Work With Me-Sequel to The Demon and the Doughboy

He's Still Just One Person

(Seriously, thank you guys for the support on the last chapter! It feels so good to know that people are reading this so far, even though this is only the second chapter in! It warms my heart, and I'll be happy to write more, include more memes, and of course, quirky author's notes ;) BAD NEWS: This one's a bit of a filler, transitioning from the beginning, to a higher bit of the rising action. Don't fear, however! I've got it covered.)

"Take care of yourself. I've got somewhere to be." 

"Uh-huh," Kitty nodded through a mouthful of Devil's food cake, "Wha-ever you shay."

Hellbent was prepared to leave, but something racked his brain almost immediately, and he felt the obligation to ask. It wasn't like he could just leave without questioning it. So, he took a quick breath, ran his fingers through his hair, and bit down on the butt of his cigarette before turning back to the hybrid, who was laying out on the couch, watching YouTube videos of some edgy black and green-haired British guy. Whatever he was doing, it involved singing. And monster energy drinks. 

"Uh, Kit?" he asked, catching her attention.

"Yah?" 

"Where's, you know...your sister?"

"Cake? Probably off kil...playing with Slenderman in the forest. Or, you know, the Walrider." 

"What is that supposed to mean?" the demon prodded, "Shouldn't she be here with you? Yeah, you're eighteen and all, but it's been two months, and it seems like she's never here." 

"She visits," Kit grumbled, setting her cake aside, "You're just never around when she does. It's usually every Saturday." 

Hellbent leaned against the threshold.

"...Well, then get the board games and popcorn. I'll come back tomorrow with Dolan."

(^)

"Relax," Shima spoke softly, "That's the first thing you need to do. Maybe this is all just one big misunderstanding." 

"Nu-uh," Dolan shook his head, rubbing his temples, "It can't be. Not talking or coming out of his room for a week? Something's definitely wrong." 

"Well, I think you should wait until he gets here to figure that one out. Hellbent could've been just as busy as you, or maybe you were the one with no time to talk. You've been shoulder-deep in videos, work, and even merchandise. I wouldn't be surprised if you really didn't even realize that you hadn't been spending as much time with one another just because of that in itself." 

Just then, a light rapping became evident at the door, causing Shima to stand up from her seat and walk over to it. She gave Dolan a glance back before swinging the door open to reveal an indigo former-teacher of the male's. 

"Hey there," Melissa spoke, giving Shima a side-hug before entering into the room further, and taking a seat next to Dolan, "I heard things weren't going so well." 

"They aren't, unfortunately," the cat spoke, closing the door behind them, "But I'm sure it's all just a little problem that we can easily solve. Maybe over lunch? I know a place," she extended the last bit in a small sing-songy voice, hoping to lift the spirits, and the chances of her getting a tuna sandwich.

"Whatever's okay, I guess," Dolan shrugged, looking to the floor, "We just have to wait 'till Hellbent shows up, and-"

Tap, tap, tap!

His words were quickly interrupted by yet another few knocks. Shima looked to the two, then pulled back the door, much to the sight of Pringle and Nixxiom. She gave a silent gesture for them to come in, and they did. They had to stand since the room was only so big, but that wasn't the elephant in the room. 

Silence struck everyone, but Dolan finally blurted out something.

"Maybe we should call him. He's already twenty minutes late." 

"Dolan," Shima folded her arms, "You know it takes a while to get from his place to here. You just need to calm down and take a deep breath."

"R-Right." 

(^)

"Son of a bitch!" 

Hellbent glared at the road in front of him. Of course, it just had to be backed up with traffic, didn't it? It was bad enough that he was already late, that Kit was probably going to want something bizarre any minute now, and that whatever it was that Dolan wanted to talk about-- it probably wasn't going to be good.

He slammed his fist against the steering wheel's horn, thus causing a chain reaction of more people around him to slam theirs back. 

Seriously! He was only ONE guy! How was he supposed to keep up with all of this?!

Gruffly sighing, he slipped his phone out of his pocket, and checked it. 

3 Missed Calls

Dolan, Shima, Melissa

He slid it back into his pocket, and threw his head against the steering wheel. 

This was going to take forever.

(^)

"Finally!" Dolan cried out, watching the truck pull into the mini parking lot.

He watched on as Hellbent got out of the vehicle, and entered into the lobby, a bag in one hand, phone in the other. Dolan rushed up to him, prepared for an embrace...but stopped short in front of the demon.They both locked eyes uncomfortably, and Dolan stepped down almost instantly. 

Shima walked into the area, trying to quickly think up words to help mend the social separation. Her words were like desperate thread to a needle, trying to stitch up the patches that were separating quicker and quicker by the moment as it went on. 

"Hey guys, why don't we go talk this out in the break room?"

Hellbent shifted his gaze from Dolan, giving a curt nod, and handing Shima the bag in his hand. What was lunch for her, was a pain in the ass for him. But, it made her happy, and that was what mattered. 

Now, he needed to figure out what it was that made Dolan happy, that he apparently wasn't doing. No matter how many times he tried, Dolan was either in and out of the studio, or sleeping. The two had accidentally grown apart, so he hoped this was just going to be a simple conversation about changing their schedules. 

And, you know--not about his memories. Or the nightmares. 

(CHAPTER 2: KABOOYAH. Now, I need nom-noms :3 See you guys in the next one, and take a meme!)