Daemonophobia; The Fear of Demons

~|| Tuesday ||~

Friday had been amazing. I'd loved it and when I think about the kiss with Danny my heart flutters. We'd talked over the weekend, and things aren't awkward or anything. But Monday is when things changed.

I walk into math and slide into my chair. Danny wasn't in school yesterday, and it worries me. He wasn't just absent from school, he hasn't talked to me on Monday either. It's the sudden silence from him that makes me bite at my bottom lip nervously.

The first bell rings and the room starts to fill, and each to his own seat. A silent breath of mine releases as Danny slips in. But, the relief quickly wanes. He's eyes are bloodshot, lacking a shine to them, and they dart around, never meeting mine or staying in one place for very long. To my added shock, his right eye bares a large bruise.

"Danny?" I call out to him gently.

His eyes flicker up to mine, but quickly they fall again. I watch his fingers twitch and curl into loose fists on his desk. Then, to my horror, the spider daemon pulls together its smoke and the red eyes glare up at me. It's formed and dense; its detailed wisp work shows its power.

My fingers curl, nails biting into the skin of my palm. The second bell wears away at my sanity. I glance at the demon again. In response, it strikes up a pose, ready to pounce and eager to attack. My eyes flick up to Danny, who couldn't be less concerned.

The black smoke legs arch and slowly the spider advances. I bite my lip, and try to keep my mind out of a panic. Then, the front legs, which had been raised to strike, lowers and the whole thing scrambles down the desk leg. It leaps from the floor to my desk. I flinch. Hard. My entire desk lurches as the Daemon creeps to the upper corner of my desk.

"Miss. Willow, are you having a sudden revelation about line graphs?" Mr. Ming asks, with notable disinterest.

In my terror, I only manage to shake my head. Mr. Ming nods and returns to teaching. The spider had taken the opportunity to creep closer, coming to a stop in the center of my desk.

"Gry?"

I shallow hard and rip my eyes away from the glaring eyes. Danny gaze locks mine and I watch his calm blue eyes swell with surprise and concern. In the back of my head, I know I must look awful; my face feels ghostly pale.

I drop my gaze back to the spider.Get away from me! I demand, hoping that what ever luck I'd been having holds. The Daemon spider backs away. Then, in a frenzy, it scurries away from me, leaping off my desk and dispersing in the air between mine and Daniel's desks.

I let my eyes follow the arch and they sweep to meet Danny's. They look clearer, but the blue is still troubled. I know he's worried about me. I let my eyes drop from his and focus very intently on my math book. Class passes with agonizing slowness. Finally, the bell rings and I spring for the door, my escape.

I don't make it in time. Danny's fingers flex around the muscle of my arm. He moves us to an out-of-the-way hall. My eyes, pale blue and forest green, anchor to the ground, refusing to rise.

"What. Made. You. Jump?"

There is no loop hole. No way around the question. No escaping the truth. I see Daemons. Slowly, my eyes prickle, the tears held back. I lift my eyes till they look at Danny.

"I can't tell you." My voice sounds hollow, just like my answer. My gaze locks onto the angry black bruise around Danny's burning blue eye.

Gently, his fingers unclench from my arm, but they trace a delicate line up to my neck, then my jaw. Danny's eyes soften and I feel completely taken in by them.

"Was it me? Have I done something to frighten you?" His words are softer and they tug on me.

"It's not...something I can---"

RRRRRIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNGGGGGGG

The bell ending passing period shatters my withered resistance. I look up at Danny and will myself strong.

"What did you do that got you that black eye? What do you go to parties with alcohol? How come you were asked to join in on smoking?" I steel my voice, but I hear it shaking anyways.

"I can't te-" He catches himself, stopping his mis-started sentence. I watch his eyes flick around, but there is nothing to see; the halls are a deserted wasteland.

"I got this black eye from a fight yesterday. I go to parties with alcohol and get offered cigarettes because last year I fell in with the wrong crowed while my parents were going through a divorce. I'm trying to climb out, but some people in the Underground don't like it. That's how I got into a fight, because I was cutting off some people from their drugs. Okay? Are you satisfied? Are you disgusted with me? Can you see the monster I am?"

The words rush out in a harsh torrent. They hit me like a raging wave. Now that the wave had hit, I'm struggling for air. My eyes flick between Danny's eyes, reading them both. They twitch nervously, jumping hastily between mine, searching for damnation or redemption.

"Daniel Elliot Andrews, you are not a monster."

I saw his eyes struggle with emotions before his head dips low, nuzzling into the crook of my neck. My arms wrap around him, and his around me. His body is shaking. I don't understand, really, why, but I don't care. All I want is to be here, with Danny, and make sure he's okay.

Then, the Daemon's black wisp curls into existences, hovering in a cloud of its smoke. The red eye emerges from the haze. I meet the glare with my own, my being filling to the brim with displeasure at this..this thing that's clinging to Danny and feeding off of him like a parasite. The red eye meets my pale eye; I know it's taunting me with it's hold on Danny. I feel something inside me snap with rage against the Daemon.

You are done here! Be gone and never come back. Be banished, to never return nor harm another soul again! Stay away from Danny! LEAVE!!

I shout at it silently, and when I come to the end the red eyes widen in horror. Then the demon lets out a scream; I'd never heard noise from a demon before, and the sound grips onto my backbone in an icy frost.

The florescent light above us buzzes and glows bright, brighter. Danny stands up straight and looks up at the light and then it goes too bright for either of us. The light explodes and rains sparks down on us. Danny pulls me into his chest as the sparks glitter to the ground like flashing rain.

The Daemon is gone.

I pull away from Danny and stare up at the light, then back at the glass shards on the ground. Danny looks at me and I watch his eyes. I give him a tiny little smile.

"How ya feelin'?" I ask him softly,

Danny leans close to me, coming within a hairs breath of my lips. His breath sweeps over my neck, mixing with my own air. His eyes seem to flash with an understanding I lack.

"So very much better." His voice quivers, weighted down by all the feeling it has to carry. "Gry... can you ... How did..."

He stops and smiles, a small huff of air, almost a silent laugh, passes over his lips. His eyes have taken on a crystal clear quality.

"Thank you for listening, Gry. And thanks for saying what you said."

He bends even closer, his lips brushing against my cheek. As he pulls away, I catch his arms and pull him close to me, hugging him tight.

"No problem, Danny."

I release him, my fingers sliding down his arms and lacing in between the fingers of his hands. He curls his fingers around mine and ---

RRRRRIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNGGGGGGG

My skin crawls as the bell steals away the quiet. The halls burst forth in noise and chaos. I sigh and Danny smirks me. His finger tips my chin up and he kisses me gently on the lips. We pull apart gently.

"Let's go to class." "Good plan."

We're both smiling as we effortlessly tangle into the waves of students, flowing to our next classes. As I slide into my study hall, I open my math book to hide my crazy happy smile.

I'd just casted a Daemon.