A/N: long chapter to make up for the short ones.
. . .

The day seemed like a blur to Angelo. The air felt.. different. Not right, he had decided. No one was as rowdy as usual. Everyone seemed tired or sickly, in fact.

As annoying as Devin could be, Angelo almost found himself worrying in her absence. Time was moving slowly, but he had started to feel better once he had gotten to English class.

Chris had been going on about figurative language,- among other things,- when whispers started going around about the weather, or something.

Angelo turned his head to look out the window, and his blue eyes had gone wide at the sight of downpour- out of nowhere. Just moments before, the sky had been crystal clear.

Chris tried to settle the class down with the expected chatter about how 'we live in Pennsylvania' and 'the weather changes fast sometimes.' But Angelo was nervous. Because Chris looked nervous.

It had been about five minutes to the end of the period when the door opened, and a woman dressed in white walked in, smiling sweetly. "I'm sorry to interrupt, Mr. Cerulli," She said, and Angelo took note of the way Chris's jaw tightened at the name, one that he obviously avoided using. "But might I have a word with you and Mr. Parente?" She asked, white wings stretching out from her shoulders.

Of course, the majority of the class panicked. An angel, Angelo decided. But still, people were filled with fear at the sight of things they didn't recognize or understand.

Chris instructed everyone to wait in the hall,- aside from Angelo,- closing and locking the door.

"My name is Maria Brink. I'm with Heaven's Ministry of Defense, and-" The blonde began, Chris cutting her off. "Don't listen to a word out of her mouth, Angelo." He said.

The woman glared but kept speaking, watching Chris as he walked back to stand behind his desk.

"As I was saying," muttered the angel. "I've been informed you're working with Mr. Cerulli," She said, smiling and tilting her head. "I can tell that's a big mistake. All I ask is that you come with me in a calm and orderly fashion. This doesn't have to be any worse than it already is. His negativity is already wearing off on you," She said.

Pulling his hood up, Angelo closed his eyes. Everything was much too bright. "He's helping me," He mumbled, hands twitching involuntarily. He shoved them in his pockets, chalking it up to nervousness.

"Oh, dear, he really isn't. He's a demon, you know that, right? A broken demon, at that. Very dangerous," She said.

"Angelo," Chris warned, glancing up at the lights, which had begun to flicker rapidly by then. "Don't listen to her. If you choose to go with her, Heaven will do one thing. They'll kill you. You're very lethal, and that's a threat to-"

The skidding of desks across the floor and books flying from their shelves, papers fluttering to the ground, cut Chris's sentence short. He looked Angelo up and down, biting back a frown.

"You're trying too hard to hold yourself down, even if you don't know that. Try and relax, for your sake. You'll overwork yourself and then you'll snap. Do you understand me?" Chris said, eyes fixed on Angelo.

The teen swallowed thickly, rocking back on his heels. "I can't help it.." He said softly. Chris sighed. Ricky must have served as a trigger of some sort the night before..

"Chris," Angelo said softly, raising his hands to cover his eyes. He had hardly realized the tears slipping down his cheeks. "It hurts.. I-I don't like this. It hurts."

The other said nothing, acting as if it didn't matter at all that Angelo was in pain. Sniffling, Angelo decided that asking for help would do no good. Acting like a bitch would do no good.

Then the realization set in. Chris had to have known this would have happened. The pain, at least. Maria only confirmed the thought, saying, "He can help you. He just wont. He knew I'd show up eventually- he knew he'd be putting you in more danger by just being around as well. Has he even tried to help you with anything, yet? Your powers are getting out of control. He doesn't care about you, Angelo. Not really. My superiors are expecting me to bring you back; we can help you, if you'll only let us do so.."

Chris said nothing to confirm or deny her words, and Angelo's heart sank.

"Angelo," Maria tried to reason, pursing her lips. "Don't do this." She said. Her tone was soft, but there was most certainly a threat present, and Angelo didn't like it at all. His icy eyes narrowed, and he looked from Maria, to the opposite side of the wrecked classroom. Chris stood behind his desk, arms folded across his chest. He didn't seem at all fazed.. There was something else. Something Angelo couldn't quite put his finger on, but regardless.

"Don't tell me what to do.." Angelo whispered, his hood casting a shadow over his pale face, tears staining the porcelain look of his skin. Chris tilted his head back a bit, whiskey eyes locked on Angelo. "Tell me you aren't honestly considering her over me," Chris said, quirking an eyebrow. "You do understand she only wishes to use you, for her benefit right?" He asked, amusement hinting at his voice. Angelo just pursed his lips, Maria interjecting with, "And you don't?" She scoffed before turning back to Angelo. "He's lying! You must believe me."

"Shut up!" Angelo shouted, the lights flickering. He clenched his fists tightly. "Both of you, shut up! I'm tired of your bitching over me." He hissed. He unclenched his trembling fists, tangling his fingers in his long, inky, black hair. "I don't take orders from you," He said in a hushed tone, pointing a finger at Maria before turning back to Chris. "And as for you-" He began, his lower lip wobbling just a bit. It felt so.. wrong.. speaking to Chris like that. "You're a liar. And I don't like liars." He muttered. "Who else knew about you? What else have you lied to me about?" He snapped, bright blue eyes glassy. He felt broken. Tired.

Chris narrowed his eyes, placing his hands flat on his desk in front of him and leaning forward slightly, tilting his head ever so slowly. Angelo shuddered. "You," Chris said slowly. "Don't get to interrogate me. In fact, you've got no say in what I do or don't tell you. So I highly recommend you make the right choice, my dear. You don't scare me in the slightest," He said numbly. "I never lied to you. I simply left certain details out of my story. That didn't make it any less true," He said, glancing out the window.

The rain outside was almost loud enough to make the three of them forget the nearing sound of police sirens. After all, it was only expected that someone had called 911 at that point. Angelo's breath hitched. "I-.." He trailed off. He knew it would be better to apologize. right then and there, but he wasn't willing just yet. He knew it would only be an issue later on, but he had other things- more important things,- to deal with at the moment.

Angelo closed his eyes briefly, cracking his knuckles. "Maria.." He stated.

Chris blinked, shocked. Was Angelo- his Angelo,- honestly choosing that.. that bible thumping bitch over him? He shot a glare in the blonde woman's direction, pursing his lips. She was smirking at that point, and Chris wanted nothing more than to backhand her. If Angelo chose her, that would mean very bad news. Not for Maria, of course, but rather for Chris and anyone like him in any way.

"Tell your superiors that you failed them." Angelo said, and Chris couldn't help but grin at the words, mentally kicking himself for ever having doubted his Angelo. Before anyone could say anything else, Angelo turned toward the window. "Chris," He said softly. "I want to leave." He said simply, eyes slipping shut. Normally, he wasn't nearly as pushy or bitchy. But he had every reason to be today.

A familiar, devilish little smirk crept onto Chris's lips, and he slowly peeled the leather gloves he had been wearing from his hands, cracking his knuckles one by one, the sound making Maria scrunch her nose up. "A very good choice," He snickered, raising a hand in the direction of the window. "I'm glad you finally came to your senses, my dear. I was rather worried."