Harper

I sat in the backseat of the car, sulking watching the hills roll outside of the window. And my parents were quite upfront. After the argument, I felt like we would never speak again. I felt like they were abandoning me like they didn't want me anymore because I was a freak. I shouldn't be able to fly. I knew that a female angel can't fly. Never had there been one that could fly, until me. And I felt like my mother hated me for it. I shifted and adjusted my nearly eleven-foot wings to try and get comfortable in the small backseat. My mother looked back at me and I felt like she would have liked nothing more than to trade me for anyone else. Just someone normal, my father who was human was elated when I first flew. He wanted to show me off to everyone, but not everyone reacted the way he did. My mother tried to clip my wings once, but my father had a fit saying that she should love me for the way I am, not to try and fix what wasn't broken. She got so mad at him for not supporting her.

"Daddy please don't leave me there. They are going to make fun of me-" His hands tightened on the steering wheel and my mother flared back at me.

"It's a good school- they will teach you everything you need to be a good healer, like all the other girl Angels."

"But I'm not like all the other girls. They can't fly I can --I want to be a guardian." My mother spun around in her seat and her hand flew across my mouth. The crack echoed in the small space of the car, and I cupped my cheek with tears stinging my eyes.

"Melissa!" My father stopped the car and I wanted to get out and run, to fly and disappear. I hated it when my mother did this to me, I hated her for hitting me. 

"You cannot be a guardian, you have to be a healer." Her voice was harsh and left very little room to argue. But never being one to back down from a challenge I say right up in her face.

"Why? I am already different why can I not become a guardian?!" She looked at me and I felt like my heart was in my stomach. I hated arguing, even if she was wrong.

"Because you are a girl. Girls cannot be guardians."

"Demon girls get to be, why can't I?!" She threw her hands up.

"Because you're an angel! You are not a demon! You are an angel and like an angel, you should know your place." My father looked back at me with sympathy. She didn't know but he had called ahead, knowing I did not wish to become a healer and put me in Guardian classes. With a little bit of pulling strings and throwing around some money he made it happen for me, and I loved him for that. Among other things he understood me, he supported me in anything I wanted to do. It didn't matter if it was an angel appropriate in my mother's eyes or not. My mother and I didn't speak for the rest of the six-hour car ride. My father forced her to get out of the car when we stopped at the small town just before the road to the academy. I love my father, he took us out to dinner and a movie. Allowing me to keep a hold of my freedom a few more hours than my mother would have liked but I'm sure he didn't mind she was upset with him. We stayed at a hotel in town and my mother saw to it that we had separate rooms that did not connect, it hurt sometimes to know that my mother didn't like me as much as a mother should love their child. But I learned a long time ago that I would never be able to please her and be happy at the same time. It was impossible. I laid in bed trying to find a comfortable spot on the big bed. I was excited to be without my parents but it was also upsetting to be without my father. We were so close I didn't want to lose him. I looked out my window and I could see the Academy from here large, impressive, and very menacing. I wondered how many girls would be in my class. Demon girls had the option to become guardians, however, most didn't. They were more suited for other things, more attractive things. They had a certain temptation about them for guys I guess. I never really understood it. I rolled over on the bed and closed my eyes. This would be a good thing, it had to be I wouldn't let anything tell me otherwise. I would become a guardian and no one was going to stop me. I went to sleep feeling empowered.

Waking up? Not so much. A stone sat in my stomach when my father woke me up the next morning. I didn't want to go anymore, I didn't want to be a guardian I wanted to stay home and be with my friends and family. I changed my mind, but I knew telling either my mom or dad would be pointless. My pleas would fall on deaf ears and they would still take me to the Academy. We got in the car and about 15 minutes later we were pulling up to the Academy gates. My father rolled down the window and the guard was standing there with a clipboard and I so badly wanted my name not to be on it.

"Harper Crown." He flipped a page on his board and nodded waving to the booth and the steel gates slowly swung open. It felt very spooky like I was in the middle of a scary movie. My dad drove up the gravel road and there was a large fountain in front of the school circled by a gravel driveway, and there were at least 35 cars surrounding it. Students I'm assuming getting their things out of the trunks of cars and hugging parents goodbye. They parked and my dad looked at my mother and she didn't even bat an eye.

"Well, I'm sure you can find your room on your own." I crawled out of the car and my father popped the trunk. He got out of the car and my mother nearly had a heart attack.

"David! Get back in the car! She has to learn to take care of herself."

"Enough Melissa, I am going to help her take her stuff in and set up, if you want to act like a spoiled brat and sit in the car then so be it." She looked insulted but didn't move to get out of the car. I was sure that the only person in the world that could talk to my mother like that was him, she had a soft spot for him. He helped me pull my one big suitcase and two smaller ones into the school and an Angel with what looked like golden wings stood in the foyer. And my father approached him.

"Last name?" The angel was tall at least 6 feet and pushing maybe 290 lbs. he was solid muscle the clipboard in his hands looked ridiculous.

"Crown." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a key.

"Hallways to the left at the top of the stairs, room 254, the whole way back the hall." He turned to someone else and I followed my father, we eventually moved away from the main traffic of the hall, and the floor was carpeted, muffling our footsteps.

"Well at least you will have quiet to study," He gave me a weak smile as we approached a door at the end of the hallway, and he turned the key. The room was enormous to put it lightly, something that was far beyond what I was expecting. A four-poster bed and large French doors that came led out to a balcony.

"Well, I can at least say my money is going to a good place." He walked in and sat the key down on the desk and I walked in and it felt like the room was eating me.

"I like my old room better." My father sighed and set my suitcase down and I sat the boxes of things down. It took us two trips to move my entire existence into the room and my mother didn't budge an inch from the front seat. He helped me move things to places I wanted along with making my bed and hanging my pictures. Noon rolled around and everything was set up and I didn't want to say goodbye. I walked him back down holding the key to my room in my hand. It felt heavy and awkward.

"It will be fine if you need anything call me." He kissed my forehead and got back in the car with my mom and they drove away. A bus pulled up and kids rolled off and they had bags and boxes. I looked to my left as they got off and instantly I knew which ones were demons. I sighed and turned to walk back inside when I heard a box hit the ground.

"Watch it, Mathers." A female voice sneered and I saw a boy leaning down trying to gather things. Demons wouldn't help someone to save their own lives. I walked over and knelt down next to the box and helped pick up the pictures and put them back in the box. The boy looked up at me and offered a thank you smile. I picked the box and one other one up.

"Where are we headed?" He looked around like he wasn't sure if I was talking to him.

"Oh, room 253." I smiled and followed him back down my hallway. I gently sat the things on the bed. This room was more what I was expecting still big but not as large as mine. One bed and huge windows to let the sunlight in.

"Harper Crown." I held my hand out to him and he gently took it. There was a quiet strength to him.

"Gabriel Mathers." I smiled and dropped his hands, he was handsome, his eyes were a stunning shade of green, and his skin pale but dusted with almost golden freckles, his wings were large, a fawn color with white freckles. They matched him perfectly. He was watching me with interest. He had black-framed glasses and a wide smile that was sweet and contagious. He was tall and thin, almost lanky but more meat to him so he wasn't drawn out. He was overall extremely attractive.

"First-year?" I nodded and started to help him unpack. He put his clothes away as I pulled the deep blue sheets out for his bed.

"Oh you don't have to do that-" he started, but I was never one to listen.

"My room is already done, figured I might as well give you a hand-" He nervously smiled.

"Thank you-" I nodded and finished making his bed. He had stopped at a box of photos and I smiled at him.

"No frames?" He shook his head and he was holding one in particular. I held a finger up and rushed into my room and pulled the picture of me and my parents out of the silver frame I had and stuck it in my drawer. I walked back into his room and presented the frame to him.

"It's the only one I have-" He gently took it from my hands and looked from me then to the frame.

"Did Miles put you up to this?" The tone in his voice was accusing and I felt hurt. Nervousness had me tucking my long hair back behind my ears. Too brown to be blonde, but then again too blonde to be a solid brown.

"Who is Miles?" I was confused and hurt. He seemed to think I was going to cry. I took the frame back and hugged it to my chest.

"No, no please I didn't mean it like that, please don't cry. It's okay, I'm sorry." He rushed to get it out of my hands and I gave him a small smile. A bell chimed and he sighed seeming defeated.

"Do you mind if I hang out with you?" His head snapped up and he watched me closely for a moment.

"Umm sure I don't mind, but you might change your mind after a little while." I smiled and we both walked out of his room and headed down the hall. He was hunched sightly when a demon stepped in our path. I felt oddly defensive of him. I wrapped my arm through his and the demon fell back and we walked past.

"You don't have to do this. You could be anyone here, you don't have to be at the bottom Harper." I looked at him and he sadly looked back at me.

"I am right where I want to be, now where are we going?" He stood a little taller and straighter.

"Orientation, where they like to lay down the law." He held the door open for me and we walked into a large room that was already half full of students. We walked in and no one paid any attention to us. There were seats but most were already taken. Gabriel led me to one and offered it to me. I sat gently and he stood at my shoulder. I kept looked back at him to make sure he wouldn't abandon me. I heard high heels on wood flooring and I turned my attention to the stage. I felt my anxiety jump a level and Gabriel must have as well because he laid a hand on my shoulder it was the only thing keeping me in my chair. The woman who stood before us was tall, thin, and beautiful. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail. She had piercing blue eyes and sun-kissed skin. She was wearing a black pencil skirt and a white top tucked in and she wore a pair of black pump stilettos.

"To everyone who is returning, welcome back I trust your summer vacation was lovely, but remember where you are. And for those of you who are new need to learn fast, there will be no unauthorized flying of any kind. If you are caught flying your wings will be clipped. There is no room for negotiation, and for those of you who have not heard we have an oddity in our midst, a female angel who can fly." My heart sunk into my stomach and I started to tremble and Gabriel's thumb rubbed gentle circles on the back of my shoulder. People started to whisper and look around to see if they could find me. I could hear the people making fun and cracking rude jokes and the blondes voice yet sweet in sound in tone was like a whip.

"I will remind each and every one of you that bullying is not allowed, if caught or turned in you will be suspended from the Academy." Well as good as that sounded I was aware of how children were when they were put together. There had to be a top dog and that person was going to be there for a reason. For the guardian class it had to be the Miles kid that Gabriel had mentioned earlier.

"With that said please make your way to the dining hall dinner is ready, enjoy your time here learn all you can and spread your wings." She walked off the stage and I stood and everyone closed in to get out of the door. I reached back and latched onto Gabriel's hand and he squeezed my fingers gently. The dinning hall was down the hall way and it had to be the biggest room I had ever seen in my entire life. He lead me over to a table and the seats were long benches. I sat down and he joined me on the end. Once the food was brought out we started to eat the noise was overwhelming. Everyone was talking, and I looked at Gabriel.

"Who is this Mathers?" His hand froze as he was reaching for his drink and I looked to the guy who stood beside the end of the table.

"Miles." Gabriel's hand closed into a fist and I wanted to stand but a small shake of his head halted my actions.

"You didn't answer my question-" The boy leaned down one hand on the table the other on Gabriel's shoulder. I looked to Gabriel and he wasn't budging.

"Do we have a problem here Mr. Night?" A teacher appeared out of nowhere and the boy let Gabe go.

"Not at all Mr. Seer." He walked away and the teacher looked at us. He knew what was happening and he looked apologetic. I turned to Gabriel after he left and he looked upset. I reached out and took his hand.

"Thank you." He protected me, by both sitting on the end not giving Miles my name. He squeezed my fingers and we went back to eating. We learned hand to hand combat here why didn't he stand up for himself?

"Gabe-"

"I don't like fighting, I would rather just take it for now than face the disciplinary action for fighting." He snapped at me and I pulled back from him. He sighed and turned to face me, he was upset with himself not me.

"I'm sorry Harper. I didn't mean to snap at you." I smiled at him.

"It's okay- listen tomorrow I start my guardian classes and I have no idea where everything is-"

"Your schedule will more than likely be in your room when we get back. We can compare and see if we have classes together, if not I'll walk you to yours and then get to mine okay?" I smiled at him and nodded. I could have kissed him. The weight of doing this on my own was lifted off my shoulders. After another two hours of talking I learned that he lived in the town below that Academy and he got accepted on a scholarship, his mother is a angel and he doesn't know his father. He has one little sister who's father is human and she has no wings. Which isn't as rare as it sounds. She took after her father's side of the family. He was a sweetheart and he went to visit her every weekend when we were allowed to leave the academy for town to blow off steam and relax without classes. We walked back up to our rooms and I walked into mine and him to his. I found the paper waiting on my bed. It had a list of class names and room numbers. I turned and walked into Gabriel's room and he was sitting on his bed looking over his schedule.

"Ready to compare?" I asked quietly and he looked up at me with a faint smile.

"Sure." I handed him my paper and his eyes quickly scanned the page.

"Well the good news is we have morning classes together which is combat class, aerial skills, history and lunch. But the bad news is you have afternoon classes by yourself. If you still wanted I can walk you to them until you get the hang of the school-" he stood and returned my paper to me and I threw my arms around him burying my face in his neck. He hesitated at first before I felt his arms wrap around me in a hug and there was no better place in the world than to be in Gabriel's arms. It was a feeling I wasn't used to and one I never would forget. Here I was protected. He would never let anything happen to me here.

"Thank you Gabriel," He patted my back and sat my feet back down on the floor. I walked to his door and he followed me for a few steps. I gently shut his door and walked into my room. All and all it was a productive day.