WOULD YOU PLAY ALONG WITH ME?

===

Angel chose to deal with the sudden murder of her parents like she dealt with all other negative things - by distracting herself and forcing herself into the mindset that everything was okay.

There was no time to grieve. The Feynman family was coming over soon, and she had to help Clara prepare dinner. She wanted to contribute by making cookies, and there was simply no space for her in this 'busy' schedule to think about her parents, or the ominous message that their murderer had written for her.

Clara had time, however, and her concern was ruining this illusion for Angel. How could she forget about her problems when Clara kept vocalizing her worries for her? And Tom - no, he didn't know. He couldn't know. There was no way that he was going to be told any time soon that his brother and sister-in-law had been brutally slaughtered in an alley by the same person that was supposedly coming for Angel next. This deal with Mr. Feynman was all he had spoken about for almost a month now, and this murderer was not going to ruin it for him, no matter what.

"Are you sure that you feel safe here?" Clara asked for what felt like the millionth time in fifteen minutes. "I'll try to rush back from the store once I finish, and I-"

Angel raised a hand. "I'm fine," she told her firmly. "I promise I'm fine. Me and Erebus will be alright here. We're gonna make the cookies and listen to Led Zeppelin, and life's gonna be good. You don't need to rush home, trust me, we're gonna be fine."

The keys in Clara's hand jingled together as she lowered her arm, sighing quietly to herself. "You know I can't help but worry about you, dear," she mumbled, taking a step toward the door. "But please, Angel, take care of yourself. Don't open the door for anyone else besides me or Tom, okay?"

"I know, don't worry," Angel said, offering her a reassuring smile. "I'm not going to let any strangers into the house, I'm just gonna be making cookies with Erebus."

Clara nodded, smiling back, though the expression didn't reach her eyes. "Okay, sweetpea." She moved back towards the door, her gaze shifting up from Angel slightly as she saw Erebus move into view. He nodded at her, placing a hand on Angel's shoulder.

"I'll make sure she's safe," he gently promised, looking down at Angel as she placed a hand over his. Clara's smile grew a little more genuine as she opened the door, stepping outside.

"I trust you with her, magpie. Have fun, both of you, and stay safe."

As soon as Clara shut the door, Angel sighed softly in relief. "Now we can make cookies," she said, giggling a little as she turned to face Erebus. "Let me grab my record player, I wanna listen to Led Zeppelin's fourth album..."

Erebus didn't seem to be showing the same amount of enthusiasm as she was. "Angel, are you sure it's a good idea for us to stay here?" he asked. "I'm afraid of what might happen if the person that killed your parents decides to show themself..."

Angel quietly groaned, moving away from him and walking to her room. "Not you too," she muttered, glancing back at him as he followed her. "Listen, it- it's going to be fine, trust me. Everything is going to be fine. I'm not feeling too hung up over it, and neither should you. I mean, you're here, anyway, so there's not really anything for me to be worried about..."

Erebus raised an eyebrow. "What does that mean?"

"Well..." Angel trailed off slightly, feeling her face start to heat up as it dawned on her what she meant by that. "Like- I feel safe with you. I just do. When I'm with you, I don't really feel like anything bad can happen."

Erebus paused in the doorframe of Angel's room, almost taken aback by her words. "Are you serious?"

Angel glanced over at him. "Yeah, of course," she told him. "And it's not even because you're powerful either. It's just 'cause... I feel that way, y'know?"

Unplugging her record player from the outlet, she picked it up, turning to face him. Her heart seemed to skip a beat when she saw the almost giddy smile crossing his face, and the way he turned away in order to hide it. "That's... That's good, I'm glad that-" He paused, clearing his throat as he meekly looked at her. "I'm glad that you feel that way."

"Yeah, it's a really nice feeling," Angel said. "Is there a chance you can grab the album? It's brown, and it's got a picture of some guy holding a bunch of crops on his back..."

Erebus moved over to the shelf where Angel kept her records, skimming through them until he pulled out the one she had been referring to. "Is this it?"

Angel nodded, moving back out into the kitchen and looking for a place to plug her record player in. "This one slaps... one of Led Zeppelin's most famous songs, 'Stairway to Heaven', is on this one, but good Lord, they're all so good..."

She barely even noticed that she was starting to ramble as she set up the record player on the countertop. "'The Battle of Evermore' is so well done," she said. "That's one of my favorite Led Zeppelin songs of all time - it's about a book series called Lord of the Rings, which I've never read, but I want to one day. Apparently, there's quite a few Led Zeppelin songs about Lord of the Rings. There's one called 'Ramble On' - fun fact about that one, I was listening to that song right before I realized that I could make a deal with Herobrine to bring you here. It's a bit jauntier than 'The Battle of Evermore' is, but I still like them both - are you alright?"

Mid-sentence, she had caught sight of Erebus again, pausing as she saw the way that he was watching her. There was something familiar about how mesmerized he looked, almost as if he was seeing the moon and the stars for the first time. Crimson eyes shone as he merely observed her, his head tilted slightly to the side and clear relaxation in his features, like this was the perfect place for him, the only place he wanted to be.

And then it clicked. This was the same look that Tom wore whenever he would watch Clara - the same awestruck gaze that Clara held in her eyes when she spoke about Tom's accomplishments - the same enamored affection that her parents had held for each other in the past.

It was love.

And then it was gone.

"What?" Erebus broke from his trance at once, looking away and fidgeting slightly with the album he was still holding. "I- I'm fine, I was just... I was just thinking - no, that's not right... I was just trying to concentrate on what you were saying. That's it."

Angel chuckled softly. "You're alright, Erebus," she told him, moving over and taking the album out of his hands. "What were you thinking of? You can tell me."

She turned away, going over to put the vinyl in the record player, but Erebus placed a hand on her shoulder, keeping her where she was for a moment.

"Wait," he mumbled, almost as if he didn't want her to hear. "I was- I was thinking about you, that's all."

Angel turned to face him again. "You were thinking about me? Seriously?"

Erebus nodded, subconsciously shifting closer to Angel, unable to help himself from doing so. She was able to see that the glimmer of emotion hadn't faded from his eyes - or perhaps it had, and it was only present when he was looking at her. "I think about you a lot, Angel."

The now-familiar feeling of heat descending on Angel's cheeks slowly returned. "What about me were you thinking of?" she asked.

Slim fingertips fidgeted with soft fabric as Erebus fidgeted with the bottom of his shirt, barely able to refrain from answering. "It's... not important right now," he murmured after a moment of hesitation. He would tell her soon, he had to. For now, however, he was still unsure of himself. "Come on, let's go make those cookies now."

With a soft huff, Angel nodded and turned away, a small pang of disappointment hitting her at the fading suspicion of what she believed he may have said to her. Perhaps she would have to be the one to speak first after all, but she, too, was unsure. They were one and the same, with hidden emotions plaguing them both, doubt blanketing them like the warmth each brought onto the other - the catalyst of their feelings.