Dedicated to @londonstars for being such a great person to talk to. Ily! x

MELANIE WAS SCROLLING THROUGH HER phone as Molly and Derek argued about what colour of dress would be best to buy for the school dance. The squabbling had gone on for a good five minutes and Melanie had gradually shifted a little to the left to avoid being seen with the two crazy people.

"Blue will compliment my eyes!" Molly said as she pulled out the skirt of a flowing blue gown. "And it will also make me look slimmer! Blue has that effect on my hips."

"No, it makes you look like a corpse. This isn't a Tim Burton themed dance, you twit!" said Derek with an eye roll. "Honestly, I'm a guy and I have a better fashion sense that you. Honestly!"

"Shut up! Just because you know fashion doesn't mean you know what suits me and doesn't."

"Oh, honey, that's where you're completely wrong."

Melanie rolled her eyes and sat down on the stool allocated at the end of the shoe aisle. She glanced momentarily along the racks, trying to find a pair of heels that would look good on her. Nothing caught her interest and she let out a sigh, hoping for a miracle. The day had gone by without one dress, pair of shoes or accessories catching her eye and the day was so soon. The main worry was of what Louis would think. What sort of dress would he like to see on her?

At first, she had considered a knee-length red one to resemble flames, like the fires of Hell. She remembered Lucifer's red skin and eyes, deciding that if he changed into his normal form, the two of them would clash. The horror! And so, that dress was out of the question. The second she had noticed was a flowing blue dress which was tight at the bust with sparkles alone the sweet-heart neckline. She'd cringed at the thought of Louis saying it was overly girly but then she remembered it was her choice. Yet, that didn't make her love the blue one any more. With a sigh, she'd let is swing back on the rail.

"Blue!"

"Pink!"

"Blue!"

"Pink!"

Melanie groaned and snapped, "Fucking shut up! You sound like the fairies in Sleeping Beauty! God."

Derek scowled at her and whispered 'blue' one more time before walking over to where Melanie was slouching. "Why so glum?"

Melanie shrugged. "Can't find a nice dress."

"Melanie we are surrounded by nice dresses and you're seriously telling me that not even one has caught your eye?"

She shrugged. "There's been a few but nothing that I really, really like, you know? I want something bold yet sleek and kinda sexy. Something that shouts, 'I am here to have a good time and knock you all out of the park'. Something with a dramatic flare, something - exactly like that!"

Derek jumped at her sudden outburst but followed her gaze none the less. There was a woman changing the outfit displayed in the window, the pink dress being replaced with a floor length black gown. It was strapless and tight around the chest and waist, before flowing to the ground in a flare at the knee. Melanie stood instantly and made her way over to the shop assistant, asking where the rack of said dresses were.

"C'mon!" she told Derek before she rushed to the staircase and jumped them two at a time. Her injuries were no longer a nuisance for her and all of her bruises had vanished. Just in time for the dance, her parents had told her and she had only smiled at them and nodded.

"I found it, I found it, I found it!" Melanie chanted as she raced up the stairs, her friend having a difficult time keeping up. "There!" She pointed to the back of the shop, the dresses in plain sight.

"It's awfully plan, don't you think?" Derek asked, looking at the dress from bust to flare. "And revealing."

"It's not revealing! It reaches the floor," she told him with an eye roll. The dress was exceptionally tight, so therefore would not fall down or reveal anything too much for it to be considered inappropriate. Perhaps if it had been shorter, yes. Oh, yes, Melanie thought as she pulled out her size and inspected it closely. "Yep, this is the one."

"Alright," Derek said with a shrug. "I would have gone with a blue."

"You said pink!"

"Only for Molly!"

When the two of them had made it back to the bottom floor and met up with Molly once again, the hunt for shoes began. Melanie couldn't help but notice Derek glaring down at the dress that Molly had slung over her arm; a blue gown that did match the colour of her eyes. He scoffed and looked away before glancing over at Melanie with a small smile.

"Der, if you are so disgusted with our preferences, you can fuck off," Melanie told him, gesturing with her finger towards the door. "Honestly, if you are so desperate to get a pink dress, go and buy one for yourself."

The three friends moved in line to purchase their outfits, Melanie looking at the jewellery lined up in front of the checkouts. There was the usual tacky, cheap bracelets with meaningless charms hanging from them and several necklaces with shining gems dotted here and there. Melanie raised a brow however, when she noticed a necklace with a cross at the end. She bit her lip, tempted to buy it and see what Louis would do when seeing her wearing it. His reaction to her Satan shirt had been hilarious and she quickly reached out and snatched it up to buy.

Molly and Derek gave her an odd look before paying and waiting for Melanie to get her things together. Though extortionate the prices of the dresses were, neither girls could care less and Derek sulked behind them as they left the shop, Melanie just grinning widely at him over her shoulder.

"I thought we were fussy about clothes," Molly whispered to Melanie as they stood at the traffic lights and waited for the vehicles to slow to a halt. Melanie couldn't help but feel a little odd being near moving cars after the accident. Though her physical scars had vanished, the ones left within her remained thanks to Rachel and Kaleb. She would never be one-hundred percent alright with being near or inside a car ever again and it annoyed her. She didn't want to be frightened of them and she most certainly didn't want to be unable to get her own and use it to get where she needed to be, especially since she was leaving for college after the school year was up.

"You OK, Mel?" Derek asked, tugging on her arm gently.

"Hm?" she mumbled, taking her eyes off of the traffic. "Yeah ... I'm fine."

"Is it the cars?" Molly asked quietly, sympathetically.

Melanie knew her friends too well; whenever she felt down or unhappy, they knew. There was no point lying to them. She sighed and shrugged, unsure. "Yes and no. Obviously they still freak me out a little but they also don't because I want one and want to be able to drive when it's necessary. Thanks to those fuckers, I may not be able to."

"You can get a ride with me when I get a car?" Derek suggested. "I've only got a few more lessons to go before my test and I'm pretty good if I don't say so myself. If you want to get used to being in them before getting your own, we could arrange that?"

Melanie considered and nodded. "Thanks, that may help, actually. I'll think about it. For now, we just have to get through these last couple of weeks before the holidays."

The three crossed the roads and made a quick left turn until they entered their next destination. Unlike the previous store, this one was rather empty and they all smiled before making their way through to the shoes.

"Why didn't we just get shoes before?" Derek questioned as he looked at the rows of foot-wear.

"Best ones ... in here," Melanie huffed as she tugged her trainers off and pulled down several pairs of heels. She questioned the idea of heels. She was nearly the same height as Louis and wearing heels would make her a lot taller than him. She scrunched her nose in distaste and placed the shoes back on the rack. "I'm going with flat shoes this year. Heels just hurt my feet."

"Same here but they make me look taller," Molly said as she pulled on some white heels.

"Same," Derek mumbled to himself. The two girls glanced over at him but said nothing.

"I think I should get ones that are the same colour as my dress. What do you think?" Molly asked as she squinted down at the white shoes. Melanie shrugged, not really paying much attention as she glanced off into the distance. What if Louis could see her, right there in the shop? What if he constantly kept an eye on her and she was simply unaware of it? The thought made her grin. It that was the case, then she wanted to make sure the subject was brought up when he joined her back on Earth in a couple of weeks.

"I'm just going to wear the black pumps I used for Halloween last year. I've not worn them since then and they're in pretty good condition. And they won't hurt my feet."

"Good idea," Molly said. "I'm just going to buy some because I need a pair of heels in my life. All my others are either too small or something broke on them. Those black ones I bought last year have lost all of the sequins off of the toes! Rip-off."

Derek just laughed. "Shame. I'd be raging."

"I was and still am. I'm not even a shoe person and that really annoyed me."

Melanie glanced down at the bag by her feet. Inside, her dress was folded neatly, the necklace sitting comfortably on top. Deep inside, she felt overly giddy about the whole thing. Even though she knew that it was impossible for her and Louis to be anything more than friends - granted, with a few kisses and touches here and there - it didn't stop her from wanting to do her best to impress him. It was almost fun planning everything behind the scenes for his arrival. She couldn't keep the grin off of her face.

Two weeks later, and Melanie had just stepped out the shower and into her room to find Louis lounging across her bed. He was propped up against the headboard, reading a magazine. She looked him over once and scowled to find him in black jeans and and a black vest. Had she not made it clear that a suit was required?

Without hesitation, she pulled the towel from her hair and flung it at him. Covering his head completely, the towel forced him to pause his leisurely reading. He sighed and let the magazine fall to his lap before he crossed his arms and turned his towel-covered head in Melanie's direction.

"Was that really necessary, Melanie Cooper?" he questioned.

"Yes, for two reasons. One; I clearly remember stating that you arrive in a suit, which has not happened. Two; instead of getting yourself ready, you're sitting there, quite the thing, reading Heat ... of all things!"

He laughed sarcastically from under the towel and gave her the finger. Not a second later and the towel had flown from his face to Melanie's, catching her by surprise and making her fall back against the door. She heard Louis laughed as she lay in a heap.

"No magic in the house," she told him. "Only in The Beyond. What even was that?"

"Telekinesis," he said. "The power of the mind. That's how I can levitate, remember? I showed you once. It's all to do with the mind. How else do you think I torment people?"

"You make things move in their houses like in the movies? Like in Paranormal Activity?"

"Haha, I was joking! I don't actually do that - demons are the ones that do that kind of thing like moving things and slamming doors. Angered souls in The Beyond sometimes do that too, you know."

"What do you mean?" Melanie asked as she moved to sit on the bed with him.

"Well, you know how The Beyond and here are carbon copies? Besides one being colourless, obviously. Well, if a person in The Beyond becomes so enraged or sad, their heightened emotions can cause disturbance between the Worlds. For example, if someone slammed in The Beyond, the same can happen here on Earth. That's why some people believe that dead loved ones are trying to contact them when it's actually just emotional acceptance or sadness."

"Oh," Melanie said. "That's kind of cool. Did I do that?"

"How should I know? I was up there with you," Louis said before he looked down at her collar bones. "I see you've all healed. Even your forehead."

Melanie smiled. "Thankfully. At least I look better than I did before. Just in time for the dance. Oh yeah, and you're still coming to it with me."

Louis' expression was blank. "You're still serious? Oh, wow."

"Of course I'm bloody serious! Damn it, Lucifer! I don't want to show up there myself. You wánker."

"Melanie, calm down. There is still plenty of time before it begins. You just got out the shower, you hypocrite!"

"All I need to do is my make up and hair and then pull on a dress! You need to march yourself back to Hell and back, in a suit with your hair in some sort of presentable manner. In less than two hours."

"I'll manage," he told her smugly. "I always do."

"Cocky shit," Melanie huffed before she moved to her dresser and opened a drawer to pull out some underwear. "I swear to God - yes, I said God - that you drive me crazy at times."

Louis just chuckled quietly before standing and making his way over to her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned down to whisper in her ear. "You love it, Cooper," he whispered and she shuddered ever so slightly.

Yes, Lucifer, I certainly do.

Thank you for reading! x

Cazza