Sayel blinked, then nodded. "Of course, that would be nice." He paused, feeling as though he should probably warn her he couldn't really dance. Just so they weren't surprised, and so they could back out if they wanted to. "I, uh, just want you to know. I can't… really… dance that well." Sayel took another sip of his root beer. To be totally honest, he didn't even know what good dancing was. It had been forever since he'd done anything like this. In fact, he couldn't even remember the last time he'd done something like this. If it had even happened, it had been a long time ago.
"That's ok, I can lead" she grabbed his hand and led him toward the crowded dance floor, and waved her hand in the air. At the wave of her hand, people moved out of the way and left a considerable space for her and the handsome stranger to dance. Looking at him now, they felt the considerable height difference between them, and it was pretty intimidating… but also strangely attractive. As they positioned themself on the dance floor, she flicked a hand again, and the song switched to a salsa. She liked salsa. "Don't worry about it" they assured him, smiling "I'll go slow"
"Okay." Sayel let himself get pulled towards the dance floor. Based on the way people followed what they wanted, he guessed they'd been here a lot. Right, she had said something about coming her a lot and never seeing him. She even had control over the music. It changed to something that seemed familiar, but he couldn't place it. Well, they had said they would lead. He just had to follow and hope he didn't trip over his own feet. At least he could manage to not do that. "Perfect," Sayel said, nodding. It had just occurred to him that she'd grabbed his hand and that he really liked the sensation of someone else's hand in his.
She placed a hand on his hip, placing his on hers. "Ok, so what you wanna do to dance salsa is" they stepped forward, pushing him into the right position "You want to move your left leg back when I move my right leg forward, and then step a beat without going forward or backwards" she pulled him back, hand gripping his waist a little tighter "And after that, you step your right forward and I step my left back, then we repeat" she began to sway her hips to the beat of the song, looking up at his face smiling "And you wanna do this all with fluid steps, swaying constantly… like your drunk!" she laughed at her own joke "You got all that?"
Oh, his hand was on her hip. And her hand was on his. Sayel pulled his attention back to the present, trying his best to listen to their instructions. "Uh… yeah! For sure." Hmm, he could do that. Sayel followed their lead, moving a bit stiffly as first. Hey, in his defense, he was nervous. He wanted her to like him so much. But he slowly got more comfortable with the music, and with her as well. His movements got more fluid and more comfortable. And… Sayel was having fun. Dancing with her felt like the most natural thing in the world. Like he was meant to be here with her. He didn't know exactly why–after all, he was an angel and they were just a human. Still… it felt right.
Adalia closed their eyes as they swayed fluidly, she felt perfectly in place when she was there with him. They even forgot, for a few seconds, that they were a demon. They felt like a normal human person, enjoying a short life with another, very handsome, human person. Their polite smile had changed to a solemnly happy one. Then she remembered she was a demon. This was a life she would never be allowed. And yet, she didn't mind. She just wanted to live in the moment. Nothing before mattered. Nothing after mattered. Only now. As she felt their bodies moving along to the rhythm, she looked up at him. He seemed to feel the same. "This is nice. We should… see each other more often…" she whispered boldly, hoping he heard her over the music. She fell silent after this, still rhythmically dancing, heart beating fast as she awaited a response.
Sayel pushed thoughts of humans and angels from his mind. He was hardly even an angel in his mind. He'd been down here for too long, documenting everything about the humans. It had been ages since he'd even seen another angel. For the moment, they were the only thing that mattered. It was just him and them and the music. A smile slowly spread across his face. He could get used to this. And it seemed like she had the same idea. "I'd love that…" At that moment, it occurred to him that he'd never even asked what their name was. He'd also not told them what his name was. "I'm sorry, I don't think I've introduced myself. My name is Sayel. Can I get yours?"
"Ah!" she facepalmed softly "Sorry, I got… caught up in the moment" she sighed almost dreamily "I'm Adalia… would you like my number too?" she smiled, pulling her phone from her purse. She was definitely blushing. "Maybe we can… meet up later this week? You don't have to decide now but… text me"
(btw, i'm going to be gone for a vacation for the next week or so. replies might be slow)
"Adalia…" Sayel said slowly, turning the name over in his mind. It was really beautiful, very fitting of the lovely person he was dancing with. "I, uh… yes." Sayel had a phone, just because it seemed like everyone had them these days, but he didn't really know how to use it. He just used it to watch his favorite tv shows and movies when he got particularly bored. Sayel pulled it out, tapping around for a while before he finally found his text messages. "Here, it would probably be better if you put it in," he said, wanting to cover up the fact that he didn't know how to put someone's number in.
His awkwardness was so charmingly cute, Adalia couldn't help but break into a toothy grin "Alright, here" she took his phone and put her number in, inputting her name as the contact along with a heart eyes emoji. If she was anything, she was straightforward. "Oh! and just so you know, I am non-binary. Y'know, not really a girl, but definitely not a boy. She/They pronouns." they clarified. They knew from his aura that he wouldn't care, but they wanted to inform him anyways. Y'know, getting to know each other more. " I'm, *also", free on thursdays and fridays. Feel free to text me" she winked.
(btw, I'm going on vacation, so I probably won't be able to respond much at all this week! :)
Sayel took back his phone, letting out a slight laugh at the way Adalia put their name into his phone. Well, that was a good sign. He slipped his phone back into his pocket and nodded. "Ah, okay. I guess I would say I'm the same. Uh, except for the pronouns. He/him for me." Sayel was definitely tripping over his words a little. He wasn't all that used to putting labels on himself. He usually just existed as he was. It helped that he didn't ever talk to anyone. "Oh, alright then. I… I will." Sayel was technically never free since he was supposed to be writing down everything that was happening, but he really doubted anyone really cared anymore. He'd been slacking off for a while now. It wouldn't matter if he slacked off some more.
(Sorry I was gone so long, I had a ton of schoolwork)
They seemed to lose themself in his eyes, but they also saw something else in their peripheral vision. Her friends were starting to trickle out of the club. "I uh, I think those are my friends. I gotta go" she sighed a bit "But don't forget to text me" she smiled up at him, gazing into his eyes, heart melting. She'd definitely never fallen this hard for anybody before "Well, I'll be off" she turned to leave, turning back to him one last time before exiting the door, and waved at him.
(You're totally fine, school comes first! :)
Sayel tried to ignore the disappointment that rushed through him when Adalia said they had to go. He couldn't keep her here forever. She had a life, after all, and friends to spend time with. "Okay. I won't." He gave her what he considered to be a rather stupid smile, waving back at them as they left. Well, it was back to his job. Sayel sighed and navigated the crowd back to his spot on the wall. No seats had opened up yet, because of course they hadn't. He'd just have to lean against the wall and make the best of it. He hoped he'd be able to see Adalia again soon. There was something about her that made him feel right. Sayel had been happy, if a bit flustered, when he was with them. And even now, just thinking about them, he was feeling the same way.
(Gahhh, I forgot this one too and it's one of my own. I'm so sorry. It started off with schoolwork, but it carried on through winter break, so I apologize deeply and intensely)
"Hey Adalia, how'd it go? I mean, you practically flirted with that guy in the corner all night." One of Adalia's friends teased "You gonna hook up?" Adalia rolled her eyes and chuckled "No this one… this one is different. The weird thing is, I can't really pinpoint why he's different, but he is." Her friend just laughed "Alright girl. Whatever you say" Adalia smiled and looked back, sensing his energy one last time before leaving. Even in bed, all she could do was think of him. She didn't need sleep of course, but that wasn't the point. She smiled softly as she curled up under her blanket. She couldn't wait to text him.
(Totally fine, my friend! Life comes first, and I can understand life getting away from you a little. :)
Eventually, Sayel had to turn his attention back to his task. He stayed there on that wall until the club closed, until the very last person had left. He took his usual path back to the small apartment he'd owned since forever ago. Even though he could get a bigger, nicer one, he liked this one. There was a tiny bedroom and decently-sized kitchen, enough room for a TV and a desk, and that was all he needed. It wasn't like he ever had guests over. Sayel flopped onto the couch, carefully setting his notebook onto the nearby table/stool he never used. He should probably do something productive, like continue to record human actions. But, like so many other late nights, Sayel found himself turning the TV on instead. It was his routine. He'd think about doing work, and then watch some animated TV show or movie until he fell asleep. Maybe when he woke up again, he'd have a text from Adalia. Probably not–there was no way they would really text him–but it couldn't hurt to hope.
Adalia woke up early of course. She had work to do. And it was not college work. It was demon work. She got up from her curled up position in bed and sniffed the air. She smiled and giggled a bit as she did. She adored college, it was full of sinners. Most people commited minor sins of course, cheating on tests or smoking, others, committed irreparably awful sins. Those were here victims. Those unworthy of forgiveness. She had to take them before they turned to a path of good. That morning she smelled her first victim. A man, a teacher possibly. He was definitely on the older side, white man too. They seemed to be her most common victims. He had done something vile. Unspeakable. But his energies feel soft. He will crumble and repent soon, which means she had to get to him before he could. She shifted into her beastial form and travelled through the shadows to get to him. As she followed his scent, she learned more about who he was. His name is Gerald Walls. He was indeed a white man, he wasn't a teacher though, he was a dean. British descent. History of smoking cigs, though he tried to quit recently. It wouldn't last. Gay, but definitely misogynistic. He had blood on his hands. As she neared, she felt exactly what he'd done. He'd stabbed another teacher with a shard of broken glass. She had found him making out with a student. He didn't want to get caught. He's dragging her body behind an alley. And she was there, materializing right before him. "Wh-who are you?" he asked. She was in her human form of course, which was comprehensible to the human mind.
She responded "Judgement" and as she transformed into her true form, he was engulfed in flames and crumbled to ashes, and as she sucked his soul into her lion's maw, his sharp shrieks pierced the air. Immediately then, she remembered Sayel, and she transformed back to human to look at the time. 8 am. She thought for a moment before deciding that yes, this is a good moment to text him. Still standing in the alley, ash staining her fingertips, she typed into her phone
Gm, this is Adalia, how r u Sayel?
and sent it.
Sayel woke up to the sun in his eyes and the TV still playing. He fumbled around for the TV remote, flailing for an embarrassing amount of time before finally finding it and flicking the TV off. After laying on the couch for another five minutes, Sayel decided it was probably time to get up. He had work to do, like it or not. Maybe he could go to a cafe and spend the morning there. That sounded nice, actually. He pulled himself to his feet in one quick motion, snatching his phone from the couch before it could leap onto the ground. There was no way anyone had texted him, but he still turned it on to check his notifications. And there it was. A message from Adalia.
"Good morning, this is Adalia," Sayel read, trying to stop his lips from curving into a dorky smile. "How are you Sayel. Ha!" The dorky smile finally won. She'd texted him! His hope had paid off, it seemed. Sayel slowly tapped his response, "gm adalia, im good. going to coffee shop." He paused, finger hovering over the keyboard. Did he want to invite her? Would she even say yes? Inviting her would mean doing a lot less work, but he didn't really mind that. "want to join?" he added, pressing send before he could overthink it. "Gah!" Sayel tossed his phone onto his couch and marched away from it. He should get his supplies together and stop freaking out over one simple text.
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