LOUIS WAS TOO overjoyed to have Melanie - his Melanie - back, that he chose to ignore her very hurtful comment about his manhood. She knew very well what he had packing in the nether region. Hell, he'd even made her scream it once.

"You have no idea how long I've been waiting for you to snuff it," Louis admitted shamelessly. "Seventy years never felt so damn long."

"I won't lie," Melanie began with a chuckle, "I forgot that I even owned a one-way ticket to Hell. Lucky me." 

"Very lucky," Louis agreed. "You'll finally get to visit my Realm of Darkness."

"Is that the name you use when you want to impress people?" Melanie asked. "Hell isn't impactful enough?"

Louis was smiling - it was almost impossible to stop as he reached out and took her hand in his.  She allowed him to lead her into the closest room and over to the two seats in the corner by the window, holding her hand even as they sat down together. Still, his smile did not waver.

"Was I right, or was I right then?" he asked.

Melanie cocked a brow. "About what?"

"That we can laugh about everything you said earlier. When you landed here physically an eighteen year old but mentally an elder."

Louis' smile widened as Melanie threw her head back and laughed. Oh, he'd missed that sound. He'd missed her. All those years since they had went their separate ways had slowly been eating him alive and he'd often found himself wishing for some bad luck to find her and bring them together once again.

Selfish prick, he'd scolded himself from time and time again as the thought had nagged at him throughout the years. He just wanted her all to himself once more and if that made him selfish, then so be it. Part of him loved that he wanted what he couldn't have, at least not for a while. His only worry was whether or not she would want him back.

After what he had done.

Louis cleared his throat. "It's strange to think how close we were and that you just forgot the majority of it."

"I know, it's kind of sad." Something flickered in her eyes and he held his breath. Would she bring it up? "How funny would it be if I'd become religious during the years we were out of touch and then I landed here and started reciting prayers at you?"

Louis' nose wrinkled in distaste. "You'd still be going to Hell, religious or not. Most folk that are religious get a nasty shock when that happens."

"Oh, I bet," Melanie laughed. She squeezed his hand tightly. "So, what have you been up to over the last few decades?"

It was Louis' turn to laugh. Such a casual question, as if no time had passed at all.

"Oh, you know, all fun stuff! Collecting souls, dishing out jobs in Hell, filing my nails-"

"Do you file your horns too?" Melanie cut in.

Louis shook his head. "No. I take pride in my horniness, thank you very much."

"I recall."

"I bet you do," Louis teased.

Melanie blushed, something Louis hadn't seen her do in a long time. 

It made him remember that night when they'd danced in the clubs for her twenty-seventh and the consumption of several cheap shots and a bottle of red had colour staining her cheeks. The dancing hadn't helped either. That had been a night and a half and if he could go back in time and change things, he would.

But he didn't have that sort of power.

"I thought about you, you know," Melanie said suddenly. "After we lost touch. After ... that night."

Louis swallowed. It was like she'd read his mind. "Bitterly, I imagine?"

"No, actually. At least not all the time. I missed you.  A lot. It didn't feel the same going forward and doing all these new things and not being able to tell you at the end of the month."

"Oh," Louis muttered, not entirely sure what to say. What was there to say? He'd missed her too, terribly, but he knew it was for the best that they both spent time apart and look where it had gotten Melanie - she had a beautiful family, a normal human life with normal mundane experiences. Louis had no other alternative than to return to his other-worldly chores.

In the end, it had been the best decision for them both and it had given him plenty of time to reflect on his mistakes. Again.

"Did you think of me?" Melanie asked.

All the time, he wanted to tell her. "I did. I also thought a lot about myself and how stupid I was. How I acted that night ... I can only apologise. Again."

Melanie's gaze drifted to their joined hands on the table. For a long moment, she remained silent - as silent as the dead. Louis pondered what was going through her mind but he had a horrible feeling it was about the events of that one birthday.

It had been a long time since he had felt such shame but that evening had been one of the most shameful of his existence.

MELANIE COULD REMEMBER everything about that night.

As soon as her memories had returned, it was the first one that had stuck with her and not in a good way.

There were several wonderful times she had spent with Louis over the years, nights filled with laughter and dancing and stories she had planned to one day tell her grandchildren. The majority of their times together had been joyous, a little cheeky albeit but nonetheless, great. 

Except for the night of her twenty-seventh. The one night when everything between her and Louis had changed. 

Her gaze lingered on her hand, enveloped in Louis' as she recalled that evening many moons ago. 

THE WORLD WAS already beginning to spin as Melanie finished her third glass of wine. Red, more mature than the cheap shots and liqueurs she'd enjoyed as a teenager. She'd developed a dislike for anything slightly resembling alcopops since her accident when she'd been eighteen.

But now she wasn't a kick off the teeth of twenty-eight, and her friends took great pride in reminding her of it.

"Twenty-seven, you old bitch," Derek chuckled as he shook his head in disbelief. "How time flies when you've had a boring and not-so-fun time during your early twenties."

"Speak for yourself," Michael scoffed. "I've had a marvellous time."

"Yeah, but you've been travelling," Melanie argued. "Some of us have been working dead-end jobs and struggling to pay our bills."

Beside her, Molly muttered into her wine, "I feel so attacked right now."

The four of them chuckled and Melanie couldn't help but smile at the group around her. She'd was so blessed to have remained close to her high school friends. So many she had lost touch with or they never bothered to pick up the phone from time to time ... or decided to plan her murder with their boyfriend for a measly six-thousand quid. 

But Melanie was over that betrayal. So over it.

And she still had Louis to call a friend. It had been almost ten years that they had kept in touch and she marvelled at the fact that Satan himself still found a mere mortal like her to be worthy of his friendship. 

At the thought of Lucifer, she checked her watch.

"It's not been too bad though," Melanie admitted with a shrug. "I mean, we've still had some good times amongst the shit ones."

"True." Derek nodded. "Though it is such a shame that we're all so busy and don't get a lot of time to do something fun like this more often." He took a careful sip of his drink. "Oh, that pinot is exquisite."

"A sophisticated dinner with sophisticated booze like the sophisticated grown-ups we are?" Melanie mocked. "I'd eat and drink anything back in the day."

"We remember," Michael teased with a knowing look.

Both of them had agreed to keep their experiences in the Beyond to themselves. Who would believe them anyway, if they were to come forth and announce that they had been at the brink of death and met the Devil in a spiritual realm between Worlds? No one, that's who. So they had kept it a secret though it had never been something Louis had asked of either of them.

"The thought of greasy food makes my stomach churn these days," Molly said with a shudder. "How did I used to eat a kebab almost every week?"

"Because you weren't vegan back then," Michael pointed out.

"Hey, I am the best version of myself now, I'll have you know. Healthier and happier."

"And boozier," Melanie added and they all just laughed again.

Melanie was thankful that her near-death experience hadn't affected her in any long-term way. She could still get into a car without wanting to hurl her guts up, she could drink alcohol and go to parties and get wasted no problem. That sting of hurt whenever she heard the names Rachel or Kaleb didn't cripple her either, though they had for several years initially.

She was a tough cookie, she always reminded herself, and she had come such a long way from that reckless eighteen year old.

"How's your love life then, Mel?" Derek pondered as he swirled his glass. "Anyone caught your attention yet?"

Melanie puffed. "Hell no. I'm not looking for anyone at the moment. Although, Molly here has set me up on a blind date for next week. I just hope it doesn't go badly, like the last one she sent me on."

"Hey! That was not my fault. He didn't mention he was lactose intolerant!"

"Well, this one better not be either," Melanie said. "How about you Derek? How're things with Nicolai?"

"They're brilliant," Derek replied, grinning from ear to ear. "We're planning a trip to Norway to meet his parents soon."

"Brilliant mate," Michael said. "That'll be really great for you both to get some time away."

Time away, Melanie thought. She checked her watch again. Michael noticed and raised a brow but she paid him no attention.

"It's been so long since I've had a holiday. Or a really good night for that matter," Molly admitted with a sigh. "I feel like we're all just at that age where the really rambunctious, wild times are behind us."

"None of us are thirty yet," Melanie pointed out. "You make us sound like we're about to keel over."

"Yeah, stop being such a downer," Michael agreed with a grin. He looked round the group before clapping his hands together. "I think we should have a really rambunctious, wild night."

Molly perked up. "Oh? What's gotten into you all of a sudden?"

Michael shrugged. "I just think it would be fun for us to get it out of our systems. To have one last shenanigans. Why not? Before we do reach thirty and decide we can't take it anymore."

"Or my liver can't take it anymore," Melanie said.

"That also. Nah, I think it would be good fun. While we all actually have the chance to meet as a group and enjoy each others' company," his gaze slid to Melanie and she just narrowed her eyes at him slightly, "I think we should do it."

"Screw it, I'm in," Derek announced and gulped his drink down. "I'll call for the bill."

"Why not?" Melanie decided and checked her watch one more time. It was only half ten and the night was still young. There was still enough time for Louis to show up. Something she'd noticed over the years was that no matter where she was, he always found her.

"So, what's the plan?" asked Molly as they paid the bill and stood outside the restaurant on the busy pavement. It was a warm Summer evening and the good weather had apparently brought everyone out from hiding.

"Club?"

"Club?!" Molly repeated incredulously. "Hell, I wasn't thinking that wild! We'll stick out like sore thumbs amongst all the youths."

"Ah, when we were youths," Derek mused, casting his gaze to the clear sky. "I remember it vividly."

"It was a bore, Derek," Melanie reminded him and his smile faltered.

"Why yes, so it was."

"Which is why we should make the most of it tonight," Michael chimed in. "We'll find a club and dance 'til our feet hurt and if that's the last time we ever go clubbing, then at least we went out with a bang!"

Melanie liked that idea. She liked it very much. It had been so long since she'd had a night of dancing and there was something about the thought of living her youth one last time that made her feel giddy. And she couldn't help but grin at the fact that it had been many, many years since she and Lucifer had went clubbing together. Hell, if she'd thought his dancing at her senior prom was terrible, it didn't begin to compare to his club conga.

It was a ten minute walk to the nearest club and the entry fee had increased disgustingly since when she had frequented the dancefloor back in the day. The line wasn't as long as she thought it would be and with the pre-drinks making her blood sing, she couldn't care less about the eyes of the judgemental in-their-young-twenties who appeared to deem it weird for a group of old-timers to want to enjoy a night out also.

However, the more she observed the queue behind them, she noticed several other older people gathering towards the back. Some sporting grey hair and a fine wrinkle or two.

Maybe I'm not as old as I thought I was, she thought to herself as Derek grabbed her by the arm and hauled her in after them.

In was like déjà vu; as soon as Melanie walked through the front doors and onto the open dancefloor it was like she was eighteen once again, without a care in the world and with plenty of moves to show off.

The music was loud, something poppy and no-doubt domineering the top ten blasting from the speakers and coaxing all the inebriated bodies out onto the floor. Derek spun Melanie into a waltz while Michael and Molly grooved off into the corner to mingle with others.

"I miss dancing!" Melanie shouted over the music as she swayed her hips. She couldn't help but notice several pairs of eyes roam over her and why wouldn't they? The little black dress she'd slipped into hugged her in all the right places and, if she didn't say so herself, she was an excellent dancer.

"Me too!" Derek shouted back. "It's been far too long since I've been able to embrace my inner dancing queen!"

Melanie raised a brow and shot him a smirk. "Inner?"

Derek sashayed into the crowd to get them some drinks and Michael appeared to take his place.

His dancing skills were even worse than Louis'.

"Doesn't this take you back?" he asked her. A thin layer of perspiration slicked his skin and Melanie realised in that moment just how hot and sticky she was.

"Definitely!" she agreed. "Though I think we can both agree that there's one party we both want to forget!"

Michael only nodded. 

They danced for a while longer, Derek returning with their drinks in hand - some sort of green cocktail that made her stomach turn - before he began shrieking the lyrics at the top of his voice, earning a few funny looks from those around them. Derek began spinning off by himself, getting lost in the music and reuniting with his 'inner dancing queen.' 

Michael took Melanie's hand and pulled her towards him, his smile faltering.

"I'm gonna go for a smoke!" he told her and she just nodded. He tilted his head towards the exit, indicating she should follow him.

When the fresh air hit Melanie, it made the alcohol in her system kick into action. Suddenly, she was dizzy and light headed, somewhere between sober and tipsy.

Michael lit up a cigarette, took a puff and asked, "Are you OK?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"It's just... I didn't think to ask if you'd be OK after what happened when we were younger."

Melanie just laughed. "Michael, we're not kids anymore. It doesn't bother me now, you know that. If it really did touch a nerve, do you think I'd have been willing to come along in the first place?"

"Yeah, yeah, that's true," he muttered, his eyes on the ground where cigarette stubs and chewing gum surrounded their feet.

Melanie eyed him suspiciously. She'd caught him watching her in the restaurant earlier and his comment about enjoying each others' company had been playing on her mind. "What's this really about, Mikey?"

The name softened the hardness in his eyes and he just sighed, blowing cigarette smoke towards her. "It's just ... your watch."

"My watch," Melanie repeated. "What about my watch?"

"You keep checking the time like you're waiting for something or ... someone."

There it was. 

His pause confirmed her suspicions: he was pissed that she was excited to see Louis. He'd never liked the idea that he'd continued to visit her after the escapade in the Beyond. They'd never seen eye-to-eye and it drove Melanie insane. She'd gone out of her way to try and not mention one in front of the other, simply to avoid situations like these, where a small argument was brewing that would leave her feeling guilty for days.

"Michael," Melanie started, "we've been over this."

"Yeah, I know. But Melanie, it's been ten years. Don't you think it's a little weird he's been following you around for that long? I get the initial visits and all that, to make sure you were OK. But still? Are you guys in love or something? Or hooking up? Because that's just weird if you are because he's not even human."

Melanie sighed. They'd discussed it before, several times in fact, and she couldn't be bothered going over the same thing again, especially not on her birthday. She was too old for this shit.

"Michael, you know we're just friends and quite frankly, if we were more than that, it wouldn't be any of your business. You need to just let it go. He'd never hurt me and as long as he leaves you alone, then what's the big deal?"

"I just don't like the guy," he admitted. "Or trust him, for that matter. It just seems like he's taking advantage of you and has been for years."

"Him being my friend has been taking advantage of me," she repeated. "Do you hear how stupid you sound? I could say the same about you."

Michael narrowed his eyes. "It's different with us and you know it is. We've been friends since we were kids."

"Yeah, and so I can't make friends when I'm an adult, is that what you're saying?" Melanie challenged.

"No!" he exclaimed, earning them a few curious glances from others in the street. "I just think it's insane that you've been pining over a guy who's..." Michael lowered his voice, "...the Devil."

Melanie's hands curled into fists. "I've not been pining - I'm excited to see a friend. Like how I was excited to see you when you came back from your trip!"

Michael sucked on the end of his cigarette and puffed the smoke out before crushing it with his boot. "All I'm saying is, it frustrates me. I don't know why, but it just does. I'm only looking out for you. I'm not telling you that you can't or shouldn't see him. I just find it weird."

"Well-" Melanie began but Michael pushed past her.

"Melanie, I'm done voicing my concerns to you. Do what you want but know that if he ever hurts you, don't come crying to me."

"Michael-"

"You have real friends. Human friends who love and care about you. We're here for you every day, not just once a month. We're there for you at the push of a button, whenever you need a shoulder to cry on and offer you advice and support. He's not. He's temporary and we're permanent. I'm not saying stop seeing him - you just dote on him more than you do with us and it hurts. Especially since we're there and always have been."

And with that, he was gone. 

Melanie was speechless. She knew how he felt about Louis, she always had. It's not like he'd kept it a secret, not even for Louis' sake. Not even when Louis threatened to burn his dick off or have him cleaning toilets when he landed in Hell seventy years later.

Michael was a fierce friend, a true and loyal one just like he'd said. And as much as Melanie wanted to defend Louis and her choice to stay in touch with him, she couldn't deny that Michael was right. She did favour Louis over her real friends the majority of the time. She was well aware of it but not once had it made her question how much she loved her friends or make her see them as inferior in any way. It was just nice to have someone more like her from time to time.

Michael's words were still echoing through her foggy brain when a hand landed on her shoulder.

She jumped. "Jesus!"

"Really? That's who you think has graced you with his presence?"

Melanie couldn't help but grin.

When she turned around to find Lucifer looking at her, dressed in black as always and looking just as handsome as he had when she'd first met him, she just crossed her arms over her chest and said, "At least he'd be gentlemanly enough not to keep me waiting until the end of the day for a visit."

"And just how, Melanie, would you know that?" Louis asked, a brow raised. "Been galivanting with the enemy have you?"

"Say I had ... would that break your black heart?"

Louis pondered, a finger tapping his chin. "I mean, it would be insulting more than anything. Why would anyone choose that little do-gooder over someone like me who offers such tempting and sinful things?"

"Such as an invisible dick?"

Louis seemed to deflate before her. "It's been seven years," he muttered. "Seven years."

"Since what?"

"Since I made you eat your words." He grinned wickedly. "As well as other things."

Melanie wasn't sure if it was the wine or his dirty innuendo that made her blush.

She cleared her throat. "I'll have you know that-"

"Oh, shut up, Cooper," Louis interrupted before he threw his arms around her and picked her up in a hug. Her head continued to spin as she laughed in his arms, the familiar feeling of his touch making her giddy.

She couldn't help it; he did something to her each and every time they met.

"I didn't think you were coming," she admitted when he finally placed her back on her feet. "I was beginning to get annoyed with you."

"Wouldn't be the first time," he teased. "I had some Hellish chores to crack on with today. Sorry for the hold up. You know I wouldn't have missed your birthday though!"

Melanie grinned. "Did you bring me a present?"

Lucifer scoffed and took a step back, opening his arms wide as if to say, look at me. "Melanie, my dear, I am the present."

"So, no then?" she said.

"Bitch."

"Jerk."

"Cow."

"Bastard."

"You love me really."

"If that's what you think," she shot back.

The pair of them laughed together, swapping stories and having a catch up while the blistering Summer sun dipped below the horizon. The club was bristling with bodies now, the heat of the day still lingering and drawing everyone out for a good time. Melanie was still warm and sticky, her mouth dry as the Sahara. 

"Drink?" she asked Louis.

"Yes."

Just as they turned to enter the club, Derek barrelled into them. "Louis! It's so good to see you! I was wondering when you'd march your sweet arse into the party."

Melanie rolled her eyes at her friend, trying to contain her chuckle as Derek gave Lucifer what she'd explained were the 'sex eyes' - something Derek had showcased every time Louis had arrived on the scene.

"I couldn't miss Melanie's birthday!"

"We all know that it's actually me you secretly missed," Derek cooed, a brow raised as if daring Louis to say otherwise.

"Back off, Derek," Melanie warned. "He's mine."

Derek just cackled and took both their hands. "You must come back inside. They've just put on a throwback that's got me desperate to get up and shake what my mother blessed  me with."

"Maybe Louis can can shake what his father blessed him with?" Melanie joked.

Louis gave her the side eye, for several reasons she suspected.

"Less joking, more dancing," Derek said. He paused suddenly and leaned over to say to Louis. "I will end you if you upstage me."

MELANIE COULDN'T REMEMBER the last time she was this drunk. Well, she could and it had earned her a one way ticket to The Beyond. She certainly didn't want a repeat of that night.

Luckily, Louis was there to keep an eye on her. And that wasn't all he had on her; his hands roamed her body scandalously and she couldn't help the way her breath hitched every time he leaned forward to plant a kiss on her throat.

It was definitely the dress. No, no - it was the alcohol. Hell, it was probably just Louis himself that made her feel like she was as high as a kite and sexy as hell. Floating was a better term, especially with each peck of his devilishly soft lips.

Melanie had lost count of how many drinks that had been shoved into her hand throughout the night - all of which were on her friends as a birthday present and many manifested out of thin air from Louis.

At one point she'd just stared at the concoction he handed her: a fizzing red liquid in a flute glass with a black umbrella and a wedge of lime donning the rim. "The fuck is this?"

"That," Louis announced, "is a Hell martini."

"What's in it?"

"Oh, just a couple shots of blood, a sprinkle of Hellfire ash and a dash of pain from the victims forced to forever do my bidding. It's good, I swear."

"Hm," Melanie hummed. "What the Hell?" she decided and downed it. It was sweet, fruity and nothing at all like he'd described. Though, she wasn't entirely sure what she thought his list of ingredients would actually taste like.

"You approve?"

She nodded. "I do." A hiccup. "Very much."

The pair of them continued to spin and grind together as the song changed from one classic to another, some throwbacks to the time when she had considered herself a party animal.

"Are the clubs in Heaven filled with angel chorus?" she asked.

Louis rolled his eyes. "Why? It's not like you'll be visiting them."

Melanie scowled. "They would be blessed to have my presence up there."

"Oh, they'd be blessed alright."

"How about the clubs in Hell?"

"They play whatever music you like, Melanie." He took her hand and spun her around and into his arms so they were pressed together in a hot and sweaty embrace. The dirty bitch in her loved it, every damn second of it. "Whatever you want, you shall have."

"Tempting," she laughed and swayed side to side with him. 

It certainly was tempting and there was no denying the fact that she was going to end up in Hell after she died. It was the deal they had made and she didn't regret it. 

There was a part of her that worried about what that would mean if she were to have a family of her own and where they would end up in the after life. If she would see them again in death.

Melanie knew death wasn't the end. In a way, it was a beginning. But so was her life as it was right then - she was alive and not even thirty yet, with time on her side and adventures just waiting to happen. She had joked with her friends about how they were getting old, past their prime for enjoying things like going to a club but she knew deep down what poppycock that was. She could do whatever she wanted at whatever age she felt like it.

Was Louis holding her back though? Michael's words surged through her again and all of a sudden she felt dizzy. There were things she wanted to do and experience, like starting her own family, meeting new people and actually start living.

Would Louis prevent her from that? Or more like, would her feelings for him get in the way?

She wasn't in love with Louis, just as she knew he wasn't with her. They had amazing times together, had done so many great things with each other but sometimes she did wonder if it was worth it - if it was worth him visiting her when all they did was mess around and have a catch up. After all, there would be plenty of time for them to be together in Hell.

Her head spun again and she pulled away from Lucifer.

He frowned. "Are you alright, Cooper?"

"I need some air!" she called over the music and he just nodded and followed her towards the exit, his hand on her lower back like a proper gentleman. 

As she pushed through the crowd, her heart started to beat faster. Maybe it was nerves? But it was only Louis and he'd seen every part of her, both the good and the bad. He wouldn't judge her for being honest and expressing her concerns.

The two of them turned left at the club doors and wandered down the street until the music was but a dull beat in the background. It was dark now and Melanie made sure there was no one hiding in the alley before she turned and faced Louis.

He blew out a breath. "It is pretty stuffy in there."

"And Hell isn't? What with all the fire and dying dreams and lack of happiness?"

Louis just crossed his arms and scowled at her. "How dare you disrespect my home in such a way?"

"Am I wrong though?" she countered and he just stared at her. "There you go."

Concern crossed Louis' face as he observed her fiddling with the neckline of her dress. "Melanie?"

She was stalling. Was she really about to have this conversation with him?

"Michael said something to me earlier," she began.

Louis rolled his eyes. "Ah, Michael. My favourite human being. I can't wait to assign him to toilet duty."

"Louis," Melanie snapped. "I'm being serious."

His smiled vanished as he leaned against the wall opposite her. "Sorry. Proceed."

She took a deep breath. "He doesn't like you."

"No! Really?" Louis gasped. "Well, thank Hell the feeling is mutual."

"It's because he doesn't like you - and also because he cares about me - that he said this. He saw me checking the time all night and he just exploded on me, going on about how my friends here are, and always will be, there for me when I need them. Then there's you who, yes, you are there for me and such but it's only once a month.

"You're ... temporary," she choked out the word Michael had used and it tasted bad on her tongue.

Louis said nothing, just stood and watched her with that piercing gaze of his.

"I don't know why but his words kind of got to me. I obviously defended you because you're my friend and I care about you. Plus, I know Michael can be a bit, you know ... well, Michael. But it just really hit me tonight for some reason. What he said. Part of me knows he's right and that hurts."

Louis inhaled deeply. "What exactly are you saying?"

The alcohol gave her the courage to continue. "I'm saying that I'm not a little girl anymore. I'm no longer that eighteen year old who almost died in a car crash and loved the reassurance that what I went through, everything between us and in the Beyond, was real and your visits confirmed that. I think I might have gone crazy otherwise. At the same time though, because your visits are so infrequent and, I don't want to say unreliable-"

"You think I'm unreliable?" he cut her off.

"Not you, your visits. I see you twelve days of the year, Louis. Sometimes that's all I looked forward to, those twelve days, when I should have been looking forward to things like hanging with my other friends and getting asked on dates or even going on a holiday. But you always came first. I'm not blaming you in any way - it's my fault, not yours. But what I think I'm trying to say is that I'm worried that our friendship is maybe holding me back from things."

"I have never expected you to put me first, Melanie. I told you several times that I was yours to dismiss whenever you pleased."

"And I think that's what I'm considering now," she whispered. "But I'm not sure if it's because I'm also a little drunk."

"I think if you weren't, the truth about how you feel wouldn't be coming out right now."

"You're probably right," she muttered, looking at her feet. She felt like crying. It was like breaking up with someone only much harder. "I don't know if I'm one-hundred percent sure what I want. What I want for us..."

"Well," Louis said. He pushed himself off the wall and strode towards her. "I'll say this: if you dismiss me from my monthly visits, that's it. Until the day you die, you won't see me again."

She nodded. "I kind of thought that would be the case."

"It's your decision, Melanie." His voice softened as he said her name and when she looked up, he found her leaning towards her. "Whatever you chose, I'll understand and honour."

"How are you the Devil?" she joked. "You're too nice to me."

"Yeah, well I have my moments. As I'm sure you'll recall?" He winked and she couldn't help but grin wickedly at him.

"Oh, I do." 

She sighed deeply. Was she making a mistake?

No, a voice whispered at the back of her mind. You'll see him again.

"So, what do you want, Melanie?" Louis asked.

He was so close, his breath fanning against her face. She could smell the alcohol on his breath as well as spice and smoke. Smoke from the fires in Hell, she wondered.

"I... I don't know," she admitted. "Give me until the end of the night?"

Louis smiled then and it completely broke her heart. She wasn't entirely sure she was ready to let him go just yet. But it had been ten years. Ten years since the accident that had turned her world upside down, since everything had changed and she'd found herself the most comfortable she had ever been in life and herself since meeting Louis.

Could she give that up? The feeling of comfort that came with knowing Louis was going to visit soon? It was like a drug; she wanted more, needed more even though she could quite easily decide to go clean, to embrace a fresh new start if she so desired. Potentially a better start.

"Alright," Louis agreed. He took her hand in his and brushed his thumb across her knuckle. 

Melanie chuckled. "I guess you could say until death we will part."

Louis just laughed with her. "At least we will see each other again some time in the future."

She couldn't quite read him. What he was thinking, feeling, wanting. It was one thing about Louis she had found the most irritating. He was a being without any true emotions, or so he claimed. However, she couldn't help but notice the way his shoulders now seemed to slump and his eyes had grown sad.

It was killing him as much as it was killing her, she realised.

"Does that mean you've made your decision?" he asked quietly, still stroking her hand.

The touch sent shivers through her. She would miss him and it hit her like a ton of bricks. She would really fucking miss him - his humour, his smile, his company, his touch, his jokes. All of it...

To Hell with it, she thought. 

Melanie was over him like a rash. She wrapped her arms around his neck and drew him closer, kissing him hard like her life depended on it. If it indeed was the last time she would see him, taste him, touch him, then she was going to make it count. It was her birthday after all, and she had every right to be just a little bit selfish.

"My, my," Louis gasped against her lips, his hands on her backside. "You did a complete one-eighty right there, Melanie."

"I'm taking advantage of your visit tonight," she declared. "I'm still deciding what I want. What I want to do. This seemed like the best thing."

"I won't argue," he said before kissing her again. 

Louis backed her up against the cold alley wall, his hands palming and sliding their way up her body. She arched into his touch. Every brush of his fingertips against her skin felt like fire, every kiss an explosion. They had kissed several times before, went as far as they could to explore one another but there was something about his touch in that moment that made her knees almost buckle. 

Melanie spun them around until he was the one forced against the wall. Her hands tangled in his hair, keeping their mouths fixed together, every fibre of her being aching for him. 

"Mel," he groaned as he smoothed a hand over her rear and lifted her leg to lock round his hip.

"Shut up, Satan," she demanded and kissed him again. "I didn't hear you complaining last time I took charge."

He just chuckled. "Someone's horny tonight."

"That would be you," Melanie said and pulled back to look at his head, where horns apparently sprouted when he wasn't wearing his human skin. "Literally."

"I-"

"Melanie! There you are, we've been looking for you!"

"Oh, Jesus Christ," Melanie groaned and turned to find Michael running up towards them. He paused as he caught sight of Louis and Melanie held her breath.

"Thankfully, not," Louis said. "But not necessarily any better."

"Oh," Michael muttered upon seeing Louis. "You arrived."

"Well, don't sound thrilled to see me!" Louis gasped in mock insult. "Where's my welcome back banner?"

"What are you doing here?" Michael demanded, not even addressing Melanie any more.

She pushed herself off of Louis and fixed her dress, trying to make herself look a little more put together. Louis just stood there, his black shirt opened at the collar, hair like a nest, not giving a shit. Melanie suspected he revelled in the idea of Michael having caught them misbehaving. 

"Michael, I'll be back in soon," Melanie assured him. "I'm just catching up with Louis."

"Oh, I can see that," Michael spat, throwing the pair of them an incredulous look. "Honestly, Melanie."

"What?" she snapped. "Have something else you'd like to say to me?"

Michael just shook his head but pointed an accusatory finger towards Satan. "He's the one I want to talk to."

Louis pressed a hand to his chest. "Me? I wish I could tell you I'm honoured but ... I'd be lying."

Michael ignored his sarcastic comment and marched over to them. Melanie gasped as he roughly tugged her arm, drawing her away from Louis. She nearly tripped over her own feet and she caught sight of Louis reaching out to help steady her. He would have too, if Michael hadn't stood in his way, blocking his path.

"I think it's time you and I had a little heart-to-heart," Michael said, his eyes narrowing.

"Get the fuck off me, Michael," Melanie ordered and he obeyed instantly. 

"Sorry, Melanie. I just didn't want you in the middle of this."

"You're the one in the middle of something, you arse," she pointed out. "Leave it. It's my birthday for crying out loud."

"Let the guy speak, Melanie," Louis said, much to her surprise. She couldn't recall a time where Louis had ever let Michael speak willingly. Usually he was interrupting him or making fun of something he'd said. Perhaps curiosity had just got the better of him after what she'd told him earlier.

For a long while, Michael just stood and stared at Lucifer.

Louis scoffed. "Well? I've given you the chance to speak, so sp-"

Melanie caught herself off guard as a scream ripped from her throat. 

Michael's fist connected with Louis' face so fast that she would have missed it if she'd blinked. Louis' head snapped to the side. When he turned back to face Michael, she noticed his nose was bleeding and for a moment she was mesmerised, noting how it was the first time she had ever seen Louis bleed.

And then she was terrified. For Michael. For Louis. For herself because what the Hell had just happened? What was going to happen?

"You've always held her back," Michael said.

The look in Louis' eyes was deadly. 

"You're the reason she's not been able to live a normal, human life. She would have been so much better if you'd just left her alone after the Beyond. At least that way she would have had the chance to experience things without you at the back of her mind all the time." Michael pointed a finger at Louis again. "You ruined everything for her!"

Flames exploded in Louis' eyes. "I think that Melanie can decide things for herself."

"You're so fucking selfish!" Michael bellowed and swung for Louis again. This time, Louis deflected the punch and made one of his own, sending Michael veering backwards into Melanie.

"Stop it!" she begged. "This is ridiculous."

But Louis' move only fuelled Michael's rage; the pair of them became tangled in a heap of fists and verbal insults. Both men ignored her pleas as they continued to pummel at each other, Michael yelling at Louis the entire time about being the reason she hadn't truly lived her life.

Louis called to Melanie to stay back. 

Louis raised his arm and brought it down in an arching motion and an invisible force like a gust of wind sent Michael flying backwards into the opposite wall. He landed in a heap, gasping for breath as Louis fixed his dishevelled shirt and ran a hand through his hair, his nose bleeding heavier than before.

"Enough!" Louis bellowed. "This foolishness ends now."

Michael pushed himself to his feet and wiped the blood from his also bleeding nose. "I'm not done with you." The look in his eyes was almost as lethal as Louis' and Melanie was in two minds to stand between them and end things for herself. 

And she would have if she hadn't caught sight of Louis' hand: the human skin was beginning to crack around the knuckles and his nails slid into thick, black talons. One look at them and she knew with a feeble flick of the wrist, he could slice someone into pieces.

"Michael," Melanie warned, her eyes still on Louis and his hand. "Back off."

"Melanie, it's fine-"

"I said back off."

But he didn't listen. He never listened to her, so she shouldn't have been as surprised when he sprinted towards Louis, his fist raised to make another blow.

But Louis was already moving.

"Louis, no!"

Too late. 

As soon as Michael was within rage, Louis' now scarlet hand swiped towards him. The talons shredded the side of Michael's face and suddenly there was blood everywhere. Melanie would have ran to him if she wasn't frozen to the spot, terrified.

Terrified of Louis, she realised.

"Michael!" she cried and pushed herself towards him. He had collapsed to the ground with a cry, his hands fumbling across his torn face in a panic. Her stomach churned as she saw the ripped skin from his brow to his mouth. "It's OK, don't touch it! I'll phone an ambulance!"

"Melanie-"

"Don't fucking come any closer!" she shrieked at Louis as he made to move closer. "Get back!"

Louis obeyed and she turned her attention back to Michael.

"Oh my God, oh my God," she gasped, looking around for something to help stop the bleeding. There was nothing near by and so she grasped her phone from her clutch and dialled for an ambulance with shaking hands. "Oh, God... You'll be OK, Mikey. You'll be OK."

"Melanie..." Louis said again, his tone desperate.

"How could you?!" she shouted as Michael continued to groan and cry beneath her. There was too much blood for her to make out the severity of the injury and Michael's hands were clutching at his eye, blocking her vision from the worst of it. She wasn't sure her stomach could handle it. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"It was self defence!" Louis cried. "He kept coming at me! I told him to stop."

"So you shred his face open? Louis, what the fuck? You could have killed him if it had been his throat."

"I-I know," he stammered. Melanie saw the desperation in his eyes, his hands - back to his human disguise - held up in surrender. He could tell she was scared of him in that moment and a part of her was glad. "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."

"Tell him that," she snapped, nodding towards Michael.

"My eye," he sobbed. "My eye!"

"Shh, you'll be OK. I've phoned for help," she assured him. "Help is on the way."

It felt like hours before the ambulance showed up. Melanie stayed by Michael's side the entire time and helped the paramedics get him into the vehicle. Louis had made himself invisible to everyone but her and she only glared at him as he stood in the shadows with that sorrowful look on his face.

Melanie told the paramedics that she would be make her way to the hospital after she gathered the rest of the group, and once the ambulance had sped away, sirens blaring, Melanie whirled to face Louis. She was covered in Michael's blood, tears leaving her sweaty face an uncomfortable mess. She couldn't care less what she looked like in that moment.

"You," she spat and marched over to him. Without hesitation, she slapped him as hard as she could, leaving a bloody hand print across his cheek. "You fucking bastard!"

He didn't tell her to stop as she battered at his chest and screamed every insult under the sun at him. She was glad, because at least he knew he deserved it. She didn't stop until she was gasping for breath, her fists throbbing in agony.

"Melanie," Louis said softly. "I can't even begin to tell you how sorry I am."

"You can't take it back, what you did," she made clear. "You crossed the line tonight"

"But he started it! He didn't back down."

"I know he was being an absolute wanker, Louis! But you ripped his face open."

Louis just looked at his feet. 

Melanie couldn't hold back the tears and as she sobbed, as she realised what she needed to do. If she had been on the fence before, it was clear as day right then that keeping Louis around was no longer an option.

"I think you should just go," she whispered.

"But the day isn't over-"

"I think you should go, Louis," she repeated. Firmer.

"If that's what you want," he murmured with a frown. "I'm truly sorry and I do hope he's alright. I'll find out next month, I guess."

No, Melanie thought sadly. You won't.

"I think you should go ... for good," she managed to say, the weight of the words sinking in.

For a long moment Louis just stared at her. Was he waiting for her to change her mind? To forgive him just like that? Her decision was final and despite how much she knew it was going to hurt to not see him again for so long, she knew it was the right choice. She could feel it in her bones.

"Oh," was all Louis said.

"I don't want to see you again. Not until I have to," she continued, each word like a knife plunging deeper into her heart. Her mouth was dry as she nodded to herself, decided. "Please..." she whispered. 

Louis took a moment to think, to take in what she was asking of him. He'd made it clear it was her choice. And she had made it.

He nodded. "I think that may be for the best."

"So we're agreed?" 

"It seems so."

Melanie looked into his eyes for the last time, swallowing the lump in her throat as she managed to say, "Goodbye, Lucifer."

He bowed his head to her, no hint of emotion on his face as he said, "Goodbye. For now, Melanie Cooper."

And with that, Melanie never saw Lucifer again. 

Thank you for reading! Please let me know your thoughts below!
Cazza