LOSERS || Husker x Angel Dust x Original Character (masc)

23. Masks falling down

A whole month passes, and the hotel had never deteriorated like this before. And by that I don't mean the parlor - no, Nifty wouldn't let even a speck of dust sit on the furniture for too long. What I mean is the people.

Where to even start?

Maybe starting with the smallest resident here is the easiest. Or maybe this time it isn't. Even Nifty has noticed the growing tension, throwing creepy glances around (which we never know if they mean concern or straight up murdering intent). She's been muttering to herself nonstop for some reason.

The next on the list would be the snake. Sir Pentious, the poor damned soul. He's also too good for this shit hole. And he's noticed everything going on, too. All he does, though, is keep his Egg Bois around him at all times, looking worriedly towards the source of said tension.

Alastor is next, the creepy bastard. He keeps throwing me small, knowing smiles, as if waiting for me to crumble. Just watching, just there. Always there. And I fucking hate it, really, but if I'm not dead into oblivion right now, it's all thanks to that amused smile behind my back, that look of entertainment. So, really, bearing with it is all I can do.

Vaggie has surprisingly grown somewhat close to me. Sure, there's still tension -there's always tension when it comes to her if you're not a girl- but she seems to have grown a little fond of me, after understanding my pretty obvious trust issues. She seems to silently relate, and so her gentle smiles turned my way are something I appreciate greatly these days.

The princess is a whole different thing to consider, herself. She's been nervous because of all the tension, that much is obvious: pulling these new redemption exercises out of nowhere, trying to get to know all of us better. She seems rushed, like she's running out of time, even if it really hasn't been that long. To her account, I will say though, the angels did cut our timetable in half.

But Charlie's approach towards me lately has been pretty different, after a certain conversation we had.

~~~

"Rio?" Her small voice snaps me out of my thoughts as I was looking at Nifty's running form mindlessly while laying on a couch. I turn around and notice a small yet concerned smile grazing her lips, and I stand up straight at the sight.

"Hey. You good?"

"Yeah! Yeah, I just, uh..." She bites her lip nervously, standing in front of me. Noticing this, I move over on the couch, patting the seat beside me and sending her my own soft smile. She just sighs, sitting besides me and taking a deep breath before starting her talk.
"I... found the phone I gave you. Shattered by the front door." I pause at the mention, taking in the information as I think it over.

"And I'm guessing it's obvious it wasn't an accident?"

"The claw marks gave it away." She nods, looking at me with pure, unfiltered concern.
"I... I'm sorry." My eyes widen at her, tilting my head confused.

"What? Why?"

"I pushed you! It wasn't okay. Sure, I was worried, I wanted to make sure you could contact me if needed, but..." She slumps her shoulders, shaking her head.
"It just wasn't okay. I don't know what's with you and phones, but it's clear to me now that you don't like them. Which..." She shrugs, sending me an apologetic smile.
"Still doesn't make me any less worried. And I'm not trying to push you to tell me what's up! I just thought of a plan." She smiles more confidently now, and I nod at her, proud of how she's handling this so far.

"Go ahead and tell me then, dear." I say with a gently smile.

"Well I thought- really there's no need for you to have a phone while in the hotel. But! I do want to make sure you're fine, if you ever need to leave. So-" She takes another one of those damn devices out of her pocket, offering it with a smile.
"I'll give you a new one. You leave it off and wherever while inside the hotel, just please take it with you whenever you go outside." I think over her words, considering the options and she falters slightly at this.
"You can refuse, of course! We can just figure out something else if this is not okay."

~~~

Needless to say, I now own a phone. It's always inside some random cupboard in my room though, as I barely ever go outside, but it's there nevertheless.

Moving on to Husk, everything's been... Not tense as it used to be! It's not that, it's just awkward. Not too much, but I can sense him waiting -patiently as ever, of course, it's Husk we're talking about- for me to talk about what happened with Vox's call. It's clear he doesn't want to cross any lines too far, but he also wants to say something about it. I still haven't figured out what exactly, as I've been procrastinating the conversation... The perks of procrastination only go so far. But he's still waiting, and I know for a fact he wouldn't ever push me too much, so for now, it's okay.

And now, to the source of all the tension going on... From his mindless (not so mindless) scrolling through his phone, to his one too many drinks after ignoring tons of messages. Angel Dust, hell's greatest pornstar, has been a mess lately.

Well, maybe not such a big mess, the guy is an actor after all, but if everyone's noticed his growing tension, then that's already something.

That, adding to his small slip-up one night.

~~~

It's late, around 2 am. Husk had told me before about how he wanted to go to sleep early today. Something about being hungover, no wonder. But, same as always, I can't get myself to close eyes at a normal hour, same as with waking up before people are hitting on my door because of how late it is.

So, it's no wonder I end up going downstairs for a simple drink, even if I expect no company. Though, upon reaching the last steps, I can hear some muffled voices. Curiosity gets the best of me as I approach the small light coming from a phone sitting on a table in between some couches. No one seems to be around though.

Finally reaching the table and on earshot, I recognise the tainted voice and hispanic accent.

Valentino.

"-so please, don't get mad at me, okay? It's just been a harsh day at the studio. See you soon, babycakes~!"

"You ungrateful little whore!! You think you can just ignore me?! You're worth nothing, selfish piece of shit, you damn cum dumpster! So full of yourself, huh? Well I dare you treat me the same way at the studio!!"

"Angel, mi amor (my love), I'm sorry I sounded so mad there. You know how work is-"

"The fuck are you doing, Rio?" I flinch at the voice coming from behind me as I spun around quickly, looking at Angel's form, swinging slightly intoxicated as he holds an alcohol bottle. He probably just came back from the bar and left his phone here while he was gone.

"I-I'm sorry, Angel, I didn't mean to-" I'm cut off by another trail of venomous insults coming from the phone.

"-destroy your insides and have them rearranged just to ruin them again and-!"

Angel passes by my side calmly, looking numb as he turns off his phone.

"It's fine. I'm sorry you had to hear that."

And with the numb response, he's gone upstairs.

~~~

After that, he still acted like nothing had happened, like I knew nothing. But I guess I already did, even before that. Working for Valentino is no happy deal, I would know. Not like I've been in Angel's situation before, but... I've seen it up close.

The result of all of this? Worried glances all around, mixing with awkward ones and a shit ton of flirting from the spider.

Everyone knows it's a matter of time, though.

And when he finally snaps, well... I'm just hoping everything will be okay.