Dead!

Chapter 38

Chapter 38

"Hey kitten," Jordan said. "What's new?" He was still wearing his ridiculous leather jacket, but somehow, he managed to make it look good.

"Stop calling me kitten!" I exclaimed. "I like cats, but I'd prefer it if you didn't think of me as one."

"Whatever," Jordan said. "So can I come in?"

"Sure," I said.

Jordan entered the house and immediately flopped down onto the couch. "What's up?" he asked me.

"Other than another demon attack and you showing up again?" I said as I sat down next to him. "Not much."

"Oh come on, I want to hear about it," Jordan said. "Your life must be so much more interesting than mine. I just have to be tortured over and over again, except for when I get let out to do stuff like this."

I thought about for a second before saying, "I got into a little bit of a fight with my friend."

"What was the fight about?" Jordan asked.

"She doesn't like the guys that I'm interested in," I said.

"Ooh, Ivy's got a crush!" Jordan exclaimed. "Who is it?"

"I'm not telling you!" I exclaimed.

"Tell me," Jordan said.

"No," I replied. "Anyways, I don't think anything else interesting happened. My roommate just finished her stupid fanfiction. It was called Forbidden Love, and now she's calling the sequel Forbidden Passion."

Jordan laughed. "Those are possibly the two dumbest titles that I've ever heard."

"I know, right?" I said.

"What are her fanfictions about?" Jordan asked.

"This emo band that she likes," I said. "She ships the lead singer and the guitarist."

"That's just weird," Jordan said. "I'm so glad that I listen to classic rock. I don't have to deal with crazy people like her."

"Really? You listen to classic rock?" I said. I didn't see him as the classic rock type. I thought that he would be into metal or something.

"Yeah," Jordan said. "My parents liked that sort of stuff too - that's probably one of the few things that I appreciated about them."

"Why didn't you like your parents?" I asked.

Jordan shrugged. "We just didn't get along," he said. "So are you doing anything this weekend?"

"I don't think so," I said. "Why are you asking me? It's not like you're going to be around. You have to go back to Hell."

Jordan sighed. "I wish I didn't."

"How much more time do you have here?" I asked. "Maybe we can do something together while you're here. I have to call a couple of my friends first, but we could go get coffee or something..."

"I don't know how much more time I have," Jordan said. "I wish that I could see more of your pretty face, kitten, but I can't stay in Heaven for long."

"I just wish that I could see you without all of this chaos," I said. I had decided to stop protesting over Jordan calling me "kitten." It wasn't worth it.

"Well, this is the only way that I can get into Heaven, and trust me, you don't want to visit me in Hell," Jordan said. He took a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it.

"Can you not do that while I'm here?" I said. "I don't like the smell of smoke."

"Stop complaining," Jordan said. "You're being such a downer today." Smoke drifted out of Jordan's cigarette, which was now dangling out of his mouth.

"Maybe I'm just trying to help you," I said.

"I don't need help," Jordan argued.

"You need to get rid of your bad boy facade," I said. "It's kind of cute sometimes, but I know that you've got a sweet spot in there somewhere. I'm trying to help you show it. Maybe the Celestial Bureaucracy will reassign you if you can show them that you're really a nice guy."

"They won't reassign me," Jordan said. "They only do that in special cases, and it's much easier for them to send someone in Heaven to Hell than to do the reverse, since the Bureaucracy doesn't have as much control over Hell. They won't even bother with moving anyone who's already in Hell until there's a major rule change."

"You never know," I said. "Maybe they were just scared off by the leather jacket and the cigarettes."

"Maybe, but I doubt it," Jordan said. "They put me in Hell, and now I'm stuck there for all eternity."

"Oh come on, Jordan," I said. "I'm sure that things can get better."

"You don't understand," Jordan said. "You've never been in Hell."

"You're right," I said. "I don't understand, but as I said, I'm only trying to help you."

"And I told you that I'm beyond help," Jordan said.

"We're going in circles," I said.

"Tell you what, I'll try to get out of Hell if you quit bugging me about my habits," Jordan said. "Smoking is my one comfort, and I deserve to keep it."

"Deal," I said. "You don't belong in Hell, and it bothers me that you're just accepting your fate."

"I know," Jordan said. I was about to say something, but Jordan suddenly whispered to me, "Ivy. Take my hand."

"Why?" I asked, but Jordan had already clasped his hand around mine. I felt an odd pulling sensation, as if some sort of cosmic force was trying to uproot me from Grandma's living room. This only made me hold on to Jordan tighter.

That was when everything went black.