Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN NEWSIES. DON'T SUE!
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How to Get Into Heaven without Really Trying
Chapter Two
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Madison Square
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Spot realized two things when he opened his eyes. One: that he was in a somewhat familiar street. Two: that the world was on sideways. The ground isn't supposed to be on your left, is it?
He was in Hell, he thought. His very own sideways Hell. Was this how They were going to torture him? Messing with his equilibrium?
He heard horse hooves hitting the ground in rapid succession. Ker-lack, ker-lack, ker-lack!
He was going to die. Again. Trampled to death by a horse pulling a buggy. Oh, well. He had already died once; dying a second time wouldn't hurt much, would it? Unless, in this Hell, he would be trampled over and over again, like that poor soul forever pushing that giant rock up the hill.
He closed his eyes and waited for the horse to come.
And waited.
And waited.
Puzzled, his blue eyes opened and he saw the horse and buggy on the other side of him. How strange. Maybe the driver had averted the potential accident?
Then he heard laughter. It wasn't the soft tinkling of bells like Gwyn's; it was loud, raucous, teenage-manly. And it was coming from somewhere above him.
He moved out of the street and onto the sidewalk lined with small shops and different colored canopies. There was still that laughter.
" 'Ey, Spirit!" he heard someone call. It wasn't directed to him, then. Probably just another newsy with a stupid nickname.
" 'Ey, Spirit!" the voice cried again, louder. Again, Spot ignored it.
"OI! YOU!"
This time Spot turned to the source of the voice, just in case. But when he looked behind himself, there was no one there who could have asked for him.
"Up here."
Spot looked up. Perched on the green canopy above the butcher shop was a man. A boy, really.
He was thin and had long limbs, but he looked strong, wiry. Maybe a little bit like Spot himself. The boy's bright blue eyes sparkled with laughter and he flicked his wavy brown hair out of his face.
"That was quite the laugh, Spirit." It was only then that Spot realized the boy was transparent. He could see the bricks behind him. Spot looked down at his own feet. He could see the concrete beneath his shoes.
He looked up at the boy again, panicked.
"What's—" he started, but the boy interrupted him.
"Come up here."
"How?"
"Jump," he said easily. The boy shrugged and waited.
Spot jumped. His feet didn't hit the ground again.
"Woah," he said. Apparently, this was hilarious because it set the boy off again. He laughed uncontrollably.
Spot maneuvered himself until he was sitting next to the chuckling teen. Eventually the laughter died down.
"So, who are you?" Spot asked as soon as the other boy had regained his breath.
"The name's Fitzpatrick. Dan Fitzpatrick. But you can call me Jinx." Dan's eyes glinted.
"Why?"
"I'm bad luck," he answered breezily with a wave of his hand.
"Oh."
"You want to know how I died?" he continued, unfazed.
"Um."
"I was running down the street when someone happened to knock a flower pot off their window ledge and someone happened to shout, 'Move, kid! And then I just happened to duck out of the way and trip over something and fall into the street, and then a trolley just happened to be rolling by, and I just happened to be in its way. And then—SMACK! I just happened to die."
"Bad luck," Spot said sympathetically.
"Yeah." He paused. "So, who are you and how'd you die?"
"I'm Spot. I was shot." His story wasn't nearly as long as Jinx's, but it was brief and abrupt and it made him sound indifferent to his own death. Spot felt very suave and smirked to himself.
His smirk fell when Jinx spoke.
"That's it?"
He glared at him. Jinx was unfazed.
"You looked like you'd have a story, is all."
The two sat in a thick silence. Jinx fidgeted.
"How long are you down here for, then?"
"Two weeks."
"Is that all?" Spot glared again. "I'm here for another two weeks, too. But I've already been down here a month. It's quite fun, actually."
Spot watched the mortals bustling about below him, ignoring the chattering boy. Sensing some animosity, Jinx murmured, "Sorry."
Spot sulked.
"Watch this, then." Jinx swooped down onto the sidewalk and looked up, waiting for Spot to follow. Grudgingly, he did. A few moments later he was hovering next to his ghost-pal. Blue eyes gleamed mischievously and Spot wondered what he was up to.
A couple dressed in fancy upper-middle class garb strutted by, the woman's arm linked with the man's.
Jinx walked alongside them and Spot followed.
The couple didn't seem to notice.
Jinx leaned close to the woman's ear and whispered, "Your husband is so loving, isn't he?" The wife looked over wistfully at the man beside her. The man glanced over and smiled. They were young, Spot noted. In their late twenties, maybe. "Too bad he's loving your housemaid."
Then Jinx stepped back (well, floated is the more appropriate term). Just in time, too, because the lady dropped the man's arms and shrieked, "You're having an affair, aren't you?" The husband looked around, startled.
Some people had stopped in curiosity to watch the lover's spat.
"What?!" His face burned bright red. Jinx chuckled.
"An affair!" the woman shouted, and hiked up her dress. She ran.
Jinx laughed again heartily, clutching at his sides.
"That was awful," Spot said, keeping a straight face. He really should have been an actor when he was living.
"That was true," Jinx said between laughs. "Do you think I'd do that to the couple if it weren't true?"
"Yes," Spot answered immediately, warily standing next to him.
"Oh." Jinx sobered. "Oh," he said again. "Well, I wouldn't'."
Spot only nodded.
Jinx straightened and wiped his hair from his eyes that had dulled a bit in color.
"Just thought I'd show you that. It's how you'll 'finish your business'."
"Thanks," Spot answered stiffly, then burst into laughter. Hell, that was pretty funny. Jinx smiled. Spot suspected that if he been a girl, he would have swooned.
Maybe this after-life thing wasn't so bad, after all.
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End Chapter Two
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[A/N]:
Sorry this took so frickin' long. I read this story called "Going Home" by RiotAct a while ago, and it's about the SAME EXACT thing. Spot's in limbo and he has to right some wrongs. And there was even a casting call. Now, it's a good story, and I am proud to say that I DID NOT copy it, thank you very much (Couldn't have anyway, since RiotAct's story was posted a day after mine). Needless to say, I felt kinda disappointed and very unoriginal, so I left this fic for a while. But NOW I'M BACK. Hopefully.
LATER CHAPTERS = MORE CC CHARACTERS. Woot woot.
I LOVE JINX! Hehe.
Don't worry, there will be other CC characters, too.
Shoutouts:
Dimonah Tralon: Thanx! I hope you liked this chapter.
Ccatt: Like Jinx here? I LOVED HIM, thank you so much for him! Haha. And I hope your friend hasn't suffered any traumatic coke experience. You know, with you spitting it all over her. Hehe.
Dakki: HAHA. I'm all for babbling. And I haven't seen any eps of South Park, so I have no idea who you're talking about, but oh well.
Strawberri Shake: thanx for the review! Yes, Gwyn is indeed an angel, a rather strange one, too.
Cassies-Grandma: Thanx for telling me your character quirks! Hehe. Hope you liked the chapter.
parkranger: ::blush:: Thanx for telling me about my typo. I am lazy and rarely reread what I've typed. Hehe. So, yeah. Thanx!
Wisecracker88: Of course you're not stupid! Hehe. Thanx for the review.
Elvenrarehunter: Thanx, dude. Hehe. And I love your name.
Moonlights Sundance: Short is all good. Thanx for the review!
uninvisible: Yay for transitions! Hehe. So, do you mind if I make Hyena like 5'4"? Or something. 'Cause to get technical, or whatever, back then the nutrition and health and stuff weren't so great, so people would be shorter. So if you're really against it, I can still make her 5'7". ASIAN POWER!
QuietViolence: Sorry it took so long for the next chapter. ::hangs head shamefully:: SCHOOL IS OUT! WOOT WOOT.
You've already read, now Review please!!!!!!