Allyssa walked out of the changing rooms chatting to her girl friends, making their way to the exit. The guys joined them after, and Alli craned her neck to look for Damien. Couldn’t find him, just the swim coach looking somewhat perturbed, coming from the private stalls. She scurried over to him.

 

“Sir, is Damien okay?”

 

“I… He’s going to wait here for his mother to come pick him up.”

 

“It’s his…”

 

The coach nodded quietly. Allyssa chewed her lip.

 

“I know his mom well. Is it okay if I stay here? I have no classes after this.”

 

The coach looked at his watch and sighed with relief. He wasn’t in the mood for a lawsuit primer, but apparently they’d just hit four o’clock. Technically, she was allowed to leave.

 

“I don’t see why not, Allyssa.” He looked over his shoulder. “Your friend is going to be okay.”

 

She looked towards the private stalls.

 

“So everyone keeps telling me.”

 

He sighed. This was above his pay-grade. He scratched his neck, and made his way to the rest of the group with an apologetic smile.

 

Allyssa sat down on a chair in the lobby. Kicked her feet. Looked at the clock and followed the second hand with her head until her neck wouldn’t turn that way, and realized the woman at the desk was giving her the side-eye. Alli sighed and got up, and made her way to the private stalls. “Waiting on a friend,” she reassured the woman in passing, and scuffled off, hoping that would be enough not to get her stopped. Allyssa did not have the patience to sit in a lobby while her friend might be in pain. After four, the pool was pretty much deserted on a monday, and she only heard sounds coming from one of the stalls. Doing a quick count, she realized that was definitely the one Damien was in. She put her hand against the stall door.

 

“Hey Damien? Are you in there?”

 

No answer, just a slight gasp. She feared he was in pain and gritted her teeth. She’d never seen him in the middle of an attack, and she could only hope she was in the right space to help him through this. 

 

“I just… didn’t see you leave with the others.”

 

She hoped to elicit some response from him. She vaguely remembered being told to ‘keep them talking’, when people were in a lot of pain. Or was that people who were wounded? Or for panic attacks? Fuck, this was not the time to forget every single thing she’d ever been told. She was scared for her friend and it was getting a little difficult to think clearly. She licked her dry lips and tried again. 

 

“Mister Reeves said you had a flareup and that your mom was coming to pick you up.”

 

That wasn’t it. Just statements weren’t going to cut it, were they? She needed to connect with him, right? That was it. Give him something to hold on to. If this was his illness flaring up, he’d need to know that someone was here for him.

 

“Are you gonna be okay?”

 

Still no answer. A stabbing pain in her chest accompanied really bad intrusive thinking. She leaned against the door and felt her legs give out, and she plopped down, gently bonked her head against the barrier between them. He needed to know someone cared. That she was here and that he wasn’t alone. He must be so scared, she thought.

 

“I’m just… I’m really worried about you, Damien.”

 

She heard a deep sigh and some rustling. Good, at least he wasn’t unconscious or something. She heard a sniff. He’d been crying. She put a hand over her eyes, as if to keep her own tears inside. Her friend was in pain and she couldn’t do anything. Couldn’t even see him. Couldn’t hold him. She didn’t even dare tell him things were going to be okay because she had no idea if they did. But maybe that didn’t matter? Maybe he just needed to hear support?

 

“I don’t want to lose you, okay? You’re my best friend.”

 

A moment of silence, and then, ever so gently, she heard a response.

 

“You too,” a voice on the other side of the door said. It was Damien’s, but much softer than she’d ever heard it. It had a silky quality to it she couldn’t quite pin down. She didn’t have the time to try, anyway, because just like that, the door she’d been leaning against fired open and she fell backwards. Instead of her head hitting the tile floor, it bounced off something soft. Something she realized must be thighs, because she was most definitely observing the world from a girl’s lap all of a sudden.

 

A red girl. Like, red-red. A girl with horns and long, black hair. A girl with an almost perfect face, as if sculpted to be both powerful and seductive. It was accented by meticulous make-up. It was the exact kind of girl Allyssa would fawn over in secret when she’d come across its image online. You know, if it wasn’t for the fact that she was quite obviously some kind of demon. The red eyes and red skin and horns gave that away. And… were those wings she could see, over the girl’s shoulders?

 

The girl looked absolutely mortified, had no idea what had just happened. She was also entirely topless and it was almost enough to distract Allyssa from just how much this demonette looked like…

 

“Damien?”

 

“Hi,” the cute demon girl said. The voice was seductive. Not so much in intonation, as it was almost… by design? In one word, she felt herself drawn to it, almost, as if the girl’s lips had been invitingly covered with honey. 

 

Allyssa didn’t know what to say. Could barely speak, her head was swimming. That might have been the fall backwards. Might have been. She was almost scared to move. And not entirely in the mood to move, she didn’t get many opportunities to rest her head on a cute girl’s thighs. But if this was her friend then maybe they weren’t a girl’s thighs? Or maybe her friend wasn’t… Hold up.

 

“Damien?!”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“What’s going on?”

 

Damien looked sheepish. Neither of them dared move, as if to break some kind of spell. Allyssa thought she was dreaming, unaware that Damien was mostly terrified she’d start screaming. He was both very close and very off the mark. Allyssa was feeling many things, but horror or fear were not any of them. Damien swallowed.

 

“This… is my condition…”

 

“You turn into a hot demon girl??”

 

“Yeah, I d-- wait, hot?”

 

“That’s not what I… listen…”

 

Allyssa took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Then she reached up with both hands and grabbed Damien by the horns and yanked him down until they were eye to eye.

 

“I thought you were dying, you ass!”

 

“I’msorryI’msorryI’msorry,” Damien stammered. Allyssa was really close to his face all of a sudden, and he’d never really been held by his horns before. A lot was happening really fast and his breath was caught in his throat. Allyssa let him go and sat up, closing the stall door so as not to alert the woman at the front desk. 

 

“What the fuck, Damien? Is Damien even your name? Is this your real form? Are you like, a real devil? Were you a girl this whole time?!”

 

Damien stammered and tried to cover up his chest. Allyssa had made an admirable effort not to let her eyes wander but it was really hard. The girl in front of her was one-hundred percent her type. Despite… who was she kidding, the horns only amplified the image. 

 

“I’m… I… Listen… I gotta… My mom’s gotta pick me up… I can’t go out looking like this…”

 

Allyssa giggled, pushing down a wave of hysteria that was threatening to overtake her. 

 

“Yeah, I can’t imagine you’d make it past the front desk with your tits out.”

 

“Alli! Please!”

 

She took a deep breath and tried to calm down.

 

“What is going on, Damien?”

 

He took his shirt and tried to cover his chest with it. He didn’t have any with him that would accommodate his wings, so this would have to do. It wasn’t perfect.

 

“I’m… Ever since my 16th birthday, this just… happens sometimes. It’s random, but I usually know in advance.”

 

“Your mom knows?”

 

“Yeah, she’s… like this.”

 

“What, like she turns into a girl?”

 

“No, I mean, demon.”

 

“Oh fuhhh--...” Alli panted. “You’ve actually gone and said it. So this isn’t like, a weird disease, you’re just gonna straight up go ‘yo I’m a demon and so is my mom’. Fuck.”

 

“Sorry?”

 

Deep breaths. Deeeeep breaths. 

 

“Call your mom first. I don’t want to do this in a changing stall.”

 

Damien nodded, and did as requested.

 

“Yeah. No, I didn’t get the alerts in time. Yeah, across the park. Okay. Thanks, mom.”

 

He put the phone away.

 

“Ten minutes.”

 

“I have questions.”

 

He sighed and slumped down a bit.”

 

“Hit me.”

 

“Devils are real?”

 

“Yup. Angels too.”

 

“So like, what, y’all try to steal souls?”

 

“Nah, apparently that whole thing is over. My mom’s retired, just lives as a human now.”

 

“What do you mean ‘that whole thing’ is over?”

 

“Yeah, like the whole clash between upstairs and downstairs. They settled their differences and now neither side really cares anymore?”

 

“O-kay. Big theological minefield there. I’m gonna leave that right there for now. You said your mom is like you?”

 

“Well, sort of. She’s like, a full-on demon so she can change at will. It’s not like with me. I’m half human.”

 

“Is that why it just happens randomly?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“No idea why? Seems kind of odd.”

 

“Yup. There’s like, a stress thing? Maybe? But like, yesterday, at your place, I wasn’t particularly stressed out.”

 

“Weird.”

 

“You’re telling me.”

 

“So like, do you have any abilities? Set stuff on fire or fly or whatever?”

 

“Mom says they won’t manifest until I ‘stabilize’. That there’s too much turmoil.”

 

Allyssa cocked her head and looked at the frazzled demon girl that had been her best friend. That was still her best friend, she corrected. Shit, that was probably important to mention.

“Listen, Damien…”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“I just… You’re still my friend, right?”

 

“I… I mean… you’re not, like… scared?”

 

“Oh my god. You ass. Yes, of course I’m scared. I’m scared for you. You’re my best friend and I’m not going to lose you. No matter what you look like. Not even if you’re like…”

 

“Demon? Infernal?”

 

Not the words she would have chosen. The ones on the tip of her tongue were closer to ‘blindingly attractive’. But she wasn’t gonna say that now. She nodded.

 

“I’m not giving up on you. Ever.”

 

Damien cried and then did something she’d never expected. He lunged forward and hugged her. Damien hugged her. She sat shocked for a moment, then returned the gesture. The demon’s skin was very warm to the touch, but not unpleasantly so. Damien also smelled slightly of fire and cinnamon. It was pleasant, but it didn’t last forever.

 

“Thank you,” Damien sniffled, and after a brief moment scrambled to cover up his chest again.

 

“That didn’t bother you?”

 

He shook his head.

 

“I’m more comfortable with… touch, like this.”

 

“Oh?”

 

He shrugged. “Don’t know why.”

 

“Fair enough. I had one more question.”

 

“Shoot.”

 

“Are you a girl turning into a boy or a boy turning into a girl?”

 

Damien opened his mouth several times like a goldfish suddenly fished out of its bowl, staring into the eyes of a cartoon cat. He stammered for a few seconds, but no real words were coming out. Then, there was a knock on the stall door.

 

“Damien, hun, are you in there?” Hecate said. 

 

Without thinking, Allyssa opened the door for her friend’s mom. Hecate’s eyes grew wide at the sight of Allyssa, and then looked at the crumpled form of her child.

 

“Well then.”

 

She crossed her arms and looked at them both.

 

“Looks like we have some talking to do.”

 

Allyssa looked back at Damien, who was still seemingly in shock. 

 

“I think we might do, Miss H.”