Zeke didn't believe in angels.
He barely believed in people.
So when Aya showed up—serene smile, eyes like moonlight, dressed in white like she just stepped out of some cheesy painting—he assumed she was a hallucination.
Side effect of no sleep and too many pills. Had to be.
But the weird part?
She didn't disappear.
She was waiting at the front gates the next morning. Leaning against the fence like she belonged there. No backpack. No phone. Just... Watching him.
He lit a cigarette, trying to ignore her.
Aya: tilted her head. "You know that's killing you right?"
Zeke: blew smoke to her direction. "So?"
Aya: So I'm here to make sure you don't die.
He rolled his eyes and kept walking.
Third period. Math. He always skipped it. But when he slid open the back door to sneak off campus, She was as there, sitting on a bench like she knew exactly where he'd go.
Zeke: "You're really committed to this stalker thing." Zeke muttered.
Aya: tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Guardian. Not stalker."
Zeke: "right. My guardian angel." He scoffed. "Let me guess — you've been sent to save my soul or something?"
Aya: "Something like that."
Zeke: turns away. "Well, save yourself the trouble. I'm beyond saving."
Aya: her voice was quiet. "Not pitying. Just honest. No one is beyond saving."
By lunch Zeke was getting actually freaked out.
His lighter was gone.
He always kept it in his pocket. He patted himself down three times. Nothing
He checked under his hoodie. His jeans. The inside of his shoe just in case.
Aya sat a few feet away under the tree, eating an apple like she hadn't just stolen from a drug addict's survival kit.
Zeke: he glared. "Give it back."
Aya: looked at him. "Give what back?"
Zeke: you know what.
She just took a bite out of her apple calmly.
Aya: it was broken anyway. Could've started a fire.
Zeke: nearly exploding. "You can't just mess with my stuff!
Aya: "I'm not messing" she said calmly. "I'm helping."
Zeke: You're ruining my life!
Aya: looked up at him. "No Zeke. I'm just removing the parts that are already ruining you
That shut him up.
That night Zeke sat in his bed, staring at the cracked ceiling.
No lighter. No smoke. No pills. He was forced to feel everything raw. No filters Just... Him
And Aya.
Somehow she kept popping into his head.
The way she spoke. The way she never got mad, even when he insulted her. The way she looked at him like he was worth something.
He hated it.
He hated how it made his chest hurt.
But he also hated how he didn't hate it...
[End of chapter 2]