Page 70 of Death is My BFF

The angel that had crashed through David’s office wasn’t in the news.

Wouldn’t an angel and a horde of demonic birds at least make theNew York Times? That’s what I told myself, as I refreshed multiple news websites all weekend long, hoping to get some assurance that I wasn’t insane.

Now it was Monday morning, and David still hadn’t responded to my texts and calls. I had no idea what had happened to him Friday, after the horde of birds chased me through the D&S Tower, but at least I knew he was alive. If one of the Stars died,thatwould at least reach the news.

He’d protected me. David had moved in a blur to throw his body on top of mine, moments before the angel came crashing through the window. He’d effortlessly restrained the creature against his office wall. I’d be an idiot to assume David was human now. The question was: Whatwashe?

I couldn’t stop thinking about how Death had saved me in the alleyway. Ever since the carnival date with David, Death always seemed to appear right after him and vice versa. I had my suspicions that it was no coincidence either. If I assumed David was Death, the next obvious question waswhy? Why gain my attention with two different personas? Why go on a date with me? Why become one of America’s most iconic celebrities? It didn’t make any sense.

A headache throbbed at the center of my forehead as I scrolled through my phone. Imagine my surprise when the first thing I saw on social media was more tabloid stories of me and David from the carnival.Anda new video. It was dated Sunday, yesterday morning too. My heart pounded uncontrollably as I clicked on a mini clip of David Star getting bamboozled by paparazzi. They fired questions at him about “Mystery Girl” from the carnival, but he ignored all of them, shielding his eyes from the flashing cameras as he entered what appeared to be a coffee shop.

Had David not reported the angel accident?

Approaching the first panic attack of the day, I paced the floor of my bedroom, having no idea what to do at this point.

What if another deranged angel fell out of the sky, or a bunch of venomous demon birds tried to tear me apart again? Was I supposed to move on without any contact from David, like the most terrifying day of my life had not just occurred?

My parents. They were probably already suspecting something was wrong, and the last thing I wanted was for them to think I was going nuts. I couldn’t just skip school and hide out in my room for the rest of my existence. Besides, schoolwork kept my mind occupied. All I had to do was get through classes, and then I would track down David after school and figure out what the hell was going on. I could do this.

Slinging my backpack over my shoulder as I headed out of my room, my eyes snagged on the little piece of paper I’d left on my vanity.

Death’s tenderhearted “tick-tock” note. Perhaps the only proof of what had occurred yesterday. The whole situation with Death was the cherry that capped off my crappy ice cream sundae life. Where did I even begin with that guy?

In an attempt to remain incognito, I wore my dad’s navy bucket hat and sunglasses to school. Paired with an old gray sweatshirt and leggings, my style had leveled up, bearing in mind last week’sI’mdead on the inside, day-to-day black ensemble.

“Love the bucket hat,chica,” Marcy said, stepping in sync with me as I shuffled with my head down through the hallway.

I tugged the strings of my sweatshirt until just my mouth and nose showed. “How’d you recognize me?”

“Magic.”

I shielded my face as we passed a group of varsity football jocks to stop at her locker. I had to be careful. It had only been eighteen hours, forty-two minutes, and ten seconds since the release of the viral articles about my date with David Star.

“I’ll assume you saw the articles,” I muttered.

“I texted you about it a bajillion times.”

“Sorry I missed your texts, my phone is acting up again.”

Marcy glossed her lips with a glittery wand. “I didn’t even get an update on Friday about you going into the city to see David. It’s fine, I like to be neglected.”

I gave an apologetic smile. “I’m not neglecting you. I’ll tell you more about David later, it’s kind of complicated.”

I wanted tell Marcy the truth about Friday, but between what had happened in David’s office, being mauled by freaking raven demons, and yet another bizarre exchange between me and theGrimReaper, who would believe me? Heck, I was having trouble believing it myself. Nothing about the past few weeks made any logical sense.

Marcy, and even my parents, all had to be left in the dark.

“If it makes you feel any better, my weekend was pretty uneventful,” I continued with a sigh. “Mom forced me to watch recorded footage from a six-hour luau they went to. It was brutally long.” I was getting better at lying because even I felt a little convinced by the tall tale. “Believe it or not, Mom’s the one who told me about the articles. There were magazines covered with our faces all over the airport.”

Marcy capped her lip gloss and tucked it into her backpack.

“Has David talked to you about it?”

“Nope.” I couldn’t hide the anger in my voice. “He even had a quote in one of the magazines.”

I should have assumed wherever David Star went cameras followed, but he could have at least warned me. In all honesty, though, I was mostly angry because David had the nerve to ghost me after the attack in his office. He could have at least let me know he was okay. Instead, he’d stirred up more drama with the paparazzi and practically encouraged them to hunt me down, when I was already walking around like a cat on hot bricks with monsters popping up left and right in my life.

“Now I have David’s rabid fans to worry about,” I said. “It was nice knowing you, Marcy. You’ve been the world’s okayest best friend.”

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