𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐛𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 || 𝐇𝐚𝐳𝐛𝐢𝐧 𝐇𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐥 𝐱 𝐎𝐂

Chapter Twenty Two: Hanging Out With the Snake

TW: Swearing

Cecilia's POV:

I was tossing and turning in bed, sleep felt impossible to reach at this point. No matter what I did, my eyes wouldn't close and I couldn't lose consciousness for the night. Growling, I sat up in bed and rubbed my face with my right hand in annoyance. Why the hell couldn't I go to sleep?

My eyes darted to the clock and it read 2:15 AM...which gives me no hope in finally sleeping when I've been struggling for the past two hours. This is stupid. Maybe I should just take a walk or some shit instead of sitting on my bed like an idiot. Simply sitting and staring won't do anything.

I swung my legs over to the side of the bed, planting my feet firmly on the ground and slowly stood up, taking deep breaths so I wouldn't overwhelm my body. Shaking off the stiffness from lying down for a couple hours, I strode over to the door, placing my hand firmly on the door knob and slowly turned it.

Once I was out in the hallways, I closed the door softly behind me so I wouldn't wake anybody up. I didn't know where to go, though, but I thought that maybe I could go down to the lobby, to possibly talk to Husk if he was down there or to get a midnight snack or drink to settle my stomach.

I started walking down the stairs, trying my best to not make the floorboards creak. Once I made it downstairs, my eyes glanced to the bar, just to see that Husk wasn't there. Where could he be, if he isn't at the bar or wanting to go to my room to take some rest? Maybe walking around? I don't really know.

After walking more into the lobby, my head turned to the sofa area and saw Sir Pentious there, but he didn't have his Egg Bois or anything, it was just himself on the main couch, lying down and staring at the ceiling.

Though the thought of him gave me a venom taste in my mouth, I was curious about why he was down here. I remember Charlie giving him a room key, so he doesn't need to be in the lobby.

My feet started walking over to the snake and I cleared my throat, which made him jump up from the sudden sound to look at me with wide eyes. "Pentious? What are you doing down here?"

"Uh– C-Cecilia! What a pl-pleasant surprise! Heh, heh...why am I down here? Well, you see– I couldn't go to sl-sleep or anything, so I thought that going to the– the lobby would help!" Sir Pentious was stuttering, trying to explain why he was down in the lobby. His fear is what struck me as interesting, though. Why was he that afraid? Did he think I was going to hurt him or something?

"Oh...alright," I muttered. "Why are you sounding so...nervous?"

Sir Pentious cleared his throat and nervously laughed. "Me? Nervous? Never! U-Um...why would you ask a question l-like that?"

I raised an eyebrow and shrugged. "Curiosity?"

He started chuckling anxiously after my response. "Oh...yeah...curiosity..." His voice trailed off after a while, looking off to the side and completely avoiding eye contact with me. With a sigh, I cleared my throat once again and tried looking at him in his eyes, even if his pupils were looking towards the wall.

"Pentious...you don't need to be so anxious or wary or...whatever is going on in that head of yours. You're fine, okay? I'm not gonna, I dunno, kill you or anything. I'm not as bloodthirsty as somebody like Vaggie and Angel. As long as you don't fuck up again and you stay chill, I'm cool with it and your stay here. But...if you're going to betray us one more time, I will have no mercy on your poor soul. Understand?"

Sir Pentious looked alarmed and nodded, though he also looked a bit more relieved than he was a few moments ago, which made me feel nice.

"Understood, Miss Cecilia," He agreed with a curt nod. I nodded in return.

"Good," I lightly chuckled as I said that, which made a small smile spread from Sir Pentious's lips.

"Why are you down here though? I-If you don't mind me asking, of course!"

"Same reason as you. Couldn't sleep. Where are your little...egg companions? The Egg Bois or whatever?"

"Oh! They're guarding my room in case intruders come in! If they do, they'll let me know...hopefully."

I stifled a laugh. "Ha. I doubt they will."

"Hey! Don't doubt my egg children. They may be a bit dumb at times, but they always get the work done at the end. That's all that really matters."

I looked at the snake, seeing determination spread across his face, which made my expression soften a little bit. "That's sweet."

Sir Pentious scoffed. "Why, of course! I would do anything for my little Egg Bois. Anything! You name it, and I will do it!"

That gave me an idea. I chuckled as I cleared my throat, making my voice a low whisper. "Would you blow up this hotel for your Egg Bois?" This was a test to see if there was still some kind of traitor intentions in this turf-fighting snake. His eyes widened at my sudden question, sounding a bit nervous again.

"W-Well...um...I...n-no– I guess not?"

My eyes narrowed, but I ended up shrugging. Oh well. At least it wasn't a quick 'yes,' I would take that. "Okay, good enough."

He let out air in relief after I replied with that response. "Phew..." He breathed with a new sense of tranquility.

"How long are you planning on being down here?" I asked out loud with a raised eyebrow. He glanced downward, thinking about that one.

"I don't really know. I just need a break from my stuffy room."

I nodded in agreement. "Yeah...those rooms do get stuffy. I need some sort of air freshener or whatever. Maybe I should go to the store at some point for stuff to furniture my room."

Sir Pentious shook his head up and down. "Same. My room is super bland and so unoriginal. I would like some sort of spunk in my room."

"Agreed. Maybe you would like to go to the store with me at some point?"

His eyes widened, but he nodded gratefully. "Absolutely!"

My heart bloomed with a newfound softness, feeling kind of giddy from his response, though I didn't know why. "Great. Maybe then we can get to know each other better."

"Yeah, which would be wonderful! Glad we could agree on something, Miss Cecilia."

"Just call me Cecilia or Ceci, no formalities, okay?"

"Alright, Cecilia!"

With a new friendship under my belt, it made me feel more liberated and free, regardless of the eyes that I didn't know were peering down my back, waiting for me to go back upstairs to my room.