Page 127 of Inbetweeners
He turned on the shower and stepped under it. He’d now died seven times. He was running out of chances. One more loss of life and he’d be almost back in Heaven. There was no way he wanted that to happen without making sure Phoenix could stay out of Hell.
Do I want to go to Hell with him?That he was eventhinkingthat said something, didn’t it? Probably that he was an absolute fool. The very notion of swapping Eternal Dull for Endless Torment shouldn’t even be a consideration. And yet…
And yet hewasconsidering it.
By the time he came back to the kitchen, it no longer had the metallic coppery scent of blood. In fact, there was no sign of anything having happened. Cat was curled on the couch. He jumped down and came over to Emmett. Emmett bent and stroked him as he wound through his legs.
“I’m okay. I’m glad you are too.”
Phoenix brought over the croissants, coffee, and plates and Emmett sat at the table.
“I feel surprisingly hungry.” Emmett smiled.
“I’m shocked. Did you get a look at the knife?”
“While he was hacking off my head? Yes, I got a really good look. It’s about a foot long. Silver handle and a black blade. Sharp. Ouch. I’m guessing either the knife has some sort of power or Greyson does. He was fast and strong. He knocked Harry and Rashid aside when they ran at him. He could physically touch them which tells us something.”
“What?”
“That he’s more than human.”
“Unnaturally strong?”
“Or am I just weak?” Emmett pretended to struggle as he pulled apart the croissant. “I think it’s interesting that he doesn’t know what I am. He’s obviously not a vampire if he couldn’t see that I wasn’t. If he’s been possessed by a demon, wouldn’t a demon recognise an angel? Though you didn’t.” He stuffed a piece of pastry into his mouth.
“And you couldn’t tell that I was a demon.”
“It’s obvious now.” Emmett reached out and stroked his head. “Baby horns.”
“Wanker.”
Emmett felt bad when Phoenix dragged his fingers through his hair, obviously checking.
“I was teasing.”
“We need a plan.”
“Yes, we need to rescue our useless sidekick and his boyfriend who undoubtedly are not doing the sensible thing and moving on, away from this plane, but—assuming they’re in a position to think for themselves—are trying to work out a way to deal with Mr and Ms Bad. I’m worried about Harry and Rashid, though it helps that they’re already dead. It’s just that I don’t want them to be possessed by demons and us not be able to do anything about it or even worse that we have to hurt them because they’re possessed.”
“Greyson and Sophie know what we look like so it wouldn’t be wise to just turn up at the shop. They could be watching us approach on CCTV.” Phoenix bit into the croissant and showered flakes of pastry everywhere. “We could go in disguise. Get ourselves made up to look totally different.”
Emmett widened his eyes. “You like dressing up? I learn something new about you every day. Mini skirt? Suspenders? Lipstick?”
Phoenix glared at him.
“But you’d look great!”
The glare intensified.
“Fine. No suspenders, but I think a disguise is a good idea. We can stake out the shop. Hopefully there’ll be a place to sit and watch who comes and goes. Did Harry leave my phone?”
“I didn’t spot it.”
Emmett straightened. “Oh. Then, do you want to try and call him? I don’t know if he can use it away from the flat or the car, but…”
“If I call, and Greyson has the phone, he might able to track us. Maybe he can anyway because my number is on your phone. Though you’d think we’d have been given phones where that wasn’t possible. We’re better off waiting to see if Harry can call us.”
Emmett finished off his croissant and picked up an almond one. “So, wigs, moustache, beard? What about looking like traffic wardens? Or what if we really went down the fancy-dress route and got dressed up as something weird. Darth Vader and Princess Leia. No need for suspenders. We could stick numbers on our backs and pretend we’re in a race.”
