💫GISELLE💫

I thought I was on my path alone. I thought I was walking down this road of loneliness and betrayal with just myself and my hidden tears, but I wasn't. The moment I got to my dorm door, I rushed through, slamming the door that never closed behind me. All the tears I held back came tumbling down my cheek before I could stop them. That's when I saw him.

"Oh shit, Giselle. Don't cry." Angel scooped me in his arms and squeezed me tightly.

I wanted to ask him why he followed me? Why was he there? But I couldn't speak. My heart was breaking into more pieces than it could handle. How could he stand me up? How could he call me, getting my hopes up, just to tear them all down? I didn't deserve this.

"Hey. Hey. What's going on? You can't be doing this over Loki, right? Over me?" Angel led me towards my desk chair. As he guided me to have a seat, he bent down on his knees to level himself with me. "Giselle?"

I looked into his eyes. The concern. The compassion there, that I'd never known existed. It drew me in carelessly. There wasn't one single fiber in my being afraid of Angel at that moment. But why couldn't I stop crying? Why did this hurt so bad?

"Can you tell me what's wrong? Why are you crying?" His deep, grungy tone was soft and soothing.

"My dad stood me up. He was supposed to be here, and he stood me up."

"Ok." He nodded repeatedly, probably trying to understand.

"I haven't seen my dad in about four or five months. Let me be honest, I hardly ever see my dad or my mom." Using my hands to dry my face, I held back more tears than any person could ever count. That only made the pain worsen. "My parents are the number one people on Earth that God should have never given a kid to—" Before I could finish, I was wailing.

Angel was patient. He sat there and allowed me to vent and get out whatever it was I needed to get off my chest. Truth is, I'd never been truthful about how much pain the absence of my parents caused me. I had never told anyone how I really felt about my upbringing.

"I yearned for love, attention, affection, acceptance so much because all my life I had to fight to feel worthy of receiving it. And never once had I ever felt I had earned the right to have those things. So I threw on a smile, kept my blond highlights bright, and lived as the star of the fakest reality show that ever aired. Star." I wanted to stop myself dead in my tracks. But like a runaway train on a never-ending route to harsh and painful death, I rambled. I spilled truths no one had ever heard. Freely, I felt someone finally wanted to hear me.

"Come on, Giselle. You're brilliant. You're beautiful. You're fun and crazy. You're free! Of course, you deserve those things. There are worse people on this earth that deserve far less than what you feel you do. You have to know that." My dark and uncaring boy was actually gentle—sweet, assuring me as best he could. And I could tell he believed it.

"I'm sorry." I laughed.

"Why?"

"For crying all over you and ruining the day."

"The day has just begun, Sunshine—Giselle."

"Thank you. I feel kind of embarrassed for spilling my worst. I usually don't do that."

"I'll make a deal with you." Angel exhaled. "God, I'm going to regret this." I watched as he palmed his face with his rough hands, smoothly running them up to his thick hair afterwards.

"I'm listening."

"Since I caught you slipping, spilling all the...tea is what you call it? I'll exchange my worst with you throughout the day. We can go back and forth with it."

"Throughout the day? You want more of my secrets?"

Angel sucked his teeth. "What were your plans with your dad? I'll hijack your day."

"You don't have to do that." I lowered my head in shame.

"Oh, I know." He stated matter-of-factly. "I want to. Come on. Let's hang out." Angel extended his hand to me, watching me as I watched him. "Don't leave me hanging. I owe you anyway."

"Owe me?" I took his hand and stood to my feet.

"For saving my life, duh." And with that he smiled the most breathtaking smile I'd ever seen. His face light up and brightened the entire world around me, relieving me of the dark and cloudy skies that began hovering over my body after my father let me down.

"My God, Angel." I frowned.

"What?"

"You're—" I didn't want to make a big deal of it. I was hoping if I let him be, I'd get to see that smile again. "Nothing. So, where are we going?"

"Well, I have a friend coming in town later tonight, so we're definitely hanging out with her. I was going to show her to Hanigan's."

"Cool. I was going to take my dad there."

"So that's one thing from your checklist. What else were you going to do?"

"Well, my dad surfs. So—"

"Hell no. Next."

"Wait." I laughed, then bat my eyes exuberantly as I grabbed his hand. "But you owe me, remember."

"I'm not going to pay with my life! I can't surf. Plus, I'm injured." He joked. Of all the things to make fun of, he chose he black and purple abdomen and eleven stitches.

"Okay. So then it'll be a beginner's lesson."

"Giselle."

"Angel."

I won. By the time the conversation was over, I'd talked him into letting me lead the day while he led the night. We were going to the beach to surf and have a picnic after. Then we'd clean up and hit the mall until his friend arrived. I don't know how easy it was for Angel to turn my day around, but I knew from the moment I put on my wet suit and walked out the door that I wouldn't regret a single second.

"I can't believe I fell for this." Angel breathed heavily as we stood in line for surf boards. Continuously wiping his hands on his shorts, I could tell he was anxious.

"Relax. We're not going to catch real waves. Just the baby one's." I smirked.

"Hey. I may be a baby out there, but you were just crying like a baby an hour ago."

"No fair." I stuck my bottom lip out, looking up with puppy dog eyes. His eyes traveled down to my lip and sent a sense of desire up my spine, causing my shoulders to shake off an unwelcome chill.

"Don't do that." He snickered, nudging me.

"I really like when you smile." I said in a low voice, not wanting to spook him out of opening up to me.

He turned the other way, scratching at the back of his neck. I could tell I made him uncomfortable, but he seemed to shake it off. There was something different about him. Hours ago, standing outside the café, he was closed off, hiding his true self like a magician protecting the secret to his success. But for some reason, he was showing himself to me, and all because I broke down in front of him? I couldn't quite understand the reasoning behind it all, but I wasn't going to ruin it.

We got our surf boards and headed towards the ocean. Angel became quiet as we set our things down in an empty spot on the sand. Taking off his sandals, he eyed the water nervously, but wouldn't dare admit that he was afraid.

"If you're scared, we don't have to do this."

"Scared?" He laughed. "That's not it. This is just...new. I'm not afraid though."

"You're not going to drown on me, are you?"

"I can swim, Giselle."

"Okay. Come on." I grabbed my board and began walking out to the ocean with Angel trailing closely to my side.

We swam out a few feet, but stayed close to shore, where our feet could still reach the bottom of the ocean. Well, Angel was a lot taller than me, so his feet were on the bottom comfortably, but I was on my toes most of the time. I started by demonstrating how to get on the board and lay comfortably, keeping my balance. Angel nailed that part quickly. We then went on to paddling. He had strong arms, so he pedaled fast and strong. It was nice watching him be physical. I was happy to see him taking it seriously as he followed my lead. The next thing I taught him was popping up. That part was hard.

"Dammit! I keep falling off."

"You have to tighten your core for balance. Plant your feet into the board and even your weight out. Come on let's try again."

I never thought I'd be good at teaching, but it came so natural for me that day. Angel followed my instruction like a kid in kindergarten, lost and eager to find his way. The way he concentrated when it was his turn made my passion for surfing stream out from the depths of my soul and into him as he stood fervent to be my student. Touching him to correct his posture, I noticed him react every time. He'd flinch if my fingers grazed his skin unexpectedly. He'd sink into my body if I pressed up behind or on the side of him. Sometimes it made him relax more. I could tell he trusted me.

After a solid forty-five minutes of going over form and the rules, Angel was ready to try out some baby waves. To my surprise, he nailed about four out of seven. On the last wave, he rode into the shore without falling off at all. I clapped and cheered from the water, watching him happily jump from his board, tumble a little, then turn to smile proudly at me. He did it. He learned to surf.

"I'm so proud of you, Angel." I was elated, feeling full and over joyous.

"Thanks. You're a great teacher." He began spreading out a blanket we'd brought from my room. I took my bag and unpacked a few pieces of fruit, yogurt, and water.

"Want some?" I took a seat, waiting for him to join me.

"Yeah. Thanks."

For a while, we ate and watched people or just stared out into the ocean. Every now and then I would laugh at someone falling or doing something crazy. Angel just watched in silence. I took a deep breath, trying to understand myself as I played back the last few hours. I was a mess, and I hadn't the slightest idea how to clean myself up. My dad was a jerk. I don't know how my mom did it all those years. So many let downs. So little things to be proud of or happy about. Or was it just me he was usedto letting down? I sighed again.

"Rules." Angel nudged me.

"Hmm?" I finally looked at him after minutes of fighting for my life in my head.

"We have to set rules for today and tonight."

"Okay?"

"You can't think about him?"

Clearing my throat, I did not process that statement correctly. I thought he was referring to Aaron for a second. "Him?"

"Your dad. Don't think about him or how he did you today?"

"Okay?"

"Okay." He nodded proudly.

"Okay." I smiled.

"Can I get a piece of you since we're sitting here in silence? I think now is a good moment. I won't ask anything. I just want you to share with me whatever you want."

"Okay?" He mimicked.

I smiled and waited patiently for him to decide what he would share with me. My stomach was in knots, and I couldn't tell if I was afraid or just anxious. I'd spent a lot of sleepless nights coming up with scenarios of what made Angel, Angel. And here I was, seconds away from being a few secrets away from knowing.

"Sheesh!" Angel rubbed the back of his neck, seemingly having a hard time choosing what he wanted to share. When he was finally ready, he took a deep breath, then turned to face me. "I left home because I was tired of being who I was. I thought coming here would help me be better."

"Who were you?"

"Everything to everybody, but nobody to myself." Lowering his eyes, I could tell he needed to take time to process what he'd just said. I let him take his time because I, too, needed to translate those words to simpler terms.

"Why?" I whispered.

"Hmm?"

"Why were you nobody to yourself? What made you hate you?"

"Aahh...that's a tale for another time."

"Okay." I could tell the dark lonely boy had a story that was worth waiting for. I could tell he was in a lot of pain underneath those tattoos, shaggy hair, and gloomy glare. I could tell I had to be patient to get to know all of those hidden truths.

"Okay."

We ate and drank our water in silence again. I wanted the air to thin out a bit, so I gave him time to his thoughts. At one point, it looked like he was losing a battle in his head. So, I gently placed my hand on his leg. At first he flinched, shooting his eyes over at me in question. I simply smiled a reassuring smile, letting him know I was there.

"Everyone thinks I'm a free spirit. Carefree and sure of myself. Truth is, I have no idea who I am." I broke the silence, ready to reveal my next truth in our ping pong revelational day.

"I watch you and you do come off as free. Very sure. I think that truly is who you are, Giselle. It doesn't matter that you haven't figured yourself out yet. None of us have. Not at this age."

Silence.

"This is a lot. We probably should've given this real thought before we made this deal." I laughed uneasily.

"Maybe." Angel shrugged. "Ready to get out of here?"

"Yeah."

"You brought your tiny little clothes in your tiny little bag again?" He laughed.

"I did." I joined in with him, unsure at what point he noticed the size of my clothes and bag.

"My apartment is right up there." He pointed up toward the top of the sand.

"I remember."

"Cool. Let's walk."

The walk to his apartment was short and quick. We cleaned our mess, packed up, turned in our boards, and made it to his front door in less than fifteen minutes. After walking through the front door, I placed my bag down on the table beside the couch. Everything was just as neat as the first time. Being there made me look down at the bracelet he'd fixed for me. I smiled a half smile to myself, reminded of the person that little piece of jewelry represented. My wreck of a father.

"Remember what you agreed?"

"Right." I huffed, pushing my thoughts to the side. "Shower?"

"Hmm?" Angel glowered.

"Can I use your shower?"

"Yeah. You know where it is."

I took my "tiny little bag" that carried my "tiny little outfit", a once piece halter short set that exposed every inch of skin on my back and barely covered the top of my behind. I was a little person, so little clothing was always okay for me. I paired that with my BeBe sandals and anklet and it was a plain but cute outfit to carry me through the night.

"Wait!" I laughed, as Angel rushed past me to beat me to the door.

"You're taking too long. We have a mall date."

"Date?"

"Come on. We can just get in together."

"What?"

Angel began stripping his shorts, revealing his briefs. "I've already seen your tits. Come on. I won't bite." He looked up at me as he removed his briefs. "Unless you want me to?"

"Want you to?" I was in shock unable to keep my eyes from below his waist.

"Bite."

***Author's Words****

Will Angel Bite?

Will Giselle Confess her ultimate secret?

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