D E M O N (S) P A w N

I would make a deal with the devil— When did it all begin?  It started when I met you, Damien.  You were the end of me. . . . Senior’s Year, First Day of School It’s hard to imagine that someone would be able to pull the proverbial rug underneath from you. It was the final year before we finally graduated. Everything was going so well for her.  Selene Thorn.  She had a good life, one of the best grades and the stunning looks. She was also well-liked. Not popular like the cheerleader type, but instead she was surrounded by friends and loved ones. She was dating the football captain, Michael Adams, too.  So it was the biggest surprise when she looked at me in AP History class and stretched out her hand. “Hi there, I’m Selene… I don’t think we’ve ever seen each other before?” I shook her hand, “Damien. Damien Thompson. A pleasure to meet you.” her hand was soft, small and blithe. The type of hands that could have sculpted a slender vase or played the piano. “Um, delighted?” She grinned at me, revealing dimples on her cheeks. She was indeed pretty, her cheeks had that warm rosy glow. I knew for a fact that it wouldn’t be too soon until we got along. We had to. . . . "Hey, um, what section are you from?" She asked.   "Didn't come from any section."  I was flipping pages on the textbook, there wasn't really anything that captured my attention.  “Oh, so you just transferred here?”  "Yeah." I nodded my head, taking the chance to look at her. It seemed like she was watching the history film that was playing in front of our classroom.  It was something about war, I think.  "What school did you come from?" Selene was scribbling with her pen, making tiny stars and hearts. It turned out that she wasn’t paying attention that much at our lesson. She must have been naturally smart. “… from Blackwood High,” I answered. As for me, I wasn’t listening or watching either. You could always watch the video online. The professor probably put the film on so they can say that they weren’t slacking off. “Where is that?” she turned to me, our eyes meeting. Our faces weren’t too far apart either. She averted her gaze. I chuckled, “Hmm, you wouldn’t really know. It’s a faraway school.” She tried watching the film, even started jotting down names and dates on her notepad. Until she glanced back at me. “Did you get expelled or something similar?” she asked me, her brows knitting together.  “...Hmm, you can say that?” I leaned back in my chair. It was easy to pique someone’s interest. A matter of giving and taking. One had to give enough crumbs to capture their attention… and then she’d be looking for more. She’d take matters into her own hands.  . . . I was on my way out until I heard puttering footsteps.  “Damien!” “Selene?” I raised a brow, watching her catch her breath. She let out some small huffs and puffs. Her lips were pressed into a thin line as she raised her head.  “Are you going to your locker?” she asked. “Yeah.” “I was on my way there too, let’s go together?” I have to admit, I wasn’t expecting her to come to me this fast. We’ve barely met each other, only meeting each other in the class. But this was a welcome surprise. “Sure.” She and I walked into the hallway together, manoeuvring through the crowd of students. She was right by my side. “So do you have friends here already?” Selene was about a head shorter than me. I could smell her shampoo, a sweet mix of rose petals and strawberry.  It was distracting, to say the least.  Too sweet. “Not really," I shrugged, “The first person to approach me was you?” People were moving out of the way as the two of us strolled to the locker area. They snuck looks and glances, but ducked their heads when I met them in the eyes. Too easy. I wanted to roll my eyes. Was it because of her or me? It was somewhat hard to tell.  Whatever the case, word was going to spread soon. “Ah, it sucks being the new kid huh?” she would look at me with those eyes again, a tantalizing mixture of hope and a bit of schadenfreude. “Well, I wouldn’t mind adopting you as a friend~” She had a teasing side to her, it was kind of cute. “Am I a little project for you then?” I shook my head, holding back a grin. I paused in front of the lockers. “Do you want to be Miss Congeniality in Prom Night or something?” “What? Project?” Her eyes widened before she blinks. She immediately waves her hands, like a road hazard. "Not at all! I was joking-” “I know, princess.” I bopped her forehead. “Feel free to adopt this guy,” I said to her, before turning to one of the lockers and unlocking it. I shoved in the history textbook and got my next one, Latin. Whoever picked my schedule was a bastard. Who even used Latin nowadays? “Your locker is pretty close to mine!” she made a point to move to her locker, her name was neatly written on it. There was another grin on her face; it didn’t take a lot to make her smile. “I’m just three lockers away from you.” “It’s not really much of a surprise,” I muttered underneath my breath and shut the locker. “Huh?” “Our last names are pretty close,” I explained. “Yeah, but I don’t…” she paused, her voice thick. “I only told you my first name, didn’t I?”  Well, she did. “...the professor took our attendance earlier didn’t he?” “Oh right, I forgot.” she scratched her cheek, averting her gaze from mine. She rubbed her arm, and then noticed the book in hand, “So your next class is Latin huh? Good luck! I took French.” it was a nice save for her. I’ll give her that. “Mhmm, thanks.” I was tempted to tap my book on her head, but that might scare her away. “I’ll get going now.” I walked off without waiting for anything. “I’ll see you around?” there was so much hope in her voice that it actually hurts. I paused and glanced back at her, and winked.   “Definitely.”