Hello, friends ov old!
Here's chapter four ov Fallen Angel, revised and ready to see the light (or darkness) ov day again! Hope you like it!
Also, in case I haven't mentioned it, I love feedback from those who read my work! If you believe it could use something more, possibly in a sequel (hint hint) feel free to tell me about it! The only limit is the limit ov ones imagination, yes? Yes!
Regards,
Darc
Chapter 4: Life as an Outcast
Once outside, Cal dropped the shopping bag and stepped away from the glass window. Althea noticed a very pained expression on his face. "Evan," Cal began, "why are you doing this?"
"Doing what?!" Evan asked offensively. "You're being stupid, Cal."
"Stupid?!" Cal repeated, planting his right foot for a speedy lunge if Evan decided to throw the first punch. "You called me an idiot for no reason and we've not spoken in two months! What the fuck have I done?!"
"Simple. After your getting together with Aria, you've behaved like a dumbass ever since!" Evan replied, his legs tensing up as well.
"What do you mean?" Cal asked. "I've behaved around her just like I've behaved around you since we first became friends!" Growling, Cal shot him a look of pure venom and said, "Admit it! You were the stupid one! First you left, then Aria, then all my other friends! All because of something you did or told them!"
They were about to lunge at each other when someone stepped in the way. It was a woman, with soft, silky golden brown hair and snowy-fair skin. Her eyes were dark, like the color of cherry wood, and she had an incredible figure. "Stop it, both of you!" she said angrily, looking at Cal and then at Evan.
"A, Aria!" Cal stuttered.
She nodded, looking coldly at Cal. "Why are you picking a fight with Evan?" she asked coldly, her glare chilling Cal's spine. "He's done nothing wrong!"
"He has done something wrong, Aria. You're just too blind to see it," Cal replied equally as coldly, the pain in his heart growing excruciating with the look she gave him. "Why are you behaving this way towards me? The both of you! It is as though you don't care whether or not I live or die anymore!" he growled, his eyebrows forming a vee. Aria looked away slowly. "What?!" He grabbed her about her shoulders, squeezing gently but firmly. "What have I done?! You used to be so warm to me, Aria. Now it's colder than ice! What happened?"
Not getting an answer out of her, Evan stepped forward and took Cal's hands off her shoulders. "Leave us alone, Cal. Go back to the dark hole from whence you were sired from!" Evan said, glaring at him.
Althea could sense the tremendous emotional pain Cal felt. It was so powerful that her knees buckled and she had to throw her hands against the side of the jeep. Stabilizing, she then walked up to Cal and put an arm around his shoulders. Evan looked at this beautiful woman in confusion. "Jen's right, Cal," Althea said gently, loud enough for both of them to hear. "You should consider making new friends if these insignificant wretches are what you call 'friends'. Look at the girl! She won't tell you why she's abandoned you because she's afraid!" Althea said encouragingly.
"Who the hell are you?!" Aria asked offensively, her glare full of anger. "Who are you to judge Evan and I?!"
Althea raised an eyebrow in shock. "Well, Aria, I'm a friend of Cal's and I'm friend enough to know the kind of pain you're causing him by ignoring him and saying those things and turning your head when he asks for reasons. And you, Evan," she spat, glowering at him. Cal motioned her to step back and let him handle this.
"Who's this, Cal?" Evan asked curiously, a scowl ever present on his face.
"Her name's Althea, and she's more of a friend than you are. The reason for this is, she knows what's important and you don't. We've been best friends for what? Five years? And, all of a sudden, you throw all that away and say that I'm an idiot?" Cal sighed, looking away from the two. "You're the idiot. At least I can tell what's important. You can't." Althea looked at him compassionately. Picking up the shopping bag, he handed it to her and took off walking. "You should have all you need in there, Althea. I have to think some things through." With that said, Cal took off walking, leaving the jeep in the parking lot.
"The hell's his problem?!" Evan asked offensively as he watched Cal cross the street, moving towards the outskirts of town.
Althea wanted so desperately to punch Evan in the face for what he asked. Aria looked at Althea and sighed. "His problem is that, suddenly, he's all alone, thanks to you two! He thinks no one but me cares for him anymore! His parents don't, you don't, and his other friends don't! I hope you guys are happy with the pain you've caused him." Althea growled angrily.
Aria sighed again. "There's just . . . just so much I . . . forget it." She handed her an envelope. "Give that to him. He's invited to a party after the school Halloween dance. You're invited to go with him if you want. . . ." With that said, Aria walked off towards her cherry-red sportscar and took off. Evan, however, stood his ground.
"Why'd you defend that loser?" he asked as he sat down on the curb. "You should know that he's pathetic because he makes himself out to be. . . . Shouldn't you?"
Althea glared down at Evan angrily. "If you must know, I defended him from a loser like you because I love him, and if you could sense the intensity of the pain that he endures daily, you wouldn't be so quick to judge him. He's right. You don't know what's important," Althea said, insulted.
Evan thought about it for a second. Changing the subject, he said, "What's with the demon getup? Did you come like that because Cal wore his stupid ninja outfit?"
"If you don't stop talking bad about him, I'm going to force you to! You don't want to piss me off, Evan!" Althea threatened angrily, her eyes having a crimson glow to them.
Evan looked up curiously. "So you did, I take it. . . . Besides, what're you going to do to me? Slap me?"
Althea shook with the effort to keep from skewering this asshole with a bolt of lightning or circle of fire. Looking up again, Evan laughed. "You're angry, I can tell. But I still think you're wasting your time with Cal. I certainly was."
Althea couldn't stand it anymore, so she lifted him up by his shirt collar. "Do you want to say anything else bad about him to me?" she asked.
"Let go of me, bitch!" Evan screeched.
With that said, Althea spread her wings, flapped them and was up at about a height of fifteen feet. She then dropped Evan on the ground and said, "Think about what you're doing to him! How would you feel if you were abandoned by everyone you know and love?!" Not waiting for a reply, Althea sped off towards the direction where Cal went, fearing that this may have been the last straw for his heart's agony.
Cal stood at the edge of a cliff, overlooking the small fast-moving river that rushed on fifty feet below him. Should I jump? he asked himself silently as he looked down at the frigid waters. Sitting down, he sighed sadly. "I could've done without having to deal with Evan and Aria today. . . . I didn't want Althea to get involved," he said aloud. "And Aria's
indifference to my questions. . . . Why are they doing this to me?! What have I done to them, DAMN IT!?!" He looked over the edge of the cliff again. "No one cares whether you live or die. That was proven today. What have I to live for? What keeps me bound to continual suffering, day in and day out? The hope that they'll change? The hope to relive that one single moment when Aria's and my hearts were beating as one when we hugged for the first time? . . . No, I don't think so. . . . I doubt I'll ever live that wonderful moment again. I've got a new lover now, and this one can somehow sense how much pain this is causing me. . . ."
Sighing, Cal chucked a rock over the edge of the cliff. A quiet sploosh sounded from down at the river fifty feet below. "Althea's a better person than Aria. . . . Aria, though she was warm when I finally got up the courage to follow my dreams, is now cold and very painful to be around."
The noise of beating wings sounded behind him and he turned to see Althea flying towards him, a look of concern on her face. She landed next to him and sat down, putting a comforting arm around him. "Thank you for saying those things, Althea," Cal said happily, glad that she had her arms around him. He felt more peaceful with them there. "At least you're on my side. . . ."
"Cal. . . ." Althea said, feeling relief that he didn't jump off the cliff like she had thought he might. "Why do you even bother with those people? They mean nothing! They're stupid, immature, and very, very poor choices for friends." She held him tightly, trying to make his pain ebb at least a little.
Cal slid his arms around her and held her too. "Because they weren't always like that. . . . They used to be better people than now. Aria used to be so kind-hearted, I would have given my life if it were to save her. Same goes for Evan, because I knew Evan would do the same for me if the situation called for it. Now, I imagine they would be on the giving end of the pistol and I would be on the receiving end." He sighed, resting his head against her chest. She kissed his forehead, letting him snuggle up to her for comfort.
"It's okay, Cal. . . . I won't do anything like this to you. . . ." she whispered, sensing his pain. She then remembered the envelope that Aria gave her to give to Cal. She pulled it out of the inner folds of her sash and handed it to him. "Aria gave me this to give to you."
Cal took it curiously, sliding his index finger underneath the tab and ripping it open. He then decided to read it aloud. "'Dear Cal,'" he began, "'This is an invitation to a party at my house after the Halloween dance. If you're going to the dance, you should drop by my place afterwards. We need to discuss matters. Aria Lockheart'" Cal put the letter back in the envelope and looked at Althea curiously. "What d'you think? You wanna go with me to this Halloween dance and then to Aria's place to find out what she wants to discuss? I'm sure you'll fit right in, perhaps even getting kudos for the best costume! What d'you say?"
Althea thought about it for a second. "Sure!" she then said happily. "I've never been to a Halloween dance before . . . so it could be fun!" She smiled and kissed Cal on the forehead. "Are you feeling better? I could tell that meeting your so-called friends was quite painful for you. The expression on your face when you saw that insignificant piss-ant Evan was like that of slow death and disease. And it worsened when Aria stepped in to keep the two of you from fighting."
Cal nodded, getting up and helping Althea to her feet as well. "I feel a little better," he said absently, gazing over his shoulder at the drop-off of the cliff's edge. "I was contemplating jumping off and ending my suffering, but the thought of you alone in this world with no one held me back. I don't want you to have to endure what my 'friends' are putting me through." Althea started from hearing him talk about contemplating suicide. Seeing her look, he added, "No problem. I won't kill myself. That's the coward's way out."
Althea seemed to be able to breathe more easily after hearing this. She gently hugged him and then said, "What shall we do now?"
Cal, holding her around her taut stomach, shrugged and said, "Well, what say I show you around town? Would you like that?"
Althea smiled. "Sure!" And so, the two walked off towards the direction of his jeep. Sure enough, Evan was in the shop, conversing with Jen. Cal waved at her and Jen smiled, and Cal and Althea then continued, getting in the jeep and pulling out of the parking lot.
"So, where d'you want to go first?" Cal asked.
Thinking about it, Althea replied, "Why don't we go check out Town Square? There is a Town Square, isn't there?"
Cal nodded. "Town Square it is, then!"
The two of them had quite a lovely time touring the town. Althea was like the perfect tourist, always asking questions, always listening and learning, always being polite. The sun was setting now, casting a gentle crimson light upon the two of them. They were out at the Devil's Backbone, Althea sitting on a smaller boulder overlooking a drop-off of about two hundred feet into a rushing, boulder-strewn whitewater river. Cal stood beside her, looking off into the distance. He set a hand on her dainty shoulder. "This is where I come to think. It's really a good place for one to find out answers about things that're troubling him."
Althea nodded. "It's so beautiful down here. . . . Really a jewel in the universe, all created by God. . . ." she said, gazing at the sunset dreamily. "This is the first sunset I've shared with someone I love. . . ." She looked up at him and smiled. A gentle zephyr fanned out her loose robe-like toga, getting under and making her skin break out in goosebumps. Her nipples hardened with the assuasive sensation. Cal looked back down at her and smiled.
"Ah. . . ." he sighed, enjoying the breeze. He sat down beside her and looked up at her. "It's my first sunset with my love, too. . . ."
She sighed as well, sliding down the boulder to rest on the dusty rock face beside Cal. "I fear we may have some troubling times ahead of us, lover," she whispered, resting her head against Cal's shoulder. Cal slid an arm around her and nodded. "I'm still transforming into a demon. . . ."
"No matter what, I'll stick by your side, Althea. I know the kind of pain that occurs when someone you love abandons you. I refuse to cause that kind of pain on a good person like you." The sun slowly sank below the skyline, the landscape around the two of them turning a cold shade of pewter. The stars were just beginning to venture out of their hiding places in the dark cerulean sky, twinkling gently. The moon rose up from behind a chain of mountains to the east, its creamy beige surface coming into view. Sighing, the two sat there, watching the moon slowly rise into the night sky, just enjoying each other's company. "What did you do to get kicked out of Heaven, Althea?" Cal then asked curiously after about ten minutes of silence.
Althea sighed and looked off of the cliff. "Cal. . . . I don't know why I was thrown out of Heaven. . . ."
Cal sensed some of the pain that Althea felt. She shuddered sadly beside him, remembering the tremendous shock she received when the clouds opened up underneath her feet and she fell through dimensions all the way to Earth. "You okay?" he asked gently, setting a hand on her shoulder, gazing into her silver eyes.
"I'm afraid of what's to come. . . ." she whispered, snuggling up to Cal's side, enjoying his comforting hands around her. Darkness descended upon them, beckoning the coming of nightfall. "I've already transformed into a demon, but I don't know what else will happen. . . ."
Cal held her gently, his heart beating in sync with hers. "Who can predict the future?" he asked lightly, his eyes closed and his hands squeezing her tightly. His right hand stroked her mane of silky maroon hair gently.
Althea smiled, her fear seeming to recede with the failing light. "Yeah. Who can predict the future? . . . However, you seem pretty sure of the future," she commented, a hand resting on Cal's left knee.
Cal chuckled softly, his eyes reflecting the light of the moon. Looking her in her beautiful eyes, he said, "Me, I try to live my life one day at a time. I believe there is no future or past, only the now. Why should I waste my time worrying about things that aren't certain? What will be, will be, and there's nothing I can do about changing that. . . ." he said, smiling and looking pensive all at the same time.
They just held each other in the consuming darkness, not saying a word, merely reflecting on what was just discussed. Ten minutes passed like it was ten seconds and suddenly, Cal found that there was no more sun left to guide them back to the jeep. Hmmm. . . . I wonder how we're gonna get back home without any light? he thought, looking down the drop-off. A shooting star streaked through the night sky, its fiery tail illuminating the landscape gently before it vaporized high in the atmosphere a hundred miles above. Althea smiled with its beauteous appearance.
"It's odd. . . ." Cal said after a moment of reflecting on the shooting star.
"What's odd?" Althea asked.
"The way of darkness. . . ." Cal said absentmindedly. Taking Althea's silence for confusion, he elaborated, "Its power to heal your wounds is uncanny, and its shroud allows you to let your tears free without anybody seeing you. . . . It's peaceful and hidden, when you're shrouded in darkness. . . . It eases your pain away and fills the wounds with its essence."
Althea thought about this statement for a moment and realized, much to her surprise, that this was the truth. "Yeah. . . ." she whispered, looking up at him. She yawned luxuriously, stretching out some kinks in her lower back. "Sometimes I wonder, is this all nothing but a dream, the eye of an enormous tempest that leads to a far greater nightmare. . . ?"
Cal smiled down at her, his silhouetted appearance somewhat startling in the blackness of the night. He patted her gently on the head and sighed. "I don't know. Who can tell?" he asked, looking up at the moon. "I've been having some disturbing dreams involving demons and other dark creatures lately, though. The one last night was the worst one by far out of the whole set of them." Sighing, he got up and lifted her up by her waist. "We have to get back. It'll be tough getting down the rock strata without the light, so . . . what is it?" he then asked, looking her in the eye and noticing a smirk on her face.
She then grabbed him around his waist and spread her wings, taking off the ground and flapping them roughly. "Where's the jeep?" she asked as she flew over the rock face and dived down a hundred feet before leveling out. Cal smiled at her ingenuity as he felt his weight drop and suddenly float.
"It's over by the highway." Cal pointed the way and the two of them flew to the derelict jeep on the side of the highway.
"Where have you been?!" his mother's voice shouted, shattering the quietude that had descended upon the estate. "I've been worried sick about you, Cal! And who's that?!" She gestured roughly towards Althea, who flinched under her furious stare.
Cal's mother was an elderly lady in her early fifties with salt-and-pepper hair and several visible wrinkles on her face. One who knew her would definitely consider her a real battle-axe of a woman. Cal shrugged. "I went out because I couldn't stand it here and your constant bantering of how imperfect I am compared to my older brother any longer. And, I'm two feet away from you, so you don't need to shout," Cal replied coldly, his eyes narrow slits. His mother looked taken aback by this statement. "And, for the girl, she's a friend of mine. You know, from the note."
"Well, why is she here this time of night?!" her mother asked, more calmly and quietly, but with a razor edge still ever present in her voice.
"Because she's living with me. She has no place to stay, she has no one to depend on, besides me. And, if you have a problem with it, I'll move out of this damn house straight away! Then you can be the old witch that lives in the abandoned house that scares little children and eats them when they venture too close!"
She put things in perspective. She and Cal's father had gotten a divorce three years ago and ever since, Cal's mother had treated Cal like a poisonous spider she desperately wished to get rid of. His father was merely indifferent to him and just ignored him whenever the two of them were together. It was safe to assume that Cal was the black sheep of the family. Sighing, she looked at Althea in a would-be genial way, but there was still that evil glint in her eye. "Hello, there!" she said, trying to welcome Althea graciously into her house. "What's your name?"
"It's Althea. . . .Sorry about all this. I'm new here. . . ." she said apologetically. She knew she was getting her friend into trouble.
"Well, it's no trouble at all. I'm sure Cal's been a gentleman to you?" she asked, her eyebrow raised suspiciously.
"Of course he has! Why wouldn't he be?" she asked offensively. Cal has to come home and endure this, after having to endure his friends? No wonder he's so depressed! Althea thought passionately as she walked through the door.
"Yeah. . . ." Cal said. "Come on, Althea. It's late. I've got school in the morning." He gestured towards the downstairs, then kissed his mother on the cheek. "G'night, mom."
"Goodnight. . . ." she said, walking to her bedroom.
Cal and Althea walked down the stairs and clicked off the upstairs lights, then clicked on the downstairs ones. "Sorry you had to see that. My mother's not the kindest old woman in the world. . . . She always says that my older brother, Cloud, made something out of himself and I never will." Cal sighed, his shoulders heaving greatly as he entered his bedroom. He took off his tabi boots and set them by his desk. Sitting down in his desk chair, he kicked his feet up on the edge of the bed, his eyes closed tightly and his arms folded over his chest. Althea sat down on the edge of his bed and gently stroked his feet, lightly tickling them with her fingernails. "I envy you, Althea. You didn't have to deal with people like that while you were up in Heaven, did you?"
Althea shook her head. "No, It was complete serenity and bliss up there. But, down here, I have to endure what you do. . . ."
"Yes. We all have to endure trials and crucibles of unfathomable difficulty, but at least now I don't have to deal with them alone, and so long as there's a breath in my lungs, you won't have to deal with them alone either. . . ."
Cal got up and undid his blackbelt, folding it neatly and setting it on his desk. He then untied the strings to his robe, making it fall open. Gingerly taking it off, he then undid the tie-downs on his pant legs and then the drawstrings. He took those off and then his sleeveless shirt, and was naked. Althea had started to do the same thing, thinking that the two of them were going to have sex. She walked up to him and slid her arms around him and he hugged her tightly. "You're all I have left in this world, Althea."
She kissed him on the cheek and then her hand slid down to grab his penis. "You're all I have too, Cal. . . ." she said gently, looking him in his eyes passionately. Grinning evilly, she then said, "And I still owe you one for this morning and another one for at Eclipse!"
Cal put a finger to her lips and whispered, "Tomorrow. We'll make love tomorrow until we pass out from exhaustion." Cal kissed her on the nose and smiled. "I promise. But, I've got school tomorrow. I've got to get up at six in the morning." And so, the two went to sleep in each other's arms.
The shrill, infernal racket of the alarm clock awoke Cal from his dreamless repose. Althea was still holding onto him in her sleep, so Cal just lay there for a few minutes, stark naked with an equally nude demoness clinging onto him in her sleep, enjoying the hypnotic rhythm of her gentle breath on the side of his face. It was still dark outside, a reddish orange glare on the horizon. Cal sighed and slowly sat up. Althea blearily opened an eye and watched him silently hop out of bed. He looked back to see her staring at him lovingly. "Sorry, did I wake you?" he asked as he got on a pair of black jeans with a thick black leather belt. He then slid on a black t-shirt and got his combat boots on.
Althea shook her head gently. "No. . . . I sensed your movements. And your alarm clock."
"Ah. . . . Sorry about that. Why don't you go back to bed? Sleep in today and have yourself a late breakfast. I'll be back around two o'clock."
"Two o'clock?" Althea echoed curiously, bundled up in the covers.
Cal smiled and, taking out his pen, he grabbed a scrap of paper from his desk. "When the clock reads this, it will be two o'clock." He drew a two, followed by a colon, and then two zeros. "I should be back then, and then we can have some fun for a change!"
Althea studied it with bloodshot eyes and then set the paper down next to her. "I'll be waiting for you, lover!" she said, feeling a pleasant warmth reach out and brush the silky bed sheets.
Cal walked back up to her and kissed her gently on the lips. "So will I, darling. So will I!" He hugged her beautiful form gently. "Now, go back to sleep. I'll see you soon."
Althea nodded and Cal tucked her in to the covers. He smirked and waved as he grabbed his wallet and keys. "Have a good day," Althea whispered as she drifted off to sleep.