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MC woke up hard. She had slept hard, and had had a hard time falling asleep. She looked around the room. Her new room, but it didn’t feel like hers. She didn’t belong here. She rubbed the crust from her eyes, the dried tears flaking from her lashes. Her head hurt.
What had happened to her was worse than anything she could have possibly imagined would ever happen to her. But now that the impossible had happened, her brain was coming up with scenarios that she hadn’t even dreamed of, and all of them were possible.
Kidnapped to Hell. Literal Hell. And she was staying in a house with seven men that she didn’t even know. Seven demons that could come into her room at any time and attack her and she wouldn’t be able to do anything. She could hardly eat the night before due to anxiety, but it was definitely made worse by the demon that had stared at her the whole time, even as he shoveled food into his own mouth. The others had mostly ignored her, but the ginger had looked like he was imagining her on the platter the meat had been served on.
She hesitantly left the relative safety of the bed to go to the bathroom, splashing water on her face to try to ground herself.
She was so anxious. Nausea rolled through her even as she stood still, and she couldn’t stop her hands from shaking.
There was a knock on her bedroom door, causing her to jump. She cautiously made her way over and cracked it open. It was the man with black hair. Satan. No, Lucifer. It was Lucifer. MC had called him Satan by accident once the night before, and while Lucifer had only given her a cold look, the blond demon had looked murderous.
“Good morning. I trust you slept well?” He said cordially.
MC made a non-commital noise, but he hadn’t really cared, so he pressed on. “My brothers and I eat breakfast together nearly every morning, and that’s a tradition you will now join in on. I allowed you to sleep in a bit today, but tomorrow, I expect you to be dressed by the time you get to the table. Today, however, you may wear your pajamas. Come along.” With that, he turned and walked down the hallway, expecting her to follow him, which she did, not wanting to make him angry.
When they got to the table, he took his seat at the head, and she tried to make herself small in her own chair.
As everyone ate, they either chatted, or sat on their phones, and although she couldn't eat, MC had nothing to add to the conversation, and she was scared of diverting her attention, so she pushed the food around on her plate.
The big ginger demon was staring at her again, and she met his eyes. They stared down for a couple seconds before he spoke. “Are you gonna eat that?”
She blinked, and pushed the plate towards him as far as she could so he wouldn’t get too close to her. He grabbed it so quickly she didn’t even see it move before the food was gone.
“If you’re finished, go get ready for school.” Lucifer addressed her absentmindedly, like she wasn’t worth his time.
She jumped up and scurried from the room. No one cared.
She shook as she ran, and when the door closed, she let her sob out, more following quickly. She hadn’t even realized she had more tears in her considering how long she’d cried the night before.
The idea of making Lucifer mad spurred her into action, even with her tears and anxiety and shakiness. She put on the uniform that had been given to her. It felt awkward and uncomfortable. Too formal.
She didn’t even know why she was going to school. She’d graduated already. And these men certainly were too old for high school. She didn’t sign up for any exchange program. She didn’t want to go to school.
There was another knock, and Lucifer’s voice carried through the wood. “When you’re dressed, come to the living room.”
She was dressed, but took a minute to compose herself before going to meet him. The loud one was there too, being loud.
“Whadd’ya mean take her ta school!?”
“It’s part of your duties as her guardian.”
“I don’t wanna do that! I got a reputation!”
“This is the end of discussion, Mammon. You will take her to school. Is that clear?”
“...Tch. Whatever.”
MC pushed open the door, and blue eyes glared at her. She shrank back.
“Let’s go then.” Mammon huffed, annoyed.
He turned and left, stomping towards the front door, and one look from Lucifer made her scurry after him. She was grateful she’d already grabbed the bag with the textbooks, heavy as it was.
The walk was silent, but even so, she could tell exactly what the demon was thinking as he glared at her the whole way. As soon as the gate was in view, he stopped, grabbing her shoulders and giving her curt directions to her first classroom. He ditched her then, running off before anyone could see them together.
She began to find her way alone.
She could feel all eyes on her as she walked through the halls, trying to make herself as small as possible. Everyone was whispering. A couple were pointing. Some were even giving her threatening looks. But two of them were close enough for her to hear their conversation.
“Hey, check it out. That's the human everyone's been talking about. What’s it doing alone? I thought I’d heard that Mammon became its babysitter.“
“Well, if that’s true, then I’d say that actually works out great, don't-cha think? If he’s never around, we just gotta wait and strike when he's not paying attention. He'll never know what happened, let alone figure out it was us. I say we devour her before Beel does.”
She tried to glance over surreptitiously, but they had been watching her the whole time. She made eye contact with them, and they wore identical smirks. A single step was taken towards her. A single step was enough to spur her into action. She ran, feet pounding on the marble, and breath ragged. She turned a corner, not sure if it was the right way, but desperate for safety.
A pillar. She ducked behind it, panting, and trying to make herself invisible. Demons passed by, streams of students going through the halls. She got looks, but the time was running out before class, so she didn’t get anything more than that.
A voice, thick with amusement, caught her attention. “Hey, you there.”
She looked up, scanning through the crowds to see where the words had come from. Her eyes passed over a man with white hair, like Mammon’s. She did a double take, noticing his attention was solely on her. His eyes seemed to be peering into her soul, examining her. Dissecting her.
“That's right, I'm talking to you.” He said, a little smirk dancing across his lips. “The human with that frightened, tormented look on your face that demons love so much.” He began to walk towards her. “You're practically screaming, “come and eat me! I'm scrumptious!”.”
She pressed herself back into the pillar, sending him a look she wanted to be warning, but was sure came across as cornered instead.
He laughed. “What's with that look? There's no need to be suspicious of me.” He stopped, just within a conversational distance. “My name's Solomon. I'm an exchange student from the human world, just like you. Nice to meet you. “ He extended his hand.
She studied him, tried to read him. It was nearly impossible, but she tried anyway. His gaze had that same unsettling intensity as the demons’, yet he looked friendlier than them, eyes crinkling in amusement. He was also shorter than the demons, but a good height for a human. He was also fairly attractive, but not in the uncanny way demons seemed to be. She was pretty sure he was a human. She relaxed a bit, extending her own hand to shake his patiently waiting one.
“...You’re really human?”
To her surprise, he laughed again. “Good question! Honestly, there are times when I'm not too positive about that. I’ve made some questionable decisions and enough pacts to earn a reputation as a wicked sorcerer.” He grinned.”But I’m pretty sure I’m still human.”
He looked her over again, making her feel quite small. “You have a bit of a reputation yourself. One of only two humans in the Devildom, and under the protection of the avatar of greed.”
He wanted a response. She didn’t know what to say. Her noncommittal shrug made his smirk widen. Like it had told him everything he needed to know about her.
“I need to get going.” He said, body language still open, despite his off-putting mannerisms. “Until next time.” He began to walk away, but turned around to give her one last piece of advice. “And MC? Even fake confidence is enough to make a demon hesitate.”
She watched him leave, uncomfortable, yet strangely intrigued.
She had to get to class, but she didn’t know where to go. The directions she had been given were forgotten, and the danger was still present around her.
Looking up and down the hallway, she noticed the masses parting slightly, making way for someone. Lucifer emerged, eyes showing interest when he saw her.
“Good morning.” He looked around at the staring demons with a smirk. “You’ve become quite the celebrity around here, haven't you?”
She was a little surprised by the relief his presence brought her. “Hello, sir.”
He continued looking at the crowd. “Where’s Mammon?”
She hesitated. He registered the way she tensed and sighed. “I had hoped he would be more responsible. I suppose I should have expected less. I took all of his money away from him, thinking that if there was nothing else in his life, perhaps he'd step up and fulfill his responsibilities.” He sighed again. She got the feeling he was venting to her. He then chuckled darkly. “Perhaps freezing his assets wasn't enough. Money can take a lot of different forms. and as long as Mammon has money, he'll spend it. There are no limits with him.”
He shook his head to clear his thoughts and focused back on her. “Was that Solomon I saw you talking with?”
She nodded and he made a face, but it faded as he took a moment to think. “It's fine if you associate with him, but know that he can’t be trusted. Be sure not to let your guard down. I don't want you to end up being hurt by him.” He seemed to think for a moment. “Or worse, eaten by some random, lesser demon. It would only give me more paperwork, and I don't need that.
A shrill noise pierced the air, making MC jump. The noise was just the right frequency to set her on edge. A small scream had left her lips at the initial surprise, and Lucifer chuckled.
“That's the first Bell. class is about to start. Time to get going. You'd better hurry too. You don't want to be late on your first day here.”