[ENG.] Azazel - Lucifer's Son

I heard a sudden noise beneath my pillow, a sharp sound that sliced through the silence of my night and dragged me brutally back to reality. The sleep I had cherished up until that moment vanished in the blink of an eye. I realized that yes, it was finally time to change that damned ringtone. That little tune was truly starting to drive me insane. “Hello…?” I answered, my voice still thick with sleep. “Not exactly, I’d say! The early bird catches the worm, Jolie!” Sebastian sang from the other end of the line, enthusiasm spilling through the speaker. “Please, don’t tell me… Another day and I won’t survive it!” I whined, my mind already spiraling into chaotic thoughts about the class waiting for me that morning. “Jolie, you’re in college, girl! You can’t keep being lazy. What’s going on in that head of yours lately?” he teased. “A total repulsion toward classes that, besides being mandatory, last five consecutive hours! That’s what!” I rolled over in bed, burying my face in the pillow to muffle a groan that, inevitably, made him burst out laughing. If there was one word that described Sebastian, it was invasive. But that barely scratched the surface. He was inappropriate, embarrassing, too spontaneous, yet at the same time unbelievably honest, loyal and, above all, the kind of friend you find only once in a lifetime. Sebastian didn’t just step into your life. He dug into you, one layer at a time, until he reached the bone. And when he knocked on your heart, there was no escape. I knew it. He was the kind who would wait a lifetime to enter, but once inside, he would never leave. He was my friend, my partner in every moment, and I loved him, even if sometimes he drove me crazy. In that chaos there was something rare. We knew everything about each other, even the tiny things you would never share with anyone else. On our darkest days, we hid in our corner of laughter, tears and movies watched just to forget the world. “Stop whining, Jo! Get your ass out of bed and make me a good coffee! I’m outside your door!” Sebastian chuckled, ringing the doorbell with the air of someone about to cause trouble. “You’re kidding! How late am I?!” I huffed, rolling my eyes as I tore myself from the blankets that had wrapped around me like a second skin. I ended the call and tossed my phone onto the bed. Then I walked to the door and opened it with a sleepy, resigned expression. “Please, Seb, tell me you’ll forget my address someday…” I muttered, closing the door behind him as I let him into the living room. Despite the floor now slick with water from the rain that had soaked him head to toe, he shook off his coat with careless ease and dropped onto the couch, smiling as warmth finally wrapped around him. “Hey, blue eyes! I brought breakfast!” he croaked enthusiastically, waving a bag that undoubtedly hid something sweet and inevitably cream filled. “You have to stop spoiling me, you know that?” I accused, pointing at the bag with a frown. Sebastian laughed wholeheartedly and ran a hand through my hair, messing it up even more. It wasn’t that he wasn’t handsome. At six foot one, with honey colored eyes and copper hair that seemed designed for his own fingers to comb through, he could turn heads. But we were so intertwined that the thin line between friendship and something else had blurred. And when he tried to cross it… well, it was a disaster. Still, it was never truly a problem. Our friendship, our friendship was what mattered. “I’m not spoiling you. I’m simply filling you with cream like a delicious pastry, dragă.” He justified himself, blowing a kiss from his fingertips with his eyes closed like some culinary master. “We’re in Yorkshire, Seb. If you keep talking like that, we’ll pass for lunatics.” I said, biting into my custard pudding to hide the smile threatening to escape. “Then should I translate it as ‘my dear’? Sounds awful, even for me, with my accent. And besides, doesn’t being foreign make me more attractive?” he added, raising his eyebrows. “Oh, please!” I laughed, throwing the small couch cushion at him. He caught it swiftly. “Now get ready for another thrilling day as a student, blue eyes!” he concluded, sliding toward the door. After tying my wheat colored hair into a rough ponytail, I prepared myself to face a day that I was certain would be exhausting. I slipped into my black coat, ready to shield myself from the January frost. “Jolie, are you ready?” Sebastian shouted from the living room. “Yes, coming!” I answered, rushing out of the room and nearly toppling under the weight of my books. “Move it, Seb. We’re late and I don’t think Professor Rockchester appreciates our delays!” “You’re the one who’s late! And besides, dragă, we could make a grand entrance.” He grinned, dangling the keys to my Escalade in front of my eyes. “I’m driving your little jewel.” I rolled my eyes but couldn’t stop laughing. With a sigh, I headed for the door. When I heard the engine shut off, I braced myself for the cold. I pulled up my hood, wrapping myself in fabric until I became one with my coat. We stepped out of the car. Sebastian handed me back the keys and slipped an arm around me, trying to warm me up. “I don’t think the girl from your philology class would appreciate this right now, Seb.” I smiled, feeling his warm hand on my shoulder as we approached the college doors. “Stop it, busybody. Think about Applied Witchcraft instead. Five hours!” he whispered teasingly into my ear, his voice vibrating softly. We entered the classroom slightly breathless, noses red from the cold, hands frozen and rubbing together for warmth. I sat next to Danielle, greeting her with a quick nod. Sebastian settled beside George. “Morning, Jo. About time!” Danielle said, no longer expecting punctuality from me. “With mornings like this, waking up is a heroic act,” I replied, glancing around for the professor. “Rockchester?” I asked, shrugging off my coat. “He’s not here. You’re lucky! We’re waiting for the substitute… or the substitutes. I’m hoping for an interesting him.” Danielle lifted her eyebrows, finishing with a playful flutter of her lashes that made me laugh. Danielle was lively, always one step ahead of everyone, even with her bob haircut and perpetually rebellious bangs. But that morning, something shifted. “Well, relatively speaking, considering that…” I didn’t have time to finish the sentence before a hoarse yet firm voice froze me in place. “Silence.” The word was short, but the intensity with which it was spoken struck like a blow. “Oh my God,” Danielle whispered, her mouth falling open in pure astonishment.