2So it came to my attention that actually does have a the Good Place category! So I will be posting my fic here :) Please enjoy!
"Thirty six? Thirty six?!"
Eleanor could feel that Chidi was getting more and more annoyed with her. She was pacing up and down their shared kitchen, ranting for almost a hour. He, being the ever patient person that he was, was still listening to her.
"Chidi, I'm thirty six and I still haven't found my soulmate!" she groaned.
"Eleanor… I'm thirty eight and I haven't found my soulmate either," Chidi said, almost patiently. "It's not that bad."
Eleanor collapsed onto the couch. "Yeah, but that's you! You're… Chidi! The quirky ethics nerd who is surprisingly ripped! You… you're okay being single!"
She raised her gaze to the ceiling and sighed. "Me on the other hand? I'm the hot one, I should have be having a great life with a sexy soulmate." She groaned and covered her face in her hands. "Ugh, happy birthday to me…"
"Did… did you have to call me a nerd?" Chidi frowned but it was more teasing than actual offense. "Eleanor, I'm sorry. I know this is a big thing for you and I should be more sensitive."
Of course Chidi had to be so nice about it. He was the nicest person she knew and for some reason, he was still trying to help her reform from the 'old Eleanor'. His class... were boring for the most of it but she really felt as though she was learning. She was slowly being a better person.
He was her best friend and she really was grateful for him.
She was just tired of seeing in black and white. Life… seemed dull and empty. She heard tales of colours and what the views were like. She wanted to look into the eyes of her soulmate and gasp as the world around her suddenly seemed brighter. For their eyes to be the first taste of colour she'd ever get.
Everyone else talked of how pretty the sun was when it set or how the trees looked when the leaves started to fall. She wanted to look at these things to an appreciate the beauty of everything around her. But without her soulmate, she was left in monochrome.
"No, no, it's fine," she said, sitting back up. "I'm just overreacting. Plenty of people my age haven't found their soulmates —I mean, Chris Hemsworth is still out there, we could be meant to be."
Celebrities and their soulmates were common but then again, many people in the media hadn't found theirs yet. It was quite a hyped subject, the focus of many songs and movies. It was a joke but a girl could dream.
Chidi tilted his head the way he did when he wasn't quite sure what to say.
"Here, seeing as it's your birthday, we'll do something nice," he decided, standing up. "Where do you want to go? Oh, I know there's a new shrimp bar downtown; serves low quality alcohol but high quality shrimp!"
The natural thing to do was bribe her with shrimp. Even just thinking about it made her mouth water.
Eleanor sprang to her feet. "I see what you're trying to do! You're trying to distract me with the thoughts of mouthwatering shrimp! You want me to forget about my problems and just stuff my face with delicious, crunchy, ugh so good shrimp… and you know, it worked. Let's go!
About a hour later Eleanor sat at a table, taking a huge bite from the 'Shrimply Impossible' special of the day. It was a basket of every kind of shrimp they had in the place.
"Oh my god, this is so fucking good!" she gasped.
Chidi, who sat across from her, arched an eyebrow. He nibbled at his own shrimp dish.
"Oh my god, this is… so forking good?"
Part of the "being a good person" lessons was that she wasn't allowed to swear. There was some wishwash about negativity and trying to keep clean in both mouth and intentions. She didn't really understand it but she did as she was told.
"Oh hey, bud!" A voice cut through the noise of the bar, slighlty slurred but happy to see them.
"Hi, Jason," Chidi smiled. "And, oh, you have Janet with you."
Jason sat down next to them, dragging his soulmate, Janet with him. He had that dopey yet cute smile on his face and gave her a friendly wave. "Hi, Eleanor!"
"Hi, Eleanor. I'm Janet," said Janet, that strange smile on her face.
"I… I know that," Eleanor said dryly. "You've said that the last… sixteen times we've met." She gave Jason a quick smile though she didn't feel it. "Hi, Jason."
Jason was the other half of her two friends. He was… not the sharpest tool in the shed but he had a gigantic heart that made up for what his brain was lacking. He never stopped trying and she appreciated having him around.
Janet, on the other hand, she just couldn't figure out. She had Jason had met several months earlier and had been together ever since. Jason was smitten and it was lovely to see.
But Janet… was strange, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing but she confused her a lot. She said the oddest thing and had the weirdest yet friendly smile. She wasn't like anyone she'd ever met before.
"What you two doing here?" Jason asked, hooking his arm around Janet's shoulder. "Checking out Mr. Music's latest joint?" He chuckled and jerked his thumb at his hat. "That's me."
"My name is Janet."
Chidi smiled. "Actually, no. It's Eleanor's birthday and i'm taking her out for… shrimp." He suddenly took in the empty shrimp bowl in front of him. He looked at her in horrified shock.
What? She ate quickly!
"Shrimp? Nah, man, come on. My bro, Pillboi, will hook you up with something that'll really celebrate your birthday." Jason stood up. "Come on."
Chidi nervously glanced at Eleanor but she was already on her feet. Jason was an idiot but he really knew how to have fun. And maybe she needed that today. To forget another year that she spent alone and colourless.
"Lead on, man," she said, giving him a smile.
Jason grinned, clapping her on the shoulder. "That's right, homie."
Pillboi turned out to be the bartender. He was short and stocky with a strong moustache. Eleanor had an impulse to make fun of it but she quickly suppressed that. Chidi was rubbing off on her.
"Ah, my bro!" Pillboi grinned, knocking knuckles with Jason. "Your latest track was dope as hell!" He squinted at them. "Who you got with you?"
"This is my homie, Eleanor, and my other homie, Chidi." Jason jerked his thumb at them. "They're looking for celebrations. Fix them up with something special?"
Pillboi's lips quirked into a smile. "I got just the thing."
The next second there were two glasses set down in front of them—small shot glasses filled with strong alcohol. Eleanor was reaching for hers immediately and downed it in onw gulp.
"Another," she gasped, slamming the glass on the counter.
Pillboi whistled low. "You sure know how to party, girl." Then there was another two in front of her and she took them as well. The alcohol burned on the way down but darn, was it good.
"Hey, Eleanor, do you want to slow down? That's a bit much for one go." Chidi, always the voice of reason. But also the voice of the most un-fun times. She decided to ignore him.
"You not going to take yours?" Jason frowned.
Chidi shook his head. "Oh, no. I'm the designated driver… as always."
Old habits die hard. Besides, it was her birthday!
Jason laughed. "Don't worry about that. Janet will drive us all back. She doesn't drink. Like anything . It's super weird but it's super dope."
Janet pumped her fist. "Whoop!" She settled down almost immediately. "I'm trying be more celebratory. how was that?"
"Great, babe," Jason kissed her gently.
Eleanor was getting a little tired of them. They were so boring , gosh. She needed to go have fun. She downed another shot before waving a hand. "I'm… I'm gonna dance floor…" They were definitely more blurry than they'd been earlier. "LATER!"
"Eleanor, wait-!" Chidi tried to follow her but Jason looped an arm around his neck.
"Come on, you really not gonna drink, bro?"
With Chidi distracted, Eleanor slipped away from the group and towards the flashing dancefloor. She was sure the lights were coloured varing shades of whatever 'neon colours' were but they were all the same to her, some glowing versions of grey.
She slid in and quickly lost herself in the rhythm. Jason's track kicked butt and she found herself dancing in this group of tipsy ladies. They all seemed happy to have her in their circle. She grinned to herself. This was the type of things she found fun.
But after a while, she was too dizzy to keep jumping. Saying a slurred goodbye to her new friends, she staggered back towards the bar. But Jason, Chidi, Janet and Pillboi were gone. She groaned, looking around.
But the bar was dark and she couldn't see any of them. Did they ditch her?
Suddenly there was a tugging sensation in her gut. Eleanor was an experienced enough drinker to recognise the signs of throwing up. Groaning, she stumbled towards the bathroom.
But she didn't make it. She was halfway in the door when she felt it all coming up. The taste of shrimp was slick on the back of her throat and for the first time in her life, she regretted her adoration of sea creature. She vomitted.
And of course, with her gracious luck, someone was coming through the door at the exact same time. She vomitted all over the woman's gorgeous light dress.
"Gosh!" She heard a posh British cry of surprise, mingled with disgust. "What is going on?"
Eleanor wiped her mouth, gagging at the smell. Semi digested shrimp was not the nicest thing in the world.
She raised her eyes and her heart almost stopped. She was staring at the most beautiful woman she'd ever seen.
She was tall, so much taller than Eleanor, with the body of a model. The dress hugged tight to her body, accenting her generous curves and ample bosom. She was like a goddess deciding to take human form.
And she had the most alluring eyes of a colour she'd never seen before.
Eleanor's eyes widened. Her eyes were like a warm summer's day, bright and sharp despite the shock in them. She had dark black hair that some how seemed so much brighter than the usual monochrome she saw in. Her skin was soft and supple, making her want to do nothing more than reach out and touch it. It was much darker than her own tone.
"You." Her accent was strong but the acusatioin was gone. All she heard was wonder.
"What irony," Eleanor chuckled, blinking rapidly. "My soulmate is a gorgeous skyscraper and I am very drunk. Haha, this is literally my greatest fantasy." Her head started spinning. "Yet somehow, not as good as I imagined."
She tipped forward, vision blurring. Her soulmate caught her, seeming in a state of shock. She slowly lowered her to the ground. In the darkness of the bar, she couldn't have seemed brighter. She was blushing that wonderful shade known as red, the same colour as her lips, the same colour as her dress.
"You are beautiful," Eleanor murmured and fainted.
