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The past few weeks for Angel Dust had been hard. After being yanked back and forth between the studio and the hotel, Val constantly breathing down his neck while Charlie tried to rope him into redemption-themed activities, it had all started to take its toll on Angel.
That’s why when he walked into the lobby of the hotel wearing a cropped pink hoodie that showed his second pair of arms that hung limp and some comfortable shorts and sat down at the bar without saying a word to anyone, it raised some alarm bells. Instead of greeting at least Husk like he would any other time he was in a slump, Angel sat with his head propped up by one of his hands, the other scrolling through the latest messages Val had sent him.
Every message his eyes scanned over it seemed it was from a different person, the tone changing drastically with every word. It didn’t matter how Val said it though, it all meant the same thing. He was wanted back at the studio that night and how Val had twisted his words in every message into something sugary before it flashed into a dripping of venom, Angel doubted he would be coming back to the hotel for a few days.
That conclusion only seemed to sour Angel’s mood more than it already had been, so much so that he didn’t even notice the drink Husk had placed in front of him or how Charlie seemed like she was gearing up to try and change his mood. The only thing that Angel did notice was the series of emojis that flashed at the top of his screen, the calling card of someone familiar.
Spinning in his chair just as the doors to the hotel were thrust open, Angel came face to face with a grinning Cherri Bomb. Ignoring everyone else in the room, Cherri headed straight for Angel, latching onto him with a large grin. “Hey Angie, how’ve you been bitch?”
“Oh, you know,” Angel could already feel his mood start to brighten as he spoke with Cherri, her presence having an immediate effect on him. After moving into the hotel, Angel hasn’t had many chances to meet up with Cherri, almost all of their usual activities being deemed unredeemable and setting back any of the progress Angel had made in his journey to Heaven. “Just hangin’ out or gettin’ work done.”
“Sounds to me like you need a night out,” Cherri exclaimed, giving away the motives of this interaction. Feeling his body react to that suggestion before his mind could even comprehend what she had in store for the two of them, Angel was grinning and nodding his head, wanting to hear more of the life he had unfortunately given up for redemption. “We can go back to my place to get ready and take a few shots before we hit up all the best clubs. I might even be able to get us a special something.”
“That sounds-” Angel started, pushing himself up from his stool and pocketing his phone. He was getting ready to agree with Cherri, a nice day away from everyone sounding nice when Vaggie cut her way into their conversation, almost shielding Angel with her body as she set herself up as a physical barrier.
“Terrible,” The short woman finished for him. Cherri almost recoiled at the intervention while Angel shoved his forehead into his hand, the two of them eyeing Vaggie with clear disdain. “Maybe you’ve forgotten why Angel Dust is staying here but it’s so he can be redeemed. Going out to get wasted or high completely undermines everything Charlie has been working for.”
“Oh, what Charlie’s been workin’ for?” Angel repeated with a laugh. He immediately came to Cherri’s defence, sliding his way past Vaggie, much to the girl's annoyance so that he could stand next to his friend instead. “I thought I was the one workin’ to redemption, meanin’ I can do whatever I want with my progress.”
“Let’s be real here for a second, okay Angel Dust?” A loud scoff escaped from Vaggie’s lips as she looked up at Angel, disgust evident on her face as if she was being forced to talk to him right now. Angel had seen that look a few times before and while he was new at the hotel he would’ve called her out for it without a second thought, but now as he spent more time here he tried not to cause as many fights for Charlie’s sake. “Charlie has worked harder for your redemption than you have. Now if we say you shouldn't do something because it’s either going to make you, the hotel or us bad, then you shouldn’t do it. Going out with Cherri is one of those things.”
“Angie’s allowed to do whatever he wants. You don’t own him so I don’t know why you’re trying to control him,” It was Cherri’s turn to come to his defence as she pointed an accusing finger at Vaggie. Her words seemed to anger the Fallen Angel more but surprisingly Vaggie bit he tongue, allowing Cherri to go on. “Hey Princess, why don’t you call off your guard dog?”
There was no answer from the Princess of Hell as the silence stretched across the room. It was clear that being referred to as a guard dog seemed to set Vaggie off but Angel didn’t bother indulging her as he turned to Charlie, staring at her with furrowed brows and a confusion-laced expression as he called out to her softly, “Charlie?”
“I agree with Vaggie, Angel,” The response took a few moments but her answer seemed to rock through Angel, his mask slipping as the confusion he was feeling worsened into betrayal. Charlie was defiantly one of the hotel residents he had grown closer to so hearing those words leave her mouth sent half of Angel’s world tumbling, the other half remaining in a tight cage with Val. “We’ve both worked very hard for this Angel and we can’t just let you throw it all away for a one-night bender. Unless the two of you can think of something peaceful to do here while supervised, I think it’s best Cherri Bomb leaves.”
“Are you being serious right now?” Cherri loudly cried, her voice shooting towards Charlie with anger lacing every word. Just like Cherri, Angel couldn’t believe the words coming from Charlie’s mouth right now. “I’ve known Angie longer than all of you put together and this is how you think you can treat me? No wonder no one else has signed up for this hotel.”
“You heard the Princess,” Vaggie grouched, summoning her Angelic Weapon to point the spear tip at Cherri, forcing her to start moving towards the door. Angel watched the action with gritted teeth, not understanding where the sudden dislike for Cherri among the hotel staff had come from but knowing he wasn’t going to stand for it.
“What the fuck do you all think you’re doin’?” Angel’s voice rose, his words aimed at Vaggie as she tried to hound Cherri away. The shout sent a halt through the room, all eyes turning to Angel, surprised to see the outburst. “I’m not sure when you all started thinkin’ that you can control what I do when I spend my time at the hotel but I ain’t going to stand around and allow that to happen. Especially not when you think you can act like that to my best friend.”
“Angel I’m sure we can talk about this once you’ve calmed down-” Charlie tried to amend, her hands up in a surrendering position as she tried to reach Angel.
“I don’t need to calm down when you’re treatin’ Cherri like that,” It was almost a hiss as the words left Angel’s mouth. No longer did he stay rooted to his spot as he began walking back towards Cherri, glaring at Vaggie and Charlie as he went, making sure the two of them knew his words were aimed at them. “Cherri’s my person. If I murdered someone, she’s the person I’d call to help me drag the corpse across the livin’ room floor. If I need to get wasted out of my mind then I’m goin’ to send her a message. If I want to destroy everythin’ that I’ve been doing for the past few months then she’s going to be by my side and if you can’t get on board with that then maybe my stay here should be cut short.”
“Angel, wait,” Charlie tried but it was all in vain.
“You would do that for me?” Cherri questioned, her one eye blinking up at Angel with admiration.
“Of course, I would Cher,” Angel grinned down at her linking one of his many arms with hers as he flipped the rest of the hotel off. Though he was giving up the free roof over his head he would rather stand by Cherri’s side. “I’ll be back for Fat Nuggets tomorrow unless you two can reconsider your redemption practices.”
“I knew I could always count on you, Angel,” A laugh rippled from Cherri as she began to fire up again, her instinct no longer screaming at her to stand up and fight back at whoever opposed her. Redefining their linked arms, Cherri began pulling them towards the hotel's door, no longer needing Vaggie’s spear pointed at her back to do so. “Now, let’s blow this place.”
“Couldn’t have put in any better myself,” Angel cackled, following after Cherri as she summoned a bomb and threw it at the door, leaving a large, gaping hole for the two of them as they dashed out of it, giggles spilling from their lips.
They didn’t stop moving for a long time after that, Cherri leading Angel back to her house like she promised they would, the two of them taking the long way back as they weren’t fully convinced Charlie wouldn’t try to run after them. But as they spilled into Cherri’s room, the two of them flopped back onto her bed and curled into one another, they realised they had the night all to themselves.
“I’m sorry if I put you in a tough spot, Angie,” Cherri murmured, voice quiet as they lay side by side. Angel hadn’t really thought about what he had said since leaving the hotel, leaving that all to tomorrow when he finally went back to either have a serious talk with Charlie and Vaggie or to pack his bags. “You can always stay here if you need to. And if that doesn’t work for you I can help you find a new place.”
“Don’t worry about it Cherri,” Angel put a quick stop to her rambling, wrapping his arms around her to pull her in for a tight hug. “I’d do the same thing all over again if I had to. Not even redemption compares to you.”