7 6. This is Tom

You know that feeling of wishing the earth would swallow you up? Well, imagine that feeling multiplied by a thousand, and add to it the feeling of digging your own grave.

That was how the brunette was feeling at the moment.

Akane had been staring at the jet-haired man, who had started talking calmly to her partner. As soon as the journalist and the writer had arrived, all eyes had been on the artist. Yes, but the worst thing was that the stares had been directed at her first, and the only thing she could come up with had been the least witty thing in existence.

“So... he's your cousin,” said the redhead girl, staring at the black-haired boy, who was talking animatedly with her boyfriend, having just met and instantly hit it off.

“Y-Yes, he's my second cousin, hence the difference in features!” The brunette girl's nerves could be seen from miles away, especially her hands gestures, and her gaze that kept straying back and forth to avoid looking at the shorter one, and that exasperated the red-haired girl.

“All right, all right, no need to shout. And calm down, woman! You're getting on my nerves just by looking at you!” She said trying to calm her down, but her brow furrowed slightly as she saw that her friend wasn't paying the slightest attention to her. Fed up with the situation, the dark-eyed woman grabbed the italian girl by the shoulders and began to shake her while shouting at her: "Calm down!” Over and over again to get her to listen to her.

Luckily, she managed to calm her down, but at the same time she had become dizzy from all the shaking. The blue-eyed girl, stunned by what her friend had done to her, took several steps backwards and in her confusion she tripped over her own foot and both girls looked at each other in surprise, the red-haired girl threw herself to try to catch her friend, and soon the artist had to close her eyes tightly while she waited for a strong blow against the ground.

But it never came, the only thing she felt was the warm and comforting touch of strong arms surrounding her figure, her hands unconsciously clenched tightly around those limbs in shock and relief, still unwilling to open her eyes.

“My angioletto, I know you love being in my arms that you fall down on purpose... But you need to get up if you don't want them to start getting ideas,” the boy whispered in her ear, and this time the girl did open her eyes in surprise to look at the older man from the corner of her eye, showing, as well, how a vibrant red was settling on her cheeks. She frowned and soon stood up to turn away from him and fix her outfit, to go stand next to her friend with a frown still on her face but her cheeks still painted crimson.

«You useless, asshole, you fucking cat of the devil...» She began to insult the man, who had a sly grin delighted at the look of hatred on the younger girl's face.

“Okay... Well guys, shall we go for a coffee somewhere? I'm more in the mood for a drink so I can have more inspiration with my muse by my side, but considering that Caeli is still a minor whatever you prefer,” said the blonde boy putting his arm around the shoulders of the black-haired one, who arched one of his eyebrows, but simply shrugged and looked with a smile at the artist who only sighed making her friend take her arm to encourage her.

“I think it's a great idea Curt, I know a coffee shop nearby that's really fancy. Shall we go to that one?” A sweet smile formed on the japanese girl's lips when she showed on her phone the coffee shop she was referring to, and so after the confirmation of the other three, the four of them headed towards the establishment they had decided upon.

Talking along the way about trivial matters. Most of the time, the couple found themselves asking the demon, now in human form, hundreds of questions, and he answered with all the calmness in the world, with an impressive ability to lie -for he did not show a hint of it-, and from time to time he made fun of the brunette. And she was still wondering how she had got into this situation.

And she couldn't know for sure, it had all happened too fast...

[…]

That very morning the brunette had already felt that something, the moment she opened her eyes, was going to shake her out of her senses. Her sleep, she had to admit, had been quite peaceful, no painful memories or nightmares had come to her mind while she was resting. And the best thing was that she had slept great that night, she felt protected, she felt comforted, as if nothing could disturb her, she had simply rested perfectly. She was half asleep, but she wasn't really sleepy anymore. The problem was that she felt cradled, she felt the warmth of her sheets and a very, very peculiar aroma, it was intoxicating, it was deep, and at the same time very attractive.

“Mmm~...” She whispered, stirring in her place, and soon, when she felt like something, or rather, someone was hugging her. Her brow furrowed slightly as she didn't know who it was, she thought for a few moments and when she remembered a certain cat, her eyes slowly opened, observing in a blurry way a strong chest that made her sigh, and when she raised her gaze and observed some thin lips, her body tensed, especially for that subtle scent of mint that she could appreciate from the demon’s mouth. «Who's breath smells like that in the morning?» She thought sharpening her gaze and when she remembered who she was with, her eyes opened in surprise.

And so, she looked up and down at what was happening right now as soon as she woke up. The demon was hugging her waist to hold her close to his body with one arm, while his free hand was on her bottom, caressing the surface of her pyjamas with lazy movements, making her tremble softly. Meanwhile, one of the blue-eyed woman's hands was hugging the older man, while the other was between their bodies, and to put the icing on the cake, one of her legs was draped over the man's hips, and they were both... really glued to each other.

«H-H-How did this happen?!» Wondered the girl looking at the scene, and when she raised her gaze to his face, she couldn't help but notice his half-open lips. «Why must you be so handsome! Fuck! I cant’t stop looking at your lips!» The blue-eyed girl shouted to herself, feeling her cheeks reddening to the max, what the hell was wrong with her? Why was she getting so nervous over an idiot like that demon? She had already fallen in love with someone who didn't suit her, she didn't want to go through that again! «I have to get out of here, even though... it feels really, really good... NO! I have to get out of his grip», sentenced the brunette in her mind, and so that she slowly lifted her leg and started to turn around and stayed like that, leaning her back against the jet-haired man's chest. The tricky part came now, she had to get out of his arms. Then her eyes widened in surprise, more so as she noticed how the strong arms grabbed her more vehemently, as now one of them was crushing her breasts making her blush in embarrassment and more so as she felt the demon spooning her so she wouldn't move. «Is this a fucking joke?» Thought the woman with a twitch in one of her eyebrows.

The university student grabbed one of the man's arms and tried to pull him away, but even in his sleep he was five times as strong as she was... What was she thinking when she took off her cross that night?

“I'm not going to do anything to you, demon promise”

Bullshit! If she had known this was going to happen, she would never have considered taking it off. But that wasn't the worst of it, because the feel of the demon's warm breath against her ear made her shudder, this couldn't be possible!

“Good morning my angioletto~” the newly awakened boy said teasingly at the younger girl's movement, causing her cheeks to turn a vibrant crimson and her eyes to widen in surprise.

«No! No! No!» Thought the poor girl, feeling her body tremble softly. “Good morning,” she whispered in a monotonous tone that made the man smile as the girl's body did not show the calmness her voice had miraculously obtained.

An awkward silence settled between them, she didn't want to look at him, she knew that if she did so her whole body would turn an even deeper red, because, even if she wanted to deny it, the just-risen demon was stupidly sexy, especially considering that he always slept half-naked, that his tousled hair made him look adorable... and that his sleeping face made him look extremely attractive and peaceful.

Sometimes, when he had fallen asleep - and that wasn't very often - the girl couldn't deny that it was easy to get lost in his body and face. There was even a time when she wanted to paint him with how good he looked. But that, that was something she would never tell him.

“Hey~”, he purred in her ear making her feel a thousand shivers, and then she let out a small scream as she felt the jet-boy's hands shamelessly enter inside her pyjamas. “That's not how you should be talking to your favorite demon~”, he said with a mocking tone as the girl felt her body shiver slightly from the warm touch of his hands and claws on her skin, but she didn't plan on giving in.

“And how do you want me say it? Oh, I know! 'Good morning my sexy demon of the underworld who when I make a wish will devour my soul and my body' Better?” She said with a sarcastic tone as she turned her face to look at the demon who had a triumphant smile on his face... Hadn't he taken the damn hint?

“Yes, that's much better,” he said as she felt the man slowly caress her belly, creating pleasant shivers, even if she didn't want to admit it. But as he was directing his hands towards her trousers, she sharpened her gaze with a dangerous glint in it.

“Cat... get your hand away from there,” she grabbed the demon's wrists and miraculously managed to pull them away from her body as she murdered the man with her gaze, who simply smirked and causing the woman to let out a shriek, shifted them, leaving him between her legs, Taking her wrists and pulling them over his head, his mischievous tail trailed up her leg and under her clothes, gently stroking her tanned skin, causing her to blush up to her ears.

“And if I don't want to, are you going to make me, my dear?” He said teasingly, bringing his face menacingly close to hers, letting their lips brush, their breaths mingle and both of them shudder. With that gesture, the two of them stared at each other for a while, so that, after that small lapse she blinked and taking advantage of the distraction that the man had -because he had been absorbed in her eyes- she pulled him off her, throwing him to the ground once more, making him let out a mewl of pain. “Oh fuck, don't be so rough!”

“Then don't attack me as soon as I wake up, idiot!” She cried out after a great sigh of relief, resting her hand on her chest, noticing how her heart was galloping because of the boy's actions. Fuck, not everyone wakes up and is already being sexually assaulted.

She glanced sideways at where the demon was and before he could do anything, she grabbed the cross and put it on causing the jet boy to once again to take the ceiling to snort at her for what the girl was doing, the brunette sighed for the first time that day and the moment she heard her phone vibrate, her gaze darted to the electronic device.

She calmly took it in her hands and noticed that it was Akane who had messaged to her.

A smile settled on her lips and she began talking to her friend, who had told her that she wanted to meet up with her, and asked if she minded if Curt, her partner, went with them.

Of course, Caeli couldn't care less if the boy went with them. After all, he was extremely pleasant to talk to, especially because of his countless anecdotes. After confirming the "date" with the couple, she smiled and switched off her phone, leaving it on the bedside table. There, her brow furrowed again and she turned her gaze to the demon on the ceiling, and he tensed softly at the murderous look the woman was giving him.

“I'm going out today. I don't want you to pull any of your trick while I’m gone, understood?” She asked him, but received no answer, so she simply snorted and headed towards her wardrobe so she could pick out an outfit. However, when she felt a small tap on her shoulder, she sighed in exasperation and looked sideways at the demon who kept touching her, "What do you want Tom?” She looked sideways at the man, who looked at her with floppy ears and lost puppy dog eyes. "Oh, come on…” She said with a twitch in one of her eyebrows.

“Come on! I'm always locked in here, it's too boring and I have nothing else to do but transform myself into a cat so your mother doesn't catch me when she comes upstairs to clean,” he said standing right next to the brunette, who took out a cute outfit that consisted of a big jumper with lilac tones and a high neck, together with a pair of white jeans and pulled her hair into a high ponytail with a purple hair scrunchie with white dots, and to complete her outfit she took a small white handbag, and a pair of comfortable trainers that matched the rest of her clothes. “These earrings would look good on you,” he said, holding out some white gold ones.

She looked at him doubtfully for a few moments and then took the jewellery the cat was holding and looked at the man for a few seconds and then sighed in surrender, making him jump up and down with a smile.

“It’s okay, but don’t you…” Before she finished the sentence she looked at the place where the man was supposed to be and he wasn't there. The woman arched one of her eyebrows and shook her head. With her things in her hands, she went to the washroom and began to change, when she finished she simply put on her make-up, applying mascara and a cherry-coloured lipstick. She left her room and when she didn't see the demon anywhere, she simply shrugged her shoulders and headed towards the entrance as there was five minutes left until the redheaded journalist arrived.

[…]

The woman looked at the time on the phone and seeing that it was already the time she had arranged to meet her friend, she assumed that the redhead girl and the blonde boy wouldn't be long in arriving. So when she felt a tap on her shoulder she could only roll her eyes, as she only knew one person who would make that gesture to get her attention. But when she remembered it was the demon she tensed in place, her eyes widening in surprise and she turned abruptly so she could yell at the man that he couldn't come out and be so brazen.

To her surprise, she didn't find the demon. Well, she did, but there was not the mythological being she had summoned some time ago... Instead, he was a handsome twenty-year-old -or so he seemed - with dark, unruly hair, a deep emerald green gaze, along with masculine features: a sharp jaw; sharp, seductive eyes; a perfect, greek nose; and finally that sly, less sharp-fanged smile.

And it was his smile, his smile was the most charming thing the young woman had seen in a long time. And complementing his appearance, he wore a brown leather jacket, along with a dark shirt that clung to his handsome figure, with the first two buttons undone, leaving the brunette girl with her mouth wide open. Looking down she noticed the blue jeans, tight to his strong legs that fit him exquisitely, along with a pair of Vans in the same colour as his jacket.

The college girl was simply speechless, her cheeks had turned a faint shade of pink at the sight of the man smiling at her in that sweet way and apparently he was talking to her, but she wasn't listening. She had simply remained completely silent as she watched him. Besides, many doubts had settled in her head, because she didn't understand... How was it possible?!

No, it couldn't be that this demon had taken a human form.

“Angioletto, if you're like this because of this appearance, I should do it more often so that you don't resist so much,” he said mockingly, making the girl open her eyes in complete surprise. There was only one being who used that stupid nickname on her.

“T-Tom?” Asked the woman in a quiet voice, looking incredulously at the boy in front of her who put a sly smile on his face as he usually did.

“It took you a while to realise, little one,” he shook his head and nodded, “You've been completely taken in by it”. The woman felt her cheeks take on a noticeable shade of crimson as she frowned, because she had no way of denying it, and at her distraction, he had taken the opportunity to hug her and purr in her ear. “Ohh ma chérie~ I'll have to do this more often to hold you in my arms like this,” he whispered teasingly against her lips, causing her eyes to widen in surprise as she felt the man hold her in his arms. Her face got a very pronounced shade of red -almost reaching her neck-, making him let out a laugh and when he was about to move closer so he could kiss her and get ‘energy’ to be able to supply himself as he had told her before, the brunette tensed up completely when she heard the voice of someone excessively familiar to her.

“Caeli?” Said Akane's incredulous voice. The italian girl slowly brought her gaze to her friend and seeing Curt next to her, she looked at the demon who was completely calm and was even planning to continue with what he was doing, until she gently pushed him away from her and fixed her clothes and her hair nervously to look at the redhead one with a smile on her lips.

“H-Hello Akane! You took so long! Where have you been?!” Her agitated tone gave her away a bit, as did the redness of her face which still lingered on her cheeks.

“Well... apparently I was intruding on an 'intimate' moment,” she said with a smirk, as her boyfriend rounded her shoulders and rested his head on top of the shorter one's, still surprised by the previous scene.

“What? No! no!" she shook her hands at what her friend had said, of course her friend made an incredulous face, not believing it in the slightest. “He... he's, my... my cousin! Yes, my cousin!” Everyone present, including the black-hair boy, opened their eyes in surprise, only this one a little less so as not to give away his surprise, instead he only smiled slightly and stood next to the girl, who froze for a few moments.

“Your cousin?” Said the pair in unison, arching one of their eyebrows in disbelief.

“Y-Yes! This is... this is... this is... Tom! Yes! This is Tom!”, the brunette pointed at the taller man, who simply looked at her while maintaining his smile. “He's Tom D'Olivo,” she said, nodding her head a little nervously. But she tensed up even more when he approached her friend and took her hand to kiss the back of it, getting a soft blush on the japanese girl's fair skin.

“It's nice to meet you,” He said in a flirtatious tone and stood up in his place. Then he looked at the blond who stopped murdering him for a few moments with his gaze. “You must be Caeli's friend's boyfriend”

“Exactly, her boyfriend,” he said with a slight frown, but soon relaxed his expression when the jet-haired one held out his hand with a friendly smile.

“Nice to meet you, I'm Tom, Caeli's second cousin, I've been visiting for a while, sorry for suddenly showing up and joining the group,” he said reintroducing himself once more and apologising. The blonde seeing that neither in his look nor in his demeanour was there any indication that he wanted to take his girl away from him, just smiled friendly. The writer soon took his hand and squeezed it pleasantly and gently, and seconds later they exchanged a handshake that left everyone surprised by the tremendous rapport they had had in doing so. “Haha, that never worked first time with anyone before. Hey, I heard from Eli that you're a writer. I'm sure you've already created dozens of novels that hook people. “

The blond smiled excitedly and letting go of his partner, he put his arms around the black-haired boy's shoulders -as if they were lifelong friends- to take him with him and they began to talk animatedly. And if the redheaded one had been surprised, the brunette couldn't believe her eyes... That cat was really too smart, and a very good actor.

«You'd better not fuck up... » Thought the woman sharpening her gaze in the direction of the jet-haired one who turned to look at her sideways with a sly smile making her blush slightly and her blood boil looking at the man. «And don't read my mind either you idiot!» Sentenced the woman in her mind and after the brunette and the redhead girl had a small conversation explaining who this attractive green-eyed boy was, the four young boys and girls headed towards the coffee shop Akane had said.

The four of them were talking excitedly, and when the brunette saw the demon out of the corner of her eye, she wondered if he was really acting, or if he was having a good time talking to someone so mundane. In truth, she still struggled to understand a lot of things, but... it was nice to be able to go out and smile without worry.

And even if she didn't want to admit it out loud, that demon had made her want to move, and it had also eased the burden of the storm of thoughts she had in her mind, in his quirky, perverted way, true, but still, it had helped.

For that, when their gazes met, she whispered a quiet: “Thank you”.

The demon didn't quite understand why she had said that, but soon smiled in the girl's direction, the two stood for a few moments looking at each other, and feeling a noticeable throbbing in their chests, they both nervously nodded to continue talking to the couple as they walked towards the café.

Although something very interesting was about to happen that morning. And the poor brunette, who was beginning to come out of the storm, had no idea that, from that day on, many things were going to change... And perhaps for the worse.