It felt awful to stand up and tell Ben he had to leave. The words ripped from his throat begrudgingly, but he eventually managed to shove himself off the bed, nearly catapulting himself to the floor because he was still groggy.

"What if you went and found her?" Ben asked as Ewan pulled himself from the ground. The two's fingers clung to each other and Ben kept Ewan by the side of the bed, tilting his head.

"Found who?" Ewan asked, raising an eyebrow.

"The girl who died. The one who went to Hell," Ben whispered. His voice was shaky, letting Ewan know the pain meds had worn off. He'd seen the doctor or nurse or whoever give him a few medications for when he woke up. 

He'd also seen where she put the morphine.

Ewan let go of Ben's finger and walked over to the cabinets, easily unlocking it with his telekinesis. He began to put the morphine in the syringe the way he'd seen the nurse do it, tapping the glass to get the bubbles out.

"What is - is that morphine?" Ben asked, sitting up.

"You do want it, right? If you don't, I won't-"

"No," Ben said, "I'd - no, I'd... I was just wondering..." He sighed, clenching his jaw in irritation. "Yes. That would be helpful."

"The nurse said they'd give you some when you woke up, anyway," the demon vouched, strolling over to the bed. "Are you good with needles? Do you need numbing medicine, or - I don't think I saw where it was, but I'm sure I can find some-"

"Ewan," Ben said firmly, drawing his attention to him. The two shared a direct gaze - Ben's eyes had pain and love in them. "I'm fine. Just do it."

"Right," Ewan breathed. Ben had been stabbed before. A needle was nothing, probably. 

Gently, he took Ben's arm and outstretched it. The skin was delicate and the closer Ewan got to Ben, the more he smelled roses. The more he smelled the purity that was Ben. It was a weird observation in the moment... as it usually was.

"Her name is Phoebe Austin. She's probably in rehab. Grayville Rehabilitation Center, off... well, get Rain to show you," Ben explained. Mid-sentence, his eyes strolled over to the window and Ewan's gaze followed.

The weather was clear for once. The sky was a solid, spotless blue and it really seemed like things were alright. For now, at least. Rehab seemed easy enough to break someone out of - in his days, rehab had been sort of like prison. Something to be absolutely terrified of because if you came back, it was either in a casket or without a brain. But 'Grayville Rehabilitation Center' sounded like a walk in the park.

Ewan let out a slow breath, looking back at Ben. It was nice to have things be so relaxed. The past few weeks had been an adventure in the weather, but now, because Ben was calm, the sky was calm. Everything felt right today, even though Ben almost bled out five days ago. He was awake now.

"If she isn't there, where would she be?" Ewan asked.

"She lives on the streets," Ben mumbled. "There's really no telling."

Ewan sighed. This might be a little bit more difficult than he'd originally thought but it hardly mattered. "So if we don't find her in rehab... we're probably screwed?"

"Yup," said the Ben. He turned his gaze back to the other. 

That wasn't exactly comforting. "I'll bring her back tonight, hopefully. I have to go to school and everything if I don't want Stirling's parents to have a heart attack," Ewan joked, grinning gently. The conversation had gotten far too serious.

Ben tilted his head, the look in his eyes saying 'I don't mean to push but I'm going to'. "Charlie's being tortured in Hell."

"It's his second time. So it's, like... court. A demon decides if they should just disappear the person or torture them again. Usually, they just disappear them, but... well, they may not be. I'm not entirely sure most of the time."

"Excuse m - Charlie could be disappeared by now? He could be... g-gone entirely? And so could Phoebe?" Ben sat up, his heart monitor beeping in rapid procession. "We're putting Phoebe in that type of dang-"

"No," Ewan said slowly, letting out a breathy chuckle. He sat back down, pity filling him for making Ben so nervous. "It takes... months, even years sometimes, to get to a Sinner. They have to wait in a separate spot that we call the Wasteland. Phoebe will just find Charlie, kill him, and we'll revive her. Then they'll both be back."

Ben put his head in his hands. "I... have you ever done this before?" He lifted his head. "Killed someone and then brought them back? Have you ever killed someone in Hell? Have you ever-"

"No," said Ewan, "but I've been told this works."

"By who? Who the Hell told you-"

"Her name is Aliyah, alright? Remember her? I'd trust her with my life, at least, so I'm also going to trust her with the life of Charlie and Phoebe. Just relax."

The two looked at each other again. Soon, when he didn't get a reply, Ewan leaned down and kissed Ben on the forehead at the same time that he stuck the needle in the other's arm. Ben flinched, sucking in a sharp breath. As soon as the syringe was empty, he leaned back and let out a slow breath.

"Alright. I'll be back this afternoon," Ewan said, standing up.

Ben just nodded, closing his eyes. The weather turned from sunny to still - the day seemed to go grey, the outside existing only in a solid monotone.

"Rain," Ewan whispered firmly, leaning over his desk and gripping the other end tightly.

He'd taken an accidental detour on the way to school - driving Ben's motorcycle after thirty minutes of confusion - and had thought for a long time about what he wanted to do with Stirling's life. Now that the boy was dead and clearly wasn't coming back, Ewan had a whole life ahead of him. Until this body either gave out or he was sent back to Hell... to die.

The thought crossed his mind from time to time - the memory that he was going to disappear the second Ben's Enchantment was finished. It terrified him, so he always thought about something else.

The girl with the fake blonde hair raised an eyebrow. She turned, propping her leg on her chair. "Yes, baby?" she asked. Her eyes looked innocent and concerned as she gazed at him.

Right off the bat, he wanted to just tell her he wanted to break up with her. They were only eighteen - they - or, at least, she had a whole life ahead of her. She'd find someone else by the end of the month, probably.

But something kept it from going outright and saying it. He licked his lips, looking her over. She still smelled like alcohol and her eyes were shining with excitement, with ignorance of the situation at hand. But really, how important could this relationship be to her? He'd been there for, what, two weeks and they'd talked three times?

"How long have we been together?" he asked.

He felt like he knew the answer in his heart, though. Five years. Five years out of a lifetime.

"Five years and three months," she confirmed. "Why?"

This was far more difficult than he'd originally thought. "I want to-" But the word 'break-up' wouldn't come out. Her eyes were bright and curious and drunk, but something about it was too human. "Do you know where the Grayville Rehab Center is?" he asked.

Confusion clouded her face as she gazed at him curiously. But soon, a flirty grin spread over her face and she tilted her head. "How about I take you?"

"How about you not?" Ewan said, sitting back. "Just tell me where it is... Please, love?"

She shrugged, biting her lip. A drunken giggle erupted from her and she lowered her voice to a whisper as if she was telling a secret. "I wanna go. Who are you visiting?"

"Breaking someone out, actually," Ewan said. He paused, appalled that he'd told the truth.

"Oh, you've got to let me come!" she exclaimed. "Please, baby? Please? Pleeease, please, ple-"

"Shit - okay! Okay, alright." He put a finger to his lips urgently, commanding her to be quiet. "Shush. Alright, you can take me."

Rain giggled, taking a sip of her "water." Which smelled like beer - something with a strange hot hint. Maybe it was the fireball she'd mentioned the first day they'd met. "Thanks, baby. I'm real familiar with everyone there so I'll be a big help, I promise."

"I'm not surprised," Ewan mumbled, flicking the water bottle.

Rain scoffed, making a face of mock surprise, but turned around to face the front when the door opened.

"Alright!" sang Mrs. Jennings. She entered the classroom with her usual broad smile that only faltered in Ben's presence. "Since we're practically done with this year, today we're just going to be reviewing. Jack, if you could please..."

Her voice faded out as Ewan glanced over to Charlie's seat. That boy was in Hell. Suffering. It'd been five days so he'd been there for... well, too long in Sinner time.

Ewan didn't particularly care. It wasn't his job to care about the souls that entered Hell. It was his job to torture them.

Ben, on the other hand, was the one that cared. Not only because Gregory killed him because of Ben, but because Charlie was a better person now. 

Apparently.

If it mattered to Ben, though... should Ewan really be sitting here, doing nothing?

The more he stared at the seat, the more useless he felt. Sitting in class, doing absolutely nothing for the soul in Hell that was partly his responsibility.

The demon rolled his eyes. "Great Hell, I'm going soft," he spat. "Rain?"

Without another word, the girl chugged her entire water bottle. And then, with an excited grin, she began packing up her things.

It didn't take long for the two of them to be heading for the door.

Drunk, Rain called, "We're going on an adventure!" She stopped in the doorway, holding up the empty bottle like a toast. "Wish us luck!"

"Rain!" Ewan hissed. He grabbed her by the arm and tugged her out, slamming the door behind him.

This was definitely a bad idea.

They got to her car, both stepping for the driver's side, but Rain giggled enthusiastically and hopped in before he could.

Ewan didn't move, holding the door open and narrowing his eyes at her.

"You know," Ewan growled, "I have this strange idea that you shouldn't be driving."

"Probably because it's illegal," Rain sang. She sat in the driver's seat, unmoving. "But it's my car, my rules." She happily patted the passenger's seat. "When did you decide you wanted to drive, anyway?"

"Now," he grumbled, getting into the passenger seat.

She had the same sort of automobile that Jamie had, except this one was far smaller. It wasn't dissimilar, actually, to a coffin. And he supposed that, if he were to die in this car, they could bury him in here. Or, the body of him.

His soul would be gone by that point. Disappeared. 

Think about something else, Ewan thought. Anything.

The blonde began to drive, yanking him from his thoughts. It wasn't the scariest thing at first - just some less than graceful turns to start off. Quickly, it evolved into running red lights - which even he knew not to run - and driving over the yellow line between the road. He may have been in Hell for hundreds of years, but doing all of that felt incredibly unsafe.

It wasn't long before there were sirens behind them. He turned in his seat to find a strange and somehow unsettling blur of red and blue lights.

Panic filled his lungs. "Great Hell - what is that? What are they doing? Wh- Rain, what's going on?"

They were absolutely terrifying for some reason and Ewan found himself gasping for breaths that struggled to come.

She snorted. "Wh-" She looked in the mirror beside the wheel and her face went pale. "Oh, God."

"No, I promise He will not help you," Ewan seethed. "Who is it?"

"Those are the police, baby," Rain growled in a voice that said she was trying to be affectionate while also being very irritated. It was as if she was suddenly sober. Perhaps mortals had a faster metabolism than he'd thought. "You've always been scared of them."

"So they're a person?"

Rain raised an eyebrow at him. "Yes? Where have you been?" She flicked something in the left side of the steering wheel, causing a monotonous clicking sound.

"I- Hell?"

"Is that why you haven't been talking to me?"

"I haven't been talking to you because, quite frankly, I didn't think to," he snapped. The fear was getting to him, causing him to lash out and not think at all. "And also I'm a demon." He sighed through his nose, settling back in his seat. "Thought you should know."

"Baby, now is not the time," Rain muttered. She parked on the side of the road. Cars flew passed them - he could hear them as she rolled down her window. "Just stay calm, okay? I can handle them."

"I think I can handle them far better than you can, actually," Ewan muttered, propping his chin on his palm.

"Last time we got pulled over, you threw up on my floor. I don't think you can." Soon, she blushed. "I-It's fine, I'm not saying you're a wimp or anything, I just..."

A man dressed in black with interesting gadgets on his belt was suddenly in front of her window. He looked serious, tilting down his sunglasses to peer at the two of them.

And Rain started sobbing, causing Ewan to flinch in surprise and stare at her. "Please, Officer," she pleaded between sniffles, "I don't know how fast I was going but I promise I didn't mean to."

"You were drunk," Ewan said blankly. "Of course you didn't mean to."

Just as soon, Rain was done crying. Rather, rage filled her gaze as she whipped her head around to glare at him, opening her mouth to shout profanities, most likely. She was interrupted by the policeman at the window.

"Ma'am, I'm gonna have to ask you to-"

Ewan leaned across Rain, stretching over the seat, ignoring a grunt of protest. He smiled kindly, setting his hands on the window. "Officer," he said politely, "you don't know why you pulled us over. And frankly, you'd rather go back to your car and forget this ever happened."

"No he wouldn-" Rain started, but she was interrupted by the officer chuckling.

"You're right, kid," the man said, "I'm sorry, my mistake. Have a nice day."

Ewan winked and leaned back, watching him walk to his car and pull out, gradually fading into traffic again.

Rain gaped. She turned to Ewan, words forming at her lips but no sound came out. The two sat as she tried to speak. Eventually, Ewan sighed.

"I told you I was a demon," he mumbled. "It was purely your choice to have this come as a surprise."

It seemed she didn't even know how to reply to that. She continued gaping like a fish as she just stared at him, only making short gasps of confusion. Eventually, she threw her hands in the air and scoffed, "I mean, sure. Sure. You know? Sure. I don't even care. It probably justifies why you've been hanging out with Ben Sawyer of all people. I mean, that kid could not be any more demonic. I-"

"He's a good guy," Ewan scowled. He allowed his Irish accent to flow freely. It didn't matter anymore, hopefully, and Rain wouldn't be too shocked.

She blushed, looking him over, clearly taken aback by his 'new' accent. She turned in her seat to face him, biting her lip. "He beats people up because he wants to," she whispered. "He almost killed Charlie - our best friend."

"You know who else was 'our best friend'? June." Ewan glanced out the window before looking back at her. "Charlie was spreading lies about her and Ben knew it and- and everyone knew it, Rain, I'm sure. But you know who was the only person to stand up for her? Do some justice? Ben Sawyer."

She sighed through her nose, looking out the window in a huff. After a seconds' silence, she mumbled, "I believe you."

Soon, she turned her car on, turning on the monotone again. After a second of awkward silence, she asked, "So when did you become a demon?"

"I - er..." Ewan sighed. This was going to sound awful. He just cleared Ben's name and now he was going to put dirt on it all over again. "Stirling was... Well, we can talk about this later, actually. Right now we have to get her from rehab."

"Who?" she asked, opening the glove compartment at Ewan's knees. She pulled out a big bottle of vodka, popping off the lid and taking a swig.

"Phoebe Austin - hey, maybe you shouldn't drink-"

"Hey," she snapped. The two shared a look in which she gave him a pointed glare that said she practically had an obligation to drink.

Ewan opened his mouth to reject, but soon he slumped in his seat. 

"Phoebe Austin? Why her?" She took another swig of the vodka, beginning to drive.

"She's - it's a long story... why, do you know her?"

"Uh..." Rain shrugged. "Only by name, actually. It's really a sad story. She-"

"I don't want to hear it if it's sad," Ewan interrupted. "No, thanks."

The girl went quiet, clicking her tongue and looking Ewan over. Then she nodded slowly and turned her gaze to the road.

The rest of the drive was quiet. And really, Ewan wasn't surprised when he saw her take long swigs of vodka. Everyone had their coping mechanism - and really, she'd learned some astounding information very quickly, accepted it without question. 

She did, really, have a right to be drinking.

Soon, they pulled up to a giant light pink building with tons of windows and a brown, pointed roof. There was a pool that he could see as well as a tennis court. 

He raised an eyebrow, getting out of the car. "This is a rehab center? They were much... darker in my days, had the whole haunted house vibe going the whole time, I... it's nice to see the whole industry has improved."

Rain didn't even ask questions. Rather, she took a very long swig of her vodka and shoved it back into the glove compartment. Then, with a deep breath, she got out of the car and began power-walking towards the building.

Setting his jaw, Ewan jogged after her.

The two walked in through a door that looked far too old compared to the rest of the building. Instantly, the smell of fresh linen caressed his nose. He blinked absently, glancing around. "This is... really nice."

"Don't let it fool you," Rain whispered. "The staff are insane."

"How do you know?" he asked, briefly forgetting he was talking to an eighteen-year-old alcoholic. 

"Did you not just sit in a car with me for half an hour," she grumbled, walking up to the front desk. "Hi. Is Phoebe Austin here?"

Ewan's heart began to pound. This was going to be awful if she wasn't. It wasn't that he wished someone needed rehab... He just wished they were at rehab. Which wasn't the same thing.

"No," said the woman behind the counter. She had grey hair pulled back into a bun with a wrinkled face and very, very red lips. But she looked polite. "Family friend?"

"Yes," said Rain, smiling. "Are you sure she isn't here? I have a present for her and I don't want it to.... melt..."

Ewan made a face of disgust.

The woman lowered her voice to a whisper. "Well, off the record, she got checked out last week. So she'll probably be back in the next day or two."

"Oh," Ewan mumbled. "My... close good friend really needs to know where she is, do you know if-"

The door flew open, followed by a flat chuckle. "Easy, fellas," mumbled a sultry voice.

Ewan and Rain whipped around to find a relatively thin girl in an orange crop top with waist-high jeans. Both seemed to hang on her like a towel on a wire. She looked incredibly irritated - her sharp grey-blue eyes glanced around the lobby before falling on the two awkwardly standing there, and she soon directed her gaze back to the woman behind the counter. "Lovely seeing you, Debrah," she greeted.

Debrah smiled a rather strained smile. "Phoebe, darling..."

"That's her," Rain whispered, nudging Ewan.

He looked the girl over. The crop top revealed a fit body with lightly tanned skin that resembled something like sand, and her hair was a mix of blonde and silver, sprouting in a messy, overgrown pixie cut. In all terms of the word, she seemed unkempt. Even her eyes had smudged black eyeliner around them, making her seem exhausted yet also incredibly woke. In other words, she looked rather grumpy.

As if she'd just woken up.

Upon closer inspection, Ewan could see that she had tons of rings on her fingers. None of them looked particularly interesting.

"Excuse me," Ewan said, taking a step forward, "may I have her?"

"Stirling," Rain scolded.

The two guards pushed Phoebe back, standing beside each other and creating a thick wall of black, bulky clothing that Ewan couldn't even see over. The two men were very well built and had on tons of weapons littering their belt. As if Phoebe - the tiny little slightly fit girl - could take them on.

"Sir," Debrah said politely, "she's going into rehab. You'll have to wait another three days before she can have visitors."

Ewan smiled kindly, vaguely irritated. 

"I'll be taking her home. And you'd be more than happy to let me," he hummed, leaning across the counter to flash her a charming smile.

Debrah went quiet before nodding. "Sure. Absolutely. Boys, if you'll-"

"What the Hell kinda witchcraft was that?" scoffed one man behind him.

Ewan turned, raising an eyebrow at them. "It wasn't witchcraft, dumbass, it was charisma. Give me Phoebe."

"No - that was witchcraft," added the other, shaking his head. 

"I say we get him," growled the first one.

Dumbass and Dumberass, Ewan named them, just before Dumbass punched him square in the nose.

He groaned, unable to feel what had happened but he did feel a little dizzy. In a confused blur, he turned around to find one of the Dumberass had his baton out and Dumbass had his gun. Phoebe was handcuffed to one of the chairs now and she looked slightly bored. Actually, very bored.

Ewan narrowed his eyes, tasting blood as it dribbled into his mouth.

"Great Hell," Ewan grumbled. "It wasn't witchcraft, guys, that's actually very insulting-"

Dumbass raised his hand again, but Ewan raised his and stopped it mid-air. Dumberass didn't waste a moment, grabbing him by the throat and lifting him in the air. And while Ewan didn't need air, he knew the body did, and it would give out soon without it.

Before he could shove the man back, Dumberass reared his hand back and slammed it right into Ewan's face. There was a sickening crunch as well as a blinding pain in his left eye.

A pain he shouldn't have been able to feel, but there were clearly more pressing matters.

Ewan kicked his legs, getting the giant between the legs. While he stumbled back, Ewan regained his footing and lifted his hand, gripping a chair with his mentality and flinging it towards Dumbass.

It didn't phase him. Whatsoever. Rather, he grabbed the chair and slammed it down on Ewan, giving him no time to react.

Ewan collapsed to his stomach, met with a blinding pain in his spine.

"You guys are far more aggressive than I thought," Ewan whined. He shoved himself to his feet. "I mean, where are the other patient-"

An elbow rammed into his chest. A broken rib - he could feel it. Ewan huffed, falling against the counter. His eyes flitted to Rain, who was scrambling to find something behind the front desk, where Debrah was stuck in shock.

Sighing in annoyance, Ewan lifted a hand and brought another chair hurling through the air towards one of the men.

The chair was beside Phoebe, and she didn't even flinch, simply watching it hurl through the air with a flat expression that said absolutely nothing. She just slowly looked to the men on the ground.

One had been hit with a taser that Rain was holding and the other had been knocked unconscious with the chair.

Ewan huffed through his nose, straightening out his shirt. "Great Hell. That was something, huh, Debbie." He shook his head, then raised an eyebrow at Rain. "How did you know that was there?"

"How do you think?" the girl spat.

"Well, you're a badass," he said. "That's how I think."

Rain rolled her eyes, but he could see that she was hiding a grin.

Then Ewan turned and shot little finger guns at Phoebe. "Alright! You get to come home with us, Miss Austin. It's your lucky day."

The girl continued to look unimpressed. She simply shook her head. "No, thanks."

Ewan scoffed, raising an eyebrow. "And why not?" he asked.

"Because clearly you're a demon and clearly she's some unhappy sidekick." She motioned to the men on the ground. "Brutus and Biceps are-"

"Those are incredibly cliche nicknames," Ewan mumbled, "but continue."

"Like yours were better," Phoebe mumbled.

"I didn't-" He scoffed. "I didn't give them nicknames, what am I, twelve?"

Phoebe only shrugged, making Ewan scoff again. "I-"

"Enough!" Rain yelled. Her cheeks were red and her lips were contorted into an unhappy scowl. She directed her red-hot glare to Phoebe, pointing a finger. "Today, I found out that my boyfriend is a demon who hangs out with Ben Sawyer, and that this 'demon' can levitate shit through the air and control minds. I also tased someone and got pulled over by a cop - while drunk. And, by the way, I wasted a perfectly good bottle of whiskey on that cop because, as I'm sure you know, you tend to get sober when your entire life falls apart. Now, I did not come all this way, out of class, just for you to sit in that chair with nothing but a drug problem and tell us you aren't going to come with us. So get your ass up and let's go."

Ewan let out a breath, looking the blonde over. She was seething with rage, panting as she glared at Phoebe.

He didn't want to mention that usually, sobriety happened the other way around.

"Did you say Ben?" Phoebe asked. "Ben Sawyer?"

"Yes," hissed Rain.

"I thought he was dead," Phoebe said softly, looking pleasantly stunned. As if finding out the weather was going to be sunny instead of with light showers. "Huh."

Ewan felt his heart skip a beat at the idea of Ben being dead. He had died, of course, but now he was alive. 

No one knew about his death, anyway.

"Are you coming or not?" Ewan asked. "Because I think we should get out of here soon."

Eyes drifted to Debrah to find the poor woman still absolutely shocked but slowly recovering. She was actually blinking now and gradually turning her head a little, eyes flitting from Ewan to the men on the ground.

"Well, I can't," Phoebe mumbled. She shrugged, lifting her hand to show she was still handcuffed to the chair. "Sorry. Catch you next time?"

Ewan narrowed his eyes. "You're progressively becoming more and more of a bother," he scowled.

Lifting a hand, he grabbed the handcuffs telekinetically and snapped them in half. They clattered to the floor.

"Alright, now let's go," he said, turning on his heel and heading for the door.

He didn't hear the second pair of feet, so he turned around only to find Rain grabbing Phoebe by the upper arm and dragging her along while the taller girl just let out a huff through her nose, stumbling along.

Bringing her along had definitely been a good idea.