For the damned | ✓

9

JONATHAN WAS WAITING FOR her in front of the hospital. It was hard to see whether he was excited or stressed out, but it most likely was a combination of both. Though Delilah was still a bit out of it thanks to the dream she had interrupted earlier, lingering on it didn't help. Especially when it was clear how much Jonathan wanted to hear his friend's last words.

"I like your cap," she said when she got near, almost chuckling at the all black outfit he was wearing.

"I was going for the breaking into a bank, vibe," he said proudly.

"Please, this can't be it," a young man yelled, floating next to a window on the fourth floor above," Mom, I'm right here -"

"Where are you looking at?" Jonathan frowned, glancing up as well.

"It's cloudy today," Delilah said, flicking her gaze back to the see through doors of the hospital.

After they had walked through the entrance Delilah froze, the screaming around her so loud it was deafening. She never had liked hospitals that much.

"What's wrong?" Jonathan asked, waving a hand in front of her face," you're completely spaced out."

"Don't worry about it," she smiled," it happens often to me." She pointed at the chairs for guests next to the receptionist. "We can wait there, the density of the souls is thick in this room."

Jonathan looked around suspiciously, as if he was ready to fight against a ghost if it suddenly popped up, before nodding and taking a place. He stared at her intensely, seeing as she was the only one of the two who could actually notice the Reaper if he walked by, but all her thoughts did was wander. This had seemed like the best option, but honestly, she had no idea if it really was. She had never actively pursued a divine entity before who was avoiding her, but when two hours had passed however and she still had seen no sign of any him, she knew she had to step up her game.

"He won't come," she said as she got to her feet.

"How do you know?" Jonathan said, wide-eyed," did any of your ghost friends whisper to you?"

"No," Delilah said as she tied her hair in a messy bun, ready to begin searching in a different way," but he said he was going to make sure we never met again, so I doubt he'll come here when he senses me."

"I'm going to repeat my earlier question," Jonathan said," what the hell did you do to the Grim Reaper?"

Confuse him, make him remember his dead lover, accidentally intrude on his dream -

"I think we'd best wander the streets for now." Delilah extended her hand to Jonathan, who stared at it for a second before he took it. She started tugging him along, speaking on the way. "He won't be able to avoid doing his job forever."

"In a way, this is kind of our first date," Jonathan remarked amusedly.

"It isn't," Delilah replied," because you haven't asked me on one."

He seemed caught off-guard by that, but she had already moved on to the next thought, humming the melody to an ethereal piano piece she had heard a while ago. They had been walking through dark alleyways now, the street lights having dimmed a while ago, and she had positively no clue where she was going. Honestly, she was going on intuition right now, but just as she was deciding in her head whether right or left felt like luckier to take, Jonathan pulled her to a standstill.

"Is something wrong?" she said, looking over her shoulder at him.

He straightened his back, running a hand through his dark curls. It was something he did whenever he was stressed, she had noticed, but only when he spoke did she realize why.