“Some people really need to be taught some manners," he said disdainfully. I stared up at him."Would you really have gotten in a fight for me?""Of course." He didn't hesitate."But there were four of them.""Beth, I'd take on Megatron's army to protect you.""Who?”

“Beth,” he said simply, his flawless face lit up with anticipation. “There is no doubt in my mind that we belong together, but to spend the rest of my life with you would be an honor and commitment that I would cherish.” He paused, his clear, blue eyes luminous. My breath caught in my throat, but Xavier only smiled. “Beth,” he repeated. “Will you marry me?” The look on his face was pure happiness.”

“I like literature," I said. "We started watching the film version of Romeo and Juliet today."I didn't tell them this, but the love story fascinated me. The way the lovers fell so deeply and irrevocably in love after their first meeting sparked a burning curiosity in me about what human love might feel like."How are you finding that?" Ivy asked."It's very powerful, but the teacher got really mad when one of the boys said something about Lady Capulet.""What did he say?""He called her a MILF, which must be offensive because Miss Castle called him a thug and sent him out of the room. Gabe, what is a MILF?"Ivy smothered her smile behind a napkin while Gabriel did something I'd never seen before. He blushed and shifted uncomfortably in his chair."Some acronym for a teenage obscnity, I imagine," he mumbled."Yes, but do you know what it means?"He paused, trying to find the right words."It's a term used by adolescent males to describe a woman who is both attractive and a mother." He cleared his throat and got up quickly to refill the water jug."I'm sure it must stand for something," I pressed."It does," Gabriel said. "Ivy, can you remeber what it is?""I believe it stands for 'mother I'd like to...befriend'," said my sister."Is that all?" I exclaimed. "What a fuss over nothing. I really think Miss Castle needs to chill.”

“How can you possibly know how much I miss you?" he said. "Have you got some sort of built-in miss-o-meter that can give us a reading?" "I'm a girl; of course I have a built-in miss-o-meter.”

“Raphael continued to stare at me, in no hurry to get started. "You know the best way to get rid of a demon, right?" He asked with a serious face. I caught Ivy rolling her eyes as I shook my head. "Exorcise alot!"Ivy caught my expression of dismay. "It's okay, Beth. He's famous for his bad jokes. We're still waiting for him to grow up.""And like Peter Pan, I hope to avoid that at all costs.”

“Did I mention I've finally decided on a nickname for you?""I didn't know you were looking."Well, I've given the matter some serious thought.""And what have you come up with?""Cookie," I anounced proudly.Xavier scrunched up his face. "No way.""You don't like it? What about Bumblebee?""Worse.""Snookie-Wookie?""Do you have any cyanide?""Well, some of us are just a bit hard to please.”

“I honestly can’t tell you. We’ve never had a situation like this before, “I admitted.“So you being an angel doesn’t meam…” He hesitated.“Doesn’t mean I have an answer for everything,” I concluded for him.“I just assumed it would be one of the perks.”“Sadly, no.”