Hayley

Hale was your neighbor. A tall, muscular man. His hair had been dyed blue since his teens, his favorite color, and he never changed it. His casual appearance was appealing, but the problem was his nerdiness.

You became close when your mom asked her to pick you up and walk to school together, as you often overslept. Everything was going well, but one morning you woke up with a searing pain in your back. Grimacing, you went to the bathroom, and there, in front of the mirror, you screamed.

Behind your back were small, bloody wings that had apparently just begun to grow. You stood in shock before the mirror, your back itching painfully, and droplets of blood trickled down.

Suddenly, you hear Hale's grumbling behind you as he enters the house out of habit to wake you up, but as he stops in front of the bathroom door, he freezes.

— These are... wings?

Unable to bear it, you burst into tears and sank to the floor.

— I don't know. I woke up and... and...

Hale flies up to you without thinking, and in one movement he presses your trembling body to himself.

• First, calm down.

His tone isn't commanding, it's stating a fact. His strong hands gently shake you to bring you back to your senses. The stupidest thing is that he starts sniffling, and then there's no need to think about it—he's allergic to feathers. Seeing this, you howled even louder.