"Don't you ever pick up the phone anymore?"

You let out an inaudible sigh, leaning back in the car seat and smirking at his annoyance, "I've been busy, Vox, you understand that," You said smoothly, your tone dripping with the sweet charm that gets any irritation eased, "So, what's up?"

"Are you almost there? Val and I are getting pretty close."

He was checking to make sure the red carpet order was on schedule. You would arrive at the venue a couple minutes before Vox and Valentino, and then finally Velvette, the guest of honor, would make her entrance. You, Vox and Valentino had been working on the plans for Velvette's birthday party for months now. Velvette basically assigned you to it to add perspective, which was understandable. You had Velvette down to a T, and of course all the connections and creative flair. She wanted a huge party like the Met Gala, with only the hottest of Hell's celebrities and influencers, at a venue that everyone who's anyone would be dying to get into. Limited to the Pride ring, you picked out a luxurious and exclusive night-club, considered to be Pride's equivalent of Ozzie's in the Lust Ring. Oh, if only you could travel to other rings.

All day you had been seeing Velvette on Sinstagram and ENVEE, boasting about her birthday celebrations. You of course had put up a story on your Sinstagram account, wishing her a happy birthday with pictures you had taken with her over the past couple years. You also had a gift delivered to her- a pair of skull stud earrings made out of diamonds and other rare gems with a matching choker that had another little diamond skull in the center. She said she would wear them tonight.

"We can't wait to see you, amorcita~!" Valentino piped in, his cooed voice ringing out through the speaker.

"Aw, right back at you both," You replied, matching the enthusiasm, "I'm pulling up now!"

"Oh yeah, I can see. That's your limo isn't it? We're close behind." Watching you with a drone? Figures. You looked out the tinted window to see the red carpet, demon and hellborn celebrities and socialites getting their pictures taken by the crowds of photographers, and giving their attention to reporters.

"Oh, gotta go. Red carpet's waiting for me. I'll see you boys soon!"

Your phone beeped as you hung up, slipping it into your concealed skirt pocket. You had chosen a two piece matching skirt and top, both glittering wine red. Your top was cropped, wearing like a bra would, with the sparkling fabric draped and pulled tight. The long sleeves clung to you, the fabric being more see-through. The skirt hugged your hips and thighs, ending half-way to your knees and the top lining just a bit above your waist, allowing for the gap that exposed your lower rib cage. Your d'orsay heels were the same deep red with diamond encrusted bows on the topline and straps around your ankles. Diamond choker too, of course, fitted around your neck.

The limo came to a slow stop, and your driver stepped out and circled around the vehicle. You took a deep breath with your excitement creeping up on you, your bright smile naturally coming on when the door opened for you. The moment your heel hit the carpet, the crowd began clamoring with cheers, cameras being turned to capture the moment, reporters fighting through to come up to you, bound by the ropes and security lining the carpet. You sent out an illusion that made the air twinkle, setting up one of your iconic entrances.

Gracefully, you stepped out and into the lights, smiling and waving excitedly at everyone, dazzling the crowd as your sparkles swirled around your frame. Every camera was on you, just how you liked it. You earned it after all. You stopped for a moment, giving everyone a moment to take in your appearance before you slowly began moving down the carpet. You posed here and there, answering the questions that came your way. "Y/N, over here!" A reporter shouted, gaining your attention as you turned, eager for their question. "What are you most looking forward to about the party tonight?"

"Velvette's reaction for sure! Vox, Val and I pulled out all the stops for tonight, so getting to see Velvette's reaction is going to be the highlight for me. She deserves the best!"

Another reporter shoved in, "Y/N, do you think this is going to get you into joining The Vees?"

"We'll see! If it does, you'll be the first to know." You answered with an airy laugh, winking and then moving on to a different area on the carpet.

The crowd started up again when another limo pulled up, Vox ducking under the doorframe and out, then helping Valentino follow out. Vox flashed his wide, 'Trust Us' smile to all the people around, hands behind his back. His suit was midnight blue, fitted perfectly to his form. Underneath was a white button down, adorned with the red bowtie he always wore. Valentino on the other hand was as flamboyant as ever, wearing a gorgeous brocade suit in a frosty deep shade of purple as his wings dragged behind him. His dress shirt was half-buttoned to expose part of his chest and his shiny gold chain, glinting with the camera flashes.

You caught Vox's eye immediately, and you smiled over at him as he approached you, his red eyes widening as he looked you up and down. "Heyyyy!" You drawled out adoringly to greet your friend as he reached you.

"Don't you look gorgeous." He complimented, sliding his arms around your waist to hug you. "Aw, thank you!" You reached up and returned the hug, letting him sway you a little as you rested your chin on his shoulder. You pulled back and noticed him lean in to try and kiss your cheek, to which you subtly dodged as you spoke. "Let me see you, you look so good!" You laughed, sliding your hands down the sides of his arms and gesturing to his suit. You both turned to pose together for a few pictures together, his hand holding you close to him by your waist.

"Oh yeah?" He smirked, adjusting his bowtie, "That always means a lot coming from you, Y/N."

"Aww, no more 'starlet'?" You asked jokingly. He turned back to you and leaned lower, "I think you're far past that now."

He went in for a kiss on your cheek again, which you substituted with another tight hug. Valentino caught up to you both holding his arms out, "Save some for me, foxy!"

You turned your attention to Valentino, letting go of Vox and letting your one hand slide down over his chest for just a moment before you reached out for Valentino. "Of course, lovely to see you, Val!" You exclaimed, wrapping your arms around him. He pulled you close, one of his hands finding your tail and tugging it closer to him. You quietly squeaked into his shoulder on instinct from the pain, feeling the reverberation of his chuckle against you as his reaction to yours. You were pretty sure Valentino thought that it was like a turn-on to do that to people with tails, and maybe it was for some, but for you, it was straight up painful.

"You look absolutely stunning." You purred, breaking away from him. His eyes glowed with appreciation through his heart-shaped sunglasses, "Aw, thank you, baby~. You look ravishing yourself, showing off that gorgeous body of yours. You were made to be seen."

If you replaced 'seen' with 'exploited' his compliment would have been much more directly creepy. Valentino knew he had to be a bit more careful with his language and mannerisms towards you because he did owe you more respect as a colleague and fellow overlord. Though, that didn't ever stop him from offering you a role in his films or some of his comments about you.

"I'll take your word for it." You giggled light-heartedly, brushing off the comment. Just then, a new excitement rippled through the crowd as Velvette's limo pulled in. The cameras intensified as she walked out, striking a pose for the cameras. She looked glamorous in a short sparkling silver sequined dress with a slit up the thigh. Paired with it was a pair of deep blue thigh high boots, and a giant faux fur coat in the same color that fell off her shoulders. You were happy to see she was also wearing the necklace and earrings you had given her too. Her swirling multicolored hair was styled up into a high ponytail with her bangs styled dramatically over her forehead.

Immediately Vox and Valentino took their places with her after she had a good number of solo shots in, the three of them posing together as The Vees. "Velvette, my dear, you look exquisite tonight." You heard Vox speak to her as they smiled for the cameras. "Why, thank you, boys." She chimed, linking her arms with theirs as they made their way through the carpet.

"Y/N! It's been ages!" Another guest on the carpet with you said to you, taking your hand. She was a sinner you turned into a beauty influencer- so you owned her soul and a share of her profits. "When I saw you on the carpet my jaw-dropped, literally, you look incredible."

"Oh my god, same to you, you look amazing as ever!" You replied, drawn into the conversation with her, a few more cameras flashing at the candid exchange. A few moments later, Velvette called out your name, motioning for you to join her and the other Vees for pictures. "We'll catch up more inside!" You waved to the girl before walking up to The Vees. Inside you felt hesitant in a way, because you weren't one of The Vees, and you would be out of place. You tried to bury it, telling yourself that you were like their producer in a way, the one they all need to be seen. You were their sun, the three of them orbiting around you. Just like all your other clients. Yeah, that's it. "Happy birthday, gorgeous!" You cheered to her as Vox held out his arm for you to hold in the pictures. The cameras loved it, capturing the four of you as you all smiled and leaned against each other.

"We have to get some of just us," She insisted, pulling you by your other wrist away from Vox. "You boys can go now." She announced, shooing Vox and Valentino away. The photographers complied eagerly, eating it up as you both posed together. "Good shit, Y/N. I knew you could handle this." She whispered to you in between pictures. "I must say, I'm impressed."

"I'm so happy to hear it! Anything less would've been disgraceful in my opinion."

"Ha! Absolutely."

After the photographers relented, you led Velvette inside the venue, even more spectacular than you anticipated- perfection. The club was booming with music, decorated extravagantly, colorful lights illuminating the silhouettes of guests all dancing and chattering.

With some illusions, you sent out a glittering light display across the room with mini fireworks that said 'Happy Birthday Velvette!' in shades of purple. You made the air glow around her frame in the same shades, all eyes on her now as everyone cheered for her. Taking two glasses of Beelzejuice from a server, you handed one of the golden glowing drinks to her. "Happy birthday, Velvette," You smiled, turning and raising your glass up, "To the baddest bitch in all of Hell."

The room erupted again with excited cheers for her, raising their glasses with the toast. You lifted the syrup colored drink to your mouth, taking a large sip. The mead hugged the inside of your mouth with an addictively sparkly honey taste. God, you were already starting to feel 'buzzed' just from that one sip. It was really strong alcohol.

You gave Velvette a nudge, redirecting her attention as you pointed, "By the way, the VIP section is just up there-"

"Y/N, did you invite THE Verosika Mayday to my party?!" She gasped, her attention turning to your pink-haired pop star client drinking with some of her friends.

"Of course I did, she's gonna be performing later-"

You didn't get to finish your sentence because Velvette ran off mid sentence to go meet her, leaving you alone by the door as you chuckled at how excited she was. As for you, the second you were alone your entourage found you and started raving about the party and pulling you onto the dance floor. Taking a gulp of your drink, you started mingling and making the rounds, catching up with everyone and getting mixed into conversations with other guests. You laughed and drank, making meaningless talk with fans and swapping industry gossip with your friends and favorite clients as you moved through the crowds. Everyone there was a sinner you already owned, had business with if hellborn, or was owned by someone else and important enough to be invited. You would have invited some higher power figures if they didn't have bad blood with Velvette, which was pretty much everyone that wasn't below her. You weren't used to going to events and not using it as an opportunity to gain business, so tonight, given the setting, was what you called maintenance work. Everyone wanted to have a moment with you, and you were happy to give the people what they wanted, letting yourself linger but then pulling away like the tide.

Getting bored, you went upstairs to VIP to go get some more Beelzejuice. "Can I please have another one of these, please?" You asked the bartender, sliding your empty glass across to him. You tapped your fingers on the counter to the music, cheerfully nodding along with the beat. Up in VIP, reserved for you, The Vees, and some of the performers, you had a spectacular view of the whole club. The ceilings and walls dripped with crystals, glittering with the light that passed through. Though, it didn't nearly compare to the ginormous chandeliers that were hung around the club like extravagant bird cages.

"I was wondering when I would catch you alone." Vox's voice teased from behind you before he found his place next to you at the bar.

You laughed, rolling your eyes and meeting his gaze, "Awww, wanting me all to yourself, Vox ?" You teased back, a playful bite in your voice when you said his name.

"Can you blame me?" He challenged, leaning closer.

"You're so right, I can't." You giggled, tapping the side of your head in mock realization before resting it on the bar as you turned your body towards him, offering your full attention. "Sooo, what's going on?"

"Well, for starters, we know how to throw a fantastic party." He stated, gesturing to the crowd below all dancing and chanting to the song playing in the background.

"Oh, totally! Look at everyone, having the time of their lives out there, and Velvette's having a blast," You exclaimed, shifting your gaze from the crowd back to Vox, giving him a nudge with your elbow, "All thanks to us!"

Vox chuckled, enjoying your enthusiasm as you thanked the bartender for a refill, "You know, I think Velvette really appreciates that you played a part in making all this happen."

"Awww, of course, she deserves it." You mused with a smile and focused expression on your drink, swirling the contents as you admired the properties. "Isn't this just so fucking cool? No wonder it's Verosika's favorite drink. You can't even taste the alcohol!"

"How many of those have you had so far?"

"Hm? Oh, this is only my second one."

Vox paused, looking a bit shocked by your answer, "Low tolerance?"

"Maybe?" You laughed, lowering your head slightly and raising your drink to your lips for another taste of that honeyed alcohol. A gloved hand slipped around your free wrist, twirling you backwards and away from Vox.

"Am I interrupting something, Y/N?" Verosika purred into one of your ears, her touch on you instantly making you shiver and your heart hammer wildly in your chest. She stood tall in front of you, dressed in a tight strapless dress with thigh high heel boots and holding a glass of the same drink as yours. Her eyes flickered with intrigue for a moment before stifling a laugh and dropping her spell on you, "I just wanted to say hi before I go on stage. Thanks again for the gig."

She really didn't need to use her powers on you to make you react to her like that, especially with how drunk you were. You were completely bewitched by her, so much that you had to shake your head as if to clear it of all your thoughts to respond, "Aww! Literally anything for you, girl. I'm so glad to see you here tonight!"

"Yeah, me too!" She smiled at you, placing a hand on her hip, "Say, I brought a friend you might be interested in if you're looking for some fun later."

"Awwww, thanks but I shouldn't, I'm kind of seeing someone right now."

"Hm, thought so. Oh well, if you change your mind, here's his number." She smirked, producing a strip of paper from her cleavage and handing it to you. You leisurely looked at the name and number before tucking it into your pocket. She stayed to chat a little longer before she returned you to Vox and left for her performance.

"You're seeing someone?" Vox asked, raising a brow at you as he sipped his drink.

"Tss, why are you interested?" You quipped, shit-eating grin and all before laughing at how he glitched with how flustered he was. You hummed as you calmed down and then gave a shrug, "It's nothing serious- Oh my god, it's starting, Vox! Look!" You quickly looked between the stage and Vox, then pressed your hand on his chest while you said bye, "My friends are waiting downstairs for me, I'll see you later, love ya!"

You zoomed downstairs, joining up with your group by the stage, ready for Verosika to start playing. The lights all flashed and glowed pink around the club, illuminating the popstar as she strutted on stage.

"This is for you, Velvette- happy birthday, bitch!"

3 Beelzejuices later…

Swept up with another group, you danced to the high-energy track playing through the club. Lights flashed around you, casting colors over the sea of people on the dance floor alongside you. You spun around, laughing along and lip-syncing the lyrics with some other guests when you spotted Vox at the edge of the dancefloor, leaning on the edge of a table with his eyes locked on you. Teasingly smiling at him and with the influence of alchohol, you pointed at him and extended your hand to beckon him over to you, mouthing the lyrics, " -With a smile on your mouth and your hand on your huh! Come hereee!"

He hesitated for a moment, clearly struck by the invitation, but then quickly made his way over to join you, pushing through the crowds.

With a boy and a girl and a huh and a game!

When he was close enough, you reached over to take his hand, and pulled him close to you. He grinned eagerly, holding your hand back and giving you a quick twirl. You were happy to see him, and especially interested to dance with him.

Do you want love or you want fame, are you in the game?

"Enjoying yourself, Vox?" You giggled, looking up at him as he matched your energy on the dancefloor, his hands finding your waist as he started dancing with you. He turned you around so your back was against him, a clawed hand one the side of your waist and the other holding your arm, "Much more now."

You couldn't help but let out another laugh. You turned back around, leaning in a bit closer as you danced with him. You held both of his hands, stepping out and in, letting him twirl and spin you. You moved in sync, keeping eye contact with him as the rest of the song played out. A new track started, but before you could keep dancing with Vox, Velvette's hand snatched you and pulled you out of his grasp.

"My turn, bitch!" She cackled, jokingly flipping Vox off.

Immediately you both started singing the lyrics to each other, smiling ear to ear as you danced and matched your hand movements to the song, making little illusions that sparked around you and Velvette. You glanced back at Vox, catching his eye from across the dancefloor again, standing with a look of longing on his face. You sent a wink over to him before turning back to Velvette, continuing to sing with her.

? Beelzejuices later...

"I'm gonna take Y/N back home. She's definitely had enough of tonight."

"WHAT?" You and Velvette both yelled in unison, drunkenly looking at Vox like he was crazy. As if literally just a few moments ago he had to intervene to stop Valentino from licking your neck, and Velvette was helping you clean off the saliva that dripped onto you when he dipped his face into the arch of your neck, getting a bit too carried away dancing with you. You got chills recalling it.

She frowned, trying to pull at your arm, "No! She's fine, right, Y/N? You're fine?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm wonderful!" You insisted, tilting your head at Vox, completely unaware of how ditzy you looked trying to persuade him. He snorted, "You're drunk," Then looked back at Velvette, "It's time for her to go now."

She groaned, dropping her shoulders in resignation, "Dammit, fine. Take good care of her." She pulled you into a tight hug, the two of you wrapping your arms around each other like it was the last time you would ever get to be together again. "Thank you for throwing me the best party…You're in good hands, promise you'll let him take care of you, okay? Kisses!"

"I promise!" You chirped, drawing away after she pecked your cheek. "Happy birthday again, Velvette, love ya!" You smiled, dramatically waving bye to her. Vox quietly chuckled, taking your waist back, "Come on, let's get you home now, sweetheart."

"Okay, fine," You leaned against him, your laughter bubbling up as you let him take your arms and redirect them to be placed around his neck again, "take me away, Vox."

Vox led you out of the club, calling his limo to meet the both of you out front. You happily gave him the address of your apartment building, not thinking too much about it. You also asked Vox to request ice cream. The air outside of the club was still disgustingly humid, barely providing any relief from the club. You felt much more aware though of your surroundings. Of how light your head felt, Vox's claws around your waist, how painfully annoying your shoes were. Finally, the limo showed up, and you tumbled right in as soon as Vox opened the door for you. Vox's limo glowed blue and red with geometric veins, lined with firm quilted leather seats. Your eyes scanned through the drinks bar, spotting the packages of Veets ice cream popsicles placed in the ice.

"Oh, fuck yeah!" You blurted in unbridled joy, admiring the array before getting an evil idea and snatching up the Bubble-O-Val flavor and ripping open the package.

"Is that your favorite flavor, Y/N?" Vox laughed, grabbing a Voxicle for himself.

"No, it's my revenge flavor," You stated. Glaring down at the ice cream shaped like a deformed version of Val's head on a stick in your hand, you sneered, "How d'ya' like me now, bitch?" Then, you gave it a long lick up the side as Vox snickered at your try-hard behavior. You frowned with distaste at it, trying to move your tongue in your mouth to get the off-putting cherry bubblegum taste off. "What in the false advertising…" You mumbled, trying to fathom how you made this god-awful ice cream marketable.

"What's wrong, dear? Revenge isn't sweet?" Vox teased you, noticing your disappointed expression. You shook your head in response, "It's okay, I can just-"

"Here, dumbass," He reached over and took the ice cream from you, replacing it with his Voxicle. "You can have mine."

You were going to tell him you could just change the flavor of it for yourself, but it was too late when you looked over and saw Vox already licking up the treat. You looked back at the Voxicle, the little light blue candy eyes staring right into your soul.

"Why do you look so pissed off?" You wheezed before holding it up and next to his face, leaning back so your perspective made it look like the ice cream was the same size as his head, "Wait, wait, make the face, make the face."

"I'm not-"

"Please!"

"No."

"Come on, pretty please, Voxy?"

"Did you seriously just call me that?"

"Mhm, please, please, please-"

He huffed, narrowing his eyes and giving a straight smile for you. "Happy?"

"The resemblance is uncanny...I mean, no shit, if it's supposed to be you!" You quipped, then went in to enjoy your Voxicle, still laughing your ass off. "Thank youuu, Voxyy~"

"Wow, so this is your place, huh." Vox mused, marveling at the darkened layout of your loft apartment, shutting the door behind him. Tall window lining the wall, a small dining table before the main entrance, followed by the living room, kitchen. A large pendant chandelier hung from the center of the ceiling, glittering in the moonlight that pooled in. Up the staircase along the wall led to the floor with your bed, vanity, closet, ensuite and balcony.

"Different from how you imagined?" You yawned, glancing up at his expression.

"Not really, I-" He paused, noticing how you were giving him the shit-eating grin again with how you tripped him up with word play. He chuckled, rolling his eyes at you, "Shut it, you're drunk."

You started laughing again, pushing away from him as you stepped backwards, "Psh, yeah, and you're still sloppier than me-"

"Careful!" Vox exclaimed, grabbing your arm before you could fall, pulling you right into him. "You are so drunk!"

"Ugh, I spoke too soon," You complained as he laughed at you.

"Yeah, no shit." He agreed, looking down at you with the same shit-eating grin you gave him just a moment ago. Scooping you up into his arms effortlessly, he started walking towards the stairs, ignoring your little protests about how you're totally capable of walking.

"You promised Velvette, remember?" He cooed, reminding you of what you said earlier. Touche. Fine. It wouldn't hurt to just rest your head against Vox's chest as he carried you to your bed.

"There you go, just like that, princess. Just give in and let me take care of you." He murmured in your ear encouragingly, all low and husky. You nodded in response, the tingly warmth of his breath against your ear making you feel foggy.

"God, what would you do without me? You're such a mess."

He reached the top, laying you down on your bed, gazing down at you endearingly. You felt relieved, feeling the familiar plushness of your comforter underneath you. You hummed approvingly, resting your head on the pillow and closing your hazy eyes.

You heard Vox chuckle softly, then his steps making their way around to the other side near your closet. "Can I get you another blanket?" He asked, not waiting for an answer and starting to open up drawers. He quickly found the drawer containing a few, hearing the sound of thick fabric being pulled out of the drawer. And then a box being gently opened.

"Y/N, what's this?"

"Hm?" You shifted up in your bed to look across at the open drawer and your eyes widened upon seeing your stash of burner phones. OH SHIT. You tried to fix your facial expression which you were sure had panic written all over it into mild embarrassment. "Oh, don't judge, please, but I collect flip-phones. I never lived to have one, and I just really like how they click. It's just like...kind of a stupid fascination thing."

Please buy it, please buy it, please buy it, please buy it, please buy it, please buy it-

"Yeah, no wonder you're hiding them then if it's old shit." He grinned, kicking the drawer closed and then returning to your side with the blanket, "There you go."

The sigh of relief you let out matched up with the blanket being draped over you on the bed. Oh God, that was so close, you almost threw up. You completely forgot you had those there. If he moved one of the other blankets, he would have found the other stash you had of car keys, or the one filled with credit cards registered to different aliases and then that would have looked much worse. Okay, yeah, you couldn't risk Vox fucking around anymore than he had already, even if it was unintentional. You trusted him for the most part, but not enough for him to have dirt on you. Life ruining dirt.

"I'm gonna head down to the couch now if-"

"Wait, Vox…" You breathed, "Don't go."

He pivoted in his spot to be facing fully towards you in blatant surprise, "You're asking me to sleep..here?"

"Please?" You asked, with big, pleading eyes, like he would ever pass up the opportunity to get in bed with you, even if it wasn't for sex.

"Well, if you insist." He smirked, excitement evident with the tone of voice.

You took his hand, slowly guiding him into your bed which he got into all too eagerly, his eyes never leaving yours for even a second. The mattress dipped as he crawled in towards you while you scooted to make room for him. He got comfortable, propping himself up next to you and pulling you to lay against him with your head on his chest. And now, to make sure he didn't dare get up to look for anything more interesting, you slid your arm across him, wrapping around his torso.

He sucked in a breath at the contact, his body temperature suddenly rising. And then after a few moments, experimentally ran his hands over your ears. Testing the waters. Normally, under any other circumstances, you wouldn't let him…but dear God did it feel good right now. You instinctually tilted your head up against him more, trying to lean into the touch and get more of it.

"I bet that feels good, doesn't it?" He murmured stroking over your ears in the same hypnotizing motion, clawed fingers gently grazing the tufted furr along the interior.

"Mhm." You responded, the sound strung with the low frequency of your purring. "Vox..?"

"Hmm?"

"Thank you for everything tonight…" You breathed out as you fell asleep on him, giving way to your inhibitions, tangled up in your sheets with Vox by your side.

"Anytime at all, sweetheart."

"Your cologne is nice..."

His chest jolted with his stifled laugh, "I'm glad you like it."

"..You're a good friend..."

You awoke with a terrible hangover, harshly screwing your eyes shut in response to the sunlight that fell over your face. Shoving your face back down, you realized from the sturdiness and the breath that fanned over your ears that it wasn't your pillow your head was laying on, but…but Vox. You actually yipped, violently pushing yourself up out of bed. Vox's screen flickered back on at the sound of your alert in the motion of you getting up, his groggy red eyes instantly widening to see your arms caged around him, and you swore red drool from his mouth flickered on his screen for a moment. And then they morphed into something mischievous.

"Well good morning to you too, sunshine," He smirked, lifting his hands up to rest comfortably on your hips. "Fuck, first thing in the morning too? I've gotta hand it to you, you've got stamina."

"Oh whatever, I know we didn't," You retorted, rolling your eyes and pulling yourself up away from him to be sitting on your knees. You were too hung over to say something just as teasing right now.

Vox burst out laughing, clearly enjoying how flustered you got. "Sorry, I couldn't resist!"

"I never wanna see Beelzejuice again," You rasped, pressing your face into your hands. Yeesh, your head was killing you. You were still in your party clothes too. Ugh, you felt so icky, you needed to get up.

You lowered your hands and looked back at Vox as he groaned, sitting up in bed now. Sometimes you had little moments where you felt proud of yourself, seeing the results of having someone wrapped around your finger. Last night, Vox was there for you, all evening long without you even having to ask if it meant your attention.

"You're so sweet," You intoned gently and sincerely, "Thank you for taking care of me."

Your eyes lingered on him for a moment, smiling softly at him despite the throb in your head. He looked caught off guard, and you giggled, reorienting yourself out of bed. You stretched your arms up humming, then ran your fingers through your hair, trying to fix it as best as you could for the time being. "Here, I'll walk you out."

"Yeah, I guess I should probably head back now." He sighed, swinging his legs over the bed and getting up. You walked Vox downstairs to the door, holding him by his arm as you led the way.

"Thanks again," You said, leaning in and readjusting his crooked red bowtie before tilting you head back up to smile at him. "Vox."

He gulped, and you let yourself linger close to him like that, for just a moment...

Then you winked and pushed the door closed.

Now... you huffed, looking upwards over the staircase to your lower closet drawer... you had to do something about all that evidence of your past laying around. You'd bring it to your office, make something secure to store it all- the credit cards, the burner phones, keys and the cars that came with them.

No one can know.

The next two chapters are connected :)