After dinner, Clover had chosen to remain in the kitchen after taking up two plates to Angel and Cherri, who had both chosen to stay in Angel's room despite Charlie's attempt to talk them into joining the group. Through the awkward conversation that was Charlie's plans to bring in more sinners and the steps they could take towards redemption, which was only participated in by Vaggie and the occasional comment from Alastor, Clover couldn't help the sinking feeling that settled in her stomach. She knew that Charlie wanted her to take those same steps, and she didn't have it in her heart to tell her that she had no interest in redemption. Leaving this place meant leaving her job, her friends, and most importantly to her, leaving Alastor. The thought was drowned in the bourbon they'd mixed with half the tables glasses of lemonade, and tossed aside when the changing of seasons on the moral realm was brought up, Charlie musing over the thought of having an open Thanksgiving dinner to bring in sinners with nostalgia, reminding her of a holiday more dear to Clover's own heart.
She'd waited until there were just three of them left in the kitchen, Alastor taking care to wrap up the scarce leftovers while Niffty took to the task of washing the dishes. Clover had returned to her book after she'd been shooed away from helping either of them, sipping through the last of her watered down glass of spiked lemonade as she shifted through the last few pages of her book. It was only when she finished it that she dared to interrupt, watching as Alastor helped Niffty to put away the now dry dishes with a small smile.
"It's not past Halloween yet, is it?"
Black tipped ears turned towards her, Alastor's back remaining facing her even as he spoke, his voice echoing inside the open cabinet.
"No, not yet. Are you fond of the holiday?"
"I am. I feel like a Halloween party would be more fitting than a Thanksgiving feast, and less work."
"Can we decorate?"
They both turned to the excited voice of Niffty, balanced on her step stool in front of the sink and looking between them with a wild smile. Alastor smiled fondly, seeming to ponder for a moment before answering.
"Why, I think it's a splendid idea! I believe that would bring more worthy foot traffic to the hotel than some excuse for hungry sinners to take advantage of Miss Morningstar's kindness. I shall bring it up at our next partners meeting."
An abrupt interruption turned every head towards Clover, the violent vibration of her cell phone against the chair through the pocket of her sweatpants filling the room with a sharp rattle. She pulled the device from its place in her pocket, her brow furrowing in confusion at the flashing screen of an incoming call but finding no evidence of a name for the caller. The only people who had her number were either currently in the hotel, or Cyrus, all of which were saved into her contacts. Instead of one of their names flashing against the dark background of her screen, was a scramble of numbers that flickered into a glitch the longer she left it on her screen. With a glance towards Alastor and Niffty, she pressed her thumb against the screen and slid to answer the call.
"...Hello?"
She nearly dropped the phone all together when blaring music abruptly burst from the speaker, a cheery, commercial tune that fought against the volume of the animated voice that responded to her, stuttered with the sound of glitching.
"Hello madam'! How are you this fine evening? Would you be interested in hearing about an exciting offer just for y-"
"If you're trying to tell me about my car's extended warranty, try again. Bye."
Quickly hanging up with an exasperated sigh, Clover shook her head before turning back into the conversation that had been so rudely interrupted, smiling when Niffty fell into a fit of giggles when she returned with a joke.
"Telemarketers, this really must be hell."
Alastor picked up his coat off the chair, pulling it on and taking time to adjust it properly. He paused, carefully turning the book she'd finished and left lying face up on the table in front of her, tilting his head at the decorative cover. Clover smiled softly at his casual expresion, watching as he turned it over to read the back for the synopsi. The realization of what she had stored between the pages restarted the steady thudding of her heart beat against her sternum, holding her breath slightly as he turned it again, hoping nothing fell out due to the movement. It was somewhere between her anxious glances between Alastor and the book as he flipped open the first page that an idea struck her, her voice soft as she spoke up.
"I'm done with it if you want to borrow it."
His ear flicked slightly before they both turned towards her, his brow raised as he turned his gaze to meet hers.
"It seems like an awfully sentimental tale."
"It's good, I've read it before. I was reminded of the title by someplace I visited recently."
The slightest dilation of his eyes was all she needed to be sure that he had understood her reference to their visits to the small park hidden between brick walls of the cannibal colony, Clover taking his pause as an opportunity to pick up the book herself and hold it out towards him, feeling the slight bulge in the bending of pages and the spike of her heart rate that responded. Alastor hesitated before taking it from her, tucking it under his arm with a soft sigh before addressing her once again.
"I can't promise that I'll get to it soon, I am a very busy man."
"That's fine, it's from the library. We can talk about it whenever you get around to it."
With Alastor gone for the night and Clover satisfied that their relationship, whatever it was, was intact. Pushing the confusing feelings that were spawned by his outburst of concern for her safety, she ventured upstairs with a plate of the still warm cake that she'd joined Niffty in finishing over coffee to gather herself in some alone time. She settled in to watch an old favorite on the streaming service hell provided, Voxflix, as she curled up in bed and tried to distract herself with the cheerful tones of childhood. The film had barely progressed past the first act when the image froze, the spinning wheel of death that was the loading icon graying out the image. She'd just moved closer to her screen, squinting to read the error code before attempting to reconnect and refresh when it exploded into color, Clover blinking rapidly to clear the spots on her vision as a pop-up covered her screen in a swirl of blue and red that formed into an flashing message that read,
"Limited Time Offer: Click Below To Accept!"
Sighing heavily, Clover unplugged her laptop before reaching beneath it to pop out the battery, forcing the device to shut down and hopefully saving herself from whatever virus was attempting to set a plague upon her computer. As soon as it rebooted, she set to downloading an antivirus as well as an adblocker, cursing herself for not doing so sooner, before returning to her movie in peace. It was much later, at the height of the film's climax, when a small knock on her door drew her attention.
"Yes?"
"It's, uh, me, can I talk tuh' ya?"
Angel Dust's voice on the other side drew her attention immediately, Clover pausing her movie and closing the laptop as she replied.
"Yeah, you can come in."
The door swung open slowly, a ruffled mess of white fluff peeking into the room before Angel stepped in entirely. He looked tired, which was only amplified by the baggy pink sweatshirt that hung off one shoulder and fell to just barely above the black shorts he wore, rumbled and twisted between long fingers as he fiddled with it. With the door closed behind him, he shuffled part way into the room before he paused, sighing heavily before speaking.
"Cherri, uh, went home, and I didn't wanna' be alone, s'alright if I sit wit' ya?"
A tiny snort drew her attention to Fat Nuggets at his feet, the tiny pig bumping up against Angel's leg before it began snuffling among the sheets that had collected on the floor off the side of her bed. Clover smiled, scooting over to make room for him and waving him forward.
"I'm just watching movies, I took a nap earlier so I probably won't sleep for a little bit, so if you're down for old kids movies you're welcome to join me."
Angel crawled into bed beside her, scooping up the tiny pig that began to squeak frantically when he was left alone on the floor and placing Fat Nuggets into his lap. It was silent for a moment, Angel shifting awkwardly while Clover went to open her computer once again to find a movie that they could watch together. Finally, he took a long breath before he turned himself further towards her, reaching out to lay a hand over hers as it scrolled through film titles. Clover froze, the gnaw of unease beginning to eat away at her as his anxious demeanor fed her own. Angel's voice was soft as he spoke.
"I need tuh' tell ya' what happened."
"What do you mean?"
He sighed, staring down at the sheets as he spoke.
"So, do ya' rememba' when I started apologizin' back at the club?"
"Yes."
"Well, t'ings are a little clearer now, and you need tuh' know what I was apologizin' for."
Angel paused for a moment, seeming to struggle to put the words together. Clover began to get the feeling that actual emotional confrontation wasn't something Angel excelled in, so she remained patient, slowly turning her hand over to take his and allowing it to rest against her palm. His fingers tightened around hers as he found the words he wanted to say.
"So, last night Val came bustin' into my dressin' room shortly afta' I got there. He wasn't even supposed tuh' be there, I thought he was gonna' be shootin' a movie across town but I guess he n' the resta' them decided to come party instead. He's got this new girl, she's also a dancah', that he's been real sweet on lately-"
"Lolli?"
He blinked at her for a moment, before continuing.
"Yeah? How do ya' know her?"
"She's who helped me find your dressing room."
Clover wanted to avoid giving him any details about her run in with Valentino until she felt his emotional state was more stable, watching as his brow furrowed slightly as he spoke.
"Oh, well, yeah, her. Val's been tryin' to get her all tied up wit' him like I am, tryin' to make me jealous by makin' her his numba' one gal cause he thinks I still give a shit ab- anyway. Val came bustin' into my dressin' room, wouldn't take a 'get the fuck out' for an answer as fuckin' usual, n' started goin' through my things just to piss me off. And, well-"
Angel sighed, taking a moment to catch his breath.
"He went through my bag, and he found the photo you took of me."
It felt like falling all over again, her stomach dropped out from under her even though she felt the warmth of the bed beneath her. Her voice was foreign to her own ears as she spoke, sounding too far away and small to belong truly to her own voice box.
"What?"
The hand that was curled around hers tightened slightly, drawing her attention to the fact that her grip had gone completely slack.
"It's my own stupid fuckin' fault, I just tossed the picture into my shoppin' bag that night instead of carryin' it and ended up forgettin' about it and just dumpin' the whole thing into my duffel bag before headin' to the club. Anyway, Val found the thing and started this whole interrogation on me about where I got it, and how, he knew it was me immediately cause he owns my fuckin' soul so of fuckin' course he did, the bastard. I told him it was none of his business, and…"
Clover instantly returned all the strength she had in her slowly numbing fingers to give him comfort, laying her other hand on top of his waiting patiently for him to continue. It was only when Fat Nuggets began to gently nudge their palms that he took a long breath to steady himself, Angel's voice wavering slightly.
"Next thing I knew I was bein' tossed across the room and havin' pills shoved down my throat. It's all kinda a blur afta' that, but I know what I said, it'll take more than a couple'a downers to get me tuh' say everythin', but he got it out'ta me…"
"Angel, what did you say exactly?"
"I told 'em that there was this demon who had'a camera that had showed up at the hotel. I don't know why it would'a fuckin' mattered to 'em, but he roughed me up enough and got enough drugs in me that I-"
"It's okay, I don't blame you."
Her blood ran cold, not entirely sure on how this situation would evolve but thankful that Angel had attempted to keep her from getting involved. The phantom feeling of the clawed hands that had so purposefully brushed against the vulnerable area of her chest bubbled the feeling of sickness in her stomach as she remembered her interaction with Valentino. Whether the moth pimp would put two and two together based on the few seconds they'd crossed paths, she couldn't be sure, but telling Angel Dust about it would probably only upset him further. Angel knew she'd run into Valentino, he was able to smell the pheromones the Overlord put off just as Alastor had, but he'd not pushed for any details. She'd gotten away from him, that was enough for her, and right now she was far more worried about her friend than whether her stupid camera was going to get her into trouble.
"He didn't-well, he didn't do anything else did he?"
Angel shook his head, falling back on her bed with a small huff. Fat Nuggets quickly scurried up his chest, flopping into the fluff that made up Angel's bosom with a small squeal. Flopping the small pigs ears back and forth gently, Angel took a moment to think before he answered.
"No, I'm just probably gonna' have a few bruises, nothin' you can see unda' all the fur. I know you met 'im, but he didn't touch ya' did he?"
"He got closer than I would have liked but he didn't do anything like that."
"Good, I'd fuckin' kill 'im."
With a small smile and the slightest glimpse of the normal teasing Angel Dust she'd grown to love, he wiggled a leg over to bump his knee against hers.
"If I could beat Al to it, of course."
Clover couldn't help but roll her eyes, pulling her laptop towards her as a familiar guitar riff started up, leading into a 90's favorite that she was thankful existed in the afterlife. Angel seemed completely uninterested in her excuse to avoid the subject of Alastor, talking through the opening sequence with new interest.
"I ain't neva' seen someone calm 'im down so fast. He was itchin' to go full demon on Husky down 'dere."
"He was overreacting."
"Eh, I mean, breakin' contracts is a big deal toots, n' Al's one of the best at makin' deals and havin' contracts with no wiggle room. Plus, his numba' one girl was involved, can ya' really blame the guy?"
Feeling the burn that was creeping up her neck, Clover didn't answer, trying her best to get Angel's attention on the movie and off of his current track of delving into her relationship with Alastor.
It didn't work.
"Aye'! Ya' didn't tell me how ya' date went!"
"It wasn't a date."
"That was a date suga', I saws you two, that was a genuine romantic rendezvous. I know ya' like tuh' pretend that he ain't interested in ya', but Alastor pays ya' more attention than I'd eva' see him give to anyone else. Now, spill."
"We went to a friend of his's place, I got to meet her, had some drinks, we danced, we took the long way home and talked like we always do. No big deal."
"Honey, you're turnin' pink, it's some kinda' deal."
A beat of silence ended with the sharp intake of breath from Angel Dust as he suddenly sat upright again, turning towards her.
"Did he lay one on ya'?"
Clover knew she was turning red, her ears flopping wildly as she shook her head quickly.
"No, he walked me to my room. We slow danced. That's as romantic as it got."
"Ya' shoulda' drug him into the room."
"Why?"
Angel only waggled his brow at her enthusiastically, earning a roll of her eyes before she sunk herself down into her blankets, covering herself as much as she could but not enough to hide herself from his next, and final, query before they both lost themselves in the campy distraction in the form of one of many modern retellings of a classic tell.
"Did ya' use the vibrata' at least?"
"Angel!"