A Fiery Friendship [1x1]

Melissa and Henry jumped at the voice message and covered their ears with a yelp. It scared the mess outta them, and it was worse since it was a sound that they had never heard of. "I knew it was a bad idea to mess with her! Now she's missed even more," Henry said as he pointed at the fallen phone.
He scoffed and turned around from Ethan and the other ghosts, furrowing his brow at what could happen when they got back to the school.



Janine laid down in her bed as she waited for the next message to come. Surely that kid had something to say after that. As Janine expected he did, and it was a sort of threat. She didn't like threats, but considering the situation she almost expected it. Nonetheless...

She flicked her brought out tail casually as she read the next and last mesaage. "So he has a grandfather? No doubt he has this same ability....." Janine muttered to herself. She sighed when the boy told her to stay away from the ghosts - How was she supposed to be in the school without the ghosts constantly being around her? Not to mention Dodie. She wanted to talk to her and see if she was alright. The last thing she saw upon leaving was her laying on the floor.

She shook her head at the threat about Father Smith. She didn't know that he knew the priest.... Then again it didn't seem surprising considering what the kid was.... Still, this was a bit intimidating, as even though she had never had to talk to the priest or go in his room, she almost always felt something strange every time ahe passed his door. She had always wondered what the problem was, but was never able to guess what it was.

The overall message confirmed her suspicions. He was wary about the offer, and blatantly refused to talk. Janine wasn't surprised at all, and almost expected it. He had good reason to fear her, but strangely, she had a tiny inkling of a part of her that didn't want to be feared by him, or the ghosts. What? Was Janine getting soft as to what others thought?

Pathetic. With a growl, Janine closed out from messages and closed her phone. She curled up and laid in her bed some more, wondering if she should tell her mom and sister what was going on with her. After a short nap, Janine decided to tell her problems. After all, she knew that if there was anyone that wouldn't judge her for her unique problems it was her mom.

So after waiting in her room for hours, her mother came home. Janine had been mentally and emotionally preparing for this moment, but she knew that she would have to wait a little longer.

So when her mother got refreshed and knocked on Janine's door, she was surprised to hear the words "come in". The mother came in the door slowly, making sure she wasn't disturbing anything. She was surprised once more to see Janine sitting up and holding her tail in her hands like it was a cat, stroking it gently as she looked up. "Hi baby... Are you.... Okay?" The mother asked with a caring voice. Janine nodded but quickly shook her head. "Well.... Not really.... I need to talk to you. And Tiana. Bring her in as well," Janine said in a quiet voice.

After the two got settled in, Janine sighed and began to speak. 'Well.... Here goes everything...'

"So.... Something happened Monday.... Something that I still have no idea how it happened..."
 
Two weeks later...
​
Ethan spent the first few hours of the day in the library, writing to ghosts as they turned up under the cover of studying. He had chemistry first period, and was the first in the class. There was only one spare seat in the class, which was Dodie's old one - he actually hadn't seen Dodie all day - which was beside both Ethan's and Janine's. Ethan took his seat, making sure to avoid Janine's eye, and waited for class to start. He felt the extra weight around his neck of two sets of rosary beads and holy water bottles in his pockets.

Just before the bell rang, somebody interesting walked into the class. The most noticeable thing about him was that he was drop dead gorgeous, as well as having one of the most admirable tans in the world. Most of the girls in the class found their eyes following him as he stood at the front of the class. "This is Chemistry, yeah?" He said to one of the girls at the front. You'd never have heard a thicker Californian accent if you went directly to a Californian and asked them to do a Californian accent. She nodded quickly. "Cool. Free seat?" A couple heads looked around the classroom, and fingers instantly pointed to the seat beside Ethan.

Ethan, like the girls, had been unable to look away from the new boy, but not because he was thinking of what he would do if he got him alone. There was some sort of energy coming off the mystery boy, like a brilliant light. Just looking at him made him feel happier, somehow. Lighter. Ethan's grey eyes met the boy's emerald green ones as he walked up, and it took Ethan's breath away.

"Hey, this is free, right?" The boy asked, a playful smirk on his face. He knew the effect he was having on the girls.
Ethan's mouth was too dry to speak, and he just nodded.
"Cheers. I'm Raphael Annas," the Californian said, taking the seat. "You?"
"Ethan Underwood." He glanced around the class to see if anyone else was reacting the same. The girls were looking, yeah, but nobody seemed to notice anything.
Raphael turned away from Ethan to introduce himself to the girl. "Hey there," he said, tapping on Janine's shoulder. "I'm Raphael." He extended a hand.
 
The two weeks went by way too fast for Janine. Her mother had somewhat forced her to go to school, on account of hoping that her emotions had calmed down enough to go to back. She sighed as she relayed the meeting she had attempted to make with her family.

"I have... Something to tell you...."

Unfortunately, Janine had backed out just as she thought she had the nerve to tell them her problems, and had given them other information instead of what she really meant to say. It was infuriating, and Janine saw that her mother was again suspicious of whether she meant to say what she discussed, but she couldn't bring herself to say it.

'Pathetic.... Why can't I just say it? They would understand.... Right?'

Janine asked herself with a saddened sigh. She got to her first class when there were a decent amount of students in the classroom, making sure to keep her eyes averted from everyone else's. Especially Ethan's. Now hat Dodie was gone, she had noticed that she and Ethan were closer in classes than she thought. Before, she had never had much of a second thought about the boy, but now that she was his enemy of sorts, Janine now has to keep her eyes out for him. It was annoying, and she'd rather have kept her neutral ignorance regarding his presence.

Before the bell rang, Janine had her head down, as per usual with her demeanor and attitude, so when she sensed a peculiar energy coming in the room, Janine's senses went on alert. She opened her eyes and blinked curiously, slightly sniffing the air for the source of the object of interest.

Turns out, it was a new kid. A boy too. But he was different than the normal boy. Rather than some expensive cologne or some snazzy looking clothes, the boy seemed to be emmiting this exuberant sort of energy, making those particularly keen to this sort of stuff reactive to it. A light seemed to glow from him.... But of course Janine could've been imagining it. She didn't realize that he was going to sit right next to her until it was too late, and his scent was wafting closer to her nose. She blinked as more positive energies radiated near her, and her body seemed conflicted as on how to react to it. She kept a studious eye on the boy as he introduced himself tp Ethan - but panicked when she noticed him to be turning around to face her.
Janine yelped in her head and shifted her gaze, praying that she wasn't seen staring. She flinched and growled softly to herself when she was tapped, not liking it when she was touched without her knowing it. But either way, she turned her head to somewhat face the boy, her face still shrouded by her black hood. He introduced himself as Raphael, and extended a hand, most likely to shake hers. Janine kept still for a moment and thought on it. Should she shake his hand? She didn't normally introduce herself to anybody. But his presence made her want to.... Socialize? With a slightly puzzled head tilt, Janine slowly extended her hand and shook the new kid's hand. She dared show a single eye to him as she pulled her hand back and retreated it to her pockets.

"Janine."

Was all she said before going back to her solidary brooding.
 
Raphael's hands were warm, but just touching them sort of made the world seem better. He put his hands back on the table, an eyebrow quirked at Janine's anti-social behaviour. He smirked a little, and placed his hand on her shoulder. Rather soon, Janine would be able to feel a sort of warm ripple going through her body, starting from her shoulder and ebbing out. If she looked to his hand, she might see what looked like little rays of light floating off his hand. His smile was friendly enough.

Ethan stared. He was about to tell Raphael not to try with Janine, until he saw the little rays of light. His eyes widened, and his head snapped around, looking for a ghost in the room. He spotted a ghost pass through the room, and knocked quickly three times on the table. The ghost turned; a young girl from the school's time as an elementary. Her name might have been Carla. Ethan raised his eyebrows, signalling the ghost to come over. The girl pushed herself up off of the ground so she could see what he was writing in his jotter. 'There's something up with the guy next to me. Can you see if he can see you?' He wrote. Carla read it over - struggling a little - and then nodded.

She floated directly into Raphael's line of view. She waved her tiny hand at him, trying to catch his eye. "Hello? Sir?" She chirped sweetly.
Raphael's eyes darted from Janine to Carla. He shot her a smile and a wink, but then looked back to Janine.
Ethan's eyes widened again, and he looked to Jamie for confirmation.
"Yep!" She chirped. "Can I go now?"
Ethan quickly shook his head. He raised his eyebrows to call her over again, and he wrote something else.
 
Janine was aiming to keep to herself after the initial handshake. That was as far as she wanted to go with the interactions, so when the new boy touched her shoulder, Janine began to growl and open her mouth to warn him about her space. But before she could get a word out, Janine felt a pulsing warmth spread all over her body. She stopped herself in surprise, blinking rapidly at the warmth that spread all over her body. It felt like she was outside on a warm summer day. Where the sun rays beat down on her as she basked on a pole or the grass.

Janine shook herself in a shiver, not because she was cold, but because she didn't know what to do with herself. She wanted to embrace the warmth that was all over her, but she knew she couldn't do that. Grabbing the hand would've been extremely weird and awkward, and keeping still would've been strange as well, but what was she supposed to do?
As much as Janine liked the feelings going through her, Janine soon felt her other side doing something.... Was her body fighting it? Why? It felt good to her, so why was she.....

Janine accidentally let out a small hiss, making her gasp and flinch within herself. This wasn't good... Something was wrong. Her head felt dizzy and her body felt weak, like she was close to fainting. What was going on?! Hissing sounds echoed in her head, and she began to pant, though it started off soft and quiet.

Janine shifted her eye to a young ghost girl who tried to get the boy's attention, and was shocked to see him respond to her. He can see ghosts too?! What was he? Janine took a peek at Raphael's hand and saw the rays of light, almost like the sun. She took another look in his eyes, her own now showing slight panic and confusion, and shuddered some more.

"Umm... You're.... Nice.... I.... I have to go.... I'm sorry," Janine strained to say as she struggled to get up. She kept her head down the entire time as she forced herself up and not show any signs of ailment, speed walking her way out of the room. Once she was out of sight of the new kid and Ethan, Janine leaned against the wall to focus on her balance and weakness; she was slowly regaining her strength, but she wanted to be alone at this moment. Before any of the two decided to follow her, Janine ran on her shaky legs and spinning head, looking for the closest bathroom to hide out in for the moment. Turning a corner and halfway down the hall, Janine found and rushed herself in a bathroom, happy that nobody was in there already. She panted nervously as the feelings lingered, and she waited for them to go away. She sighed in relief when she noticed the weakness and dizziness go away, but then changed it to sighs of disappointment when she noticed the warmth leaving her body too. She sighed as she was left to be her normal body temperature, but it strangely felt colder to her, like she was left outside without a jacket.

Janine rubbed her arms as if she was chilly, thinking about the warmth Raphael was giving off.

"What is he?"
 
Though he was hiding it well, Janine's panic was affecting Raphael. Back through his hand, jolts of pain like long nails shot through his arm, making it difficult to keep his hand in place. He kept at it though, waited for Janine's proper reaction. He smiled at her kindly as she stood up. "Okay, D," he said, having figured something small out.

Ethan scribbled something out on the page. Carla read it, sighed, then floated in front of Raphael again. "Knock on the table twice if you're a medium," she said.
Raphael tilted his head, a smirk playing across his face. He glanced in Ethan's direction, more exactly at his notebook. He shook his head a tiny amount, looking directly at Ethan. He raised an eyebrow, pulling out a pencil. In the corner of the page, he wrote, 'You?'.
Ethan's eyes widened, looking into Raphael's green ones. It felt impossible to lie to him. Slowly, he nodded.
Raphael smiled. Quick as anything, he was drawing on Ethan's page. What came out was a half, a wing, a halo and a cross. Raphael circled the images, and waited for Ethan's reaction.
The teen looked over the picture, puzzled. Half holy? Half Christian? He looked up at Raphael, hoping for some guidance.
Raphael laughed, and it was like the sound of angels singing. It turned heads with it's beauty, but it made Ethan and Carla flinch.

Carla staggered backwards, coughing a little. The laugh had let out a ray of light in all directions in the classroom, and it had hit Carla square in the chest. Carla lifted her head, looking to Raphael, and she gasped. "Ethan! Ethan, he's got wings! Little tiny ones, but wings!" Carla shouted over the sound of the bell ringing.
Ethan whipped his head around to try and catch sight of what Carla was talking about, but he couldn't see anything. Before he had time to piece anything together, Mrs Macadam walked in. "Time to get started, everyone!" She chirped.
 
Janine lingered in the bathroom for a while longer, until the coolness of the bathroom began to make itself known to her body. She shivered from the cold this time, and walked over to the door and opened it slowly to peek if anyone else was around. With a sigh, Janine crept out of the bathroom and shook her head, trying to think clearly about the boy in her class as as he walked back to her classroom. Raphael was the name?

He was so nice, and he was willing to talk to her. His voice was calming and gentle and he was so polite. And then his touch. Janine actually.... liked his touch. She felt she could stay in his hand forever. But at the same time, something didn't like it. Was it her? Was it her psyche trying to avert her from contact since she an hadn't condoned it? Or was it her demonic side being affected? She recalled hissing on accident; she severely hoped that nobody heard. Especially Raphael. And he was sitting right next to her.

Janine gulped as she walked down the hallway. Why was she feeling this way? She never acted this flustered around new kids.... Or boys in general. 'Oh crap don't tell me I'm feeling something.... No don't psych yourself out...! Stop it!' Janine scolded in her head as she stepped up to her room. She heard the teacher talking through the cracked door and groaned; she had gotten in and began teaching. Hopefully she wasn't late, and the lesson hadn't begun just yet. She hesitated, thoroughly noticing that her hesitation would cost her more attention. She peeked through the window on the door and saw her bending down and searching for something. Taking the opportunity, Janine opened the door and slid inside the room, her gait making it seem as if she should be loud, but was actually being quiet and somewhat sneaky. She said in her desk without a sound, keeping her composure just as the teacher got herself back up. Janine needed to keep herself calm.... She didn't want to freak out in front of the new kid.
 
The teacher seemed to notice Janine, but she didn't say anything. Dead girl's best friend had it's benefits. Raphael turned to look at her, flashing a lopsided grin, before looking back to his workbook. Ethan looked thoroughly shaken up, and the ghost girl hung around by the corner for a few more minutes, but eventually she got bored - or maybe just too impatient to wait for something more to happen - and left to go gossip.

The rest of the lesson went by fine, though Ethan never seemed to return fully back to normal. The bell rang for the end of the lesson and Raphael was in no rush to pack up, it seemed. He reached out and took both Janine and Ethan by the elbows, laughing at the shock on Ethan's face. Again, his laugh tinkled through the air; pure holy energy that turned heads. It hit Ethan right in his soul and made him feel dizzy. He snatched his arm out of Raphael's grasp, quickly packed up his stuff and rushed out of the class before he could be touched again.

Raphael watched Ethan go, and laughed again, this time a tiny chuckle. He turned to look at Janine. "What're you in next, Janine?" He asked with a tilt of his head. The heat coming out of his hand felt stronger now, maybe even a little bit painful to the demon side of Janine.
 
Janine went through the lesson rather fine, happy that the teacher didn't start a partner experiment during the lesson. Janine was easily able to sense the energy that was flowing from the new kid, but she didn't want to make eye contact. She was afraid of her eyes changing in front of him and Ethan.

When the bell rang, Janine packed her stuff and prepared to leave. But before she got herself ready to leave, she felt a hand on her elbow, making her eyes widen from under her hood. She thanked God that they couldn't see the blush on her face. But she did lift her head when he laughed, and she saw the look on Ethan's face. He seemed flustered as well, and was quick to escape Raphael from his grasp. The laugh made Janine whimper a little, but she didn't know why. What was going on with her?! She couldn't be scared of him could she?

The hissing became prominent in her head, making Janine respond with small hisses on her own. Some part of Janine was rejecting something: was it happiness? Ridiculous. Even a demon's body seeks simple pleasures every now and again.
Her arm began to feel the heat once more, and she shuddered again from the touch. She loved the heat from the sun, and she wanted to stay in his arms all day - like wrap herself around him like a rock. Curse her serpentine tendencies! Her body was beginning to reject these energies and made her head throb a little, causing her to shift uncomfortably. Pain began to seep in this time, but she forced herself to push it down; she's dealt with pain before and she has a high pain tolerance.

But Janine was so focused on not reacting to the pain, that she didn't hear what Raphael was saying. She suddenly looked up with a startled look on her face. "Huh? What?" Janine started with a small gasp. She looked into the new kid's eyes and wanted to melt.

"I'm.... Uhh... I- in... English.... Ms. Whitman," Janine stuttered.
 
Last edited:
Raphael's face lit up with a smile. "Same!" He laughed again, sending out more waves of light. "Can you wait for me? I'll just be a second," he said, letting go of Janine's elbow so that he could pack his things up. When he was finished, he slung the bag over his shoulder. "Let's go, then," he said, walking out of the class.

His footsteps were so large and smooth it was almost like he was floating across the corridor floor. There were figures in the hall that were clearly ghosts that stared at him as he passed, and he would smile and wink at them. There was something up with this guy. Most of the ghosts that looked at him were looking at his back.

Something Janine might notice as they walked to the English department was a familiar face on a staircase. It was Dodie, who, along with maybe five or six other girls, were all huddled on the stairs together, laughing and having a good time. Since they didn't have to walk up any staircases, there wasn't a chance to speak with her, but the ginger's eyes went over Janine as if she was nothing but a brick on a wall.

Raphael and Janine arrived to the class on time, but the only free seat in the class was behind Janine. "Wait for me after class, okay?" He said to Janine, not even seeming to care about the stares from the other girls. Without waiting for a response, he walked to his desk and started to get ready for the lesson.
 
Janine felt more pain and fluttered her eyes when Raphael released more light. She just might faint this time, she could feel it.

'Please let go of my arm... Please release my arm so I can stand properly and not make a fool of myself,' Janine begged in her head.

She took a large breath of air when he finally let go to grab his things, leaning on the desk to regain proper standings. This was ridiculous, she couldn't even enjoy letting him touch her. She wanted to hug and embrace him, let the warmth in, but her demonic side refused to let his energy flow through her. It was things like this that made her dislike what she was.

It took her a minute to realize that Raphael said that he was in the same class as her, and cringed at the probability of her not being able to do her work. Why? What was this overpowering influence he has? Was is some sort of spell? Was he a witch or some crap? No, that was a ridiculous notion.
Like a small sheep, Janine followed the boy out of their class and went into the hallways towards their new one. Janine felt as if she should lead the way since he was new, but she couldn't help but stare at him as she lagged a few footsteps behind.

The teenager felt all the eyes of the students stare in her direction, but she knew they were looking at Raphael's body. Still, it made her uncomfortable. Soon, she noticed a familiar looking ghost... Dodie! She was talking to a group of other ghosts, and she smiled a little seeing that she has some ghost friends. But she couldn't help but notice that even though she was walking right in front of Dodie, she didn't look up at her or notice her from the corner of her eye. This puzzled Janine, but she had to get to class, so she couldn't think about her for too long. When they got to the classroom and Raphael asked for her to wait for him after class ended, Janine blinked and stood in surprise. Didn't he have other things to do other than ask her to follow him everywhere? It wasn't like he was in every one of her classes... right?

He left before she could answer, so Janine just sighed and sat down in her seat.... In front of him. Wonderful, it might not be right beside him, but it was still too close than her demonic body can handle.

This was going to be a long class.
 
All through the rest of the lesson, Janine would find Raphael quite unoffending, as long as he wasn't laughing, or chuckling, or giggling - that stuff was just as bad. It seemed that as long as you weren't directly looking at him, or were close enough to him, whatever freaky influence he hadn't wasn't going to work. She wouldn't get any chance to escape after class, however, as it seemed he packed up extra-quick. He stood by her table, perched on it so that she couldn't ignore him. Despite this, he wasn't speaking to her. The other people in the class seemed compelled to come and talk to him. And why not? He was a handsome foreigner who made the girls blush; he had a one-way ticket to the top of the school food chain. Even still, he shooed people away until Janine was finished packing up.

He spun around to look at her once the people that wanted to talk with him were finished. He smiled, leaning forward as if genuinely interested. "So, Janey, - can I call you that? - tell me more about yourself," he said, a cheeky glint in his eyes. The simple eye contact seemed to just radiate trust, as if this was one of the most good people on the world. Janine may feel compelled to mention all of the more unsavoury parts of her condition.
 
Thankfully, throughout the English period, Janine didn't 'suffer' from Raphael's strangely intense charisma and influence. She was able to write and listen to her teacher for the whole period. She hoped to get away when class ended and go straight to the cafeteria to get her Brunch, but was stopped by Raphael. Janine cringed and lowered her gaze. She needed to eat something or else she'll get distracted and aggressive during class time. The last time that happened, Janine had to make up a reason why she was zoning out. It was extremely hard to focus when one's mind suddenly becomes bombarded with thoughts of feeding yourself. Eventually, she would end up having to eat something before she ended up on a hunt.
Janine was confused as to why Raphael wanted to talk to her alone. Why, when he literally had the whole school wanting to talk to him. What was so interesting about her, a loner who clearly doesn't have any friends and has less than a friendly attitude towards strangers? What made her so approachable? Was he just that weird? She flinched when he spoke to her again. Cringing and slightly growling at the suggested nickname, Janine put the last bits of her stuff away. She looked up slightly, still hiding her eyes from the new boy, and sighed as she opened her mouth.

"I'm not very keen on the nicknames...." Janine said before she made the mistake of taking a peek at his pretty eyes. Her brown eyes widened a little as they seemed to make her think that she was able to talk to him no matter what she said. She blinked and fiddled with her fingers nervously, looking down with burning cheeks.

"Umm... I-I don't have anything interesting to say to you. There... Um... Isn't anything interesting about me really," Janine said nervously. But even as she said that, she wanted to tell him more about herself. Perhaps he could know about her..... Could he? No! He couldn't know, not this new kid of all people!

Janine suddenly got on her feet and slung the backpack around her shoulders. "It's brunch time. I'm going to go," Janine said as she passed a couple of desks.
 
Raphael laughed, as if Janine's request to not be called 'Janey' was a joke. He tilted his head. "That can't be right. There's something interesting about everyone," he said, jumping off the desk. He followed after her just as quick. "Like with me: my full name's Raphael Daniel Annas, I'm seventeen and a quarter, and I had to move schools because I nearly got it on with a guy who thought he was a demon and tried to kill and eat me!" He said, rushing after Janine, out of the class. He laughed again at the story, face lit up as if the idea of demons was so ridiculous.

He turned his head to look at Janine. "I'm coming to brunch with you," he decided, still walking by her side. "Even models have got to eat. And there's got to be some interesting stuff about you, and I'm gonna find it out. What about that Ethan kid? Where does he go when he's not in class?" He babbled, digging into his messenger bag and pulling out a Protein Nature Valley bar and starting to eat while still walking.
 
Janine was starting to grow annoyed with this new kid's refusal of respecting personal space. She had never been so close to a person like this since before Dodie.... Janine briefly grew sad at the thought, but it was quickly shaken away to the voice of Raphael. She huffed and lowered her hood.
But she quickly brought her head up when she heard the reason why he moved schools. Her walking speed faltered for a moment, her eyes blinking rapidly. Did he really just say that? What was the reason behind that?
Janine couldn't say nothing to that statement.... Any reasonable person would react to it.

"Uuhhh.... Really? Wow, you, uh, have quite a story there.... I honestly can't tell if you're just messing around or telling the truth... Either way that's a strange reason to move," Janine said with as steady of a voice as possible. She turned her head slightly to the snacking boy.

"Well that's where you're wrong. I am not interesting in the least. Piss off about that," Janine stated with a low voice. She got even more irritated when Raphael began to ask about that boy who was in Chemistry beside him. She assumed that boy was Ethan. "Oh, him. Don't ask me crap about him. The prick, I don't know where he goes at all; I don't associate with folks like him... At least not on friendly terms," Janine said with irritation well laced in her voice.
 
Raphael raised an eyebrow, his face very serious for once. "Strange reason?" He huffed. His finger seemed to trace something across his stomach, face hard as rock. "The kid broke into my house and fucking stabbed me, Janey," he growled. "Wouldn't you move schools after that? I have the scar to prove it."

He shook his head. "Nope, there's something interesting about everyone. Like that kid that sits right behind you in English, did you know he watches birds? And the girl that sits next to me has the original Pacman cabinet in her bedroom and plays it every day when she comes home from school. The guy that sits behind me got his art assignment in a proper art gallery." He kept on rattling off different things about the people in their English class, most of the stuff people may have only said to him to look cooler, but some of it sounded legitimate.

The serious moment from before seemed to disappear with a tilt of his head and a smile of someone who had just found out something seriously juicy. "Oooh, what'd he do? He seemed fine when I was talking to him," he said, taking a bite of the snack bar. "A little bit weird, though. Maybe a bit stuck up, like he knew things I didn't know. Sorta creepy."
 
Janine's ears shifted when she picked up on the change in Raphael's tone of voice. Did he just lose his friendly demeanor? She shivered slightly and turned her head a bit to see the boy trace his stomach. When he asked his question, Janine kept silent, unable to answer the question accurately. She had never seen a demon of any sort besides her. She wouldn't know how to react to a demon attacking her.

She was deep in thought with that question, but she managed to snap out of it before she zoned out completely. She shook her head with a huff, then went back to listening to Raphael. "Honestly, you got all that in one class period? Who do you pay attention to, the teacher or the students? I hope you can retain the teacher's lesson," Janine said with a small huff.
At Raphael's poke at Ethan, Janine scoffed and shook her head. "No way I'm telling you. I barely even know you. And besides... I don't call people weird... I just consider the word.... Unique. But you're the exception. You're wierd as hell," Janine said as she scratched her head from her hood.

At this point, the two had gotten in the cafeteria, where a large amount of children were getting and receiving their brunch. These fifteen minutes were for those who were late for breakfast; a glorious second chance for some food on one's stomach for the remainder of the morning. Janine ate breakfast at home, but she was late for breakfast at school. She got hungry a bit faster than others, but she was able to hold off on food for prolonged hours at a time if she ate enough. But this wasn't one of those times. She was very thankful that she didn't have to 'fast' like some folks did.
She got her muffin and milk and sat down at an empty table. "I. Eat. Alone.... Go sit with your groupies or something," Janine said as she pointed to a group of girls whispering and giggling to each other. When a few of the girls looked up to Raphael, it was even more obvious that the topic they were on was most likely about him.

Janine stared almost longingly before she scoffed and shook her head. "I'm pretty sure they have something interesting about them for you to extract and retain," Janine said with a slightly mocking voice.
 
Raphael shrugged. "People like to tell me stuff so that they seem cool," he admitted, taking another bite of the snack bar. He shook his head and waved a hand dismissively in the air, taking Janine's 'hoping' as genuine concern. "I'll do okay. Even if I don't, I've got a job lined up for me after school anyways," he said, laughing again.

He looked around the large cafeteria, smiling at everyone who he made eye contact with. He was a natural; he may as well have been a celebrity on the red carpet with all the attention he was getting, and how well he was handling it. He tilted his head about what Janine said about groupies. "I don't like groupies," he mumbled, standing with one hand on the cafeteria table. "If you don't want me to sit with you, I won't." He leaned off the table, and smirked at Janine. "At least, not for now." He gave a very subtle, very cheeky wink, and turned around and walked off, throwing the wrapper of the Protein bar in the bin as he went out.

However, he wasn't gone for long. A few minutes later, he came back, dragging a reluctant looking Ethan by the wrist. Following after him were an entire squadron of ghosts, though Dodie wasn't among them. Raphael sat down directly in front of Janine, and brought Ethan down with him, clapping down tightly on his shoulder to keep him from running off, presumably. He leant in a little closer. "Did you know Ethan's a medium?" He whispered.
Ethan rubbed his forehead. "Yes, she knows," he muttered, frustrated, and not looking up at Janine. Though through the phone he sounded confident, in person he was small and scared, though wether it was of Raphael or of Janine wasn't really tellable. The other ghosts started to sit down at the table, though none of them sat down directly beside Janine, leaving her space, either for their sake or hers.

Raphael raised an eyebrow and chuckled. "Anyway, he told me that there's something different about you, too. So, if you tell me about you, I'll tell you more about me." He put incredible stress on of each pronoun, but he wasn't talking to Janine like she was stupid. Just like before, there was a strong sort of persuasion power coming out of Raphael, that magnificent quirked brow, and the playful, taunting smirk.
 
Janine quirked an eye at Raphael when he said he had a job opportunity somewhere. What was this kid trying to do with himself? It seemed like a lot to do for someone near her age.

Janine was relieved when he said that he wouldn't sit with her and walked off. But of course he said it in a teasing way that made her skin crawl. 'He needs to stop before he gets a reaction that he might not like,' Janine thought as she took a couple bites of her muffin and sips of milk.

Just when she thought she'd have the rest of the brunch to herself, the sounds of unusual stepping patterns caught her attention. With a curious head tilt, Janine turned her body around and saw Raphael and... Ethan?! And all those ghosts? What was happening? Why was Raphael dragging Ethan cross the cafeteria? What is this kid's deal?!
She sat her food down on the table and crossed her arms with an annoyed huff, though she kept herself quiet until she was spoken to. She growled quietly.

"Hmmm.... So that is the term for your.... ridiculously righteousness an ability. I prefer the term being an asshole," Janine emphasized with a hard glare. She snorted and lifted her head up a little, her eye scanning the ghosts that began to settle around the table. Didn't they have anything else better to do? When Raphael began to talk again, Janine turned her head to face him, taking note him how he was speaking.

Her attitude suddenly seemed to lighten a little, like she could talk to him. Janine fiddled her fingers and stuttered sheepishly, puzzled as to why she was feeling this way. Why did he seem so trustworthy? Well he knows about Ethan.... Perhaps she could tell him about herself. It couldn't be that bad could it?

"W-well.... I, uh.... I have a sister... And... I love rodents, unlike most girls... They aren't that bad. And... Well... I'm a... de-" Janine suddenly realized what she was going to say right then and there. Her heart thumped in a panic as she tried to hurry up and catch her mistake.

"-eeeeeeviant... Uh.... yeah, a deviant.... Yeah. Hehe......" Janine stuttered as she looked down, nearly hyperventilating as she squeezed her hands tightly. She almost told her secret! And she looked at the kid... again! When will he stop?! A smidge of anger flared within Janine. She refused to be swayed by whatever influence this kid had on about 98% of the school population. She looked up at Raphael with a audible growl and a cross of her arms, her eyes showing her irritation.

"Look here you, I'm not going to be caught up in your little game here. You want to talk to folks, pry information out of them with your.... Tricks and whatnot. I'm. Not. Saying. Anything. About myself - not to you, not to this little whelp, and not to your friends, whoever they may be. What makes you think that I may be interesting at all? Ethan probably said that to get your attention off of him, which is still failing by the way," Janine said as she looked to the scared looking boy in front of her. She moved her gaze to the seemingly empty table. She made it seem as if she was just looking out and seeing the mass group of students around her, but she was actually eyeing the ghosts. To make it more believable Janine looked the other way. She glared at Raphael again.
"Humph.... It's crowded in here. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go, before you irritate me further!" Janine said with a raised voice before she angrily scooted off the chair and grabbed her backpack and put it on her back. She then grabbed her food and walked off, still nibbling on her food as she walked. A few seconds later, the bell rung, signaling that Brunch was over and that third period was to start soon. Janine walked out of the cafeteria with the hopes of leaving the two behind.
 
Raphael nodded along with what Janine said, frighteningly encouraging with just those little nods with the smiles. "A deviant, hm?" He asked with a chuckle, seemed to have assumed something from her hesitation. "So, do you like drinking, then?" He asked, a glint of mischief in his eye. Before she even answered it, though, she'd gotten off and stormed off.

Raphael raised a brow, looking towards Ethan, who was hugging his head very close to his chest. The ghosts around the table were all also covering their noses and mouths. Ethan shook his head. "Can't you see the miasma?" He whispered.
Raphael shrugged. "I think I repel it naturally," he mumbled back.
Ethan eyed Raphael up and down as the miasma seemed to fade. He was giving out a very small light that seemed to be making the miasma fade quicker.

Raphael looked back up at Janine, seeming unwilling to lose her as she walked off. Ethan jumped up when the bell rang, hurriedly sprinting off to the next class so that he wouldn't be caught by Raph again. Ralph hardened up his face and went off after Janine. Just before the half-demon left the cafeteria, he grabbed her by the hand, pulling her back into the room. "Hold on a second," he said, spinning her around like they were dancing. "How about you come around my place? I need to catch up on the Biology and the English stuff anyways. I could use some help," he said. The physical contact seemed to make it a lot more difficult to say no.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top