My Guardian Angel Ch 02

2 years prior

"The new kid keeps watching you." Lori whispered in my ear from the chair next to me. I was playing around with different mediums on the computer for my photography project, trying to find the perfect one that highlighted the creases on the hands just right. The project was to find where the soul is. I'd always loved hands. You do everything with your hands. They crease and wrinkle, yet are one of the toughest parts of your body. Your hands give you access to everything in the world.

"What now?" I said, my eyes flitting across the screen. I'd never pass this art class if I struggled with finding mediums. My teacher kept saying "It's good work, but not the right lighting/coloring/mood."

Lori bumped my arm, causing the mouse to flick off the desk and the teacher to glare at us. I shrugged and bent down to pick it up, kicking Lori in the process. "Why are you hitting me?"

She sighed and nodded in the direction of the windows. There were a few people working on their projects, but not many. The end of the year was fast approaching, didn't they care about their grades? "Yeah, I don't understand that either. We've got a shit load of work to do before the end of the year and they're just jerking around."

She kicked my chair. "Nice try asshole, I'm talking about Mr. Broody McBrood pants over there staring at you every 5 seconds."

"Huh?"

I glanced over, and sure enough, the new kid, slumped into his chair, hand on his face, trying to seem bored, was glancing right at me. He averted his eyes, caught, but I still saw him all the same. "That's interesting. I haven't talked to him before."

Again, his eyes flashed up to mine, then back to his screen. My eyebrows scrunched together, trying to understand any possible fascination he might have with me. Was my hair on fire?

"Maybe..." I started, turning back towards my screen, "maybe he just heard about what happened. I mean, I think everyone did... and everyone had their fair share of stares at me for a while."

It was true. A couple weeks ago, I'd been stuck in a bad part of town. I was supposed to be on a date with someone, but the guy ditched me in the middle to go to a hookah bar with his friends. Me being underage, I couldn't get in, and walked towards the nearest bus stop to catch a ride home. Chris wasn't a bad guy. He just kept saying that he hadn't seen his friends in so long and just wanted to chill with them. He even offered me a ride home, but I said no, and that he should go have fun with his friends. I tried telling Lori that later, but she just scoffed. "Wow. Dickface. Can I kill him? He just left you?"

After getting to the nearest bus stop and seeing that the next bus wasn't supposed to come for another 20 minutes, I started wandering, and ended up right in the middle of an all out brawl between two 20-something-year old black guys. I tried sneaking away, feeling the staleness and pressure in the air increase, but one of them just shouted "Hey! Where are you going?" and pulled out a gun. I suppose he was afraid I'd run to tell the police or something, and he'd be caught with a firearm. And possibly other paraphernalia.

Long story short, a police cruiser pulled up just in time. I don't know who called them, seeing as no one else was around at the time, but I'm sure thankful that they did. All in all, a lot of hullabaloo for nothing big. I wasn't shot, though I was terrified, and everyone made a big fuss of it. Especially Lori. She kept threatening to kill Chris, who, I told her, showed up at my house the next day, apologizing like crazy. He also asked me out a bunch more times, but we didn't work out.

"I don't think that's it Grace..." Lori said, but she sounded less insecure about the new kid than before. Sure, he dressed differently (black Nirvana t-shirt and black jeans), but that didn't make him a bad guy. He was probably just curious.

I glanced at him one more time before the bell rang only to see him staring right at me again, only this time from under the protection of his shaggy brown hair.

***********************

I heard Lori long before I saw her. I stood in the cafeteria line, waiting to get to the soup portion of the line when I heard Lori, pushing her way through the throng of people. "Um, excuse me, my best friend is up there and I need to talk to her so if you'll just-" then I heard a scuffle and an "Oh shit" by Lori. I silently laughed to myself, wondering what she'd gotten herself into.

She was suddenly at my elbow, pulling her green Army hat down over her eyes. "Shit, is he staring?"

I didn't even look up. "Is who staring?"

"I just ran into Kevin-Fucking-Barker and spilled his Sprite all over his hockey jersey."

"I'm almost positive that isn't his middle name." I crinkled my nose at the odd looking ravioli that the lunch lady offered me, and continued down the line. "You wanted me for something?"

"Oh yeah!" Lori instantly became animated again. "His name is Seth, he's a sophomore like us, and apparently he just moved here from Nebraska."

I noted that the soup tasted pretty good today after taking a small trial sip of it. Maybe a nice piece of Italian bread to dip into it. "Nebraska, eh? That's fascinating." I commented, solely focused on the food in front of me. My stomach grumbled, as if telling the line to hurry up, but no one moved any faster.

Lori smacked my hand. "Pay. Attention." She waited until I had paid and we had found seats with our usual friends Nate, Brady, Alex and Marisol before she started up again. "Apparently he's an amazing photographer and a shoo in to get a scholarship into the DAAP program at University of Cincinnati."

"Mhm..." I added dully, sipping my soup and smiling at Nate when he looked over at us. I noticed Lori had stopped talking after a few minutes and looked over to see if I had offended her. Apparently I had. I grimaced. "Sorry babe, I just don't understand why you're telling me all of this?"

She sniffed and turned her head away from me. I frowned. "Please. I'll listen now. Why are you so interested in the new kid?" Lori's eyebrow arched, and it looked like she wasn't going to respond to me any time soon. But she turned back towards me and started talking again.

She ticked things off with her fingers. "He's broody. I haven't seen him with many friends, or any at all. He's stared at you the entire 3 photography classes we've all had together. He's hot! And," she added emphasis "I heard he was asking around about you. About things you were into. Where you go after school. That kind of stuff."

I'll admit, now Lori had my attention. Had he really done all of that? "I don't know Lori, that could just be people talking..." I added lamely.

She sat back and raised her eyebrows, then did a small head nod in a direction over my shoulder. I sighed and looked quickly. Seth was standing in the lunch line. His shoulders were hunched, but he still stood at a nice 6'2 or 6'3. His arms looked more toned than any of the other guys standing in line, but he looked utterly bored. It didn't look like he was planning on eating much. Almost as if feeling my gaze, he turned his eyes on mine. I stared for a millisecond more before blushing and turning around. "Great, now I'm the stalker. He wasn't even looking, he's just getting lunch."

"Yeah, except he's eyeing your back like it's the hottest thing ever." My cheeks flamed again, and I wondered if Lori might have a point. Was this kid really checking me out or something? Perhaps getting a tad bit on the stalker side?

I shrugged and stared right at Lori, noting that her attention was still directed over my shoulder. My food started to get less appealing the more I ate it. I sat back in my chair, and Lori pursed her lips, and widened her eyes a little in a sarcastic expression. "Fine!" I exclaimed, and immediately got up and started heading over towards the lunch line.

He was about 3/4 of the way through it. His back was towards me, but I knew it was him. There was an apple and a milk carton on his plate. I felt like a fatty as I approached him, having just eaten a boat load of calories, but I wanted to prove Lori wrong. I'm sure this kid had no interest in me, and our gaze just happened to meet whenever he was checking out the new student surroundings.

I took a deep breath and cut in line behind him. The guy behind me now let out a huff, but I glared at him. I bit my lip and looked back at Lori. She nodded in encouragement. "Hi..." I said softly, hoping he could hear me above the dull roar of the cafeteria. "I'm Grace. I heard you were new here and I'm part of a... school ambassador program for new students." Pulled that one of out my ass. "I was just wondering how your first couple days here were and such... You know, if you needed anything or help finding classes and whatnot." Is that what ambassador's of schools did? I didn't know.

For the first time, the kid looked up at me. I almost gasped from the intensity of his gaze. His eyes were black. Dark, compelling black. He held my stare. "I'm Seth. The counselor didn't mention anything about a school ambassador program when I met with her at the beginning of the week. Mind telling me a bit more about it?" His lips almost curved into a smile. He was playing with me.

"Well... um... we do a lot of open houses and stuff-"

"For a public school like this one? I'm sure there are tons of kids who come to those." Now he did smile, and I almost felt weak. The line moved a bit, and Seth broke my gaze to move forward. Now, I breathed. For the first time in what seemed like an eternity.

I nodded, desperate to make a good first impression with him. "Yeah, I guess they want to advertise the falling ceiling tiles and made-of-shit lunches." He smiled again and looked at me. This time his gaze was less piercing, but I still didn't want to stare directly into his eyes for fear of being incoherent again.

"Well, thank you for the warm school welcome. I'll go straight to the administrators office after school to compliment them on their great school ambassador, Grace...?" He left a question in the air.

"No!" I almost shouted. He look mock-puzzled. "I-I mean, no need. They already know who I am and what I do yada yada yada."

"And what is that?" He asked, like he was genuinely curious.

My eyebrows scrunched together again. What was he asking? Who am I or what I do? And why is he asking? For some reason, the answer slipped through my lips. "I'm a stoney rock climber."

Seth's lips twitched, then he started laughing. Hard. "You're interesting. Most people would've gone with 'I'm a nice person' or 'I'm a hard working, dedicated individual.' But you just got straight to the point. I like that."

I blushed. I did want to ask him if he'd been watching me for the past couple of days, but I didn't want to seem too forward. "Yes..." Lori was watching us intently. When I glanced at her, she shook her head and made furious motions with her hands, all of which I had no idea what they were. "I really just wanted to ask you..." I started.

"Yes?" He'd finally paid for his apple and milk and we were standing by the doors that lead outside into the courtyard. It was a nice, sunny, May day in Cincinnati. Seth's eyes were piercing mine again, and he tilted his head to the side. He was almost a foot taller than me, and he shifted his tray from one hand to the other, waiting.

"Um..." What? What did I want to ask him? "Did you... want to sit with us... or something?"

He smiled genuinely. "I think I'm going to take a seat outside and work on my project for Brehmers class. Thank you for the offer though." I nodded and waited a tiny millisecond before heading back towards my seat. I stopped mid-stride though and looked back to where Seth was still standing.

"I'll just... see you around then." It sounded more like a question.

"I hope so." It sounded like he said before turning and heading outside.

1/2 a year later

"My baby..." My moms voice came through to me. My brain was still fuzzy as to the events that occurred earlier that weekend, but I knew I was in a hospital somewhere. "Baby... I'm so glad you're okay... my baby girl..." My mom was crying, her head resting on my stomach. My head was bandaged. Had I hit that? My hands were attached to wires and beepy things. My heart rate was rhythmic in the background. My back felt stiff and I realized I wore a brace. I looked around, but my mom and I were alone.

"Mom?" I asked in a raspy voice. "What happened?" My voice rose a few octaves. "Did I fall?"

Her mouth pressed into a hard line, and she nodded. "The rope... there was too much c-chafing in it and it s-snapped. You're so lucky honey, you're so, so lucky." Her voice quivered. My eyes squeezed together as I remembered feeling the rope start to break, and my brother call out to me.

I'd fallen over 30 feet... how was I not dead?

A few tears spilled over and I was quick to wipe them away, not wanting to add to my mothers pain. "I'm sorry mom. I'm sorry I scared you... I'm okay now." She nodded, then glanced up as the nurse came in. The nurse smiled sympathetically to me, then added something more to an IV that I was connected to.

I was out again in minutes.

***********************

My lips were chapped when I woke up, and I licked them, feeling the sting of my saliva in the cracks. Someone was holding my hand, and I looked down to see a head of shaggy brown hair resting on my hip. I smiled softly and stroked his hair. He immediately looked up and sighed. Seth shifted off of me and kneeled at the edge of my bed. "Hey beautiful..." he said, smiling.

I laughed. "Anything but, as of right now..." Then I shook my head. "I don't understand how this happened. I've checked my rope a thousand times, making sure it didn't need to be replaced. My brother and I are safe climbers..."

He nodded, stroking my cheek. There was something behind his dark eyes besides his concern for me. Protectiveness? I couldn't place it. "I'm just so thankful you're alright, Grace... I don't know what I'd do if..." he trailed off. Seth leaned in and pressed his lips to mine once gently. "Stop scaring me Gracie. It's hard enough being your boyfriend and having to protect you from other guys. I didn't count on you being put in death defying situations every couple months that scare the hell out of me."

I looked down, tears forming in my eyes. Was he sad that that's what came with the package? Sure, I was clumsy, but I didn't think I was a walking catastrophe... "I wouldn't change it for the world, Grace. I wouldn't change you for the world. You know how much I care about you. That's all, honey." His words were a comfort to me. Ever since we'd started dating, I'd still wondered why he chose me. He had girls swooning for him every minute and at the drop of a hat, but he chose the insecure klutz that he sat across from in photography class last year? It didn't make sense. Seth's and my relationship never made sense to me.

1/2 a year after that

Seth lay face down on my bed, his head turned to the side and his cheek resting on my pillow. I sat next to him, Indian style. First, I moved his hair out of his eyes. He opened them and smiled at me. His cheek was soft against my palm. Then, I softly ran my fingertips down his back and over the V. His eyes closed and he let out a soft "Mmm", like my touch was a warmth to him. I still had so much to learn, and it was a lot to take in.

So, here we are. Seth is my Guardian Angel. Like the ones I used to think about when I was little. Except, Seth wasn't exactly a small child with a diaper on and a harpsichord in his hand. But still, the same concept. His voice was gentle when he spoke. "Do you have any questions...?"

Questions? Of course I have questions, you idiot. You just told me Angels and Dark Angels and Fallen Angels existed. I wanted to know everything. I wanted him to tell me everything right now.

But I simply smiled and shook my head, because for now, sitting here with Seth, rubbing his cheek and his back while his hand rested on my knee was enough for me. Everything could wait, because apparently we had a while. Evidently, Seth is my version of a "soul-mate." Technically speaking. Because Seth isn't technically human. A couple questions did surface in my mind.

"Okay, I do have a few questions..." I said softly, leaning down and pressing my lips against the indents in his back. He sighed again, and I could hear the smile in his voice when he spoke.

"Yes?"

"Can you..." I started drawing little circles on his back while I spoke, and his hand tightened on my knee. I think it tickled. "Get married...?" I asked softly. Half of me was afraid of the answer, but the other half already knew what the answer was.

He smiled. "Nothing in the rule book about not getting married. If there was, I'd break that one for you." His dark eyes flashed up to mine, making my cheeks and neck flame red.

"Even though I'm not an... a ... Guardian Angel?"

Seth blinked and looked at my desk for a while. I kept drawing circles on his back, but I was listening intently to his breathing and the way he swallowed. "There isn't anything in The Book that says 'No'... I guess since this situation hasn't ever happened before this. Sure, Guardians will have flings with human women, but I think you'd call them Incubi." I gasped.

"I thought those were vampires?"

Seth sat up slowly and sat back against my headboard. He held out his arms towards me and I climbed into his lap. He wasn't smiling anymore, but he was still gentle and warm as ever. I looked down at his hands while he spoke. "Not necessarily just vampires. Any mythological creature, really, that preys on human women for sex is considered an Incubus."

I swallowed. "Mhm..."

"But I've never heard of any creature finding their true love in a human woman. I'd say this is a first..." He trailed off, seemingly lost in his own mind. I let him stay there a while, simply watching his jaw muscle clench and unclench, and the way his ears lifted slightly when he smiled. "But I'm sure we won't have any trouble from anyone important..."

My lips were pursing and un-pursing as Seth held me and I mulled over all that he was telling me. "You said questions..." he murmured eventually.

"Hm?"

His lips brushed my cheek. "You said you had 'questions.' Plural."

"Oh." Seth waited as I contemplated whether or not asking him the next one. "Can you... I-I mean can we... you know..." I stuttered, but he looked completely lost. I growled. "Never mind."

He shifted me to being cradled in his lap. One of his arms was wrapped around my back and the other was holding under my legs. "Just ask me honey."

I decided on a different route that still asked the same sort of question. "Could you ever... you know... have a... baby...?" My voice was barely above a whisper.

"Oh." I looked up at him, but he was looking away from me, at my door or something. "I suppose... yes..." he started hesitantly. "but I don't know what that would do to the child... and I don't know if I'd ever want to risk that."

I nodded. "I understand." And I did. It made complete sense to me. We were both silent for a few moments before Seth leaned down and kissed my forehead. Then he chuckled. "You look so contemplative." His fingers smoothed the wrinkles that had formed on my forehead. "Were you hoping..." He asked softly.

"Hm?" I said, looking up into his eyes. "Oh... I don't know. I guess someday I was. I always thought it'd be nice to have someone who's half you bouncing around here." Seth smiled. "But I'm barely 17, who knows what I'll really want in the future." Then I smiled. "I know I just want you."

"And I want you. None of these other fools are taking you from me."

Sigh. Here we go again.

"Seth, I honestly, really really honestly, have absolutely no idea what the hell you're talking about."