Don't Forget

10: Flock Instead of Family

It was an unusual sight, the human talking to the angel. No one was around to gawk, though, since Shar had frightened everyone away. Because of his power over our peers, I knew no one would come to my aid if it came to that. The thought was undoubtedly worrisome, but my intrigue (and his appearance) clouded my judgement.

It was the rarest of occasions when I got to see the fallen angel up close. Even from afar, he was dangerously attractive. But from here, I could see the flawlessness of his skin, the dark brown of his eyes, how long his eyelashes were, the rippling of the muscles beneath his skin. His wings had sleek, long feathers, and it stole my breath every time they flittered or stretched. He was beautiful.

Before I could get any more lost in his looks, a lecture from freshman year suddenly repeated in my ears: "The most beautiful and colorful snakes are the most dangerous. The more beautiful a predator is, the more deadly they are. Everyone is attracted to beauty, and so it is beauty that is the most useful tool for a predator." And as I stared at the fallen angel, I knew it was true.

His dark eyebrows lowered again, and the smile he had been fighting disappeared. He continued to send me an intense stare, and I wasn't sure what emotion he held in his black eyes.

"So," I began after a moment of awkward silence, "is there a reason you're here? With me, I mean."

Shar nodded. "I figured you were waiting for me to hunt you down. So I did."

I swallowed compulsively and my eyes fell to the ground. "I really am sorry about that."

His expression darkened, but it didn't become more frightening and intimidating. It seemed playful, for him anyway. He suggested, "Then you should make it up to me."

With wide eyes, I replied, "How?"

He stuffed a hand in his pocket and stared above my head—he had almost a whole foot over me. "Whatever it is that you have planned for tomorrow," he began, his eyes roaming the room until they landed on my face at last, "you will now have company."

My head tilted. "What?"

Shar took the smallest step towards me. "Consider me your shadow tomorrow."

"How would following me around be making it up to you?" I wanted to know.

The fallen angel's lip lifted into a smirk, and I almost fainted at the seductive power of it. He answered, "Let's just say you'll be satisfying a curiosity of mine."

Once the effects of his smirk wore off, I realized that Sunday was the day I went shopping—and an angel in the store was a no-no. The wings would tip everyone off that he was no ordinary person. His looks alone would draw every pair of eyes within the vicinity to him. If I was the reason angels were revealed to the human world, I would be exiled, maybe even killed as assurance of eternal silence.

I held my hands up and shook my head. "No, you can't!" I shouted.

The smirk was replaced by a scowl. "Excuse me?" he challenged, displeased.

A nervous chuckle filled the space between us. "I—I mean," I stuttered. I took in a deep breath. "What I mean is, it probably isn't a very good idea for you to come around with me tomorrow. We're talking major complications."

"Do you have a date tomorrow or something?" he growled, voice deep and raw.

"Not at all!" I exclaimed, a blush covering my ears and even dipping towards my neck. "It's just—I go to the store on Sundays. The human store. And an angel in the human world is a recipe for disaster."