BOOZE
•••
"Y/N!" Charlie exclaims chipperly upon seeing you walk through the door. She leaps forward, capturing your hands in her softer ones. "You're back! I mean- how was work? You look exhausted! Are you—"
"Charlie!" You interrupt her with a grin, gently easing her hands off of yours. "It was okay, I promise. It was just a long shift."
"You sure that's all it was?"
You glance behind Charlie to find the source of the voice, finding Vaggie, Charlie's girlfriend who has thus far avoided you like the plague, who approaches and stands beside the princess, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Charlie's right. You look terrible."
"I'm sure," You insist, smiling a little weaker. You've never wanted so desperately to just go to bed, write the day off as a failure, try again tomorrow.
You make an advance toward the staircase, but you halt your movements when Sir Pentious partially intercepts your path, smiling sheepishly. "Y/N, I sssee that you're back...!" He begins, two fingers reaching up to readjust his tilting tophat. "It just ssso happens that I came across thisss diner—"
Before Sir Pentious can finish his— well,
what can only be assumed to be a date invitation, Alastor comes up behind him and shoves him back, taking his spot. "Y/N, welcome back, my dear!" He exclaims, a brief laugh track audible over the static that consumes his amplified voice. "Well, don't you look rough? Come along, let's fix you up, then why don't we go out for a little stroll?" Sir Pentious sneers and raises a finger in protest, but is silenced by Alastor, who adds: "So! What do you say? It's a lovely hour, don't you think?"
"That sounds great, but," You begin, and Alastor's eyes narrow slightly, his grin tightening. "I'm really, truly exhausted. I'd love to take a rain check, though...?" You throw on a sleepy, but perky, smile and slide past him, hurrying up the steps before anyone else can stop you.
'No fucking way am I taking a rain check. I can barely handle the overlords I'm already involved with.' You think on your way up.
Charlie watches you go, then clears her throat and grins, clasping her hands together. "Wow, Alastor, it is seriously so great that you're making such an effort with Y/N!" She cheers, clapping her hands and hopping up and down. "You don't think we're pushing them too hard, right? Because I know I have a teensie weensie tendency to push—"
"Charlie," Vaggie interrupts, grabbing her arm and shooting a sharp glare toward Alastor, who has been standing there with his usual grin the whole time. "Can we talk? Like, alone?"
"Oooh!" Leers Angel Dust from across the room, where he's draped across the bar and sipping on his glass. "Make sure to keep it down in there~"
"Shut the fuck up!" Vaggie snaps at him, clenching her fists. After a second, she sighs and takes a deep breath.
Charlie follows her upstairs to their shared bedroom, shutting the door gently behind her. Charlie pushes off the door and carefully follows Vaggie to the corner of the room, where she starts to pull off her jacket.
"Look, Charlie," Vaggie breathes out, folding up her outerwear and placing it neatly on the dresser. "Aren't you worried about Alastor?"
"What? Why would I be worried?"
"Well, it's just..." Vaggie hesitates, sitting on the edge of the bed to gather her thoughts. Charlie is swift in sitting down beside her, tilting her head and meeting Vaggie's eyes empathetically. "Obviously, Alastor is always weirdly cheerful, but... he's never acted like this with anyone that we've seen. I mean, he's super great to you but still not the way he's acting with Y/N. It's creepy. I know you want to have faith in everyone, Charlie, but he's still the Radio Demon. Nothing good could come from his sudden interest in Y/N, and I think it might have something to do with—"
"Vaggie!" Charlie laughs sweetly, standing up and grabbing Vaggie's hands, pulling them to her chest, hovering near her heart. "I hear you, and I know it's hard to trust Alastor, but I think we should be encouraging this! It's like you said, he's never acted like this before!"
"Which should be a big red flag!" Vaggie argues, but her angry snarl drops to a tiny frown upon seeing Charlie's hopeful doe eyes. "Oh, come on... I know that look."
Charlie's giddy giggle only confirms Vaggie's concerns.
"Alastor doesn't have a crush on them, Charlie." Vaggie insists, crossing her arms and letting out an irritated huff.
"You don't know that!" Charlie squeals, biting her lip excitedly. "It could explain why he keeps trying to talk to them!"
"It could also be because he's preying on them for something!"
"Vaggie! Please!" Charlie pleads, exasperated. "I promise, I'll keep a close eye on it, and as soon as it seems off, we'll address it, okay...? But for now, can't we just give it the benefit of the doubt?"
———
You aren't sure how long you've been staring at the ceiling, but it's certainly been long enough for you to determine that you're probably not falling asleep anytime soon. With a groan, you push yourself out of bed, haphazardly pulling on a robe and pushing open the door to your room. You slip into the hall, sneaking quietly down the stairs.
"Oh, good, you're awake." You grin, spotting Husker at the bar, cleaning a wine glass. He sighs deeply, displaying just how thrilled he is to see you. "Are you... still open, or—"
"Am I ever closed?" He grumbles back, turning his back to you as you slide onto one of the barstools. "What do you want?"
"Anything." You shrug, smiling innocently and drumming your fingers on the bar top. Husker sighs again, glasses clattering against one another as he fishes out a tall glass and fixes you up a screwdriver, sliding it across the counter, where it lands perfectly into your hand.
You take a sip of the drink, sighing softly the moment it touches your tongue. You set the glass down and run your fingertip along the rim of the cup. "Thank you, and I'm so sorry to ask, but could you maybe add a little more vodka and a little less orange juice...?"
"I thought you said anything would do." Husker mutters, giving you a tired glare before reaching for the bottle and pouring half of its contents into your glass. He gives it back, and you're quick to take a large gulp.
"Thank you." You grin, pulling away only to speak before chugging down the alcohol. You swallow down the last drop and slam the glass back down.
Husker stares at you with half-lidded eyes, his lips curled up into a snarl. "...Didn't take you for a drinker."
"Yeah, well," You shrug and smile some more, pushing the empty glass over to him, a silent plea for a refill. "Everyone has their secrets."
He shrugs and refills the glass with vodka, then reaches for the orange juice and you raise a hand.
"Ooh, actually, can you just leave the orange juice out entirely? Thanks." You take the half-full glass and raise it to your lips, nose scrunching at the bitter taste but gulping it down nonetheless.
"My shift was a lot today." You admit, tongue darting out to lick up a droplet from the glass rim. "Since Angel refuses to come back, and Val doesn't want to come here himself and drag him back because of Alastor being here, my shoots are way longer." With a carefree smile, you raise your glass, letting Husker refill it for the third time now. "Which is great, because all I've ever wanted was to be Val's number one performer. Not that I enjoy filming or anything," You watch as the liquid fills the glass, energetically pulling it back to your lips and swallowing it down. "But I had nothing on earth and even less when I arrived in Hell, so I basically owe the man my entire being. And for so long I thought the only way I'd feel like I'd truly paid him back for his kindness was by being the top earner, and now I am and..."
Husker raises an eyebrow, bringing his own bottle of cheap booze to his lips, taking a large gulp and wiping the drool that it elicits from his mouth. "And? Let me guess. It still sucks, you still feel worthless, and all that changed is you have to have more sex with people you don't know?"
"I—"
"Please, Y/N. You might be new, but your story ain't anything new to me. Angel went through the same shit, more or less." Husker rotates his hand from side to side.
You hesitate, then laugh, leaning over the bar. "It's more than that." You grip your now empty glass tightly, forcing your shaky grin to remain on your face. "No matter what I think, or how I feel, the moment he's around, I'm in love with him. I mean- I'm not in love with him- but it's like—"
"You can't get enough of him?"
"Yes! I leave the studio and I feel disgusting and sick but I go back when he calls without a second thought, and it's just like this pure fucking bliss around him. It doesn't matter what he does, and—" You cut yourself off with another laugh. "Sorry. I probably sound mental. You know he built my personality from the ground up?" Despite your apology, you feel yourself slipping into another tangent. "Yeah. On earth, I was a total bitch, and all I ever did with my life was smoke and sell myself— not just my body but my dignity— and when Val found me I was so scared and lost, like a totally different person. He liked that person he found so much that he told me that he expected nothing less than that "divine innocence" from me. Something about authenticity, portraying the same ideal I portray in all those pornos in person, too. And if I was still on earth, I would've told him to suck a dick but it's just..."
Husker raises a hand to silence you, and you bite your lip awkwardly. "Listen, everyone loves to bitch to the bartender. I didn't know a thing about you ten minutes ago, now I know your whole backstory." He snorts, chugging down some more of his booze. "All I can tell ya is you're not the first, definitely not the last. That fuckin' overlord has that effect on damn near everyone that's smitten enough to strike a deal with the guy."
You tilt your head, squinting at him. Partially to judge him, but mostly because your vision can't seem to find equilibrium. "What?"
"You heard me. I'm not one to spread everyone else's stories, but you think Angel Dust has always been that damn horny and flirty?" Husker scoffs, leaning over the bar to meet you half-way. "Valentino seems to cherry-pick his favorite aspects of his little whores and decides that it should be their whole personality. Angel did it so much, for so long, that it more or less is who he is now. That happen to you, yet?"
"It's not that it's all fake," You argue defensively.
"So, yes, then?"
Your shoulders slump and you lean back, staring into your empty glass. "I don't know."
Husker sighs and takes your glass, wiping it out with a rag before moving out from behind the bar, sitting in a stool beside you. "Well, do you actually think this tacky hotel is cute?"
"No," You spit out quickly, putting a hand to your mouth. "Well- it's- damn it...!"
"And do you actually want to make up that stupid fuckin' walk with Alastor?"
"Definitely not."
Husker nods, crossing his arms and leaning closer to you. "And how did your shift really go?"
You turn your head, fingers tapping on your thighs. "I got nervous at the start of the shoot, Vox got me out of it, he asked me to sign a contract with him, I refused, then Val was so pissed that I'd gotten to "skip out" on work thanks to Vox that he had me shoot 4 different films in a row." You blabber out quickly, barely stopping to take a breath.
Husker hops off the stool, patting your shoulder. "So, then, that sweetheart persona bullshit it more or less still fabricated. Good. No one likes a pushover." He shrugs and hides his hands behind his back. "No one in this hotel gives a shit about how "pure" you are. The whole point is that we all suck a little. Or a lot."
With that, Husker heads upstairs, presumably to sleep— and you feel a little silly for not knowing that he ever sleeps. You bring yourself to your feet, and your legs feel too heavy for the rest of your body, yet you soldier on, stumbling your way up the steps as well.
"Fabricated," you mumble to yourself, stumbling into your room and sloppily shutting the door behind you. You fall face first onto your bed, the coolness of the satin pillows soothing your burning face. "Fabricated... shit." You force yourself to roll over, eyes locking onto the ceiling. "Oh my god, my whole personality is bullshit," You whine, tugging at your eyes and pushing your head back.
•••
[A/N]
1) I know that the song attached is not Hazbin hotel, and doesn't relate to the chapter. But, I just discovered it today, and cried over it, so I wanted to add it.
2) I didn't mean to make Y/N be such a yapper, but I think that's normal when people get drunk.