Authors Note: I do not own Dead Like Me, only this story and the original characters in it.
Chapter Three
Jane's Point of View
I had a full day I got to go to the place that was once my home, take my stuff, and then Mason and I trashed the place which was really fun. Then I went with Mason to his reap and got to see how things work and what my new job would be like.
After he finished his reap we hanged out at the park and I asked him some of the many questions I had about my new life. "So I'll need new papers now right…like driver's license, passport, and birth certificate?" I asked "Yeah we gotta a guy who makes us some fake papers, do you know what you want your new name to be?" Mason asked I smiled because I did have a name in mind that I thought was great "Yep I want my new name to be Mary-Jane Baker" I said with a grin Mason laughed and said "that's brilliant!" after a minute of Mason laughing, I asked another question I had.
"If you don't mind me asking…" I started to ask but he knew what I was going to ask "you wanna know how I died" he stated. I smiled "well, it's only fair since you know how I did" I answered with a sly smile "I drilled a hole in my head" he answered simply. "You did what?" I asked in disbelief, Mason chuckled "I was trying to achieve the ultimate high a permanent high" he elaborated. I was having trouble wrapping my brain around the idea of Mason drilling a hole is in his head "what were you on?" I asked Mason grinned "acid" he answered "you ever try it?" he asked me. I laughed "yeah, a few times in high school" I answered honestly "it sounds like you had a bad trip" he said and I was surprised that he could tell just from a few words I said "yeah, well the first time it was amazing and beautiful but… the second time I saw some really fucked up things" I couldn't help but shiver at the memory, Mason nodded in understanding.
"Have you ever reaped anyone famous?" I asked changing the subject back to questions I had about my new life and new job. Mason grinned from ear to ear "yes, I've had a VIP reap, the Rolling Stone's Brian Jones 1969" he bragged. I smiled "death by misadventure" I quoted, Mason seemed surprised that I knew that. "So VIP reaps, do you think I'll ever get one?" I asked "of course, everyone gets one eventually- but these days VIP's aren't always true VIP's these days anybody can get famous- just by being on a bloody reality show" Mason said the last part with a look of disgust.
"Have you ever had to reap someone you knew?" I asked another one of the questions I had, Mason sighed "only one that I can remember, it was last year actually… but I don't think I ever had to reap someone I knew when I was living" he answered thoughtfully; I was hoping that I would never have to reap someone I knew.
We spent almost three hours in the park talking about reaper related topics, but mostly talked about things that helped us get to know each other. My stomach suddenly growled, I looked down at my stomach embarrassed "hey you wanna get some food?" he asked, I smiled "sounds good to me" then the two of us headed for a local burger place.
Less than twenty minutes later we were at the burger place and went up to the counter to order something. I had completely forgotten about the newspaper I had been carrying around until the middle aged man behind the counter said "tragic isn't it" I looked at him confused "what?" I asked "about the angel killed in the middle of a party…she's so young it's a shame" the man behind the counter elaborated then handed us our order. The two of us had been eating in silence for a while, I must've looked upset because Mason broke the silence and asked "you wanna talk about it?" I thought about this for a moment then thought what the hell "okay…if you don't mind?" I asked I didn't want him to feel uncomfortable. "No I don't mind" Mason answered I took a deep breath and then started to speak. "I-I still just can't believe that I died…not just died but was murdered" I said in a very quiet voice. "I'm sorry" Mason said I wanted to be able to say 'it's okay' but it wasn't okay. "I've been avoiding thinking about it- I can't let myself feel angry or sad…because if I do I might never be able to stop feeling that way- angry and sad" I said then I was done talking about it. I could tell Mason wanted to say or ask me something but he never did.
A few moments later I had a brilliant idea "you know what we should do?" I asked with a bright smile, Mason smiled back at me "what?" he asked "we should just go out and get completely wasted- like wrecked" was my brilliant idea. Mason grinned from ear to ear "that sounds wonderful, I know just the place" he said then stood up and offered me his hand, which I took.
About fifteen minutes later we walked into some pub where the bartender knew Mason's name, we ordered beers and a whole lot of tequila. An hour later I was completely wasted "you know life's not so bad… if I hadn't of died I would've never got the chance to meet you- and you are awesome" I slurred and giggled. Mason smiled and laughed with me "You're awesome!" he mimicked "and you're an angel and you're lovely and beautiful" he complemented thanks to the alcohol, I smiled then kissed him when I pulled away the shocked expression on his face was priceless and I couldn't help but laugh and almost fall off of my stool. Mason smiled then he cupped my face and kissed me sweetly, the kiss started out sweet and simple then it deepened, it had been a while since I'd been kissed like that, a kiss that was sweet and not forceful it was just right. We pulled away when we heard someone shout 'get a room' while another person did a wolf whistle.
We spent the rest of the night drinking, laughing, playing darts, and making out, it was the most fun I had in a while. Finally I admitted that I'd had enough, so Mason and I left the pub and started walking with no particular destination in mind, after ten minutes of walking around I realized how tired I was "I need sleep" I announced with a yawn "I think I might just pass out in the street any minute now" I added and laughed after I pictured a drunk me sleeping in the middle of the street. We had been walking with our arms looped together and my head resting on his shoulder "my place is closer than Georgie and Daisy's" Mason stated and also yawned "can I crash at your place" I asked and he nodded, in my mind I knew that, that probably wasn't the best idea since I hadn't known him for very long and was very drunk but my brain wasn't working at its usual speed so to me the idea of a soft pillow was all that seemed important.
The two of us got to Mason's place a few minutes later, once we walked into the door I kicked off my shoes and peeled off the jeans and jacket I was wearing, leaving me only wearing my underwear and t-shirt then I plopped onto Mason's bed. Then Mason joined me on his bed only wearing his boxers, he pulled me close to him I turned to face him and kissed him softly "thanks for letting me sleep here" I whispered/slurred, I could see Mason's smile even though the room was dark "anytime" he said. I fell asleep moments later.
When I woke up I cringed at the sudden brightness that probably wasn't all that bright and it was just the hangover, last night I learned that it took a LOT of alcohol to get a reaper drunk. I felt an arm wrapped around me and some one's head cradled in my neck, it took me a second to remember that I stayed at Mason's after a long night of fun and drinking. It surprised me that I felt so comfortable, I had only known Mason for a few days now but already really enjoyed his company… and the way he kissed me. I thought about getting up but realized that I was still tired and quickly fell back asleep with Mason holding me tight.
Mason's Point of View
After my reap Jane and I hung out around the park for a while and got to know each other. I liked her not just because she was beautiful but because she was nice, funny, and didn't treat me like a fuck-up like the others did.
Things about Jane that surprised me: when she told me she wanted her new name to be Mary-Jane Baker, that she knew who Brain Jones was and how he died, that she enjoyed mind altering substances- because girls that look like her usually aren't into those type of things and overall her cheerful and positive attitude especially since she only died the other day.
We left the park to go get some burgers, when we got to the place the man behind the counter mentioned the dead angel on the cover of the Seattle Times. This brought Jane down and that beautiful smile of hers that I had grown used to had faded. We had been eating in silence for what seemed like forever until I asked "you wanna talk about it?" she took a moment before answering "okay…if you don't mind?" she asked. I gave her a reassuring smile and said "no I don't mind" she took a deep breath and then started to speak "I-I still just can't believe that I died…not just died but was murdered" she said in a quiet voice. "I'm sorry" I said wishing that, that would be enough to take her pain away but knew it wasn't. "I've been avoiding thinking about it- I can't let myself feel angry or sad… because if I do I might never be able to stop feeling that way- angry and sad" she said and I could tell by the look in her eyes that she was done talking about it. I wanted to ask her about her death and the bastard that killed her but I didn't want to cause her more pain so I stayed silent.
A few moments later her bright smile returned to her face and she said "you know what we should do?" I smiled back at her and asked "what?" she grinned "we should just go out and get completely wasted- like wrecked" I couldn't help but grin from ear to ear "that sounds wonderful, I know just the place" I said then stood up and offered her my hand, which she took.
About fifteen minutes later we walked into a pub that I went to all the time, we ordered beers and massive amounts of tequila.
"You know life's not so bad… if I hadn't of died I would've never got the chance to meet you- and you are awesome" Jane slurred and giggled. This made me smile and chuckle "You're awesome!" I parroted "and you're an angel and you're lovely and beautiful" I added thanks to the alcohol. She smiled at me, then surprised me by kissing me, when she pulled away she laughed (probably from the look on my face of joy and surprise) and almost fell off her stool. I grinned then cupped her face and kissed her, we must have been making quite a scene because when we pulled apart someone yelled 'get a room' (which sounded like a great idea to me) while another person did a wolf whistle.
We spent the night drinking, laughing, snogging, and playing darts (which she was surprisingly good at especially considering how smashed she was) we had a lot of fun. Around 12:30 Jane said that she had enough, so the two of us left the pub and started walking around aimlessly with our arms looped together and her head on my shoulder. Ten minutes later Jane announced "I need sleep" she said with a yawn "I think I might just pass out in the street any minute now" she added and giggled. "My place is closer than Georgie and Daisy's" I said and also yawned "can I crash at your place?" she asked me and I nodded.
The two of us got to my place a few minutes later, once we walked through the door she started to peel off most of her clothing, which I greatly appreciated- revealing her long smooth legs and amazing body. I fallowed her lead by stripping off most of the clothes I was wearing and laid on my bed next to her. I pulled her close then she turned to face me and kissed me sweetly, when she pulled away she said "thanks for letting me sleep here" she slurred quietly. I smiled and secretly wished to myself that the two of us would do more than sleep but knew that we were both too wasted to doing anything else, but was happy to just have her in my arms. "Anytime" I said but I think she had already fallen asleep before I said it.
I woke up with Jane in my arms, I couldn't help but smile it had been a long time since I had spooned with someone I couldn't help but laugh at myself for liking spooning. I looked down at Jane's sleeping form she was beautiful even with her hair messy from bed head. I smiled from thinking about last night and all the fun we had and her kisses and the way she tasted like cherries and smelled like vanilla.
Jane started to stir then her eyes fluttered open revealing her beautiful green eyes, she smiled up at me and I smiled back at her and was glad to see that she wasn't bothered by the fact that we ended up spooning. "Good morning" she said "good morning" I replied, she slid out of my arms and got out of bed "do you have any mouth wash?" she asked as she stretched and reveled her flat stomach. I nodded "yeah, in the loo under the sink" I answered, and then she walked in the direction of the loo.
I rolled off the bed to see that it was 10:30 and we were supposed to be at 'der waffle haus' over an hour and half ago "shit" I cursed from picturing how pissed Rube was going to be. Jane's head popped out of the bathroom after hearing me "we gotta get to 'der haus' Rube's gonna be pissed" I answered her silent question.
We both got dressed and left my place, when we got out of my building Grace asked a kid that lived in my building if we could barrow his bike, to my surprise the kid said yes "you want to peddle or stand on the pegs?" she asked "I'll drive you stand" I answered and she smiled as I sat on the seat and she stood on the pegs holding my shoulders as we road to 'der haus'.
When we got to 'der haus', Rube was the only one sitting at the usual table and he looked pissed, we sat down at the table across from him "you two are late" he stated. I was about to say something but Rube stopped me by holding his hand up "stop right there I don't want to hear any of your bullshit" he said I noticed that Jane was looking down at her hands. Rube pulled out two post-its "you" he placed one in front of me "and you, today you have your first reap" he told Jane as he gave her, her post-it. Jane nodded but the look on her face was unreadable, Rube nodded and started to get out of the booth "be on time tomorrow" he said as he glared at me but his face softened when he looked at Jane. I looked at my post-it and saw that I had to be at my reap in fifteen minutes "shit, I gotta go you wanna come along?" I asked Jane as I got out of the booth. "No, I better go to George and Daisy's" she said and slid out of the booth "make sure you get that bike back to Henry" she added I was surprised that she even knew his name because I lived next to him and didn't even know the kids name. We walked out of 'der haus' as I asked "do you want me to come with you to your reap?" she looked down at her post-it "yeah, sure, you know the address?" she asked I nodded "okay see you later" she said then walked in the direction of Daisy and George's house "later" I said then got on the barrowed bike and headed for my reap.