she dropped her head back on the chair. “Annette,” she cringed as she heard her boss call her name. She looked up with a fake smile, “Yes?” David, her boss, looked as exhausted as she did. “I wouldn’t ask you this if I could find anyone else, but I need you to stay a couple hours late tonight. If you can, that is.” Annette wanted to scream ‘no’ at him, but it wasn’t his fault they were so busy today. She smiled wearily and nodded, “Sure.” David brightened up, “I always can count on you, Annette.”

Annette reluctantly got out of the chair and walked back behind the bar as a new flood of customers poured in. “What would you like ma’am?” she put on a smile for the first customer. “I’d like a large, half and half, no foam, latte with two shots of espresso, one extra shot of vanilla syrup, four ice cubes, room for cream, extra hot, double cupped and one large regular coffee with three shots of espresso, room for cream, also extra hot and double cupped.” Annette’s mouth literally dropped to the floor. “Uhm…could you please repeat that, slowly?”

“Good God,” Annette groaned as she untied her apron. She looked at her wrist watch and felt like crying—it was ten past 11:00pm. “Do you need a ride back to school, Annette?” Annette turned to her boss and shook her head, “No, it’s not that far. Thank you, though.” He waved his hand at her, “No, thank you, Annette. I don’t know what I’d do half the time if you weren’t here.” Annette smiled, “Thanks.”

She turned and walked towards the door. “Are you sure you don’t need a ride, Annette? I don’t feel comfortable with you walking around this late at night.” Annette shook her head, “I’ll take a taxi or something, don’t worry.” David always acted so fatherly towards her—he had a daughter himself that was almost Annette’s age; a sweet girl, an airhead, but sweet nonetheless.

Annette waved, “Goodnight,” then walked out into the chilly night. She was glad she’d brought her uniform jacket with her, but she also kicked herself for not bringing money for a taxi. She crossed her arms over her chest tightly to stay warm and briskly walked down the street. Her breath formed a fog in front of her that seemed to glitter whenever a streetlight or car light hit it.

Annette noticed dark figures on either side of the street behind her. She cursed under her breath when she turned a random corner and could still see the looming shadows. “I should have circled around back to the café,” she thought to herself as she came upon a dead end alley. Annette closed her eyes tightly as she heard the footsteps approaching behind her. She let out an angry sigh and dropped her messenger bag to the floor, then turned to face a group of three men. Her face held an arrogant, irate look, but completely morphed when she got a good look at the men.

“Holy crap,” she gaped at the red aura in the men’s eyes. “Enma,” she breathed in a whisper.

“Isn’t it a little late for a young girl like yourself to be walking around…alone?” the middle man smirked evilly. Annette gritted her teeth to keep herself silent, she needed to think. “They’re only possessed,” she observed silently. “But even so, if I use my powers without the comfort of the barrier, I may as well put a target on my face for Enma to shoot.” She bit her lip in anger.

“What’s the matter, little girl? Don’t you want to talk?” The man on the left laughed. “Maybe she’s more of a doer and not much of a talker.” The man on the right chimed in with his own cocky grin. Annette had to bite her tongue to keep from mentally shoving his own hand down his throat. “That must be it,” the middle man spoke again, and the gang started approaching her.

Annette furrowed her brows in anger, her fists began to quiver with fury, she was going to snap; she couldn’t sit here and do nothing, but then she’d risk leading Enma to her and the Academy. The middle man roughly grabbed her chin and made her look into his glowing red eyes.  “Ever been with a man, little girl?” his breath poured over her face and made her want to puke. “Nope,” she replied smugly, “And I don’t plan on starting tonight.” Her honey green eyes reflected no fear, which angered the man. “Oh really?” Annette gave a small smirk, “Really,” she whispered.

“Well, you’re in for quite a surprise, little—” the man was cut off by the ringing of a gun. Annette’s confidence drained along with the color in her face when she saw the red aura in the man’s eyes fade. His body fell limp, his grip on her loosened, and he crumpled to the floor. Annette saw blood pouring from the hole in his back and began to feel nauseous. His body burst into ashes that slowly blew up and away into the night. Annette looked up along with the other two men and saw a tall, dark figure at the opposite side of the alleyway. He brought down a smoking gun and took a puff on his cigarette. “Quite a surprise, indeed,” Annette felt like she recognized the voice, but she couldn’t put a picture in her mind.

The two men on either side of her looked at each other as if they were lost. The man on her left grasped her arm roughly and pulled her close to him, “I’d put that gun down if you want the girl to remain unharmed.” His other hand wrapped around her throat and began to glow red. Annette sighed, “I really shouldn’t…” she thought to herself.

The dark figure stuck his cigarette back in his mouth and lifted his gun up. He dropped the empty shell he’d just used and snapped the barrel back in place. “Two shots left,” he spoke. “One for you,” he pointed at the man on her right, “And one for you.” He pointed at the man holding Annette. “The only thing there is left is to decide where you want me to put them.” He took another puff of is cigarette.

Then man holding Annette began to breathe erratically, “You point that gun over here, and she dies.” He roughly yanked Annette, making her groan slightly. Her pulse sped up as her anger became too much to handle. “F**k Enma,” she mumbled before starting to drain the man of his powers. The dark figure chuckled deeply and took his cigarette in between two fingers. He casually blew the smoke out and smirked, “Don’t be so sure, pal.”

The man’s confusion was apparent, but when his red aura began to fade his confusion morphed into fear. Annette grasped the hand around her throat so tightly, the man let out a spine chilling scream as the sounds of cracking bones could be heard. Annette pulled his arm, flipped him over, and threw him. He fell at the dark figure’s feet with a groan, and Annette turned to the other man. Her eyes held the red aura, making her terrifying, even to the demon possessed man. She grasped his throat and shoved him against the dirty brick wall. “Please, you can’t!” the man begged, “I, I have a wife, and two kids!” Annette scoffed, “You should have thought about that before you dealt with a demon.” She squeezed his throat.

Annette felt something in her snap as she looked at the man. She let what little demonic power in her disperse, then she dropped the man to the floor with a sigh. “I don’t have the heart to kill him,” she thought wearily. She turned around to find the dark figure behind her, “It’s alright, Anne.” He raised his gun, brushing her left shoulder, and shot the man against the wall. Annette closed her eyes and cringed at the sound of the gun. “Was that really necessary, Jett?” Jett was the only person that called her Anne.

“You know it was, Anne.” She looked over at the other man she had thrown; he wasn’t breathing. Annette didn’t remember hearing a third shot. She looked back to Jett as he lifted up the gun. He popped open the barrel and dropped two shells to the floor. Annette sighed as he puffed on his cigarette and let out more smoke. “What?” he cocked a brow as he snapped the barrel back. “You’re going to kill yourself.” She said indifferently. Jett laughed, “Well, I saved your life; at least I can die feeling accomplished now.” Annette rolled her eyes and turned her head to watch the two bodies burst into ashes. She let out another sigh, “Thanks.” She picked up her bag then looked up at him. He smiled sincerely.

 “How did you know?” she asked suddenly. Jett exhaled more smoke, “Know what?” “That this would happen? Where I’d be?” Annette turned to look at him. He shrugged, “I was just passing by.” Annette scoffed, “In that case, I don’t want to know.” Jett leaned his face down to look straight at her, “Really?” Annette’s nose crinkled and she waved the air in front of her face, “Christ, you smell like a booze factory. How the hell do you get away with drinking underage?” Jett laughed, “If I told you, you’d probably try it yourself. I don’t want to corrupt you, Anne.” Annette rolled her eyes, “You could never have that much of an influence on me, Jett.” She put her hand on his chest and lightly pushed him back so she could walk back down to the sidewalk.

His eyes followed her down the alley for a moment before shaking his dark head with a smile. He caught up with her right when she emerged from the alley. “You’re not seriously thinking of walking back to the Academy.” Annette spun around to look at him, “Of course I am.” Jett shook his head, “After what just happened? Anne, you’re a smart girl, so don’t start acting dumb now.” Annette crossed her arms over her chest, “I resent that! I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself.” Jett laughed, “You mean like just now?” Annette rolled her eyes and groaned, “Screw you, Jett!” she started to storm off down the sidewalk.

Jett shook his head and laughed, “Anne, hold on.” He gently grabbed her arm and stopped her. “I know you can take care of yourself. But at least let me take you back to the Academy.” Annette looked up at him from under her lashes. “I’m heading there myself anyways,” Jett added on and flashed a stupid yet adorable grin. Annette diverted her eyes, looked around at nothing in particular, then smiled and gave a small laugh in defeat. “Fine, alright. Just this one time, though.” Jett let go of her arm feeling slightly victorious and giddy, but kept his cool exterior. “Besides,” she added, “I’d hate to make you cry by refusing.”

Jett rolled his eyes with a smile, “I appreciate the sentiment, Anne.” He walked down the sidewalk a bit and stopped beside a black motorcycle—a Harley Davidson Nightrod. Annette smiled with her mouth slightly open; “You’re joking.” she let out a small chuckle. Jett swung a leg over and sat down, “What? Would you rather walk?” Annette crossed her arms over her chest, “Frankly, yeah.” Jett put on a pair of dark shades and laughed, his white smile sparkled with the moonlight. “Tough s**t,” he patted the seat behind him. Annette looked around nervously for no apparent reason and sighed. She slung her bag over her head then got on behind Jett. “You’re an a*****e, you know that?” she said in irritation. “A*****e that saved your a*s, get it right,” he threw back over his shoulder with a smile. Annette sat there and rolled her eyes. She waited, but he didn’t start the bike. “Are we leaving anytime soon, Jett?”

“You need to hold on to me, Anne. I don’t need to try and drive you back unconscious when you fall off.” Annette rolled her eyes, “Don’t get your undies in a bundle over me. Let’s just go, please. I’m freezing.” Jett shook his head but started the engine. After revving it a few times, making Annette sigh and roll her eyes again, he took off so quickly that the front wheel was airborne for a couple seconds. Annette flailed her arms wildly to keep her balance; she let out a small yelp before clinging onto Jett for dear life.

Annette could feel his body shake with laughter, but for all she knew it could have been her that was shaking from her pounding heart. By the time she finally calmed down Jett was slowing to a stop. Annette cocked a brow in confusion, “A midnight snack?” she spoke with slight disbelief but also a hint of amusement. She dismounted and looked up at the neon lit sign—Freezy Cream treats. She glanced over at Jett when he walked to her side, “Or is this just the upstairs to an illegal gambling joint in the basement?” Jett laughed, “You have a wild imagination, Anne. Besides, I’m not good at cards.” Jett opened the door, making a small brass bell above jingle. He let Annette walk in before following, “I’ve never seen an ice cream shop open this late.” “Well, you’ve never been out this late.” Jett replied. Annette looked at him with confusion, “How would you know that?” Jett felt a small alarm go off in his mind, but he quickly put on a smile and came up with an excuse, “You just don’t seem the night wanderer type.” “And you are?” she asked with a smile. “What can I get for you two?” an elderly man asked politely.

Annette and Jett sat on a bench outside with their ice cream cones. It was nearly half past midnight, but Annette wasn’t as tired as she should have been. “Why don’t you ever show up to class, Jett?” Annette asked before licking her ice cream. He shrugged and leaned back into the bench. “No desire to, I guess.” He balanced his arm on the top of the bench behind Annette. “Which is why I don’t understand why you showed up today,” Annette thought back to their morning conversation. “You said that you felt as if you’d be needed today.” Her eyes lit up with realization. She turned her head to look at him, “You knew those goons were going to corner me, didn’t you?” Jett shook his head with a low laugh. Annette furrowed her brows in irritation, “Please, you could not have been just ‘passing by’ at the exact moment that I needed help.” “That’s how it was, Anne. Sorry to burst your bubble.” Jett had finished his ice cream and was now working on the waffle cone.

Annette stared back at her ice cream in deep thought. A thought suddenly struck her and she turned back to Jett, “There are only two reasonable explanations. You were either stalking me,” Jett let out a laugh before taking another bite out of his cone, “Or, Evelyn talked to you this morning.” Jett began to choke on the bite of waffle cone in his mouth. Annette smiled jubilantly. “It makes perfect sense. Evelyn was up early, and long gone when you called me to tell me I was going to be late. Yeah…” she trailed off in thought, “You’re the only person that calls me Anne, like you did on the phone this morning.”

Jett tossed his half eaten cone into the trash can a few feet away from them with a wry smile. “You’re too smart to outsmart, Anne.” “But why didn’t Evelyn just tell me about it? I could have not stayed on late at the café, or I could have not gone at all.” She turned her head and looked at her ice cream quizzically once more. “Evee works in mysterious ways,” Jett said with a sigh.

Annette scoffed, “Yeah, and now that I’ve been saved from demon possessed goobers, I get to live only to face that witch Amber.” “Why?” Annette gawked at Jett, “Are you kidding me? It’s your fault she’s got me on her hit list now!” Jett frowned, “What did I do?” “You showed up to class this morning, and talked to me nonetheless!” Jett leaned forward, “And how exactly is Amber thrown into the mix?” Annette dropped her head, “You’re either blind or carrying rocks for brains. Amber has had her eye set on you for months. Any girl that talks or even looks at you is marked for death by Amber.” Annette laughed as she thought about what she’d just said. “She’s practically marked you as her territory.” Annette laughed harder.

Jett shot up to his feet in anger, “Like hell I am! Jett Earnhart belongs to no one except,” he suddenly coughed, “Except to myself,” he added on. Annette finished her ice cream then tossed the cone towards the trash. The cone bounced off the edge and fell to the floor, “Damn,” she mumbled. After glancing around to make sure the coast was clear, Annette mentally lifted up the dripping cone and threw it in the trash. “Hah,” Jett shook his head as he put a cigarette in his mouth, “You know you’re not supposed to use your powers, Anne.” He brought out his lighter and lit up. “And you’re not supposed to do half the things you do, Jett.” He removed his cigarette and blew out some smoke, “Like what?”

“Ditch classes, carry firearms, drink alcohol, and smoke,” she mentally snuffed out his cigarette. He laughed and brought out his lighter again, “That’s me; you’re the goody-two-shoes that’s supposed to follow the rules.” He lit up again. Annette rose to her feet and stood face to face with him. “You’re nothing special,” she drew the cigarette from his lips and dropped it on the floor, “You need to follow the rules, just like everyone else.” She crossed her arms over her chest. Jett blew the last bit of smoke he had onto Annette’s face, but she wasn’t fazed at all. “But you and I, Anne, we’re not like everyone else.” His voice was husky as he whispered. “Regardless, your lifestyle will lead you to death too quickly.” Jett cocked a brow, “If I am nothing special, like you said Anne, why are you worrying yourself with my health?”

Again she was at a loss for words, like in English Lit class when he’d taken what she’d said and turned it against her. Jett smirked, “I’m touched that you care for me, Anne.” Annette rolled her eyes. “I don’t, it’s just stupid to play around with your wellbeing like that.” Annette turned and walked towards the motorcycle. She swung her leg over and sat on the backseat, “Can we please get back to the Academy before classes tomorrow?” Jett smirked and pulled out his shades from his jacket. He mounted and started the engine. Annette wrapped her arms around his waist before he took off this time, fully expected a quick start like before. Instead, he slowly pulled away from the curb and got up to speed on the highway as if he was in no rush. Annette would have hit him in the head if she weren’t worried about causing him to crash and take her with him.

After a couple minutes she found herself yawning. Her eyes felt weighed down and her eyelids began to droop. Annette never even realized that she had laid her head against Jett’s back. The last things she remembered were the sound of the bike slowing down, the engine cutting off, then looking up at Jett as he lifted her in his arms, all before she fell into a coma-like sleep.

Author's Note

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