Hallows: Pretty Snakes & Devils

Our Bedroom

Sleep Token- Ascensionism

B.B.

Victor's apartment is hazy with a huge cloud of smoke. The sweet tangy sting of it makes me smile because he's burning the s**t out of Stacy's B.S.T.I.I. strain in a massive vaporizer. The entire first level of his loft is clouded. Victor is standing on his balcony with a homemade slingshot made out of a funnel and surgical tubing. There is a plastic kiddie pool on the floor next to him filled with what I am hoping are water balloons. I turn the vaporizer off and lean against the door frame to watch him load the slingshot and fire off a balloon to the unsuspecting victims below. Lucien would love this. Who am I kidding? Once the guys find out he does this, they're all going to be over here with weird s**t to throw at people.

"I'm kind of mad at myself for not thinking to hot box the s**t out of the Haunted Mansion when I was alone in it," I clear my throat.

"I've got six of those if you want to try," he turns back to look at me. His eyes are low and bloodshot. It could be the weed or it can be the angry crying he'd done earlier. Ahsan text me to let me know he had given him a ride home.

"What do we have here?" I ask approaching him. He looks me over and then steps aside to show me the slingshot. He has it tied to two broomsticks. The broomsticks are held together by two planks and a couple of screws. "You're going to break the base if you don't apply pressure here,"

"This is the third time I fix it," he shrugs when I tap the base.

I look back at the painting ladder he has in his living room. I bring it back and flip it over so it forms a V. He watches me as I build him a new and improved slingshot so he can keep terrorizing his block. I take his power drill or rather my power drill that went missing before the Summer started. Carson and I had a huge fight about him taking my s**t and Vic watched the whole thing with a smug f*****g smile on his stupid beautiful face.

"All right. Load her up,"

I step back when I finish drilling the makeshift base onto the bottom of what used to be a gaming chair he's using as a base. He places his foot on it and puts a balloon into the funnel and fires it. I watch it fly across the street and hit a guy eating a burger in his car with the window rolled down. I laugh when shaving cream bursts all over him. The two of us watch as he gets out of his car and angrily starts looking around to find the culprit.

"This is way better," he pats it and looks down at the broomsticks. "I made that when I was eleven,"

"That is cute," I laugh. He fires off a couple more and then looks back at me.

"B, I don't know what came over me," he sighs. "Are you okay?"

"You're wrong you know," I shrug it off.

"You're a really good liar," he shakes his head and walks into the smokey apartment. He goes around opening windows. That's not going to help for a while. Why aren't his smoke detectors going off?

"Vic-"

"Is it because he's powerful?" he asks putting his hands on his hips when he stops in front of the kitchen. "Is it because he's really pretty and glittery?"

"No," I shake my head. He stomps over to me and takes my hands.

"Tell me why that thing elicits that kind of reaction out of you?"

"Vic-"

"B.B. I'm going f*****g crazy," he shakes his head.

"Okay," I nod. I pull him with me so we can sit down. I am f*****g exhausted. "Vic, ever since I can remember, my parents have been trying to teach me how to be human. The pageants, the instruments, horseback riding, and kung fu. All of it was so that I can pretend to be normal. Everyone has always been afraid of me. Even now. Everyone, including you guys, walks on eggshells around me.

"Chance isn't like that. He honest to satan believes I'm more. That I can help him make a difference. That I have some kind of role to play in saving him and his people. I don't love him, Vic. I have faith in him. I want what he's offering. I want to be more than the monster everyone thinks I am. It feels good when he looks at me without pity or fear. I feel like I can be myself because I don't have to be anything other than the f*****g thing that I am for him,"

"B," he reaches up for my hair. "Do I treat you that way?"

"No, Vic, you don't. You're sympathetic and sometimes that stings a lot more than being told I'm a piece of s**t. I just-" I take a deep breath and I realize that the reason why I'm being completely honest is because I'm high off the smoke in the air. "It's not on you or anyone else. I'm learning to accept what everyone else has been looking at since I was born and it doesn't always feel good. I don't want to let anyone down,"

"B, it's not on you to meet everyone's expectations. You didn't ask for any of this,"

"I know. But they didn't either,"

"If you keep worrying about what others think," he places his hand on my chest. "You're going to keep losing control. I know because I used to lose it all the f*****g time. Especially when I was trying to hide who I was from my ex-girlfriend. I know it's not the same thing because I'm a crow but I'm not a stranger to panic attacks. I'm sorry I snapped,"

"Vic, you don't have to apologize," I scoot closer to him. "You have every right to be upset with me. Everyone is at the house. They're kind of waiting for us,"

"Why didn't you say anything sooner," he laughs. He leans into me lightly brushing his lips against mine.

"I didn't want us to have this meeting with the two of us fighting. We never fight. I think Carson and Dec are still in shock from it,"

"I'm not going to lie. It felt good to finally snap at you," he grins. We both laugh. "I've never had someone understand me as much as you do. It kind of pisses me off but I'm also completely in love with you,"

"I know the feeling, pretty bird. You mean so much to me, Vic. I can't lose you. Not now not ever," we sit here for a couple of minutes before he pulls away.

"Are we going to pop over now?" he asks. "Let me prepare,"

"Come here," I climb over him to straddle him. I shut my eyes and think of my bed. He laughs when we bounce onto it. He falls back holding me in place.

"That scares the hell out of me," he admits. "I never know where we're going and my crows get frazzled,"

"Frazzled," I laugh climbing off him. "Come on. I have something cool for you guys after Carson's rant,"

"f**k, I've been dreading this meeting," he sighs and scoots down the bed.

Everyone else has made themselves scarce for this. It's just the seven of us. Carson and Lucien are both arguing by the study table. There are a couple of boxes on the table between them. Ahsan and Ro are both curled up on the couch. Dec is sitting at my desk. Vic goes over and sits next to him.

"Great, we're all here," Carson huffs. He reaches into a duffle bag and holds up the fat ass contract he and Delilah came up with and slams it on the floor. The guys all laugh. "This thing has got to go,"

"You came up with it," Lucien shakes his head. He obviously likes the rules just as much as I do.

"Yeah, and it's kind of a moot point now," he gestures to Ro and Ahsan dramatically.

"How?" Ahsan shakes his head.

"It's designed for me," I tell him. "For there to be an even us. With the two of you doing your thing, it breaks almost all the rules and because you all lied to me when it started, the punishment is termination,"

"That wasn't in there," Ro shakes his head.

"Yes, it is. It's under the personal lying clause after the mind your business one," Dec reminds him.

"Okay, s**t is getting weird," Lucien steps up. "A lot weird. Even if we get rid of the rules, things don't seem to be getting better. If anything they're so much worse,"

"Like what?" Carson asks.

"Like you and Vic pissing on each other," he growls. Ro spits bourbon all over the place. He had been in the middle of taking a drink.

"I'm sorry. What?" I laugh.

"No one is pissing on anyone," Carson growls at him. Lucien goes over to the table and rips open one of the boxes there. He pulls out a canvas with a picture of me printed on it. "What? You're f*****g mad we did an art project together? I have a girlfriend, Lucien and she's not as f*****g crazy as you," he snatches it from him. "Vic and I aren't f*****g,"

"No yet," Dec adds. I glare at him and shake my head.

"Even if I was f*****g Vic. The only person I'd need to explain it to is B.B.," he growls.

"Then why are you getting rid of all the rules instead of rewriting them?" Lucien challenges.

"Lucien, are you jealous?" I ask. He doesn't look at me.

"We've talked about this," Carson shakes his head.

"Don't keep us in suspense," I say annoyed. Carson reaches for another stack of papers. This one isn't as big as the one on the floor.

"This is the contract we drew up when it was just the three of us," he says without taking his eyes off Lucien. "The agreement was just you. No one else and when we had to expand, we kept it between us. It was my idea but everything is f****d now that we're all f*****g bonded,"

"Why?" I ask.

"Because Carson couldn't f*****g keep it in his pants and it wasn't just women," Lucien growls. "He'd get hopped up on whatever he had in front of him and-"

"I've been clean since B.B. came back into our lives," Carson shoves him. "It's only been her,"

"I don't f*****g believe you, Car. That's how bad it was," Lucien shouts. "How many times have I had to pick you up? How many times did I almost lose you? You're fine when I'm watching you, but I'm not here to do that anymore. I know you. I. f*****g. Know. You,"

"I would never do that to her," Carson drops the contract on top of the other one. "Yeah, I did a lot of dumb s**t. I still do but not that. I'd never hurt her like that. And even if I wanted to f**k Vic, it still wouldn't be any of your business. Vic isn't some random person and he sure as f**k isn't Mariah. I like being around him because his essence isn't always in a rush like yours is. He knows how to control himself. I could never f*****g help what I did because of you. Because you drive me f*****g insane. I feel like myself around him. Is that what you wanted me to say to you?"

"So, this is my fault?" Lucien scoffs.

"That's not what he's saying, Lucien," I step between them.

"You agree with him? My essence is too much?" his eyes are filled with hurt.

"No, I never said that," I shake my head. "Carson is a devil and it's halfway between being a reaper and being a crow. He feels the energies around him, Lucien. Not as bad as I do but pretty close and he sees things. Things the rest of us walk right past. Even with your murders.

"Baby, now that we're stronger. Now that we're all linked. We all feel more of each other. I feel more of you. I know when you're happy which has been a lot as of late. Your essence is just as overwhelming as mine because there is so much of you inside of me. A lot of it is equivalent to my own. It's why I've been in love with you most of my life.

"Car isn't like you and me. He's a lazy river just spinning around endlessly but calmly. Like Vic. They have an insane amount of crazy in them but that's not all there is. Their essence feels almost the same. I used to think that about you and him but it was only because you two were always together. He was feeding off your pain. The pain he was causing and it was just an endless cycle for the two of you. He doesn't mean it was your fault because it wasn't. I trust Carson and I trust Vic. I understand why you're worried but I can assure you that it's misplaced,"

"Wait," Carson comes closer to us. He scans my face and then looks over at Lucien. "She believes what she just said,"

"Why wouldn't I?" I ask him. I look around the room. "I trust all of you. It's you guys who have trust issues. My thing is abandonment. Ash and I are trying to work on that,"

"How many times have we lied to you?" Ahsan asks.

"Collectively? Forty-six times. But I knew you were all liars coming into this. Dec is the best liar among you but that's because he's had hella practice with Ray,"

"That both makes me really happy but incredibly guilty at the same time," Dec pinches the bridge of his nose.

"If the no contracts thing is going to work, you guys have to trust that we can handle everything that's on the table," I take Lucien's hand. "All of us. So, Carson was a little f**k stick. So was Ro. Ahsan's idea of a negotiation is a dynamite stick, but he's getting better. He's acquiring better people skills thanks to Ro. You and Vic have a nasty little temper but with a little patience, you're both chill as f**k now. Dec, our little hermit is dominating the Eastside and the school's violent suspension percentage has gone twenty-three percent because of him. Twenty-three percent. He's also the reason why we all get away with all the s**t we do. Mrs. Whitmore loves him. Regardless of what Carson says, I'm rarely ever home. I don't have to pay for shipping anymore or wait for deliveries. We're all making progress. Ash says we're winning,"

"Then we need to meet more often. We need to coordinate what we're working on so we can stop clashing," Ahsan doesn't skip a beat.

"Agreed," we all nod.

"Before we start comparing notes. I want to show you guys something f*****g amazing. Like this is going to blow your minds and s**t maybe even your d***s," I shrug. They all laugh. "Zero One. Come out here,"

My bot comes out holding the seven keys I made for our room. Each one dangling from a pretty gold necklace James and I chose. Zero One holds her arm up for me and I carefully take them from her and thank her. She taps my back reminding me to straighten up and I follow the gesture. Despite my adding the stupid program, it pisses me off. Ash says it's because I have a problem with authority. Even if I am that authority. He thinks it's funny that it's the one thing Delilah and I have in common.

"What's this?" Dec asks when I hand him a key.

"You only get one. So, if you lose it. It's gone and they can't be replicated. I uh, broke the mold and it's not easy finding material that can withstand the heat required to melt down black stone. Ready?"

They follow me up the stairs to the staircase between my Mom's room and my Dad's study. They stay quiet as we climb up to the double doors at the top. I step aside and look back at them. Lucien doesn't hesitate to use his key first. Vic helps him push the doors open.

The first time I opened these doors, I was blown away by how pretty this room was and now that James had remodeled it to accommodate the seven of us, I want nothing more than to hug him and give him a much-earned vacation but when I brought it up he got really upset. This beautiful round room is perfect.

The entire back wall is a window. At night, the glass clears, and during the day, the tint darkens and thick powder pink black-out curtains decorate the gothic arches at the top. In front of it is the entertainment area. A curved eight-seat couch sits in front of the huge T.V. center. He used small three-tier shelves in front of the T.V. to display the gaming consoles. He used matte black paint with a soft pearl iridescent shimmer for the walls. All of them.

The ceiling is covered in pretty orb lights hanging at different lengths. The cords decorate the ceiling covered in vines and pink roses. It casts very romantic lighting throughout the room. A four-step stairway leads up to the Devil's personal areas. The first cavern is obviously Carson's. There's a small black writing desk, shelves with his books, and a whole wall of weapons. Above the archway of the entrance, James put his initials. C.H.K. is carved into the wood and painted gold.

The second cavern is Dec's. There is a metal office desk, three monitors, tools, and books. The back wall is top to bottom with shelves. Weapons, gadgets, and spare parts decorate them. Ahsan doesn't have a desk. The back wall is a workstation with a table. There are beakers and bottles. Some of the shelves have glass doors and they have locks on them. There are weapons on the walls but they're not like Dec's and Carson's. These are obviously a lot more dangerous.

The left side is for the Crows. The same setup. Lucien's is a lot different from the Devil's. There's a PC set up against the wall and space for him to hang up whatever he wants. There's a door that leads into the black room I asked James to make for him. It looks a lot smaller than the others because of it. His name is spelled out with big neon lights just over the dual monitors on the gaming table. The doors into the black room push inward so James added floating shelves all around it to hold all his cameras. Next to his editing setup is a rack with his favorite guitars.

Ro's is in the center and it's not as fancy as Lucien's. It looks like a study actually and it's the only cavern that has a window. It overlooks the barn. There's a bear's head mounted on the wall, hunting rifles, and booking files. James paid extra attention to his dark academia-style decor. Victor's is by far the calmest. It's an art studio but there are hidden compartments. They're all open showing off his pretty knives and guns. There are paints, canvases, and brushes all over the place.

By Lucien's black room is a ladder that leads up to the loft space above the entrance. That's my private area. It has my desk, my vanity, and a small twin bed for me to hang out in. He organized my books onto the shelves so that I didn't have them on the floor anymore. I haven't seen my awards in a long time and he's worked them into the pink decor along with more pretty plants and flowers.

Behind the crow's area is our closet. It actually looks more like a clothing store. Behind the devil's area is our bathroom. It's easily my favorite thing. There's no door. The first thing that comes into view is the wash area. Two sinks on each side. The mirrors are gorgeous with their black and white iron frames. Past the sinks are two private toilet rooms hidden in the shelves where the towels and toiletries are. Finally, the bathing area. There's a huge tub in the center of the room. The room is decorated to look like a little jungle. At the top is a huge round shower ring. I programmed the entire thing which is why it took so long to remodel the entire room. There's a panel on the wall that works everything. Shower mode starts the ring. Water rains down into the center of the tub. If we want to use the bath sequence the ring turns off and the water is redirected to the back wall that turns into a little waterfall. I am beyond proud of the final results.

The second coolest thing about the room is the center. I didn't know what kind of bed I wanted at first. I obviously wanted something we could all use and also have our own space in. So, James created the pit. The flooring was pulled out and a huge round bed was put inside. The entire thing is framed with black leather and decorated with black, gray, and gold pillows. There is a hatch that pops open where there are blankets. It easily fits about twelve people. Which is more than enough space for all of us.

"So," I turn around to face the guys. "What do you think?"

"Uh," Lucien croaks.

"I don't know what I expected," Carson laughs nervously. "But this wasn't it,"

"Do you guys hate it? It's too much," I groan. "I should have asked be-"

Ro covers my mouth stopping my ranting.

"It's perfect," he shakes his head.

"Holy s**t," Vic goes over to his space.

"This is our bedroom," Ahsan laughs.

"The attention to detail," Lucien opens the doors to his black room. "Is it crazy to say I never want to leave?"

"This is f*****g insane," Dec sits at his desk.

"Where is your stuff?" Carson asks. I point over my head.

"Is that our bed?" Ro comes around and looks down into the pit. The others join us.

"Are these relaxing runes?" Victor asks crouching down to touch the carvings around the bed.

"Yeah. There are wards all over the room. All we have to do is activate them," I nod.

"How do we activate them?" Lucien asks.

"I've wanted to try this out for a while and since I'm low on essence because I lost it earlier, I think now is a really good time to show you something I learned from some of the other reapers at Reaper Camp," I take my shoes off and jump into the pit. I stand in the middle and wave them all in. "Before you ask, no. This is not a s*x thing, but you might all release once I activate the wards,"

"I'm in," Lucien and Ro jump in first. The others follow.

"Okay, guys. Pick a spot and relax as much as you can," I instruct. "Then we can talk about what we've been up to as of late. Deal?"

"Deal," they all agree.

"I am really happy that you guys liked the room. Make sure to thank the demons. They worked really hard on all of this,"