Chapter Text
“Ok, wait… this is the.. hotel?” I ask. It’s not very bright, super duper empty, besides one or two photos that are on the brink of falling off the walls, and the stairs look like a safety hazard.
“Well, we couldn’t really find a cheaper place, and we’ll decorate it, don’t worry, we’re still just uh.. workshopping,” Charlie says, trying to seem optimistic. “And- oh! Have you met Vaggie yet? Oh my gosh you haven’t, have you?” She exclaims suddenly.
“Vaggie? Is she helping you here too?” I ask Charlie as she grabs my arm and walks over to one of the rooms.
“VAGGIE! There’s someone you need to meet! He’s helping us with the hotel!” Charlie yells at the door.
“Someone’s helping us? Who-“ I hear Vaggie say as she opens the door. She stops and stares at me for a moment.
“You.” She says. Im not sure what I ever did to offend her, but I know I've lost my chance at friendship already.
“You work with the Radio Demon,” Vaggie says coldly and turns to Charlie, “hun, you can’t just bring random overlords here, you know they think this hotel is just some stupid joke. You can’t bring Vincent-“
“It’s Vox, now,” I cut in, “and I don’t work with Alastor anymore. He’s sick and cruel. Your whole thing here is redemption right? Maybe I want a chance at that too!” I argue. It’s true, I worked with Alastor, I’d considered him a friend, maybe even someone I loved, but that couldn’t be me anymore. I could be truly redeemed too, couldn’t I? Despite my crimes, during life and death. I at least had to try. Vaggie sighs loudly and draws me from my thoughts.
“Fine, but you better not be lying about all this, ok?” She says reluctantly, probably for the Princess’s sake.
“Yes! Thank you Vaggie you’re the best! Oh- sorry, I probably should properly introduce you two,” Charlie says happily, “Vox, this is my girlfriend Vaggie, Vaggie, this is Vox!”
“Pleasure to meet you, Vaggie,” I say with a smile, but she just grunts.
”Ok, what color scheme should we go for here?” Charlie asks us.
“I say we stick with the red,” Vaggie advises.
“What if we added a little blue with it? Blue and red?” I suggest.
“No, we should just stick with the red, then we won’t have to paint the walls,” Vaggie argues with me. I swear she does it just to annoy me, I just can’t prove it yet. She’s argued with me about everything since I arrived, like she didn’t trust any of my input at all. Charlie doesn’t seem to notice, she’s just happy to have everyone here.
“Well if you’re gonna argue with me about everything, why do my suggestions matter anyway?” I ask Vaggie.
“Ok, look, tv head, no one wanted you to be here anyways, so you can just walk on home and-“
“Vaggie!” Charlie scolds her, “You can’t just say things like that to our guests! Vox has decided to help us in our journey to save souls, his included! He’s our very first guest, we can’t just tell him to leave!” She looks towards me now. “Don’t listen to Vaggie, she’s still… adjusting to all this. You’re always welcome at the Happy Hotel.” she smiles warmly. I smile back. Even if Vaggie doesn’t exactly like me, it’s still nice to know someone will have my back here.
“How about this: we keep half of the walls how they are, and paint the other half blue! Like a half-and-half, so we all get what we wanted,” Charlie comprises.
“Sure,” Vaggie agrees.
“Yeah that’s fine,” I say.
“Perfect! Ok, we can order the paints tomorrow, because I don’t know about you guys, but I’m so tired right now,” Charlie says with a yawn. Me and Vaggie laugh, and they both show me to my room. It’s not perfect- actually, it’s really ugly. It’s small, the sheets don’t fit the mattress, the wallpaper is ripped, and the curtains on the window are barely hanging on. I don’t say anything about it, partly because I don’t want to hurt Charlie’s feelings, and also because I don’t want Vaggie to murder me for hurting Charlie’s feelings. I say goodnight and lie down on the bed.
What a day.