Main Street U.S.A.

Chapter 19

"Meg, Meg, Meggity, Meg, Meg, Meg, Meggy, Meg," Hades leaned back in his chair with a smirk. The chair groaned under his weight but he ignored it.

Meg, on the other hand, grimaced at the sound. If he wasn't careful he'd fall back and smack his head against the windowpane behind him.

Although, that'd be great, now that she'd thought about it.

Hades continued, oblivious to the fact that Meg was currently hoping he'd break his skull, "I hear you want a promotion."

Meg nodded, not trusting herself to say anything. She was pretty sure her sharp tongue would land her in hot water with Hades and while she normally didn't care about that, she desperately needed something to work out in her life. Her friendship with Belle was tense and uneasy, something that had never happened to them before, and she cut off Hero Boy from her life as soon as he confessed that he liked her. He didn't even say love, he said like and she still threw him out to the curb.

What was wrong with her?

"Well, you have two options. You can keep working these shitty interviews and fluff pieces that I keep assigning you-"

Meg scoffed, "There is no way in hell I'm doing those anymore."

Hades' smirked and almost instantaneously Meg was filled with dread. His eyes looked cruel and mischievous, which was never a good combination with Hades. The last time she had seen this look in his eyes was when Esmerelda demanded a story that meant something. One week later and she was being forced to explore the sewers underneath Disney to see if there were really people who lived down beneath their small town.

But that is when Esmerelda started getting the better stories…

"Well then I have an offer for you, m'dear," Hades drawled.

Meg shrugged, "I'm listening."

"Two very different powerful people have come to me, wanting to expose each other as 'evil'," Hades feigned quote marks around the world evil with his hands and smirked. Meg smirked back without hesitation; it wouldn't look good if she didn't.

"And I'm personally not sure which evil-doer I should expose. I have to expose one or else I'll have two enemies on my back. I was debating on exposing both at the same time, with one hit article, but then it'd lead to the same result as the other solution," he hissed through his teeth at the end.

"Who are these proposed enemies?" Meg asked, trying not to look too interested by examining her fingernails.

"Oh only our dear Mayor Frollo and his loyal advisor Maleficent."

Meg's gaze dropped from her nails immediately. She stared at Hades, "You have to be shitting me."

Hades smiled gleeful as a child on Christmas Day, "No! They hate each other! It's wonderful news for us!"

"And you want me to attach my name to an article besmirching either of them?" Meg gaped, "Are you nuts?"

"Eh, probably, but who isn't a little nuts, right, sugar?" Hades smile turned back into a smirk with that line and Meg sighed.

She rubbed her forehead, "What exactly are my options here?"

Hades scratched his chin, "Well, one I fire you and besmirch your oh-so-lovely name. Two. You write an article on either of these idiots and not only do I not fire you, I give you a promotion and money and when you want to leave this godforsaken place I'll give you the nicest recommendation money can buy. Three. You write it on both of these lunatics and run for cover. You could probably even get a job at a national syndicate if you expose both of these politicians for, well," his smirk deepened, "the politicians they are."

Meg felt ill. She grabbed the arms of the chair she was sitting in. This could be either wonderful or horrible. They could ruin her life. Frollo, although easy to make fun of, was still terrifying and Maleficent, well, no one even dared to make fun of her. That woman had fits at the slightest of insults. Meg knew that Maleficent was invited to all parties even though she never showed up to them. No one dared to do otherwise.

But she couldn't let her hesitation out on her face. Because while this could ruin her life, which arguably already sucked due to her own issues, it could also make her life worth something. The benefits could possibly outweigh the risks.

So she bluffed.

"Can I be honest, Hades?" she asked, examining her fingers again, before continuing her thought, "I'm not exactly sure why you're picking me to do this article."

Hades scowled, "I don't have much of a choice. Only Esmerelda can write as well as you, and as soon as I'd say the name Frollo she'd write the nastiest article about him, without ever hearing about Maleficent. Problem is, I don't know how many would take her seriously. She writes about how awful he is every week, who is to say if they'll believe her?"

He had a point. Esmerelda, while a talented journalist, had a strong vendetta against Frollo. He also had one against Esmerelda, so it was an understandable vendetta. He targeted Esmerelda in his speeches and even in the laws he passed, as if he wanted to piss Esmerelda off.

It was . . . odd.

But that meant that someone else needed to write the article about Frollo and/or Maleficent. Meg sighed. No one would believe Esmerelda's article, or well, some would, but it wouldn't be taken as seriously as it needed to be.

And any accusations had to be foolproof especially if both of these politicians wanted to get one over on the other. This was going to be difficult for whoever wrote the articles.

And then Meg realized something.

She wanted to do it.

The more Meg thought about it, the more she needed to do it. Her life was without purpose and she was barely surviving this unfriendly universe. Her friends were disappearing from her life little by little, thanks to the men and jobs that were taking Meg's place. There was only so much room for her.

And the only other person who wanted to make room for Meg…

Well, she shoved him away.

What could Maleficent and Frollo do to her that she hadn't already done to herself?

Her lips twisted into something resembling a smile. "I'll do it," she declared.

Hades smirked as if he knew she was going to say yes the whole time.

Meg's inner bubble of happiness popped at his smirk. She wondered, as Hades explained the particulars of the different accusations, what exactly she had gotten herself into.

And if she'd ever be able to get herself out of it.

(A/N) Sorry for the delay... and the shortness of the chapter. I've been very sick off and on. Well I'm almost always sick but it was worse than usual in these past few weeks. I had this written for a while though so I said screw it and I updated the story for you guys. I hope you liked it. I can't promise an update any time soon, but I'm going to try. :)