"JOHN-" MELANIE STARTED, LOOKING BACK and forth between her brother and Louis. No one said anything for a moment and Melanie swallowed down the lump in her throat. Lucifer was still perched on her bed, motionless before her as she looked uncertainly between the two of them. Why was no-one doing anything? She wanted to tell Louis to move, but she was too shocked to do anything. What could she do?

"Who the hell are you talking to?" John asked, much to Melanie's surprise. His eyes scanned the room, trying to find another being and Melanie frowned over at Louis. He wore a cheeky grin as he pressed a finger to his lips, gesturing for her to be quiet.

Melanie frowned. Can he not see the extremely attractive, blue-eyed man on his knees before me, she wondered, looking back around at John who still required an answer. She cleared her throat before speaking.

"Just myself," she managed to lie. "You know what I said last night? Dying has made me insane."

John raised a brow and said, "Nearly dying."

"Hm?" Melanie muttered, confused for a second. However, her eyes widened when realising her mistake. "Oh, yeah! I meant nearly dying. See? Already bat shit crazy." She gave her brother a small shrug as if to say what can you do?

As if he needed a moment to reassure himself, John looked round the room one final time before back at Melanie who gave him a small smile.

"Alright," he said. "Just making sure no one had managed to sneak into the house over night."

Melanie laughed a little too loudly. "Now that would be ridiculous."

"Sure would," he agreed, nodding. "Well, as soon as you're ready for school, come down for some breakfast and then mum says she'll drive you to school."

"Alright," Melanie said before shooing him away. "Let me get ready!"

As soon as John's footsteps retreated down the stairs, Melanie turned to face Louis with a scowl. How dare he make her feel worried like that. Without a second to waste, she grabbed her pillow and whacked him over the head with it.

"Jerk," she told him. "You had me panicking! I didn't know he couldn't see you! I felt like such an idiot."

"Thank you for that," Louis said, nodding at the pillow. "Just the way to speak to someone who saved your life."

Melanie rolled her eyes and sat down beside him on the bed. "Explain," she said. "How did he not see you? Is this another one of your weird powers that you forgot to mention?"

"Hm, must be," said Satan, his fingers mindlessly picking at the material of her duvet. "I can make my presence known to whomever I wish. So if there's someone I don't want seeing me, poof I've disappeared."

Melanie smiled. "Quite handy, that. Now you can follow me around school without being asked several questions."

"So it would seem," Lucifer replied, standing swiftly from his seat. "I believe only people who have been in The Beyond can see me. So that silly mate of yours will most likely see me."

"Leave Michael alone," Melanie said. She was still trying to debate whether or not she missed his snarky comments. Every now and again she would laugh and then there were times where she would tell him off. "He hasn't done anything wrong."

"He attacked me," Louis said as he began to wander round her room again. "I think he's the one who started the fight, if I remember correctly."

"Maybe... But if he were called something other than Michael, you wouldn't still be hating him. You know it's true. Especially after that priest told you off. Oh God," she laughed, remembering the story he had told her. "Your face must have been pure gold!"

"Hey, it was a torturous several hours for me - and him most likely."

"Well, what I said was true, and you know it," she said, raising a brow at him.

"Whatever you want to believe," he told her.

Melanie brushed off his comment with a shake of the head. She quickly looked down at the clock on her night stand and groaned. She would be in school in an hour's time, most likely surrounded by several of her friends, teachers and class mates who were curious to hear how she was doing. Usually, she didn't mind the attention but on the first day back, all she wanted to do was get it over and done with.

"C'mere," she said to Lucifer. He walked towards her and she immediately threw her arms around him. He seemed surprised at first, standing with his arms in mid air for a moment before wrapping them around her healing body. He didn't squeeze her too tight, and she was thankful for it. "God, I kinda missed you," she told him.

He scoffed. "If you missed me so much, you wouldn't have just called me God... Urgh, foul times."

She pulled back with a frown, but laughed when recalling what she had just said. "Oops."

"Hm, I wonder," he told her before holding her at arms length. "I think you'd best go eat some breakfast before the day starts. Hell knows you'll need it, especially since you have a glorious sight walking by you all day."

"You're so cocky," Melanie told him. "Prick."

"You know it," Louis replied before he opened her bedroom door.

Downstairs, Melanie's parents were in the living room watching the morning news. Several times, Melanie's story had been on the television with Michael making appearances too. They had mentioned the 'two lucky teenagers who survived near-death experiences' the day after the accident. Melanie had soon flicked the TV off when Kaleb and Rachel had appeared.

"I'm in a toast mood," Melanie announced as she walked past the living room and into the kitchen.

"You quickly make that and I'll drive you to school," her mother said, looking over her shoulder at her daughter. Melanie rolled her eyes as she placed the bread in the toaster.

"Mum, it's a ten minute walk, I can easily get there myself," she argued, looking at Louis in exhaustion. "I'm fine."

"And you said the exact same thing before leaving the house for that party and look what happened!" her mother argued. "I'm driving you and that's that. Sadly, I can't pick you up - something came up at work that I can't miss."

"It's fine, I'm gonna go and grab a coffee after school," Melanie said, looking towards Louis who had taken a seat at the kitchen table, his hand reaching out to grab an apple. He slid it up the sleeve of his black jumper before smiling innocently up at Melanie. "I'm on about you, Satan," she whispered to him. "We're going out for coffee after."

He smiled at her before tilting his head in a single nod.

After Melanie had eaten her breakfast and successfully elbowed Louis in the ribs for stealing some food, they left for the car. Melanie opened the back door and jumped in, Louis following her close after. It didn't take her long to let out a giggle, remembering the last time the both of them had jumped into a car together. As if realising too, Louis crossed his legs and laid his hands over his crotch. He glowered at her.

"Don't even think about it," he warned.

It didn't take them long to reach the school, and Melanie's eyes widened when seeing a couple of her friends holding 'welcome back' signs in their hands. It was no secret that today was her first day back, and it seemed the school had even went as far as to put a banner up in the main entrance.

"Great," Melanie groaned. "Mum, I said you didn't have to tell the school when I was coming back. Look at that crap by the door!"

"Oh, stop being like that. You survived a terrible accident! Of course they were going to have a little welcome back party for you!"

"Party?" Melanie gasped. "No."

"Not a literal party, Mel," her mother assured her. "Just an assembly at most saying get well soon, I would think."

"An assembly? Oh, how fab," Melanie said.

"Oh, shut up," her mum said with a laugh.

The welcome back Melanie received was quite substantial. For every class she had, each teacher and student told her the same thing: "You're so lucky to be alive, welcome back! I hope you get well soon!"

By the time it got to lunch, she was exhausted, looking to Louis for some helpful words. He finally laughed at her misery and wrapped an arm around her shoulders for comfort.

"It'll be fine!" he told her for the hundredth time. "At least after today, no one will be saying it again for a while."

"Better not," she said as she sat down with her lunch. All of her friends greeted her warmly, smiling and asking her several questions about what exactly happened.

"I heard you actually died before you were resuscitated!" Molly gasped, looking to Melanie for an answer. "What actually happened?"

Despite her headache and deteriorating will to live, Melanie forced a smile and said, "I was just unconscious for a while. Coma, I think? I woke up in so much pain, oh my God."

She saw Louis flinch out the corner of her eye.

"What about your injuries?" Derek urged. "How bad are - were - they?"

"Dreadful. Still got bruises and cuts," she said, gesturing to her forehead.

"And Michael said Rachel and Kaleb had been planning it for ages? Was that true?"

"Are you feeling a little better now?"

"What would have happened if you'd died? Oh, God, I'd cry, Mel."

"We're so happy you're OK."

"Thank God you survived."

"Urgh," Louis groaned beside Melanie. "Too much Holy talk."

"Oh, shut up," Melanie told him. "It's not as if they're praising him or anything like that."

She looked to Louis who was chuckling quietly. "I think you've got eavesdroppers."

Melanie frowned before looking over to her crowd of friends. They all looked at her in confusion.

"Oh, yeah, one more thing," Melanie said. "The accident has driven me mentally unfit to be classed as a sane person any more. Ignore my sudden outbursts and whenever I talk to myself. It'll be pretty common."

Everyone just laughed at her and continued to eat their lunch as if nothing had happened. Melanie looked over at Louis who was carefully stealing chips off of her plate. She jabbed his finger with her fork several times to save the big ones for herself.

"Big ones are mine," she warned him.

He chuckled. "Whatever you wish, dear Melanie."

"Today has been hell," she muttered as she washed down her food with a swig of her water. "I've got such a headache."

"Correction; today has not been like Hell," he told her, fiddling with her phone. "Hell is better than this place. Schools have always been crap."

"Did you ever go to school?"

"Oh, yes, Melanie," he said sarcastically. "I learned the way of the angels and the difference between right and wrong. I learned how to shine a halo with the best cloth there was and then I even took my education further and learned how to wash my wings with the best Herbal Essences shampoo there is."

"OK, so you don't want to talk about your childhood," Melanie laughed, trying to imagine him washing his wings.

"Let's just say that life before Hell wasn't the best for me. It was very dull, living in others' shadows all the time."

"Aw, poor you, Satan," Melanie laughed, nudging his shoulder with hers.

"Michael hopes your day is going well!" Molly said suddenly, leaning across the table to show Melanie the image on her phone. He was in, what looked like, a hospital gown and holding a get well soon sign up with Melanie's name on it.

"Is he getting a check-up?" Melanie asked, wondering about the hospital clothes.

"Yeah, they're giving him a look over where he was injured. It was a pretty deep stab wound," Molly said. "He was joking earlier about how humans are lucky not to have our temperatures checked like animals. Y'know? Up the rear. Then he was like, 'thank God I don't need something shoved up my arse' to me."

"They'd lose the thermometer," Louis said bluntly and Melanie had trouble holding in her laughter.

"Thank God for that," she replied, trying her best not to let out a horrendous shriek. Oh, your humour is twisted, she thought as she looked at Louis.

"Hell," he corrected, inspecting his nails absent-mindedly.

When lunch was over, Melanie only had two free periods left and she couldn't have been more thankful. She was in no mood to have any more subjects, and so she sat in the library with her friends chatting about everything she had missed over the last two months.

"Nothing, really," Derek said. "Just revision and planning for the school dance."

"Yeah, it's nearly the end of the year so there's fuck all going on," Molly said as she scribbled some notes into her jotter. "Melanie, please tell me you're going to the dance?"

"I don't think so," Melanie said, shaking her head. "It's not my type of thing. Too innocent, these school dances, no alcohol either."

"Cool it," Louis told her and she just smirked at him. "I thought you'd given up drinking?"

"I have, " she told him. "I just like annoying you."

"I've noticed," he said with a smirk.

"Aw, c'mon Melanie! It'll be fun! And just think, it's our last year before we head off to college and do our own things, so it will be great fun!"

"Please?" Derek chipped in. "I'm going with Steven, Molly is bringing her significant other, Michael and his bird are going."

"Ooh, you and Steven," Melanie giggled. "You'll both look great."

"Oh, I know we will," Derek told her, grinning. "We'll be the stars of the show."

"Oh, shut up, Derek," Molly said before looking back round at Melanie. "Please come Melanie?"

For a moment, Melanie sat in silence, watching as Lucifer moved around the library quietly, inspecting the rows of book titles with a finger pressed thoughtfully to his lips. He looked good in his black jumper, black skinny jeans with his dishevelled hair and Melanie couldn't help wonder what he looked like in a black suit. There was only one way to find out.

She cleared her throat and said, "I changed my mind, I will go."

Louis looked over at her after the words fell from her mouth and he raised a brow.

Thank you for reading! x

#LuciferLouis #Melouis

Cazza