Chapter Text
He felt the smoke leaving his lips as he closed his eyes, the breeze caressing his hair. Velvette had told him to stop smoking, but every time he ended up alone with his own thoughts, he didn’t know what else to do. He pulled the cigarette away from his mouth and shivered, feeling the cold air through his coat. His phone vibrating in his pocket pulled him out of his thoughts.
Velvette: remember we have the show with Katie tomorrow, don’t be late
A yawn formed in his throat and he rolled his eyes, sending Velvette just a thumbs up emoji. He stepped on the cigarette he threw on the floor and made his way out of the roof trying to ignore the lingering ache in his chest. When he was about to open the door, another message from Velvette came through, making his phone beep. He stopped walking to check it and got distracted enough to miss the footsteps of someone coming to the roof. Suddenly, the door opened and a familiar face appeared before him.
Oh, fuck.
Brown eyes were staring at him expecting him to move. Vincent stood there for a moment feeling dizzy, looking at the person he least wanted to run into. He remembered exactly what he had told Alastor last night, when he was drunk. He felt his ears getting hot. It was no secret that he didn’t have a good relationship with his cast mate, fighting every time they needed to film their scenes together, screaming and making fun of each other. Everyone just thought that it was because they simply didn’t get along, so neither of them tried to say otherwise. They both tried to forget the fact that they shared a past that made them like this. Vincent had drunk too much and made things awkward between them, and that was probably worse than just hating each other.
“It would be amazing if you stopped blocking the door.” Alastor gave him a smile anyone could tell was fake, the one that made his lips twitch.
Vincent ignored the beats of his heart accelerating and kept staring into the eyes of the man in front of him. He tried to answer but the words got stuck in his throat. Alastor was acting like nothing had happened, his heart ache at the thought of him not caring but it was the most obvious reaction he would get. So he needed to act like he always did and say some mean shit to Alastor, but he wasn’t able to do it.
He gave Alastor an indifferent face and started walking, bumping his shoulder against Alastor’s in the process, as if that would soothe his pain. He didn’t look back when he left but he definitely felt he was being watched. His eyes fixed on the screen he was holding and tried to focus on the chat with Velvette to forget about the stupid beautiful man behind him. Once the filming was over, he’d get a rest from this hell.
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He didn’t get any sleep last night. He thought endlessly about Alastor, trying to make sense of his feelings because he couldn’t bring himself to talk to him even if he wanted to mess with him so hard. His brain was exhausted, he shut his mind up because he felt like he might do something stupid if he kept thinking about it.
“And then I didn’t talk to him and you should’ve seen his face, he was soo surprised that I ignored him, I bet he wanted to follow me and beg for my attention and… are you listening to me?”
Velvette was scrolling through her phone and only stopped to give him a bored look.
“Yeah, you just told me how much you wish Alastor gave a fuck about you, but you know that is never going to happen, so can we go now? We’re going to be late.”
Vincent let out a frustrated sigh. He would be a bit grateful if someone could actually listen to him and care about him, but he had to be satisfied with his shit of a friend for the time being. Velvette received a call and she left the table to go answer the phone, leaving him alone. He still hadn’t told her about the incident with Alastor at the bar but it was probably better that way.
The memories from that moment flooded his mind again and he wished he could die. Alastor didn’t seem to remember and he hoped it would stay that way. He saw Velvette walking to him and had to stop cursing himself. She slammed her hands on the table and looked at him seriously.
“First of all, we need to get going, and second, I just got a fucking call from management telling me to babysit you for the next few months we’re promoting the series.” Velvette took a deep breath and kept talking. “So the only thing I’m going to ask you is to behave.” She got closer to Vincent in a threatening way. “Stop your dumb fights with Alastor and try to solve whatever problem you have with him, the filming is almost over and we cannot risk anything, get it?”
He stayed silent trying to fit all the information in his brain.
Promotions.
Premieres.
Red carpets.
Interviews.
Alastor.
The name lingered in his mind and heart no matter how much time had passed. He felt like crying. At first, he thought it was just going to be a few interviews and it’ll be over until next year but at the end of the day Hazbin Hotel obviously needed much more than that.
He was so fucked.
He didn’t even notice when Velvette started yelling at him and dragged him to where the interview with the main cast was taking place. He stopped thinking for a second and let himself be pulled. Once he was in the car, his phone was buzzing with messages from the cast. He just ignored them and tried to think about anything else not related to the series they were filming. He was going to deal with it for months after all.
“You still haven’t answered me.” Velvette stared at him, waiting for his mouth to formulate some words instead of looking stupid. “I will try my best to get along with him…” He muttered, not sounding really convinced. “If any of you cause problems I’ll kill you both.” And then she looked back at her phone.
They were the last to arrive, the staff was only waiting for them so they could start. They applied some makeup to him and he tried so hard to not think about the man who was on the other side of the room laughing with his co-star.
“We have five minutes, are they ready?” One of the staff members was looking at them anxiously.
They finished with him and told him to get ready to enter. He stood next to Velvette trying to calm his nerves. He heard steps behind him, stopping beside him. Charlie waved a hand to him while smiling, and Vincent had to force himself to smile back, remembering Velvette’s words. Alastor was standing beside the girl, and Vincent avoided his eyes at all times, noticing how he stared at him suspiciously. He lost track of time, and a boy from the staff explained everything to them before making their entrance. Velvette grabbed him by his jacket and whispered in his ear, “Don’t do anything stupid.” He just gulped and tried not to lose his composure, surely Alastor didn’t care about him, and he probably knew that they needed to behave on camera anyway.
Once they were announced, they were let in. Only some of the cast members were chosen to be here: Charlie, for being the main character, and Alastor mostly because of his popularity and his important role in the plot. Velvette and Valentino were supposed to be here accompanying him because they were the main antagonists of this season, but Valentino got sick and couldn’t make it to the show. So now he was alone with Velvette watching his every step. They sat on the couch, giving their best smiles and greetings to the public. Katie Killjoy offered a hand to each one of them and then sat on her own chair.
“It’s such a pleasure to have you here with us tonight! You know, with all that Hazbin Hotel stuff you guys have been so busy that you barely had time for interviews or shows or anything.” She took a sip of the drink she had on her desk. “So I should ask, how are you all doing?”
Charlie was the first one to answer. “Thank you Katie! We have been so excited about the premiere of the series and all the promotions considering that our cast gets along veryy well, almost like a family!” She answered, laughing nervously.
Velvette raised an eyebrow shifting slightly on her seat and Vincent tried to act the most chill he could. He was sure he saw Alastor’s smile faltering a little, but he quickly recovered. Katie put on a mischievous smile and Vincent wanted to facepalm. Charlie was trying to make it seem like there weren’t any problems between them, but it only looked more suspicious and forced if anything. She was young in the industry so they couldn’t blame her, except, they could! Because her nepo baby ass was fucking stupid and could have avoided this if she kept her mouth shut.
“It’s so cute to talk about your cast mates like that! But is it really true? Last time I checked there were a few rumors about the cast fighting, specifically about… Vincent and Alastor? If I’m not wrong.” She smiled and waited for them to answer and say something she could twist to her favour.
He glanced sideways at Alastor searching for what to say, but the man wasn’t looking at him. He felt Velvette glaring from his side, warning him not to say anything problematic. No one dared to talk. He was about to open his mouth when Alastor started speaking. “I don’t know what made you think that, dear.” He said while laughing softly. “I would never waste my time addressing an irrelevant person like him.”
A shot of anger ran through his body when he heard the man’s words. He knew Alastor considered him a failure, and that their friendship (if there ever was one) ended long ago, but fuck him if he thought he could just say it like that on national television. He frowned and was going to speak until Velvette put a hand on his shoulder, smiling awkwardly to the public. “Don’t you dare to answer back.” She gritted.
“Haha… you’re so funny, Al…” Vincent swallowed his anger and settled into his seat. Charlie looked worried, glancing between the two men. He snorted, feeling annoyed. Katie laughed, but it was clear she wasn't satisfied, and would likely try to bring the topic up later.
The interview went on, Alastor didn’t interact with him again during that time. Vincent thought for a second that he might make it out alive but that wasn’t in Katie’s plans. They were now talking about how some scenes were difficult to film, when the host decided to bring her attention to him.
“Vincent, you really hadn’t talked at all.” Everyone was suddenly focused on him, he gulped, sensing where this was going. “What about your scenes with Alastor? You guys have a main role in this season and are supposed to be rivals, was it difficult for you to film together?”
This time, it was as if they had read each other’s mind, their gazes meeting instantly. Alastor’s gaze lingered on him for a moment before returning to the woman.
“It wasn’t difficult at all—“
“It was a torture to deal with him—“
They both stopped in their tracks and everyone went silent. Vincent closed his eyes knowing they had fallen into Katie's trap. She smiled, enjoying her success. They fucked up big time. “I guess you guys don’t get along very well.” Vincent squirmed in his seat. He was only following Velvette’s orders, knowing it was necessary for the promotions, but Alastor clearly couldn’t care less or he didn't know they were supposed to pretend to like each other. Still, he wouldn’t really lie if he had to say he enjoyed filming with Alastor, so hearing him say otherwise made him feel a twinge of disappointment.
“What they are trying to say…” Velvette stepped in, realizing that if anyone else talked, it would fuck it up even more. “…is that there are some times where it’s difficult to get the scenes right, but in most cases it’s not like that.” She ended up.
“They are even like, veryyy close friends.” Charlie added to Velvette’s words not realizing what she was saying.
What. The. Fuck.
“Well, not that close—“
“Oh Charlie! I’m glad you said that, I bet they’re really good friends.” Katie stared directly at him, her eyes piercing as if she knew all his secrets. “It’s like they had met since college or something.”
His body tensed up, feeling the anger rise inside of him at the simple mention of college. “That’s bullshit.” He decided he’d had enough of this bitch and her shitty questions. “Who do you think you are to guess what kind of relationship we have?”
“Vincent…” Velvette was whispering trying to calm him down.
“It’s not of your fucking business if we hate each other or if we met in college or if we are friends—“
“Vincent!”
“I think it’s obvious for anyone here that at least the last part can’t be true.” Alastor was bothered, judging by his eyes. Vincent felt his heart drop and turned to look at Alastor. “Do you ever shut up?!”
“Both of you need to shut up!” Velvette screamed at them and stood up from the couch. She glanced at Katie. “This finishes right now, I hope you edit this out or I swear to god your career will end here.”
The blonde woman didn’t say anything but she didn’t refute it either. They got up and followed Velvette. When they were out of the cameras’ sight, Alastor’s smile vanished, and he left the room without a word. Charlie was speaking to someone on her phone, so that left him alone with Velvette.
Great.
“You know you did exactly what I told you not to do, right?” Vincent sighed feeling the frustration grow in his head. “I didn’t started it! Alastor was the one fucking everything up, and Charlie too with the dumb things she was saying.” He raised his voice and the staff threw weird glances at them. Velvette also let out a sigh. “Let’s just get out of here.”
They left the building without checking on any of their cast mates. They were grown adults who could take care of themselves, after all. A part of him wanted to see if Alastor was okay but he tried to erase that idea. When they were in the car Velvette continued talking. “You and Alastor need to sort it out, it’s not only for the promotions.” She looked directly at him. “It’s about your feelings.” Vincent avoided her gaze and focused on the window. “I know.”
They stayed silent for the whole ride; Velvette took his hand and gave it a gentle stroke to comfort him. Vincent relaxed. They only said goodbye to each other when she got home. Vincent checked his phone, noticing it was already late. The moon was full and at its brightest. He gazed at the stars a little bit and felt the nostalgia hitting him. He didn’t know how to treat Alastor after the last time they went out with the whole cast. The memories from that time always made him feel embarrassed. He really hoped Charlie’s efforts to make Alastor drunk had worked so his memory would be erased forever.
The driver announced they had arrived at his home. Vincent didn’t say a thing and just got out of the car. He put the code on his door and entered his house. He went straight to his room, he didn’t even bother changing his clothes, he collapsed onto the bed, craving to sleep.
Tomorrow he’ll have to deal with Alastor.
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“You have caused enough trouble by now, you’re going to solve your differences no matter what. I don’t care how you do it but I don’t want another incident like this to happen.” Carmilla crossed her arms, her eyes sparkling in anger.
Vincent wasn’t really listening to her marketing manager, the only thing he could think about was Alastor sitting beside him. He feared that the man would suddenly chase him and murder him because of the things he’d been keeping from him. He got chills just thinking about it.
“Vincent, was it clear?”
“Yeah…”
Alastor glared at him as if he had something in the face but Vincent decided to ignore him. He was about to stand up when Carmilla stopped him. “I never said you could go.” She raised an eyebrow. “You two will stay here and won’t go out until you’ve put your shit together.” Alastor rolled his eyes and gave her a forced smile. “Are you sure this will help in any way?” Carmilla started walking. “It’s not about if it will work or not, you have no choice but to obey.” And then she slammed the door.
Both men were now alone.
Vincent thought things with Alastor couldn’t get worse, but he was so wrong. They didn’t say a word for what felt like an eternity. He focused on the floor, on what was on the ceiling, on Carmilla’s desk. He played dumb trying to avoid talking to Alastor at all costs. He checked his clock and only four minutes had passed. He let out an unconscious sigh.
“So, what are we supposed to do?” Vincent gave up and finally talked to him. Alastor slowly guided his eyes at him. “You started this mess, you should know what to do.” Vincent widened his eyes. “Oh, haha, of course, it’s totally my fault, it’s not like you were the one talking shit about me!” He spat angrily.
Alastor smiled at him. “I didn’t say anything that wasn’t true.” Vincent yelled. “Shut up!”
They became quiet again after that. Maybe it was better if they just pretended the other didn’t exist and kept it that way until the end of the promotions.
“I think we need to agree on answering the same things during interviews.” Vincent said in a mutter. Alastor stayed silent, so he continued. “Let’s just say we enjoy filming together and that we don’t have any type of conflict.” Alastor turned his head towards him. ”Oh, but that’d be a lie.” Vincent rolled his eyes. “Could you just agree?” The man didn’t answer him but Vincent took it as a yes.
He was ready to leave the room when Alastor suddenly spoke.
“Don’t you have anything else to tell me?”
He froze.
“What?”
They exchanged glances. Alastor narrowed his eyes.
“I don’t… it’s not… haha… what are you talking about?” Vincent stuttered, feeling nervous.
His heart was threatening to get out of his chest because of how fast it was beating. Alastor couldn’t be talking about what happened that night. He was going to kill him, maybe he already did and this was hell. He started fidgeting with his fingers, the room starting to feel hot.
Alastor looked into his eyes for a moment. “You’re still so bad at lying, but what can I do? I can’t force you to stop being a coward.”
“Shut the fuck up.” Vincent couldn’t deny it even if he wanted to. He had to be drunk just to talk to Alastor about his feelings, so he obviously wasn’t the bravest person ever, but he had his reasons for that.
He left the room, breathing hastily. If he kept on like that, Alastor was going to give him a fucking heart attack. Being in this place locked with him just made things worse and it didn’t solve anything between them. Fuck Alastor, fuck Carmilla, fuck the whole cast and fuck the promotions. He wasn’t going to put up with all this. Suddenly, his phone beeped.
Velvette: how was the meeting with Carmilla?
He sighed watching the message.
Vincent: she locked us in a room to find a solution but I think it ended up worse
Velvette: did you two fight again?
Vincent: something like that…
He had been delaying the conversation with his friend about what he said to Alastor that night at the bar, but he knew he couldn't keep it like that for too long.
Velvette: why did you fight this time?
Vincent: …
Vincent: let’s meet at the cafe in front of the building
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“You did what?!”
Velvette almost spat her coffee when she heard him. She looked at him with an incredulous expression.
“You confessed to fucking Alastor?!”
“I didn’t confess! It was just a misunderstanding—“
“I’m going to text Val, I swear to god…”
Vincent snatched her phone away from her. “Dont text him!” Velvette rolled her eyes.
They went quiet. Vincent was too embarrassed to look at his friend, he knew what he did was stupid and now even Velvette knew about his feelings for Alastor. He had been denying them for a long time but he was just lying to himself. He couldn’t hate Alastor no matter how much he tried to.
“So, how did it happen?”
“What?”
Velvette gave him an exasperated look. “How did you confess?”
Vincent took a sip of his drink and sighed.
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3 days ago.
Vincent didn’t realize when he had drunk so much. He was laughing dumbly while all of his cast mates were talking, also really drunk. Charlie was now smiling at some joke Vaggi said. She had Alastor on her side, he was the only one who hadn’t drunk enough to be in the state everyone else was.
“Alastoooor, don’t be such a party pooper, drink some moreee.”
Alastor gave her a side eye and decided to ignore her, but the girl kept insisting, pushing the glass on his shoulder. “Pleaseee.” At the end, the man gave up and downed it in one gulp. “Happy?” He said. Charlie smiled but poured him another drink. “More!”
The whole group was now cheering and also encouraging him to drink more. Vincent laughed even harder and started to scream with the others. He didn’t notice when Alastor stared at him for a second.
An hour went by. They all got tired and were now slumped over the table, too drunk to move. He looked at Alastor who was now under the effects of alcohol, and who stood up from his chair, leaving the room. Vincent blinked and without thinking, followed the man. Alastor went outside of the bar, probably looking for some fresh air, he was leaning on the wall and had his eyes focused on the sky.
“Are you okay?”
Alastor turned to look at him.
“I’d be much better if you left.”
Vincent rolled his eyes. “Oh, come on, Al, don't be a dick.” Alastor didn’t answer him and went back to stare at the stars.
Vincent leaned on the wall too. His heart was fluttering at the thought of being near Alastor. He admired the man’s beautiful profile, his sharp jaw, his nose turning up slightly at the tip and the way his tawny skin glowed under the moon. His brown curls were moving slightly in the wind, framing his face with a gentle, effortless elegance. He got so hypnotized by it that he didn’t notice he stared too much. “Do I have something on my face?” Alastor said.
Vincent felt his cheeks heating up. He wanted to believe it was due to the alcohol but he definitely was getting flustered. He was going to say he didn’t mean it but his tongue moved on its own. “You look really pretty.”
Alastor glared at him like he heard wrong. “What did you say?” Vincent gulped, regretting his words immediately. “Nothing…” Alastor giggled, probably mocking him. “Is Vincent Whittman nervous?” The man got closer to him. “Am I making you nervous?”
Vincent got stuck between the wall and Alastor, and he felt the air leave his lungs. If it weren’t for the wall behind him, he wouldn’t be able to stand. He could feel Alastor’s breathing on his skin, giving him goosebumps. If one of them moved just a bit, he’d know how the touch of his lips would feel on his own.
Alastor smirked. “I was joking.” And then he moved away from him. Vincent felt empty now that the man was far from touching him. Alastor started to walk towards the door, unaware of the effect he had on him. Or maybe he knows and does this on purpose. Vincent exhaled the air he was holding all this time. He gathered his courage and decided to talk to the man.
“I need to ask you something.”
Alastor stopped. He turned around, he was still smiling, but Vincent could tell something had shifted in his expression. “Be fast.”
Now that he had the chance to ask what had been haunting his heart for the longest time, he lacked words. “Do you…?” He took some air. “Did you feel something at some point?”
Alastor narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean?”
He was grateful he was drunk enough to not realize what he was doing. “It was real for me…” he pointed at both of them. “…you and me, our friendship, or— you can call it whatever you want.” He couldn’t look at Alastor anymore. “But I felt something.”
He clenched his fists, feeling the tears threatening to appear in his eyes, but he held them back, knowing it would hurt his pride if Alastor saw him like that. The man didn’t say anything, and he started to feel embarrassed, being conscious of what he was saying. Alastor was now looking away, his smile gone. “You’re too drunk to realize what you’re saying.”
Vincent got near him and pushed him on the wall. “I know exactly what I’m doing!” He raised his voice, knowing he could draw the attention of one of his colleagues if he kept being too loud, but he couldn’t care less. “Please, tell me you cared.” His voice cracked. He heard himself sob when Alastor kept silent. “Say something!” But he didn’t get an answer.
He stepped away from Alastor, feeling crushed. “I love you.” He told him as if he wasn’t pathetic enough. He had nothing to lose anyway. “Stop talking.” Alastor finally opened his mouth and it was only to shut him up. Vincent knew he had hoped too much from the man. “Fuck you, then.” You just told him you loved him, you idiot.
He left Alastor there, and the last thing he remembered was how he went back to the bar and poured himself another glass.
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“Yeah, you’re really stupid.” Velvette said, stirring her cup of coffee. She had listened to what he had told her, but could only give him that answer.
“Can you be nice to me for a second?” He put his hands on his head, feeling really exhausted. He really hadn’t thought too much about his confession to Alastor, but now that he knew Alastor remembered everything, he’d have to do something— talk to him, to be more specific.
“Maybe I can act like nothing has happened, just like he did.” He said, laughing awkwardly.
“He only did that to taunt you, to see if you remembered… and he knows you do, so now he’ll ruin your life.” She took a sip of her cup.
“Fuck you and Alastor, I hate both of you.” He sighed in frustration and let himself fall over the table. His friend rolled her eyes and gave him a few pats on the back. They stayed like that for a minute, until their phones rang at the same time. Velvette checked her phone and showed it to him.
Lucifer’s bitch: Remember we have to film!
“What? Wasn’t it a day off?” He asked. Velvette started typing on her screen. “You were too busy thinking about Alastor to check the group chat, the day off was changed to tomorrow.” She stood up from her chair. “Get your lazy ass up.” Vincent was too tired, but he didn’t complain and did as he was told.
They arrived at the set, where everyone was getting ready and some of them were practicing their lines. Vincent searched for Alastor, but he was nowhere to be found. He visibly relaxed. At least he’d have time to prepare himself for the scenes he needed to film with him. The staff moved towards them in order to take them to the dressing room.
He took a seat at the vanity. The stylist was now applying his makeup and fixing his hair. Suddenly, a voice caught his attention. “Velvette told me.” He glanced sideways to find Valentino on the chair next to him; the stylists were also doing his makeup. “What did she tell you?” He said, sounding rather nervous. Valentino smiled at him. “About your fight with Alastor, I didn’t understand what she told me, though.” Vincent sighed in relief. Good, she didn’t tell him the details. The makeup artist moved his head a little to the side. “It wasn’t anything important.” He said to Valentino.
The man arched an eyebrow but didn’t dwell on what he’d said. “So, are we going to go to the princess’ party this weekend?” He told Vincent, changing the topic.
“Is Charlie throwing a party?” Vincent asked. Valentino glared at him confused. “Yeah, everyone has been talking about it, where is your head at?” Vincent let out a sigh. He didn’t want to believe it was because of Alastor that he was this distracted, but he didn’t find another reason.
“You didn’t even call me when I was sick…” Valentino’s hand traveled to his thigh, completely ignoring that there were people watching. “Hey, don’t do that.” He said putting his hand away. “I was just too busy, but I’ll make it up to both you and Velvette.” He told him.
Valentino clicked his tongue. “Then, will you go to the party?” He asked Vincent.
“Yeah, I’ll be there…”
The girls finished and told them to go put on their costumes, and they obeyed. When they were ready, they went to the filming set; the others were already there. He saw Alastor —who was now covered in makeup and with his costume on— talking with the director. His eyes lingered on the man for a few seconds until Alastor noticed and looked at him. Vincent looked away quickly.
The director gave some final instructions to the cameramen and then asked the whole cast. “Are we ready to roll?” They all cheered in agreement. Vincent got tense as he read his script; it was one of his final scenes with Alastor. Both men were called by the director, who began explaining the details of the scene: the cameras’ location and movements, and the flow they needed to maintain to film it. Vincent avoided Alastor’s eyes at all costs, even though he knew he was going to look at him for the filming.
“First, we need to tie Alastor to the chair,” he said, pointing to the chair already prepared on the set. “Then, the scene starts with Vox dragging Emily away from Charlie.” He glanced at Vincent for confirmation. Vincent nodded. “And he wants her to admit he’s the strongest sinner in hell.” He paused and directed his attention to Alastor. “That’s where you come in, Al, you tell Charlie she should admit it, you break free from Rosie’s deal, and you know the rest.” The two of them agreed and went to their positions. A woman from the staff helped Alastor with the chair. Vincent held back a laugh when he saw Alastor all tied up, thinking it’d be very satisfying if it was actually real.
Charlie and Emily walked to stand in front of him, giving him a smile. Vincent tried his best not to roll his eyes. They were all ready in their positions. The director checked that everything was in its place. “Are you guys ready to go?” he asked. All of them nodded. “Alright, lights, camera, action!” The clapperboard was clapped, his thick sound being an announcement for the cameras to start rolling.
Vincent got into Vox’s character and acted as though he was using his “wires” to grab Emily and throw her away, knowing most of the scene was going to have visual effects. He glared at Charlie with a wicked grin. “Look at you.” He cackled. “Leading your friends into disaster yet again.” The blonde girl backed away in fear. “You are really bad at this.” He said, mocking her. “You are a pale imitation of your mother, and she would be disgusted at the weak, pitiful failure you’ve become!” He spat, angrily. Charlie looked down, her eyes welling up in tears.
“Say it, Charlie.” He made a gesture as if he had dragged a camera with his “wires”, once again. “Look into the camera, and tell everyone out there that you lost!” He laughed, and Charlie looked at him with resentment. “And I’m the most powerful sinner in hell!” He grinned. “Not Lilith, not Alastor, not the vees.” He turned back to Charlie. “Me!” He roared in rage.
“Never!” She yelled. Suddenly, Alastor started laughing behind him. “Oh, the drama!” He smiled at Charlie. “You know what? Maybe you should say it, Charlie.” Alastor said, and he was supposed to look at Charlie the whole time, but instead he locked eyes with him, mockingly, aware of how he was going to affect Vincent. “Stroke my friend’s ego. He needs it.”
Vincent knew that those were exactly his lines, and that he was just following the script, but the way he looked into his eyes and said the word “friend” struck a nerve in him. For a second, he forgot he was acting and wanted to wipe that smile off his face with a fist. Vincent took a deep breath and tried to refocus on the scene.
“What? Alastor…“
He got so lost that he wasn’t able to listen to Charlie’s lines. He felt his surroundings spinning and knew he couldn’t continue acting.
“Cut!”
He hadn’t realized he had spoken aloud. Everyone was now looking at him. “Is everything okay, Vincent?” The director glared at him, confused. Vincent felt a wave of shame wash over him for interrupting the production for such a dumb reason. He was too embarrassed to look at any of his cast mates, so he started walking. “I’m feeling really sick, I don’t think I can keep shooting today.” And he exited the set.
Fuckfuckfuck.
He ran to the nearest restroom he found and locked himself there. He was being so stupid, he could already hear Velvette and Val making fun of him for running away like a fool, but he really couldn’t bring himself to look at Alastor. Not when he was clearly his laughing stock after he confessed at the bar.
He tried to control his breathing. He splashed some water in his face and then stared at the mirror. He looked pathetic. Well, that’s exactly what you are. He shook his head, drying his hands on his own clothes. His phone buzzed in his pocket, he checked it and saw a few messages from Velvette.
Velvette: hey, are you okay?
Velvette: look, I know you’re expecting me to laugh at you and of course I’m going to do it, but first I need to know if something bad happened to you
Velvette: answer me!!
Velvette: BITCH
Velvette: oops, sorry, that was Val
He rolled his eyes but still answered the texts.
Vincent: i’m fine
Velvette: ???
Velvette: that’s all you’re going to say??
Velvette: you literally looked like you were going to die wdym you’re FINE
Vincent left her on read. He stayed in the bathroom for some time, needing to calm down. He didn’t know how much time had passed, so he walked to the door, cracking it open to check if anyone he knew was nearby. He glanced to either side but saw no one, so he slipped out and ran to the exit. A woman who worked there tried to ask if he was alright, but he didn’t pay her any mind and kept running. He thought he was about to escape successfully, until he heard a voice yelling behind him. “Vincent, come here, you idiot!” He looked back and watched Velvette chasing him, with Valentino trying to match her step.
Of course it was them.
“Don’t keep running, you bastard…” Vincent had already stopped. Both of his friends were catching their breath, and he suppressed a laugh, knowing it wasn’t the time. Velvette finally composed herself and frowned at him. “What is wrong with you? Why did you do that back at the set?”
“It’s difficult to explain…”
“Oh, don’t give me that, it’s because of Alastor’s lines, you felt it was a personal attack, didn’t you?” Velvette’s anger flared. Valentino raised an eyebrow. “Are you really that hooked on that man?”
Vincent wanted to deny everything but he spotted very familiar faces coming to them and he had the urge to run again. “Velvette, Val, I swear I’ll explain later, I think I need to go.“
Velvette gave him a confused look. “What—“
“Vincent!” Carmilla appeared behind them; she seemed annoyed at having to deal with them again. Alastor was with her, looking like he’d rather be anywhere else. He had already got rid of his makeup and taken off his costume. Vincent realized he still had his costume on, and felt even dumber. A blush forming in his cheeks.
Velvette directed her gaze to Carmilla, and the two women exchanged looks. Vincent could feel the tension between them and the way the whole room went quiet. Everyone who knew Velvette would know about her unrelenting hate for Carmilla. “We would like to talk, alone.” Carmilla said, directed to his two friends. Velvette scoffed, and she only glared at Vincent for a second before going away with Val, but he could see her eyes of “you’ll tell me everything later”.
He was left alone with Carmilla and Alastor. Carmilla sighed and said. “I watched the whole show you put on that filming set.” She stared at Vincent. “And I think it’s pretty obvious it has to do with Alastor.” How does everyone realize it? Carmilla glanced briefly between both men. “I thought it was clear that we didn’t want problems coming from you again.” She directed her attention to Vincent. “And I’ve heard you always have fights with Alastor during shooting, so this time, you’re going to really talk.” She forced Vincent and Alastor to get closer. “And please, don’t make it harder for us.”
“Can I at least go change to normal clothes—“ Carmilla looked at him with annoyance. “That’s a no, I guess…” She was so used to his shit that she ignored him, instead, she turned to face Alastor, her eyes looking calmer. “I trust you to keep him at bay, don’t be immature too.” She told him, and Alastor simply nodded.
Carmilla left them alone. Vincent felt the dejà vu from just hours before when Carmilla forced them to do the exact same thing, but now it was clear that they needed to solve whatever was happening between them. Vincent didn’t know if he could handle it though.
Alastor looked exhausted. He walked towards the door and made Vincent a gesture to follow him. “I think you know I don’t want to have this conversation either, but what you did back in the studio was pretty stupid.” Vincent was walking beside him. It was different being called an idiot by anyone else, but when Alastor said it he actually felt like an idiot. He risked a glance at Alastor and stared at the man’s face. He seemed displeased, his thick eyebrows furrowing in the middle. It’s been years since he had seen Alastor showing anything else than a smile, (since he didn’t show other emotions to anyone who wasn’t close to him) so seeing him like that, even if it was anger directed at him, felt like a very weird prize.
“I’m sorry for that, I wasn’t in my right mind.” He swallowed, the embarrassment rising in his throat. Alastor stopped walking when they were far away from the studio, in an alley where they wouldn’t draw attention no matter how much noise they made. “Was it really because of me that you reacted that way?” Alastor was staring directly into his soul, Vincent felt himself getting nervous. “Maybe.” He felt somewhat annoyed by the question Alastor asked him, as if he was pretending he didn’t know what he was doing to him every time they interacted.
Alastor arched one of his eyebrows. “Is it because of what you said to me at the bar?”
His heart stopped.
Vincent felt like a whole building was thrown at him when he heard Alastor. It was obvious he’d bring out what happened that night, but he didn’t prepare mentally for that, a part of him wishing he had forgotten about it. Vincent took a deep breath.
“Why are you acting like it’s nothing?” He told Alastor. He felt pathetic begging for the man to recognize his feelings but that’s what he had been thinking all this time. Vincent already had started feeling his throat tightening, silently praying that he would not let fall a single tear before Alastor.
Alastor widened his brown eyes for a second, probably surprised to hear him say that. “I don’t know how else you expected me to act.” Vincent ignored the terrible ache in his chest and kept talking. “You know what? I think I’d be able to understand if you simply rejected me, but you’re constantly making fun of me without giving me an actual answer, I feel like I’m just a fucking game to you.” He saw the way Alastor’s curls fell on his forehead and tried not to get distracted. “So, can you please stop treating me like a joke and at least acknowledge the fact that we have known each other for years?” He breathed in. “I know you care, at some point you did, stop acting like you don’t know me at all!” He yelled.
Alastor’s expression shifted after hearing him speak. His eyes darkened. “Grow up, Vincent. We did have a friendship years ago, but that stayed in the past, it’s not my fault you can’t let it go.” He got closer to him. His brown eyes keeping a bit of its sweetness, even when he was saying such cruel words. “I try to tolerate you because of this whole project but you just keep ruining it with your immaturity.” He stopped, their faces separated just by a few inches. “You wanted me to reject you, so here it is, I don’t care if we have met for an entire lifetime, you mean nothing to me.”
Vincent shivered a little, he decided to blame it on the weather. He should’ve known this would happen, but deep down he had a tiny hope of his feelings being reciprocated.
Well, not reciprocated but at least— not treated like shit?
He sighed, feeling empty. “Alright,” He replied to Alastor before moving away from him. “I feel really good now that I know you really don’t give a fuck about me.” He walked, leaving the man behind. “Thank you so much, Al, you’re really considerate.” And then, he left, walking as fast as his feet allowed him.
Vincent didn’t cry, like he had promised himself. Perhaps if he had, then Alastor would have pitied him, though.