Chapter 13

Zemar's eyes widen,

"I'm s-sorry, did you say d-dating?" He couldn't believe his ears. Tatiana stood in the background, hot with shame and embarrassment. Andy on the other hand, had just the biggest of grins.

"I didn't know you moved that quickly," Andy whispers in a teasing tone while playfully elbowing his side.

"I didn't agree to this! I-I didn't…"

"Oh pardon me, did I strike a nerve? Was it a secret? I didn't mean to cause problems," Tatiana's mother interrupts, her voice pitched with regret.

"Oh, no, no, no… C-Can you just excuse us for a moment?" He smiles politely while literally dragging Tatiana away from the group,

"What the hell was that! What did you tell your mother?" He growls in a harsh whisper.

"I-I'm sorry, my mom can be very persistent at times. She's always so worried that I'll never get a boyfriend and will be alone for the rest of my life… I was caught off guard and it just sorta popped out," Tatiana winced from the acidity of his voice.

"And you never thought to run this by me first? We only just met… That makes me sound like a fucking slut or a player. I'm none of those things," he snaps in a whining tone. Tatiana took a small step away and fiddles with her fingers,

"I-I was gonna to tell you but, I wasn't expecting to see you so soon and here of all places. Can't you just go along with it right now? We don't need to really be dating. We're just gonna be pretending in front of my parents,"

"But Tatiana, I'm really not that great to even 'pretend' something like this. I have zero social skills, I don't even know what a real couple does. Just tell her the truth!" He seemed to plead his case. Tatiana glanced at the floor before meeting his eyes again looking quite dominate,

"You're the one who started it. You're the one who decided it was a good idea to offer your fucking dick to a random girl! Beside, if you don't pretend to be my boyfriend, I'll tell Andy all about your puking episode in the alleyway," she growls with a frown. Holding all the cards,

"You little shit, are you blackmailing me?"

"What if I am?" Tatiana smirks knowing she had him.

"You're bluffing," he growled,

"Oh Andy, can I talk to you for a sec," Tatiana coos as Andy glance over.

"Okay, okay, I'll do it," Zemar held his hands up in front of his chest in surrender,

"Nevermind. We'll be there in just a moment," Tatiana waves Andy away.

Zemar sighs deeply with a small shake of his head,

"I guess you're right. It is kinda my fault, but Why do you need a boyfriend anyways? So what if your mother is a bit pushy, you can be successful by yourself," he said.

"You can't possibly understand what I'm going through but, I don't want to upset her. I want to make her happy in anyway that I can," Tatiana tears up at the thought of what her mother could do when sad. He gazed at his feet,

"I understand more than you think, and I get it. I'll do this but, we're telling everyone else the truth about this charade,"

"I can agree to that," Tatiana smiles and gave him a hug. A blush filled his cheeks as he thought, 'what the hell did he get himself in to?' They return while awkwardly holding hands and Tatiana having a grin stretched across her face,

"Mom, officially meet my boyfriend," Tatiana introduced. Zemar smiles and held out a hand again.

"My apologies about earlier, my name is Zemar. Pleasure to meet you," he greets in a princely manner, something he had to do often during his childhood. Tatiana's mother smiles and shook his hand again, accepting the official greetings.

"Oh my, you sound so proper. Do you happen to be a prince in disguise?" She asks with a giggle, his eyes glaze over with a gulp,

"I uh…"

"No mom,"

"I was only teasing dear and please, call me Lucy, there's no need for formality's. I'm sorry for being too forwards. Sometimes I just can't help myself," Lucy chuckles politely.

"Anyways, we're just on our way to grab coffee, would you like to join us?" Tatiana offers, Zemar made a face that told Andy he really didn't want to go.

"A-Actually, Andy and I…"

"Would LOVE to join you for coffee," Andy interrupts with a cheeky grin.

Zemar didn't stop glaring at Andy as they sat at a round table near the middle of the large food court. It had many restaurants and coffee shops that the mixing of smells made the room pleasant.

"What can I get for you? Do you like coffee or maybe a tea?" Lucy asks while rummaging through her small blue wallet for some change. Zemar held up his hands,

"Oh, it's alright. You don't need to get me anything," he refused with a respectful smile.

"Please, I insist. My treat," Lucy pushed,

"I'll take a medium hazelnut mocha please," Andy interrupts with a smiles as he secretly kicked him in the shin,

"Ow… Can you get me a medium green tea," he winced inside. Lucy nods and left after Tatiana said her order,

"Why'd you do that? I really didn't want anything," he grumbled while giving his shin a rub.

"It's rude to refuse an offer,"

"Says who?"

"Says the code of ethics,"

"You made that up," He rolled his eyes. Tatiana giggles as they bickered,

"Don't you be laughing. This is your fault too!" He turns his attention towards the young woman.

"I know and I really am sorry but, that's not why I was laughing. Your bickering was kinda cute, you act like you're really brothers," Tatiana smiled softly. He bit the inside of his cheek at the thought of his brother back in Hell, they use to play fight all the time, he missed Zulach.

"We'll never be brothers… My brother abandoned me just like my father. Banishing me from my home… You'll never replace them!" He snaps and quickly turns away as he chocked back tears.

Andy tenderly pats his side,

"I would never want to replace your brother. Maybe, could you tell us more about him?" Andy asks with a soft smile. He huffs at the idea of sharing his childhood memories, but something at the back of his mind said it'd be okay. He deeply exhales and gave the back of his head a vigorous rub with both hands, ruffling his fur before speaking.

"Well… Uh, my brother's name is Zulach. We're only a few years apart, but he always acted like the younger sibling. Goofing off and flirting with the lower level women. He'd rather run amok than learn how to rule," he explains with a titter. Remembering the good times they had together even though their father would get mad later when he found out.

"Rule? What do you mean by that? Does your family own like a small business or something?" Tatiana cocks her head to the side with Andy, he chuckled,

"You could say that,"

"I'm sorry, did you say you own a business?" Lucy startles them as she set down the tray of hot drinks.

"Ah, no. I don't own anything, it's my father," He replied while accepting the hot tea,

"Oh, what kind of business is it? That is, if you don't mind me asking," Lucy smiles and sat down with her drink after serving Andy and Tatiana. The chair scrapping on the tiles as Lucy scoots closer to the table.

"Um… Uh, I'm not quite sure. I wasn't really involved…" he lied,

"C-could we change the conversation? My family is kinda a touchy subject,"

"I'm sorry, didn't mean to stir up bad memories. How about we start with, how long have you lived on the surface?" Lucy gladly asked a different question.

"I've been here for about three years now, but I wasn't alone. I uh…" he paused to clear his throat of nerves,

"I uh, lived with some other people before moving in with Andy… It wasn't a great departure," he quickly took a sip of tea. Avoiding everyone's eye, hoping they didn't prod anymore than that.

"Oh, I see. I'm sorry to hear that… May I ask another question? So, three years is quite some time up here, what kind of job do you have? Or did the people provide for you?Obviously you couldn't live without the necessities," Lucy inquired. He nearly spat out his tea, coughing inwardly as he chocked, Andy's eyes go wide in a sense and quickly answered for him.

"He's was a contractor! He'd go around to people's houses and get rid of uh… stuff they didn't want," Andy blurts with a convincing smile, hoping it was believable. He didn't understand why Andy would go with something like that but, he nods in agreement anyways like he knew what those are.

Lucy taps her chin,

"That's a little… Odd. What kind of stuff did you get rid of? Like, are you talking about garbage or old furniture?" Lucy eyes him as he sweats bullets.

"I-I… Um…"

"Mom! Please stop with the interrogation. There'll be more opportunities to get to know him," Tatiana interrupted.

"It was mostly garbage Mrs Nelson, but he works at my dad's bar now. That job was kinda shitty, if you know what I mean," Andy winks with a smile as he made a terrible joke to ease the mother's worry.

"I do?"

"Yes, you do. Don't you remember? Dad hired you two weeks ago," Andy reminded as he felt a sharp pinch in his side. Andy had elbowed him hard, signalling to play along with the lie.

"Oh yeah! That's right. Must've skipped my mind," he chuckles while nervously rubbing the back of his head again,

"Mom, we should probably get back to shopping. Dad is expecting us to bring home dinner," Tatiana ushers. Lucy glanced at her watch and it was already four-thirty,

"Oh my goodness! I didn't even realize the time. Yes Tatiana, we should get going. Nice meeting you Zemar and I hope to see you again soon," Lucy smiles. They quickly grab their drinks before waving goodbye, leaving Andy and Zemar at the table as they exhale loudly like they were holding their breath.

"What the fuck is a contractor?"

"Sorry, it was what popped into my head,"

"I've been getting that answer a lot lately," he glares.

"Well, a contractor is someone who is hired to provide a service to others in any way. Like labour, or doing odd jobs, that sorta thing,"

"And how's that relate to me?"

"Aren't you a hitman? That's like a contractor, except you're paid to kill people. Haha a contract killer," Andy chuckles. He rolled his eyes at another lame joke before they got up to leave as well.

Zemar and Andy stood waiting for the bus, it was dim out as stars in the sky signify night was fast approaching. It was quiet between them as they stood under the plastic shelter, even the sounds of traffic had lessened, reducing the smell of exhaust. He stares at the ground looking blank and calm, but was full of worry. What was he gonna do? This was a scary position to be in, worse than dealing with his first human encounter. Story's can only tell so much and he's never heard or read anything about situations like this before when he was in Hell's archives. Andy rocked on his heels before yawning with a big stretch,

"I think we missed the bus," he sighs. Andy glanced at him with a hint in his eye before noticing Zemar gave no inkling of hearing him.

"Hey, you alright bud?" Andy pats his side, bringing him out of a trance.

"Huh?… Oh I'm fine,"

"You don't look fine. Are you worried about the whole dating arrangement with Tatiana?" Andy read him like an open book. How does he know him so well?

"A little…" he exhales while rubbing the back of his neck, feeling his fur dampening from the rise in humidity. It's going to rain.

"There's nothing to worry about,"

"How'd you figure? I'm trapped! I-I don't even know the first rule about dating anyone let alone a human!" He blurts. No regards to people trying to sleep in their apartments.

Andy smiles and softly strokes his raised fur,

"It's because I'm going to be with you every step of the way. You need advice? I'll give you research meant for scientists. Need help planning? I'll be there writing out step by step booklet. You're not alone," Andy held up a fist, waiting for a bump. He bit his lip and carefully bumps it with his,

"Thanks…" he smiles,

"You should do that more often,"

"Do what?"

"Smile like that. That's a genuine smile," Andy compliments. He chuckles,

"So, what did you say about the bus?"

"I said we must've missed the last one and dad is already home. I don't wanna bother him by driving all the way back downtown just to pick up our sorry asses," Andy groans. He felt the same,

"Alright, fine," he grunts and opened his feathered wings.

"Really?"

"Just don't be surprised if police try to shoot me down. I'm a wanted criminal," he growls and picked up the small human.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Nothing… F-Forget it,"

"No, tell me. I promise not to tell anyone," Andy begs. He quickly does a spin around to make sure they were alone before taking to the air, his black fur blending in nicely against the dark sky.

"If I tell you the truth about my past, do you promise not to look at me any different than the day we first met?" He asks as they flew through the quiet sky, Andy nods without hesitation.

"Buddy, did I change after seeing you kill that guy?" Andy had a cheeky grin, he glance away to remember that day and it was true. Andy treated him with kindness the whole time.

"No… I guess not…"

"You can trust me," Andy urged,

"Alright… I'll tell you," he paused to take a breath before telling Andy, his friend, about his recent past.

Down below, deep within the shadows of the city, a shady figure hid from Zemar's mighty wings until he past over the alleyway. Only emerging from cover when Zemar was gone, and it stares up at the bright moon with sunken red eyes that could drain your life force. A tattered white dress covered a skeleton with pale flesh barely holding it together. A hiss escaped its crooked teeth like it was a leaky pipe,

"I told you, I can't come in tomorrow. My dog is at the vet and I have nobody to pick her up…" a woman came around the corner. Too busy on the phone to notice the creature skittering for the shadows to lay wait.

"No! Fire me if want but, I'm not coming into work to*…" the cellphone dropped from her hands, as the screen cracks on the pavement.

"Hello? Molly?" the echo on the phone was cut as blood scattered across the screen, short circuiting it. The sound of gurgling was loud in the quiet of the night, like someone was drowning. Moments later, a woman came out of the shadows, her white dress freshly dyed a beautiful poppy red. Fiery hair blew on the breeze, it's long strands pushed away from a thin face.

"Ah, much better… But I still need more," she sighs, her soft voice was raspy like she inhaled too much smoke as a smile appeared. Her teeth were pearly white with only a few broken ones, it was a smile men would die for. Walking off down the street and leaving behind the remains of her meal to be found later.