Title: To Be Missed

Summary: Adrien Trevors is wealthy, rude, narcissistic and mean. So when tragedy strikes and he is killed, nobody misses him--there's nothing to miss! As a result, Adrien is given the opportunity to relive the last year of his life in such a way that he WILL be missed. Maybe he'll find love along the way? SLASH!

Rating: T for violence and language, as well as SLASH, so if you don't like it, don't read it.

Additional Notes: Okay, so this story is yet another 'dead coming back to life' story, but I hope that it will suit your fancies nonetheless; it does have slash, but I doubt very seriously that sex is important in this story. As for language and the like, Adrien, the main character, is British, but he is not living in Britain, which will explain why he seems to be talking with an accent and nobody else does. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy it--this story idea wouldn't leave me alone, so I figured I'd go ahead and put it up, even though I'm not even close to finishing any of my other projects. What can I say? Whenever inspiration hits, it hits. Hopefully, I'll at least get somewhere with this. Its persistence in my brain should see to that.

Prologue

"Who the bloody hell is it!?"

The knocking on the door continued, driving Adrien Trevors completely mad. Who would be calling at this hour? Slowly, he dragged himself up out of his bed and took a look at the clock. 3: 00 AM. This had better be important, he thought to himself in frustration as he grabbed his robe from its spot over the back of the computer chair in his rather large bedroom and made his way to the spiral staircase.

When he reached the final flight, he went to his door and began unlatching it. "Yes, yes, I'm coming. Stop knocking already--" he had gotten the door open, but he was completely unprepared for what happened afterwards; a pistol came up out of the hand of his 'visitor' and he felt as it slammed into the side of his face, knocking him off balance and sending him flying backwards.

"Get him!" yelled his assailant.

Still stunned by the blow and trying to pull himself together, Adrien began flailing around as two other brutes forced their way into his home and grabbed him up, one holding each shoulder so that he was in a somewhat-standing position between them. The man with the gun came a little closer; Adrien noted with dismay that they were all wearing masks. So, he thought in his daze, it's to be a robbery, then.

"Where do you keep your money?"

Adrien, still out of it, allowed his head to droop to the side a bit as he said, "Why, in the bank, of course. Where else?"

The response caused the man to hit him again, snapping his head to the side violently and causing blood to flow freely from his nose and lip. The two men on either side of him held him up through all of this and laughed at the sadistic treatment of their captive. The man with the gun, presumably their leader, grabbed his chin and forced him to look back at him. "Let me rephrase that; where do you keep your valuables. It would be beneficial for you to tell me."

Adrien mustered all of the strength he could and spat at the man, not caring that it would only anger him further. The man reached up and wiped the saliva from his mask. Adrien could only imagine the angry expression on the man's face in that moment. But, instead of exploding and shooting Adrien on the spot, the leader looked behind him and two more men stepped up.

"Apparently, he doesn't feel like telling me anything. Teach him how incredibly stupid that is," said the leader and then walked off towards the den area. The two men he had called in progressed closer to Adrien, cracking their overly large knuckles and looking menacingly at him. He felt his heart sink a bit and closed his eyes, hoping that it would hurt less that way. It didn't.

After the first punch to the gut, Adrien had changed his mind about telling the man where his things were. He tried to open his mouth and tell them that, but they promptly closed it for him by punching him in the jaw. After the second punch, Adrien wanted to sob and tell them not only where his things were, but the combination to the safe as well. After the third punch, Adrien wanted to tell them where his things were, the combination, where his mother lived, and where to find her valuables as well. Throughout the entire beating, he kept changing his mind, but they wouldn't stop. Just as he was on the verge of slipping into unconsciousness, the man with the gun returned and pushed his two brutes aside so that he could take a real good look at Adrien.

"Tsk, tsk. I'm terribly sorry. Sometimes they get a little carried away, but they do their job. Are you ready to talk now?"

Adrien allowed a few tears to drip down his face and a sob escaped from his lips as he looked at the man. "Why are you doing this?" he asked brokenly.

"Oh, so they didn't teach you did they? In that case, I might as well call them back and--"

"No! I'll tell you, I'll tell you! In the living room, behind a painting above the fireplace there's a safe--"

"Yes, yes, I already found that. What's the combination?"

"2-4-6-0-1; That's Jean Valjean's prisoner number in Les--"

"Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, I know. You have good taste in literature, I'll give you that. Too bad I have to kill you now."

"Wha--"

Before Adrien could even finish that one simple word, the man's gun went off, and after a quick flash of pain in his already battered stomach area, Adrien Trevors, sole Heir of the Trevors fortune and CEO of a successful business, was on his way into the next world.


Excerpt from the front-page story in a Newspaper, dated December 9, 2008:

Police made a shocking discovery this past Sunday while investigating sounds of apparent gunshots in the home of millionaire Adrien Trevors.

The 26 year old heir was found dead in his foyer, the cause of death being a gunshot wound to his abdomen. There were no signs of forced entry, but his safe was found opened and emptied of its contents, leading police to believe it was a robbery. There were also signs of a heavy beating prior to the death of the young millionaire.

Trevors, born to a rich British entrepreneur and his wife, was the sole heir to his parents' fortune and had amassed quite a fortune on his own. The funeral will be held on Thursday, following the autopsy tomorrow. We will keep readers posted on developments in the case.

Excerpt from the Editorial section of the same Newspaper:

Who is everyone kidding? Adrien Trevors was a selfish, rude, and arrogant punk! I say the world is better off without him, and I bet everyone is nodding their heads in agreement. Personally, I think we should be applauding these criminals.

My life was great before he showed up; I had a beautiful wife, a steady job at a small factory, and my first kid was on its way into the world. And then Adrien Trevors shows up and buys my factory, laying off everyone, including myself, who he found unworthy to man his company. After that, my money was gone, my wife left me, and my child has nothing to do with me. If you tell me that Adrien Trevors will be missed, I know you'll be lying. All around this city, people are celebrating in private.


Glenn Oakes put down the newspaper and brushed a strand of auburn hair out of his startling green eyes. He had been rather surprised when he found out about Trevors's death, but he couldn't say he was overly upset. For ten years, Glenn and his family had been his servants and he had treated them with nothing but the utmost tyranny. Even so, it was rather sad that the man who had written that editorial was right--people weren't grieving the millionaire; they were celebrating his death. It must be horrible, Glenn thought, to be such an asshole that nobody cares that you died.

Glenn himself was rather happy to say he had many people who cared for him; he couldn't imagine how a single man could be as terrible as Adrien Trevors and still sleep at night. Anyways, it wasn't like it mattered. It was too late for Trevors; he was dead, and Glenn was willing to bet that only a few people would show up at the funeral--and even then, it would only be to keep up appearances of love. Glenn knew that, even though Adrien's parents would certainly arrive at the funeral and put on the mask of two grieving parents who had lost their child, there was certainly not much love between Adrien's parents and him. Throughout the time he had spent as the Trevors' servant, Glenn had noted that the family fought often, and when they weren't fighting, they were ignoring each other completely.

Shaking his head, Glenn stood up from his chair in the café and rolled the newspaper up, placing it under his arm. He had to be at the Trevors' household for the 'vigil' they were setting up; all of the servants were expected to be there, and Glenn wasn't going to be the exception. He only hoped he wouldn't have to pretend to be upset by the death.


Black. Everything was all black. There was nothing around as far as he could see, and Adrien Trevors was completely lost. Is this what it's like to be dead? he thought to himself, near to panicking. He tried to move his fingers, and found, to his happy astonishment, that he could. He then began to move his legs and walk forward, which was just as easy. Even so, he had no idea where he was supposed to walk to. Having made no other conjecture, he began walking forward. He had to reach a wall or something eventually…right? And so he walked, on and on, for hours, until, exhausted, he fell to the ground and buried his face in his hands. Who knew that one could get tired when they were dead?

He sat this way for some time, wondering what the hell he was supposed to do. Suddenly, however, his musings were cut short as a voice--almost a whisper--called his name.

"What…? Who's there? I demand to know your name this instant!"

When nothing but silence answered his proclamation, Adrien rose to his feet and glanced around, hoping to at the very least see movement, or a shadow of some sort. Nothing was forthcoming, but he felt a chill run up his spine, causing him to shiver. He turned around quickly…and came face to face with a pale, almost childlike woman, with large blue eyes and a head full of angelic, platinum curls.

Adrien shrieked and fell backwards due to his surprise. Where the hell had she come from? "Wh-who are you?" he managed.

The woman-child tilted her head slightly to the side and a small, whimsical smile found its way onto her face. "I am the one who is supposed to lead you on to the next life," she said in a voice that teemed with music and soothed all the fear in Adrien's soul.

"Well, I should say you are a bit late; I've been walking for ages--wait, the next life? Then…then I am dead?"

The woman blinked in surprise. "You did not know this already?" Before Adrien could reply, she shook her head, silencing him. "Do not worry; it will not be frightening. It will be peaceful and--" suddenly she stopped talking and tilted her head to the side once more, as if listening to some voice that Adrien could not hear. A look of confusion crossed her features and she seemed to be replying.

"Is something the matter?" Adrien said.

Instead of answering, the woman disappeared, leaving him alone once more. "H-hey! Where did you go!? Get back here! I can't find my way out of here on my own! What is going on he--" Adrien began shouting, tears threatening to pour from his eyes. What the hell was he supposed to do? Sit here forever? Was this hell?

A man with dark skin, broad shoulders and startling golden eyes suddenly appeared before him, and Adrien screamed again. This time, however, he quickly placed a hand over his heart and calmed his breathing. "You people should really stop doing that! I nearly died--" he realized the stupidity in the statement and shook his head to rid it of the comment. "Anyways, are you going to take me out of here now? What happened to that woman from a moment ago?"

"I am not going to take you on to the next life," the man told him bluntly, his voice deep.

"What d'you mean, you're not taking me out of here? Of course you are! I can't stay here forever, you know!"

"No, you misunderstand me; I am not taking you on to the next life. I am returning you to the previous one," the man replied.

Confusion clouded Adrien's features as he tried to comprehend the statement. "What? Why? I mean, not that I'm complaining or anything, but what makes me different from others who have died?"

"They were missed…you are not."

"What?" Adrien said, stunned. Nobody missed him?

The man sighed. "It is everyone's mission to live life, and to love somebody. To make a mark on the world. You have made a mark on the world…but it was a negative one. Even Adolf Hitler was loved by some people. It seems that you have never loved, nor have you been loved. God felt pity on you, and has decided to allow you to relive the year that you died in such a way that you will leave behind some reasons to be missed."

Adrien felt his head begin to spin; he was more hated than Adolf Hitler? It was true, he had never been an overly nice person, but he hadn't killed millions of people. Surely his parents…? No, not them. Then how about his friends in college? Oh, that's right…he hadn't had any. He had been too ambitious to make friends. What an idiot, he thought to himself. Regret began bubbling inside of him.

"Do not worry, Adrien. If it were because you were truly a horrible being that had done such evils as could not be forgiven, you would not be given such a chance. Indeed, your main fault was being too self-involved to notice and care for the people around you," the man said, as if reading Adrien's thoughts.

A slight relief began forming inside of Adrien; so, he was better than Adolf Hitler…he had just not noticed anybody, and that's why he wasn't loved. Even so, it was hard to acccept the fact that not a single human being would miss him. A thought suddenly occurred to him, and he chose to voice it. "So…I get to relive the last year of my life…how will I know to live differently, though? It seems that if I don't remember this, then I won't be able to change anything about my life--"

"Oh, you will remember this, Adrien."

"Oh…Do I still have to die, though? What if I changed that?"

The man shook his head. "You cannot. I will erase the memories of how and when you died, leaving you only with the knowledge that you did die, and that you had this conversation with me."

"But--"

Finally losing his patience, the man raised his hand, silencing Adrien. "No buts. I have very little time. Now, come with me. I will take you back to New Years day." With that, the man reached out a hand and grabbed Adrien's shoulder, and the next instant, everything became blurry and Adrien felt as if he was falling…falling…falling down and down, into the darkness…