You Fill My Sails With Your Wasted Breath

The days wound down and by the time Friday morning came, I had done nothing but worry and cry. Every night I spent hours with Katie, Joshua and Adella, doing things that didn’t really make any sense. My parents and I spent hours together after Joshua and Katie left, talking about things. They shared most of their lives with me, including the awkward conception of me and my sister. Adella often talked about college, telling us it was much better to be with family than it was to be over there. She said that she talked to Joshua about getting a job over where she was. She said she knew a guy who needed help in New York so if he ever needed it, he'd have somewhere to go.

I was glad. I didn’t want Joshua to be all hung up after I left. I wanted him to get a good job and have a good life. I wanted to be a part of it but… I guess we cant always get what we want. Most nights, I slept with Adella, she on one side of the bed, me on the other, talking until I fell asleep. In the wee hours of the night, when the darkness gave way to the dawn, I would get up and talk to Nathanael or Zach, whoever would be sitting in my kitchen at 3 in the morning. I had grown used to the routine in the short three days that had gone by. It felt like so much had gone on that it was almost like weeks or months had gone by. I didn’t know if it was the fear of the upcoming day or if it was the dragging on of the last days that were passing by.

When 5 am Friday morning came, I was sitting in my kitchen, waiting patiently for the two angels I had grown to respect and appreciate. We spoke of the battle often, of William and of the place I would go. They said it was like no where else they had been. I had nothing to be afraid of. If I didn’t then why was I still afraid? Why was it that when I sat at the island in my kitchen, dressed still in my pajama pants and t-shirt, I gripped my coffee cup tight in my hands.

"Good morning," Zach said from behind me. I forced myself not to jump at his voice and stared into my coffee.

"Morning," I mumbled as I took a sip. He poured himself a cup and sat down across from me. I stared at him and smiled a little. "Today's the big day," I said softly. He nodded a little and sighed before taking a sip of coffee. He liked it black.

"Don't remind me."

"So," I said, turning the cup around in my hands slowly. "How's this going to work?" He took another sip and placed the cup on the table.

"Go to school, enjoy your day, and go to sleep. It's just another Friday. Let me handle everything else."

"Will it happen quickly?" I asked softly.

"You know I don't know that."

"Do you know someone who does? I'm a little nervous." He shook his head and looked me in the eye.

"Ariella," he said slowly. "Relax. Get ready for school, talk to your friends, do your best at not falling asleep, spend time with Joshua, Katie and all your other friends, come home and eat dinner with your family, read a book or watch TV or something. Go to bed and…" He stopped to swallow whatever word he was going to say next. "And we'll deal with tomorrow when we get there."

"A…are you sure I'm going to be okay today?" He nodded slowly and sipped his coffee. "Zach," I said softly. "Can you tell me who you are?" I asked. He smiled a little and shrugged.

"What's wrong with who I am now?"

"I just want to know." He sighed softly, though still smiled a little.

"My name is Michael." He said.

"The Michael? As in, Archangel, badass to the bone, brother of Lucifer, Michael?" He nodded a little and smiled into his cup.

"You make me sound like some kind of hero."

"You are," I said smiling. "You're the greatest hero of all Catholic mythology." He smiled a little and rolled his eyes.

"Ariella, you have to understand, I didn’t do anything great. My brother was mislead by a demon of pride and I took no joy from expelling him from the home where we lived. Lucifer was a good brother. A fine angel. He was the role model for everyone but….He couldn’t stand being average like everyone else." I nodded and looked down.

"It kinda sucks…"

"I'd much rather be normal," he mumbled.

"Everyone in a book would. That's not fair. You're supposed to be different!" I said as I looked up at him with a sigh. "You're supposed to say, 'Ariella, I get how you feel but being an angel is so cool. I would not trade it for the world' and then I'm supposed to get jealous and you'll laugh and we'll head off and I go to school and stuff and then die."

"I'm not liking that last part." He said jokingly. I smiled and rose to put my cup away in the sink.

"Go away, Zach. I have to take a shower and get dressed." His laugh made me smile as he placed the cup in the sink. He stood against the edge of the counter, staring at me.

"You know," he said. "Joshua is one lucky boy. If I could love, I'm sure I'd love you like he does."

"It would make the story more cliché," I said shrugging.

"Then for the sake of being cliché, may I say I love you?"

"If you want," I said shrugging. He laughed and shook his head.

"Nah, that's too simple." He kissed my cheek and when I looked at him, grinned devilishly. "Much better." He winked a little and quickly disappeared. I placed my cool fingers against my now bright red cheek and turned around to head to the bathroom where a warm, soothing shower awaited.

After my shower, I walked back to my room where Adella was playing some game.

"You do know it is 5:30 in the morning, right?" She shrugged and continued on. I got dressed quickly and walked back downstairs to get breakfast started for the four of us. I forced myself not to think about the fact that it was my last breakfast. As much as I wanted to eat Lucky Charms or Fruity Pebbles, I got over it and ate eggs and toast and had a cup of orange juice that everyone in my family enjoyed. Adella and my parents came downstairs when I was all done at 6:15, all of them hungry and happy. We sat together and while my hair dried, the curls framing my face, my father began to cry. Adella and I looked at him and then at our mother, who was swallowing the sobs she had as well. I sighed a little and sipped my orange juice.

"We were doing so well too," Adella murmured as she chewed on the piece of toast. I sighed.

"We'll be okay, guys," I said shaking my head.

"Ariella, don't pretend. It's not helping." My father said.

"Sorry if I just want to calm you down, dad," I said as I swallowed a little. "I'm going to walk to school today," I said as I rose. I didn’t finish my eggs or my toast. I left the plate on the counter, ran upstairs to get my bag and my shoes and quickly left the house with a 'later' over my shoulder. They were all worried; I knew they were. I had no choice though. I wanted to have today be normal. I wanted to go to school, groan over my tests that I had, spend time with Joshua and Katie, and maybe see Maggie.

Walking to school might have been one of the single most peaceful things I had ever done. I had seen sunsets and sunrises, I had witnessed a waterfall and the serenity of the woods but I had never noticed how nice it was to just enjoy the sounds of the city. The street had a few cars on it, the sound of the slow rotation of the wheels running over the pavement made me think everyone else was thinking as slowly as I was. The small wind that moved through the trees tickled my face. The silence was never broken, not even when I got to school, that was slowly seemed to be void of any noise. It was like the world was turned on mute. I didn’t mind though. It was a slow morning and I was having a good time enjoying it. As I walked into school and headed to my locker, a hand came into mine. I looked at Joshua and smiled.

"Good morning to you too." He smiled at me and ran his hand over my forehead.

"You're sweating. Did you jog to school?"

"Nope, just went on a casual walk." He laughed and pulled me to a stop. I stared up at him, smiling a little more. He had the most handsome blue-green eyes. He smiled at me and kissed me softly.

"You are the best part of my day, you know that?" I smiled a little.

"Oh?" I asked.

"Seeing you right now has made this day ten times better. And if I can get another kiss, I think those numbers will double." I smiled again and kissed him once more. He smiled and nodded slowly. "Yup. Twenty times better." He opened his eyes and stared down at me. "Come over after school. I want to be alone with you." I blushed brightly.

"Joshua," He pulled me close, hugging me to his body.

"Ariella, I just want to stay with you for a few hours more." I sighed and rested my head on his chest. He smelled like laundry detergent. I rubbed my nose against his shirt, smelling the clean fabric. As I placed my nose against his skin, I closed my eyes. I hugged him close and rested my eyes. "Tired?" he asked. I nodded slowly.

"I've been having these nightmares. I don’t know what they are. They're just tons of bright lights and sounds. I don’t know what's going on in the dream, it has no direction. I wake up at 3 and then I go back to bed but I get up at 5 and I'm out of the house by 6:45. I cant keep my eyes open." I mumbled. He rubbed my back slowly, soothing me while I rested. He leaned against a locker, sitting down with me in his lap. He hugged me close and I felt like a baby. Slowly, he rubbed circles through my shirt and let me rest. I felt a certain peacefulness wash over me.

"You two look comfortable." I heard someone say. I looked up to find Maggie. She wore a black sweater that looked good over tight grey leggings and tall black boots. She looked fashionable like always. I smiled and stood, helping Joshua to his feet.

"Just had a few rough nights," I said to her. She smiled a little and nodded.

"I know. Stressing out right? That math test is going to kick me in the buttocks." I smiled a little and shook my head.

"It's something a little bigger than that," I said as I rubbed my eyes.

"Oh? More tests?" I shook my head and smiled at her.

"You know, Maggie, never mind." She shrugged and bid us good bye. I watched her leave and laughed a little. "She's a bit of an air head."

"Maybe she doesn’t want to let you go." He said shrugging. I did the same and put my hand in his. He and I walked to my locker, put my things away and then went to his locker. We exchanged everything and we walked to my homeroom. He bid me goodbye and I went through the motions of the day. I laughed like I always had, I smiled like I always had, I joked like I always had. I didn’t let anyone know that in a matter of hours, I'd die. I didn’t let anyone know that my time was almost up.

I walked through the halls, though, and I seemed to draw more attention to myself than I was used to. I walked through the halls and everyone's eyes seemed to find me. It didn’t make sense at the time and I didn’t have anyone to ask. It didn’t mean much to me really. I just did what I was supposed to do; enjoy my day. That's just what I did. I enjoyed myself. I spent most of the day with Katie and Joshua, of course spending a lot of time with everyone I knew. I hugged them all tightly and told them what they meant to me. They all seemed confused yet accepting. They knew I wasn’t feeling great and they did their best to consol me in whatever way they could. I didn’t want to leave them but I had to. I didn’t hear from Nathanael or Zach all day that day. They didn’t call, say hi, do anything. They avoided me. I guessed they were busy though. I figured they'd be busy so I let them be and continued on my way. I did go to Joshua's house after school, though. He took me to his living room. He and I had doughnuts and strawberry milk. We talked while we laid on his couch watching television. I brought the boy of my dreams home and the five of us sat around talking and doing pretty much nothing. The hours seemed to slide by. As I lay on the couch, Joshua's arms around me, I stared at the darkness. How was I supposed to sit still?

I slipped from the comfort of my boyfriend's arms and walked upstairs to the bathroom. I stared at myself in the mirror and sighed. I was not going to go out like a coward. I snuck to my room and grabbed jeans, a t-shirt and my sneakers and snuck out my window. Quickly and quietly, I ran from my house to the beach where the battle had been before. I wasn't sure if they were there again but it was my best shot. It was a mile and a half to the beach and if I ran, I'd could be there in 15 minutes. Hopefully, I could still help.

As I rounded the corner that lead to the beach, I saw flashes of light. I saw bodies fall through the air, the moonlight illuminating their bodies. They all looked like swans. Their bodies were lean and powerful while their wings were long and elegant. Through the darkness, it looked like a ballet. The way they moved, the way they fought…I wish I had a camera. I ran to them, hoping I wasn’t too late. I jumped over the sea wall, and ran to the first person on the ground. It was Armisael. She may have been on the ground for a minute or so, gathering her strength up. She was hurt but not too badly hurt. She looked up at me and shook her head.

"You are dumb, you know." She said as she sat up. I helped her and smirked.

"The dumb ones are somehow rewarded in the end right?" I asked, pulling at the jacket she wore. "Where are you hurt?" I asked.

"Just in the shoulder and wing. I'll be alright." I laughed a little.

"Bull," I said softly as I ripped the jacket. It took me a lot longer than I thought. Armisael had to rip it for me. "My hero," I said laughing as I wrapped her shoulder and her wing. "These things are cool," I said touching the smooth feathers.

"They're just for show, really. I like them but they're not--" She winced when I tightened the cloth around her wound. "They're not necessary." I smiled and held out my hand.

"Can you stand?" I asked. She pulled herself up and gave me a pat on the arm.

"Good job, Ariella. Thanks for being my nurse." I saluted a little and smiled.

"Pleasure is all mine." I said as we jogged through the sand. I found Af and Eae, the two angels from the mall, pulling themselves together. "You guys need any help?" They looked at me and smiled a little.

"I didn’t think you'd show up."

"How the fates can be cruel," I said smiling as I shook their hands.

"We're alright down here. We got most of them. The only real problem is William." The four of us looked up at the sky to see Zach and William fighting away. I was sure they were almost near their ends but they were holding out.

"How can we help them?" I asked. They all were silent and I glanced at them. They had their wings out, ready to fly up. "Okay, so if by chance I cant grow wings in the next ten seconds, how can I help?"

"We'll go up there, give Zach a break and you just gotta help him heal up." I nodded and watched as they flew up to the sky, sending William away like a hawk away from sparrows. I ran to the water, soaking Armisael's jacket in the water, knowing very well that it was not a great idea to clean wounds with salt water, but it was all I had. Zach came down to me, falling on me. I grinned as I held him tight.

"Happy to see me?" I asked softly. He stared at me, his face covered in blood. "You must be seeing red, huh?" I asked as I sat him down on the sand and took the remaining cloth from Armisael's jacket and wiped down his face. He winced violently and I winced as well. "Sorry, Zach. I'm being as gentle as I can. Give me a little bit of time and I'll have you cleaned up." I said as I continued to wipe his face. He started to cough and turned away from me. "Awe, I didn’t think I smelled that bad," I said as I pulled his face back to look at me. "Now stop being a baby."

"You should be home."

"Like I'm going to just stay home when you're dying? I'm not fighting but I can at least help out a little by being your nurse."

"You're not wearing a nurse outfit." He said with a small smile. I rolled my eyes and offered him a smile.

"Sorry I left it at home." I quickly cleaned off his face and his arm. "What else is hurt?" I asked. He sat up and threw me a lopsided grin.

"Other than my pride, nothing."

"Wings okay?" I asked, reaching for them. He flapped one and then the other.

"All good." I nodded.

"Alright, let's get you up and running." I said as I rose and pulled him up as well. He groaned but pulled me in a hug.

"You are a saint, Ariella." He said as he rubbed my head. I pouted and hit his stomach. "Hey, I'm trying to save your life." I grumbled but he lifted my chin to give me a small kiss and nodded. "You taste almost as good as I thought you would. You taste a little sweeter but I like it." He smiled and took off to fight the great fight.

"You made my life a cliché!" I shouted at him. His laugh filled the night air and I could almost hear it resounding in my brain. I stared at him as he fought and watched as other angels fell. They weren't hurt, they were just pushed. Like they weren't supposed to be there. I went to them, making sure all of them were perfectly fine. I found Nathanael, who smiled at me and let me help him stand. "Fancy seeing you here," I said grinning. He hugged me tight.

"What are you doing here?" he asked. "You're supposed to be home, safe." I shrugged.

"Friends don’t let friends get killed by a crazy demon." I said shrugging. He shook his head and looked up at the sky.

"Which is why you're not supposed to be here." I shrugged again and stared up at the sky. I watched as Zach and William fought. It was like watching a movie. The lights flashed and the noises seemed too loud to be real. I watched in horror as Zach, or what I thought was Zach, was pounded down into nothingness. I couldn't stand it. I couldn’t help but want to help him.

"If I lured William away, could you help Zach get the jump on him?"

"What?" demanded Nathanael.

"If I can get William away from Zach, can you and the other Teen Titans get together with Zach and deliver some sort of mega punch to him?" He shrugged a little and shook his head.

"I'm not sure, I'll.…I'll have to check."

"Well go check now. I'm thinking of a plan but you have to work fast if you want it to work."

"Ariella…" he warned.

"It'll be fine, I just need you to gather the rest of your Power Pals and get moving." I said as I pushed him towards the other angels. He moved quickly and I followed after him. I smiled at all of them. "Hey guys, you wanna help out Zach?" They all nodded solemnly. "So here's what we're going to do," I said as I grinned and began to tell them my plan. Of course I wont tell you what my plan is, you're just going to have to figure it out like in the movies.

--------------------------------------

Nathanael and the other angels were up in the air as I was sprinting up the beach.

"Hey William!" I shouted as I stood on the sea wall. One of the figures turned to me. He had his hand around Zach's throat, their wings bent in opposite directions, keeping them both in the air. His eyes were a wild red, and it wasn’t just the iris; the red consumed all of his eyes. His grin was illuminated by the light of the moon as he dropped Zach. He fell and fell hard. He was plummeting to the Earth, his wings encased around him like he were wrapped in a blanket as he was lowered to the beach like a baby was being placed into a cradle.

The other angels caught him while William came after me.

"How nice of you to drop by, save me the trouble of finding your home." I nodded and jumped off the sea wall to start running. I had never been a fan of running; I would even go as far as to say I hated it. It was something I'd sacrifice though. Zach needed me and so I did it. I ran as fast as I could to get away from William. William was not an easy man to lose though. He was on my tail and I had to move if I wanted to keep the plan in motion. It wasn’t a very good plan but hey, it was the best I could do on short notice. "You don’t want to make this easy for me, do you, Ariella?" I ignored him, blocked his voice from my head as I ran. I ran, my legs and my chest tightening to the point of pain.

"I….hate…running!" I screamed as I ran faster, pumping my legs harder and faster. My lungs were on fire and my legs throbbed.

"So stop," he said laughing. I nodded.

"Sounds great!" I said as I stopped running and fell onto the sand. We had run in a giant circle and he didn’t even notice. Good thing too, because if he had, he would have noticed the seven or so angels that stood in a line, all ready to send his sorry patooty to hell. He stopped short and the seven of them did some weird flash and poof. He was gone. I looked up from where I lay in the sand and grinned. "All done?" They seven of them laughed and Zach held out his hand.

"Come on, get up," he said smiling. I took his hand and stood up, brushing off the sand.

"Look at me!" I said putting my hands on my hips. "No maiming, wounds, sores, cold, nothing! I'm perfectly healthy!" Zach laughed and as I stared at him, Nathanael and the others, I felt a sudden chill. I turned around, feeling eyes fixated on me, and found someone familiar.

"Hey!" I said smiling, waving to the person who I'd known almost all my life. I started towards her and as I did, Zach took my hand in his.

"You are amazing, Ariella," he said softly. "I'll see you in two days." I frowned and he left me, along with the others. I turned around.

"Come on, Ariella," said the person standing on the sea wall. "I'll take you home."