CHAPTER 2




As the girls followed Nick, John rose to look out of the window.
"Hang on a minute" he said.
"What's up?" asked Simon, glancing up from the paper.
"I'm sure I've just seen those girls that were on our flight"
"You're kidding!" said Warren, joining John at the window and peering out,"I can't see anything"
"Well they've gone now, I think they were following Nick"
"Which ones were they?" asked Simon, mildly interested, maybe he could get a bird after all!
"Not sure, I don't think they were the ones that caused the accident" replied John uncertainly.
"Oh, what the strange ones sat at the back of the plane?" asked Warren.
"Maybe, not sure though" said John.
"Well if they're as dead as us they'll be back I expect" said Simon, as he returned to his reading, the chance of getting a girl momentarily gone he wasn't interested any more.
"Mmmm, maybe" said John.
Warren returned to his seat, leaving John to stare out of the window.
"An awful lot of cats" he muttered to himself, as yet another cat joined the others sat in Warrens garden.



"Maddy!!" shrieked Nick
"What are you doing?"
"Did you hear something?" asked Maddy of her friend Sarah.
"No, why?" replied Sarah from within Nicks closet.
"Oh nothing" Maddy mused, folding up yet another of Nicks shirts.
"I am doing the right thing aren't I?" asked Maddy.
Since Nick had died in hospital the other day, she'd felt vaguely guilty for not feeling sadder than she was.  When her friends had suggested she get rid of Nicks clothes to make a new start, she'd jumped at the chance.  She didn't need the money, but she was quite surprised how much some of Nicks suits fetched.
"Hey, what about this?" Squealed Sarah, breaking Maddy from her reverie.  Sarah held up a pink and red shirt.
"Ugh!! get it away from me!" laughed Maddy
"When on earth did he wear this?" asked Sarah.
"Last tour I think, I hate it!" replied Maddy.
"Well I like it!" shouted Nick, but no one heard him. 
Sarah bundled the offending shirt into a ball and threw it into the black bin liner full of items from Nicks closet, that they had deemed for the rubbish.
When they'd both turned their attention back to the closet, Nick rummaged through the bin liner and pulled out his shirt.
"I LIKE this shirt" he muttered to himself.
Grabbing the bag of clothes, he left the room to wander around the rest of his house, just to see what else Maddy had deemed unfit for her life without him.
After he'd left, Maddy turned around to put more shirts into the rubbish bag.
"Hey!, where'd the bag go?" she said startled.
"It's on the bed isn't it?" asked Sarah.
"Um, no, it's gone!"
"Don't be so stupid, it can't just disappear"
"Well it has, look!" Maddy pointed to the empty space where the bag had been.
Perplexed Sarah began to look around and under the furniture.
"Well that's just stupid" she said, "It just can't go!"
"I think I'm going mad" laughed Maddy. Perhaps I'm missing him more than I thought, she mused to herself.
Shrugging their shoulders at each other and both taking another drink from their wine glasses, they laughed at the absurdity of it all and opened up another bag.


Meanwhile, Nick was wandering through his house.  Most things were still where he'd left them, except any pictures of him were now stuffed into a box in the kitchen.
"I've only been gone for a few days" he said to the empty room, "And she's moved me out already"
Slightly upset by Maddys apparent lack of care she seemed to be displaying, Nick became lost in reading some lyrics and poems he'd written recently, so he did not hear Maddy and Sarah come down the stairs and into the lounge.
"Oh my God! Look!" shrieked Maddy, pointing to the bin bag of clothes at Nicks feet, but to Maddy and Sarah, it was just sat on its own.
Startled, Nick jumped and knocked the sheaf of papers off the side.  As the papers fell to the floor of their own accord, Maddy and Sarah grabbed each others arms, simultanously saying
"Ghosts!" Laughing, they left the room to replenish their drinks from the kitchen.
"Bloody great" muttered Nick picking up his bag of clothes and his book and papers of lyrics.
Grumbling to himself he saw no reason to stay, he'd come back later if he felt vindictive enough to scare Maddy a bit.
Just then he heard a knock at the door.  Walking out into the hall, he was in time to see Maddy open the door and greet her guest very entusiastically.  It was Graham form the media company Maddy had worked for before.  Hugging and kissing they were obviously close, very close.
"I just don't believe this" forgetting himself Nick walked through the hugging couple, the bag he was carrying knocking against Grahams legs.
"Hey, what was that?" Yelped Graham.
"Oh ghosts" laughed Maddy, having not seen the bag float out of the door.
"Oh really? well they've just left" said Graham, joining in with the laughter.
Annoyed at hearing another man laughing with his girlfriend Nick dropped the bag on the path and threw the nearest thing that came to hand at the laughing Graham.
Yowling the cat landed all claws out on the front of Grahams jacket.  Yelling he tried to shake it loose,while Maddy vainly tried to unhook it.
Laughing and feeling semi vindicated, Nick picked up his bag and started the long walk back to Warrens.  Feeling slightly better at his last act of pettiness, he set off humming another new tune.



"Did you just see what he did with that cat?" laughed Carly.
"Should've landed on her" said Sherry spitefully.
"Oohh, mieow" replied Carly, "Oh, haha...That was funny, do you get it?" laughed Carly.
"Yes!" the other two replied sighing at their friends obvious madness.
"Well that was worth the walk wasn't it girls" glared Ali at Carly.
"We just sat outside his house, as usual" grumbled Sherry
"We should've stayed where we were" continued Ali.
"We might as well be alive for all the fun we're not getting" the still grumbling Sherry said.
Remonstrating to Ali and Carly, she continued,
"Look we've got nothing to loose, lets just go and knock on Warrens door, I'm sure they'd be glad to see us..."
"Well I don't know" worried Carly, "What if they get offended and send us away?"
"Look, Sherry's right" interjected Ali, "We're dead, they're dead, in a world of live people, I say we have a common bond and we just do it!"
"Yeah, lets go!" ranted Sherry.
"Weeeeell I don't know" Carly still didn't want to ruin the dream she'd had in her mind for years of meeting them.
"what if...."
Before she could finish, both Ali and Sherry grabbed Carly by the arm and dragged her in the direction Nick had taken.
"COME ON!!!!" they both shouted.



"Ha! you're back then" smirked John as he opened the door to Nick.
"Yeah alright, just let me in will you?!" he replied.
Walking back into the main room, Nick retorted,
"Still in the orange trousers then?"
"Oh, you're so witty" sniped John back.
Coming to the doorway Simon interupted,
"Oohh girls! please! not in front of the cats!"
Pushing past Simon, Nick flopped down onto a chair.
"No good then?" asked Warren.
"No!" snapped Nick moodily as he stared at a spot on the wall.
"We did try to warn you" Said Simon, as he re-entered the room.
"Yeah, but how long have I been dead?" asked Nick.
"Um...well a few days?" queried Simon.
"Mmmmm yeah, four I think" said Warren.
"More like seven isn't it?" added John.
"Look, I don't care exactly, I'm making a point here!  But she's moving me out of MY house already" sulked Nick.
"Do you care?" laughed John.
"It's not bloody funny John!" he snapped, "She's got another guy already".
Raising his eyebrows to the others in exasperation, Simon tried to broach the subject carefully.
"Umm...ahhhh...Nick?"
"What?" glared Nick
"How long ago did Maddy work at that media company?"
"I don't know...three months?? what is this?" asked Nick
"She's been seeing him for those three months"  finished Simon.
"WHAT??!!" Nick exploded out of the chair and grabbed Simon by the neck of his shirt,
"You knew?" he spluttered, "You knew and didn't tell me?!"
"Weeeeeell" Simon looked around frantically at the other two for some help, but it seemed at that point both Warren and John had found interesting things to study.
"Great" shouted Nick, realising he didn't need Simon to answer. They'd all known, even John and he didn't even live in the country anymore.
"Great" he said quietly, dejected he sat back down.
Quickly grabbing the lull and wanting to change the subject, Warren asked,
"What's in the bag Nick?"
Seeing the menacing look in Nicks eyes, he knew then that he'd picked the wrong subject.
"Shit" Warren muttered to himself.
"Right! what shall we do then?" Simon jumped up clapping his hands together and trying to rescue the frosty atmosphere.
"These..."said Nick through clenched teeth, "are some of my favourite shirts"
"Oooh, Haircut 100 did a song called that" interupted John.
A thunderous look from Nick stopped him from continuing.
"As I was saying" forced Nick "Some of my 'favourite shirts'" Nick glared at John, daring him to speak again, but John had discovered a cat sat on the arm of his chair very interesting.
"That Maddy was throwing out, I saved them"
"But you can't wear them" spluttered John, realising his mistake again, as three pairs of eyes glared at him.  Trying to rectify the situation, he carried on,
"Well, I suppose it'd be nice to look at them every now and again" he finished lamely.
"John!" they all chorused.
Realising the stupidity of it all, Nick began to laugh, soon they were all laughing.
"The best thing, I threw a cat at him" laughed Nick,  "Made me feel a whole lot better you know?"
"Oh I could use a drink" said Simon.
"Me too" agreed Nick.
Knowing that it was possible, albeit difficult, they all decided to give drinking a go.
Going to the kitchen, Warren returned with some beers and a bottle of Southern.
"Well here goes nothing" he said as he popped the cap off the beer and drank it down.  The others looked on, waiting with bated breath for Warren to start leaking.  When he didn't, slightly disappointed, they all took their drinks.
Unfortunately, being the newest dead, Nick hadn't quite got the hang of it.  As he took a swig, and it made its way to his stomach, the drink started to seep out of him.
"Shit!" he exclaimed.
Laughing Simon tried to explain the finer points of holding in drink, but because of his laughter he lost his concentration and started to leek too.  Finding this hilarious he laughed even harder.  Soon John and Warren had joined in and then they all were having problems holding in the drink.  Just then, there was a knock at the door.
Suddenly things did not seem so funny, although Simon was still having trouble stifling his giggles.
"You answer it Warren" hissed Nick.
"Why?" whispered Warren.
"It's your bloody house" he replied.
Realising he was in a no win situation he said "Ok..ok, I'm going!"
Creeping out into the hallway, Warren tried to look through the spyhole in the door.  The doorstep was empty.  Just as he was turning round to tell the others gathered at the doorway that there was no one there, there was another knock at the door.  Quickly Warren looked out again, but still there was no one there.  Just then he heard a female voice,
"Oh sod this, lets go" said one.
"No, I say we  stay" said another.
"I dunno, are we sure they're in?" asked another.
"Of course they are" hissed the second voice.
"No lets go" pleaded the first.
"Carly!" the other two chorused, "Shut up!"
Raising his eyebrows quizically to the others, Warren reached out for the latch on the door.  Just then he heard,
"Oh sod it" and a female figure fell through the door.
"Oops" she said looking up into shocked face of Warren.
"What the....?"said Warren, before he could finish, the two other girls walked through the shut door.
"Carly!" they both chorused again.
Picking Carly up, Sherry and Ali suddenly remembered where they were.  Looking sheepishly at the guys gathered in the hall, Sherry was the first to speak,
"Um...er....oh....hello" she offered her hand for a handshake.
Dumbstruck Warren shook the profered hand.
"Who are you?" asked Simon, his interest picking up.
"I know you!" said John, pointing accusingly,
"You were on the plane and then I saw you following Nick"
"Really?" asked Nick
"Yeah, nice move with the cat" said Ali.
"Excuse me?" interupted John.
"Oh, um...er...stuttered an embarassed  Sherry.
"Yes we were on the plane" she continued.
"YOU!!" pointed John, "killed us!" he yelled.
"What?" asked an incredulous Simon, his interest slipping slightly.
"We did not" pointed Sherry back.
"You killed us!" shouted John, still pointing accusingly.
Grabbing Johns outstretched finger and twisting, Ali took control of the situation.
"Ow!!" said John.
"Look we didn't cause the crash" stated Ali flatly, "We were sat at the back of the bloody thing, we're as surprised and pissed off as you are"
Holding his hurt finger under his arm, John looked sceptical.  Until now, Nick had been silent, but now he thought it best to speak up,
"Yeah, they weren't the ones that caused it" he said.
"Are you sure?" asked John childishly.
"Yes!" said Nick and both the girls.
Carly meanwhile was standing gobsmacked, staring at Nick and Simon.  Taking charge of the bizarre situation, Warren suggested they all go and sit down.
Dragging th semi comatose Carly with them, Sherry and Ali followed all four guys into the main room.
"Right!" said Warren.
Before he could continue, Carly uttered her first words since falling through the door,
"Jeez, you've got a lot of cats haven't you?"
Groaning Warren sat down,
"Great!" he said, "I'm going to be known as the cat man for all eternity now"