Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.

Humans often wonder what happens to them once they die.

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.

They are afraid to confront the unknown.

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.

However, I envy them.

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.

For it is far scarier to know what will happen to you once you die and be powerless to stop it then to be in the dark and have a glimmer of hope.

SMACK!

"I'm trying to study!"

"Sorry."

"If you were sorry you would stop. This is what, the third time I had to hit you now?"

"Actually it's the fourth."

"So you've been keeping count."

"You're not the one being hit."

Annoyed dark grey eyes and amused light blue ones battled with each other in a silent clash of wills. Both were determined to hold their ground, but eventually one had to give in. After a couple of moments of silence the grey eyes closed, submitting. Again.

"You're impossible Arella."

Arella, a pretty young red head and the owner of the blue eyes simply leaned back and grinned, silently gloating in her victory. Even though she had turned 22 this past month, she didn't feel any older. She honestly felt like she stopped aging around 18. Layla said she stopped growing up around 10.

"Yet you still love me," came the sing-song reply. Layla expected it. It didn't make it any less annoying though. It had been cute when they were they kids, but now it just gets on her nerves.

What made it even more annoying was that it was true.

She had felt a strong attraction for the girl ever since they were children. She didn't know what it was. She assumed it was love. Although she didn't believe it was the romantic variety. After all, if she loved Arella that way, wouldn't her pulse quicken and her cheeks turn red like blood? That's what all the books said would happen once she fell in love.

Even though Arella said it was utter bull crap. What did a playful tease like her know anything about love?

"You wish," she scoffed as she flipped her long black hair over her left shoulder. Arella simply smiled.

Even though Layla was tactless, rough around the edges and sometimes vulgar, she did have her good points too. Although as her childhood friend, Arella was the only person to see her good spots. She really was a good person to be around, once you got to know her.

And she was much better then she was in the past.

Arella frowned. Why did she suddenly think that? Layla hasn't changed at all since they were kids. Neither of them really did.

Such a cruel trick.

"What are you studying anyways?" Arella questioned, trying to rid her mind of the odd thought.

"Religious Texts," came the bored reply.

"Do you believe God exists?" Arella asked curiously. Even though they had been friends since childhood, she never knew if Layla was religious or not. The topic never seemed to come up, oddly enough.

That death brings us.

"Of course," the answer was immediate.

"What's your religion?" she ventured, now curious about this previously unknown side of Layla.

"Don't have one," her answer, just as instantaneousness as the previous one caught Arella off guard. She was confused. How could one believe in God and not be a part of any religious groups. But at the same time, she wasn't surprised.

She couldn't help but think it made sense. Although, she was unsure why. Perhaps because it was Layla.

To make us forget who we were.

"You're Christian right?" Layla's question caught her off guard.

"Yeah," Arella affirmed wondering how Layla knew that. While she didn't hide her beliefs, she wasn't obvious about them either. She went to any Christian service which was near her. It didn't matter if it was Catholic and Protestant. Sometimes she would walk into Jewish and Islamic services too. It didn't matter. They were all worshiping the same God in the end.

What we were.

Layla allowed herself a small smirk as she turned the page of her copy of the New American Bible. It made sense to her. While she did believe in God (to the point she was 100% certain of his existence), she never felt the call to bow down and worship him. And it wasn't like she had any personal grudge against him. At least she didn't think so.

To take away our entire past.

Arella was different however. She was a servant of God without question. While she felt somewhere deep inside this should annoy her, it didn't. She chalked it up to Arella never being blatant about it.

Just to live again.

While she held no hatred towards God personally, there was something about his followers that had a tendency to piss her off. She attributed it to them trying to shove their religion down her throat. Arella never once tried to do it. In fact this was the first time they ever spoke about religion in all the time they've known each other.

No recollection.

Pausing for a moment, she wondered how she could have known that Arella was Christian if they never discussed it before. It wasn't like she ever saw Arella go to any type of religious service. She just knew she did.

But always there somewhere in the back of the mind.

How odd.

In the end there is nothing to be done.

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.

So just live your lives.

Layla glared at Arella who only offered up her cocky smirk in exchange but stopped tapping none the less. Layla sighed as she dragged her fingers through her hair, smiling slightly. Arella was difficult sure, but she couldn't think of a better best friend. No matter how black and white their differences were, they would be together until the end of time.

You lonely demon and playful angel.

That much she was certain of.