An arm was slung around my neck, pulling me to Jackson's side as he grinned. His voice was loud in my ear, making me wince. "Oi~ Wake up, fool!"

I shoved him away with a scowl, rubbing my ear. "I am awake, you fuck. Stop yelling so much, you're so damn -" A yawn cut off my words, making his grin turn into a smirk. "- annoying!"

Keith sent me a disappointed look. "I told you not to stay up all night playing Grand Theft Auto." His shoulder bumped mine when he moved closer to avoid the two women walking opposite us on the sidewalk.

"Sorry, man." I stuffed my hands into my hoodie, stifling another yawn. "They were running a 2x even on car smuggling. I made over five mil easily."

He shook his head but couldn't stop the smile that slid onto his face. "You two are unbelievable."

"Hey, I'm not part of this," Jackson defended, holding his hands up in surrender. "I only played until one."

"Because you're not a real gamer," I teased with a grin.

"That's not even a thing."

"It's definitely a thing."

"You can't just gate keep gaming, Jen."

"A real gamer can."

Keith intervened before Jackson could retort. "Agree to disagree, children."

The two of us exchanged a look before chorusing, "Yes, mom!"

The three of us continued down the sidewalk toward the park. Jackson noticed a cat in someone's yard which caused Keith to stop as well, loving cats almost as much as I do.

I briefly remember glancing back at them before continuing forward. Things are a bit haze from this point on. I remember hearing Jackson scream my name and it confused me because he sounded genuinely terrified. Before I could turn to him, I heard the squealing of tires filling my ears.

For a moment, I felt nothing. Then my body exploded with pain, my vision blurred and my hearing muffled as if my head were underwater. It hurt to breathe, my body refusing to listen to me when I ordered it to move. It felt as if someone was hammering a nail into my skull. All I wanted to do was sleep.

The last thing I remember seeing was Keith's blurry face above me, his brown eyes watery and filled with worry. His lips moved but I couldn't hear the words.

Darkness consumed me.

━━━━━━༻*༺━━━━━━

 My eyes fluttered open, blinking a few times to clear my blurry vision. The sky above me was covered by dark rain clouds and framed by tall pine trees. I pushed myself up, feeling leaves and dirt against my palms. I was sitting in a circular clearing, surrounded by trees for as far as I could see. 

Where the hell am I? How did I get here?

"Oi~" I called out as I pulled myself to my feet. My voice echoed through the trees. "Is anyone there? Jacks? Keith?"

A flock of birds took flight in the distance, cawing in annoyance at being disturbed. A thin layer of fog was starting to settle over the forest and I decided to just pick a direction and start walking. It was better than just standing around doing nothing, hoping someone stumbles upon me.

The further I walked, though, the thicker the fog became.

I noticed something in the distance, making me pause. It was a faint shadow that I probably shouldn't walk toward but I was far too curious to ignore it. As I got closer, the shadow started to take shape. It was... a set of stairs? That's ridiculous. Why would there be stairs in the middle of the woods?

I stepped through the tree line to get a better look. The staircase was large, made of dark oak wood and standing about thirty steps tall before cutting off abruptly. 

"What the fuck..." I muttered, rubbing the back of my head. I slowly approached it, my fingers brushing against the railing. Well, it's definitely real and not some hallucination.

I mean, I've never hallucinated before so I don't actually know if one can touch their hallucinations or not. I assumed not.

"You have arrived much earlier than expected."

I whipped around, eyes landing on a cloaked figure standing in the shadows of the trees. The hood hid his face from view, but his left eye was glowing a bright orange. "Who the fuck are you supposed to be?"

"I am the grim that ferries souls between worlds."

"Hah?" I replied in confusion, scratching the back of my head. "Does that mean... am I dead?!"

"Officially, yes."

"And... unofficially?"

"Your soul is currently in limbo. Neither living nor dead."

I blinked dumbly as the words sunk in. "Wait, so I'm the living dead?!"

"Technically speaking, that is correct."

"Woah, that's kinda wicked," I muttered under my breath before quirking a brow at him. "What happens now, then? Am I just... stuck here forever? I bet I'm on hell's VIP list, huh?"

"Hell does not exist. Nor does heaven."

"Really?"

"These places are just concepts created by the living in order to find peace within the unknowns of death. Rebirth is the only truth."

I leaned back against the railing of the staircase, my head beginning to ache. This was way too much information for my tiny brain to take in at one time.

"You have arrived before your scheduled visit," he told me with a soft tone that contrasted his deep voice. "I am afraid we are not quite ready for you."

"Does that mean I can go back?" I took a few steps forward hopefully. "I know I make a lot of jokes about dying and about how shitty life is but I don't actually wanna die, man. Jackson and Keith will be totally lost without me, you know? They're total idiots! Okay, Keith isn't an idiot in the smarts sense but he's a social idiot which is the complete opposite of Jackson so you'd think they'd balance each other out but trust me, they will die without me so I really need to -"

"Do you intend to talk for the rest of eternity?" he interrupted. "Or would you prefer to hear the options currently available to you?"

I scowled at him for interrupting my mini-breakdown, crossing my arms over my chest. "I'm listening."

"You may remain here in limbo until we are ready for you, which could take anywhere from five to fifty thousand business days -"

"Business days?" I snorted in disbelief. "Can't you just say years?"

"Even grim reapers deserve the weekend off, human."

"Sure, whatever. And what's option two?"

"Return to your earthly form until we are ready for you, which can take anywhere from two weeks to eighty years, give or take."

"I can go back? Why the fuck didn't you lead with that, bro?" I scowled in frustration.

"We grim have procedures that we must -"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just send me back!"

He stared at me silently, not moving or making a sound.

I stared back for a moment before sighing. "Please?"

"Very well." He raised his hand, the tips of his lithe fingers just barely peeking out from his black sleeve. "Until we meet again, human. Fare thee well."

"What -"

He snapped his fingers and my body was violently jerked backward. It felt like I was being sucked into a whirlpool in the middle of the ocean and, try as I might, I couldn't free myself. It wasn't painful, but it certainly wasn't pleasant either.

Once again, everything went black.

━━━━━━༻*༺━━━━━━

A groan passed my lips, barely audible because of my parched throat. My entire body felt heavy and I felt pain every time I tried to move. There was this incessant beeping to my right that made me want to scream. I tried to tell it to shut the hell up but only managed a soundless huff.

I heard my name being called out and I rolled my head to the right, eyes fluttering open. Jackson and Keith were both sitting beside my bed, the former asleep with his head resting on Keith's shoulder. Keith's eyes met mind, bright red and bloodshot.

What was wrong with him? He looked as if he hadn't slept in weeks.

Tears rolled down his cheeks as he jumped up, knocking Jackson to the floor in the process. 

Jackson cried out in surprise and annoyance, scowling at his friend. "What the hell was that for?"

Keith ignored him, carefully placing his body over my own, his shoulder resting against my shoulder. His voice shook when he spoke, barely above a whisper. "I thought we lost you..."

I frowned, feeling his tears soaking into my shirt. "What are you -"

Everything came rushing back to me like a wave crashing against the rocks. I remember crossing the street without looking, only to get hit by a car. I remember the... the limbo I had been in and the choice that man had offered me. Well, shit.

It took more effort than it should have, but I managed to raise my arm over his back, patting him atop his brown hair. "There, there."

Jackson was struggling to hold back his own tears, hands clenched at his sides. When he met my eyes, he smiled. "You're late, asshole."

I chuckled, or at least I tried to but it turned into a couching fit that made both boys tense up. Since I couldn't laugh, I flicked him off instead, making him laugh.

"Welcome home, idiot," he sobbed, throwing his arms around my head.

Keith's hand clenched around my shirt, his words muffled against my neck. "Welcome home, Jen."

I slowly wrapped my arms around the two of them, doing my best to comfort them. "You can't get rid of me that easily."