Friendship is Complicated

"Damien?" I inquired, looking at the black-haired man who was glaring at me very intensely. His face instantly lit up after I said his name and he smiled.

"You talked about me, Miguel?" He asked in a, now cheerful voice, then he threw his arms over Miguel's shoulders with a gleeful expression. I felt disregarded.

"Hello princess, It's a pleasure to meet you." the other man stated, with a slight bow. I bowed my head back. "I'm sorry, our meeting is so short but I must be going." He added.

"Oh, it's alright, Tzadqiel," I stated while waving my arms dismissively. He smiled at me.

"I hope we meet again soon Lemiette," Tzadqiel said while waving bye to me. His voice was so relaxing, that I felt all the tension leave my body.

"Miguel, I'll talk with you again later," Damien stated, still ignoring me, and then they both left in a blinding light.

"Hey...um, I think I found her. I, definitely, found someone..." I began. Miguel lay on the couch and looked at me.

"Really?" He inquired. I nodded.

"She went to the same high school as you... I heard you guys were very close." He stayed silent, staring at me. For some reason, retelling this info and him focusing on me so intently, made me feel uneasy. "I'll be your medium and you can meet her again soon..." He scoffed,

"Why are you working so hard all of a sudden?" Miguel asked, completely brushing off what I'd just said.

"It's just... I want to do something for you... and I've grown so used to having you around... I have started liking it so much that... in my selfishness, I... was starting to want to give up on finding her... so I felt that I have to make sure I do what I promised as soon as possible. I don't want to fail you..." I feared I might have said too much, and in response to my words, Miguel sighed then he started smiling.

"I... only spoke to the girl I'm in love with once when I was alive. You have the wrong person." A wave of relief tackled me onto the floor.

"So... was ... Cerena your ex-girlfriend while you were alive?" I questioned. I looked at his face but his expression didn't even change.

"No." He obviously had no intention of elaborating on their relationship so I just got up and sat beside him on the couch and said,

"Alright... I won't ask anymore." Miguel shocked me by stroking my back, the chill from his fingers made me jump, and then he put his arms around my waist to hold me in place.

"How was your day?" He asked, pressing his face against my shoulder.

"It was very tiring... I...um saw my ex!" I blurted. I regretted the words as soon as they left my lips because they made Miguel let me go. Even though I was freezing, I wanted to be held a little longer.

"What happened?" He asked, emotionlessly.

"He... showed me the way to Cerena's room... that's all," I answered. He stayed silent.

"Are you getting back together?" He inquired.

"No... I wouldn't do that. I'm surprised you even asked." I replied. It's weird that he cares about my relationship with Jack... but maybe he's worried a relationship would distract me from my mission to help him.

"Alright..." Miguel seemed to want to say something else but at that time I received a call, it was my mom.

"Hello?"

"Hey dear, oh how I've missed you! How are you? Have you been eating enough?"

"Yes, I've been eating fine," I replied. Mostly thanks to my new roommate.

"I have been craving to see you, could you please come to visit this weekend?" Mom sounded excited as if she already assumed my answer was yes.

"I have plans this weekend," I stated.

"Oh." The disappointment in her voice hurt me, like having to deny food to a puppy.

"But... next weekend I'm free..." I offered.

"Oh, wonderful! I'll prepare your room for you! Please come! I'll have Maxwell cook all your favorite dishes... I love you, sweetie. Bye for now!"

"I... love you too Mom. Bye-bye." I replied just before hanging up.

"You and your mom get along better than I expected..." Miguel commented, scaring me, by speaking too suddenly.

"Oh, well, yes. She is my mom after all..." It would be too hard on me to be irritable with her every time we spoke. Plus she's so sensitive... and I don't want to hurt her feelings.

"You never talk about her, or go into detail on what she did..." He stated leaning back on the couch.

"I'll tell you... if you tell me something about your family..." I bargained. Miguel smiled.

"You're much more cunning than I initially thought." I folded my arms and pouted. "Alright... it's a deal... should I go first?" Miguel added, sitting up beside me and putting his feet on the floor.

"Yes! Because I'm always telling you stuff about me so it's only fair." Miguel laughed, and then he stroked my head gently.

"Fine... I'll go first... My father owns Arivera Airlines." I gasped, despite myself. That's one of the most widely used and trusted airlines in the world. "My mother is co-owner. I'm their firstborn child so they wanted me to inherit the business so they could retire but... I want to be a chef so I turned them down. They didn't approve of me going to college but they still paid my full tuition. My father is a very stern man, and my mother is taciturn but I never doubted that they love me." He was quiet for a while.

"So it's my turn now?" Miguel nodded, smiling at me and looking into my eyes with intrigue. "Well... My dad is very handsome, whenever we go out all the women stare at him and since lately mom isn't with us it gets kind of awkward... like if we're in a restaurant people will approach him on the premise that I must be his daughter and try to flirt. He's very easygoing and smiles a lot; he was the first person to call me Lemon, oh and in his free time he watches a lot of classic movies with a projector in his room. My mom... is very beautiful...she acts like a spoiled child whenever she's with my dad but... if they're apart even for a short while she cheats. She slept with almost every male co-star she's acted with and even strange men off the streets. She was caught in the act 4 times before my father was finally fed up and divorced her. That was 5 years ago. She was crying and clinging to him, begging him not to leave but he left anyway and mom didn't eat for 3 days after he left and she took a month off work... My mom was probably hoping that he'd come back if he heard how she was starving herself but... Oh, I'm sorry, I'm rambling." I blushed, embarrassed by how long I had been talking.

"You're fine... I asked because I want to listen to you." Miguel replied, giving me a kind-looking smile.

"Oh... well... needless to say, nothing she did brought him back. My dad is still single but my mom is in an open relationship with 5 men right now..." I rubbed my head, nervously. "That's it."

"I see why you don't want to be like her now," Miguel stated.

"I love her... but I don't want to end up being like that. I want to be able to control myself and not hurt someone I love. I don't want to lose them. I want to value their feelings and boundaries just as much... no. More than my own." I clenched my hands into fists and Miguel placed his hand on top of mine.

"I know you're capable of that... You are already amazingly considerate... and you're a very committed person. The Lemon I know is so nurturing that it's a blessing just being near her." My chest felt fuzzy, because of the compliments.

"Thank you..." I whispered. He removed his hand and stood up, stretching.

"You skipped lunch today, so I'll cook you something." I watched him walk into the kitchen, feeling baffled. I thought he left me alone at school, how did he know I skipped lunch?