Chemistry class the next morning proved to be one of the longest hours of Amara's life. She could barely keep herself awake, as she'd been up all night glued to her phone. Vee was back, after all, and had agreed to help them stop the cult. When they'd last spoke, she'd promised to reach out as soon as she located her Enochian texts, but Amara had no idea how long that would take. Every time her phone vibrated, she would hastily grab it hoping for a text from Vee, but it always proved to be something else. Another photoshoot sale, a comment on a random post, as well as a few texts from Tessa and Nick.
Now, as she leaned her face against her hand while the professor explained their lab, she still couldn't resist the urge to check her phone every couple seconds. This was frustrated even further by her enhanced hearing; she could hear every phone in the classroom, and she wasn't experienced enough to differentiate between them.
The lab was also frustrating because Amara had hoped to see Vee again. This was Vee's first week of classes, and they'd been lab partners up until Halloween. It's not that Amara disliked her new lab partner, a somewhat nervous girl with bright blue hair, but she wanted everything to go back to normal. Sadly, Vee was nowhere to be seen, and class went on without her.
Her new lab partner, thankfully, was a very eager student. Amara frequently felt like a glorified assistant, but was happy to have someone else do most of her classwork for her. Her partner was currently trying to light the Bunsen burner, though didn't seem to be having any luck.
"Amara, can you light this?" the blue-haired girl asked, giving up.
With a lazy smile, Amara grabbed the striker and moved it over the burner. She squeezed it half-heartedly, unsure if she'd even made any sparks, and used her own inner fire to light the burner. Once finished, she opened her notebook and started copying over some notes. "Alright, ready to go."
"How do you always get that on your first try?"
"Maybe I'm just lucky," Amara said, chuckling to herself. She spent the rest of class watching her lab partner do most of the work, occasionally helping out when asked. Her phone went off exactly six times, though none of the notifications were from Vee.
Hours later, Amara sat down for lunch with Chloé, still having heard nothing. Tessa was also nowhere to be found, but that was to be expected; she'd texted earlier that she was going over her notes on the magic circles. Amara tried to pass the time with small talk, asking Chloé about her classes and her charity.
"What about you? How are classes?" Chloé asked, pushing the remains of her lunch aside.
"I can't complain. They're pretty straightforward, even if it's a little hard to focus right now." Amara sighed, wishing she could tell Chloé more.
"Is that 'cuz Vee's back?"
"...Yeah, pretty much."
Chloé hesitated, looking like she was unsure of something, then continued. "What are you two fighting about? If that's okay to ask, I don't want to step on anyone's toes..."
You know the rule, Amara, only tell people once they're involved. Still, I feel bad leaving her in the dark... maybe a half truth would be okay?
Amara forced a smile. "Well, kinda a couple things, but mostly... I started sleeping with Nick."
"Seriously?! But you two always said you didn't want to date!" Chloé was leaning forward now, clearly eager to hear more.
"We're not dating, it's just a friends with benefits thing. Vee had a bit of a crush on him, though, and when she found out, things got a little... heated. Then she got hurt in that fire, and we haven't really had time to talk about it."
"That really sucks, I'm sorry. Is there anything I can do to help?" Chloé asked.
"I appreciate the offer, but no. This is something we have to work through on our own." Amara sighed, wishing she could say more. "Could you not tell her I said anything?"
"Your secret is safe with me!" Chloé reached over, squeezing Amara's hand briefly before the conversation shifted to more mundane matters. Over lunch, Amara's phone went off a dozen more times, but there was still nothing from Vee.
Long after classes had ended, just after dusk, Amara and Nick were finishing up dinner. He'd come over after school had ended, and he'd taken the opportunity to tell Amara everything he'd talked about with Vee. She hung on every word as he recounted their conversation, hoping to learn more about was Vee was thinking. Sadly, the more Nick talked, the more it became obvious that Vee seemed as confused as ever.
"Ugh, I hate waiting! Every time my phone goes off, I think it's her. I wish there was more I could do!" Amara fell onto the couch, pulling a throw pillow over her head.
"I'm sure this isn't easy for her, Amara. We don't know what her childhood was like, but she's clearly known about her heritage for a while. When we had our date, she actually mentioned that her parents weren't entirely hers, but she wouldn't elaborate. I'll bet there's some weird Angel magic at play with that."
"Okay? What's that got to do with this?"
Nick pushed Amara's legs aside and sat next to her. "What I mean, Amara, is that she grew up knowing she was an angel. I'll bet the Church has told her a million times how bad demons are."
"That's... kinda what she told Tessa. Something about how all demons are manipulative, and prey on mankind's desire to be good. Stupid church propaganda."
