Angel To Fall

The clock on his nightstand showed 5:30 in the morning. And normally, Sebastian hated waking up this early, but considering the reason for it, now he seemed not to mind at all. Today was finally the day he’ll meet Anja’s family. But that was not the only reason for his excitement. The idea of travelling to another country surely gave the 16-year-old a whole new reason for his pure happiness.

The boy rose from his bed, but due to his clumsiness, he tripped over a pair of shoes, waking up his last roommate in the four-person dorm.

‘Can’t you leave without pissing me off before?’ Arthur groaned, watching him replace the shoes in a safer spot.

‘I didn’t mean to. My goal isn’t to interact with you in any way.’

The sleepy and grumpy brunet stood up on his own bed, scratching his curls. He never liked Sebastian, not even one tiny bit. He could hardly stand him, and there were many times when the two almost broke into fights. And them sharing the same dorm surely did not do any justice for neither.

‘What’s the rush for anyways?’ Arthur asked half-heartedly, to which Sebastian sighed.

‘That’s none of your...’ he stopped for a moment, and then grinned mischievously. ‘I’m leaving with Eva today, we’re going to see her family in Romania.’

Despite using her middle name, Arthur caught his hint. And his anger now raised to higher levels if that was even possible. He clenched his teeth and narrowed his eyes.

‘And why is it specifically you going with Anja?’ he accentuated her name, as to correct the Irish boy.

‘It’s simple! She asked me to! But I’m afraid I have no more time to waste, I’ve got to leave.’ Sebastian picked his bag up. ’See you in a few months, amico!′ he accentuated the Italian word as to mock the British-Italian, before leaving.

Sebastian was very well aware of Arthur’s fondness of his closest friend. And he would lie if he said it never bothered him, so he always made sure to mock his roommate by showing him how insignificant he was to her.

His turquoise eyes scanned each door for the golden plate on which 293 had to be written, and when he finally found it, he gently knocked on the door. But since his calm gesture seemed not to have worked, he insisted, rougher this time. And several minutes later, his orbs met Mia’s, who eyed him greatly angered.

‘You know? Some people sleep at this hour!’ Sebastian chuckled nervously and walked right past the brunette, making sure not to hurt her in any way.

‘I know, and that’s why I’m here, to wake that person up!’

Mia rolled her eyes and closed the door, having no further intentions to stop the boy. For he already made his way over to his friend, who was surprisingly still asleep. He climbed the narrow ladder and rested his elbows on the soft mattress, gazing at the girl. Her chest rose and fell as she slept so peacefully, and to him, despite loving her only in a platonic way, she was the most beautiful thing in the world.

Sebastian’s hand gently and carefully pushed a strand of hair out of her face, as he called her name.

‘Eva... wake up, we have to leave.’ but Anja did not even flinch.

‘Try shaking her!’ Mia suggested but Sebastian shushed her. He then turned his attention back to the sleeping girl.

‘Eva, come on. Wake up.’ his hand played with her hair, which worked for soon, Anja opened her eyes and yawned loudly.

‘Seb?’

‘Haha, morning beautiful!’

Anja smiled with sleepy eyes, which melted his heart, and stood up in bed, rubbing her eyes.

‘What’s the time?’

‘Just 5:45.’ her orbs quickly shot open, and she turned to face him.

‘Just? The train is in less than an hour due!’

Moments later, Anja had all her luggage packed, and was ready to leave. She hugged her two friends, smiling with a hint of sadness in it.

‘Are you sure you don’t want to come?’

'We are sure. After all, we haven't seen our parents in two years. But you two have fun!' Mia spoke up before walking both Anja and Sebastian to the door.

The two students left for the train, not wanting to miss it. Once boarded and seated, Anja sighed loudly and leaned back in her seat, making herself comfortable.

'Do you mind if I take a nap? I barely slept last night.'

Go ahead, get some rest.'

Sebastian smiled at the sleepy girl who returned the gesture and closed her eyes. A couple minutes passed, and anxiety crept into the boy's mind. He wanted to meet the family of his closest friend, but something just did not feel right.

'Eva?' she just hummed in response. 'Are you sure it's fine if I come with you?'

A loud sigh echoed through the place, and the red-head opened her eyes only so she could send him a death glare.

'How many times are you going to ask me that? Yes, it's fine! In fact, Mother is looking forward to meeting you.'

'I see... Sorry, but I can't help thinking that maybe it would be better if only you were going there.'

'No Sebastian.' Anja cupped his clenched hands in hers, and gazed deep in his turquoise eyes. 'My family is your family now.'

The boy only smiled, tears visibly welling in his orbs. He grabbed the girl and hugged her tight. He finally had a family he would not lose in time, and that delighted him.

A modest-looking home was now coming into view, and Sebastian was simply mesmerized. It looked so different from what he had seen back in England.

'So this is your place, huh?'

'Yeah, although I've lived here for only 8 years.'

Anja took Sebastian's hand and led him in the front yard through the fence's gate. The garden was filled with various flowers, but the rich white rose bushes that accompanied the footpath were definitely standing out.

They knocked on the door and soon, a short red-head emerged from behind the corner holding a basket full of vegetables. Her petite features lit up at the sight of her niece. She placed the basket down and rushed to hug Anja, who returned the gesture.

'Sweetie, you're home!'

'Yeah, haha, I'm happy to see you too, Elena!'

The meeting between the two females brought tears in the boy's eyes. He missed feeling loved by a parental figure. But unfortunately for poor Sebastian, that was far away from his reach. It was already too late to turn back.

It had been over an year since he ran away from home, too afraid of his blessing. No member of his family ever had one, so when Sebastian showed signs of developing any kind of unnatural power, his parents were beyond delighted. Little did they know that their beloved boy would take his leave, too triggered by the thought of living long enough to watch his whole family grow weak and pass away. He hated his blessing more than anything. But what he hated even more was the lifespan of a Blessed, which could vary from 200 to 300 years.

Thankfully for him, when he arrived at Halcyon, he met Anja, who he quickly claimed as family-level friend upon finding she was just as damned as him. Both orphans: one by choice, one by fate.

'Elena, he is Sebby. I believe I wrote to you about him too.' the older ginger now moved her attention to the boy. Her amber eyes scanning his every feature, possibly searching any existent flaw. But when she found none, her warm smile made its way back on her pale complexion, as she offered her hand for him to shake.

'Elena Faifer, this baby's aunt. It's a pleasure meeting you.'

'Sebastian, my pleasure. Thank you for welcoming us.' he gently shook her hand, and Elena could feel his nervousness radiating through his skin. She may not be a Blessed, but she surely read people well.

'No need to be this alert.' she winked, picking the basket up and opening the door by pushing it with her hip. 'Let's head inside children.'

Anja chuckled and led her friend into the house. Her aunt wasn't much older than her. When Anja moved to her grandmother's house, Elena was barely 18, recently married to her mother's brother. And the two quickly became inseparable, having rather similar mindsets.

The interior of the rustic home only gave Sebastian more reasons to thank Anja for bringing him along. Aside from the earthy rugs on the dark wooden floor and the luscious wooden furniture, the walls impressed him the most. They were filled with paintings and photographs of people he believed were Anja's parents. She once told him that everyone in her family declared that she looked almost identical to her mother. And by what Sebastian could see, she indeed looked an awful lot like the woman who brought her into this world.

Elena guided them to the living room, where they sat on a massive red sofa. From what he could take in account, Anja's grandmother had an obsession with the colour red.

'Mother will be here shortly. She left for the church about an hour ago, so she should be back any minute now.' the woman watched both children with great joy in her orbs. Everyone in the house loved when their little girl would visit them, but she never brought a boy with her, which only made them question their relationship. 'Do you want anything to drink or eat? I reckon the ride was a long one.'

'Oh I know! Can you please brew us your lavender mint tea?'

Elena laughed at her niece's demand.

'Sure, I'll be right back.' and with that, she left into the dark hallway that led to the kitchen.

'How is it so far?' Anja's hands quickly moved to lay on top of his, wanting to hear his thoughts.

'It's nice, I must admit.' he cleared his throat after looking towards the path Elena took to leave, then looked back at his friend. 'Just how old is your aunt? Does she have a-'

'She's married to my uncle dummy. You've got no chance.' she laughed as Sebastian sighed.

'Lucky me I guess. I could've been your uncle.' he soon followed by chuckling.

'No, thank you.'

Their laughter was soon ceased by the front door opening. And Anja rose from her seat, rushing to meet the elderly woman. Moments later, the two walked into the living room, where Anja proceeded to make the acquaintances.

Her grandmother, Carmen Faifer, was a tall and handsome woman. Her features, way too young-looking for her age, were resembling a strong-willed woman, which she indeed was. She was the one who raised and educated Anja, which led the girl to call her Mother.

'It's a great pleasure to finally meet you.' her voice, which suited her looks, was rather deep for a woman, yet suave in its rhythm. 'Thank you for being such a good friend to my angel.'

'No need to thank me Mrs Faifer, I enjoy your grand-daughter's company, so it only makes sense that I stay by her side.'

The elderly woman smiled as she squeezed Anja's hand, which she had been holding in-between hers the whole time. To her, she was everything. The girl made her feel like her own daughter was still in the house, which only ceased the pain of her loss.