Part 18:

"I'm starting to get worried." I told Joan over the phone.

"Yeah?"

"I mean, we haven't seen either of them in a week." No Ryan, no God, no God dreams. "Do you think I should try to contact him?"

"Ryan?" Joan sighed. "No, I mean you told me that God said that he was in town. He's probably really close to us-" I glanced at my window. "But is waiting for the right time."

"No, I meant God, but what do you mean 'the right time'?" I got up and pulled the curtains across my window.

"You know, the right time to do something horrible. Explode a bus, stab one of us in the heart…"

"Whoa, feeling a little depressed over there?" I sat on my bed and flipped through some of the late shows and found an episode of Family Guy.

"No, yeah. It's just that Adam called."

"And?" I had been talking to him a lot in art. He hadn't done anything, had he?

"I don't know. I just…" She paused. "I miss him so much but I don't know how I could even begin to forgive him."

"I don't know." I saw both sides; though I had to lean a little closer to Joan, maybe it was a girl thing. "I mean, with Ryan here and all something could happen." I waited.

"What?" She asked finally. "Did you have a dream? Is something going to happen to him?"

"Hold up. I just told you that I haven't seen God all week. I was just saying that you obviously still have feelings for him, not to mention that your whole panic attack pretty much proved me to be right. What I'm trying to say is 'forgive and forget.'" There, I'd gotten it out and into the open.

"What?" She almost sounded like she was going to cry.

"I'm not trying to freak you out or let Adam get a free ride, but what if something did happen to Adam? I know that you'd hate yourself and you wouldn't be the same." No reply. "You can't just keep ignoring him. He's trying, he's trying so hard." I'd seen the dozens of pictures he'd drawn of her. "He knows he made a mistake. I'm not asking you to forgive him, I'm just asking you to not…give him the cold shoulder."

My little speech pretty much ended our conversation and Joan hung up shortly. I felt bad but she had to realize the possibility of Adam getting harmed, that he made a mistake, like half the other teenage boys alive did.

Part 19:

"I think it's going to happen tomorrow." I'm in the tank top that I'd put on before going to bed. No bottoms, well, except for my underwear.

"I missed you." I say as I walk into his arms, ignoring what he'd just said, even if it was only for a moment.

I'm getting up on my tippy toes, ready for a kiss. "Yeah, uh-huh, but we can do that later." I'm kind of shocked at how bluntly he put it and I take a step back, hurt. "Don't do that. Come here." He's reaching for me but I'm stepping back again.

"No." I straighten my tank top and shake my head, lifting my chin. "No. You're right. Just get to the point. What's going to happen tomorrow?" I've gone inside, leaving the fake, cold, me on the outside.

"Emily. I'm sorry, but it's just really important."

"Ok." I finally notice how his hands are pulling at his pants, he's nervous. And just like that, I'm back to my old self, not caring that he rejected my kiss.

"Em." I forgot that he could read my memory.

"Just go on."

"I think Ryan's going to make his appearance tomorrow." Tomorrow? As in, when I wake up, tomorrow?

"What's he going to do?"

"Try to hurt Adam. In front of Joan." I'm sitting down on the floor heavily.

"I was just trying to put the thought in her head so she'd forgive him." I say, mostly to myself. "I don't want him hurt." God squats down next to me. "Tell me what to do."

"Listen." He rubs his head. "Adam cheated on Joan because Ryan told him to. He threatened to kill Joan." I feel my eyes widen.

"He didn't do it to…do it?"

"No. Adam is going to meet Ryan at the park at night. Ryan will slip a note into Joan's locker, saying he was Adam and telling her to meet him at the park. Ryan wants Joan to see, he wants her to hurt. The cheating thing was just for fun." Who'd like hurting other people on purpose?

God kisses me passionately on the lips. "He's not normal. He's not nice and considering and caring. Like you." It's such a sweet thing to say that I kiss him. "You have to stop them tomorrow. I can't because," He pauses, "I already have something important that I have to do." It's then that I realize just how much work it would be to be God, how hard and emotional. "But you cannot tell Joan or Adam what's going to happen. If you do, then Joan will try to warm Adam and Adam will be too nervous to do anything right."

I'm nodding, understanding how serious this is. "Okay." I kiss him one more time, one last time, both of us knowing that I will be putting my life at jeopardy too.

"It's time for you to wake up." I nod at God.

"I guess I'll see you." He nods; looking very sad and I wake up with tears in my eyes.

Part 20:

"What's wrong with you?" Joan asked over her sandwich at lunch. "Did you have another one?" She'd lowered her voice and even though Grace looked over at me, I was the only one who heard and understood what she was talking about.

"No. I've just got cramps." Last week. Har har, I'm such the actress. But to my credit, my stomach really did hurt, but just because I was nervous, not knowing if this was the last time I'd see them.

"Oh, I'd offer you some medicine, but," I nodded, knowing that if you carried any type of medicine around and got caught, you were in big trouble. "Yeah, well, you can go get some from my mom." She offered.

"That's okay. It's just an on again off again sort of thing." She nodded and went back to eating.

"So what are we all doing after school today?" Grace asked us.

"Ur, I'm busy." Joan said, her eyes on the table.

"Dude, not only did that not answer my question, but since when are you busy on a Friday night?" Not since Adam. I knew; she'd told me.

"I'm just busy tonight, okay?" Grace nodded and backed off of her.

"What about you, James?" It was so weird to have someone call me by my last name, but I almost felt like it was a privilege, since it was coming from Grace.

"I'm going out tonight." I tried to smile but felt a wave of sickness and looked down at my sandwich. "Eh." I pushed it away.

"Ookay." Grace went on, planning a movie night with Luke at Joan's house.

Part 21:

"Take this." I was walking to art class and God had come and pulled me into an empty, dark closet. It smelt kind of musty so I was guessing it was the janitor's closet.

"What?" He didn't have anything in his hands. "I thought you were busy today." He was in his cute God 'form', 'suit' whatever.

"I forgot to give this to you last night." With that, he took my right hand in his left and my left in his right. He held them out to each side of us. I was confused but he kissed me before I could say anything. The kiss ended up with me pressed against the wall, our hands then feeling each other.

"Mmm." I moaned and then it happened. This bright white light lit up the light and at first I thought someone had come into the room, but God kept kissing me and then the light disappeared after a second. "What was that?" I pulled away and he let me.

"Something you'll need." God said with a cute grin.

"Uh, okay?"

"For tonight."

"Ok, but what was it?"

"You'll see."

"How do I know when to use it? How do I use it?" My breathing was returning to normal. It was then that I realized that this was the first time we'd kissed, well, just even touched, each other that wasn't in a dream.

God smiled, reading my thought. "I know. Much better live, huh?" I smiled and hugged him. So how do I use the…light? I thought. If we could talk to each other in our heads, maybe it could be useful.

"Don't worry. You'll know. And if you don't," He kissed my head. "Well, I'll send you a signal and it'll happen anyway." As an after thought, he added 'I hope.' And I heard it in my head.

"I'll try my best." I sighed and snuggled my head into his chest.

"We have to go now. The janitor is coming." I leaned back and kissed him and then pulled him out and into the hallway. "Bye." The bye made it seem more real and my heart skipped a beat.

"Bye." I watched him walk away and thought I love you, not intending for him to get the mental message at all.

God lifted his hand and waved. Love you too. I smiled when I heard his voice in my head and scurried off the class, knowing I was going to be late.

Part 22:

"So what did you want?" Adam sounded mad.

"Nothing, well, nothing yet. We're expecting company." My heart beat extra fast, thinking he was talking about me, but then I remembered he was talking about Joan.

"What?" Adam was sitting on a bench and Ryan leaned against a tree, further back and mostly covered in the shadows.

"One of your little friends is coming to join us." Ryan said it word for word, like he was talking to a child. I could see Adam glare at Ryan, even thought it was nighttime.

Ryan laughed and then looked in my direction. I slowly moved my head back behind the tree. "She'll be here soon." About two minutes later I watched Joan walk past me, totally oblivious to me.

"Hey." Joan hadn't noticed Ryan yet. She walked over and stood by Adam.

"What are you doing here?" Adam's eyes had widened and he looked over to Ryan, but he wasn't there.

"Care to join us?" The whisper almost gave me a heart attack and when I turned my head slightly and saw Ryan. Shit, caught already.

"Who's there?" Joan was squinting over to where Ryan was towering over me.

"Uh, me. Emily." I called and Ryan nodded, his eyes laughing. I started to walk towards my friends, knowing Ryan was close behind.

"Emily? What are you doing here?" Joan squinted in the dark. And then she saw Ryan. "Ryan?"

"Yeah, small world, huh?"

"Wait, what's going on here?" Adam looked around.

"Why don't you tell them, Emily? Since you seem to know everything already." Ryan said.

"Joan, Adam has been talking to Ryan. He knows who Ryan is." Joan looked confused. "Adam cheated on you because he threatened to hurt you."

"What?" Joan was looking at Adam.

"Oh, please. Where'd you hear that? From God?" Ryan was looking at me like I was a stupid little child. "Even if he did, it's not like you would've heard. You were always too busy making out to notice anything."

"Idiot." I glared at him. "You think you're so smart. You can burn things, you can run away, you can do a hell of a lot of shit, but you are way, way too freakin stupid to get away with it for much longer."

"Bitch." Ryan flung his arm and I went flying into a tree. Oh hell, was all I had time to think. "You think you're so great, so holy, because God chose you." He had used a super speed or something and was suddenly in front of me. I think Joan would've beentoo, but Adam was holding her back. "He didn't even really choose you. He's using you. All he wants is a little action, a fun time. Poor Emily." He reached up and touched my cheek and I slapped it off.

"Don't you dare touch me." Bad choice of words. He got right in my face, blocking the only light I had, and put his lips right in front of mine.

"I'll touch you if I want to. You're powerless. You're a mere human being." I did the only thing that came into mind. I kissed him. He pushed me harder against the tree and I waved my hand behind his back so that Joan would see, and hopefully get the message to leave.

"See?" Ryan pulled back and looked me in the eyes. "You're disposable. And don't think that your little trick worked." He raised his arm and I helplessly watched as Adam came over to us. He looked scared and that's when I realized that Ryan had some power over him.

"Are you the devil?"

Ryan laughed as Adam came closer. "One of them."

"Adam, Adam." I heard Joan saying in the distance.

"Come here, Jane." He laughed. "It's time for your show."

Adam came the last two feet and then his arms lifted and he grabbed me by the neck. "I'm tired of this little brat, get rid of her." Ryan said into Adam's ear.

"Adam. Don't. He's doing something to you." Joan was trying to pry his hands away and then Ryan sent her flying backwards.

"Go, do it." Ryan said. Adam tightened his grip.

"No." I croaked out and squeezed my eyes shut right before the blinding light came out.