Chapter 24: Hanging With Willow and Lars' Emotions
June 9th. Me and Willow were walking together in the streets of Pride.
"I feel bad for Lars." Willow said, "His mother in the hospital over an electrical spark made her trip and fall…"
"Yeah…" I said, "Seems that his mother was all he got during his childhood."
"Yeah, unlike some…"
"Huh?"
"You know me, I wish I have parents that are as sweet as Lars' and accepted for who I am."
"I understand how you feel… When I went to Shujin Academy during my time on parole over a crime I didn't commit, this guardian at first didn't trust me."
"He neglected you, didn't he?"
"At first, but now over time before I arrive down here, he trusted me as if I was his son."
"Heh, what did he do?"
"Make coffee and curry in a little café."
"Well, that's honest."
My bond with Willow has grown a bit.
June 10th. I was in Willow's apartment as she was on the laptop.
"Now, I wanna look at some articles." She said, "Just so I can get some inspiration for my next article."
"What's the theme?" I wonder,
"It's gonna be different. Instead of articles on targeting someone for their crimes, I thought I would make articles on life."
"Like making coffee?"
"That Sojiro guy really got to your head, huh? Did he teach you how to make coffee or curry?"
"Yeah."
"Wish I had someone to teach me that."
Willow then got a call from someone.
"Hold on." She said as she got out her phone to answer, "Hello? Yeah, this is Willow Sturlu. …Oh? You want me on your team? Is this a scam? It's not? Oh good. You know me, questioning suspicious stuff. So, what kind of articles do you want me to make? Slice of life? I never made those before. …You'll offer training. Alright, I'll facetime you online later. Tomorrow's good for me. Bye."
Willow ended the call.
"Looks like a team of indie journalists is already needing another member." She said with a smile, "And I was lucky enough to get a seat there."
"Congrats." I said,
"We're not celebrating yet. I still need to look my best tomorrow, so don't bother coming over until I say so, ok?"
"Ok."
My bond with Willow has grown a bit on this day as well.
June 11th. I was working in The Hazbin Hotel. Lars was silent as he was cleaning cups with a cat demon with wings named Husk.
"Something got ya down, buddy?" Husk asked,
"Yeah." Lars replied, "And I don't want to talk about it."
"Fair enough."
I was worried about Lars.
Later on, our shift at The Hazbin Hotel was over, but I walked him back to his mom's house.
"So… Any updates on your mom yet?" I asked,
"Not yet." Lars replied, "Waiting on Cattleya."
Lars' phone started to ring.
"Speaking of the devil." He said as he answered the call, "Hey, what's up? …Ok, I'll be there."
Lars put his phone away.
"That was Cattleya." He replied to me, "She wants to bring us an update to mom at the hospital."
"Alright." I said, "Let's go there."
We entered the hospital and Cattleya was there.
"Hey, I got good news and bad news." Cattleya said to us,
"Give me bad news." Lars said,
"You sure? Because you always pick good news."
"Do I look like I want good news now?"
"Ok. Ok. Jeez… Well, bad news first… Your mother is gonna stay at this hospital for a little longer."
"Why?"
"Well… Unfortunately, your mother is paralyzed from the waist down."
Lars got surprised.
"No…" He said, "That electrical shock made her handicapped?"
"Yeah, but here's the good news." Cattleya said, "She's recovering. She can talk, eat and move her upper half fine."
Lars was about to cry.
"But she lost her ability to walk and move around with her legs…" He said, softly, "I want to see her."
"She's sleeping, so she doesn't need visitors during her sleep." Cattleya said,
Lars sighed sadly.
"Alright." He said, "Tell her I said hi."
Lars walked out. Cattleya sighed.
"Can't believe this is happening to him." She said,
"It's hard." I said,
"Sure is…"
I walked out to catch up with Lars sitting on a bench at a bus stop.
"Things are happening way too fast for me." Lars said to me, "Phantom Thieves, working at The Hazbin Hotel, changing the hearts of 2 Overlords and now my Mom's health is on the line."
Lars sighed deep.
"Hey! If it isn't Bunny Bitch Boy!" A Male Imp said as he was with his boyfriend who was also an Imp,
"What do you want?!" Lars shouted, "Can't you see I'm in a shitty mood?!"
"Aww! What? You're gonna cry or some–"
Lars got up and grabbed the Imp by the shirt.
"--LISTEN HERE YOU PIECE OF SHIT!" Lars shouted, "HOW DOES IT FEEL IF SOMEONE ELSE PICKS ON YOU IF YOU'RE HAVING A SHITTY DAY?!"
"Wo-Woah! Hey! Calm down!" The imp shouted, "I was just kidding!"
"THAT SHIP ON ME BEING A BUNNY BITCH BOY HAS SAILED! WHAT MADE YOU AND YOUR BOYFRIEND WANT TO PICK ON ME WHEN I'M HAVING A SHITTY DAY OVER MY MOM BEING HANDICAPPED?!"
The imp then saw tears coming out of Lars' eyes.
"Y-Your mom's handicapped?" He said, shocked,
Lars then let go of the Imp.
"Beat it." Lars said, "I just want to be alone…"
The imp was sad. He walked away with his boyfriend. Lars then looked at me.
"Sorry if you have to see this." He said to me,
"It's fine." I said,
I'm understanding Lars' pain more.
June 12th. Willow and I were in Café du Pécheur.
"So that meeting went well." She said to me, "But I still gotta be trained by someone."
"That's good to hear." I said,
"Sure is. Guess I'm really turning around as a journalist from Wrath."
Willow then took a sip from her coffee.
"Well, this coffee tastes great." She said, "Even with a spoon of sugar, it's still got flavor."
"I like mine with a lot of cream." I said,
"You really wanted the sugar rush?"
We both shared a laugh.
"By the way, what do you think your future will be like if you're a popular journalist?" I wonder,
"Come on, I'm not THAT popular." Willow replied, "Indie journalists tend to have a few thousands of followers. Me? Less than a thousand."
"Must be hard."
"Yup, but hey, as long as I get paid, then I'm good."
We share another laugh. My bond with Willow has grown a bit on this day as well.
June 13th. Willow was chatting with someone on the phone while I was in her apartment, watching TV.
"Ok, I'll be online soon." Willow said as she ended the call and went over to talk to me, "Got a meeting today on famous cuisines from Pride. Little nervous."
"Training will be there, right?" I asked,
"Yes. Since this is for beginners."
Willow took a deep breath.
"Wow, I can't believe this is happening…" She said, "My life as a journalist has turned around…"
"I'm sure you'll do good." I said,
"But they know I was targeting Overlord Valentino, but now that my articles on him were true and that he confessed, how will this affect my career if I'm now changing my whole career around?"
"Alright, calm down. You're thinking a little too far ahead."
"You're right… I am…"
Willow took another deep breath or two.
"Hey, thanks for being around with me." She said to me, "You're a good friend."
"You're welcome." I replied,
I feel another growth in my bond with Willow.
June 14th. Lars and I were at Pride Park, sitting on a bench together.
"Thanks for spending time with me." Lars said, "Mom will be out of the hospital tomorrow. She's gonna be bound to a wheelchair for the rest of her life."
"Big responsibility to take care of her, huh?" I said,
"Yup… And I'm only a young adult, so I gotta stop acting like a rebellious rabbit."
A familiar Imp walked up to Lars.
"Hey." He said to Lars,
Lars looked at him.
"Oh, it's you again." He said, "What do you want now?"
The imp then gave Lars two gift cards.
"I'm really sorry about two days ago." He said to Lars, "Here's two gift cards. One for you and one for your mother."
"...Oh, thanks." Lars said as he appreciated the gift, "And I accept your apology."
"Listen, I didn't know you were in a bad mood over your mother. I thought you were a character."
"Look, people are still gonna make fun of me, regardless of whatever part of my life I'm in. I'm glad you had common sense to know about what's happening."
"Uhhh, yeah, that's it for me. I gotta go home now."
"Alright."
The imp walked away. Lars sighed in relief.
"Thank Satan people know my emotions instead of just taunting me for little to no reason." He said as he looked at me, "And it's all thanks to you, Ren."
I smiled at him. My bond with Lars is almost there.