Watch Over Me ☆ a.i. [complete]

◌ t h r e e ◌

I couldn’t help but laugh. “That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.”

”I know you believe in this!” He pleaded, grabbing my hand. “I know you believe in all this – in the supernatural, in gua-”

"No, let me go," I hissed, snatching my hand away. "Did Lindsey put you up to this?"

"What? No!"

"Oh she did, didn’t she?" I laughed again. "That’s so typical. That’s so like her. It was a great prank, really. Is she paying you? Pay better be good."

"Y/N, shut up!" he practically yelled, catching me off guard. "Lindsey didn’t put me up to this! No one you know did! Are you honestly accusing your best friend of setting fire to your office? Or of causing the fire?"

I was caught off guard, stuttering a little bit. “I… I di- didn’t mean it like that.”

He was practically fuming, and I could tell that he was trying to control himself. He leaned forward slightly, tugging at his wavy hair in frustration. I took a minute, took a breath and looked over him, trying to see if I recognised him from anywhere. But - between you and me - I would definitely have noticed those arms. He looked like he was sculpted by the Greek Gods, and if he hadn’t been frustrating me with all this stalking and ‘guardian angel’ bullshit, maybe I would have taken that into consideration.

Wait. Maybe he was sculpted by the Greek Gods! Who knew, right? He was supposedly an angel after all, wasn’t he?

"Hey, so, Ashton," I asked, my calm tone definitely taking him aback. "If you’re my guardian angel… Who sent you? Don’t tell me God. There’s no such thing."

"Well," he shrugged, ruffling his hair. "Not God, no. Not exactly. They’re kind of like gods."

"They?" I repeated, and he nodded, rubbing his hands together and looked at the people hurrying down the crowded sidewalk as he tried to collect his thoughts.

"It’s a bit of a long story and honestly I don’t know much. I just know that there’s a… A higher power and I’ve been assigned to you since you were a kid."

"Why me?"

"Everyone has their own guardian angel. Well, mostly everyone. I just happen to be yours."

I shook my head, scoffing. “How? I mean… No one’s ever talked to me about guardian angels or anything.”

"You’re not supposed to. You can’t tell anyone, because…"

"Because?" I urged.

"Because then it’s your angel that faces the consequences, which aren’t pretty. But more importantly, you end up angel-less."

"How is that more important?" I was genuinely curious. I wasn’t sure if I believed this whole thing just yet, but I wanted to see to what point this had been planned. I wanted to see if there was a tiny flaw in this whole plan, a tiny way for me to be certain that it was just a joke.

"Because…" He chuckled.

"Remember that time, in 10th grade, when you were supposed to catch the 2pm train to get to your friend Elizabeth’s house for Thanksgiving? But then in the station, you ran into your aunt and she offered to buy you a ticket for the 3:30pm train so the two of you could catch up. And then you found out the next day that the 2pm train had derailed just before your stop and caused a decent amount of damage?"

I was shocked. How could he have known that, to such detail? I hadn’t told anybody about that incident. At least not in such detail. Hell, I barely remembered the timing myself, how could I have told anybody?

"Y/N…?" he asked, and I snapped back into reality, realising that I hadn’t said a word for a good minute and a half.

"Sorry, I’m sorry. This is just… How did you know that?"

He shrugged, smiling slightly at me, a dimple appearing on his cheek.

"I’ve been watching over you since you were 3 and fell out of your mom’s office chair, breaking your wrist in the process."

"Oh god," I groaned, laughing in embarrassment. "I remember that! I was so upset!"

"Oh, I know," he grinned.

I looked over at him and gave him a small smile. “It must be terrible being my ‘guardian angel’, eh?”

He laughed as well, shaking his head. “Don’t say the word as if it’s a bad thing! And no, it’s… It’s not half bad. You’re too clumsy for your own good but it’s not half bad.”

"Really?" I asked.

He gave me a genuine smile. “Yeah.” I smiled back, almost forgetting the whole situation. Almost being the key word.

"So… How did my office catch fire? And how did you know?"

"My sole purpose of being here is to watch over you," he frowned. "I know these things beforehand in order to keep you safe."

I nodded, smacking myself on the forehead. “Right, duh. Of course. Okay… What about my job? Holy shit. What about all the other people?” Panic was slowly overcoming me.

"That… That I don’t know. It’s up to their guardian angels. And for your job, well, let’s just say a better offer might just come along sometime soon."

I was hyperventilating slightly, trying to calm my nerves. I didn’t know people at office all that well but I certainly didn’t want them to die, either.

He put an arm around my shoulders, rubbing my arm in a comforting manner. “We’ll figure it out, okay? They’ll be fine. You’ll be fine.”

Just then, my phone started to ring. I yanked it out of my pocket and put it to my ear, my hand trembling.

"Hello?"

"Oh my god Y/N! You’re alive!" my mom practically yelled. "I saw the news and I was so worried and-"

"Mom, I’m fine," I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "Seriously. Just a bit shaken up."

"How come you’re not at work?"

"I… I got late."

"Oh, well thank god! I’m so glad you’re safe and you’re alive, oh my god your father and I were so worried and-"

"Mom, I’m fine. Can I call you back later?"

"Yes of course honey, I just wanted to know you’re okay."

"I’m okay, bye mom, love you."

I hung up and groaned, putting my face in my hands. “I’ve honestly had enough for one day without having to hear my mom freak out over me.”

"Come on, I’ll take you home."