Death Is Calling

TWENTY

"Hey, sorry I got side tracked, so I'll be there right at 11:30."

"That's not a problem! I mean, if you were in Asia a while ago, of course you need to settle back in. I'll see you when you get here though!"

"Yeah, sorry. Wait, you're already there?"

"Uh, yes?" Death could hear the hesitation in her voice, making him groan and silently curse the idea of taking a shower, which was what had delayed him so much.

"Ugh, sorry Malea, I'll try to be quick."

"No, please, like I said, it's totally fine! I don't mind waiting, plus you still have about ten minutes, so I'm just jumping the gun I guess." Malea giggled sheepishly.

"Thank you for saying so, but I'm still going to hurry."

".. Fine, it's up to you anyway."

"Right. So have you made a wish yet?"

"No, I was going to wait until you got here so we could make our wishes together! Is that okay?"

"Of course it is," Death's lips twitched upwards. She's so adorable.

"...So, to be clear, you're on your way?"

"Almost. My shoes are bitching at me."

"Wha--Dean!" Malea gasped at his language, making him laugh.

"Haha, sorry, force of habit. Guess my friend is a bad influence."

"Doubtful, it's definitely just you." She rolled her eyes, like he could fool her with such an obvious shift in blame.

"Ha, calling me out, huh princess?"

"Absolutely. Take responsibility and stop cursing already!"

"I'll try to, but no promises."

"Hmph, fine," Malea huffed, then took the phone away from her ear for a moment to check the time. He has three minutes, she discovered.

"Malea?" The voice came through the phone louder a few moments later, causing her to put it back to her ear hurriedly.

"Yes? Sorry, I spaced for a second."

"No problem, I just asked if your shoes were hurting you at all."

"Oh, no, not at all. They're actually really comfortable--" Malea paused, finding the question to be a bit too specific. How did he know that her shoes looked like they might hurt? Was it just a wild guess? "You.."

"Turn around, princess."

CALL ENDED