Ethereal

Chapter 30

The hum of voices surrounding me was almost suffocating, they all sounded so loud to me now. It wasn't too long ago that they were easy to tune out, but now my senses had gone into overdrive – it was like I didn't have a choice but to listen.

It was strange to be here, sat alone in the school cafeteria, reading a book. It was exactly what I had been doing for years, so why did it suddenly feel so foreign to me? The angels had irreversibly changed my life, making it difficult to adjust to life without them. Still, it wasn't like I had much choice. Even if things were different and they hadn't betrayed me, I would have still had to return to school at some point.

I had spent the night catching up on all the work my teachers had given me to make up for missing a week of school – it hadn't taken me long, schoolwork was surprisingly easy for me now. I was glad to have something to occupy my mind for a few hours, it was a nice break from the endless thoughts going through my head.

Noah... Andrew... I couldn't stop thinking about them both. The hurt that Noah had caused me, and the mystery surrounding the newcomer. Andrew didn't seem particularly malicious, I didn't feel like he was going to hurt me, but I wasn't sure that I could trust my instincts anymore. Perhaps it was a gift that all angels had, Fallen or not, to appear trustworthy.

I wondered if there was anything going on in Heaven, I felt out of touch to be down here alone, like there was some sort of broken connection between the two parts of me, human and angel. But it would most likely always feel that way, not human enough for the Earth, and not enough of an angel for Heaven.

Interrupting my thoughts, I heard someone pull out the chair opposite me. I sighed, not wanting a repeat of yesterday's conversation.

"Charlie I really don't have the answers you're looking for." I put the book down and looked up. To my surprise, it wasn't Charlie. In front of me, Andrew was sat inhumanely straight, looking perfect as expected of an angel – not a golden blonde hair out of place on his head. "Oh, it's you."

Looking at his posture, I noticed that I was sat in the exact same way – quickly, I forced myself to slouch, looking around myself warily, wanting to ensure that none of the humans had noticed.

"You aren't eating?" He asked, nodding at the empty space in front of me.

"I'm not hungry." I stated bluntly, looking away to instead focus my sight on the slightly peeling paint on the wall furthest from us – like I was trying to pretend he wasn't there.

It made me a little uncomfortable to talk to Andrew, as though I was betraying Heaven or something. Was I? I wasn't too sure, but I didn't want to ask anyone either – fearful of what I would be told. Besides, what could I really do to stop him from following me around?

"Are you ever?" He asked, staring at me intensely with those dark brown eyes. There was a brief silence before he realised I wasn't going to answer. "So, who's this Charlie?"

"No one." I sighed. "He's just... an acquaintance."

He didn't reply right away, seeming deep in thought. "Does he know?"

"Know what?" I frowned, watching as he reached a hand across to slide my book towards himself.

He inspected it for a few seconds. "What you are?" He slid it back to me, seemingly uninterested.

I took the book and put it away in my bag. "I don't know what you're talking about. I'm nothing special."

Chuckling, he shrugged. "Alright. I guess I'm nothing special either. Here we are, just two, completely normal humans, having a friendly conversation."