Please turn back now. I warn you, I wrote this crap at two a.m., and you will hate it. YOU WILL HATE IT. I mean, I hate it, but please comment and vote this chapter as the worst! :)

When he was sent down from heaven to watch over his next assigned recipient of care, Tam had to admit, he didn't expect the boy to be such a . . . well, a prankster. He was always told that, as a guardian angel, he had to be understanding. He had to empathize with whomever he was assigned to, realize emotionally how different aspects impact their lives. But when his next assignment was described as, 'particularly difficult to handle,' he wasn't exactly thrilled.

Apparently the first three angels sent to watch over him applied for a release from duty within three days. Which, in less business-heaven terms, meant they were so emotionally exhausted, they never wanted to do anything ever again except lie on a cloud and sip champagne (which was abolished several years ago after a drunk angel ended up losing his charge and was found a few days later wreaking havoc amongst the angels).

A release from duty.

Tam didn't want that. He'd only been a guardian angel for a couple years, and had taken care of an adorable little girl, who giggled every time he leaned down and allowed her to poke his nose. He didn't need anyone to ruin his sturdy job now.

But there he was, ready to knock the well-sanded wooden door of the enormous mansion. Short yet majestic, the building displayed an unimpressive height of two floors, and an insane width that spread around a circular plot of land with well-trimmed trees and shrubs. Tall towers soared high above them, with white with pitch black roofs like the rest of the building. It looked more pretentious than most, like whoever owned the house wasn't afraid of wast — er, spending their money. Several dark-tinted windows lined the walls, and a huge glass balcony extended over the front porch with gold railings, holding a swimming pool and lounge chairs Tam couldn't wait to sneak an hour or two hanging out in.

As an all-righteous angel, he wasn't technically supposed to do that. But technically, angels didn't wear all black, and refuse to wear their ridiculous gold circlets, or tip their bangs in silver metal, and constantly imagine themselves insulting everyone around them.

Tam took a deep breath, shaking himself out of his thoughts, and rang the gold-plated doorbell. Promptly, inhuman shrieks greeted his unsuspecting ears and he clapped his hands over them. Pain echoed in his mind, turning each and every thought to dust as he could only focus on the voices. They streaked lightning through his veins, forcing shudders down his spine until he couldn't stop shivering.

Stay calm, part of his brain told him, while the other part screamed, WHAT KIND OF KID HAS TORTUROUS SCREAMS AS THEIR DOORBELL???

Nevertheless, he squeezed his eyes shut, waiting, hoping, begging the echoes in his head to fade away. Waiting, waiting, waiting . . . he wasn't sure how much time had passed until someone poked his arm and flicked his silver bangs.

"Bad hair day?" someone wondered.

Tam ducked. "So you're the one?"

"The what?" said a voice, clearly curious by the angel-that-didn't-look-like-an-angel standing on his doorstep.

"The one I'm supposed to look after. I'm your angel," he replied, glancing up to find a handsome teenage boy smirking at him. His tousled blond hair fell onto his forehead a bit, so perfectly imperfect, Tam had a strange urge to try and mess it up to see if it would look bad. But he doubted it would work. Of course it didn't look bad. None of the boy did. With humor dancing behind his ice-blue eyes, flickering like a roaring ice fire, and a crooked, gorgeous smirk tugging at the edge of his lips, his charge was effortlessly striking.

He even had better hair than Tam — not that the angel would ever admit it.

The blond-haired boy's smirk widened. "They sent another one? After all those failures? Wow, they must really be trying. I didn't think the devil of all folks needed an angel. Especially after the last few. Those poor souls . . ." He grinned at the memory. "I didn't realize he was allergic to bananas, but I'll admit, that made it all the better."

Tam stared at him, jaw agape. And blinked. And continued to stare. "Y-you're the devil?"

No, no, no, they must have made a mistake. They wouldn't have given the devil to an angel with only two years of experience!

The other boy winked. "Devilishly handsome."

Tam had been sent to watch over the devil. Who lived in a strictly-kept mansion. With two years of experience. And unfortunately, the devil was really distracting. Who knew devils were so handsome?

"Uh. Right." Tam stared at his feet, trying to hide the fear inevitably crossing over his expression. He cleared his throat. "I-I'm Tam. Song. Your angel."

"Oh, I haven't even introduced myself," said the boy, leaning against the doorframe, and shooting him a sideways look. His voice dripped with sarcasm as he said, "I'm so sorry, how terribly impolite of myself."

A brief moment of silence lingered between the two before Tam muttered, "you're not going to let me in either, are you?"

The other boy produced an apple from absolutely nowhere, and took a large bite, wiping the apple juice off his lips thoughtfully for a long, uncomfortable moment. For an endless few seconds, the silence was only broken by his soft chewing. And then he frowned. "They sent me you?"

Tam nodded.

"Hmph. Your hair is stupid. Your face is stupid. You're . . . you're completely stupid! And your clothes are . . ." The blond-haired boy took another bite, glaring at Tam's clothes.

"Would you like me to get you a thesaurus so you can sound like an intellectual for once?" Tam asked dryly. Yes, he was an angel, but he wasn't exactly angelic.

Unexpectedly, the blond burst out laughing, nearly choking on his apple in the process. "Keefe Sencen," he told him, a huge grin gracing his lips. Keefe's ice blue eyes caught his, and suddenly, Tam was frozen in place, taken captive by the depth behind those blue flames.

And then Keefe turned, oblivious of the way his angel was gazing at him, and tossed his apple at Tam's face. "Come on, Bangs Boy, let's go find something to ruin your life with."

Tam ended up covered in goop and some kind of liquid Keefe promised was gulon pee, and for the rest of the evening, he ended up trying to wash it out of his hair instead of watching a horror movie with his charge — whose howls of laughter could be heard across the hall.

Keefe found horror movies funny. Funny.

"Curse that stupidly hot devil," he grumbled under his breath when he strolled out the door into a dimly lit hallway. He'd finally managed to get the intolerable smell of gulon pee out of his silver-tipped bangs after an hour. Unfortunately, when angels cursed, nothing really happened, so he knew he wouldn't get the satisfaction of watching Keefe tumble down the slide he used for stairs and land head-first in his flaming pillow pit. But it was the thought that counted.

"Are you trying to insult me or compliment me?" wondered Keefe, leaning against the wall.

Tam yelped, recoiling away from him. "You heard me?"

The blond-haired boy shrugged. "Well, I'm standing right here. And I couldn't help but overhear you think I'm hot."

"You're not hot," Tam promised.

Keefe smirked. "I'm hotter than my flaming pillow pit, and you know it."

"A-are you flirting with me?" Tam squeaked.

The other boy couldn't help but laugh. "No, you dork, but it's nice to see that's the first thing you thought of."

He scowled. "Shut up, you little —"

"Tammy boy!" Keefe gasped, pressing his hand over his heart in mock surprise. "How did you become an angel with such a colorful dialect?"

"The angels loved it. I started speaking like that since I was born, so they ended up choosing me, and put me on a pedestal for my entire life."

He made a face. "You're serious? Angels get chosen?"

"No, you moron," Tam replied. He didn't really care for his rudeness anymore. Being an angel around a devil was tiring, and there was no way he wasn't quitting after this. Hopefully, his language could get him fired soon. "I applied, and I got the job."

"Oh." Keefe scoffed. "That's boring. Why are you my angel, now? Are they punishing you?"

"No. That's . . . Well, maybe, but I don't know why. It's just the job they gave me."

"So you're stuck with me," Keefe confirmed.

"I wouldn't call it stuck with you," Tam said kindly. More like involuntarily required.

"Yeah, you would. You're stuck with the devil. Cue the dejected angel wails. But I have a real sob story." He grinned, but Tam could see the pain flashing behind his eyes like the warm gold embers of a fire glowing softly against wood. "When I was born, my parents hated me so much, they tried to get rid of me in every way they could."

"I'm sure they didn't," Tam replied. He frowned sympathetically, tilting his head. "They probably loved you. Everyone loves babies."

He laughed bitterly. "Yeah, right. Even the devil said, 'ooh, competition!'"

"B-but you are the devil. Always have been, right?"

"Nope." His ice-blue gaze met Tam's, so real, so pure, and so full of unfathomable pain, he couldn't look away. All he wanted to do was hold Keefe close, hold him for the rest of time until time itself ended, and even beyond.

Which was weird.

That was really weird.

Two minutes ago, he was insulting him, calling him names inside his head that even Keefe wouldn't dare to say out loud. And now . . . that was definitely weird.

"Only for a few years," Keefe continued. He ducked his head, but Tam could see the adorable, bright red blush rising to his face. "I-I sort of . . . won the competition. Against the devil."

"Oh," was all that left his mouth.

"It's better this way, though," the boy mumbled, mussing his tousled hair as he turned away. "This way, my sucky parents are out, prank ideas are in. My life is at its highest! And considering it'll never end because I'm the devil now, it's always at its highest. Sweet, sweet, life of tormenting angels."

"You don't really enjoy that, do you?" Tam wondered softly, inching closer to Keefe. He didn't want to scare him away or anything, but . . . he wanted to hold him. He really wanted to hold him close. Nobody deserved such a life.

"Why not?" he replied, his voice laced with glee once again, but it was fake, and Tam knew it. "Didn't you hear the part about how sucky parents are out, and prank ideas are in?"

Tam hesitated. He was close enough to see Keefe wasn't smiling from his vantage point behind him in the dimly lit hallway. He was close enough that, if he reached out, he could wrap his arms around Keefe and lean his head on the boy's shoulder. He was close enough that, if Keefe turned around, he would be able to see the boy's long, dark eyelashes, and every tiny detail of his ice-blue eyes.

"No one wants to be the devil," he whispered, tentatively reaching forward and slipping his arms around Keefe. The blond-haired boy stiffened under his touch, and Tam almost thought he saw a shiver run up his spine, but it was gone before he could confirm. And so was Keefe's stillness. As Tam tightened his grip, the boy didn't say a word to contradict him, and while he didn't bother to try and hug him back, it was enough for now. It was warm, and it was enough.

"What in the world are you doing, Bangs Boy?" he said suddenly, snapping to his senses. He tried to push his angel away, but Tam held on.

Not because he didn't want to let go.

Because he was a good angel, an angel who empathized with the person he was assigned to.

Yeah, he thought stubbornly to the little something prickling in the back of his mind. I'm empathizing with my charge.

Nothing more.

"You deserve better than being a devil," Tam told Keefe when the other boy finally managed to pry him off.

"I love being the devil," the boy replied, raising his chin obstinately, ice blue eyes flashing.

He sighed. "Shut up, and let me hug you."

Keefe wrinkled his nose. "Why?"

Tam pulled him closer, wishing he could lend his warmth, all his love to this boy. He didn't know why. He just knew nobody deserved to be a devil. Especially not this blond-haired boy, despite all the pranks he played. But if anyone asked, he didn't care. If anyone asked . . . "Because you want to, and you know it."

It's really bad because I really wanted to do this, (Tam as an angel? Keefe as the devil?? Bruh where did common sense go?) but I also don't want to misrepresent the lgbtqia+ community with trashy lgbtqia+ pieces of writing, so . . . I'm really sorry. Please don't hate me for writing this crap, I promise you it's NOT my best work. At. All. It's not even near my average. Certainly lower than bad. On the other hand, this is going to absolutely annihilate any chances I once had to win or even place in Griffin0123's contest. Fun. :D

Stay safe, luv y'all!