4. Supplying a demon

"Caeli... Have you slept well this week?”, asked the red-haired girl, who looked at her friend a bit surprised by the look on her face that day, which, to tell the truth, was quite scary-. “You know, if you continue with that look in your face, you're going to scare the whole place...” She said, moving her chair closer to Caeli's, and looking around. There, the surprise showed on her face when she saw that there was nobody there, and her surprise was bigger when she saw how the waiters were trembling in one of the corners of the coffee shop, as if they were afraid of the female, and she couldn't blame them, who wouldn't be afraid of that angry face full of rage?

“Well, I correct my sentence, you've already scared everyone”, she said with a quiet laugh, earning an enraged look from the blue-eyed girl, shutting her up instantly.

“And whose damn fault dou you think that is?!" the brunette snarled, placing both hands on the table, slamming them down hard on the wood, standing up quickly from her seat as she continued to glare at her friend, causing her to frown.

“Hey, calm down, why should it be my fault that you're in a bad mood?” she asked, crossing her arms rather indignantly at what the artist had said. Instead, she simply tensed up at what the black-eyed woman with reddish tones had asked her. “Well, Caeli? I'm anxiously waiting to know why I'm at fault for of your anger.”

The brunette swallowed thickly and looked in all directions, searching for an escape, of any sort, but in all the possibilities that formed in her head she couldn't find anything she could use to create an evasive and get out of the grave she had just dug for herself. «Shit, think of something fast! » She closed her eyes and breathed in as much air as her lungs would allow her to store, and with a soft sigh she sat down in her seat to deny. “Ah... forgive me Akane, I'm sorry, really... It's just that...” She said with some difficulty, not knowing what to say in a natural way that didn't sound like a lie. “I haven't been sleeping very well the last few days,” she said, holding the bridge of her nose with two fingers and leaned back against the back of her chair. After a few seconds of silence, she looked at her friend, who was tapping her fingers over and over again on the surface of the table. Damn, that journalist had a nose for gossip.

“So, what is it that thing that hasn't let you sleep well this week?” She asked, arching one of her eyebrows, being now more interested in knowing what hadn't let her friend rest, and the artist knew it, when she saw the small gestures of her best friend as she had both elbows resting on the table, and her head resting equally on the backs of her hands, a sign that confirmed that she would remain attentive to all the information the brunette would offer her.

Caeli opened her eyes in surprise and raised her eyebrows at that question, Caeli had known Akane for a long time and she knew very well that her friend could get all the information she wanted out of her, but the tanned skinned girl just folded her arms and sighed once more. “It was... a parasite, that's what kept me awake,” she said simply as she crossed her legs.

“A... parasite?" She tilted her head to one side, not quite understanding what the girl was referring to, and pulled her chair closer to listen carefully to what she was saying.

“A stupid cat that won't let me sleep and always wants to eat,” she said with emphasis on the last word, but when she realised what she was saying and the gesture of concern and doubt that the redhead was making, she simply said: “But don't worry, I'll soon take care of that vermin, you don't have to worry about anything Akane.”

“All right, if you say so....” The reddish-haired girl shook her head, and once again crossed her arms to look at her friend with a grimace, and then she smiled. “Well, since you don't want to tell me what's going on with you, at least buy me coffee, besides~...” She paused briefly and then moved a little closer to the table, with a mischievous gesture on her face. “You'll have to tell me who's the sucker that did that to your neck~”.

The brunette girl put a hand on her neck in embarrassment, at the same time as her cheeks took on a strong crimson hue. The japanese female began to laugh loudly, causing the waiters to look at them strangely until she began to bang on the table from all the laughter that was escaping her lips.

After a long time, in which the blue-eyed one couldn't have been more embarrassed, the dark-eyed girl began to calm down after such loud laughter.

With her index finger, she brushed away a small tear from one of her eyes and then shook her head. “Ah, god, that was good, it's been a while since I've laughed so hard, not even at Curt's stupidity... Well,” her gaze returned to the tanned one, this time showing a gleam of complete attention, “Who's the lucky young man who helped you forget the idiot Orfeo?”

Caeli grimaced at this and scratched the back of her neck nervously as she tossed back her straight hair. “You see, it's a bit complicated to explain,” she said with nervousness in her voice, causing her friend to cover her mouth with both hands. And after that, a sympathetic gesture came over the journalist's face.

“I see, I didn't think it was possible in you, but now I can believe it because I hear it from your own mouth,” the blue-eyed girl arched an eyebrow at what the redhead was saying, did she know what she was going to talk about? Did she know she was referring to the demon? “He's not a lucky one, she's a lucky one, isn't she?” She said, closing her eyes and taking the hands of the artist who opened her eyelids stunned at what she was hearing, “Don't worry Eli, I will support you in all your decisions, you know that doesn't bother me in the slightest-…”

“NO! Akane, I'm neither lesbian nor bisexual,” she gave herself a mental shock, it was impossible that her friend had discovered what had happened that week, or what she had been going through for weeks. No one could imagine it. “Ah... I don't have a problem with people who are. Far from it. But I haven't had my sexual awakening with a woman yet if that's what you mean.”

“Then who gave you that hickey, dear?” she asked in exasperation at her friend's refusal to tell her what had happened.

“It's not a hickey,” she said, averting her eyes in embarrassment at what the redhead girl was saying. «For God's sake stop asking! I don't want to answer any more questions! »

“Sure, and I'm St. Teresa of Calcutta,” she said with pure sarcasm, rolling her eyes in the process, as she began to clatter on the surface of the table, nervously and with an insistent look towards the artist, “Come on, tell me then who is in charge of making you forget Orfeo, you know I have little patience for these things.”

The brunette shook her head and clenched her fists tightly, letting her knuckles turn completely white. Two feelings were very present in her, anger for the damned person, or rather, a demon that had given her those marks. And, above all, sadness, since no, she had not been able to forget the brown-haired boy with cold eyes at any moment, and she had tried.

“Seriously, can we talk about anything else? You know I'm not comfortable talking about him,” she began to stroke her arm slowly, letting her gaze wander to a dead spot in the room. The snowy-skinned girl understood instantly, and with a sad expression, she was silent for a few seconds. Perhaps she should have kept quiet and then there wouldn't have been that awkward atmosphere that had formed in the air.

Silence... that was what filled the room where they were for long moments. Both were completely silent, one with a blank stare and a hint of emptiness in her eyes, the other just stared at her with pure concern and pain. Akane hated to see her like that.

«She looks exactly the same as she did that day, » the redhead girl thought sadly as she saw that empty look in the italian's eyes. Once, just once, she had seen her like that.

And no one could imagine how horrible it had been both for the girl with the beautiful blue eyes and for those around her to see that image.

Pain and sadness were too short to describe what she felt with those orbs that possessed so much life.

“Ah...” The artist breathed in and shook her head, and then looked at the reddish-haired girl with a faint smile. “It's alright Akane, how about we get the bill and leave,” her friend nodded, and they both smiled again at the same time. So, -after the now, more calm- waiter gave them the bill to pay, they got up and hugged each other. One because she needed it and the other because she wanted to help and support her friend. Then, they separated, looked at each other for a few moments and with a short laugh, they both left.

º º º º º º

After we left the coffee shop, we spent the whole day wandering around the beautiful city that never sleeps, we went to many places, places I had gone to visit with him. But thanks to Akane, the memories I had spent in each place with Orfeo became a blur. Well, I'd be lying if I said I hadn't thought about him, even so, his memory with my best friend became fuzzy, almost like an abstract canvas, which only has a multitude of colours and no concrete shape within it.

And so, the hours passed, and before we knew it, we were already in Akane's car, right in front of my family's flower shop.

“Thank you for the ride,” I said with a smile as I opened the passenger door, though I was still sitting in the car seat that was still running.

“You know it's no problem at all,” a faint smile formed on her lips, causing me to return the same gesture, and just before I left, she grabbed my arm making me turn my face in her direction. “If you need anything or to tell me anything at all, you know I'm here for you, okay?” The first thing I did was to tear up, because having such a thoughtful friend made me laugh, I felt really relieved.

After saying goodbye with a hug, I got out of the car, closed the door behind me, and watched Akane drive away, after that, I walked towards the flower shop so I could see my mother and I stopped in front of the door.

Then, a sigh escaped my lips at what Akane had said. The only problem was that... Well, I couldn't tell her that I have a stupid demon locked in my room, who won't stop attacking me at the slightest carelessness. The first reason was because she would probably want to meet him, the second because he would make a big fuss about meeting her, and the third because I didn't trust that cat.

Slowly I entered the flower shop and as soon as I did that, I received a big hug from my mother, who had a big smile on her face. I reciprocated the tender gesture and smiled in return, “why so effusive, mum?” I asked her with a faint laugh and she just shook her head.

“Can't I give my beautiful daughter a hug?” she asked and I simply laughed at her comment, and so we hugged again as we had just done a few moments before. I loved these little moments with my mother, even if it seemed silly, but... I felt that something, or rather someone, was missing.

I sighed and with a kiss on the cheek, I said goodbye to her, as I had only gone to see her for a while. After that, I took a taxi and headed for the nearest station that could take me to Queens. After long minutes on the train, I made it to my district and after a while walking through the quiet streets of Middle Village, I arrived at my house and looked around and smiled. “Home sweet home,” I whispered with a smile.

But it faded as soon as I felt a pair of arms wrap around my waist as an extra weight formed on my shoulder, causing my eyes to roll in exasperation. “Yes, welcome my angioletto ~” then I remembered something and abruptly pulled away from him to scowl at him.

“What the hell are you doing here? What if you're seen by my...?” I instantly went silent as I remembered that my mother would still be late in coming home and soon growled noticeably. “Forget it," I whispered calmly pushing him away. It was interesting how my mood could change so quickly in a matter of seconds.

At that moment, the jet-haired one shook his head and soon started chasing me and I started running, trying to escape from him. It seemed like a cat and mouse game, and never better said because if I let this demon catch me it wouldn't take long for him to eat me, “Tom, stay fucking still,” I shouted at him, scurrying like a rat and when I felt cornered, I showed the cross on my chest, and with a little girl's scream, he disappeared from my sight, making me sigh softly.

At that instant, I heard the sound of a notification on my phone, and when I looked at who the message belonged to I laughed softly. It seemed that my mother had a radar to know where I was and how I was doing. I started to go to my room, talking pleasantly with my mother, telling her that I had had a small setback and the moment I wrote her that, the call from her was soon received on my phone.

“Mum...” I sighed in a calm voice to reassure her, “It's okay mum, I'm fine, I haven't done anything to myself, I just thought I saw a cockroach, but it was just my imagination," I said and she sighed through the phone line thankful that nothing happened to me.

“For God's sake, don't scar me like that Caeli,” she sighed again in relief, and I just laughed. I knew she was good at guessing, but I doubt she could imagine I had a demon living under our roof.

“I'm sorry mum, I won't do it again,” a faint smile formed on both our lips -because I didn't need to see her to know that she was also making the same gesture as I was-. “Well, I'm going upstairs to get some rest. Today has been a very busy day with Akane, she has taken me here and there non-stop,” we both burst out laughing and for a few moments, we were silent.

“Okay, honey, if you need anything, call me, okay?” She said in that soft, lovely voice that relaxed me in an instant.

“No need mum, you know I'd go there myself before I force you to come from the shop”. And so my mother said goodbye once more and hung up the phone as it was time to go back to work, and that was for me too, but in a very different sense.

As I headed back to my room, I sighed in relief and looked in all directions, seeing that he wasn't hiding anywhere, which surprised me. «What's he up to now?» I thought with a grimace and arched an eyebrow and then shrugged. “Well, the longer he's gone, the more I'll sleep,” I said, stretching in my place and then let out a quiet gasp as I heard the bones in my back creak.

After that, I sighed one more time that day and lay down on the mattress of my bed, but... Why was it so hard? “ What was tha…?” My eyes, which I had left closed the moment I fell, suddenly opened as I felt strong arms wrap around my waist again, I slowly opened my eyelids amazed, and averted my gaze, seeing how I was leaning against a burly chest. A shiver ran down my spine as I felt a warm breath on one of my ears, my cheeks took on a potent crimson hue, and surely even my ears and neck, for I felt them burn horribly.

“Hehehe, you've fallen into the trap little mouse,” a deep voice echoed in my ears making me tremble in the jet-haired boy’s arms, as I turned around and rested my hands on his chest. I frowned at the teasing, mischievous smile he was giving me and tried to pull away, but his arms prevented me from any kind of movement. “Hey, hey, hey... What don't you remember? I have to stock up my dear~”.

I opened my eyes in surprise and I didn't need to see myself in a mirror to know that my cheeks were very red. “No! Not again! Do you know how uncomfortable it is when they keep asking me who's doing this to me?!” I growled pointing at the clear mark of the crime engraved on my skin, but instantly my lips were sealed by a soft touch that made me open my eyelids in an exaggerated way. “HMM!!!”

His lips had positioned themselves over mine, my arms had been paralyzed by a single one of the demon, who had a mocking smile on his face while he was kissing me.

I tried my best to pull him away, but this idiot's strength was far greater than mine. Too much! “H-Hmm...” Slowly, and without realizing it, I had started to stop struggling. The warmth of that body and those soft and thin lips that had never separated from mine, with that simple touch... made my whole body react to him. «Damn it, why the hell do you have to kiss so damn well?» I thought, starting to give into that kiss, which was slowly starting to steal my breath.

º º º º º º

The demon smiled when he saw how the girl reciprocated his kiss, he felt how his body began to recover the little power he had lost when he was in the world of humans, of course, it wasn't only for that reason that he did it -and he didn't plan to tell the girl-, he also did it because their pact was thus sealed, for what the girl didn't know, and he hadn't told her so that he could take the advantage he needed.

Because in the evocation there was a small problem at the time of his summoning, for his body demanded energy, and he had to be supplied by the person who had summoned him, at least for a short period of time - or quite a while if she did not know about it-. For the demon's benefit, it had been that tender, feisty brunette who had summoned him.

But he still remembered some pacts that he had made before, which... had not been to his liking at all. Just remembering it made his body tremble.

On the blue-eyed girl's side, her eyelids had begun to slowly close as she stopped resisting the elder one’s kiss, the demon's arms ceased to strain as he saw that she did not resist his touch and so, his large hands began to slowly caress the other's back. Making both bodies feel the heat and friction more noticeably - especially when she caressed his chest-. The man, who had his eyes closed, opened them to see the girl's face, making them instantly open a little wider to appreciate her more closely.

Caramel skin, sweet and seductive, was marred by a beautiful shade of crimson on her cheeks. A peaceful but serene expression that somehow seemed to relax him. And it was, strange enough... for it was a new sensation for that ruthless demon.

Then, she slowly began to open her eyelids, revealing those beautiful sky-coloured orbs that now stared into the boy’s toxic ones. The brunette, faced with that situation, couldn't help but open her eyes in surprise. Her gaze was averted, and she abruptly pulled away from the man’s lips. “That's enough, that's all for today for you,” she said, trying to pull away, but the boy wouldn't let her.

In fact, the demon had ‘forced’ her to hide her face between his shoulder and his neck, whilst he hugged her, while she let her hands rest on his chest.

“W-What are you doing Tom?” But he said nothing, simply smiled, and stroked the soft hair that today, she kept in a loose ponytail. «How comfortable...» She thought, letting herself be caressed by him, as long as he didn't do anything else, she didn't mind in the least to be in that situation.

But the man felt the power slowly flowing through his body at the girl's acceptance. «Although I like the traditional way of supplying... This... is not so bad», he thought with a smile and after reacting to his thought with a slight hint of annoyance, although he couldn't deny that being that way with the girl, gave him a relaxing sensation. «Even though the pact is sealed at last, I'll use this little excuse of supply to have some fun with her», he smiled mischievously again and let out a small laugh, watching as she slowly began to fall asleep in his arms to his surprise.

“Hmm...” The brunette rubbed her face against his neck, making him smile slyly. “That smells good~,” she whispered when she inspired the scent of the boy and subtly caressed his chest.

“Hehe~ I'll be able to use this against you,” he whispered with a beautiful smile showing that shiny row of teeth. “And let's see you get your damn wish straight, every time I read your thoughts, you have a lot more things you want. Sadly, you only have one soul, you only have one body and you can only be offered one wish,” he sighed in exasperation, but not annoyance, he loved teasing that little human who was bringing him so much fun. But then, against his will, he gradually fell asleep.

That night, they both slept very peacefully, she had strangely not dreamt of anything concerning the misfortunes that had happened to her in so few years, and then there was the demon, who simply enjoyed being in such a peaceful environment -compared to what he was used to-.

Of course, the next day the cat ended up on the ceiling again, hissing at the sight of the girl's cross very visible before his eyes. And then there was her, with a pronounced blush and her brow noticeably furrowed, as the jet-haired one had taken advantage of having woken up earlier to have a bit of fun with the sleeping girl to leave more marks than necessary, visible ones to make things worse.

A strange day for anyone, although for her it was already becoming a normal day, and that was one of the things that worried her the most.