Devil Inside

He's Fine Once You Get Him Talking.

“He’s watching you.” Kate twirled her spoon in her hot chocolate and whispered furtively at Elsa, “You’ve been getting on a lot better lately I’ve noticed.”

Elsa rolled her eyes, “He’s not watching me Kate, he’s probably wondering why you’re watching him and whispering to me. Could you be any less discreet?” Sebastian was, as usual sat alone in the canteen pretending to read a textbook and, Elsa was sure, highly aware he was being talked about.

Kate stuck her tongue out at Elsa, “He is hot, we’re agreed on that,” she said, “But you know he’s trouble right?”

Elsa did but she wasn’t about to confide Sebastian’s darkest secrets to anyone, even her closest friend, “He’s not that bad once you get to know him,” she said, trying not to sound too defensive, “He’s really helped me catch up in history, he knows his stuff.”

Kate looked doubtfully over at Sebastian’s hunched form, “That’s the only reason you’ve been spending time with him?” she asked.

“Of course,” Elsa lied, “I’ve had a lot of time off, I need all the help I can get. His social skills might not be the best but honestly, he’s fine once you get him talking.”

Kate’s face became serious, “Just be careful ok?” she said earnestly.

“Chill out!” Elsa laughed, taking a bite of her sandwich. It didn’t really taste of anything to her and she certainly didn’t need it but she had to keep up appearances. Lies, lies, lie;, story of her life these days.

Kate’s mobile chirped, she looked at the screen and then up at Elsa, “I’ll be back in a minute,” she said, “Signal’s rubbish in here,” she left the canteen answering her phone as she went. Elsa thankfully got up to throw her tasteless sandwich in the bin.

She paused by Sebastian’s table on her way and he looked up from his book as she did. His intense eyes were ringed with dark shadows, his jaw line dark with stubble and his cheeks were beginning to take on the slightly sunken look they had a few months ago. She knew now what that meant.

“Hey,” she said, “Are you ok?”

“I’m fine,” Sebastian said and as he looked down to his book, Elsa saw the flicker of a smile, “Once you get me talking.”

Elsa sat down and placed a hand on the page he was reading, “I knew you were listening,” she said, “I’m just trying to get her to back off, you know that.”

Sebastian held his hands up in mock defence, “I’m not offended,” he said, “I appreciate it.”

Elsa sat back and studied him, she felt him tense under her gaze, “So back to my original question,” she said, “Are you ok?”

He wouldn’t look her in the eye, “I’m dealing with it,” he said.

Elsa sighed, they’d spent a lot of time together over the last few weeks, she’d really hoped he would be more open with her but those walls were still there, as impenetrable as ever. She had poured over books and computer files in Haven’s library until her father began to ask questions but she could find no clue as to what Sebastian might be or how Haven might be able to help him. She’d compiled a long list of demons that Haven considered too dangerous to rehabilitate and, as far as demons went, that was pretty much all of them. Demons were never human, they had no humanity to tap into. The ones whose existence had been confirmed were now either presumed extinct or on the ‘kill on sight’ list. The ones whose existence was not confirmed were being actively searched for across the world and current research suggested that if they did exist, they weren’t the sort of creatures you’d be bringing home to meet your parents. None of these demons, confirmed or not, matched Sebastian in any way but their feeding habits.