.- ... .- . .-..

The moon shines upon us, and his features are now unmistakable. Almost like the light on the eve. Majestic.

"Lucifer?" I breathe in surprise. "What are you-"

"You... you didn't tell me you were getting married," he spits.

I squint at him. "Is that important right now?"

He doesn't answer.

"Why are you there?" I shout to ensure he hears me. "I thought we agreed to-"

"Shut up!" he yells. "You piss me off so much."

"Why? Because I didn't say there was a gathering here for my wedding?"

"Yes!"

"Why does that matter?"

"You agreed to be my date."

"I did!"

"That'd mean you'd be a guest in this gathering!"

This gathering? "I don't get it-"

"I was invited here."

"What?"

He's invited to the gathering for my wedding?

I purse my lips and shake my head lightly. "I don't remember inviting you." I grimace. "Then again, I wasn't in charge of the invitations."

"So this really is..." he mumbles, something I can't hear. But that won't stop me from pursuing answers.

"How were you invited here? I didn't even know you were real until last night!"

"I should be asking you!" Me?

"How would I know?"

"Why don't you?"

My grip on the tied blankets tightens. "I-I don't know, but-"

"Did you set me up?"

"What?"

"Are you playing with me right now?"

What in the world is this guy on?

"I don't understand what you're saying."

He stares right back at me with the same annoyed face. I may feel tired holding onto the blanket with my entire weight, but I won't budge until he stops being confusing and starts explaining properly.

His glowing red eyes amidst the shadow of the night roll before clicking his tongue and yelling, "Don't move, or I'll rip you to pieces, mortal."

"Huh?"

Lucifer swings himself, pushing the air with more force until over time, he is making huge swings. His eyes are planted somewhere above me. Then he lets go, hurling himself in the air, almost in slow motion.

The blanket I'm onto sways erratically as he grabs onto it. My grip tightens, the fabric twisting beneath my hold, and I glare at him, climbing to my window.

"Hey! Lucifer!" I yelled. "What are you- whoa!"

Lucifer flings himself inside my room and pulls the tied blankets back in. As I near the window, I grip the frame to sling myself back in while he gathers the rest of it.

"Remind me to get rid of the ones by the empty guest room," he says as he releases the tip of the blankets into a heap around the floor and shuts the window.

I heave a breath and roll my eyes, gathering myself.

"Tell me the truth right now." He demands, sliding the curtain and dimming the room from any light.

"About what?"

"This!"

This dude didn't even help me pull my weight in and still refuses to explain why he was out there.

"This.. is the third and last gathering day before the wedding."

Lucifer curses. What, isn't that what he's asking about? He seems awfully irritated about this entire wedding thing I neglected to tell him on purpose.

"And you?" I gesture to him. "I thought we had an agreement."

Lucifer glares. Oh, he's the mad one now?

"I rushed back here only to find you missing." I grit my teeth, remembering Docker covering for me just so I can humor this still unsatisfied devil.

"Tsk."

Calm down. Nothing will come out of it if I let him get to me.

I breathe in and level my voice. "Why did you move to a different room? You're lucky it wasn't occupied."

"I knew it was unoccupied."

"So? Answer my question."

"You don't demand answers from me, human." He crosses the room and snarls at me. "Besides, you were already late to our meeting."

I roll my eyes. "But I didn't stand you up!"

"But it ended up being in vain. This agreement."

How? Because it was my wedding all along?

"You shouldn't have agreed to be my date," he hisses.

I scoff. "Well, I can't come as a guest at my own wedding now, can I?"

"You didn't tell me it was your wedding."

"You didn't tell me what the gathering you invited me to was about."

He purses his lips and turns away from me. "I didn't know it was for a wedding."

"How did you get invited then?" I raise a brow and cross my arms.

"None of your business."

I squint. "Second I remember, yes, it is. We had an agreement. Plus, it's my wedding."

"That you failed to uphold."

"Again, it's my wedding! And the day of the ceremony is still tomorrow anyway."

He cuts me off. "And yet you were willing to come with me as my date? Well, aren't you the actual devil here?"

"It's an arranged marriage. I've never met Rafa before today. Heck, I met you before I met her!"

He rolls his eyes and ignores my sentiment. "You just attempted to escape."

"You did, too!"

"I had no choice!" He shouts.

"And I did?"

Lucifer doesn't object. Good. He expects me to relay everything I know without giving me any information. How unfair is that?

I sigh. "I... I think Rafa is nice and everything, but I'm a man of my word. I agreed, so I would play as your date to the gathering you said was important. To help you return to hell or whatever."

"It was important. But it was all a trap." His glowing eyes glance at the pile of tied sheets

"And it was my wed- what?"

A trap?

"To begin with, you summoned me, said you wanted nothing from me and agreed almost instantly when I posed a way for us to settle your little mishap." He gazes back at me. "Who are you? Are you an angel spy? The bait in this operation?"

My eyebrows furrow. "Angel spy? Operation? What are you talking about?"

"You lured me into this for another scheme of the Almighty, isn't that right? Well, lo and behold, I caught up to your tasteless plot." Almighty?

"What in heavens are you saying? It's my wedding!"

"You thought you could hide an angel's presence in the sea of guests, huh? You underestimate the devil."

"Again, it's my wedding!"

I don't get this guy at all. Why is he accusing me of something that makes no sense?

I breathe in and out while he stares. "What angels are you even talking about? First, there's you—a devil. Heck, Satan himself. And now you're telling me there are angels here, too?"

No answer. Only a frustrated and exasperated sigh.

With his existence, I know for a fact that angels and whoever he referred to as the Almighty may be what I think they are. For a short moment, my confusion and realization make me want to laugh.

"Wow, dude. Am I that special and blessed to have both angels and demons attending my wedding?"

"So you don't know anything."

I roll my eyes and cross my arms. "I know this is my wedding. I did not arrange, organize, or plan anything, but it's still mine." I almost want to shame myself for that. Nonetheless, I should be honest. "And you're being hysterical."

"I'm being hysterical? You know nothing, pesky human. This isn't your wedding. This is a trap. A ruse."

Again, with the ambiguous wording.

"Trap for who?" I ask.

"Me."

"You?"

His breathing steadies. He's not shouting anymore. "It was your wedding, but you'd do nothing but partake as the groom. Didn't touch any of the planning, right?" He scoffs as I bite my lip. "Did you at least know who your guests were?"

I avert my eyes from him. "...No."

"Anything?"

Closing my eyes and sinking my arms against my chest deeper, I shake my head.

"See? You know nothing."

He's right. Although I don't fully understand what's happening, I have this sick feeling they're keeping me in the dark on purpose. And it's annoyingly shocking and not simultaneously. Icky.

After a minute of silence, he utters, "Who organized it?"

"What?" I glance at him.

"The wedding."

"I-I don't know, my family, maybe?" I look away.

"You don't even know that." He sighs. "I need to know who picked out the guests."

"Why?" I ask, my voice quiet.

"Think about it, scatterbrain. I, the devil, Satan, was invited as a guest. Why was that?"

"I don't know."

"Of course you don't. I wasn't particularly asking you."

"Jerk," I whisper.

"I'm Lucifer. What do you expect from me? Roses and rainbows? Sweet nothings? An angel?"

I scoff and squint at him. "Pretty sure you are a fallen angel who rebelled against God or something like that."

No answer.

I snicker. "Bullseye, huh."

"Shut your trap. You're helping me find out who decided on all the guests."

"Why?"

"I am in danger here. And guess how that happened. A certain imbecile summoned me. If you hadn't done that, I wouldn't have received an invitation as soon as I arrived for a treaty between heaven and hell, only to be led into a trap full of angels everywhere."

He received an invitation to my wedding as soon as he was summoned out of hell? That's weird.

"Well, it was an accident. But okay, okay. I get it. I hear you." I look at him, curious. His eyes are on the curtained window. "Though, are there really angels in this place?"

"A horrid lot of them."

Wow.

"How do you not know anything about this?"

I gesture to nothing. "Hey, I didn't even know I could summon Satan. How would I know angels were in the vicinity?" I roll my eyes when he clicks his tongue. "But still. It's just... wow. I have so many angel guests. Who would've thought?" I chuckle. "Did God hear my prayers and send them to bless my marriage?"

"As if." Lucifer scoffs. "I bet they made a deal with your parents to lay this trap on me. Don't you find it strange? Being arranged to someone you don't know, and on such short notice? Even more so, I was sent an automatic invitation as soon as I was summoned out of hell."

"Well, yeah, but I didn't think those two things would have anything to do with each other."

"Pathetic." His eyes then jump to mine, seemingly in shock. "Did you have guests at your house last night?"

"Last night? Yeah, I think. Pretty sure my parents led in a lot of guests to stayover."

"Shit. Shit, shit, shit!" And cue a bunch of frustrated Lucifer noises. Annoying but low-key cute, not gonna lie. "It's all your fault!"

"My fault?" I raise a brow.

He stomps toward me, pointing a finger to my face."You pushed me last night. You jumped on me. My senses were blocked with every fiber of your being. All I could see was how close your face was to mine; all I could hear was your heartbeat, and all I could smell was your breath. All I could touch was the bed and your sides, and all I could feel was your body." His eyes shine bright with a blinding glint, his teeth gritting. "All my senses were on you because of that!"

I turn my head away, feeling the slight heat on my face increase the more he emphasizes his words. How can he just say those things with a straight face? Does he even realize what he just said? God.

"Ahem.."

"What?"

"That's... did you hear what you just said?"

With no quick retort, I peek at his face. I suddenly want to laugh. Even with how dim the room is, I can see the growing warmth on his pale skin.

He clicks his tongue and clenches his fists. "Don't stray away from the point. Because of you, I couldn't identify the angel's presence last night. I knew I sensed something disgusting."

"You don't mean me, right?"

"Of course not. You're-" For a second, his voice softens, but it hardens again. "I just couldn't pinpoint it because-"

"Because you were all over me."

"The opposite. You were all over me. Literally."

"..You liked it." I tease.

His no response and sudden avoidance of meeting my eyes contours a smirk on my face.

"So you can't really put the blame on me. Besides, if I hadn't done that, Remi would have seen you."

He sighs sharply. "Fine. You're right. That'd be worse. If your sister happened to be in cahoots with the angels, too, I wouldn't even be here."

"Mhm. So you admit you were all over me? Or that you liked that I was all over you?"

"...You're not even worried about the possibility of your sister being in tandem with the angels?" His tone drifts on the defensive.

"I'm sure she's not." I shrug. "But don't avoid what I said."

"You can't say that."

"I can. I've known her all my life. She's only a year younger than me." I roll my eyes. "Again, stop evading."

Even if Remi knows something, I'm sure it has nothing to do with me. But if Lucifer hit the jackpot, I may have just been bait.

Okay, that hurt a bit. After all, why can't they tell me if they're going to use me to lure the devil in? Heck, why would they even do that? Why would the angels even be in contact with my family? Because we're a religious clan? If not, then what?

"Humans change. Very frequently, too. I wouldn't put it past you to be the type to turn your back on God if a great disaster befell you." Lucifer crosses his arms.

I glare. "I'm not you. Remi's not you." I don't know about my family's possible connection with this ordeal, but guilt crawls in my flesh when I assume the worst out of them.

But can they blame me?

Sidelining my doubts, I step closer, reminding him of an earlier statement he keeps ignoring. "And what did I say? You're running away."

His head turns to the side, and a foot slides behind him.

"You keep running away from the truth. Are you the one who's scared to be entangled with me? With a human?" I lower my voice as I get closer to him.

"Don't be full of yourself. What do you think I am?" He gazes at me, pupils dilated.

"A coward."

"Say that again."

His voice runs deep, almost rumbling, his eyes glow in hue, and the scent of incense invades my nostrils. He's not kidding around. Is he mad?

My knees slightly buckle and, I swallow uncontrollably.

"Just as I thought."

Fudge.

I sigh and turn away. "Fine, I'll help you out. I'll go ask Remi-"

"Don't."

"Why? I thought you wanted to know who made the guest list?"

"On the occasion that your sister is on the angels' side, you asking her would give rise to a suspicion of me catching up with their little trick. It'd be game over."

"It's me asking her, not you, though." And I want to try confronting her about all this, too.

"You've never cared about that before, didn't you? Suddenly asking for it is a dead giveaway."

Okay, good point.

"Alright. What do you suppose we can do?"

"Something else."

"You're Satan. Why can't you just, I don't know, do something? You have powers, right?" I gesture to him and around us.

Lucifer only sighs, almost feeling defeated. Or is it irritation?

"What? I thought Satan could creep into any human being and all that." I mock.

"That is when I'm in hell." He releases a sharp exhale. "When I'm here, I'm vulnerable. If I did something, nearby angels would get a signal and a more accurate location of me. I can't do anything."

"Shocking." Really, actually. "And I thought it'd be scary if Satan were to rise from hell and take over the world."

"Shut up."

"Oh wait, that's why you left my room and wandered about? You got scared?" The corner of my lips tugs upwards.

"Shut up, Salie."

"No, you."

He glares and walks toward me. "You don't know anything. About this whole wedding trap, your family entangled with beings surpassing all you've ever believed were real, or me. Nothing. You ought to learn your place as a teeny, tiny human caught up in this charade."

"You don't scare me," I whisper.

"Oh really?"

"You're the one who's scared."

"Say that again. I dare you."

"Coward," I say, emphasizing every syllable.

His face, now weirdly close to mine, expresses something else. His eyes go down from my eyes to somewhere else. As if under a spell, my eyes also gaze down at his slightly parted lips. I feel my throat dry.

When I peek back into his eyes, they're glancing everywhere below me. I cringe, feeling bare despite my room being completely dim.

Lucifer leans away, amusement painting his eyes. "For a lowly human, you're pretty appetizing."

"...Excuse me?"

"What? You want me to repeat it?" He sneers. "Or you want me to show you what I mean instead?"

I glare at him, feeling something inside me reacting positively to his words. Fuck this guy.

"Anyway, you best leave," he says, adjusting his cuffs and walking away. "They may start looking for you. Don't put me in further danger."

"What's your plan?" I question, turning my head to the side.

"For now, it appears best for your wedding to commence. You play the role they gave you—an unsuspecting groom. Then I'll attend in the guise of a human and step into their trap like they wanted."

"Why?"

"We know nothing about their plan. All we can do is feign ignorance until something happens." His voice is somewhat quiet. I can't read his tone. "At least we're in agreement that there's something amiss here."

"Are we, now?"

"Oh, don't try me. I can sense so much dread, doubt and panic from you right now. It's amusing."

I scoff. "So you sense negative feelings now, too?"

"When did I say I don't?"

I shake my head and walk across the room to my door, stopping right there with his words.

"Don't fret. I'll remain here." His tone is almost gentle, as if reassuring me.

Without any more words after this weird revelation and exchange with him, I walk out and close my door. Right off the bat, the lock from the inside clicks.

Breathe in and out, Asael. I clutch to my chest. It's going to be okay. Things just got so complicated and confusing. I don't know what or who to believe and side with, but an uneasy feeling keeps hovering over me when I think about my family now.

And when I think about Lucifer, I see nothing but the truth. I see nothing but transparency and trust. As odd as that sounds. It feels as though the devil trusts me more than my family does. Almost to the point where I'm tempted to return to Lucifer's side to strategize.

Because what if something big is lurking behind the scenes? Who can I trust? What really is my role in all this?

I shake my head. Calm down. Lucifer is right. They will be suspicious if I stay away, unguarded, for too long. And I don't want them to figure him out. If everything Lucifer said is true, then every move I make right now is dangerous.

Not for me, but for him.

.- ... .- . .-..

Wordcount: 3049
Overall: 10140