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Chapter 6

I could see candles and tables and a bar in the back. There was a feeling in the air, almost heavy but not quite. I shivered as we progressed to a table for two in the corner. The waiter gave us some menus and strolled back to the kitchen. I opened the paper menu and looked for warm beverages. I saw that they had some Apple Cider, and I smiled, instantly knowing that this was what I wanted. Now to the actual food. After surfing through everything, I decided on a salad, since I didn’t have a very large appetite.
The waiter came back, and we were ready to order.
“So, what may I get you, Miss?” he asked in a heavy Italian accent.
“Um, I’d like some Apple Cider and a small house salad, please.” He nodded and wrote something on a piece of paper.
“And for your, sir?” he questioned Michael.
“Hm, well some coffee and a small Linguine Alfredo, no chicken.”
“Okay, it’ll be out in about 20 minutes.”
He took our menus and bustled back to the kitchen, weaving through tables and the other waiters. Once he disappeared through the kitchen doors, I glanced at Michael, who had his head resting on his folded hands. He was studying my face, my features, and my “make up” that were actually my markings. I still hadn’t gotten any concealer yet, so I had to call my markings make up. I gazed back at him, right into his crystal blue eyes. They were my favorite feature on him. I saw a scar across his left cheekbone, stretching from the outer corner of his left eye to his jaw line. Huh. That hadn’t been there a year ago.
“How’d you get that scar?” I asked him, partly curious, partly concerned. Pain washed over his face as he remembered something. I wished I had my sister’s power of reading minds, so I could find out what was going on in his head.
“I’ll tell you if you promise not to laugh or tell anyone,” he said, his face serious and his eyes were guarded. I nodded and he continued.
“I had this… friend, or I thought he was my friend at least, that somehow reminds me of you. Same pale skin, same colored blood, same make up-like facial markings, but somehow he seemed so much more menacing. He had this secret, and I couldn’t figure it out. He showed me some of his ‘powers’, such as disappearing instantly and reappearing in a total different place. He showed me his… wings. But he never told me what he was. He was also crazy about apples, just like you. That’s all he would eat, and when he didn’t have them he would go crazy. Then, one day, I saw him writing names in a book. Then people around me would die. I was so scared, thinking that I would be next. There was something evil about him. He reminded me of some kind of Grim Reaper like thing. He carried an air of foreboding about him, and he even had the scythe-staff thing that Grim Reapers carry. You know, like in the cartoons. It was his staff that gave me this scar, along with others.”
“Where is he now?” I asked, mortified. “Also, what is his name?”
“His name was Xavier. He would go by X. And, I believe he is dead. You see, he was terribly in love with this girl. She never liked him. Ever. She was frightened of him, and one day when he was trying to get her to come home with him, they got into a huge fight. He said something like ‘you shouldn’t have done that. I hope you’re prepared to die.’ And he wrote her name down in his book. That was when she died. After that, everyday people starting dying in masses. He would spend his whole time scribbling down names in that book of his. I believe that it was a book that could kill people if you put their names down in it. My friends died, and my sister died. It was… a dark time for us. One day, I found him sitting in a coffee shop with his book. I tried to stay unnoticed by him, valuing my life. He came over to me and told me he was going to kill himself. He told me how his book worked and that I could have it the moment he died. Then he wrote his name down in it, and took out that staff of his and cut his throat. His blood covered me, and then disappeared. His body crumbled to dust, and the book was in the middle of the pile of dust. I took the book and burned it.”
Then Michael was silent. I couldn’t believe Xavier had done that. He was one of my best friends in Midnite. I just knew that he went missing one day and I hadn’t seen him since. X’s love for that girl had killed him, and I was angry. He had always warned me to never fall in love, that it would come back to haunt me someday. I had just laughed him off and we would start talking about something pointless. I could feel tears welling up in my eyes, threatening to fall over the brim. X was my first and only best friend in Midnite. Serena accepted me, but she didn’t love me like he did. He was like family to me.
“Serenity? Are you okay?” Michael asked suddenly. I knew he saw the emotions clear on my face. How could I explain this one to him? Should I tell him the truth? I had no choice.
“Do you want the truth? It could make you miserable, you know.”
“Serenity, tell me. Now,” Michael demanded.
I sighed, “Xavier was a Shinigami, or a Death God. His little book is called a Death Tome. Xavier was my first friend. He was like family to me. To hear that his love for this girl killed him is just… really surprising and saddening. You see, I loved him like I would love a brother.”
“How do you know this?” Michael demanded, his face mortified. “X came after you left.”
“Because where X came from is where I come from. I am also a Shinigami. A Goddess of Death. That’s why you saw similarities between us. That’s why I have black blood and a craving for apples. But not all Shinigamis are serial killers. Because if I were, you’d be dead. You would’ve died a year ago.” I was waiting for his reaction. His face was in his hands, so I couldn’t read his expression.