5. Not so Bad

Isabelle's POV

So Lucian wasn't so bad after all. He seemed to be a great guy. I didn't know too many boys that were handsome like him & into books. I stereotyped him and I feel guilty about it, but come on! There really aren't too many guys that were made like him. He's totally my type.

My type? What am I saying?! I didn't mean it in that way. I meant it as in the best friend type. Jen would be jealous— she may even be mad, but this is great for me. I don't have many friends and to top it off, I just made him my friend. Right?

"Hey," I paused, "are we friends now?"

I waited for his answer. He hesitated. I guess we aren't friends. I was kinda disappointed now. Why else was he here during lunch with me? He could be somewhere else, surrounded by girls & getting treated like a king, instead of being here with me. He isn't nice anymore; he's reverted to being a jerk now.

He finally responded, "I think so. I'd like to be friends. Do you want to be friends?"

I replied, "Of course. I thought that was why you were here. I have to admit that you seemed like an ass at first, but you're not that bad."

He only laughed at me. He didn't get angry. He just laughed.

He said, "Well, you called me a stalker. You hurt my pride with that. You seemed like a stuck-up brat, but now that I got a chance to know you, you're not that bad either."

"Oh yea. I totally forgot about that. Well, in all honesty, I didn't see my ID in your hand. I already apologized for that."

He responded, "Yea I know but it feels good not to be the bad guy sometime. It also feels great to see a woman admit that she's wrong."

The bad guy? Why was he portrayed as the bad guy? Did he do something to be labeled a bad guy?

I asked, "Why are you a bad guy?"

I could tell my question caught him by surprise. He should have expected a mere school girl to ask him. I don't talk to boys and they don't talk to me, so as soon as he let that bit slip, I was curious.

At that moment, we turned our attention to the nearby bushes. They started to rustle and we grew suspicious because there was no wind.

"Okay, wow. I'm glad you two are getting chummy."

I guess you know who that is. Yep, of course it's Jennifer. Was she angry? Always. She came and sat right in the middle of us. I scooted so I wouldn't be smothered.

"So why are you two hiding?" She looked from side to side and whispered to me, "And Bunny, I'm totally angry. I have a bone to pick with you."

Now loudly, she spoke again, "And you! You totally are hiding from me. If you don't want to go out, then just say it."

Lucian and I were in shock—well correction*, I was the one in shock. Go out with her? Wow, what did I miss? I knew I shouldn't have let my guard down. He totally is getting close to me for Jen. I should have known. I really should have.

For some reason, this made me beyond angry. I was livid right now. Just like a cracked dam that erodes over time, I was struggling to keep calm and not let my anger overflow against my rationality. I couldn't let that happen— especially here at school.

I was also angry because Lucian was acting shocked, but the fact that he was asked on a date and sat with me instead warmed my heart. My cheeks heated at the thought of it, but he wasn't off the hook yet.

"Hey, snap out of it," Jen said while waving her hand in front of my face.

"Sorry, I was in a daze. If you two want to be alone, I'll go. Therefore, you can get to know each other and sort out the details for your date."

I got up to leave but Lucian pulled me to him. Oh, he smelled so good. Wait, what?

"What are you doing? Are you crazy? You can't just pull me into your lap when I'm leaving. Don't you have any restraint?"

I fumbled to get up from his lap but his grip was strong. I looked up to find an infuriated Jennifer, mouth agape with a red forehead. She looked like a literal ticking time bomb; she was ready to explode.

I looked to Lucian for assurance but he seemed to be amused. I didn't understand because this wasn't a laughing matter. Why was he entertaining me if he wanted to go on a date with her? I'm a sucker. He probably was using me to get under Jen's skin.

I fought off his grip and got up to yank my blanket from underneath them. I stuffed my items angrily, returning them to my backpack, and continued on my path away from them. I didn't feel like staying at school any longer so I decided that I'd walk home.

The walk home was so peaceful that it seemed weird to me. I couldn't complain though because it gave me space to think about what just happened.

I wondered if all the boys at school were jerks and I came to the conclusion that ninety nine percent of them were; only a few could earn my respect. I was too busy thinking that I didn't notice I was across the street from home. I hurriedly fetched my keys and started to speed up. As I was crossing the street, everything went black.. just like that day.

~~

In the darkness, I heard voices. How many were there? Were there four? No, three. Two of them were familiar. Wait, how long had I been out? Why can't I see? Don't panic! Just breathe. Act like you're asleep.

While I was playing asleep, I couldn't help but listen to the conversation happening in the darkness.

"She's unusual," said the unfamiliar voice.

Hearing that, my eyes fluttered open. Such beautiful faces. Were they angels? Did I die again?

"No. You should have but you didn't. It's exactly why I find you unusual," said the unfamiliar voice.

I didn't even notice him but now that I was looking at him, he stood out the most. Was he the grim reaper? He had a black cloak on but there was no death scythe. Was I safe? Most definitely not.

"Yes, I am the grim reaper. But I didn't come to reap you. Well actually I did but I can't. My scythe is inside my cloak and you can't see it unless I want you to."

Is he reading my mind? That's a weird talent for the grim reaper to have. I've never heard that he could read minds.

"I'm not a psychic. You're saying it aloud." He facepalmed himself while shaking his head.

I guess I had a dummy moment. I didn't realize I was talking. The other two men started speaking again. I finally remembered.

The first man was the one that I met from the dark rose garden and I never got to see the second man's face. I only ever heard his voice. Even now I couldn't see his face due to my sight being hazy.

The reaper asked, "So what's the deal with her Lucifer?"

The man in the suit responded, "I don't know. This one probably has something to do with my old man here."

His old man? Oh my, God! Literally. Shoot I shouldn't have said that. Forgive me.

"Of course it has something to do with me. She's special, but she's accident prone from now on. I'll have to keep a close eye on her."

"That doesn't solve the problem. You're messing with the balance of souls. Something catastrophic is forthcoming due to your meddling," said the reaper.

God reasoned, "I know. That's why she's needed. Don't you see how unique her soul is? There's no color."

I could feel all of their eyes on me now, looking deeper than just my soul. It's as if they were looking at my entire existence itself and that made me uncomfortable.

Lucifer & God bent down at the same time and touched the center of my forehead.

In unison, they both said, "I don't see anything."

Everything started to fade after that. I couldn't hear nor could I see anymore.

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Lucian's POV

I thought to myself—What am I going to do with this girl? Now I'm really intrigued. Who would've thought that there'd be a girl in the world with a transparent soul whose life you couldn't read? No one, not even Dad.

Now how am I going to explain how she got hit by a black Porsche ? More importantly, how am I going to explain why I'm here? I may have to wipe her memories or tweak them a bit.