Author's note: So, the next few chapters are gonna be less Ashley centered, she'll still be mentioned, but more as a side character, but don't worry.
We will shift the focus back to the shpphic disaster eventually.
Chapter 24:
Testing her limits
Charlie Morningstar stood in the open front door to her beloved hazbin hotel as she stared in disbelieve at the individual before her.
There, on her front porch stood the short, infamous queen of social media, the feared fashionista doll demoness and as of late, former member of the Vee's, Velvette, holding onto one of her arms awkwardly, slightly looking away, not fully daring to make eye contact.
"Uhm…..cheers…you….uhm….help people…right?"
She looked so uncomfortable, as if showing vulnerability for the first time, and it scared her. Deciding to give her the benefit of the doubt, the princess put on her charming smile as she quickly hopped behind the short overlord and guided her inside "Oh YES yes yes, you heard correctly. Welcome to our home of healing, the hazbin hotel"
However, the moment the short fashionista was brought into the lobby, 3 separate voices spoke up "AW HELL NO!"
Suddenly, they were in a standoff, Velvette being shielded by a now very protective Charlie and on the other end, Angel dust brandishing one of his tommy guns, Vaggie with her spear at the ready and Ashley holding her angelic axe over her head.
"Hey come on guys" Charlie tried to calm down the trio "What happened to "everyone is welcome"?"
To this, Angel Dust would speak up first "You can't be fucking serious, Charlie! She's with the Vee's!" to which Vaggie added "Angel's right, she's a threat!" and finally, Ashley piped up "Get the fuck away from her, Charlie, we'll handle this!"
"WAS….i "WAS" with the Vees" The short fashionista spoke up as she stepped around the princess and now, it was her in-between Charlie and the 3 armed sinners and fallen angel instead.
Velvette would speak up more "It's fucking plastered all over the news, for fuck sake. You think I'd do that just to infiltrate this fucking hotel? Look, if you think I'm carrying recording equipment for Vox, fucking strip-search me if you have to, just get the fuck off my case!"
The armed trio would give each other glances, tho when they looked back at the short overlord and Charlie, the princess poked her head out from behind Velvette, slightly pouting her lip and giving them the puppy dog eyes.
Giving a collective sigh, neither party was able to resist the princess's "nuclear option", lowering their weapons as Vaggie grumbled out "uhg…..fine….but we're keeping a VERY close eye on her" as the former exorcist walked over to Velvette and leaned down, their faces only inches apart "So you better not try anything…..are we clear?"
Velvette would grit her teeth together, but begrudgingly respond "….transparently…."
Once the tension was diffused, Charlie decided to show the short fashionista around, allowing the 2 of them to talk a bit one on one "Aaaaaand here's the other guest rooms. I already gave a small tour to some new arrivals earlier so I'm sure they might be able to answer any questions you might have"
Velvette would wave her hands at the princess "Ohh no no, you're misunderstanding, I'm NOT fucking staying here. I have no intentions to go to heaven, I'm perfectly content with where I am"
This caused Charlie to slightly hang her shoulders in defeat "…oh…..ok….." Before narrowing here eyes in confusion
"But wait, then why ARE you here?"
The short overlord began to fidget with her fingers "Look…this is fucking hard ok….but….i do….want to….uhg…..why is this so hard…." It was clear that the short demoness was stepping FAR outside her comfort zone.
She took a deep breath as she blurted out "IWANTTOLEARNHOWTOBEABETTERPERSON" as she let go of the tension she had been holding within her since she first knocked on the hotel's doors "There, happy now?"
The princess could barely contain her excitement as she grabbed the short lady by her shoulders and began to eagerly shake her around "Oh that's wonderful to hear, I'm sure we can find something that works for you" before she paused "But…..why the sudden shift? What's your motivation?"
Right away, the short overlord threw up her defensive walls "I don't need to tell you jack-shit, ya nosey bitch!" She snarled.
Charlie pulled her hands back and put them up defensively "Alright, calm down. I get it, your reasons are your own. I'm just saying it would help us to figure out what exactly you need here in order to grow"
The social media demoness weighed her options for a moment, before looking around, making sure it was indeed just her and the princess.
" *sigh* …alright…..fine….but for now, this stays between us, got it?" Charlie would eagerly nod, before miming out locking let lips with a key and throwing it over her shoulders.
Velvette took a deep breath as she spoke "I…have found myself…..with feelings….for somebody…..and…..if I want them to like me back….I'm going to have to drastically change the way I've been looking at things…."
The princess would squee "Oh that is wonderful. Love is beautiful and can be a powerful motivator" She said as she wanted to grab the short overlord into another hug, tho Velvette would quickly put her arms out in-between them, scrunching up her face "How about fucking no?"
Charlie would awkwardly rub the back of her head "Not much of a hugger…alright, noted…..so…..may I ask….who?"
Velvette sighed "….alright….but NOT a fucking word…"
..
..
"Who knows what she wants with Charlie, what is she planning?" Vaggie was anxiously pacing back and forth in the lobby.
"Calm your tits, "Vagina" if ya keep pacing like that, you're gonna dig a trench into the carpet" Angel Dust joked.
"Plus" Ashley would add "You guys forgetting Charlie is still the literal "princess of hell" right? Pretty sure she could whoop that pintsized bitch's ass if she wanted to, not to mention she'd face the wrath of daddy Lucifer if she were to try anything" before she glanced up at the stairs leading to the next floor.
"but I do get Vaggie's concern, I trust that bitch about as far as I can throw her and Ima be honest, I don't even wana fucking touch her. I wouldn't poke her with a 50 meter pole if ya paid me…Velvette is usually bad news….."
"Oh come now dear, you really consider that tiny lady a threat? I had expected your judge of character to be better by now" A static-ey voice piped up as Alastor would emerge from the shadows "I'm sure our lovely demon belle has the situation more then handled, not to mention Velvette is all talk"
Angel raised an eyebrow "So ya think the bitch is for real, Al?" to which the radio demon answered "Well, let me put it this way, a little birdy told me that a certain rectangle-headed overlord named Vox has been throwing quite the tantrum lately"
This caused a small chuckle from the fallen exorcist "You mean like he did when he found out you were back? Took hours before the power came back on"
After a little while, Charlie would once again appear at the top of the stairs, the short fashionista in tow as they made their way down the stairs "Normally, we'd have guests stay here at the hotel, but since your situation is …a tad "different" I'm sure we can develop a special treatment plan just for you"
"I fuckin suppose so…." The shorter overlord mumbled in response.
As the duo once again arrived in the lobby, Angel leaned down to Vaggie and whispered something into her ear with a smirk, which caused a similar smile on the fallen exorcist's face as she quickly, spoke up "You know what would be a great idea, babe?"
Charlie would perk up "Yes Vaggie, what did you have in mind?" To this, Vaggie smirked "Well, why not get to know our new guest here with one of our classic bonding exercises?" all the while Angel Dust and husk were behind her, snickering to themselves as Ashley stared at the scene with the biggest, shit-eating grin, thinking to herself "Ooh this is gonna be goooood"
Vaggie continued "Namely your little song game, followed by a trust fall?" By now, Vaggie had joined the others with a similar smirk, which of course went right over Charlie's head, who perked up "Oh that's great idea, Hun"
Hearing this, Velvette would mutter to herself "You got to be fucking kidding me…."