A Little Death/Part 2

"A Little Death" is the second story of the Universal Clarification Series.

Story
The rest of the day flowed as awkwardly as Jonathan had expected, but at least his unwelcome lunch mate kept to herself until he reached the bus stop after school. His satchel hung off his side as he leaned against the stop sign. With his headphones over his ears, his mind fell away from the world around him.

“Hey again,” she chirped.

He didn’t hear her, so she tapped his shoulder. He blinked and looked down, moving his headphones away as he frowned.

"What now?"

“You still have my Tupperware and I’m gonna need it back,” she explained.

He sighed and lifted up the front of his satchel to rummage through his belongings, mumbling something like, “Oh yeah, I got it,” until he found it. He pulled it out from under his history textbook and handed it to her.

"Here."

"Thank you."

She took it with a smile, quickly stowing it in the front zipper pocket of her backpack; then she straightened up and held the handle. She stood beside him in silence as they waited for the bus to arrive, much to Jonathan’s relief, but his moment of peace was short-lived. The chugging sound of the yellow transporter’s heavy tires drew nearer and nearer as he felt a small hand tug at his sleeve.

Sock poked his head over his counterpart’s shoulder to look at the girl, which made Jonathan lean away rather abruptly. His shoulder slipped off the stop sign, sending him reeling towards the curb – and by then, the bus was too close for comfort. He could see his shadowy reflection in the headlights as he stumbled into its path.

“Jonathan, you still haven’t told me her name,” Sock reminded him. “Do you even know it?”

The sound of his Converse skidding against the pavement caught the girl’s attention. With a jolt, she dropped her backpack handle and tugged his hood to pull him back. The tires came to a screeching halt, just barely having missed the collision, and several bystanders gasped. Sock stared at them in disbelief.

“…Whoa, talk about a lucky break,” he stated nervously.

Jonathan coughed and held his neck with one hand until he fully recovered from being choked half to death. Once he stabilized, he glanced at the girl; the look of shock in her eyes mirrored his own. He blinked and instinctively stepped away from her with his other hand raised off his knee.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“…Yeah – yeah, I’m fine,” he replied, quickly shaking his hair back into place. “Thanks.”

Sock zipped around his counterpart as if he were trying to hide from the girl, but one glare from the teenager ushered him onto the awaiting bus. Jonathan was angry, but focused on retrieving his headphones and let his classmate board first. As he followed her, she spoke up, so he lifted one speaker to listen.

“I just realized I don’t know your name,” she admitted. Before he could consider not answering, he felt Sock’s presence lingering over his shoulder and he knew exactly what his demon wanted.

"It's Jonathan."

He made his way towards the back of the bus – unintentionally leading the girl into the last row. He plopped down into the seat ahead of hers after she settled in and slumped against the window. Sock tried to take a seat next to him, but was displaced when she moved up. Both he and his counterpart frowned at her, but nothing seemed to kill her cheery disposition.

“That’s a nice name,” she told him as she held her backpack in her lap, crossing her ankles once more. She removed her glasses and cleaned the lenses with her sweater, adding, “My name’s Claire, but some people call me ‘CD’ since my middle name’s Delilah.”

“No kidding?” he asked flatly. He stared out the window, starting to mumble his words as he faded out of reality. Sock waved his hand in front of Jonathan’s face, which kept his counterpart from completely tuning out of the conversation – an act he would have repaid with a more offensive gesture if not for Claire’s presence.

"What's your middle name?"

"I don't have one."

"How come?"

Jonathan shrugged and slouched with his head back against the aged leather seat, shoving his hands into his hoodie pockets as he closed his eyes. His neck hurt somewhat when he swallowed.

“Well… I’m glad we could reconnect. It’s nice to make a new friend.”

Jonathan may not have been listening right then, but Sock was, and a demon with a heart as sweet and sappy as his could not help but smile. Minutes passed in silence.

“See you tomorrow, Jon,” she said after the bus came to a halt. She stood up, set her backpack on its wheels behind her, and made her way out, giving Sock his opportunity to sit next to his exhausted counterpart. When she was gone, he turned his head and nudged the teenager’s arm.

“Heh. She called you ‘Jon’,” he teased.

"Don't care."

“Oh, but when I do it, you get mad,” Sock replied, crossing his arms. “How come she’s allowed?”

“’Cause it doesn’t matter,” he insisted. “I’m not talking to her again, so why should I care?”

“I dunno, because – maybe she’ll see you tomorrow? She literally just said that.” He leaned in, making Jonathan squish himself against the window. “If you paid attention, you would’ve known that.”

"Shuddup, Sock."

"Make me!"

Jonathan glared at him, but this time his demon reflected the cold look in his eyes, instigating an intense stare-down: a test of will in which shades of emerald green with razor-sharp pupils could challenge a chilling misty blue scowl. Neither budged for the duration of the ride, but as fate would have it, Jonathan was forced to break his gaze when the bus reached the cul-de-sac outlet. He groaned and stood up, calling Sock a bad name when he stuck his tongue out at him.

The walk home was as miserable as it had been yesterday, but at least he was in no rush to return to an empty house. His parents would arrive by the time he finished his homework and only God knew if his sister would be back from softball practice before them. Until then, he had Sock to keep him company.

. . .

The next day when Jonathan sat down at lunch time, Claire showed up and sat across from him. While he ate his turkey club sandwich, she started talking about her hobbies – specifically her skull collection.

“Wait, what?” he asked, lowering his sandwich slowly. Sock floated over the teenager’s head with a smile creeping along his face.

“Yeah, I’ve been collecting animal skulls since I was five – or was I four?” she replied, pausing to think a moment before continuing. “Well, as long as I can remember, I guess. I’ve always loved finding dead critters. I used to draw roadkill and turn them into my preschool teacher, but I had to stop when my mom told me my teacher was scared of them.”

“You’re serious right now,” Jonathan dared to say.

She cast her eyes down and added in a quieter tone, “But I didn’t stop drawing – I just gave them to my mom instead. You know, so she’d put ‘em on the fridge and I could see them.”

“That’s awesome,” Sock whispered. He slipped his hands over his counterpart’s shoulders and placed his open palms against the table. Jonathan was too busy staring in disbelief to notice.

“…Just animal skulls, right?”

Claire lifted her sweet blue eyes and blinked, confirming with a simple, “Yep.” Then she tilted her head and stuck her plastic fork into the Tupperware bowl of lasagna in front of her, stating, “I’ve never found any human skulls so far, but sometimes I wish I would. It’d be my pièce de résistance for sure.”

Sock’s eyes widened with excitement; Jonathan’s widened in fear.

She grinned and perked up in her seat as she inquired, “You wanna see it sometime?”

“Yes!” Sock cried at the same time as his counterpart said, “No…?” and since she heard her classmate’s response, she leaned back and ducked her head slightly.

“Oh.” She picked at her lasagna with her fork. “That’s okay, Jon – I know that was a pretty bold offer.”

Neither one could take of bite of their food. Sock chuckled and gently poked the teenager’s nose with a sly wink.

“She called you ‘Jon’ again.”

“What’s your point?” Jonathan whispered through his teeth, trying not to look directly at his little demon.

“It’s cute,” he insisted, “I think she likes you. Like, a lot.”

This comment was met with Jonathan tensing his shoulders and lowering his head with a look of disgust aimed at the table below his half-eaten sandwich. It caught his classmate’s attention, so she tilted her head.

“Maybe I should’ve waited until after lunch to talk about that,” she thought aloud. “Wait – I should’ve asked if you’re okay with creepy stuff first. What kind of weirdness are you into?”

“Jonathan, ask her,” Sock chimed in with his hands pressed against the table next to him. “Ask her if she likes you – right now.”

“I’m not doing that.” The teenager dragged a hand across his face, but was forced to turn his head when his demon leaned in closer to his ear. Claire watched him with growing curiosity.

“Ask her!” Sock demanded. “Is she calling you ‘Jon’ because she likes you?”

His hand slid over his mouth to muffle his reply so his classmate would miss it: “Piss off, dude.”

“No! Just ask her and get it over with! Don’t make me have to possess you again!”

"Jon?"

A flicker of hatred was in the teenager’s eyes as he jerked his head back to face his demon. Sock happened to have phased through the middle of the table and was now blocking his counterpart’s view of Claire, narrowing his bright green eyes as he crossed his arms.

“Don’t even try,” the teen warned him, but Sock threatened him again.

“You think I won’t do it? ‘Cause I’ll definitely do it, Jonathan. I can make you do anything if I wanted to!”

“Jon…?”

“What’re you afraid of?” Sock continued, leaning in closer to his face. “You said you didn’t care yesterday, so what’s the big deal? Why won’t you listen to me?”

"...Jonathan?"

"What?" he finally snapped.

The fire in his eyes was doused by the way she reacted: she leaned back as far as she could with her hands together in her lap, shoulders tensed, and grave concern was practically written across her glasses. Jonathan felt another twinge of remorse – and this time it was not so easily dissuaded.

“...You’ve done it now, Jonathan,” Sock mused with a huff. “And just when she was starting to like you, too.”

Jonathan’s expression softened as he exhaled and tried to regain his composure, which started when he lowered his voice.

“Sorry, not you. I’m not mad at you, Claire.” He was relieved when she too began to relax – and even more so when his demon kept his mouth shut.

“Well…if it’s not me, then who are you mad at?” she pondered cautiously. Once again, her classmate opened his mouth to speak, but instead frowned and muttered, “No one.”

“I am not no one, Jonathan!” Sock shouted, which made his human flinch.

Jonathan stood up from the table, grabbed his satchel from the seat, and stormed away without another word – even when he heard Claire ask where he was going. He set his gaze ahead and kept walking. All Sock could do was stumble along in hot pursuit.

. . .

The next day at lunch was no better; as soon as Claire started a conversation, Sock would badger his counterpart until he was forced to get up and leave. Jonathan always left her in the dark. Even when he was threatened with possession, he refused to tell her anything. Remarkably, Claire continued taking a seat at his cafeteria table during lunch time through the week, and he was starting to wonder what she found so interesting about him.

By Friday, it was time to be straight with her or else Sock might actually hold true to his word.

When Claire took a seat across from her dispirited classmate at the table with her bright eyes and endearing smile, he took a deep breath and prepared to come clean. Sock chose to sit cross-legged on the table to observe them.

“Here we are again,” he began while casually holding his ham and cheese sandwich.

“Yep,” she replied simply. She had her hands in her lap and crossed her ankles. “What’s up?”

“So, uh… I’ve been thinking about some stuff. Mostly stuff about…us, I guess.” He shrugged and his gaze drifted away from her. “We – well, I’ve been wondering why you keep coming back every day… since obviously I keep leaving…?”

She nodded, so he cleared his throat and murmured, “What’s your deal? Do you…like me?”

“Of course, Jon,” she said with a gleam in her eyes. “Truth is, I think you’re a lot nicer than you pretend to be. You just don’t like people knowing that, right?”

Jonathan’s jaw tightened as Sock whistled in entertained surprise. Claire glanced down at her backpack as the demon poked fun at his counterpart.

“Funny! She sees right through you – but I’m the invisible man! Talk about irony, eh Jonathan?” he snickered. “I wish I was still alive so I could die laughing at your expense! Aw man, this is great…”

“I hate you,” he spat, shooting an icy glare in his direction. Unfortunately, Claire heard him and responded with a look of hurt in her eyes. He ducked his head and whispered, “Shit,” under his breath.

“Be honest with me,” she stated in a firm, but dignified tone. “If you don’t want me to come back, Jon, just say it. I’ll understand and leave you alone.”

“If you let her walk away –”

“– No, don’t,” Jonathan replied. “Look, don’t take this the wrong way – I don’t care about anybody. It’s not just you, it’s not just the rest of this school – it’s everybody, got it?” He looked her in the eye and ignored his demon, waiting for her response. Amazingly, she looked relieved.

"Good to know."

"...Okay, then that's that."

"Well, not quite," she confessed.

Jonathan gave her an odd look and asked, “What else?”

“You still haven’t told me why you were acting so weird on Monday. I mean, you were making funny faces at me during class until we almost got in trouble, and then you said I was really pretty...”

She smiled at the thought of it and let out a soft giggle before mentioning, “I thought it was sweet, you know? But it didn’t seem right – like, it wasn’t like you to be so nice after what happened in middle school, so that’s why I wanna know.”

Silence fell between them for a minute or two. Then at long last, Jonathan sighed.

"You'll think I'm crazy."

"Try me, Jon."

“Okay, but…” He trailed off and his eyes wandered to the exit sign above the doors to his left. He cleared his throat and darted back to Claire. “You’re not a gossip girl, right? You can keep a secret?”

“Of course!” She nodded. “Everyone already thinks I’m crazy, so why worry?”

For a brief moment, Jonathan glanced at Sock in hesitation. The impishly adorable spirit blinked up at him with a smile trailing across his face.

“She’s got a point, so you might as well just tell her the truth,” he encouraged. When his counterpart expressed lingering doubt, he added, “C’mon, making a new friend never killed anybody, right?”

For once, they were in agreement, so Jonathan set his sandwich onto the plastic zip-lock baggie and folded his arms across his chest.

“Okay, well I guess long story short… I’m being haunted by a demon? His name’s Sock and he possessed me on Monday. That’s pretty much the only reason I talked to you and I’m still mad at him for it, so…yeah.”

“That was a case of successful overshadowing?” she inquired happily. Her classmate confirmed with a simple nod, so she beamed. “So demons really do exist, which means I was right!”

Together the boys said, “What?” and Jonathan scratched his neck before clarifying, “So, you’re not freaked out by me being haunted?”

“No way, I think it’s awesome!” she exclaimed, but then quickly added, “I mean, I’m sorry if you don’t see that being a good thing – obviously being haunted means you’re supposed to suffer, but you have to admit that it’s kind of cool to have proof that demons exist, and you know what that means?”

“Dare I ask…” he breathed.

“It means that there’s evidence that there may actually be a set of deity figures like God and the devil,” she continued. As she did, her bubbly nature intensified. She began to talk faster.

Jonathan stared incredulously at her and failed to understand a single word she said from that point on, but remained silent until she wound herself back down from a flurry of vocabulary terms – many of which he swore were not English.

"...I dared to ask..."

“You called on the thunder and you got one heck of a storm,” Sock commented. His eyes were fixated on Claire, gazing upon her as if she were the beautiful embodiment of death and destruction.

“I’m doomed. Just kill me now,” Jonathan mumbled.

“Never seen a prettier one that this…” Sock added in a daydream-y tone. “Tell her to keep on talkin’, Jonathan.” His counterpart was disturbed by the look on Sock’s face – in his eyes, rather.

“I can’t help it, I got excited,” she apologized, ducking her head into her slightly lifted shoulder. “But I hope you’ll let me stick around, Jon. I just… I really like hanging out with you.”

Those words repeated in her dumbfounded classmate’s head several times before he mustered up the courage to speak.

"...Sure."

And just like that, he accepted her friendship and kissed his lonely life good-bye.

Continuation

 * Part 1
 * Part 3