Fallen from Grace

Chapter X

Apollyon and Eleanora sat in their class, generally they would have been seated together, but today the teacher had Apollyon seated next to someone else, because she knew that he didn't focus when he sat next to Eleanora, since he spent too much of his time and focus on disturbing her.

He sat next to a guy who was also lazing around in his seat, dazing off into space. Getting bored of sitting next to the guy, Apollyon took out his phone, and pressed Eleanora's contact. Suddenly the sound of an air raid siren blared through the entire classroom as the students screamed in fright ducking under their tables.

"It's okay! It's okay!" Eleanora yelled once the siren suddenly stopped. "It's just my phone, and Apollyon don't call me when I am right here!"

"Is that your ring tone?" The guy next to Apollyon questioned incredulously once they all started to get out from beneath their tables.

"Just for him." Eleanora sighed as she glanced down at the device in her hand.

"Why do you have a different ring tone for me?" Apollyon asked in confusion.

"Because, Apollyon. You call me at the most inconvenient of times, like when I am sleeping, and I kept that as my ring tone for you, so that I can wake up and attend your call." Eleanora sighed as she started to gather her things. "You see, whenever you call, it is mostly 3 am in the morning, and I am generally asleep by 12, so I have that as a wake up alarm so that I can attend your call and attend to whatever worries or quarries you might have. Is hat too hard to wrap your head around?"

A smile sported on her lips as the bell rung. Grabbing her back, she walked out of the class as everyone else stared at her with open mouths. She stopped in the doorway looking at Apollyon with an amused smile.

"Aren't you coming?" She questioned. "We have to get to our next class."

Coming out of his stupor, he got up from his place, and grabbed hold of his bag before following after her. He jogged to catch up with her as she stopped at her locker.

"You seem to be in a good mood." He spoke cautiously. "Why?"

"Can't I be in a good mood?" She asked with a slight giggle in her voice.

"You don't giggle."

"I can, it's just that I should be more happier around you just so that you get infected."

"Don't make me read your mind."

"Okay! Okay!" She relented with a joyous laugh. "I have an interview at a hospital for an internship!"

"And you are excited because...?"

"Because I finally get a kick start on my life long dream!" She squealed in excitement before jumping up and down and hugging him. Apollyon as caught off guard by the sudden hug as he stood awkwardly for a moment before hugging her back, his chin rested on her head.

"Eleanora!" A voice called out from the middle of the crowd as Eleanora pulled away from Apollyon, tensing when she saw Jennifer approach them.

"Apollyon." Eleanora hissed at the guy standing next to her. "Hide before she sees you!"

"It's okay." He assured as he leaned against the locker behind him while watching Jennifer approach them. She went over to Eleanora, hugging her tightly in greeting before noticing Apollyon standing next to her.

"Hi." She greeted him as he gave a curt nod in response. "Whose this?" She whispered into Eleanora's ear who looked at her with astonishment.

"I'm Apollyon Masters, a close friend of Eleanora's." He introduced with a two finger solute.

"Oh, so you're the Apollyon." Jennifer realized. "Alright, hey Eleanora, I was wondering if you were up for a movie sometimes?"

"Uh..." She trailed, clearly being unsure of how to react to Jennifer acting like Apollyon wasn't her brother.

"Oh, she'd love to." Apollyon enlightened as he placed a hand on the middle of her back. "She has to go for an internship interview today, so she'll get back to you once she is confirmed with her schedule."

"Alright." Jennifer smiled in response. "Call me once you're confirmed. Bye, see you later."

With that Jennifer walked away, leaving Eleanora to gap at her with an open mouth. She turned towards Apollyon, numbly pointing in the direction she had gone while continuously opening and closing her mouth like a gaping fish.

"I altered her memory." Apollyon spoke softly. "I made it so that her brother died three months ago, with a slight alteration to his features to resemble mine, but not exactly look like me."

"You fabricated her memories of her brother?" She hissed in response.

"Not entirely." He assured. "She just believes that he is dead."

"God, Apollyon, that is wrong on so many levels." Eleanora groaned.

"Hey, we can't afford any more problems than what we already have to deal with." He hissed lowly, as he grabbed hold of her arm. "This is imminent death, Eleanora. Micheal will kill us."

Suddenly the school hallway changed into a green field somewhere outside. Apollyon and Eleanora looked around in surprise.

"If you two love-birds can stop bickering for two seconds-" Gabriel's voice rung beside them.

"-We are not lovebirds!" Both Eleanora and Apollyon exclaimed at the same time. "God! Why do people assume that!?"

"Well, sorry to disrupt, but there is no time." Gabriel spoke seriously. "Apollyon, he is near. It end up he found you and is on his way here."

"You said we had time." Apollyon hissed.

"Well...not anymore."

"What should we do?" Eleanora inquired to prevent an argument from breaking out between the two.

Apollyon looked at Gabriel, grabbing him by the arm as he whispered lowly into his ear. "Remember what you promised me, brother?"

"I remember." Gabriel nodded before backing away from Apollyon's hold. He walked over to Eleanora as two Angel blades materialized into his hand. He handed one to her as she looked at him uncertainly.

"You'll need something to defend yourself with." He smiled at her as he placed a hand on her shoulder before looking back at Apollyon before moving away from her for a moment, allowing him to come forward.

"Let's take a little walk, shall we?" He suggested while spinning the blade in his hands.

"Uh...sure? Might be the last chance to enjoy such a thing." She shrugged as she started to walk beside him. They walked in silence for a moment before Apollyon started to remove his leather jacket.

"Could you hold onto this for me?" He inquired nonchalantly as he handed the leather jacket to her. "This is my most prized possession and I don't want to take the risk of losing it."

"Oh...okay." She agreed as she held it in her arms.

"You know...No matter how many times I said I was 'bound by contract' I didn't mean it." He informed her while looking down at the grass. "I might have meant it at the beginning, but with time, I came to realize that I actually liked your company, and that we actually became friends. With you teaching me about humans and how your world worked, while I in turn told you about Heaven and Hell, and the entire system above."

"So...I just wanted to say thank you for giving me a chance at normality." Apollyon sighed in the end as he looked up to meet her gaze as she was smiling back at him.

"You're most welcome." She smiled at him, complete unperturbed by the fact that she might not be alive after the sun sets. "And I knew that you didn't mean it, I grew up observing people, and I knew whenever you were lying to me. But...I just want to thank you for being my friend."

Apollyon chuckled at her response as it was very Eleanora-like. "Although, you sound like this is good bye."

"This might be." He shrugged. "And I didn't want to miss the chance to come clean to you. For once."

Cupping her face in her hands, he placed a kiss on her forehead before hugging her tightly to himself. "Take care of yourself, Eleanora Jane Clark."

"You too." She buried her face in his chest as he placed a kiss on the top of her head one last time before pulling away from her. They walked back to where Gabriel stood beneath the tree, Apollyon a few steps ahead of her. Walking over to his brother, he grabbed him by the arm, leaning down to whisper in his ear.

"Remember that no matter what happens to me, you ensure that Eleanora is safe until this is all over. This is between Micheal and me. I am not dragging anyone into this." Apollyon hissed in his ear. "You stick to that promise, or I swear to our father that I will personally skewer you alive if anything happens to her. Understood?"

"Understood." Gabriel nodded meekly before pulling away from his brother with an ashen face. Straightening his wind-breaker he walked over to Eleanora, placing a hand on her shoulder as he engaged her in a conversation, walking away from Apollyon who had his back towards them.

Crossing his arms over his chest, Apollyon looked up at the cracks between the leaves that allowed sunlight to filter through as a sudden wind blew at his back, and he knew that they were gone. He knew that they were gone, and he had the content of mind that Eleanora was safe and away from harms way, trusting his brother to protect her.

He might die tonight, but he would die with the satisfaction of knowing that Eleanora was safe and would get the chance to live her life as normally as possible.