Oh boy time skip and more fun!

Ch 3: A Day Out Gone Bad

(Heart's POV)

Two months had gone by since I signed myself in with the Happy Hotel. I can say that things were different, and I actually enjoyed it now. Although for like a week straight when I first got here, after that fiasco with Alastor and Angel, I didn't leave my room. Angel did eventually stop by my room the next day after it happened and apologized for making me upset, but even so I still was embarrassed and no will to face anyone.

I had gone back to where I used to live and managed to get a few more things that I needed. My little tv, some more clothes and a few of my other personal items. I could tell Lizzy was still there. Some food still in the fridge, clothes laid on the floor and my sister didn't seem to keep it how I left it. Surprisingly she didn't come looking for me yet. I figured she wouldn't. She didn't enjoy me much.

I eventually got out of my room and hung out with everyone at the hotel. It was nice to make friends, even if no one wanted to admit.

Charlie said my rehabilitation was going well though. And that I seemed to be well on track. I helped Vaggie and Nifty clean up the hotel though, so we got along and helped each other out. Husk managed to teach me how to play blackjack though, so I at least talked to him during that time, he was still an asshole though. Angel and I got along for the most part.

Then there was Alastor. I couldn't even face Alastor.

Alastor… My heartbeat fast just thinking about him. Although I did take Vaggie's advice and tried not to deal with him at all. I didn't even really talk to him after that one night in the kitchen. If anything, I let him say hello to me and I said hi and that was it. I didn't try to look at him, to get lost in his gaze again. It seemed like Alastor knew though, he was almost like a cat. The more you ignored him, the more he seemed to come around. It became harder to avoid him. I started to go out more into town to run errands for Charlie just to get away.

Even so, I felt like Alastor's eyes were always on me no matter where I went.

I managed to actually study Alastor though. Even though I was avoiding him I still watched him interact with others. I wanted to know how he worked. I'd never understand how he thinks but maybe I can figure out his actions.

What I discovered about Alastor was very interesting indeed. I found out that his touching was normal. He touched everyone the same way as he was me. Besides him loving to cook he also liked theater and enjoyed singing. I could tell that because I'd hear him humming through the hallways or when I would walk past his door I'd hear a record player with some old-time music playing. He made jokes but they were so cheesy, but funny. It made me laugh nonetheless, Angel always tried to shut him up though and didn't seem to enjoy them. I also started to notice he always talked sweet to everyone, using those sweet nicknames to everyone and being a gentleman. I was a little saddened by that fact because I actually wanted to feel special, but I tried to block those out of my head. I wasn't going to let the demon take control of my mind nor my heart.

Even though I'd hate to admit it, that Radio Demon seemed to have done something to me. I couldn't explain it. Even though I avoided him every day for the last two months, the man never seems to leave my mind. What was the feeling I wasn't sure. Did I...actually...have a crush? Oh Lucifer. I couldn't. He'd never be the same towards me. It was a crazy thing to even think! Stop it!

I walked into the hotel after going out for dinner. I walked in the doors, but they slammed shut behind me. The hotel was dark, I couldn't see a thing. Then the fireplace lit up. I was shocked and jumped in surprise. I slowly walked forward towards the fire; I didn't know what was going on. My ears laid flat and my tail wrapped around my waist in fear.

"Charlie?" My voice echoed through the lobby. "Vaggie?" I got no response.

I keep slowly making my way towards the fireplace. I was becoming more afraid of what was going on.

"Angel? This isn't funny you guys." I said.

The fireplace then went out and I was left in the dark again. I let out a slight scream.

A few seconds went by before I heard something behind me. Static. My body froze. I looked over my shoulder and I saw an old little radio sitting on a table. It was making that static sound. I slowly walked over to it, but the static started to get louder, I covered my ears. I eventually got to the radio, reached for the knob and turned it off. The static stopped and I sighed a little, the sound was getting to my ears.

Before I could even blink, the static sound came back but not from the radio in front of me. It was coming from...behind me.

I stiffened again and slowly turned around. Then I saw them, eyes in the darkness. Glowing eyes that looked like dials and sharp teeth. That only meant one person...Alastor.

My breathing quickened. I was scared more than ever now.

"Alastor?" I whispered.

"Hello my dear." His voice was deep, demonic and threatening.

He walked forward into the light, his mic cane in hand behind his back. Static surrounded his form, the world around him was distorted and symbols floated around the area.

"Alastor...what...what's going on?" I asked, my voice cracking from the fear.

I started to have tears fall.

"Now now my dear, do not cry." Alastor said. He walked forward and grabbed my chin but grabbed it rougher than he usually would. I noticed that his clawed fingers were longer than normal. "It won't hurt. I'll make sure it's fast."

My eyes widened, what?

"What do you mean?" My voice was shaky.

All Alastor did was laugh, "You'll die here."

The static around him went around me and covered me as well. Alastor took his hand from my chin and grabbed my throat. I couldn't breathe now. "A-Alastor."

His mouth opened to show his sharp teeth more. His eyes glowed and was almost blinding. His antlers grew as well. The power he radiated was too much.

The last thing I saw was the Radio Demon lifting his other hand and slashing towards me. The world seemed to slow then. My world then went black.

I woke up in my bed with a startle. A light sweat covered me. I buried my hands in my face. I had the dream again. It was the third day in a row. Why though? Why did I keep having it? Was my mind telling me something? Was it the future?

Did Alastor want to harm me?

I shook my head.

No. That wouldn't make sense. If he wanted to harm me, he would have done it when I first got to the hotel.

Right?

Unless I was part of his entertainment and he was just toying with me?

I shook my head. I needed to stop thinking of Alastor and my nightmare.

I got up out of bed and did my normal routine. Went to the bathroom, got a shower, brushed my teeth and got dressed. I put on my pants then my long shirt with my vest and then my coat. I put on my boots and made sure to grab my hotel key and put it in my pocket before I headed out of my room.

I grabbed the hell phone by my bed and put it in my pocket. Charlie convinced me to buy a phone to be in better contact with everyone if I needed it. I've never had one, but I understood how they worked. I mainly used it to see the news for today or use it in emergencies.

I made sure my hotel door was locked and walked down the hallway. I knew Alastor wasn't in his room that morning because every Friday he was down in the kitchen making breakfast, it was always French Toast.

I walked down into the lobby and saw everyone heading out of the kitchen. Alastor must have been done with breakfast.

I couldn't stick around. I haven't really stuck around for food because of Alastor.

"Morning everyone." I greeted.

"Morning." Charlie and Vaggie said. Husk just puffed and shoved food in his mouth and went to the bar. Angel wasn't down their yet, he sleeps in a lot from long nights. I couldn't see Alastor though.

I walked up to Charlie, "Hi Charlie. I am heading out today. Is that alright?" I asked.

Charlie smiled, "Of course! You think you can stop by the store on the way back? Need a few things."

"I can do that!" I saluted.

Charlie laughed, "I'll make you a list. Hold on."

"I am going to go sign out first before I forget. Then grab some food. I'll grab your list on the way out." I told her

She nodded and started to write what she needed.

I walked over to the sign out book and wrote my name and the time. I went to the kitchen and saw some of the French toast all on one plate. I walked over and grabbed a piece and took a bite. My heart warmed up at the taste. Delicious.

"Good morning darling!"

I jumped in surprise. I knew who it was. Alastor. I turned around and saw the deer demon behind me. His smile as big as ever. His normal outfit he wore when he cooked; his rolled-up sleeves and pulled back hair almost made me choke on my food. I managed to swallow and tried to control my heart from the sight of his handsome attire. At the same time, my nightmares the last few nights made me almost scared to see him.

"Morning Alastor. Sorry I can't stick around. I have to go out and get stuff for Charlie, so I have to eat and run." I took another piece and another bite of the other French toast and walked past him. "Man, this is good." I whispered before I left the kitchen.

I went to Charlie and she handed the list to me. "Most of it is some cleaning supplies we need to stock back up on." She pulled out some money from her pocket. "This should be enough to cover it."

I took the list and the money and put it in my inner pocket of my jacket, it was my safe spot that I always put the money.

"I'll make sure to be careful and be back in before it gets dark." I said. "See you all later." I waved bye to them. I saw in the corner of my eye was Alastor, he stood against the kitchen door with his arms crossed and he was just looking at me. I tried to ignore his stare and headed outside.

I walked down the road and it was actually a nice day. It was quiet. Which was strange for a day in hell, but I wasn't going to question it. I wanted to hit the store on the way back, so I headed to the coffee shop I knew of not far away. It was a nice little place, but the owner was a little bit of a bitch. I liked tea but coffee sounded good to me today.

I got to the shop and sat down to a little table outside. I ordered my coffee, with lots of French Vanilla cream. They brought the coffee out to me, I paid for it and I sat back to enjoy the day. I took out my phone and looked at the news for today. It was just how I liked it.

I then felt it, like someone was watching me. I lifted my head a moment and just casually looked around the area. I saw no one out of the ordinary that seemed to be looking. There was only one other person outside the coffee shop, and they had a newspaper covering their face. I just shrugged it off for now.

I finished my coffee and just sat there for a few minutes more while I finished the article I had. I put my phone back in my pocket and got up and headed farther into the city. I headed to the theater; I feel a play would be nice to me. I didn't care what was showing. I got there, bought a ticket and headed inside. Three hours I saw and enjoyed the play, it ended up being a romance. Made myself feel better, especially after my nightmare last night. When I left the theater, I decided it was time to head to the store and then head back to the Hotel.

As I walked down the street to the store, I felt that presence again. That I was being followed. I started to walk a little faster. Eventually I heard footsteps behind me. I tried to pay them no mind.

I soon saw the store, but I didn't get to make it inside. My pursuer grabbed me from behind and dragged me into an alleyway. The person was strong and hand big clawed hands from what I saw. They covered my mouth so I couldn't scream and had their arm around my waist and up against them. I could usually get out of a demon's grasp, I've been attacked before, but this one was different. Way stronger than any of the others I've dealt with. I tried to struggle but they just held tighter. I then felt breath by my ear followed by a long tongue licking it.

"Give me all the money you have, or I'll fuck it out of you." The attacker demand, I could tell it was a man and was most likely lizard demon judging by his tongue.

I shook my head; his hand still covered my mouth.

"You say you ain't got no money then?" He hissed in disappointment.

Again, I shook my head.

He chuckled, "Well then. Looks like it's the hard way for you." He turned me around. I was correct to see he was a lizard demon. He was green and had orange stripes along his body. He wore a ripped white tank top and ripped shorts. He punched me right in the face then threw me to the ground, but I had no time to react as he kicked me hard in the back. I rolled in pain as air rushed out of me. I could feel that one of his claws cut my face as I felt the blood ran down my cheek. He then managed to grab my left wing.

"I going to ask again. Give me what you have, and I'll let you go." He demanded again.

"I said I didn't have any money. That's the truth." I lied to him.

"Oh yea." He reached down with his other hand and ripped my jacket where the pocket was on the inside. "You are a lying bitch. I smelled it on you. Now you get to pay up." He had a firm grip on my wing and with his foot, he kicked it. I heard the snapping sound of my wing breaking and the pain ran through my body. I let out a scream. It was the first time I experienced my wing being broken. The lizard demon then kicked me in the chest, making me lose my breath.

"Now be a good little dog and let me do the rest to ya." He grabbed my tail and yanked hard. I let out a yelp in pain.

The demon laughed hysterically. He grabbed my jacket again and ripped it the rest of the way off me. He started to rip parts of my shirt as well. Blood spilled as he had scratched me in the process, but then something made him stop, be looked frozen. A pink aura surrounded him. Soon a hole formed in the ground below him and a few black, I guess I can call them tentacle like things, shot out and grabbed the lizard demon so that he was spread eagle above the ground.

"What the fuck! What you do to me ya whore?" The lizard demon asked in anger.

I sat up and put myself against the wall, lifting some of my clothes to cover the claw marks, my hands got covered in my blood. I knew that power wasn't me. I'd never seen this power before. Who did it belong to? Soon, I heard it and my ears perked up. The sound of radio static filled the air and I looked to the end of the alleyway. It was then that the person rounded the corner and started to walk down the alleyway towards us.

I knew who it was just by his dark form. Alastor. His hand was glowing with the same pink aura. His mic staff in his other hand behind him. He had a more demonic smile then I've ever seen before, his eyes glowed bright.

"Excuse me young man, you seem to have harmed my friend here." Alastor said very calm like, gesturing to me with his mic staff.

"Yea and what's it to you asshat?" The lizard demon spat. Considering the situation he was in, I wouldn't want to mess with Alastor but he didn't seem to know who he was.

All the Radio Demon did was laugh. "You see, when you hurt my friends." He started to move his fingers and the black tentacles seemed to start to pull on the lizard demon. He let out a grunt in pain, I then heard a pop as one of his arms came out of its socket and soon, he screamed. "You get hurt by me way worse than you can imagine." Alastor finished in his deep scary static voice.

Alastor flicked his hand and the Lizard demon went flying when the black tentacles threw him down to the end of the alleyway. He hit a big garbage can at the end of the way and seemed to be knocked out. I heard him groan in pain.

Alastor went back to normal, losing his devilish grin as he looked down at me with a softer smile. He reached his hand down to me. "My dear are you alright?" He asked in a soft voice.

I took his hand and he helped me to my feet slowly. "I could be better. He broke my wing though." I sighed as I looked over my shoulder at my wing, it hurt to even move it. It drooped a little. "He ripped my clothes to. Ripped my jacket to shreds."

"Oh my." Alastor looked at my wing as well. "It seems we must get you back to the Hotel immediately. I can mend that wing for you as well as your scratches." He told me, looking at my blood-stained shirt.

I felt that hardness in my stomach, I was afraid to be alone with this man still. At the same time though, he did just save my life so I should give him that credit at least. I looked up at him and made sure to give him a small smile. I knew he would at least want to see that from me.

Alastor chuckled lightly. I was correct. "I still get a smile from you." His eyelids slid down like he was in content. "My favorite."

I saw the state of my jacket, I sighed, it was my favorite. Then I remembered. "The money Charlie gave me!" I tried to turn and head to the lizard demon, but Alastor held me still. I looked back at him. He held up his hand to show the money was safe between his fingers. "No need to threat. I have that right here. It's safe, but I'm afraid that your little shopping trip will have to wait." Alastor pointed out.

I nodded in agreement. Still holding my hand, Alastor let me out of the alleyway and back to the sidewalk. I let out a little wince in pain as I walked.

"Are you going to be alright to walk?" Alastor asked.

"No need to worry. I'll be ok. The hotel isn't far, I can deal with it." I told him.

He nodded and we continued to walk. I noticed that the whole way, Alastor never let go of my hand. I was blushing like mad from the contact. The deer demon probably thought nothing of it, but me...it felt nice. Nice? Walking with Alastor. Imagine if I wasn't injured and we were just going for a normal walk, my mind wandered at the thought and it made a big smile come to my face.

No! Stop that! Alastor is bad! He doesn't care for me. Even if I did like him, he would never give my feelings back in return.

Soon we arrived at the hotel and Alastor opened the door for me and I slowly walked in. Charlie was in the lobby and when she looked at my state, she gasped.

"Heart!" She exclaimed and ran up to me. "Are you alright? What happened?" She asked all in worry.

"I'm fine Charlie." I put my clean hand on her shoulder. "I got attacked by a mugger on the way back. I was heading to the store to get the things you wanted but I didn't get there." I sighed. "He managed to break my wing though and left a small scratch on my face, plus some on my chest." I then smiled and looked over at Alastor, "If it wasn't for Alastor, I think I would have walked away with more than just a broken wing and scratches."

Charlie looked to the powerful demon, "No wonder you ran out of here so fast. You knew she was in trouble. Well done Al I'm proud of you."

Charlie's words seemed to trigger in my mind. Alastor...ran out of the hotel? To save me. Why? How did he know in the first place?

"It was my pleasure my dear Belle." He bowed slightly. "I couldn't have a brute like him hurt her any further. It would be...un-gentleman like." Alastor stood up straight and pulled out her money. "This is yours. Managed to get it back from the fool. It seems your shopping will have to wait."

Charlie took the money. "No worries. I'm glad you got it back. And I'm glad you got to Heart on time. I'll probably just have Vaggie go out later and get the stuff."

Alastor nodded then looked down at me. "Now darling let's get you mended up."

He took my hand again and led me up the stairs. I smiled at Charlie as we went up the stairs. He led me down the hall and to my room. I grabbed the key from my pocket and unlocked it. We headed inside. Alastor pulled over the one chair and put it in the middle of the room.

"Please sit, I'll get you fixed up in a jiffy." Alastor told me.

I wasn't sure what he was going to do but he walked into the bathroom. I sat down and Alastor came back out with a first aid kit. He took a bandage and put it on my cheek first.

My chest on the other hand was a different story.

"My dear the state of your garments will most likely have to be removed so I can get to the wounds beneath." Alastor told me.

I hesitated. I didn't want to remove my shirt ...not in front of him. I was too scared.

"Alastor, I think I'll take care of those wounds myself." I rubbed my arm in embarrassment. "I don't think I'm comfortable with taking my shirt off for you."

Alastor took a moment to process what I was saying but I think he understood.

"That's fair. I'll leave those to you then." He went back into the first aid kit. "If you need my help with it though just let me know.

He then took some splints and went behind me. Most likely to fix up my left wing.

"Can you lift your wing up at all?" Alastor asked

I tried to do as he asked but unfortunately my wing still dropped.

"Oh my, well this won't do." He made a tisk tisk sound. "I'm sorry my dear but I am going to have to position your wing properly so it can heal correctly."

I nodded, "Do what you have to."

Alastor grabbed my wing and started to pull up the end of it. I let out a hiss of pain but tried not to scream. Alastor took the splints and put them on each side of my wing and took a lot of medical tape and taped the splints to me. When he was done, I looked at his work. I couldn't bend my wing at all, I'd probably have to stick with it for a few days.

"There you are my dear, good as new!" Alastor said as his smile grew big. "Now tell me, does anything else hurt? Did he injure you elsewhere?"

I shook my head.

"Very well. Let me put this away then." Alastor reached for the first aid kit and took it back to the bathroom.

I was silent. Alastor was...being so nice to me. I didn't understand why. I had my thoughts going a mile a minute trying to figure it all out. At the end, I just decided to ask.

"Alastor, can I ask you something?" I asked as I brought my tail to my lap and started to play with it.

The deer demon walked out of the bathroom and stood in front of me. "Of course, darling! How can I be of service?"

I fisted the fur of my tail. "Wh-Why did you save me?" I finally got out.

Alastor said nothing at first, he just stood there and gave a small radio sounding laugh. He walked forward till he was almost on top of me. He then got down to one knee so he could look me in the face.

"I don't want to see you get seriously hurt. I want to protect you." He finally said.

"Well then, how did you know I was in trouble?" I asked.

"I heard your scream." Alastor admitted. "I felt your pain."

He...felt it? "How?"

"I marked you." Alastor answered. "The one night you were asleep."

"So, it's like a tracker?" I tried to make the connection.

"In a way, yes, but magically and probably more powerful." He explained.

"But why?" I looked away from him. "Why me?"

Alastor smiled. "Unfortunately, that's a question I have to answer at a different time." He grabbed my chin softly so I could look at him again. "Can I at least get another smile before I leave? It fits you much more."

How could I say no to that? Say no to that sweet smile he gave me. I did smile. Not because he asked me to, but because he made me feel happy and his comment made my heart flutter.

"That's better." Alastor let go of my chin and stood up, his smile bigger after that. "Again if you need help with those chest wounds, just let me know. I won't be far away." He headed out the door and closed it behind him.

My heart wouldn't stop. It was beating so fast. Why did he do this to me? Although it made me think, did he care? I never thought that a demon like Alastor would care for anyone more than himself. It was almost weird.

Continued in the next chapter