Down Goes The Devil

Chapter 15

Author's note : I really apologize for the late update, I've been so busy with uni that I couldn't find the time to publish a new chapter. Thank you for your support!

Ethan felt quite overjoyed as his abilities were paying off. His great plan for Chris was almost coming to an end. He just needed to push him a little harder and his master plan would crash Chris to a point of no return. His years of woes in highschool would strike the man back. He wanted reality to slap him in the face and his so-called success to come to a halt. He knew that deep down, Chris, was not actually satisfied. Despite his life unlocking new doors for him, he knew that by the end of the day, he will feel that hollowness in his chest that keeps on expanding day by day, as he spent lengthy years of his life enduring it. For him, Happiness has eventually become something spooky, for it somehow meant that it was going to be over ultimately. It is supposed to be something positive, something good. It is supposed to be something innocuous, but his twisted mind has turned it into something sinister, something wicked. At times he would get an intense rush of mania, during which he gets a tingling sensation that feels as if I owns the world, as if he was able to achieve anything he has ever desired. He would get exhilarated and then then would get back again to his self-deprecating state, for he has such an unbalanced humor.

As soon as he got out of the building, he gave Fred a call.

"Hey buddy, how is it going?" Chris felt his sanity coming back to him as he heard Fred's voice, whom he viewed as his guardian angel at that point.

"Fred, thank you so so so much, I just got the job and I don't know how to thank you properly, do you have time to meet up? I'd like to invite you over a cup of coffee today." Fred giggled at the frivolity of his old friend's request.

"Absolutely, let's meet up at the usual spot." Chris' heart fluttered, which he thought was a strange sensation.

"Alright, I'll be there."

Chris almost hopped to the coffee shop immediately, sat on a chair and ordered an espresso. He took out his pack of cigarettes and started smoking the nerves away. He viewed his life as a euphemism to the cigarette he was smoking was a euphemism for his strenuous life. He wished he could in hale the clump of ache, and exhale it all at once, feeling good about himself for once. As he was lost in his thoughts, he felt a hand on his shoulder, and as he turned around, Fred was standing there.

"What's up champ." Chris felt his cheeks reddening as he was talking to his senior now.

"Good, thank you for coming." Fred sat at the table across of Chris.

"So, how do you feel that we're colleagues now? We'll get plenty of times to catch up!"

"It feels great. I was accepted immediately, which was a bit strange to be quite honest with you. I have a ginormous gap in my resume."

"Well, you have quite an interesting CV. You should believe more in your capacities Chris." Chris gritted his teeth as he thought about what he was about to request. Tell him to invite Aaron and Jessica. "You don't look quite pleased though. Although I have a hunch that I know what you're thinking of."

"You do?" his eyes widened in surprise.

"I do. Are you still thinking of what happened in college?" Chris fidgeted in his seat in discomfort.

"Kind of." Tell him, now is the best time. "Are you still in contact with them?"

"I have spoken to them right after we met last time. I will be honest with you, they were not too keen on seeing you at first, but after thinking it through, they agreed on doing so. When would be the best time to schedule a meeting with them?" Now. Now is the best time.

"Can we meet up with them now?" Fred looked at Chris incredulously, trying to decipher whether his response was genuine or a mere sarcastic comment, but Chris' facial expression emanated sincerity.

"Oh wow, I did not expect you to say that. Let me try to text them on the group chat." Fred pulled out his phone from his pocket and started typing.

"You have a group chat?"

"We do. We've been constantly chatting ever since we left college. We're still quite close." Chris' eyes drooped wistfully. "There's no reason for you to feel bad though. Soon, you'll join the crowd, so cheer up!"

"I'll try to, although it's near impossible to heal past scars." He looked away shamefully.

"It's not." Fred kept looking at his phone screen. "Oh look, they're seen my message. Now we wait."

Ethan has taken the opportunity to pay Jessica a little visit. He wanted to make the best out of this situation, as his plan would only succeed if he played his part correctly. Interposing in humanly matters was like a game of chess for the devil. As long as he made the right moves, the outcome will unfold accordingly.

Jessica was sitting at her kitchenette counter, on a tell chair, drinking a cup of coffee and scrolling through the group chat messages. As soon as she saw Fred's message, she rolled her eyes in revulsion. At the mention of Chris' name, she has felt a surge of loathing run through her veins. Ethan looked Jessica in the eyes and revelations about her character were relayed to his mind. She has always been a person who holds grudges, no matter how far back the mishap has taken place. She recalled the day her ex-boyfriend has cornered her and confronted her about his repulsion towards her as he figured that Aaron, a homosexual, was one of her companions. He has sworn to make him his archenemy if he has ever spoken to her again. Jessica was powerless at the time, not good with her words, afraid of being on anyone's bad side. Tears welled in her eyes as she tried to explain that Aaron means no harm, and that his sexual orientation was not a choice, and that her beloved friend was innocuous, friendly and quite a joy to hang out with. As she attempted to make Chris and his newfound foe meet up, they ended up quarreling while Chris called Aaron every slur known in the English lexicon. That was an eye-opening moment for her, and she ended up calling it quits.

Jessica felt a tingling sensation enticing her to reject Chris' request to meet up with her. However, she was intrigued. As the saying goes, curiosity killed the cat, however, at that moment, the saying didn't hold to be true. Curiosity would rather empower the cat. Her phone beeped and she checked for new messages. It was Aaron.

"Is he serious?"

"Surprisingly so."

"I don't want to meet that pig to be honest, but Fred is insistent"

Say yes. Agree to it and humiliate Chris.

"Let's meet up and see where this is going"

"Are you serious?"

"Dead serious."

"Fred said he changed, that's hilarious."

"I know right? Let's meet up at the café. I need to get dressed, I'll be there in 30 minutes, it's not that far."

"Deal, I'll be there too."