Chapter Forty-Seven
A knock sounds on our door.
Is it him?
My plan, at least so far, has not worked out.
Zarmenus hasn’t read any of the check-in messages I’ve sent him, nor has he come back to our room.
As I cross the carpet my heart starts pounding.
I’m still going to tell him how I feel. I know it’s the right thing to do, even if I fall on my face and nothing comes of it.
That confidence doesn’t mean I’m immune to the unpleasant plummeting feeling in my stomach.
I pull open the door, expecting it to be him. It’s not. It’s Tyrell, Avery, Madison, and Evie. Each one of them is dressed up as either an angel or a demon, which reminds me about the dance.
It starts in half an hour, but I’m not even sure I’m going to go. It’s where Zarmenus and I were planning on breaking up, which would be impossible at the moment as I have no idea where he is.
The four of them let themselves into our room. Tyrell is holding a full shopping bag that contains a pair of costume angel wings.
“I knew you wouldn’t dress up,” says Tyrell. “Luckily for you, I’ve got you covered.”
Tyrell and Madison both decided to dress up like demons.
Madison’s makeup is incredible, and she’s holding a plastic devil’s pitchfork covered in glittering rhinestones.
Tyrell also looks amazing in a red corset that leaves his glitter-dusted shoulders exposed.
Evie is wearing a white angel costume and has glitter and gemstones around her eyes.
I’d never say this, but Avery blows them out of the water.
He’s in full angel drag, including a pair of giant wings.
It makes my outfit—a shirt and jeans—seem remarkably simple. I hadn’t realized people were planning on putting this much effort into their outfits.
“I have a costume,” I say, going to my desk to retrieve it. It’s a headband with a pair of red devil horns I bought at the grocery store. I put them on. Not a single person seems impressed.
“Oh sweetie, no,” says Avery. “Wait, where’s Zarmenus?”
I shrug. “I haven’t seen him all day, and he’s not responding to any messages.”
That registers on Tyrell’s face. He knows about my plan, so now he knows I haven’t gone through with it.
“Maybe he’s at the dance,” suggests Tyrell. “And his phone died or something.”
It seems unlikely, but it’s as good of a theory as anything else I can think of.
“Why aren’t you changing?” asks Avery. “I didn’t get into full glam just to hang out in here. No offense.”
Tyrell gives me the bag. It’s not just wings, there’s also a glittery white tank top and matching pants.
“Truth be told, it was my backup outfit,” says Tyrell. “But I think you’ll look good in it.”
“Hurry up, we don’t have all night.” Avery comes over and tries to pull my shirt off. I move away.
“Fine, give me a second.”
I take the bag of clothes into the bathroom.
I get changed. Once I’m done, I check myself out in the mirror. This is not a me outfit. At all. It’s skintight for one, and the top cuts off at the shoulders, leaving my arms exposed. The shorts aren’t particularly short, but they do cut off above my knees, and they’re a little tight.
I put the wings on, and turn to the side.
It might not be anything like what I usually wear, but I look pretty good.
It’s a lot better than my previous costume, anyway.
I wonder what Zarmenus would think if he saw me like this.
As far as I know, angels aren’t real so they aren’t demons’ mortal enemies, but the contrast is unmissable.
I leave the room. My friends are now sitting on the couch, and Tyrell is playing music through his phone. The conversation pauses like a record scratch.
“What do you think?” I ask.
“You’re so fucking hot,” says Avery. “If you didn’t have a boyfriend I’d totally want to hook up with you.”
“Agreed,” says Madison. “I’m so not into guys, but I can see it.”
“You look fine, I guess,” says Evie.
“Zarmenus is a lucky man,” says Tyrell.
“We need to do your makeup, though,” says Avery, pulling a makeup palette out of his handbag.
I’ve gone this far.
I may as well go all the way.
I have checked my phone countless times now, and still nothing from Zarmenus.
Seriously, where is he?
Tyrell, Avery, Madison, Evie, and I have just arrived at the function hall where the dance is being held.
The exterior has been decorated for the dance, with a curved archway over the entrance.
One side is fluffy white clouds, the other is bright orange and red flames.
At the top of the arch are the words HEAVEN AND HELL with each one stylized, HEAVEN being white with a halo wrapped around the N, and HELL made out of flames with two pitchforks replacing the last two letters.
It seems they’ve spared no expense. And if they’ve worked this hard on the outside, what is it going to be like inside?
I hope Tyrell is right and Zarmenus is in there. At this point, I just care about finding where he is and knowing he’s okay.
We show our student IDs to one of the security guards protecting the door, and they let us inside.
It looks as amazing as I hoped it would.
The hall has been split into two halves, with one side decorated to look like Heaven, everything a shade of white or gold.
Each of the tables is covered with a flowing white sheet and decorated with white candles and halo-themed centerpieces.
The Hell side is the opposite: the tables are flame-red and styled with black candles and mini tridents.
People have also put a lot of effort into their costumes, and I am so glad Tyrell gave me his spare outfit to wear; a single pair of devil horns clearly wouldn’t have cut it.
It seems the crowd is evenly split on which camp they fall into, as there are just as many angels roaming the dance floor as there are demons.
Speaking of … is Zarmenus here?
I do a quick sweep, trying to spot him. It’s more difficult than usual, given the sheer number of demons that keep catching my eye, only for me to discover it’s just a particularly well-done costume.
I try to see where the most people are grouped, because if there’s a crowd, Zarmenus is usually the center of attention.
I can’t see him anywhere.
I’m also not sure why he would be here seeing as he didn’t come back to our dorm.
The only explanation I can think of is that he is so upset by what happened last night he doesn’t want to see me, and he’s hiding out until I leave.
Did he not hear me tell him I like him back?
I left before I could get his reaction, and that was the last time I saw him. Maybe he thinks I rejected him.
“Want a drink?” asks Tyrell.
We go over to the bar. Madison has found the rest of the other Gaymers and joined them on the dance floor. Tyrell and I walk up to the bar.
“Talk to me,” he says, after he orders each of us a Coke. “Did you tell Zarmenus? Is that why he isn’t here?”
“No, I really don’t know where he is.”
“Oh, weird. Are you still going to tell him?”
“I want to,” I say, keeping my voice low. “But he might’ve already gone back to Hell.”
“I don’t think he’d do that. I was wrong about him when we first met, he’s a good guy. I’m sure there’s an explanation that will make all of this make sense.”
I’m not so sure. Maybe his parents showed up, forced him to go home, and forbade him from talking to me ever again.
Tyrell hands me my drink.
“When did it change for you?” he asks. “When did it become real?”
I think it over. “I’m not sure. It was gradual, I guess? And by the time I figured it out it was too late to stop.”
“That’s what happened with me and Myron. We tried to be casual because we knew we wanted to go to different colleges, but you can’t control how you feel.”
I take a sip of my drink. “Do you think there’s any chance he likes me back?”
“You’ll have to ask him. But he seemed different yesterday. More conflicted than normal. Plus, he did say he likes you. I’d say yes.”
My phone chimes.
Could it be him? It doesn’t seem possible. All this confusion and anticipation seemed like it would never end. Tyrell seems to know the gravity of this, too.
I check my phone, and almost can’t believe what I’m seeing. Zarmenus has sent me a message.
He’s finally replied.
Hey sorry my phone died, what’s going on?
I show Tyrell the message. A surge of excitement floods through me. Is this seriously happening?
“Well, go on,” says Tyrell. “Ask him where he is!”
Where are you? Can we talk?
He reads the message. Every second feels like it lasts for an eternity.
Finally, my phone chimes.
Yes