'Pick me up at five?' 

His voice is non committal. 'Uh, yeah?'

'Seriously, Keegan. If you forget, I'm ripping off your wings with my bare hands.'

Keegan gasps over the phone. 'That's harsh. But are you really sure you wanna go to this club?'

I bite my lip. 'Yeah. Julian's a friend who owes me a favor. Why?'

Keegan hesitates. 'You know, it being a weekday and all, and I have to pick you up from some stranger's house in the morning before school and...'

'I can't believe you, Keegan!' I yell into the phone. I can almost see him flinching. 'Are you for real now? For fuck's sake, this is not you.'

'Okay, okay.' I hear the distinctive sound of a book being shut. 'Maybe we can go somewhere? Like meet Lucifer?'

I hitch my backpack a few inches higher up my shoulder. Keegan was trying so hard to make this seem normal, when it was anything but. There was nothing normal with a Moirai attending high school. 

But maybe I was being a bit too harsh on him.

'I don't know, K. But tonight's going to be just you and me, okay?' 

'Can I study till then? I really wanna win the Math Olympiad, you know.'

I sigh. 'Keegan. You don't even have to study to win.'

'But where's the challenge in that? Let me work it the way humans do.'

'Yeah, whatever.'

I kill the call, stashing the phone in my pocket. The hallway is deserted, obviously, with the detention being after hours. But at least, Westside High has it's fair share of troublemakers, and we've all been getting a lot of detentions together, so it's like one huge badass family. Our in charge is a Mr. Moby, who spent all his time snoring at the ceiling, so all of just roam around for two hours. 

And today, I had precisely ten cans of spray paint in my backpack. The west side of Westside High can say bye to it's dull red bricks, haha.

'Wassup, folks?' I holler, as I kick open the door. 

To a deserted class.

Well, deserted except for a sulky, pissed off Miss Denovan. 

Ah, dammit.

'Where is everyone?' I scowl, flipping stray hairs out of my eyes. 'And, where is Mr. Moby?'

Miss Denovan sighs. 

Spoiled, sassy brat.

I smirk. 

It's easier to read minds, especially when the class is not filled with really horny teenagers. 

I can't believe I'm doing this.

'Me neither,' I announce. 'So, I'm going to take a shot, and make it easier for the both of us. Let's just go our separate ways, okay? Just pretend like this detention happened. I'll be out of your hair, and you stay out of mine, deal?'

She looks flabbergasted. Well, maybe that is cause I read her thoughts and responded to them, but it doesn't matter. She'll just think she said it aloud.

Wait, did I say that aloud?

Told ya.

'Look, Warner - '

'Actually, if this is about your son, I really had no idea. And I won't fu-uh-um, you know, him again.'

She rubs her temples. 

God. I'm not drunk enough to do this.

'Are you drunk, Miss?'

'No!' She gasps, a little too quick. 'I mean, no, and no, this is not about Alan, though I do not approve.'

Honestly what was he thinking? A minor? I'm going to kill him.

Poor Alan. RIP.

'This is about you learning a lesson. Which is why I'm going to partner you up.'

The door slams open.

A guy enters, his face covered by a hoodie. His ears are plugged in by earphones, and he does a quick sweep of the room, his eyes landing on me and Denovan.

I frown. I can't hear anything from him. 

He pulls down his hood, and ooohh la la, he's a masterpiece. Crystal gray eyes, pointed nose, sharp jawlines, full mouth. His features are striking and sharp, though his expression is bored. 

He pulls out a single earphone.

'Detention?'

Denovan nods, her eyes falling on him with slight distaste. 

'You must be the new kid who stuck Dennis Jones to his chair.'

I try, but I can't stop it. I let out a snort, and it bubbles into a laugh, and then, I'm laughing my ass off. I have a feeling that this new guy and me are going to hit it right off.

I laugh for a solid ten seconds. Denovan fixes me with a stern look, and new guy looks straight off unimpressed.

'What?' I demand, choking down. 'It was a joke, right?'

The guy doesn't reply. Instead, he scowls, moves to one of the desks and settles down.

Denovan turns to me. 

'Like I was saying, you are going to be partnered up.'

'With Keegan, yeah? I'll do it.'

'No, not Keegan. With the new kid. You are to show him around, help him adjust and partner up with him in all your projects. He has some... issues. You are to make sure he does not get into any sort of trouble.'

'No shit.' I declare, standing my ground. 'I'm not his freaking guardian.'

'No, you're not. But that's what you are going to do if you want to continue in this school.'

I scoff. 'Who says I want to? Farewell, Ms. Deno-bitch. See you on the other side.'

I reach for the door, but she is not done.

'I'll expel you and Keegan. He'll be out of the Olympiad. He's my star student and all, but I won't hesitate.'

My fingers freeze on the door handle. 

Fuck you, Kadriel.

I know how much he wants this. He had been my trusted ally since time unknown. Of all the millennia of me having known him, not once had he shown this level of excitement. His head was always bent over a book, his fingers flying across the pages as he took down notes, an easy smile on his face as human girls flirted with him under the pretense of a doubt. 

When I fled Heaven, Kadriel didn't even hesitate to run away with me. He left behind a life of safety just to stay with me, to protect me. For the first time in his life, he was looking for something for himself. For the first time, he wasn't always on high alert for Klotho's attacks. 

I couldn't take that away from him. I can't.

When I turn back to face Ms. Denovan, she wears a smug smile. She knows. She knows that Keegan is the way to get to me.

'Okay.' I sigh. 'You win. I'll do it.'

To say she was ecstatic is an understatement. Her subconsciousness yells in joy and I almost have to suppress the urge to close my ears. 

I glance at the boy, a few desks away, headphones in his ears. I expected him to be doing something, anything. But he is looking straight at me, his ash grey eyes smoldering, his jaw working overtime, a look of pure hatred etched upon his face.

Now that I look at him, all I see is trouble. My senses are going haywire, I cannot read him. My mind faces a blank wall, and it instead of scaring me, it intrigues me. 

It's been a while since I had a challenge.

And I love challenges.

/*\*/*\