The Angel

Chapter 4

Sweat.

Cold sweat ran down the side of Lilac's forehead. She wiped it away hastily and sat up in bed. All was still in the half dark, half light of the living room. The lighting partially scared the living daylights out of her. But despite people usually describing nighttime as cold... she was warm. She was oh-so-very warm. She pressed her palm to her ski -- ouch. It was burning hot... just as she had expected.

Not again.

* ** * ** *

"Why don't you worry about being different?"

"Why do you worry about being different?"

"I asked first."

"Because I don't have the time to worry about being different."

And so, Lilac part danced, part ran, part skipped her way to school. The burden of a backpack of hers didn't seem to weigh her down.

Not like she had a choice on whether or not to carry it.

"Don't know what I wish I had, but there's no time now for thinking things like that."

She sang it loud and clear into the crisp morning air, not blind to, but ignoring the strange looks others gave her. Alec could only follow behind, hands in his pockets and chin tilted down like always. He may have been embarrassed, but he wasn't planning to leave her alone.

He never did, now, did he?

* ** * ** *

Lunch time. Exactly 12 PM. And also the time Alec was looking down at his phone, only to glance up at his familiar blonde friend.

"Holy fu-"

"Cuss in front of me, and I'll splatted all this nosebleed onto that shirt of yours," Lilac grinned, pinching the bridge of her nose. While nosebleeds were normal for anyone and everyone, the amount of blood could make anyone faint at the sight. To heck with the sensitive tissue in people's nostrils. They broke and bled too easily.

Alec shook his head and handed her a few napkins. "Are you dehydrated? Get hit in the face with a baseball or something?"

Lilac shook her head. "Nope," she answered, popping the 'p.'

"You sure? Did you sneeze really hard or-"

"Alec, I'm fiiiine. It's just a random nosebleed."

"That's an awful lot of blood for one nosebleed."