Diablo


It was the first day of school, again. different school, different friends, same, sarcastic sister giving me a ride.

" have fun, diablo." she thought it was so funny that mom decided that the last kid she was going ot have would be named after satan. sucks she died before I turned 3, right? she would have seen I've lived up to the name nicely.

" you too, casandera." I said snidely. she grimaced, nodding. she'd gotten a job at the resturant across from the school.

" when is your car getting here again?" I shrugged, not wanting to tell her it was comeing tomorrow, just to be an ass.

" Dunno. a week or two, at least." she growled and muttered under her breath as she parked outside, and I jumped out of the car so fast you'd think it was on fire.

" hey, if you need a ride tonight, find one, because I'm working late." I grimaced. that means i had to make friends fast. it won't be that hard, really. I looked good, no bragging inteneded, and I was a football and basketball fanatic, so it should be easy anough to fill a slot.


Heaven

as I drove to the school building, I passed the house that was recently bought. a young woman- older than me, but probably just out of high school- was sitting in the car, and a boy, probably a brother, was locking the door. the girl saw me and waved, and i nodded in response. I turned my music up louder than it already was, letting it drown my head till it was impossible to think straight.


I pulled up to the school, and sat in my car. I usually wait till I had five more minutes, then dashed to get to my class so that I didn't run into anybody.


It's not that I didn't get along with anybody, it's just that i didn't like talking to people. I was the shy girl of the school. no one talked to me, and I never talked unles hte teachers called on me. I looked around the parking lot oalmost vacant of humans, and I saw that young woman looking at me again. she turned away, and said something. I looked past her to see the boy I'd seen locking up her house. he grimaced, slammed the door, and started walking towards the school, which would bring him right by my car. I turned the music down slightly, so that he wouldn't give me an annoyed look, but he looked up any way and met my eyes. after a second of me steadily meeting his gaze, I looked down. He'd froze in front of my car, and so I looked for my chemestry book in the back seat. so I'd be a few more miutes early than normal. better than the gawking boy in front of me. I glanced at him again as I turned my car off, and he was still rooted to the same spot, suprise written all over his face. I nodded in his direction, got out, and strode to the doors.


Diablo

For a moment, I thought I'd made a mistake on who was in the car when The prep girl came up, but then she said her name was Grace.

so the girl next to me had to be Heaven. and Now I knew why she was ignoring me. she was shy. I slipped the note to her, and grinned when she answered. for a second I was confused, then realized she didn't shorten anything in the note, but used proper grammar. obviously she didn't write notes often. I also found her handwriting amazing. curved, yet delicate, like her. I gave the note back to her, but she didn't answer my question, Just crumpled it and stuck it in her desk. I frowned, and almost wrote her another one before Freddy handed me one.

ok, so there's this bet. about Heaven.

I frowned, confused.

ok, what is it?

I handed it back, and he read it, wrote quickly, and passed back.

whoevr gets n hr pants 1st gets the pool wr doin. so far thrs almost a thousnd dollars.

I felt my jaw drop.

who's in it?

all the senir boys. u n?

I groaned slightly, glancing at her. she gave me a curious look, then turned back to the front.

sur, y not? I can get n any girlz pants.

Heaven
" How many weights today, Heaven?" coach grater asked, smiling slightly. I shrugged off my gym bag. I was in a tanktop and sweats, and it was last hour, finally. I was in the back, like usual. and, also like usual, coach was my spotter, because there wasn't an even amount of people, and i was the only girl.

" same as usual, I guess." I said softly, sliding onto the bench. he loaded the wieghts on, and counted for me as i lifted.

" oh, hey! there's a new kid today. at least now I can walk around and help some more people. You! Come here!" he said. I slid the bar back in place, sat up, and groaned.

Diablo was heading towards us, still turned and talking to one of the jocks. he turned to face us, and his face froze in shock. the coach laughed slightly

" he likes your looks, girl. most boys in here do." louder, he said

" your new partner in here will be Heaven, son. If you have any questions, ask her. she knows the gym better than I do." with that he walked off. Diablo grinned.

" who's going first?" I glared for a moment at him.

" don't care, Devil." he looked taken aback that I actually talked to him. then his eyes flashed.

" it's Diablo, Not devil." I shook my head.

" same thing." I muttered as I stood up. he slid on the bench, and attempted to pick up the weights.

" God! who was on here first?" I smirked slightly, and his eyes widened.

" you? your kidding, right?" I shook my head. he heistated, then shook his head.

" whatever. help me remove some of this."

Diablo

I wasn't worried about getting a ride. Grace and her sister was giving me one, whoever that was. she siad it wouldn'tbe a problem. I also wasn't worried about the party tonight. that was easy.

no, what I was worried about was Impressing this quiet person that I was paired with. don't ask me why, but I did.

and she was impressing me. amazingly.

every weight that I'd pick up, she'd pick up twice as much. I'd do so many jumping Jacks in a minute, I couldn't count how many she did. and she hasn't even broke a sweat.

which was good, I think. if she did,Her already tighter than normal shirt would have stuck to her, and I would have come unglued by now.

but I did get to see her smile. just a moment, but it was there. and it made it harder for me to get on with what i was doing.

I was going to ask her to the party tonight. It was starting to bother me, the fact that she could brush off what other girls swooned for. and, I really wanted that thousand grand. so I figured, get her to the party, get her drunk, get the money. all before me first weekend in this town. what a reputation I would have.

" So, Heaven, are you doing anything tonight?" I asked nonchalantly. she looked up at me for a second, about the third time she'd made eye contact for almost the whole hour.

" does it matter? I'm not going to the party." Her bluntness suprised me for a momnent.

" why do you say that? a guy would like to have a girl like you on his arm at a party." I grinned lopsidedly, the way I did that usually had girls falling head over heels. she just looked away.

" no, my sisters the kind of girl boys like to have on there arms at parties. expecially if it's her party." I frowned, then clicked the peices together.

" Grace is your sister!?" she frowned, not meeting my eyes.

" yeah. you didn't know that?" I sighed, settling myself on the leg weight bench across from her.

" No, I didn't. Question. how many are you lifting now?" again, a breif smile.

" 15." I frowned. that didn't sound like her.

" altogether?" she shook her head.

" each." 30. flippin. pounds. what the hell? I loaded five- each- and was breathing heavy in 15 minutes. she'd been doing it for 30 minutes, and she was still breathing evenly.

" ok, I give up. how do you do it?" I said, sitting up. she gave me a long look, and was about to answer when the coach cut in.

" alright, you two. log in and shower." she frowned.

" but we still have 12 minutes before regular time." the coach grinned and crouched down to release her weights.

" yes, but you have to show him how to log in his weight records and shit." I raised an eyebrow, and he froze.

" sorry. I usually talk to Heaven like that. she doesn't care. does it bother you?" I shook my head as Heaven stood up, offering me her hand.

" watch it. it's going to feel like you have sea legs." I roled my eyes, then almsot fell over as my legs turned to jello, as she predicted.

" damn." I said as she lent me her arm to lean on as we went to coaches office to a large binder. I took this as an oppertunity, and, after regaining my balance, moved my hand from her arm to her opposite hip, making her shirt ride up slightly.

" so, you sure you don't want to go to the party with me?" she shot me annoyed looke before pulling away from me and grabbing a pen before flipping the binder open.

" you going to come see how to do this?" she asked in that neutural tone she always used. I studied her a second. she still hadn't fixed her shirt, and her bare skin was now bothering me. thinking of bare skin gave me an Idea. thank my dad that I inherited his six pack. I pulled my soaked shirt off, then leaned over so that I was leaning over her, hands on either side of her, my chin resting on her shoulder, and my front pressed as close as possible to her back. she shook her head.

" it's easy. name, time you used on the equipment, and how many weights you lifted or jumping jacks you did." as hse explained, she filled it out, making it suprisingly easier to understand. I leaned more of my weight on her, and she sighed.

" would you stop?" she asked in that same neutural tone. it was annoying now, so I leaned over her even farther.

" no, I don't think I will. not yet, anyway. promise to go to the party with me and I might." she shook her head.

" NO, I'm not going to the party with you." her voice had slightly more emotion in it. I leaned even closer and dared to brush my lips against her curved neck.

wrong move.

she tasted so sweet, and amazing. like... God, I don't Know how else to explain it. she tasted like Heaven.

It was also a wrong move, becuase she gasped, spun around, slapped me across the face, and whirled around to gracefully glidded down the stairs. I frowned after, adjusted my shorts, filled out the binder and grabbed my shirt. I almost decided to stand there and wait for her, then a thought hit me.

she was Grace's sister. I was getting a ride from her in less then 20 minutes. I could wait that long, right?

maybe.

Heaven

I seriously thought about just ditching my sister and Diablo and just going home, but in the end I didn't. I had promised That I'd give her and 'her friend that wanted to help for the party' a ride. if I wasn't such a nice person, she'd be screwed.

I couldn't beleive he had the nerve to even try and do that! taking off his shirt was one thing. crowding my space was one thing. but hell, kissing my neck? he was a dumbass. he was lucky all I did was slap him, the jerk.


" hey, sis. Thanks for driving us." Grace said, climbing into the passenger seat.

" yeah, thanks, Heaven." Diablo said right next to my ear. I jumped, then realized he was leaning on the seats from the back. I nodded mutely, and they talked for a while. there was too much traffic when we got off from school, so we took a long time.

I almost screamed when I suddenly felt a hand on my shoulder, exspecually the one next to the door. then I realized Diablo had snaked his hand around my seat. soon he was tracing my collar bone, and my neck, and any bare skin he could find. finally, after a minute or two, I moved, as if to brush my ear against my shoulder, while I was actually digging hte spike I'd aquired in the upper range of my ear over the summer into his hand. he hissed in a sharp breath and yanked his hand away.

" what's wrong?" my sister asked sweetly.

" hand got stuck on the seat. it's nothing."

" It looks like someone stabbed you, Diablo." she said too sweetly, flirting her head off.

" something did. it was in the seat. It's fine." she sighed, but let it go as we pulled up to our resonably large house. I waited for them to get out before announcing

" I'm going to see Jeremiah." and backing out. my sister flinched.

jeremiah was our little brother. he died last year, he was 15. he'd shot himself. I visited his grave as often as I could. my parents where cruel. you know how you could carve images in the stone? well, they decided it was apropriate to carve a gun into it. they weren't home but for about a month a year, and we think that's part of the reason he shot himself. they stayed for a full 3 days after it happened, then were off ot paris or something or another.


when I got to the cemetery, it took me a second to realize why something felt so off.

someone else was standing next to Jeremiahs grave. it took me another second to realize it was Lillian, his ex-girlfriend. I approached slowly, and realized she was crying.

" hey." I said softly, standing next to her. she jumped, then relaxed when she say it was me.

" I-I thought you w-were your sister." she siad through her silent sobs. I instinctively pulled her closer and hugged her. I didn't say anything, becuase nothing I said could bring him back. she cried silently into my shoulder till she was done, then pulled back.

" thank you, Heaven. so much." I nodded, brushing her hair out of her eyes.

" he really loved you, Lil." she smiled sadly.

" what he really loved was you. he always talked about you." I smiled, and hugged her once more before letting her go. she walked off as I folded myself on the ground.

Diablo


when I woke up on friday, I couldn't quite remember where I was, before Grace moved next to me. then I remembered that I was in Graces room, and how we'd gone there after everyone left. I heard someone shuffling around downstairs, and realized it must have been Heaven. I slipped away from her, and pulled on my boxers and Jeans, not bothering to button or zip them, just to tick her off. then I jogged downstairs to find Heaven cooking something, still in pajamas, and I had to stop for a second, suprised. she had a skin tight cami on, and what looked like would-be soft pajama pants on. her hair was tamed and straight, flowing around her, and she was humming softly in a beautiful voice that could have been in Honor choir. I stood there, opened mouthed, till she caught sight of me and gasped, almost tipping over the pan she'd been cooking with, looking away quickly.

" I thought Grace would've gone home with someone." she said softly, twisting her hair into a small bun and pulling back. I frowned when she sat a pan of spaghetti on the table.

"It's good for hangovers, trust me." she said, smirking. I gave her a disbelieving look, but let it go and sat down as she handed me a plate and fork.

" and drink a BIg glass of water, too." she said before setting one beside my empty plate and disappearing down a hallway. a few seconds later i heard a shower turn on, and then she appeared again, heading upstairs.

she was right, It did help. alot. my pounding headached dulled, and I didn't feel like throwing up. she appeared at the top of the stairs, helping a bathrobed Grace take them one step at a time, then disappeared down the hallway again. a few more minutes and she was sitting across from me, stretching and yawning. I stared at the bellybutton ring she had, and she caught me staring and pulled her shirt down .

" you have a belly button ring." she arched an eyebrow, the first emotion I've seen that wasn't happy or angry.

" you sound suprised." I shrugged, leaning back and streatching as well. she grimaced, looking away from me till I was done, then answered my statment more throughfully.

" yes, I have a belly button ring. and, as you found out, a spiked earing."

" why?" she shrugged.

" because I felt like it." I shook my head,yawning. she tilted her chin toward the stairs.

" there's a shower connected to the second water heater upstairs. do you want to use it?" I ran a hand threw my hair.

" fine." I finally said, standing up. she stood up as well, and started up the stairs before me.

" stop staring at my ass, please. It's very annoying." I rolled my eyes.

" how do you know stuff like that? and you knew I wanted to ask you to the party, too." She shrugged, pushing a door just off the staircase open. Inside was a very adult looking room. It was all dark shades of greens and blues, with the occasional brown, and it was tiled, not carpet. there was a neatly made bed and a couch in two of the corners, with a big bay window that over looked the backyard inbetween. I stopped, open mouthed. the room was huge. it probably took up half of this side of the second floor.

" you coming?" she said, walking across the floor to a dark colored door, pausing for me to fallow.

" is this your parent's room?" she shook her head, shoving the door to reveal a just as tidy and matching bathroom, with a full shower, full Jaccuzzi bathtub, and plenty of moving space.

" nope, it's mine. mom and dad's is downstairs, across from where Jeremiah's used to be. there's some, uh, less femamine smelling shampoo and stuff downstairs, if you want me to get that." I nodded, still gazing around. she closed the door, and I jumped. the whole wall, besides the door, was a mirror. all of it. she appeared a minute later with some axe shampoo and some kind of body soap.

" you need to hurry up, you know. my sisters waiting for you downstairs." I groaned, and I swore I heard her laugh as she closed the bathroom door and left.

Heaven

when I jogged back downstairs, the spaghetti was gone.

" sometimes I don't know what I'd do if you werent' around." Grace said miserably, like it hurt her to say it. I shook my head.

" you'd be alright. I just make it easier." she nodded, then sighed.

" do I have to go to school?" I gave her a long look.

" It'd be nice, but I'm not mom." she nodded, standing up and stretching.

" alright, then I'm going back to bed." I sighed, but waved her off. I was cleaning up in the kitchen, still in my pajamas, when someone rang the door bell. I looked outside and groaned.

Freddy was standing outside.

I almost didn't answer the door, but did anyway.

" hey, Grace, I-"

" not Grace." I said in my neutral tone. his eyes widened, and he studied me even more.

" oh, sorry. you looked like your sister. I left my Jacket here last night. coudl I..." I nodded, stepping aside and letting him in.I felt his eyes on me as I rounded the corner into the kitchen again, to find Diablo, cleaned up and decently dressed, going through the cabniets.

" issues?" I said, making him jump about a foot in the air.

" uh, yeah. I want a drink, but my cups not here. help?" I gave him a long look, then tilted my chin to the cabniet next to me.

" in there. make sure freddy finds what he needs." as I said that, Freddy appeared.

" Got it. thanks, Heaven." I nodded.

" welcome. can you tell the school that me and my sister aren't comeing today?" he frowned.

" your excuse is..." I shrugged.

" tell'em my parents wanted us to meet them at the airport." he nodded as I gasped.

"shit." I said, running for the stairs as he left. I shook Grace awake.

" Common, Girl. Let's go." I made sure she got up, then sprinted out the door to run smack into Diablo.

" Issues?" he mocked. I growled.

" yeah, Kinda. our parents do want us to meet them at the airport today." We heard Grace groan loudly. I joined her when I realized what I'd forgot last night.

"and I only have anough gas to coast my way to the school, let alone hte airport." Diablo's face lit up.

" I'll take you." I was about to object, but he jogged down the stairs and out the door. I hesitated, then sprinted to my room and changed.


Diablo

" sis, please. let me borrow the van. please." I couldn't believe that I was actually begging my sister to let me use the mini Van, but here I was, doing Just that. I was going to use it so that her parents could put all their luggage in it, and still fit anough people.

" why is it so important to you? any other girl you would have said tough shit and walked out." I growled.

" because, I'm trying to rack up rally points, ok?" she tilted her head to the side.

" why? tell me and I'll give you the Van, no matter what." I groaned.

" fine. there's this pool, so far it's a thousand some-odd dollars, who can get in her pants first. I wanna win. now, give me the damn keys." I said, snatching them from her now slack hand. I couldn't look at her face, I knew it was a mask of disgust.

" go. just go." she hissed, storming off.


" Just you?" I asked Heaven, suprised. she shook her head angrliy.

" yes. she won't get her ass out of bed." I gave her a look as we pulled out.

" you cuss alot for a shy kid." I commented. she shrugged. it was silent till she suddenly reached for the radio. she flipped a few knobs, then grimaced.

" hold on." she plugged a Jack into the radio, then that into a huge Ipod. soon the Eagles was blaring through the speakers. she sighed, relaxing into the seat.

" thank you, for the ride." she siad, turning the music down so I could hear her. I nodded, Grinning.

" you know, your nice, kinda." she threw me an annoyed look.

" you know, your a Jackass, Kinda. Just a little lot, but anough to notice." I shook my head.

" a sarcastic shy girl. What happened to you?" I sighed.

" my brother. Jeremiah? well, he shot himself. Grace was home at the time, and I was the the store, buying supper. she said they'd argued before he did it, like, suverely. all she said was it was about me. he died." she siad it in a flat tone, not like her neutural one, but close anough to scare me.

" I'm sorry." I said, suprised I actually sounded like i meant the words. she shook her head.

" no, your not, but It's nice of you to act like it." she said, shaking her head again. before i said anything she turned her Ipod up again, and It was blaring The Steve Miller Band.


" hello, Heaven. or are you Grace? of course your Heaven. Grace never comes to pick us up." a blonde said, shrugging her bags to heaven, who held them plus the almsot bald mans that was with the blonde with ease. I picked up the ones they didn't, and the father gave me a funny look.

" oh, right. Mom, Dad, this is Diablo. he's new to the school. he offered me a ride when my car decided to run out of gas." they polietly said hello, but i could tell that neither of them liked me. we got to the mini-van and piled their stuff in the back. then Heaven and the blonde mother got in the back, while the father sat up front with me.

shit.


Heaven

I laughed quite a few times on the way home. Diablo constantly had a scared/annoyed/ strangely polite look on his face that made me laugh. dad had the radio turned up so that we couldn't hear their conversation.

" so,How's Grace?" I shrugged. it was the first question she always asked, after the initual, you are the twin I think you are, right?

" she's ok. she started today, so she stayed home." I lied. any talk about stuff like that, she shivered delicately, then changed the subject. like now.

" do you think she'd like Italy?" I felt my eyes widen, then I sank into the seat. I knew what was coming next.

" yes, I think she would." I said softly. she beamed.

" great. then Grace can come with us when we leave tommorrow. I do expect you to keep up her tradiution and throw at least one party while we're gone." I sighed. It was said, but, sarcastically true. mom allowed us to throw parties while they were gone. she even left the key to her stash of booze on the counter for whoever wanted it.

" Ok. what do you want for lunch?" she shook her head.

" us and grace are going out all day. don't expect us back till late, ok?" I nodded mutely. Grace, as always, was the pet, and I the maid.


when we got to the house, they unloaded their stuff, with Graces help, while I walked ot the driver side window, which was already rolled down.

" thank you, really." Diablo shook his head, smiling.

" your dad is one nosy son-of-a-bitch, ain't he?" I smiled slightly.

" he can be. what did he want?" he shook his head.

" everything. who's your parents? no parents? sorry. who's your Guardian? do they know your skipping school with my girl? why did you voluenteer to drive my daughter? where you over last night? I hope not." he shrugged.

" an over protective dad." he finished as Grace pranced up.

" we're going to the French resturant downtown. wanna come?" HSe asked, fluttering her eyes stupidly. Diablo shrugged.

"sure. let me go home, change, and get some gas for Heaven." he said, throwing me a look.

" am I driving?" he asked, me instead of her. I smiled brightly.

" nope. my car sits four." he frowned.

" four?" I nodded, backing up, towards the house.

" I'm not going." I said, turning around and going inside. I heard him swear under his breath, and I laughed again. it was fun tormenting the devil.


Diablo

" so, Diablo, are you, uh, Dating Grace?" Her dad asked from across the table. I smiled polietly, but Grace, who was next to me and running her hand up and down my leg again and again, nodded.

" yes, dad." I put my arm around the back of the both we were sitting at, smiling slightly.

" yes sir, I am." I was breathing through my mouth, mainly because Grace had so much hair spray in I could sufficate if I breathed through my nose. as it was, I could almost taste it in my mouth. for an odd reason, the memory of kissing Heaven and her sweet taste flooded my mind. I pushed it away as our food was given to us.

" so, do you have a Job yet?" the blonde mother asked. I shook my head.

" nope, not yet. I got here monday, and just started school yesterday." they both nodded.

" so, why'd you move here?" I sighed.

" when my parents died, they left the place that me and my sister are living at in the will to my grandmother. she died last month, and her will said that we had to live there, bcause she was givingthe house we were staying in to her friend." I shrugged nonchalantly.

" I'm sorry to hear that,Diablo." I like how parents did that. they never called me 'young man' it was always my name, becasue it was so odd, and so easy to remember. the mom turned to Grace, beaming.

" how much do you like Italian food?" she shrugged.

" as much as I like hawiian food." her mom nodded.

" so you'd like to go to Italy with me and your father?" Grace squealed, a very annoying sound.

" YES! when are we leaving?" the dad smiled at Graces reaction.

" tomorrow." SHe squealed again, right in my ear, making me flinch.

" I'll text Heaven and have her pack my bags. she isn't coming, is she?" I gave Grace a disbelieving look. don't they all go on vacations together?

" does Heaven ever go with us anywhere? Honsetly, we never take her anywhere." Grace nodded, and I shook my head.

" something wrong, Diablo?" I realized Heaven would be home, alone, for an immesurable amount of time. I chould smooze all I want. I grinned, just thinking about it.

" No, no problem at all."

Heaven

saturday, after my parents and my sister left, I planned on laying down, perferably on my couch, which was softer than my bed. so I did.

I didn't think I'd wake up to this.


I was half asleep when a warm breeze washed over my legs, traveling from my ankles to my thighs, then back down to my knees, and back up. I shifted, slightly uncomftorable, and a ghostly laugh filled my room. I bolted up straight, only to be nose to nose with Diablo.

" what the Hell, Diablo?" he grinned, leaning foreward and letting his hands slide to my waist.

" What's the Matter?" he asked, leaning down even farther. apperently that wasn't close anough, because turned, and then was stradling my middle on the couch. I struggled to get him off, but he didn't move an inch.

" get the hell away from me, Devil!" I hissed, knowing it would tick him off. he growled, leaning foreward so i could smell the beer on his breath. He'd been drinking.

" What's wrong with you? IF any other girl woke up in the state you did, the'd already be out of there pants. and you don't react like them. you should've swooned a bizillion different times, and all you do is act ticked."

I growled, trying to swing at him. he sighed, then, in one fluid motion, swept my hands above my head, making it impossible to move them.

" I don't like you, Devil.now, Back. off." I hissed.he shook his head angrliy.

" I don't get you! what is it about me you don't like?" I growled once again.

" your an overly self confiadent Jock, who's a jerk, and a dick. and, at the moment, a drunk." he grinned, shifing his weight so he could let go of my hands with one of his hands. to my suprise, I still wasn't able to get him to let go.he trailed his hand up my side, making my shirt ride up. his gaze froze where my skin showed a moment, then, to my suprise, he groaned and released me.

" I'm sorry. Your right. I'm a drunk. do you have somewhere I can lay down?" he asked softly in a pleading voice. I sat there suprised, till he rolled of my middle and onto the floor. I jumped up and helped him up, then let him lay down on the couch. I pulled the douvet on my bed off and gave it and my pillow to him ,then left to bet him a drink of water. when I got back upstairs, he was asleep.


Diablo

when I woke up, a wonderful sent exploded in my nostrils, and it took me a minute to realize it was Heavens pillow. I sat up, disoriented and intoxicated, but in a good way, not like her sister.I sighed, running a hand over my eyes. I shouldn't have came here, but ym sister had kicked me out. said I was an over eager man-whore, or something like that. I'd already been drunk, so I just came here, got the key Grace had shown me, and came up here to find her asleep.

speaking of, where was she?

I sat up and stretched, then stood up and walked out into the hallway. I realized the sun was coming up.

a plan started forming in my head.

I'd stayed the night at her house. no one was around to argue otherwise. I could lie, and say I'd slept with her. I'd get the grand, and she wouldn't be beleived if she argued.

easy.

I found her asleep in the living room, or so I thought. as soon as I approached her, her eyes fluttered open and she yawned, stretching.

" I thought you left." she said sleepily. I shook my head, sitting in the recliner across from her as hse sat up. she had a throw blanket on, and, by the way she was rubbing her neck, a crick.

" can I help?"I asked suddenly. she gave me a disbelieving look, and I smiled slightly.


" my sister used to work as a massagist. can I help?" she hesitated, then nodded. I stood up and went ot stand behind her, then started massaging her neck. she sighed, relaxed, after a few minutes, and I moved my hands from her neck to her shoulders.

" why didn't you go with your parents?" I asked quickly when she tried to protest. I could tell she didn't want to, but she relaxed furthur until her back was resting against my stomach.

" They didn't ask me to." She said simply. she rolled her head to the side and sighed again softly. I smiled, then kneeled down so her head was resting on my shoulder, me still massaging hers.

" Why didn't you ask them?" I asked, again inturupting her protest. she closed her eyes, and waited a long moment before answering.

" because I didn't want to go." she said softly. she didn't elaberate, so I let it go, relishing the fact she was letting me touch her without pulling away. I hesitated, then let my hands fall to her lower back, slide under her shirt, and start massaging there. she arced her back slightly, and her eyes flew open.

" better?" I asked, smiling. she pulled away, to my suprise.

" yes, thank you." she said, standing up and walking to the kitchen. soon I heard grease sizzling in a pan. I sighed, then got up and fallowed her.

" you can stay for breakfast, but I have to go to work before lunch, so I want you gone before I get out of the shower." I sat down, ignoring her.

" Where do you work?" I asked. she paused, then shot me a glance.

" I'm a cook at Granny Rains." I felt my eyes widen.

" my sister works there too. do you think you can drop me off so I can talk to her?" she sighed, setting a plate with sausage and bacon on it in front of me.

" I guess."

Heaven

When we got to Granny Rains, I knew I was in trouble.

see, Granny, the owner, had a rule. you weren't supposed to bring guest to the resturant, exspecually of the other gender. and my hair was still wet from my shower. she hated that. on top of all that, I hadn't done laundry, so all I had left was tight ripped jeans and a Black tanktop to wear, going against her dressing code. so i wasn't suprised when she gave me a chewing as I stepped inside. what did suprise me was the punishment.

" girl, you need to learn. today the new girls taking your spot as cook, and your taking orders. got it?" I felt my jaw drop, but knew better than to protest. I miserably slid on an apron and

grabbed the pen and pad that she handed me.

did Diablo know that he sat in my section? I guess not, because he grinned when he saw me make my way towards him.

" I thought you were a cook." I rolled me eyes.

" I am. Your sisters taking my spot for today." he nodded.

" what do you want why you wait for her to have a break?" I asked, scribbling in the corner so I knew that the pen worked.

" I'd like to know what time to pick you up after work so I can take you somewhere." he said, grinning in that sly way that unnerved me. I shook me head, and Tried to ignore his comment.

" anything to drink? or eat?" he sighed.

" an RC, please." I turned and left, coming back a moment later with his drink in hand to find Freddy sitting with him. I plastered a smile on my face.

" anything to drink?" I asked him. he gave me a sly smile.

" sure. can I have an RC as well?" I turned and walked off, getting another one. Granny gave me a funny look when I went back to the same table, sat the drink down, and said

" anything to eat?" he studied me a long minute, then nodded.

" Granny's breakfast special." I wrote it down and went back to the counter , handing it to the girl I'd seen in the parking lot.

" I know you." she said, confused. I nodded.

" your brother goes to school with me." she nodded, then Gasped.

" your names Heaven, Isn't it?" I nodded, confused.

" I'd stay away from my brother." I nodded.

" yeah, I figured that out myself." she shook her head.

" no, really. do you know the senior class has a pool on who's sleeping with you first? my brothers determined to win." I felt my eyes widen, and my jaw go slack. Granny came up.

" Heaven, you ok?" I shook my head slowly, and Diablo's sister gave me an apologetic look.

" I don't think she's feeling good, Granny R. would you like me to take her home?" Granny agreed, and soon i was slipping the apron back off, and Diablo's sister led me outside to her car.

" I'll drop yours off tonight, alright? I'll have Jammie or someone help me, ok?" I nodded mutely, setting my forehead on her window.

a Pool. that was why he was acting the way he was. a freakin pool.


Diablo

when my sister came back, minus Heaven, she stormed over to the booth I was now sitting at alone. Freddy had left to tell the other senior boys about my 'excperience'. she grabbed my arm, told the manager that she was taking break, and pulled me into the ally behind the resturant.


" what the fuck, sis!" I said, pulling away from her.

" your an ass, Diablo. Do you realize that Heaven Knows, now?" I growled.

" you didn't." she met my angry gaze evenly.

" she had a right to know. and then, coming in, I heard your Lie." I groaned.

" why?" she growled.

" because she's a good kid. you go to her house, and you apologize. Now." I gave her a disbeleiving look.

" do I need to call the parol officer we left behind? I'm sure he'd love to can you for this." I growled, but took the keys she was dangling in front of me.


when I got to Heavens house, I found her laying down in bed, in a room that smelt strongly of booze. at first I thought she was asleep, till she groaned

" what the hell do you want?" I laughed quietly when I realized what was wrong- she was drunk.

" why are you drunk?" she opened her eyes, glancing at a calandar.

" today was my brothers birthday. I forgot. punishment." she said in broken sentences. I sunk onto the bed next to her and watched her. she met my eyes for a moment, then closed them.

" I said I hated you earlier." I frowned, then realized she was talking about our conversation before I passed out on the couch.

" yes, You did." her eyes opened again, and I was suprised by the sadness in her eyes.

" I lied. I'd liked you, till I got to work today. now your a overily self-cofident jock, who's a jock, and a Dick. all in all, your an ass. I laughed again as she slurred her words, and another bright Idea popped into my head.

she was drunk.

" so, up till then, you liked me." I said, leaning closer to her. she gave me a weary look.

" yes." I leaned over her and rested our forheads together. I heard her breath quicken.

" you know, i could change your mind about that." I said sweetly, running a hand down and up her arm once, then let it rest next to her hip as I pulled back slightly.

" how so?" she asked sarcastically. I leaned closer again.

" LIke this." I breathed, then kissed her.

It was like I had a direct link ot where her taste came from. It didn't even taste like she'd been drinking. she tasted like the sun, and an undiscovered candy, and Heaven. she tasted Like Heaven.no comparison. after a second, she hesitantly kissed me back. I sunk my teeth into her bottom lip and relunctantly pulled back as she gasped. I let myself press against her, and started kissing her neck. suddenly I hit her sweet spot, and she shivered underneath me, which caused a chain reaction through me. before I realized what i was doing, her shirt was gone. I felt my eyes widen as I realized she'd changed into a tank top, and hadn't put a bra on.

" Di-" my lips found her's again, cutting her off, then pulled back. MY hands found her face.

" shhhh, Heaven. trust me." she bit her lip, then hestiantly lifted herself up and kissed me. I kissed back eagerly, only breaking it to remove my shirt as well.

Heaven


When I woke up, the first thing I noticed was my head throbbing and how sore I was. The second thing I noticed was diablo's legs tangled in mine, and his arm wrapped around my middle. in a rush, the night before came flooding back, and I gasped, sitting up straight in bed. he shot up with me, apperently already awake. he fell back down onto the pillows, streaching emensly.

then he settled back on his elbows and studied me. he gave me a sad, almsot nervous smile.

" you hate me." he siad matter of factly. I grimaced.

" prettty much, Yeah." I said, going to stand up. he lurched foreward and pulled me back, making me gasp.

" let me go! NO-"

" Shhh, just talk to me. why do you hate me?" I felt my face go blank, and then I started strugling with him again. finally I succeeded and strode toward the bathroom. I'd pulled on a tanktop and my underwear afterwards, so I wasn't compleately naked. I opened the door, and he somehow slipped in before the door closed. all he had on was his boxers, and I emediately looked down.

" why do I even have to answer that?" I finally hissed after a minute of silence. he groaned, running his hands through his hair, then turning and hitting the sink.

" Damn, this is about the Damn Pool, isn't it." I felt my eyes flash.

" I Don't see how you could have thought anything different." I hissed again. he growled, then grabbed the tops of my arms and backed me up against my glass wall.

" I don't care what you think, I didn't do it for money." I growled back, and met his gaze. he flinched, but didn't look away.

" so, tell me, why did you do it, then?" a look of pure saddness crossed his face.

" your not going to believe me, but I don't know. Jus-"

" get out." his face went blank with suprise.

" what?"

" I said, Get. Out. NOW." he frowned, then sighed.

" if that's what you want." he said softly.

" it would make my day." my God. did I really say that? what monster had replaced me? I was acting like my sister, not like me. I went to say sorry, but he slammed the door, shaking hte whole wall behind me. I slowly sank to the floor, suprised. I heard my bedroom door slam and flinched. I sould have listened to him, but then again, I shouldn't have. all he did was make a thousand bucks. he didn't care.


I took a shower and laid down on my couch, too lazy to change my sheets, and tried to sleep again. instead, his sad, hurt look he'd been wearing before we'd slammed the door floated around my head for the rest of the night. finally, at around Midnight, I went downstairs. i was getting a drink, when I noticed a note on the kitchen counter.


call me when your ready to talk. anytime.

Diablo

555-473-9067


Diablo

I ended up sleeping in my car that night, in her driveway, of all places. well, sleep wasn't the correct term. lay there and wish for sleep was more like it. but i was there when she turned the kitchen light on.

so I had a front row seat to see her cry.

she read my note, and for someodd reason, she burst into tears. I almsot got out and went back in when she turned the light off and fled back upstairs. I groaned, laying back down. I'd laid down in the backseat, and I started thinking.

I didn't do it for the money. I swear. I hadn't really thought about it when it happened. I just... wanted to taste her. i wanted to hold her. I Lo-

damn, I'd almost said it. I'd almost thought I was in love.


I finally dozed off to sleep, and when I woke up, her car was gone. I glanced at my watch and cussed. I was supposed to meet Freddy at Granny Rains in 30 minutes. I thought for a second, then sighed.

" screw it." I got my change of clothes from my trunk, and went inside. I heard a washer machine going and flinched before heading to her room. when I turned to close her bathroom door, I jumped. In her handwriting, covering the larger part of the glass wall in expo marker was the words

Right now I am a pitiful sparrow, but one day love will come and consume me like a fire, and I will rise from the ashes a beautiful Phoenix.


the other side of the door had a very detailed picture of a fire and a bird rising with the smoke. I studied it a moment, and then shivered when I realized she made it so that it looked like the birds eyes peirced you right to the soul.

I took a shower and left quickly, heading to Granny Rains.

" here. I can't beleive that you, the new kid of all people, got this. there's a total of $1,640." I hesitated, then shook my head.

" that's way too much." I muttered, setting my RC down. he leaned foreward.

" did you say something?" I shook my head.

" thinking. sorry." my sister appeared, and smiled fakely at Freddy.

" can I get you anything before I get fired?" I gave her a quizzical look, but she ignored me. freddy shook his head, frowning. she smiled again.

" good." she grabbed my RC and procceeded to poor it over my head. I felt my jaw drop as the Ice cold drink soaked me. she ran back to the back. I saw Heaven, looking at me, opened mouthed. I licked my lips, trying to remember her taste last night, but all I tasted was RC. my sister grabbed her coat, and went and kissed Heavens cheek. she said something that made her eyes widen further. then she disappeared. the owner came rushing out.

" I'm so sorry, Young man. come to the back and we'll clean you up, then we'll get you anything you want, on the house." I met HEavens eyes ,and she held my gaze a moment, then lowered them.

" I only want one thing, ma'am." I said, determination seeping from my words.


Heaven

I can't beleive that Casandera had done that.

to her own brother, of all people!

I wish I could.

I watched Granny R and Diablo out of the corner of my eye, till he disappeared into the bathroom. my stomach was hurting now, and my head still hurt.

" your still sick." Granny Rain said smugly. I grimaced.

" I'm not going to get anyone else sick. I'll be fine." she sighed, cleaning her hands in the sink before starting to get the cooking things on.

" go home. you need to rest if you want to come back tomorrow." I grimaced again. I'd come to work today because I didn't want to stay at my house, exspecially when I realized that Diablo was still outside, in my driveway.

" no, I'm fi-"

" your. going. home." she said firmly. I sighed, but started taking my apron off, and then my hair net. I was shaking my hair out when Diablo came out of the bathroom.

" young man, would you mind making sure she gets home alright? She doesn't feel well, and she's stubborn as a mule." I stood up straight.

" I'm fine Granny R." I growled. she shot me an angry glare.

" like I said earlier, she's stubborn as a mule." she siad, ignoring me.

" Of course, ma'am. why don't I give you a Raincheck on that on the house meal?" he asked polietly. I shook my head and stormed out to my car. I was backing out when his car cut me off.

" can I ride with you?" he asked, getting out of his car.

" No." I said flatly, not meeting his eyes. I had left my window down, so he leaned down into it till he was almost nose to nose with me.

" I really need to talk to you, Heaven." I sighed.

" I really don't want to talk to you right now, Diablo." I hissed. he groaned, leaning back out of the window.

" yeah, I get that. but please?" I shook my head firmly.

" No. now move your car." I felt his eyes on me for the few seconds of silence he gave before he sighed.

" Alright, fine."he muttered, storming back to his car.


Diablo

halfway to her house I got a text.


im not goin 2 my hous,so go ahead an go.


I frowned, then realized it must have been from Heaven.

" where the hell is she going?" I muttered, texting her back.


too bad. wherev u go, I go. srry.

I sent it, but she didn't reply. she pulled into her drive way and parked, but didn't turn her car off as I got out and walked to her window, which was already rolled down.

" Leave, please." she snapped.

" no. Like I said, wherever you go, I'm going today." she grimaced, and her knuckles went white at on the steering wheel.

" PLease, Just leave me alone, Diablo." she said softly, a complete turn around from her steely voice before. I squatted down so I was eye level with her through the car door.

" why, Heaven?" I said, studying her face again. she had bags under her eyes, like she hadn't slept eaither, and she looked like she was going to pass out any second. she turned away from me.

" Because I would like to be alone, Please, Diablo." She said in an barely audiable voice. I hesitated, then jogged around the car and slid into the passenger seat. she had the cold air blasting, and within seconds I had goosebumps. her eyes widened with suprise.

" why'd y-" she started, but I cut her off be reaching up and cradling her face in my hands.

" I don't want to leave you alone, Heaven. Please, don't make me." I leaned foreward and placed a simple kiss on her lips, then pulled back and waited. she studied me a long time, then groaned, leaning back and out of my hands.

" Don't do this, Diablo. Leave me alone and go away." I flinched, suprised.

" Heaven, Why do you do that? I want to talk to you. Please." she closed her eyes and sighed. I waited a long minute, and then her eyes opened again.

" alright, we'll talk. but if I say go away, next time, do it." I felt a grin split my face.

" thank you." I said, almost getting out before she backed up. I frowned at her, confused.

" I told you I wasn't going home." she siad simply. I shook my head.

" than whre are we going?" she gave me a small, sad smile.

" we're going to see my brohter."

Heaven

It was silent almost the whole way to the cemetery. he was looking out the window when suddenly he said

" why do you work? aren't your parents filthy rich?" I couldn't help but smile at his expresssion.


" yes, their 'filthy rich' but we, er,i only get an allowance twice a year, at the most. so i work for all my money." he frowned, casting me a sideway glance.

" what's your allowance?" I shrugged.


" usually a couple thousand. but if I was Grace, on the other hand, I'd have about 15 thousand every month." I said.


"WHAT!?" he siad, making me jump as I turned into the parking lot. he jumped out as soon as I parked, and was around to my side before I'd turned the car off. when I stepped out, he grabbed me arm and turned me to face him.

" why are you any lower than Grace?" he asked. I sighed, then said softly

" because she's older. she's not the middle child, or the quiet one. she tells you what she thinks, and not what you want to hear. she doesn't have the patience to work for 3 minutes, let alone get a job." i yanked my arm away from him and started walking towards the tree that was in front of Jeremiahs grave. His grave was always a great place to think, and right now, with Diablo or not, I needed to think.

" would you slow down, please?" he asked, and I realised he weas jogging to keep up with me. I slowed down slightly, and he sighed.

" thanks. " I shot him a glance, but otherwise ignored him.

" so, what was it you wanted to talk about?" I finally asked, folding onto the ground in front of Jeremiahs grave, making him freeze, finally he sat next to me.


Diablo

We sat in silence as I thought about how to say what I wanted to say.


while we were driving down here, I watched her. she had a messy bun in today, and she kept fiddling with it unconsiously. she also had on a pair of denim cut off kahki's, and a tye-dye tee shirt that was just a size too big. I couldn't figure out why I kept looking at her, when I should be thinking about why I came along. then, out of the blue, a thought accured to me.

I had that money in my car. why? why don't I give it away? I got it for doing something I wanted to do, something I would love to do again. But why?

my thoughts were really messing with me to day.


"Earth to Diablo, you going to talk, or did you come out here just to annoy me?" she asked suddenly. actually, I think she'd been saying it for a long time, and I was just too deep in thought.

" uh, yeah. I.. uh...Jeez, this is hard to explain...." I said, then groaned and sat my head on my folded arms, which were leaning on my knees. suddenly I had an Idea. I turned to face her, head still down. she was giving me a funny look.

" will you go to the new resturant in town with me, tomorrow night?" her eyes widened a split second with suprise, then narrowed in suspicion.

" which one? the one you went to with Grace and my parents?" i noticed how she avoided calling them her family.

" yes, but just me and you. and then, after that, maybe, a movie?" I asked impulsively. my bright Idea that I got was, instead of giving the money away, I'd spend it all on her.

" I don't think so." she siad flatly, turning away from me. I felt my mouth open slightly in shock. no one had ever told me no when I asked them out before.

"Why?" i asked, sitting up and moving closer to her. she stifened slightly, but stayed where she was .

" why what? why wont I go with you? Not every girl is going to do as you want them to. some of them are going to see your high and mighty attitude and refuse." she said in the neutral tone I hadn't heard in a while. I stared at her a second, then sighed, reaching over and pulling her against me. she stiffened even further, but again, didn't try to pull away.

" why do you think that?" I whispered in her ear.

" think what?" she asked, confused now. I sighed again, pulling back so I could rest our foreheads together. I realized I was making her really uncomftorable, so I pulled back a little, to where we weren't quite touching.

" why do you think I have an high and mighty attitude?" she was quiet for a long moment, and so was I. actually, I was trying not to hypervenalaite. she was so close, I could smell her skin, and with it brought back the taste of her lips from the night before. finally she groaned.

" because, Diablo, you do. you think you can do anything and get away with anything." she sounded like she wanted to say something more, but she bit her lip softly, and for some reason, that made me want to kiss her, bad.


so I did.

she made a suprised sound in the back of her throat as I pressed my lips gently against hers, but then she was kissing me back, perhaps even more entused then I had been. now that she was, though, al thoughts kind of flew out of my mind. suddenly she pulled back.

" why-"

" i'll go to the resturant with you, but I wont go to the movies." she said, smiling slightly. i grinned, nodding.

" great."


Heaven

" So when am I allowed to kiss you in puplic?" diablo asked from the couch. we'd been together about two months now, but I'd told him we weren't allowd to act like we're 'together' in public. not because of me, though. he may not act like it, but he's in the 'in' crowd. so if he would officially date me, then he'd have a problem.

" I told you, you'd have a major problem with your friends if you-" he lurched up and tackled me to the floor, cutting me off.

" screw my friends. I want to be able to kiss you any time I want, not just here." he said, kissing me lightly. I sighed.

" but what if-"

" we wont know the what if's till we start them, will we?" I groaned, clsoing my eyes.

" but wont-"

' stop arguing with me, Heaven!" he hissed. I slammeed my mouth shut, and he groaned as well.

" Heaven, I just want to show you, and, hopefully the world, that your mine. got it?" i sighed, then nodded.

" alright, got it. but I-'' the front door slammed, and we scrambled up. Grace, tearstained cheeks and all, threw herslef at me and started sobbing as she hugged me tightly.

" Grace! aren't you supposed to be in italy?" she took a few deep breaths.

" not any more, mom and dad sent me back here! because of you!" she said, turning to diablo. I frowned as he backed up defensevely.

" what did i do?" he asked, glancing at me. she started crying again.

"you got me PREGNANT!" she screeched. his face went blank, as did mine.

" whoa, ok, hold on. Grace, why don't you go get a shower, and then we'll talk about this, ok?" I said softly. she nodded, still crying, and rushed upstairs. I turned to a still blank face diablo. a fact hit me so hard in the face that I should have fell over.

" we didn't use protection either, did we?"

Diablo

crap. crap, crap, crap, CRAP!

I have no doubt Grace was pregnant, not after she showed us the pergnancy test she took. and she's positive it's mine, because I'm the only one she's slept with in a while.

no, what I'm worried about is if i'd gotten Heaven pregnant the one the one time I'd slpet with her. she went to the drug store to find out.

" why were you here when I showed up?" grace asked. iglanced at the window, wondering when Heaven would be coming back.

" I was checking on your sister. I promised your dad i would from time to time, and this was the first time i'd stop by. " I lied. she nodded, as Heaven pulled up. I took one look at her and knew- she was pregnant, too.

"G race, what exactly did mom and dad say?" Heaven asked as she came in. I tried to meet her gaze, but she avoided mine.

" mom said that since I was so irrisponsible, then I could come back here and live with the kids child. she said she'd call you soon to see if I'm still in the house, and to tell you to call the police if i am. your not going to make me leave, are you?" Grace pleaded. heaven was quiet for a long time. her look said she wanted to, but finally she sighed.

'" no, I'm not going to kick you out. but you need to settle a few things with mom first. like your allowance. we basically live off of it. and pay the bills and stuff." Grace rolled her eyes and curled up next to me. I glanced at heaven, but she was staring intently out the window. I sighed, putting an arm around grace relunctantly.

" mom said that you'd start getting my allowance.'' Heaven nodded, glancing at her watch.

'' I need to get ready for work. grace, would you get the clothes out of the dryer, and put the wash in there? if your staying around here your going to start to helping." grace nodded, standing up and giving me a quick kiss. in an instant I knew why Heavens kisses were so sweet.

she was inicent. she didn't have a few boys under her belt, she had me. and that was it. she was pure, she was honest, she was sincere. she was Heaven. as soon as Grace left, she tunred to me.

" I'm pregnant. and I'm sorry, but grace was first. your going have to be with her. you two can have the house, I'll send money every month, andI'll come get my stuff eventually. bye." she turned and ran outside, to her car. I bolted after her, but by the time I got to the door, she was pulling out into the street, tears pouring down her face.

sequel: My Angel

Impressum

Tag der Veröffentlichung: 19.12.2010

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