Walking home from school was terrible. Apparently it had started raining while English class was going on. Lily said goodbye to Elle. Jason decided to follow Lily home for some reason. Neither of them had an umbrella. So they walked to Lily's home soaking wet. It wasn't that bad, her aunt's house was only a half a mile away.

    "So, you live with your aunt?" Jason asked.

    "Yeah,"

    "If you don't mind me asking... What happened to your parents?"

    "Umm... My mother disappeared. And my father I don't know." she said hesitantly.

     She clearly doesn't want to talk about it. Jason thought. "So, what is your aunt like?"

    "I don't understand... What do you mean?"

    "Like what does she look like, how does she act, what's her name?"

    "Well I don't know her real name but, I call her Aunt Melody."

    "Why doesn't she tell you her real name?"

    "She said it's to 'keep me safe'"

    They jumped over a puddle and Lily got splashed on her already soaked leggings.

    "She looks kinda like me. She has blond hair, blue eyes and she's really sweet when she wants to be. I don't really know how she acts... She mainly keeps to herself."

    "Do you know much about your family?" he asked, actually curious.

    "No,"

    They were both silent for a while.

    "Well... Actually I know one thing." She said.

    "What's that?"

    "My... My mom died when I was ten... It was terrible... but I really know nothing about my father. My aunt stays silent about those things."

    "I'm sorry..." he said.

    "It's okay, it's not your fault." She stopped and turned around. Jason stopped and saw other than the rain there was water dripping down her face. Tears... he thought.

    She looked at his worried face and she wiped her face. Darn it... I thought the rain would mask the tears.

    "You know, it's okay to cry." he said as he pulled out a dry cloth from his backpack. "Here." Lily took the cloth from his hand and wiped her eyes.

    She sniffled, "Thanks."

    He cupped her cheek, his hand was warm in the cold rain. It was... comforting.

    She smiled and laid her hand on his. They stayed there for a while. His hand was so warm and comforting, she didn't want this to end. But it was weird. Why was this boy so interested in her? Slowly she lowered her hand, "We're here."

    Jason looked up, he hadn't even noticed that they entered a suburban neighborhood. "Is your aunt home?"

    "She shouldn't be... Why?"

    "The front door's unlocked."

    She looked at the front door, he was right, the front door was open. "You're right... that's weird, she never leaves the front door open, let alone, is she supposed to be home now?" She started walking toward the front door when Jason grabbed her arm.

    "Jason what are you doing?" she asked a little angrily.

    "Stop. Something's wrong."

    He was right; she also felt something was off. Her stomach churned, if something happened, she didn't know what she would do if something happened to her aunt.

    "Jason, I have to know what's happening."

    "Fine, but stay behind me."

    He started walking toward the front door, Lily was concerned and confused. Butterflies rose inside her stomach. He slowly let the front door swing open. They peered through the front door, there was a huge mess, the trash was knocked over and the rotten food spilled all over the floor. Books fell off the bookshelf and torn off pages were scattered across the carpet. Bile rose in Lily's throat. Please don't be home, Aunt Melody. "There is a sign of a struggle." Jason said. She didn't like the sound of that. Maybe a stranger walked in the house and he was drunk?

    They went into the kitchen and the stove was covered in red stains, they were wet not dry. Blood. Lily swallowed cold dry air, even though it was humid. Please, don't be here... she thought. They continued forward into the bedroom. "The red stains lead here," Jason said. Something pale laid on the floor, was it a wooden table leg? Lily's aunt did like to build weapons out of household objects. As they got closer, No, a leg. She thought. Closer, she saw something blue, and more red stains spread across the floor. It's Aunt Melody's dress. Tears stung the back of Lily's eyes, it felt like someone was tearing her apart, little by little as they got closer, an arm, her stomach was torn apart. A right leg, her heart was torn to shreds and finally...  There lay Aunt Melody's body, her shining blue eyes now colorless and gray staring at the ceiling. Blood trickled down her eyes, mouth, nose, and ears. Everything was torn apart.

    Lily gasped and collapsed on the floor, tears streaming down her face. No. she thought, it can't be. Not her, not again. Please no! "No. No! NO!" Lily cried. "Please no." she whimpered. "Not you." She crawled over to her aunt and cried. That's all she could do. Cry. That's all she was worth.

    Suddenly warm comforting arms embraced Lily's waist. It was Jason. Still they were drenched. But his warmth was the only thing keeping her alive. "You're worth more than this," he said. Was he reading her mind? Maybe magic is real. I don't understand why this is happening. "Things that happen don't define you, you define you." he said. Maybe he was reading her mind. Suddenly magic didn't seem so unreal.

    Suddenly fire stung her throat, she gasped for air, and she fell to the floor, unable to breath. Bright fire colored flames filled her eyes. She didn't know what was going on. She could barely hear Jason calling her name. It felt like she was being burned alive. Her arms ached as the fire consumed her entire body. She closed her eyes. Maybe this is what death is. It hurts but it isn't so bad.

*****

    The bright light burned Lily's eyes as she finally woke up. It must've been a dream. Lily thought, sitting up. Shear pains stung Lily's arms and legs. "Ow."

    She was laying on a bed, bright white covers covered her arms and legs. They were soft, and cool. But... wait.... She doesn't remember this being her room. Maybe this wasn't a dream. She pulled her arms out of the covers. They were covered in bandages, confused, she pulled her legs out, bandages surrounded her legs too. What happened? She thought.

    She remembered something burning but nothing else. When she looked up there were no posters on the walls, just painted white. She slid her legs off the bed, wondering if she was able to walk. Lightly she placed her toes on the ground. More shear pains covered her legs, and she whimpered a little. She placed her feet on the floor, it hurt more.

    "Here," Someone said.

    Warm comforting arms covered her shoulder as he helped her off the bed. Jason. She thought.

    She was able to stand with some support, he helped her to the kitchen. It was a small apartment, it looked as bare as the bedroom. The walls were painted white, and there were no paintings or posters. It looked as if the only bedroom was the one she was in. He set her down at the counter and went to the kitchen across from her. It smelled like eggs and bacon.

    "That's because I am cooking eggs and bacon." he looked up and smiled. It was a charming smile that brought redness to Lily's cheeks.

    "Can you really read minds?" she asked.

    "Actually I call it 'Second sight'." he went back to the counter and placed a plate full of bacon and eggs in front of her. She didn't even see him grab it.

He's amazing.

He chuckled a little. "You see me as who I am not."

Her cheeks burned, Oh no, he read my thoughts again. Think of something else... like... umm... ooh oh yeah this wall is white and so is the floor...

"You know you don't have to be embarrassed by me. Hold on." He walked over to Lily and took her arm. "Can I check?" He asked.

"Umm okay..." She lowered her arm to his level.

He slowly unwrapped the bandages, even though it hurt as he lightly gripped her arm. She felt like this was going to end soon, and she didn't want that. Lily gasped, it looked so bad, black and red burn marks scorched all over her upper arm. What in the world happened. She remembered her aunt dying.... Wait... her aunt died... Oh no... I have to tell the police.

"Don't worry, they already went by. While you were sleeping. There was no murder wepon." He wrapped her arm up again. "Do me a favor, worry about yourself please."

She stayed silent for a moment, and they were just locked gazes for a while. His eyes were so green, like emeralds. They shined, pleading that she would take care of herself.

"Okay." she said finally.

He smiled, the ghost of a smile, he walked over to the kitchen and grabbed something else. It was his plate of eggs and bacon. He walked over to Lily and sat next to her. She could feel the warmth of his body next to her.

"So if you can use magic, are there other superhumans?" She asked.

"Superhumans? No, we call ourselves 'the gifted ones'. Humans are called 'the originals'."

"So there are more of you?"

"Yeah, but there are other powers."

"Like what?"

    "We call them 'the nine lies'. It's called that because we have to shield ourselves from society."

    "What kinds of powers are there?"

    "Well there's the common ones and the uncommon ones."

    "What are the common ones?"

    "Wow, you're really curious aren't you." He picked up his fork and took a bite. "There is poisoning, healing, telepathy, telekinesis, second sight, ice, and decay." His eyes hardened. "The sad thing is that good powers have consequences, but bad do not." His eyes softened and he looked back at Lily, "But there are also uncommon powers. There's only two though, death, and fire."

    "Is that how I got burned? Because you have fire powers and accidently set the house on fire?"

    "Then why do I have no fire marks?" He grinned and took another bite.

    "Because you have immunity?"

    He pointed with his fork. "No, that's not how it works."

    "Then how..." she looked at the floor, her eyes widened, "Do I..."

    He half smiled and nodded.

    "But how? I don't know why I have uncommon powers."

    "It was given to you by your mother, because your mother was a goddess. Uncommon powers come from goddesses and demons."

    Lily's head shot straight up. "How?! That's not possible."

    "That's a question I cannot answer." He took another bite.

    "Even if that was true, how did I not know? She was there until I was ten... How...? I don't understand..."

    "It was kept secret from you."

    "How come my powers didn't appear until now?"

    "Because powers are based on emotion, your emotions were heightened, so your fire burned."

    "But how did I burn myself?"

    "Because good powers have consequences."

    "So... The consequence for fire is burning myself whenever I use it?"

    He took another bite. "Yep. Now eat."

    She picked up her fork, the fork was cold to the touch. It was better than the feeling of fire burning your skin. She lightly stabbed a piece of egg, and took a bite. It was bland at first, then the flavor exploded. It was perfect, not too salty, not too savory. She took more bites. She didn't realize she was this hungry.

    "I'm glad you like it." She looked at Jason who was grinning. He didn't have to read her mind to tell that she liked his cooking.

    Lily flushed, "Your... It's really good... I think you're really good at cooking..."

    "I appreciate it."

    "Do you know what time it is? I don't know where my phone is." she asked politely.

    "Hmm..." He checked his wrist. "I think it's about two,"

    "Oh no!" she yelled.

    "What's up...? He asked.

    "School's almost over!" She started getting up, when her feet touched the ground, sharp pains burst all the way from her feet to her chest. Her legs collapsed and she fell to the ground hitting her burnt arms on the hardwood floor. She yelled out in pain, and couldn't move.

    A hand reached out in front of her, "Do you need help?" Jason asked.

    "I... I can't move... It hurts too much..." She whimpered. "Maybe I'll just lay here for a little while."

    Jason grabbed underneath her armpits, "No, I'm not leaving you here." He lifted her up until she could rest her hand on the counter. "Now, don't walk," He cupped the side of her cheek, "Please." Did he know that this really comforted her? He was helping her in a way that no one ever did before. She was very grateful.

    Tears streamed down Lily's face, "I don't know what else to do... All of my family is gone." He helped her sit on the stool again. "My dad, my mom, now my aunt!" she wiped her tears with her hand while Jason lightly stroked her hair. "I hate being helpless." she sobbed.

    He lifted her chin up, "You're not helpless, and you're not alone." he took his sleeve and wiped her tears. "I know you're meant to do something wonderful." She looked at him, her eyes shimmering in the dim light. "Don't doubt yourself, just wait, it's tough, but eventually we will catch whoever did this, or is doing this, and we are going to create justice. Justice that will make you feel like you're worth it. That you belong here. And I am going to help you. I will never leave, never."

    More tears streamed down Lily's face, and he kindly smiled. "I..." her voice cracked. "I don't know what to say..." she looked at him, he was so kind, so sweet, did she deserve this? He wiped more of her tears that slipped through her eyes. Maybe he was right, maybe she was worth something. "Thank you..."

    "I will be here, always." he said. His voice was so soft, like the ocean, but calmer.

    She smiled more tears fell, "I trust you. Thank you."

Lily was finally back at school a week later. Her burn marks were almost gone. She doesn't know why, but she was afraid to go to school. Something was going on there, something odd. Her house was completely destroyed and she had nowhere to go. Luckily Jason had her stay at his house. She slept in the room while he slept on the couch. She felt bad, but Jason being the mind reader he was, told her he had much worse, which left her feeling confused and bad about what happened when he was younger. Jason was seventeen and she was sixteen, she was really happy that she finally found someone. Someone who cared about her, someone who took care of her like her mother once did. There was something she wasn't sure of though, her mother she loved, but Jason's ability to make her laugh and cry was something else. It was like he cared, but there was more. Lily never got the chance to love, she wondered what loving was like. She wasn't sure if this was it. If this was love.

    "Lily! Where have you been?" Elle ran up to her and panted. She looked up and tears stung her eyes. "I've been worried sick! You've been gone and you're not answering your phone!"

    "Yeah... umm... about that..."

    "Hey!" Jason walked up from the other direction. Lily's heart jumped; she wasn't used to him leaving her alone. If something happened to him she didn't know what to do. He walked up to Lily and smiled. "Don't worry. I was just getting us some chai latte's from Moonbucks."

    Elle was silent, she and Jason were staring at Lily.

    "Elle, I'm sorry..." Lily said.

    Jason put his finger up, "No, don't apologize." He turned over to the other girl. "Elle, tell her."

    Elle stayed silent and stared at Lily. "Wha... Tell me what?"

    "I've already revealed myself. You know what happened and you know that her powers are activated. We no longer need to hide this from her."

    "Wait what...? What's going on?"

Elle inhaled sharply.  "My name is Elle Starflight. I am part of the B.O.M.B. the 'bureau of magical beings'. Yes I know that spells bomb but it's the name they chose for some reason."

"Wait... You're a magical being too? This is confusing..." Lily turned to Jason, "This is the bureau you were talking about?" she asked him. "Aren't you a part of it too?"

Jason stayed straight faced and nodded.

"So what is your goal?" Lily was confused, two people who were not who she thought they were.

"We were sent to protect you." Jason said

"Protect me? Protect me from what?"

"There is someone after you, someone we need to protect you from. He took your mother, and we believe your aunt as well as your English teacher. Now he's after you." Elle stated.

"After me...? But who...?"

"Lucifer." they said together.

*****

    "Luci...... Wait what? What?!" Lily was horrified, what would this Lucifer want with her? What did he need her for? What was the point of this? "I don't understand what's going on... Doesn't he live in hell or something?"

    "He did..." Elle said.

    "Did...? As in, past tense?! Oh no... I'm screwed..." She ran her fingers through her hair and started pacing. She stopped and looked at Jason. "Lucifer. As in the KING OF HELL. The so-called KING OF ALL DEMONS."

    Jason had that "oh no I shouldn't have said that" face. He nodded.

    She started pacing again, feeling the dread of being alive. But there was a reason, wasn't there? A reason for her to be alive? Her lungs were being weighed down by a thousand pounds. Lucifer... The king of demons... wants to kill me...

    "Well..." Jason said. "We don't exactly know what he wants with you. We just know that he wants to get everyone out of his way." He reached out and grabbed Lily's hand. Redness made its way up to her face.

    "I..." She stammered. She couldn't concentrate with him doing this.

    "You don't have to concentrate. Just let Elle and I protect you. We are strong, we both have powers, and we are trained in combat." he lightly stroked her upper hand with his thumb.

    She pulled her hand out of his grasp. "And let you DIE for ME? NO. It's not worth it." She crouched down and dug her fingers in her hair. "It can't be... It's not real..." Jason looked at Elle. She just sighed and nodded. He kneeled down and rubbed Lily's back.

    "You know. Your aunt was one of us too." he smiled.

    The poor girl looked up with tears covering her face. No part was dry. Jason felt dread running down his back. "Really...?" her voice cracked. She wiped her eyes with her dress sleeve. After the house fire, Jason bought her new dresses. Ones that she really liked. A lot of them were in her favorite color, blue. "Wh...." She looked up. "What was her magical ability?"

    "It was telekinesis." Elle stated.

    Lily looked up at Elle. "What... What about yours?"

    Elle looked at Jason who half smiled and nodded. She looked back at Lily and smiled generously. Lily has never seen her smile like that before. This is a weird new Elle. She thought. What if she can read minds too? Oh no I can't have two people knowing everything I think about...  "Don't worry." The mind reading boy looked at Lily and grinned. "I can read her thoughts but she can't read ours."

    Elle's face turned beat red, "WILL YOU STOP READING MY MIND?!" She screamed. Now that's the Elle I know.

    "So..." They both turned and looked at the poor girl. "If it isn't mind reading..." She looked at Elle. "Then... what is it?"

    Elle sighed and smiled again. "It's Ice, and I have another one. Healing." She looked at Jason who was still grinning. "And this guy." She punched his arm.

    "Ow! What was that for?" He looked mildly annoyed.

    "He has two as well." She narrowed her eyes. "Don't you."

    "Wait... You have two abilities?" Lily looked eager to know, and she was.

    "Yes." He said while rubbing his arm. "The second one I rarely ever use. It's useful, but it's very dangerous." He stayed silent.

    "Well." Elle said. "What is it, and what's so 'dangerous' about it?"

    Jason let out a very annoyed sigh, "It's telepathy. It's dangerous because every time you use it, it damages the brain of the person you're trying to communicate with." He was still rubbing his arm. "Dude. That really hurt."

    Elle rolled her eyes.

    "Wait... damages the brain?!" Lily felt fear edging up her throat.

    "I'm sure he told you." Elle said.

    "Told me what?"

    "She's thinking that I told you that good powers have consequences." He said still annoyed.

    Elle's face, once again, turned red. "Will you STOP READING MY MIND?!"

    Jason grinned, "But it's so much fun! Annoying you is the best!" and he laughed.

    Lily smiled, Jason was the best at making jokes. He also was very caring. That must have been a nice trait to have. He looked over to Lily and raised his eyebrows. God, he read my mind again... She thought.

*****

    The bell rang and class started. Lily under the AC vent, Jason next to her, and Elle behind Lily. Only this time it was different. They were no longer who people thought they were. They were from another existence, ones where demons and goddesses lived. Lily was filled with fear, and so were her friends. Because the most feared demon of all was after her... and probably her friends as well.

    Mr. Matthews walked in the room, a smile pasted on his face. He always smiled. It was odd and nerve racking. He raised his eyes and stared at Lily. His eyes were sinking into her soul. She quickly looked away.

Does she even know? She doesn't suspect a thing.

Lily looked up. Did someone just talk? Or was it a voice in her head? But... it sounded so real... She looked at Jason who had no facial expression, his eyebrows were raised and he was staring off into space.

Who is this new teacher? He only pays attention to Lily, it's like he doesn't notice us at all.

That sounded like Nadya's voice, the popular girl in the class. What's going on?! Lily thought.

I wonder if she suspects me yet.

    I wonder what we're doing today.

    She's so ignorant.

    Geez, English class is so boring.

    I wonder if she knows who her father is.

    Why aren't we doing anything?

    No, I have to wait a little longer to reveal myself.

    Why is he just staring at her?

    Why is he just staring at her, why is he just staring at her, why is he just staring at her.

    "L... Lily?"

    Lily looked up, she didn't realize she covered her ears and tears ran down her eyes. "Lily...? Are you okay?" Jason looked at her with concern. She looked around the room and everyone was looking at the teacher while he was explaining synonyms.

    "Jason... Am I going crazy...?" she whispered.

    "What happened...? Are you okay?" He placed his hand on her back.

    "I heard a voice... no... thousands of voices... all from the classmates around the class..." She looked at him. "What's happening to me?" She gripped her desk, turning her knuckles white. There was this one voice though. It was someone unfamiliar. He was... She looked up. She gripped the table harder, it burned, the table was burning her.

    "Lily... Lily!" Jason whispered.

    She looked down, her hands sank into the table, she lifted them up, and two black scorched fingermarks burned into the table. Her hands had more burn marks spread across the palm.

    It's heer. It's heer. The voice sang in her head.

    Lily's pupils shrank. "He's here. I know he is."

    "Stay calm." Elle whispered.

    Lily and Jason looked up, Mr. Matthews was staring at all three of them. His gaze was hard. I can't wait to meet her and make her mine.

    Lily inhaled sharply and held her breath. The world was spinning. She couldn't breath, it was terrifying. The air suddenly went cold. All that existed was Matthews. A murderer was her teacher, he killed her parents and her aunt, as well as her actual teacher.

    She got up from her chair, feeling sick. Then she ran, ran like her life depended on it, and it did. Leaving Jason and Elle alone with him. Him, it was him, he was him, he was the murderer. He was the demon.

    He was Lucifer.

    Run all you can Lily, but you won't be able to escape.

    Voices surrounded her head, voices of all the children, everyone in the school. Panting, she got out of the school passing the security desk. The air went dry. She couldn't breathe. I have to keep running! She thought. I have to or he'll catch me.

    Rain clouds covered the sky, the darkness was surrounding her. She couldn't escape.

    Suddenly something grabbed her arm and tugged her to face him. Lily screamed, closed her eyes and scratched his arm. She started running again, this time he grabbed her waist and tugged her toward him again. Lily tried to get out of his grasp, but he embraced her. His arms surrounded her.

    She scratched, hit, screamed, but he just wouldn't let go. She couldn't hear anything. Rain fell from the sky. Covering her in it's darkness.

    A muffled voice came from the man. Slowly the world came back into focus. She could hear him talking, he was saying her name.

    "Lily! Lily! Lily stop, it's just me!" She looked up. Burned scratches surrounded the boy's chest.

    "Jason.......?" she looked around. "But... I thought you were..."

    "Matthews? No."

    She lightly touched the scratched marks on his chest. He winced. "I'm sorry..." She sobbed. "I can't control my world anymore... I can't even control myself." She started crying. Rain drenched her hair and dress. Jason pulled her closer to him. She sobbed and cried in his chest.

    "Lily..." He breathed.

    "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry...." She wept. He pulled her away from him and pulled her lips towards his. He was kissing her. Not taking advantage of her, but this was a reassuring kiss that everything would be okay. He pulled away.

    "Please..." He whimpered. "Please don't apologize."

    "But..." she was still surprised. "I hurt you."

    "You didn't mean to."

    "I still did though!" She cried.

    "Lily..." he pulled her closer to him. "I don't care. As long as you're alright."

    "Jason..."

    "Hey!" Elle said from a distance. She was holding an umbrella.

    She walked up to Jason who was still holding Lily. "Is she alright...?" She asked.

    "Yeah, I'm fine..." she lied.

    "No. You're not." Jason said.

    Elle held an umbrella above them. "Let's take her home." Elle sighed.

    All three of them walked to Jason's apartment. Jason holding Lily. Elle holding an umbrella above all three of them.