Silas woke up early and sat in Tess's living room uncomfortably. Light streamed through the curtains, highlighting the dust floating in the air. He was surprised to see Tess come into the living room, dressed in jean shorts and a tank top.

  "I'm going to see Levi." She said flatly. Silas jumped up.

  "Tess, I don't think that's a good idea." Tess looked at him quizzically.

  "Why not?" She asked.

  "Because he might not be respectful to you." Silas scrounged for words. Tess froze.

  "Levi might be temperamental, but he would never hurt me." She began walking down the hallway. Silas blocked her path.

  "You didn't think he would hurt me either, but he did." Tess had never actually said that, but Silas could sense it in her thoughts. Tess scooted around Silas, looking irritated.

  "I'm going, whether you like it or not." Determination was written across Tess's face. Silas blocked the doorway once again.

  "Tess, trust me, this is not a good idea." Silas's blood was rushing. Tess pointed a finger and put it against his chest.

  "Just because we may have had a close moment last night doesn't mean that you know what's best for me." Silas took a step back, pressing his spine against the door, in surprise mostly.

  "Please, Tess," Silas was begging her now, "Levi is dangerous." Silas managed out, in a last minute desperate attempt. Tess's eyes narrowed to slits and her face reddened.

  "Get out of my way." She growled and yanked open the door.  Silas tried to reach out to her in vain, trying to stop her. She didn't glance back at him as she began the walk to Levi's house. Silas immediately turned himself invisible. He knew he had to protect Tess against Levi at any cost. This was his job and his destiny. Silas took to the air and followed Tess at a distance, even though she couldn't see him. He felt an odd twinge in his gut and slowed his flying. Somebody was watching him. Silas felt a dark presence sear his mind and whirled around. Suddenly, tennis shoes planted into his gut and knocked him to the ground. Silas hit the concrete in a flurry of pain, landing on his wings. He gasped for air and looked to the side, seeing the person who hit him coming close. Silas scrambled, trying to move as he caught sight of black wings.

  "Fighting will only lengthen your struggles." A dark voice said. Silas stopped fighting for only a moment.

  "No." He growled in anguish.

  "How can you defend your human now?" The demon teased with a malicious smile.

  "Stay away from her!" Silas shouted, struggling to sit up. The demon's hand shoved him back to the ground.

  "You can't stop me now, she completely trusts me." He growled.

  "You're a vile creature!" Silas spat in his face. He willed his body to move, but the pain in his wings made movement intolerable.

  "You have failed and she will die."

  "No!" Silas screamed and lunged at the demon in pure rage.

  "Lights out, angel boy." Levi hissed and the black bottom of his shoe hit Silas in the face. Silas's head snapped back painfully and the world grew dim. He could hear the flutter of Levi's wings as he took to the air.

  "No...Tess," Silas groaned as the world blackened around him.

~

  Tess continued toward Levi's house. She couldn't help letting anger propel her steps away from her home. She couldn't believe the way Silas had acted, especially after all they had discussed the previous night. Tess had felt guilty about what had happened between Silas and Levi, but that didn't excuse his behavior this morning. He had seemed so desperate to keep Tess from going to Levi's house, but Tess couldn't figure out his reasoning behind it. It stung a little that he had tried to stop her. Tess quickened her steps, trying to forget about Silas and focus on talking to Levi. She stopped at his doorstep and timidly knocked. She smiled as Levi's mom opened the door.

  "Hello Mrs. Fletcher, is Levi home?" She asked. Tess hoped she hadn't walked all the way to his house for nothing.

  "Yes, he's up in his room." Levi's mother said. She let Tess inside.

  "If you ask me, he needs a cheer up today anyway. I have to go to town so you will be good company for him." She said to Tess. Tess nodded, looking up the stairs and noticing Levi's door was shut. Trotting up the steps, she carefully knocked on the door.

  "Come in." Came Levi's muffled voice from the other side. Tess turned the doorknob slowly and peeked into his room. Levi was lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling. Tess noticed he had no shirt on and his jeans were low enough she could see his hips, making her a little uncomfortable. Levi looked up to see who had come into his room and seemed surprised to see Tess. He sat up and Tess noted the dried blood on his lip, along with a little bruise around his left eye.

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  "I didn't think you would come over here today." He said, glancing at her then the floor. 

  "Why?" Tess asked, pressing her back against the door until she heard it click.

  "With everything that happened yesterday and such." Levi stood up and stretched.

  "Well, that's what I kind of came here to talk to you about." Tess said.

  "Oh." Levi plopped back down on his bed, patting the spot beside him. Tess looked at him, embarrassment flooding her cheeks.

  "Can you put on a shirt first?" She asked. Levi smirked.

  "If you insist." His voice was laced with sarcasm as he bent down and picked up a shirt off the floor. He pulled it on and Tess sighed in relief.

  One less distraction. She thought, hopefully. She walked over and sat beside Levi. He was not looking at her directly. 

  "Silas can pack a nice punch." Tess said, lifting Levi's chin and looking at his bruised eye.

  "It's fine." Levi mumbled, brushing her hand away. Tess smiled.

  "That's the Levi I know." Levi smiled a little.

  "I guess that fight was my fault." He admitted.

  "Oh really?" Tess said, unable to keep the sarcasm out of her voice. Levi gave her a pained look and she straightened.

  "Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude. It's a habit." She apologized. Levi grinned.

  "Yeah, it is." Tess punched him playfully and Levi laughed. After a few seconds their laughter died down.

  "So why did you hit him?" Tess asked. Silas had told her his side of the story, but she wanted to know Levi's side too. Levi ran a hand down the back of his neck.

  "I guess I just lost patience. Especially with him insulting me." Tess listened more intently. Silas hadn't mentioned him insulting Levi at all. 

  "What do you mean?" She asked Levi.

  "He said that you would make better decisions if you stayed away from me and that he knew more about you then I could ever imagine. Whatever that means." Levi looked at her, his eyes searching.

  "Are you two close or something? Does he know something I don't?" Levi asked. Tess looked at Levi shocked. Silas told her none of this.

  "Silas knows no more about me then you do, probably less." She told him firmly. She paused, thinking.

  "He told me not to come here today." Levi's body stiffened.

  "Why would he tell you that?" He asked.

  "He said something about you being dangerous to me and that I needed to trust him." Tess recounted. Levi looked at the wall then back to her.

  "Do you think he's jealous?" Levi asked, a small smile played at his lips.

  "I'm not sure," Tess answered and leaned forward so her head was resting on his chest. Levi rubbed her shoulders, "but if he is, he can deal with it." She said looking up at Levi. Levi opened his mouth to say something, but seemed to think better of it. He leaned down, putting a hand on her cheek and kissed her. Tess inhaled sharply at his touch and kissed him back, a little more urgently. Levi's body pressed against hers and she let herself fall back onto his bed. Her heartbeat was so fast, she was sure she was going to have a heart attack. Levi kissed her more passionately then he had before and Tess wrapped her arms around his neck, embracing his touch. She kissed him back with equal passion. Levi began to kiss her repeatedly, each one more urgent then the last. Electricity spread through her whole body and she could feel heat every time he touched her. She kissed him back with vigor, but she slightly slowed as she felt his fingers slid into the side of her jean shorts.

  "Levi." She managed out. All that did was manage to encourage him, he begged her body for a response.

  "Levi." She said more urgently. She stopped kissing him, hoping to draw his attention.

  "What?" He asked in a moment's pause.

  "I'm not sure about this." Tess said more confidently, finding her voice.

  "What's to be unsure about?" Levi said, his voice was lacey and his lips trailed down the side of her neck. As much as it excited her, Tess moved away from him. This felt wrong. 

  "Levi, I'm serious." Tess looked at him, anger sparking in her eyes. Something in Levi's gaze unsettled her.

  "I am too." His voice was low. He drew her toward him again, hitching one of her legs up to his side. Tess felt her heartbeat quicken out of fear and she jumped away.

  "Levi, stop it!" She shouted. Levi sat up and looked at her, his grey eyes held an ominous glow.

  "You should have listened to Silas."