School days [AU]

He followed her gesture and laid next to her, wrapping his arm around her as he looked at her face. He was just as young and dumb, feeling like he just wanted to keep her close to feel this relief that was slowly spreading into his system from her close and comfort. He frowned in worry at her pained frown, looking down at her hand as he looked up at her again. He listened to her words as he swallowed hard, "Me too," he whispered but it was rather mute, like he couldnt really admit to feeling so strongly towards her - As he hadnt really ever felt that way with someone.
He nodded at her words as he placed a hand over hers that touched his cheek, not moving his eyes from hers. Even if Virgil was his brother, it wasnt like he had a base for a relationship, or at least any chance of that had been ruined the moment he had decided to treat Buffy like property. He closed his eyes as her nose touched his, gently nuzzling against her skin to skin. He opened his eyes at the beeping, looking up at the machine for a moment. "I feel the same way. But you do need to be calm right now. I'm sure they'll kick me out if it turns out that I'm not really helping," he said in a low tone as he gave her hand a squeeze. He let go to wrap him arm around her, pulling her closer as he placed his chin on top of her head to keep her in close embrace. It was clear that he wasnt trying to constrain her, he just wanted her close. "I met your... aunt. She wasnt really happy about it all, but she seemed less happy about me being a demon," he mumbled into her hair as he lifted his head to look at her. "I had to assure her that I wasnt trying to lead you astray," he said before he couldnt help but smile a little. The encounter had made him feel like a little boy having to talk to an adult, though it was more because Leona seemed to see him that way.

Buffy knew he was right, she needed to be calm, but how could she when he just made her heart flutter. She cuddled closer to him as he wrapped his arms around her, resting her head against his chest and closing her eyes. Listening to his heart calmed her somewhat, but that was until she heard he had spoken with her aunt. Breathing out she pulled away a bit, looking up at him as he spoke about ensuring Leona that he wasn't trying to corrupt her. She scoffed a little, turning it in to a faint laugh. "Did she ... Uhm ... Did she pull that face where she looks like she's smelling something bad?" she giggled a bit, trying to be careful with her body. She sighed once more, resting her head on the pillow looking in to Baal's eyes. Had she not been hurting right now, she would have flown out of this bed to find her aunt, but being with him made her a little more relaxed. "Oh lord, I'll have a lot to explain once I get out of here," she said in a defeated tone, but she couldn't help but chuckle a bit at the absurdity.

A couple of more days passed before the doctors felt like Buffy's numbers were stable enough. The school had taken measures to be sure she wouldn't lack behind on her studies, and she was using her days slowly getting back in to the rhythm of things. History class it was once more, and the teacher had put on a movie to showcase a representation of a famous battle. Buffy leaned up against Baal as the lights were put out. It was strange to sit here with him, sit so close to him and not feel like anyone judged her.

Her aunt didn't really like any creatures that she deemed dark, but perhaps it was because of her upbringing. Buffy on the other hand had always been curious, and she knew that was the only reason why she had been allowed to go to the academy. She wanted to learn, wanted to understand and get to know what other races there was besides humans. As he told his stories she listened, smiling from time to time as she just looked at him. It was amazing what another being could make you feel, and Baal made her feel warm inside.

It was strange seeing Baal haven given up on his skin cream and meticulous way of hiding his marks, but Buffy had found it refreshing. She wasn't shy to show her affection for the dark swirls in the hallways, and she sure as hell liked that they could hold hands without him worrying of rubbing off his cream. She could feel his lips against her forehead, smiling in the dark as she tried focussing on the movie, but that was not an easy task when he was sitting this close. One thing was for sure, she didn't miss the heart monitor that would give off just how crazy her body went when he was near. It was nice just being able to turn off her brain as she looked at the screen, feeling the demon by her side warming her from the inside out. "Are you busy after class?" she whispered, but she didn't take her eyes off of the screen. The teacher wasn't going to tell her off, not when she had finally come back. "I was thinking if you might want to have a study date with me?" she asked, feeling a little shy, but she also felt like this was all she could really ask for right now. She didn't feel like going out to the city, but being on campus would be the safest for her right now.

Every little touch managed to send signals to her brain, begging her to just lean in closer, lock their lips together and forget about the world. However she kept reminding herself that they were in a classroom, and she could already feel the teacher eyeing them. She couldn't help but put on a pouty face when he said she should've asked earlier, rolling her eyes as he started talking about this girl. She knew it was her, but she liked pretending to be upset, just to go along with the joke. She nuzzled her head against his nose, chuckling and making the teacher shush on them. She bottled up a laughter, feeling her chest jump a bit as the laugh was trying to escape. "It's a date then," she whispered, looking back at the screen. How could anyone ever expect her to focus when Baal was sitting this close? She let her hand entangle with his, leaning against him as the movie got to the part that their teacher seemed to be excited about. Buffy sighed, looking away with eyes fluttering at the blood and violence on the screen. Of course she knew it was fake, but it didn't mean it didn't give off the same feeling. "Why does these types of movies always have to be this ... Bloody," she mumbled, feeling a little nauseous. Closing her eyes, she just rested against Baal until the scene was over, peeking out from beneath her eyelashes from time to time. As the movie was over, she narrowed her eyes at the light that got turned on and she sat up straight. The teacher finished off with the assignment for next class, and Buffy wrote a few notes before the bell rang. Suddenly she felt a little giddy. Her arts class had been canceled that day, so she felt so ready just to have a study date to catch up on it all. Nana had helped her, and Vanessa had even taken time out of her schedule to go over some of the things she missed in their shared lectures. Florence and Lana had kinda tried, but they didn't really share many classes, plus they were a year ahead anyways. Buffy gathered her things in her bag, placing it over her shoulder as she looked to the demon who had stolen her heart. "Ready?" she asked with a crooked smile lingering on her lips. She loved him. Of course she did, however saying those words just seemed to make her well up, so she hadn't said it. Why would she need to say it anyways, he knew it, right? Taking a deep breath they went down the hall together, some people staring other people flat out ignoring them. Buffy didn't know what she preferred. "So are we going to your dorm or mine?" she asked. She didn't mind either, but if Nana was there she didn't feel like she could have the quality time she needed with Baal.

He tilted his head a little at the screen at her mumble, pressing her closer as he made a quiet sigh, "Wish I could tell you," he said in a hushed tone with a half smile as he looked down at her. He was quite used to the view, well not just because he knew it was fiction. He had gone hunting with Vanessa a few times, getting to see how grimy things could get when she rather wanted flesh over souls. He just kept Buffy close, watching the scene play out till the movie then ended. He tilted his head as he felt some heads turn to look at them, though he didnt really care - Some had figured out what had happened and some hadnt. But as long as people wasnt gossiping openly about it where they could hear, he wasnt going to pick fights with anyone.
He got up from his seat, packing his bag as he looked rather surprised at her as she asked whether he was ready. "Arent you supposed to be going to art class?" he asked with his head slightly tilted as he realized it probably was cancelled. He nodded, grabbing her hand to entangle their fingers. He wanted everyone to see how he would hold her hand and look at her, let them know that he cared for her so deeply. He rubbed his index gently against the back of her hand as he gave her question some thought. "We could go to mine. I think Nana might be tired of listening to our sweet talk," he said as he scratched the side of his neck. He made a small smirk as he leaned in to kiss her temple gently, "I still have that bag of sweets that you didnt get to open last time," he said against her skin with a chuckle. It might had seemed like they had done something to forget it, but it really just was that it had been that the both of them had pushed it out of their mind when they had been doing their homework. "Let's get something to drink," he suggested, giving her hand a soft squeeze.

"Cancelled, miss James has requested a day off, so we just have to hand in an assignment next week," Buffy said with a smile on her lips. It was so strange feeling his hand in hers and it feeling so right. It had never felt like this with Virgil. She felt her heart flutter at the mention of them going to his dorm. In a way she hadn't really felt safe in her own room since that night, but having Nana always there just helped her calm down. Being alone with Baal was not something she feared, however she couldn't help but worry somewhat. She chuckled a bit at the mention of the sweets because she had basically just had her nose in her books for the entire evening. "I want a soda or something sweet - Maybe an iced tea would be nice?" she thought out loud, as if it was a philosophical discussion. Luckily the school was rather close to a Tesco, and Buffy did feel a lot safer as they walked side by side. Whenever the tall demon was there, she felt like nothing could hurt her, even if that was a childish thought to have. "What did you want to be when you grew up?" she asked, striking up a casual conversation as always. It was just so easy to speak with him, easy to just talk about everything.

As Baal started going off like that Buffy leaned against him, chuckling at his words. He sounded like one of their professors, or perhaps all of them, making her giggle as he kept going. "Wouldn't want that," she giggled. Perhaps she looked like a schoolgirl with her biggest crush, but there was nothing wrong with that in her eyes. She felt she could be herself, not worry if people looked at her funny. And it was hard doing anything when he was trying to make her laugh, she just gave in to that giddy feeling in her stomach. As the conversation shifted she wiped her eyes a bit from the laughing session she had just had, listening to him speak. Hearing him outright say he didn't want to be the devil's son, she could not really understand. Perhaps because no matter how much she disagreed with her father's behavior, he was still her father. However she was not one to dig in to that topic. As he mentioned becoming a doctor her eyes widened a bit surprised, but in the end she couldn't say she couldn't picture him like that. "Doctor, like a surgeon or like a local GP?" she asked curious as to what he was pursuing. Although she found it amazing that he wanted to do something like that. The coast seemed clear as they stepped out from the academy, however she held herself closer to Baal than before. Maybe it was stupid, but she just didn't feel completely safe yet. Or would it be more stupid not to be weary of the dangers outside the academy? Reaching the Tesco, Buffy grabbed a small basket, just because she liked having her hands busy. She stopped for a second as she thought she saw something, but once again it was false alarm, just a large clerk filling up one of the products. She sighed, shaking her head as she looked down. Would she ever get to a place where she wouldn't fear Virgil showing up? She couldn't know right now, but something told her it would take time. "I'm sorry," she mumbled to Baal, knowing he must've sensed how tense she appeared for a few minutes, but she couldn't help it. She walked down the aisle, stopping at the assortment of soft drinks as she just seemed to stare blankly at them for a while before reaching out and grabbing some off brand iced tea. She liked the Lipton lemon one better, but it was way more than she was willing to pay. Besides she was still trying to help her aunt help pay for her stay at the academy. It wasn't cheap, and not to mention the distress her aunt had been through with her being sent to the hospital. "I have a feeling that something is off," she whispered, looking at Baal with worried eyes. She couldn't explain it, it was just a gut feeling.

"I was thinking surgeon. But I dont really know yet," he said truthfully. He had given it a lot of thought but he couldnt decide which one would let him help most people. But he still had some years left before he had to make any bigger decisions. For now, he just wanted to focus on his grades and keeping Buffy safe.
He felt her get tense as they stood there, frowning a little as he looked ahead to see what she had been looking at. When it was just some clerk, he exhaled with relief, but the feeling of uneasiness didnt leave him just yet. He followed her down the aisle, looking a bit around as she grabbed her drink. He scoffed at her choice, "If you'd rather want lipton, we could get that instead?" he suggested, though he had a feeling that she wouldnt take his offer. He nodded at her words as he saw the worry in her eyes. "I feel that way quite often as of late. The faster we get out of here, the better," he said with a shrug to control the uneasy feeling he had inside.
He just wanted to go home, moving up to the cashier as he looked at Buffy. He was just begging that they could go home in peace and have their study date. He quickly gave the money to the cashier, grabbing the bag as he grabbed Buffy's hand once again. Maybe he was rushing it a little, but he did just want to get away from there and continue his day like this unsettling feeling wasnt weighing down on him like a thick fog contained in this very store.

"No, the Lipton's is two quids more expensive; I can't go around and waste money when this one is just as fine," she said with a sigh. She did like the Lipton one better, but spending money on a soft drink was already not on her list of what not to buy. Buffy couldn't say if she liked that he felt the same way or perhaps be more unnerved by it. She followed him, keeping close to him as she didn't want to stray far from him. Buffy found the money she owed Baal, stuffing it in his pocket even though he would protest. She was not one to leach off of others, and least of all Baal. There was a feeling of regret. Perhaps they should've just forgotten about the soft drinks, headed straight for his room? Feeling her body tremble a bit she could feel herself shake a little. Maybe it was the cold, or perhaps it was the feeling like nothing was normal anymore. The only thing keeping her from losing her mind right this instant was Baal holding her hand, and squeezing it tight in his palm. "I hate feeling like this ... Do you think it will ever go away?" she pleaded, but there was not really anything showing that it was calming down. When ever she felt like this she tried remembering the good things that had sprung from the series of unfortunate events that had let to this moment. She was holding Baal's hand, going back to his room for a study date. She cared for Baal and he cared for her and she was completely safe. They moved closer to the academy, every step making Buffy want to run to the gates. Then she froze, staring at the tall figure leaned against the gates. Her jaw started trembling, her breathing becoming more erratic with every inhale and exhale.

"Cute," Virgil said in a cold tone, pushing himself away from the gate, looking at Buffy with intense eyes. Buffy clutched Baal's hand, too scared to even say anything. "I didn't take you for a guy wanting sloppy seconds, but you have always surprised me, brother," Virgil said in a cold chuckle. He was clearly enjoying this, holding up his hand to stop Baal from moving closer. "I'm afraid that if you hurt me, our mother will not survive," he said with almost a satisfied chuckle to his lips.

//Out <33//