Did It Hurt? (bxb)

VII

"Surprise." Tears formed unwillingly in Angel's eyes. He gave a lopsided smile as Oliver held him up into a beam of moonlight. He tried not to wince at the hard grip. Oliver stared at him, shocked. It was at times like these when Angel wished he had mind reading powers like werewolves had. Oliver's icy blue eyes were wide, and his mouth was slightly agape. After what felt like hours of just standing, he couldn't take the silence anymore. He gave a small whimper.

"What the hell..." Oliver whispered. He muttered something inaudible, but Angel could tell the basic lines it was along.

"Not who you expected?" Angel mumbled. Oliver snapped out of it and glared at him. He suddenly let go of his shoulders and pushed him. Angel fell backwards onto the ground.

"Ow." He muttered, shifting himself. "Not cool." Angel stared up at him."I mean..." he tried to search for the right words. "It's better than finding out that Olivia could visit you whenever she wanted." To Angel's surprise, Oliver's glare softened just a bit and he chuckled almost silently. It was genuine, too, Angel could tell. "Well... I'd better get going." He said, taking the opportunity to leave. He spread his wings and took off, traveling a little faster than normal. His hands felt clammy from nerves.

 Suddenly, the air flow behind Angel began to change. Glancing back, he cried out. Oliver was headed straight for him. He had leaped off of a platform and was now was barreling towards Angel as if he himself had wings of his own. He landed on Angel's back, and Angel lost balance. Out of instinct, he curled to keep from crashing, but in the process, he threw Oliver off his back. Angel gasped and quickly dove after him. "Oliver!" he thrust out his hand for the vampire to grab. Oliver obliged and gripped his outstretched hand tightly.  As he hung, he grunted as the wind blew his hair into his eyes. Angel flew them back onto the roof. Oliver landed safely, though stumbling a few times. Angel folded his wings and looked at him with a bewildered expression.  "What the hell were you thinking?" He yelled at him. Oliver looked up at him, surprise flashing in his eyes. "You could have killed yourself!"

"In case you haven't noticed," Oliver smirked, and Angel was startled by his heart, which skipped a beat. "I'm technically dead already." His voice was slow and tired. Angel gave him a look and raise an eyebrow. Oliver's smirk vanished again. "I wasn't done talking to you." His tone was sharp, but it sounded more false then usual. It was like he was trying to sound tough now, but didn't actually want to be. "I just wanted to tell you something before you left." he explained.

Angel crossed his arms. Despite what looked like Oliver's newfound crack in the walls he'd build around himself, he still felt angry. "And that would be?"

Oliver looked away then, and at his sides, his fists clenched really tightly. "I'm sorry." he muttered through clenched teeth.

Angel's anger melted. Surprise took its place. "What?" 

"I'm sorry!" He yelled at him. Oliver looked frustrated. If he were able to blush, he might've been. The thought of it made Angel's cheeks warm. Oliver continued, "After everything I said and did to you, you still care!" His voice cracked. "You still caught me! Even though I would've been fine, you still took the time to save me." His expression was unreadable. "Why...?" The question was a whisper. It was like the small word was choking him. Angel was shocked. Even so, he smiled.

"I don't care if you're dead." Oliver's head snapped up, and he stared at Angel with wide eyes. "I don't care if you're dead, immortal, or extremely moody." Angel got braver as he talked, his voice growing in volume. "Even if you're dead or can't die, it would still hurt to fall from a height like that. You should try to hurt yourself so carelessly, even if you can't die." Oliver was staring at him so intently now that his cheeks flamed and he took his gaze away. "I-I mean... I don't think it's right how people judge you like they do. All the boys tease you and all the girls are tripping over themselves to get to you, and I don't think it's at all okay!" 

The boys stared at each other, trying not to break down in front of the other. "You don't like how the girls trip over me," Oliver said the words again like he was checking if he heard correctly. His expression was amused. "Does that mean you're jealous?" When the words left his lips, Angel turned so red, he was very grateful for the night sky that blanketed them in darkness. Oliver seemed to sense that he couldn't respond, so he changed the subject. "So, you're half-angel, huh?"

"Y-yeah." he stuttered, glad for the change.

"That's pretty amazing." Oliver took a step forward. "So, like, where were you born? Did you fall down from Heaven or something?"

"I don't know," Angel answered. "My mom found me on the side of the road. No note, no name tag. Just a very wet winged infant."

"Wet?"

"It was raining."

"Oh."

"Yeah." Angel scuffed his feet on the ground. "The town I moved here from was not the biggest fan of supernatural creatures. Even my own father didn't like me." Sympathy crossed Oliver's features. "My mother didn't use to like supernatural creatures either, but she said that when she brought me home, she felt that it was right to change in order to raise me. This sparked a lot of fights between my parents." Angel was losing himself in the memories again. "My father never spoke to me. Not once, my entire life. My mother used to act like it didn't bother her, but sometimes she'd grow distant. When she did, I'd hang out with my b- my ex, and he'd always make me feel better."

"Did your parents accept you...?" Oliver whispered. Angel met his gaze.

"What? That I was gay? Yeah. Well, my mom did." Angel sighed. "It was the last straw for my dad." He folded his arms and gave himself a hug. "Can we not-" the words got caught in his throat. "Can we please not talk about this anymore?" Already he could feel himself falling into numbness.

 Oliver nodded, and suddenly his face was inches from Angel's. "Where are you headed, Angel?" He whispered. "You seemed to be slipping.." His arms slowly made their way around Angel with more hesitance than Angel thought he had. When he didn't pull away, he closed his arms around him and pulled Angel close. The vampire exhaled against him. "Don't go into the dark, okay? I'll see you Saturday." Then Oliver was no longer hugging him. He took a few steps back and smiled. A small smile, but it took Angel's breath away. "Do you have my number?" Oliver's voice was gentle. It was so unlike him, but it somehow seemed to fit him better. Angel shook his head wordlessly.

"Do you have your phone on you?"

"Um..." Angel found his voice. He reached into the pocket of his jeans. "Here." Oliver took the phone from him. After pushing a few buttons, the phone was returned to Angel's hands.

"Now you have my number." 

Angel stared at his phone. The screen was black. "T-thanks."

"Now you can call me whenever you need me." 

Angel watched as Oliver turned away and walked away towards his house, his hands in his pockets. He stood there in a daze and slowly dragged his feet back to the mailbox to retrieve his things.  After a little bit of confusion left him and his head was at least a bit more clearer, Angel was soaring back home over the trees. He flew in through his always-open window and landed. He forced himself to get changed into a simple, white and long sleeve shirt paired with a pair of purple flannel pants. Not wasting any time, he flopped into bed. His last thoughts drifted back to how vulnerable Oliver seemed tonight. Eventually, Angel's eyelids grew heavy and he promptly fell asleep.