Angel

"Why don't you talk?"

"Why does he want to hang out with a loser like you?"

Harsh words ring out in the silence, hanging in the air before fading away without a response. The girl these words are flung at like knives only ducks her head further, focusing solely on her drawing and nothing else.

"Hey!" An angry voice yells out as the person it belongs to strides forward with purpose and look of fury. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

The cluster of girls who had spoken earlier flinch back at that question, feeling the menace in it like the sting of a whip. The boy stops no less than three steps away from them and fixes them with an even angrier stare, the fury he feels radiating off him in waves.

"I said what the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Abel, why do hang out with her? She's a loser. All she ever does is draw and wave her hands around when you ask her something."

"I bet she has a disease." Another girl says loudly, sending a glare at the girl they've been talking about.

"She doesn't have a diease. She's mute, you idiot. In case you didn't know, it means she can't speak. Oh, and all that waving you were talking about? That's sign language. It's how she communicates and trust me, she's got a lot more to say than any of you put together."

The girls stare at him in shock as he steps even closer, not stopping until he's close enough that he knows they'll hear evey word he says.

"Get out of here. If I ever catch you near her or saying anything like that to her again, I will punch you. Normally I wouldn't even think of hitting a girl, but you've proven to me that you're more of a demon than anything else. Now go."

The girls scamper off, walking at a hurried pace to the stairs and disappearing from view. Abel shakes his head and makes his way over to Maria, who's been watching him with innocent eyes the whole time.

"Are you done for the day?"

Maria nods, placing her sketchpad in her bag before she takes his outstreched hand and stands.

"I'll take you home then. You can wear my helmet."

She nods again, holding his hand tightly in hers as they make their way from the rooftop garden to the parking lot. Maria releases his hand when they reach a black motorcycle and takes the helmet from him, placing it on her head and buckling it under her chin. She slides onto the bike seat, wrapping her arms around Abel's waist and holding on as he starts the bike. After making sure she has a good hold on him, so she won't fall off, he slowly revs the engine and they make their way out of the parking lot and down the busy streets of the city.

The small bike weaves in and out of traffic, eventually abandoning the busy streets in favor of more scenic routes. After some time, they turn onto long a driveway and proceed down it until the reach a moderately sized house with a small porch. Maria gets off the bike and stands in front of it, looking directly at Abel as she signs.

Will you stay for a while?

"Yeah, I'll stay." Abel replies, turning off the engine and putting down kickstand. He takes the helmet from Maria and hangs it on one of the handlebars before following her up the small walkway and onto the porch. She takes a seat on the porch swing, pointing at Abel and the at the swing and the chair a short distance away. He grabs the chair and pulls it closer to the swing before taking a seat.

You can smoke if you want. I don't mind if you do it outside, just not inside.

"Okay then, thanks." He says, pulling a pack of cigerrettes from his jacket pocket and his lighter from the other. He takes a drag from his cigerrette, blowing the smoke out with a sigh and a narrow gaze.

You're angry.

"Yeah, but not at you. I'm mad at those girls who keep hounding you. I'm sorry I wasn't up there sooner."

It's fine, Abel. I don't really pay attention to them. I just draw and let them say what they want.

"But you shouldn't let them say things like that to you. It isn't right."

Do you remember the first time we met?

"I do. That jerk in sociology had you backed into a corner and wouldn't leave you alone. I told him to back off and when he said you didn't matter I punched him in the face." He takes another drag and laughs. "If I remember right I broke his nose. Why'd you ask if I remembered?"

You've protected me since we met, Abel. As long as I have you, I'll be okay.

"You make it sound like I'm some kind of miracle."

You are.

"Thank you, but most would disagree. Most people we know think guys who smoke, have motorcycles, and tattoos aren't good for anything."

They're wrong, Abel. You're an angel.

"An angel?"

Maria nods and hands him her sketchpad watching him carefully as he lifts the cover and sees the drawing she'd spent her afternoon working on.

"This is really something, Maria. You're really talented, you know that? The detail on the wings is amazing." He pauses, finallly tearing his gaze away from the wings and to face in the drawing. "Is this... how you see me?"

The face in the drawing is that of his own, and the gaze is soft. Not the hard stare he uses on everyone but family and the few friends he knows.

It is. I just drew you the way I see you when... when I see you looking at me. I don't know what you see when you do, but you have that look on your face.

"I see someone beautiful. Someone who is much more likely to be an angel than I am. If anything, you're the angel and I'm just the lucky human who gets to see you." He crosses the short distance between the seats and joins Maria on the swing.

You're still an angel to me.

"I guess that makes us both angels then."

Maria nods, and leans her head on his shoulder as Abel grabs a pencil and adds on to the drawing on the page. Soon Maria's likeness with wings joins his own on the page and he declares the drawing complete. She tilts her head up to look at him and his lips meet her own in a gentle kiss.

The two remain there for the rest of the evening, the quiet girl and the protective boy who loves her.