Fallen from Grace

Chapter XVIII

Regret is an emotion literally everyone is familiar with, weather it be on a small scale or a large scale. Now, our little Devil is experiencing what we like to call 'turn back time and undo'. All because of the fire that burns him from inside when he sees them together.

Don't get it wrong, but he is happy that Eleanora has her old friend back, but her best friend, now that's overkill and Satan knows it as well.

It has been 10 years since the last time they met and Jason didn't even give her a second glance the moment he was living a happy life with his parents. Now, they both acted as if though no time had separated them and they were continuously found together, laughing at some lame joke or some overrated childhood story.

Apollyon just wished that he never made friends with Jason and brought him to Eleanora's apartment, because she was his best friend. He is the one who holds her at night when she cries, he is the one that is always there for her, he is the one that helps out as much as he can, and not Jason.

He just couldn't figure out why he was feeling this irrational anger at seeing them together, and that constant burning in his chest just grew and grew. Apollyon often found himself gritting his teeth behind a forced smile around Jason, the urge to punch him was simply overwhelming.

Apollyon had a theory, which stated that Eleanora was replacing him with Jason, so to test it, he stopped doing favors for her. It started out small, like not picking out her clothes for her, but it steadily grew to the point where he was never found at her apartment after a departure made at 8 p.m and she took absolutely no notice to it.

It hurt to know that she could replace him just like that, and it hurt to the point where he was constantly battling with a raging fire and an ever-growing ache.

The only solution he found to this situation was to consult Mrs. Scott.

Currently, the teen was seated in front of her fire as she instantly knew something was wrong the moment he had knocked on her door. Mrs. Scott made him a cup of hot cocoa and handed it to him as she sat down beside him.

"What is it, dear?" She inquired kindly. "What's bothering you?"

"It's...I don't understand what I am feeling whenever I see Jason and Eleanora together." He relented after a sip of her magic cocoa. "What is this constant burning and the need to pull Eleanora away from him and the urge to simply punch him in the face?"

Mrs. Scott listened in silence for a moment as she could see that he was simply beyond confused and that he had been feeling so for a long time now.

"Do you care for her?" Mrs. Scott inquired. "Do you feel over-protective about her on some occasions?"

"Yes." Apollyon spoke up instantly as he couldn't think of himself 'not caring' for her, or 'not being protective' about her. "Of course I am."

"Sweetheart." Mrs. Scott chuckled as she had seen this stage on so many occasions with Elliot. "What you are feeling is called 'jealousy'."

"Jealousy?" He inquired in bewilderment.

"Yes, you are jealous that Eleanora is spending more time with Jason and ignoring you, isn't that right?"

"Well...yes."

"There you go." Mrs. Scott smiled at him. "It's perfectly natural for boys your age to get overprotective about the girls they care about, and it is a very normal occurrence to get jealous when you find them 'replacing' you. However, it does not make it right."

"What do you suggest that I do?" Apollyon inquired.

"Well...take her by the hand, and make her sit down and tell her how you feel." Mrs. Scott told him as she stroked his hair. "I'm sure the poor girl doesn't even realize what she is doing is causing you pain."

Apollyon smiled at the elderly lady as he hugged her.

"Thanks, mom." He spoke with a smile and jumped to feet, rushing out the door to do as was suited.

Mrs. Scott sat stunned on her couch as the little teenage boy just called her 'mom' without realizing and it warmed her from the inside, a smile brightening her soft elderly features as she chuckled to herself, shaking her head at the teen.

"Teenagers." She chuckled to herself as she grabbed hold of the finished cocoa and went to her kitchen.

Apollyon stood outside Eleanora's apartment door, standing there nervously as he mentally rehearsed what he was going to say to her. He didn't know what to expect, but taking in a deep breath he raised his fist to knock on the wooden door when it suddenly swung open.

Eleanora was on her way out but stepped back when she saw him. She wore knee length dark brown boots with black skinny jeans and a long cream sweater along with a beige scarf around her neck, her bag held in hand. Her hair was open and cascading down her back as he seemed to realize that she had make up on. Apollyon had never seen Eleanora like this before and she looked absolutely beautiful.

"Apollyon." She greeted breathlessly. "Hi!"

"Hey." He nodded as his stomach churned uncomfortably. "Are you going out?"

"Yeah." Eleanora nodded while stepping out and locking the door behind her. "I have a movie date with Jason."

"Jason." He spoke bitterly as she dismissed it.

"Listen, I'm sorry, but gotta run." She told him with a smile as she sidestepped him and headed towards the stairs. "Bye, Apollyon."

Apollyon stood still in the hallway, his fists curled up as his knuckles were turning white. His teeth were gritted so tight together that it hurt his jaw but he didn't care.

Fine, if she wanted things to be this way, then he was going to play by her rules.

Turning on his heel he sprinted up the stairs, but didn't stop at his floor, instead he continued with his ascend. Stopping at the floor, he knocked on the door and stood straight. He heard shuffling behind the door for a second as he couldn't believe he was doing this. The locks clicked before the door swung open, revealing Elliot standing in a pair of trousers and a long sleeved shirt with his hair being a disheveled mess.

Elliot looked at Apollyon in surprise, never expecting to see Apollyon Masters standing at his door.

"I need to talk to you." Apollyon stated bluntly as he sidestepped the elder man and made his way inside.

"Oh, please, do come in." Elliot muttered under his breath as he closed the door behind the teen. "What is it?"

"How do you flirt with girl?" Apollyon inquired instantly.

Instantly Elliot choked on his air as he wasn't sure to laugh or to go into shock. Once he calmed down he looked at Apollyon to ensure that he was serious.

"Are you seriously coming to me for girl advice?" Elliot laughed. "You? Apollyon Master? The bad boy?"

"Hey, I wasn't interested in picking up girls until now." Apollyon shrugged. "So are you gonna help me or not?"

"Who are you trying to flirt with?" Elliot inquired as he went and sat down on his couch, and turning off the hockey game that was playing.

"Every girl but Eleanora." He admitted with a shrug as he sat down across from him.

Elliot looked at him with scrutiny before thinking 'what the hell'. Sighing, he leaned back. "Confidence is the key, but so is chivalry."

"You don't wanna come off as too hard, and you most definitely don't wanna make her uncomfortable. Don't boast too much, and make her laugh. Say things that will make her laugh and encourage her to talk about her self. Also smile." Elliot informed. "Make her feel wanted and don't be a dick."

"I have absolutely no practice in flirting, so how the hell does flirting work?"

Elliot looked at him in surprise, not being able to understand how a guy like Apollyon could never have flirted with a girl before. He knew for a fact that every girl would be crazy about the teen in front of him, but he couldn't understand how he wasn't interested in anyone.

"What is all of this about?"

"I'm trying to get a girlfriend." Apollyon lied through his teeth. "And I need help."

"Okay....I guess I'll teach you." Elliot relented finally as he got up from his place and walking over Apollyon, the supposed 'bad boy'.

***

The next morning Apollyon arrived to school on his Harley Davidson, wearing his trademark leather jacket with grey jeans and a navy blue polo sweater beneath. Removing his helmet, he looked around for a second, seeing a group of girls giggling and whispering. Smiling at them flirtatiously, he winked at them as they instantly flushed. Grabbing his bag, he walked inside the school acting as if though he owned the place. Every one looked at him in awe. The girls wanted him and the guys wanted to be him. And the cocky smirk on his face was simply working in his favour.

Walking over to his locker, he placed books into his bag as the popular crowd approached him just like every other day.

"Hey, Apollyon." The lead guy greeted nervously.

"Hey." Apollyon nodded as he glanced at them from the corner of his eye.

"Wanna sit with us at lunch?"

"Sure." He agreed as he closed his locker shut and slung his bag over his shoulder. "But be prepared to handle the consequences of befriending me."

"Oh, yeah! Totally!" They all agreed instantly as they let Apollyon walk towards his class, watching him pass flirtatious smiles to every girl he passed.

He didn't let the flirting hinder him in class too much, but outside class he could be found smiling and laughing with a girl, straight out flirting with her. Eleanora noticed only when she had been passing by him on her way towards lunch and found him kissing a girl against a locker. She didn't recognise him for a second, but then the smell of musk and diesel over powered her senses as she instantly realised it was Apollyon. Before she could go up to him and demand what was going on, Jason had pulled her away saying that they were serving burgers in the cafeteria today.

Through out lunch she saw him talk and laugh with the popular jocks and in the following days he was living up to his name. He hung out with the 'popular crowd', flirted shamelessly, and even gave ride to some girls on the back of his bike. Now it was Eleanora's turn to feel jealous at seeing him with all those girls and surrounding himself with those jocks and cheerleaders. Jason found her lack of attention slightly concerning as he asked her what was bothering her, but she'd simply shake her head and ask him to repeat whatever he had said.

Whenever Eleanora tried to approach him, he'd either be dragged away or Jason would get a hold of her. It was infuriating, and on top of that Apollyon was hardly at his apartment now, much less visiting her. She had noticed his lack of presence, but she had been preoccupied with catching up with Jason, but now she simply wanted to spend ti e with Apollyon. However, he crossed the line when he came to school not in his leather jacket, but a baseball jacket with his name stitched in the back.

Getting fed up with his behaviour, she decided to talk to someone who could help her out.

Knocking in the wooden door, she heard shuffling after a second followed by the unlocking of bolts. The door swung open to reveal Elliot standing in the doorway, still wearing his police uniform meaning that he had just got back.

"Eleanora." He greeted in surprise, almost as if though he were expecting someone else. "Hey, come on in."

"Can I talk to you?" She inquired gently.

"About?"

"This irrational anger I feel whenever I see Apollyon flirting with girls, and hanging out with those jocks."

"Jealousy." He informed straightforwardly after realising that this was why Apollyon wanted to learn how to flirt with girls, to get under Eleanora's skin. "You're jealous."

"Jealous?" She scoffed in astonishment. "Why would I be jealous?"

"Because you care for him, and you know that he is surrounding himself with the wrong crowd. You obviously like him and it is understandable, now seeing him with all those girls simply burns you from inside, doesn't it? Don't lie to me."

"Yes." She sighed in defeat, "What should I do?"

"Go talk to him, I'm sure he'll understand." Elliot advised as he ruffled her hair for old time's sake, causing her to laugh at him.

"Okay." She chuckled as she made her way towards the door. "Thank you, Elliot."

Elliot simply nodded in response as he escorted her to the door, smiling at her before closing it. Eleanora made her way down the stairs and towards his apartment as she stood outside the door, nervousness bubbling inside her. What was she going to say? How was he going to react? What if he didn't listen? All these thought ran through her head, but her train of thought was disrupted by the door opening.

Looking up, she was surprised to find Apollyon ready to go out as one of the cheerleaders was clinging to his arm. Apollyon seemed just as surprised to see her, as she was to see the cheerleader.

"Oh. Hey, Eleanora." He greeted.

"Hi, are you going somewhere?" Eleanora inquired, trying to sound nonchalantly, but sounding a little too harsh.

"Yeah." Apollyon nodded. "I'm taking Catie-"

"-Christine." The cheerleader corrected with a sickly sweet smile.

"Christine, out." He corrected himself. "Why? Do you need anything?"

"Oh, no." Eleanora assured with a dismissive wave. "Have a good time."

"Thanks." He smiled and locked the apartment door before making his way towards the stairs. "Bye."

"Yeah, bye." Eleanora called out gently, standing in the hallway silently for a moment with an aching pain in her chest before making her way back to her apartment.

The door opened silently as the apartment was dimly lit, while multiple colours flashed from the lounge. Silent footsteps creaked against the floorboard as they came to a halt inside the lounge. Eleanora lay sleeping on the couch with the television still running. Sighing, Apollyon walked over to her as he lifted her into his arms, adjusting her head before taking her into her bedroom. Tucking her in, he turned off the T.V before standing in front of her bed, watching her sleep as he got lost in thought.

He had no idea how long he had been standing there, until her sudden shifting brought him out of reverie. Glancing down at his watch, he realised that he had been standing there longer than socially acceptable. Eleanora shifted before groaning and rubbing her eyes, sitting up, she became startled at seeing Apollyon standing at the foot of her bed.

"Apollyon." She spoke breathlessly while placing a hand on her chest. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Longer than you'd like." He admitted as he shifted from one foot to the other.

"How was your date with Christine?"

"Horrible." Apollyon informed truthfully as he settled down at the foot of the bed. "I hated every second of it. I felt as if though she wanted to smother me! She literally clung onto me like a baby monkey clings to its mother!"

"Not only did I hate the date, but I hated everything about the people I was hanging out with. They are such snobs and so naive, I felt like smiling myself out of spite! Then this jacket!" He exclaimed while holding the front of the baseball jacket he wore. "It's horrifying! Beyond ugly and so uncomfortable! It itches!"

"Then why did you do it if you didn't like it?" Eleanora inquired as she scooted closer to him.

"To get back at you." He relented as he looked down in shame. "I despise myself for becoming friends with Jason because he stole my best friend from me! I missed hanging out with you, or talking with you. Hell, I started to crave your presence again! Whenever I would start to approach you, Jason would take you away."

"I talked to Mrs. Scott about it and she told me that I was jealous and that I should talk to you. But then when I came to talk to you, you looked so beautiful, and it physically hurt me to know that you were going out with Jason and had gotten dressed for him." He spoke softly. "I just lost it and asked Elliot for advice on how to flirt with girls juts to get back at you."

"I'm sorry if this makes me a horrible person, but..." He trailed as he looked up into her clear blue eyes, the ones he missed so much. "But I just wanted my best friend back."