Fallen Grace

Aaron's P.O.V.

I never really thought much of death. It was basically the usual, boring, Catholic teaching: You go to Heaven, eternal life with God, blah blah blah. It never was very interesting to me. I never learned if there were consequences. Someone failed to tell me about Hell.

Life seems all fun and games. Then you pay the price.

It was Friday, June the fourteenth. A very, very stupid party led to a very, very stupid decision. Never did I really consider what could happen.

A lot escaped my memory of what happened, but I remember getting into a car. My friend offered to drive me home from this end-of-the-school-year party. I agreed without a doubt.

All right, maybe there was some sort of alcohol at this lovely party. I had none and neither did my friend, Elliot. Basically, everyone else did and decided to hop on the road.

I think you know the answer to this problem: a collision.

The car came out of nowhere and crashed right into my side of the car. The airbags didn't pop up. I remember screaming from my lips, sirens in the distance, shocked gasps. Then I blacked out and never woke up.

Elliot walked away without a scratch in sight. Me? I died.

When my eyes did open, I was in some sort of building. The walls and floors were both light brown. A long, circular table wrapped around where I sat on the ground. There were twelve chairs seated around that table, all tall and black. All looked somewhat important and mocking. The windows showed just clouds. They were pure white and puffy.

Out of nowhere, twelve people filled the chairs. All were male except for one woman sitting at the head of the table. In a second, I realized that they weren't at all human. They were angels. All had sharp, huge, white wings raising at least ten feet into the air. They were made up of soft looking feathers of the purest white.

A boy my age spoke first. "Aaron, welcome to Heaven."

The boy's platinum blonde hair fell messily into his bright blue eyes. He seemed straight-forward and I could tell that he was energetic. His eyes bounced around the room, sort of like he was a hyper child.

The girl shook her head. She looked a few years older than me. "Shh, Daniel. He must be scared," she said. Then she turned to face me. "Am I correct?" She smiled in a sweet manner, her bright brown eyes sparkling.

All of the angels had unspeakable beauty. All had an undeniable grace to their words and actions. The girl was the most striking of all. She had dark brown, straight hair. Side bangs fell into one of her brown eyes. Her skin was without a flaw, perfectly clear and pale. Her eyes glittered when she smiled.

I nodded a bit, standing up.

"Aaron, you are in Heaven," she said, pausing for a reaction. When I was silent, she continued. "This is called Judgement. It's where we decide what role you will play in Heaven." She pushed back her side bangs to peer at me.

It all was real. The shock seemed removed from my mind. All I could do was numbly nod. The girl smiled.

"I'm Allison, by the way," she stated as a screen popped out of nowhere. "Let's see the life of Aaron Lane." The lights dimmed and all attention was on the screen. Tentatively, I looked up at the mysterious screen.

It was me.

It was me as a kid and then me as a teenager. It was me in all my unheavenly glory.

I was one of those popular, stereotypical, jerky jocks. Everyone loved me, though. I always knew how to get what I wanted. Looking back on that? It was pretty painful to see. All these angels from a higher power were seeing dumb little me? On instict, I crossed my arms and dug my nails into them.

The screen clicked off and the angels talked quietly among themselves. Allison cleared her throat and I whipped around. She smoothed her brown hair behind her ears and folded her hands on top of the smooth table.

"After careful consideration, we've decided your place in Heaven," Allison said. She grinned, showing perfect white teeth. "You'll be a Guardian Angel." She looked more excited than I was about it all.

I squinted. "What do I have to do?"

Allison snapped twice, and the lights dimmed again. The screen popped up again and a new picture formed. It was a girl my age, smiling. She had short, black hair with full, straight bangs. The rest of her hair was wavy and more natural. Her bright blue eyes stared at the thirteen of us, looking genuinely happy.

She was pretty. In my opinion, prettier than these angels combined.

Allison snapped once, and a video popped on screen. It was cafeteria slash lunch scene, with the same girl and three others.

"Off of my boyfriend," the girl in front sneered, crossing her arms. "You're not even important enough to think about him."

The black haired girl from the pictures stepped back. "I-I fell. I'm sorry, K-Kay," she stammered, rubbing her eyes. "He caught me." Her eyes glistened with fear and sadness of the girl, whom I assumed to be Kay.

"It shouldn't happen again, spaz," Kay snapped. She flipped the girl's lunch tray over and it splattered all over the girl. The three girls laughed loud enough to stop all other noise in the cafeteria. Every student looked over, and after a second, joined in the laughter. The black haired girl wiped her eyes and ran away from them all. Points and laughter followed.

The screen shut off and disappeared. The lights came back on, and Allison wore a solemn look as I frowned.

"That is Lila. Your job? Protect her. Help her. With all your heart and soul," she said, almost inaudibly. She smiled in a sad manner, wiping hair from her face. All of a sudden, I felt a sensation on my back.

"Those are your wings. Protect those, too," she added with a laugh. I reached behind me to feel soft feathers with a gasp. Allison chuckled.

"They look like ours, don't worry."

A smile reached my face. The angel named Daniel cleared his throat. "There is one rule." He looked toward Allison, who nodded with approval. She wore a neutral face with a mouth like a straight line

"Never, under any circumstances, fall in love."

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It was just a preface-ish. So, v&c. Fan, like, whatevs. More coming soon if you like it. (: