Disclaimer: Dedicated to my fellow writer, Butterchicken

Theme: Love Led Us Here by John Barry & Helen Darling

(********)

Cherri Bomb sat silently in the lobby of the newly constructed Hazbin Hotel. She twirled an unlit bomb in her hands. Normally she would have blown something up with it for the sake of excitement. There were reasons why she didn't though. One: she was forbidden from blowing up the hotel and creating property damage since becoming a resident. Two: her heart wasn't really in it.

Across from her, Angel Dust looked up from his phone. His best friend had been strangely quiet for weeks now. It seemed that after rebuilding the hotel, she had become withdrawn, her normally exploding excitable self evaporating overnight. It was rather painful, seeing her look so depressed.

"Hey, um, Cherri? You doin okay there?"

Cherri glanced up slightly. "Yah, I'm fine. Why'd you ask?"

"Well, you've been, I don't know, really quiet lately. Something up?"

"No. It's nothing." Cherri said as she returned her attention to the bomb.

Angel casted a concerned glance at Husk, who was at the bar wiping some glasses.

With a shrug, the cat demon gestured back to the female cyclopian, silently encouraging Angel. Thinking of what he could say, an idea finally popped into the spider demon's head.

"I was thinking Cherri, since there are no activities planned today, how about you and me go out somewhere. I heard the mall has a great sale on dresses today."

"No thanks. I'm good." Cherri said lacklusterly.

Okay, so that idea didn't work, yet Angel kept trying. "Okay, so um, how about we go blow up another motherfucker's domain and claim it as our own? That always seems to cheer you up."

"No!" Vaggie's stern voice commanded. "No one is blowing up anyone's property and no one is claiming anything." she added as she and Charlie entered the lobby.

"I'm afraid Vaggie has a point, Angel." Charlie said. "That would go against the idea of redemption we're trying to achieve."

"But guys," Angel got up from his seat. "Cherri has been feelin down for a while now and needs something to raise her spirits up. What's more important? Towing the line that requires redemption or boosting up someone's self esteem?"

Vaggie frowned. "Was that supposed to be a trick question?"

Angel scowled. "Of course not Vaggie! This Cherri we're talking about! She's been feelin like shit and we got to bring her out of it!"

"Well leaning towards destructive habits aren't going to help!" Vaggie exclaimed.

"Hey if you got some better option, I'd like to hear it!" Angel countered.

"Guys, guys please!" Charlie butted in before the argument escalated any further. "I'm sure we can find a simple solution to help Cherri without any need for spats."

"Excuse me?" The group turned to see Cherri standing up and looking miffed. "I hate to break it to you but I don't need any fuckin help. And don't talk to me like I'm not fuckin here.''

"Hey Cher, we just wanna know if you're okay." Angel said. "You have been a little out of yourself and-"

"What I do is none of your fuckin business!" Cherri snapped. "You just stay out of this Angie!"

Angel took a step back in shock.

"Cherri look, whatever is bothering you, we can help." Charlie said calmly.

"Well you can't! There's nothing any of you can do! So, just, just…" Cherri's voice trailed off as tears started to form in her singular eye. "Just leave me alone okay?!"

With that she raced up to her room. A loud slam echoed throughout the hotel. For a while everyone could just stand in shock. No one said a word. Angel couldn't believe what had just happened. While Cherri was known to be brash and loud, never had he seen her progress to this level of emotion before.

"What…the hell…just happened?" he finally asked.

"I don't know. I was hoping you would know?" Vaggie responded.

"She looked really upset. What went wrong?" Charlie asked.

"I can tell you what went wrong." Suddenly Alastor materialized out of nowhere. "Remember the old saying "absence makes the heart grow fonder?"

"You mean, she's missing someone?" Charlie asked. "Who?"

"Oooh, let's just say a certain serpent who heroically gave his life," he pointed to the painting of the fallen Sir Pentious.

"Oh." Both Charlie and Angel's faces fell.

"As much as I hate to admit it, he does have a point." Husk said. "Pentious had touched Cherri in a special place in her heart. They have been fighting for so long and now started to become more than rivals. Then he's gone."

Angel was at a loss for words. How could he have not noticed the reason behind his best friend's suffering? For the many times he had always confided in her on Val's abuse, and her always ready to lend a sympathetic ear, he thought that they perfectly understood each other.

"Damn. Why didn't I see this?" he asked, mainly to himself.

"It's not your fault. You couldn't have read her mind, or guessed what she was going through." Charlie said, her own heart starting to throb. Of all the people at the hotel, she thought she had taken Sir Pentious's death the hardest. She could still picture it clearly in her head; Pentious taking off in his airship to fight Adam and Adam vaporizing him in a heartbeat. She would always blame herself for not convincing Heaven that hotel would work if it could have prevented that tragedy. But she had no idea that Cherri was taking it hard as well. But then grief affected people in different ways

Angel meanwhile, glanced up at the stairwell. He remembered upon meeting Pentious, he didn't like him that much. He was Cherri's rival after all and he did participate in battle with her against the serpent. But since Pentious had joined the hotel, the two had grown close with time, even considering him one of his best friends. A part of him would always be proud of the sacrifice he made. If only there was something he could do for his first best friend now.

(*******)

A while later, Angel walked up to Cherri's room. Crying was heard on the other side. Angel hesitated before knocking.

"Go away." Cherri's muffled voice was heard.

"Cherri, it's me." Angel said.

"I said go away!"

Angel winced, trying not to take it personally.

"I know why you're upset Cherri. You miss him. You miss Pentious. That's what's been bothering you these past few days. But you're not the only one. I miss him too. Everyone in the hotel misses him. Though Smiles is another story. But, just so you know, you don't have to endure this alone." He placed a hand on her door. "Pent's is still with us. In spirit. And I know if he could see you again, he would."

The crying stopped momentarily, but Cherri didn't respond back.

Angel's face fell slightly in disappointment. "I understand. You just need time. But just remember that I'm here, Cher. I hope you feel better in the morning."

Hoping his words reached her, Angel left for his own room.

From inside her room, Cherri laid sprawled on her bed, holding her pillow close to her chest. While what Angel said made her feel a little bit warm, she couldn't bring herself to bask in it. She kept thinking of Sir Pentious, his "evil" laugh, his bumbling attempts to act evil, their fights, and the kiss they both shared on the battlefield.

Cherri's face blushed slightly. She could still hear his final words to her.

I love you Cherri Bomb. Remember me.

Back then, she didn't think he had it in him. Yet she remembered his nervous attempts to tell her before. She found it awkward as she found it cute.

"Damn it, Pents. Why did you have to wait until the last minute to tell me?" another tear slid down her cheek. He was gone and she would never know what their relationship would have progressed had he not died.

Feeling weary, the cyclopian woman closed her single eye and drifted off to sleep. She wished she could see Pentious again, even if only in her dreams.