The Damned Saving the Damned

"Um... girl?" A high pitched voice spoke in my ear. I jumped, startled, and turned to Danny.

"What?" I asked.

"You're hurting me." He said. I looked down, and noticed I was digging my nails into his forearm.

"Oh. Sorry." I slackened my grip. "And my name is Anaëlle, by the way. An, if you like. Not 'girl'." I informed him. Danny looked a little peeved.

"Sorry. I forgot when I was distracted by you and your friend trying to kill each other." He snapped back. I rose an eyebrow.

"You've got quite the mouth on you," I observed, pursing my lips. "But oh well. We can work around that."

"What do you mean, 'work around that'?" Danny said indignantly.

"Is there somewhere we can talk in private?" I asked, ignoring him and glancing around at the crowded cafeteria.

"What? Why do you want to go somewhere private?" Danny asked, alarm flashing across his features again.

"Obviously if I want to go somewhere private, I'm not going to tell you why in public, am I? I'm not going to murder you or anything, it's not like I'm asking you to take me to a dark alley. I just mean a quiet place somewhere, without a lot of people." I explained consolingly. Danny looked unsure, but when added a doe eyed "Please", he broke.

"Alright. Fine. The Gated Courtyard is usually pretty empty by this time. Come on." He said grudgingly.

"Lead the way." I added. Danny led us out of the cafeteria and down the hallway. I noticed Danny kept his head lowered and didn't make eye contact with anyone as we walked, and for the most part, everyone else seemed to ignore him as well. I guess the kid really didn't have any friends. I frowned to myself. Would it be hard gaining his trust? Was he the one who put up the wall between himself and others, was it his own choice to keep separated from his peers? Or was it them who shunned him, them who pushed him away and made him revert to a shell?

Depending on which reason was the cause of his isolation could completely change the outcome of my advances in friendship. Normally, I'd have to go about this very carefully, but with Renu on my tail...

"Here we are." Danny said suddenly, stopping and turning to me. He pushed open the door that sat nestled between two rows of lockers. I followed him out the door, and into the warm glow of afternoon sunshine. We were outside, in an almost deserted courtyard. It was small, but pretty. A few benches were scattered around the grass, overshadowed by aged oak trees.

"Why is there no one out here? This place is far nicer than the cafeteria." I asked, taking a few steps forward, basking in the warm sun.

"This isn't the only courtyard. There are three others. The Fountain Yard is the biggest, and nicest. This one is the smallest, so people who like to eat outside usually eat in the Fountain Yard or the Rose Courtyard. Most other people eat in classrooms or the cafeteria. Or in the hallways. Pretty much where ever.
But this place gets banned if we make too big a mess, so mostly just people who won't get us banned hang out here. It's more crowded most of the time, but towards the end of lunch it gets pretty empty." Danny said, in I think the longest speech I'd heard him make so far. He walked past me and made for one of the benches. I followed, glancing around at our surroundings. The courtyard was walled, and the seat Danny had chosen was isolated from the few kids who were hanging out here. I sat next to Danny without speaking, and for a few minutes, I just looked at him, watching his face move ever so slightly, marking his features and expressions, trying to imprint him in my memory.

I watched the way his hair shifted when he moved his head, the way it almost, but not quite, fell into his eyes. The way, when the sun caught it at a certain angle, I could see past the brown, and noticed a glint of red hiding in his locks.

I watched the way his lips curled or pouted with each new emotion, the way they parted when he opened his mouth to speak or take a shaky breath. I saw the little freckle at the corner of his mouth, sitting there cheekily, the only freckle on his face.

And I watched his eyes. Eyes full of uncertainty and worry, eyes with years of loneliness just visible underneath their dark brown surface. I saw a glimmer of trust there, too. A tiny, delicate thing, just a sliver, that could be broken with just one wrong word. I seized on this glimmer, like a drowning man to a raft.

"Danny, I'm going to tell you somethings. Not everything, but enough, enough to keep you... safe. Do you understand me?" I said quietly, keeping my voice level and calm. A look of panic flashed over Danny's face.

"What? Keep me safe? I'm not in any sort of danger, am I?" He said, worriedly. He brought a hand up to his mouth and started to chew his fingernails. I swatted his hand away.

"Don't chew on your nails. It's bad for you. And you... you're not in danger exactly, no." I continued, unsure of how much I should tell him. Most humans can't take the truth, at least, not all at once. And I didn't think here and now was the best time to tell him. I decided to settle for a half truth.

"It's just... I know Renu. We go way back and, well, he's not the kind of guy you want to get mixed up with." I whispered. Danny bit his bottom lip.

"You mean like... drugs? Or gangs?" He asked after a moment.

"Drugs? Not as far as I know. Gangs? I guess you could put it like that. He's not a bad guy, really. I suppose. Deep down. Really deep down. But my point is, you would get into some trouble if you started hanging around him." I warned solemnly. I couldn't come out directly and say, "Hey Danny Boy, Renu has been given orders to kill you and collect your immortal soul, so you probably should invite him over for tea", but I hoped what I was giving was good enough to deter Danny for now.

"Oh. Then I just won't hang out with him. It's not that hard, I'm not exactly a social butterfly." Danny said slowly, with a pinch of hurt in his voice. I sighed, wondering how best to explain this.

"I don't think it's going to be quite as easy as you think. Renu... Well, Renu gets what Renu wants. And right now, what he wants is you. I can deal with him, I've been dealing with him for probably too long than is healthy for my psyche. So as long as I'm there, I can deal with him. But if I'm ever not, just... don't get involved with him, OK?" I was almost begging now. I was already begging to form an emotional bond with Danny. It came with the job, and I didn't even like to think about the possibility of him getting hurt.

"Yeah, whatever." Danny said, as though he weren't really listening. He frowned. "But wait a minute, why do you care so much? It's none of your business what I do or who I spend my time with anyways." I grimaced. Time to tip toe around the issue again. If Renu hadn't weaseled his way into this job, I wouldn't have to worry about any of this!

"I just don't want anyone to get hurt. Even a stranger." I said. True enough. "And besides, so far you're the only person I've even talked to at this school. Compared to my relationships with everyone else here, you're practically my best friend." I ended this with a joking, happier tone of voice. No need to have the poor kid freaked out when he went to class.
Danny gave a weak smile.

"He. Same here. Hell, in my case, we're practically engaged by now. Isn't it about time you met my mother?" We both laughed lightly. I simply couldn't fathom why this guy had no friends. He wasn't a freak, he wasn't antisocial, he was level headed and had a sense of humor...

Just then, the bell rang. Danny gave a small sigh and stood up.

"Lunch is over. It's time for fourth period. What class do you have?" He asked. I pulled my schedule out form my pocket and unfolded it. Of course I already knew what I had. I also knew it was the same class Danny had. But I had to put of a show for the mortal.

"Um... AP Physics with Ms. Tote." I read off.

"Me too. I'll show you were it is." Danny offered.

"Good. I'd feel rather scorned if you took off and abandoned me even though we're going to the same place." I replied. Danny grinned, and I smiled back.

This was going to be a piece of cake.

We chatted idly as we walked to class side by side. I made sure to keep to vague, unoffensive topics. I'd already caused the kid enough strife, and I didn't want to scare him off now, not when I was so close already. Even so, all the while I kept a suspicious, careful eye out for any sings of Renu. But when we arrived at room 21B, our physic's class room, without his appearance, I allowed myself to relax a bit. Obviously the call he had received earlier during lunch must have been an about an urgent matter; otherwise he already would have hung up on his caller and hunted me down by now.

If the Gods had any love for me what- so -ever, it would be so urgent that his mission would have to be recalled, and he would have to go back to his headquarters- and hey, maybe even reassigned!

Unfortunately, I knew I wasn't quite that lucky. As a matter of fact, Renu would probably show up in the classroom seconds after Danny and I did, with that big, stupid grin of his and the papers for Danny's adoption.

"Um, hey... An!" Danny snapped his fingers in front of my face.

"Oh... what?" I said vaguely, blinking and looking at Danny.

"You were spacing out. This is the class room." He replied, opening the door. "Ladies first." He said, in a rather sarcastically polite tone.

"Well, in that case, shouldn't you go in first?" I shot back. Danny snorted with laughter and shot me a look, but shrugged and walked in before me anyways. I followed him, a smile tugging at the corners of my mouth.

However, not two seconds after I walked into the class room, my grin was immediately wiped off my face and replaced with a dark scowl as my wandering gaze slid over and landed on none other than my old friend, Renu.

That son of a bitch beat us here.