Death and the Girl

"Hey, how are you?" Collette had seated herself next to me.

I had my mouth open, ready to eat a piece of ravioli. It slopped off the fork and onto the plate with a wet splat. I lowered the fork and stared at her like she'd grown an extra head. What could she possibly want?

"Good, I guess."I replied, shifting nervously.

"Listen, I want to apologise," She sighed. "I'm sorry for everything."

This was a startling new development. Collette and I had only ever fallen out a couple of times before, never this bad, but still. This was the first time she'd apologised to me. I wasn't sure how to take it.

"It's fine." I replied, shrugging.

"I feel really bad, Junko," She pleaded. "Let's be friends again. I miss you."

Where was Hunter? Had he set this up? No, why would he? He'd warned me to stay away from Collette. He'd called me a stalker. Did Collette know that? Maybe he felt bad too and he wanted Collette to bridge the gap so he could apologise too.

"Ok, we can be friends again." I said.

She smiled and leaned over, hugging me. I didn't really hug back. This felt awkward and weird. I was mixed between disliking her and wanting so badly to be friends again. She pulled back and smiled brightly.

"So, I was thinking we could go on a double-date." She beamed.

I frowned at this. Hunter had met Chris and the meeting was hardly amicable. Did she not know about that?

"How did you know about Chris?" I asked.

"Hunter told me he saw you guys at Bewitched together, duh." She laughed.

Ah, so Hunter had glossed over the details. Collette probably assumed Hunter had courteously waved at Chris and I, then left us alone. Should I tell her? She looked so happy. Maybe this double-date thing could work. It could be a line in the sand and we could all get along.

"Sounds like fun." I replied.

"Super, I'll let Hunter know. We can set a date." She grinned, standing and dashing off.

That was totally weird.

"I wouldn't." Liam said.

He and Cole were across the way, having seen the whole thing. Liam seemed to be falling out with Collette and Hunter more and more. He had lunch with them a couple of times, but grew fed up with them ignoring him.

I wanted to forgive Collette and move on so I decided to give her a chance. Now I had to think of a way to persuade Chris.

***********************

"Can you do me a huge favour, Junko?" Tris had collared me the moment I set foot in the foyer.

"Sure, what is it?" I asked. Why'd I agree to this garbage.

"I need you to take this parchment over to the third house down." She replied, guiding me to the door. She pointed at the third building.

I shrugged and accepted my quest. The second building belonged to Lemmy. He wasn't out front today. Normally he'd be sat on the porch, sipping a glass of whiskey and chuckling at the new recruits when they made a mistake.

The third building was slightly obscured by a weird looking tree. It shuffled when I got close and hissed at me. I tapped on the door and entered when no one answered. The foyer was darker and the ceiling was covered in vines.

"How will I know if he really loves me." Someone was singing.

I craned my neck and finally noticed a girl perched in the window seat, huge book open in her lap. Her eyes were round and doe-like. Her brown hair was slightly tied back with a long stripe of it hanging down her shoulder. Should I hand the parchment to her? She kept singing softly.

"Excuse me." I said.

She jumped and the book clattered to the floor. She fumbled to scoop it up and set it in the window seat, before looking at me.

"Sorry, I didn't hear you." She smiled, turning off the music.

It was resonating from a box. Its lid was open and there seemed to be a crystal inside, glowing softly. She shut the lid and stepped closer. In the dim light I could see that she was only about my height. Her features were sweet and delicate.

"Welcome to the third legion house led by Eric." She said, stumbling a little.

This was where Eric was based. I had expected something worse, more sinister. I was definitely expecting someone more frightening. Instead I was met with a small girl, who looked about as scary as me.

"T-thanks. These are for Eric, I think." I handed over the parchment and she accepted.

She deposited the parchment on the table nearby. There were a lot of parchments on there. Organisation clearly wasn't Eric's strong suit.

"Are you human?" She asked.

"Yeah, I am." I replied.

Her eyes lit up and she stepped closer, "I'm half human."

Half human? My eyes widened. I hadn't expected that. She seemed to realise that she didn't know me. We were strangers.

"I'm Ariana." She held out a delicate hand.

I accepted and smiled, "Junko."

She let go and glanced around the creepy foyer. This place was awful. Why was someone like this hanging around here?

"Let's go sit outside." She said, and I followed. Anything to leave this building.

We sat on the grass, away from the creepy tree and even creepier building. In the light she looked almost angellic. I noticed other demons giving her a wide berth though.

"How come you're in Eric's legion?" I asked.

"He likes me because he doesn't like me." She replied.

What a strange reason. Her status as a halfling made her unique. Eric must enjoy picking on her. My hatred for him grew again. I wanted to hit him with a fridge. Her doe eyes glanced around the area, looking for something.

"How are you half human/half demon?" I asked.

"I'm actually a human/angel hybrid." She said, blushing slightly.

She shuffled awkwardly. I guessed because demons existed then angels must as well. No wonder she looked like she didn't fit in.

"My mom was a human. My dad was an angel," She sighed, sitting slightly closer. "After mom died, dad wanted me to come here."

"So, you're immortal too?" I quizzed her.

"No, I'll just age really slowly." She smiled.

I actually liked her. She reminded me of Collette, but without the nasty streak. Again, her eyes canvassed the area and I followed her gaze.

"What're you looking for?" I asked, and she turned her head so quickly her hair spun too.

"You'll laugh." She murmured.

Her cheeks were bright red. Did she have a boyfriend she was waiting on? She sat next to me, eyes roving towards the fourth house across the way.

"That's the legion house run by Debbie," She stated, and I listened. "Everyday I sit here and wait. I'm a little early today."

She nudged me and the door opened and a guy with brown hair walked out. He was holding the door. A cap was on his head and he had an easy smile. I looked at her and nodded. She frowned and shook her head, grabbing my chin, making me look again.

Another guy followed him out the door. His hair was much longer and darker. He was wearing a black hoodie and jeans. His face was pierced, far more than Chris'. This guy's nose was pierced and his lobes were stretched so that they hung down. I followed his movements as he walked with the other guy. Ariana did too. Her eyes never left him.

He vanished with his friend and she sighed, dropping her gaze then looking at me. The blush never left her face.

"That was Mike." She said, toying with her pink hoodie.

"You like him." I grinned.

"Yes, I always have. We were new recruits at the same time and he was the only one that didn't bully me." She murmured.

"People bully you." I couldn't believe it. She was so pretty.

"Yeah, no one likes the girl that's half angel." She whispered, sounding heart broken.

"I-i know how you feel," I blurted out and she looked at me. "Don't give up. Talk to him. He might like you too."

She looked disheartened, "Or he might feel sorry for me."

"He doesn't know you. Get him alone and strike up a conversation. I did that with someone and it worked." I decided to not share everything.

Her eyes widened and she seemed to be thinking. Her brown eyes scanned the grass in a flurry of emotions.

"What if he laughs at me?" She mumbled.

"What if he doesn't?" I countered.

Her pretty smile returned and was replaced by a look of determination, "Tomorrow, I'll speak to him."

I let her go then. Another girl had appeared at the door to the third house and was glaring at Ariana. She seemed to realise it was time to leave. She hugged me then departed. I watched her retreating form and I felt bad for her. Now I had to face up to own problems.

********************

Listen, let's go on a weird double-date with the girl that ruined my life and the guy you really hate. Yep, that sounded about right. Let's do this. I had made it to Chris' office and tapped on the door. When I entered he was sat on the couch, reading a book. He looked up when I walked in and smiled.

I loved that smile. It was everything. It made life so good. I loved the way his lips curled upwards, how his teeth were so white and how I was the only person that could achieve this. It would be a shame to ruin that. 3......2......1.

"Hey, how was your day?" I asked, sitting down.

"Better now." He said, leaning closer.

Too close, fam. Let's remember what happened the other night. Images flashed in my mind and suddenly the room felt like it was spinning.

"Are you busy this weekend?" I asked.

"Not really, why?" Chris replied, brow arching.

"Well, we've sorta been invited out." I smiled.

"Invited out? Like, a couples thing?" He said, frowning.

"Yup, just me, you," I needed to do this quick. "AndColletteandHunter."

He pulled back and his eyes narrowed. I smiled, but he didn't smile back.

"You made friends with them?" He asked.

"Collette apologised." I replied.

He was older than me. Would he really go along with this?

"Do I have to speak to him?" Chris asked.

"Nope, you can totally ignore him." I said, and he shrugged.

"Fine, where and when."

"Seriously?"

"Yes, seriously. I mean, I'd rather be eaten by hell hounds."

i glowered at him. I was starting to grasp his personality. Underneath the smart suits was sarcasm and a tendency to be quite scathing. This was gonna be bad.

"You need to be nice." I shot back.

"Aren't I always nice, Junko." He murmured, shifting closer.

We were inches apart and he smirked. I liked that too. I shrugged and he leaned down, closing the distance. His lips were ghosting across mine and I waited with nervous anticipation.

"Well." I snapped.

"You want to kiss?" He murmured again. I nodded.

"Y-yes."

"Should of thought of that before you tricked me into a date with those two mouth breathers." He grinned, pulling back.

Jerkwad!

Notes