October 1st, 2021

I started my way down the hall, walking towards the exit. I was going there to meet Estral.

However, as I was walking, someone grabbed my arm and pulled me into an empty classroom. I tripped over my own feet as I looked up, letting out a loud groan. "What do you want, Jannelle?"

She smirked and walked towards me, her eyes filled with a mysterious look. She grabbed my hand and bit her lip. "I just wanted to talk. Richard," She brought her voice down to a low whisper. "Do you know why I am so hard on you?"

I tried to pull my hand away, but her red nails dug into my skin, obviously making marks. I glared at her. "Because you think it gets to me." I answered, my voice shaking just a bit.

She shook her head, her eyes darting to my lips. 'Es, where are you? I need you, man!'

"I have a small, little, crush on you. I could, you know," She brought her hand to my face, cupping my cheek. My breath hitched in my throat. Her hand was freezing, and I didn't like where these was going. "Make your normal again. You're just confused. You don't even kind of like London. He is just your best friend."

That's when she started leaning in. I leaned back and gently pushed her away. "What is your deal?" I asked angrily, my voice just above a whisper. "What makes you think that 'fixing someone' means to take advantage of them?!" I ran my hands through my hair, her lips quivering. "Even if I were straight, I could NEVER love someone like you."

She looked down at her hands. Jannelle opened her mouth to say something, but I stopped her.

"No, don't say anything." I walked around the classroom, her eyes following me. "I don't get you! You jus-"

"Oh, shut up." And that's the last thing she said before my shirt was ripped off my body.

All I could think of was, "Where are you, Estral?!"

I walked out of the classroom, trying to hold back my tears. She smirked evilly.

I looked head and saw Hailey. She turned around and smiled at me. I let out a sigh I didn't know I was holding. Her smile made me feel safe. If I didn't like London so much, I would probably have the biggest crush on her.

She walked towards me and her smile grew. "Hey, they're all o-"

"I need to talk to you about something."

We walked outside, Hailey rubbing my back. She ran her hand through my hair. "You'll be okay, I promise. I promise I won't tell anyone, but I'm pretty sure that I would win in a fight. I'm gonna fight her."

I smiled sadly at her, trying to tell her to knock it off. Ahead of us, I heard Jacob yell, "Hey, where were you guys?"

I sighed. "We got, uh-"

"Asked to stay back. Rich was failing Spanish, so I'm going to help him with it." Hailey said quickly.

I smiled thankfully at her. I looked back at them and saw Estral talking to London. They looked at me and smiled. I walked towards them, smiling widely. "Hi."

London smiled back, their face flushing a deep red. "Hi." They whispered.

I looked at Estral, my smile falling. "I could've used you a few minutes ago, Es."

He frowned. "Why?"

I bit the inside of my cheek. "I'll tell you when we get home." He gulped, but nodded his head.

Was I mad at him? No, not really. Was I disappointed? Now, that was a word for it. If Estral was there, I doubt any of this would happen. Does he not have his freaking mind reading ability thing on?

I looked back at London, a huge smile plastered on my face. God, was I so happy to see them. "Hey, I was thinking that we wear like blue. You know, a blue color scheme."

They nodded their head. "I would love that." I smiled awkwardly and looked back at Estral.

He let out a sigh and the whole car ride home, he was silent.

Once we walked into my room, I glared at him. He gulped. "Es, I could've used you today. Where were you?"

He frowned. "Hailey was showing me around your school."

"Es, I could've had something happen to me that no one would know about. I even asked for you."

I slumped on my bed, my hands holding my face as I sighed. He sat down beside me. "What happened? Does it involve Derek or Jannelle?"

I hesitated before nodding my head slowly. He frowned as I explained what happened.

After I finished, he looked angry, but not at Jannelle. "I should've been there. I'm sorry, Richie."

I shrugged my shoulders. "You wanna watch a movie or something? We could invite the others over." I asked, dropping the topic.

He smiled. "Yeah! Besides, Hailey and I have some important matters to discuss."

I raised an eyebrow. "Do you now?" He chuckled, nodding his head. I rolled my eyes. "Alright, Es."

I walked into my bathroom and closed the door, locking it behind me.

I turned the shower on to it's highest setting. I stripped off my clothes and got in. I stood under the shower head, letting the hot water run through my hair and face. I let out a small sigh, knowing I finally had a few minutes of alone time.

"Wanna know a secret?" I jumped and opened the curtain. Estral was sitting on the lid of my toilet, right leg crossed over his left. I glared at him, opening my mouth to speak, but he interrupted me. "Yes, angels can teleport. Also, we can see what our humans look like."

I groaned and closed the curtain. "Why didn't you tell me thi-" I paused after I recalled what he said. I peaked out of the curtain again. "You can see what humans look like!?"

He smiled. "Hailey told me how you felt about London, so I made up a small lie. You believed it, that's your fault." He shrugged his shoulders. "Now I can finally see how badly you love London."

I gaped at him. "When I get out," I said quietly. "I'm gonna murder you."

He smirked. "Good luck." And as quickly as he appeared, he disappeared.