Forever Fallen Prologue Church bells rang into the cold winter air as I sat on my favorite perch just under the statue of an angel in a submitting stance. The statue had been a part of the church strangely enough, before the church had even been built. Somewhere a snow owl cried out into the night as I pulled my leather jacket closer to me, a failed attempt at keeping warm. My eyes shot up knowingly as a man melted out of the shadows across the street. "You're late." I chuckled as I hopped off my perch and landed agile on the ground. "Or your just early." My friend, Xavier replied with a chuckle. Meeting Xavier halfway I replied, "Im always early and you of all people should know this." Xavier nodded and as I got closer I could see a cigarette burning in between his teeth. "So what's up?" I asked cooly, stopping just in front of him. "Bad news Damon." Xavier murmured through a cloud of misted breath and smoke. "I already know about Iris, I've been keeping my eye on her for her whole #life." I informed Xavier. It didn't surprise me that shock or surprise didn't show in Xavier's ice cold blue eyes. Being Fallen gives you more than just insight about others' affairs. "You know Morpheus will damn you to Limbo in a heartbeat if he finds out you're going against his wishes!" Xavier growled under his breath as he threw down his cigarette and brought his heel down to extinguish it. "Do I look like I give a damn?" I shot back with my fists clenched at my sides. "This is just a fair warning from the head honcho himself so don't shoot the messenger!" Xavier hissed as his fists clenched too. I could see the arteries pulsing as his blood coursed underneath his pale skin. "If you think Morpheus is going to play 'fair' or has the mind of reason then I damn you to hell a thousand times over again!" I spat, rage now gripped at my mind. "That's why I'm warning you!" Xavier was now yelling as he pushed his fist into my chest, not even moving me at the slightest. Then a part of me snapped and didn't care if we'd fallen from heaven together or that he was my best friend. One second I was steadying my stance the next I sent my knee crashing into Xavier's chin, spraying blood onto the snow. Xavier spat more blood up and punched me in the forehead, the force from the blow didn't even faze me as I smashed my other fist into his nose, more blood gushed out onto the snow. "You're so gullible Xavier." I hissed as he tried to swing at me but missed, throwing his body off balance. "And you're too stupid to heed a warning from a friend!" Xavier shot back as he slammed his face into mine, blurring my vision for several moments. "Stay out of my interests!" I roared. Xavier shoved me into the statue of the angel and missed punching me, smashing his fist into the marble stone that served as the foundation for the statue. "As you wish 'brother' but just remember when you're living the rest of you #life feeling and knowing nothing in Limbo that I tried to warn you." Xavier replied as he wrapped his broken wings around his body and disappeared, leaving behind a cloud of black feathers. Chapter One Smoke wafted through the dining room as I walked into the bathroom and fixed my oak brown hair in the mirror. My hair had always been like my mom's and had fallen victim to bedhead no matter what I did to try and prevent it. My mom walked into the doorway as I combed my hair down with a brush, wincing every now and then as the bristles caught a curl in my hair. "Amanda called and said you were meeting her at the library today." My mom informed me as she gave me a pitiful look. "Yeah, we've got homework on Shakespeare that was overdue that we are trying to make up." I replied through gritted teeth as the comb caught another curl. "Well I tried to make you pancakes and bacon before you left but the damn oven is broke." My mom sighed. After brushing my hair I began to floss and brush my teeth. "So instead of something more healthier for breakfast I bought you these." My mom said happily as she plopped Oreos down on the bathroom counter. I smiled and gave her a you-know-me-too-well look and continued to prep myself for three hours of homework that'd been assigned by my least favorite teacher, Mr. Willow. ~~~ It was going on eight o' clock by the time I pulled out of my driveway. The wind blew small flakes of snow hither and tithed as I sped past the Handy Mart and several small town gas stations. The huge cathedral of a church appeared over the next small hill and right across the street from there was the library. I could see Amanda's cheap SUV parked near the front entrance as I pulled into the parking spot next to her. The mirror on her passenger side window was cracked from where she first started driving and hit her mailbox pulling out of her driveway one day a year ago. Green flecks of paint fell to the snowy ground as her SUV slowly rusted away. Once inside the toasty atmosphere of the main lobby, Amanda attack hugged me as she called out, "Iris, you made it!" I just nodded and gave her a small smile as I mouthed the word "Oreos". The way Amanda and I became friends was a time way back in preschool when we had "Snack buddy Day" and I was partnered with Amanda. Needless to say, my snack choice was a box of Oreos. Amanda would joke around and call it "true love at first bite". "So did you hear?" Amanda whispered as we logged onto a shared computer and got started on Hamlet. "Here what?" I whispered back. "There's a transfer student coming to our school Monday." Amanda giggled as she typed away. "And?" I urged her to continue. "It's a he and he's apparently the eye candy of Ashford." Amanda blushed and smiled her perfectly straight smile, I'd always been jealous because one tooth in my top row of teeth jutted out slightly more than all the others. "Oh." I replied, trailing the "oh" out for about a minute. Amanda nodded and continued to type away as I looked at a group of boys sitting a few feet away from us. One boy in particular with black hair and golden eyes looked at me with a creepy spark of interest. Creepy but attractive at the same time. "Hey Iris?" Amanda whispered next to me, making me jump slightly. "What?" I gasped as she handed me over five dollars. "Would you be an angel and pay for print outs?" Amanda asked, not even looking away from the computer monitor. "Yeah, of course." I said, pocketing the five dollar bill and standing up. As I strode past the row of computers to the front desk, my foot caught on a chair that had been pushed slightly away from the table. Thrown of balance, I fell side ways and almost hit the ground but something caught me in midair. Arms held me securely as I let out a huge sigh of relief. My heart continued to hammer fast as I looked into the ice blue eyes of a boy I never knew was in the library. "Thanks." I whispered breathlessly. "No need to thank me even though you almost feel for me." The boy chuckled as he released his iron grip around my waste. I think I already did. Was what I was thinking as he continued to smile at me. "My name is Iris." I said, still stunned by how fast he'd acted on my accident prone incident. "I know." Was all the boy replied. I could feel my mouth open slightly but I quickly shut it and replied, "what's your name?" The boy pushed his blonde hair out of his face and simply said, "Xavier." My mind turned into a pool of water as I realized that there was no one named Xavier in this town. "Did you move here recently?" I asked breathlessly. "Something like that." Xavier laughed and handed me a folded piece of paper before he walked out of the library. Everyone wasn't staring at me surprisingly, at least, almost everybody, except for the boy with the golden eyes who now had the look of betrayal written across his face. Confusion clouded my mind but I shrugged off the feeling as I handed the librarian the printout fee. "Thank you." Was all the elderly lady replied as she messed around with the salt and peppered color hair that she had pinned in a bun. Back at the computer Amanda asked, "What took so long?" I thought for a moment and simply replied, "Bathroom." I felt guilty a bit for lying but I didn't want to start another conversation about boys with Amanda. ~~~ After what seemed like a year passed by, Amanda and I sat in front of my house and split the Oreos amongst each other, the thought of today's incident still on my mind. Amanda must've sensed the tension because she asked, "Are you okay girly?" I nodded slowly before replying, "Yes but do you know anybody named Xavier?" Amanda shook her head and asked, "No, why?" I swallowed an Oreo before answering, "Because a boy named Xavier kept me from falling today." Amanda shook her head and said through a mouthful of Oreos, "You never fell cause if you did everyone would've heard it." I could feel my face begin to burn as I blushed. If I never fell then what happened and who is Xavier and where did he come from? Then I remembered the folded piece of paper that Xavier gave me before he walked out. Reaching in my pocket, I pulled out the note and began to read: Dear Iris, You should be warned that you're in danger and that the danger is moving in closer to you soon. I think it'd be in your best interest if you will meet me in the cemetery at midnight tomorrow morning. I will be near the gazebo in the back. Sincerely, Xavier Chills ran up my spine as my fingers began to tremble. I handed the note over to Amanda who read it and playfully moaned, "Oh, spooky!" My mouth fell open but I couldn't form words. "Listen doll, I know you're having anxiety about a sexy guy coming to our school and stuff, but to write a creepy message and sign it as Xavier is really messed up." Amanda replied as she handed the note back over to me. Shock sparked in my eyes as I read the letter over again and the words were in my handwriting. "It wasn't in my handwriting a few seconds ago!" I gasped as I flipped the note over and back over again a few times. "Listen babe, you've had a long day and it's getting late, go get some rest." Amanda said, trying to soothe me a bit, even though it wasn't helping. "But..." I began to protest but Amanda stood up, hugged me, then left. Tears threatened to fall as I stared at the note one more time just to see it blank. Chapter Two Snow covered the tops of several tombstones as I shuffled my way through the winding trail that lead to the gazebo. The graveyard was by far the most eerie and ancient part of Ashford. Willow trees looked like hunchback skeletons as they grew up to tower over each side of the gazebo. In the gazebo, I sat down and shivered. Not because I was cold, but because I was afraid of the possibilities of the note being a prank. Once Amanda had left me earlier I'd locked myself in my room and left the piece of paper on my lap as I contemplated coming to the graveyard. I must've been lost deep within my thoughts because Xavier coughed to announce his presence, causing me to jump so hard that I almost fell off the bench. "Didn't mean to startle you." Xavier apologized as he took a seat next to me. "The note, I don't understand..." I began but Xavier put a finger gently on my lips. "I can explain." Xavier replied. "I hope you will." I said curtly after Xavier let his hand he'd been using to hush me fall to his lap. "Oh where to begin." Xavier sighed as he pushed his hair out of his face. A moment of silence fell between us as he thought of his next words, then he continued, "There is a guy who is hunting you and I saw him watching your house one day when I was walking around your neighborhood." Xavier explained. I stiffened in my seat and began to shake, hunted? What could my hunter want from me? Did I really want to know? These thoughts came to my mind as Xavier continued, "I wrote the letter in disappearing ink so once you read the note no one else could read it." "But that doesn't explain how you know me or why it looked like it was in my handwriting." I replied quietly, trying to hide the shakiness in my voice. "I know you from people in town, I asked them whose house the guy was always spying on and eventually someone told me." Xavier explained before continuing, "And you had a rough day of almost falling so it wouldn't surprise me if you hallucinated." I nodded on as Xavier went on to explain he was a new kid in town and that he moved here because jobs were scarce where he came from. After talking for awhile longer he stood up and I followed him amongst the rows of tombstones. "Do you believe in afterlives?" Xavier asked nonchalantly. "I'm agnostic so I don't really know what to believe in." I replied through chattering teeth. Xavier seemed to stiffen at the word "agnostic" but continued down the line of tombstones till we stopped in front of a particular tombstone with a picture of a single feather on it. "Here's the reason I asked." Xavier whispered in a voice full of grief. "Whose grave is this?" I asked, not sure if I wanted to know. "Mine." Xavier replied, kneeling down to dust of snow which covered the name plate, revealing the words "Xavier Price" in gold lettering. "This is way weird." I shivered. "I discovered this particular grave the first night I arrived in town." Xavier chuckled. I nodded slowly, trying to wrap my mind around how Xavier was right here talking to me, and yet somehow, here he lay in the ground. There was a moment of silence again before Xavier brought me into a hug. I stiffened against his chest, feeling muscles rippling under his shirt. As quickly as the hug had happened, a force launched me into the air, causing me to land in a pile of snow. "It's the hunter get out of here!" Was all Xavier could holler at me before I saw a fist smash into his face. Paralyzed in the pile of snow, the two guys, if the attacker was a guy, exchanged punches and knee slams. The sound of the fight sounded like thunder as I collected my thoughts and began to sprint to the exit. Wind bit at my cheeks as I ran all the way back to my house. As soon as I got back to my house I threw open the door and slammed it, double checking the locks. My mind felt like it was on fire as I tried to comprehend what'd just happened moments ago. My mom walked in the hallways and sleepily asked, "Where have you been?" "I went outside to see if I forgot to lock my car doors." I replied, hurrying to get into my bedroom where I'd be safe. "Okay sweetie." Was my mom's reply before going back to her room. In my room I threw the door shut and locked it. I checked the window to make sure it was locked to before laying in my bed. "What the hell just happened?" I asked myself aloud. With my answers kind of answered, I didn't know how much of what Xavier was saying was true but sleep eventually outweighed curiosity.
