Heaven, Hell, and Earth

Chapter 35

Vaggie and Angel were the first ones at breakfast the next morning, which was very unusual. Normally, Alastor would arrive half a hour early while Charlie would be there right on time. Angel and Vaggie weren't really morning people so they were commonly late to breakfast. But this time the roles had been reversed. Sort of. Vaggie and Angel were still late but Charlie and Alastor were later.

And when one of them did finally appear, Vaggie and Angel were in for quite a shock. In walked the normally well groomed and neat Alastor, looking like a complete train wreck this morning. His hair was disheveled, his clothes wrinkled, his composure sloppy, his eyes were dark circled, he was completely out of sorts.

"Al are you okay?" Angel said. "You don't look so good."

"What do you mean?" Alastor yawned. "I'm wearing a suit."

"Your pants are on backwards." Vaggie pointed toward the front of his waist where the back pockets could be seen.

"Oh dear me." Alastor smiled big in order to hide his embarrassment. "How improper."

"What's up Smiles?" Angel said. "You go to bed drunk last night or something?"

"No. I just didn't get very much sleep that's all." Alastor said. "But worry not, a few cups of black coffee should fix me right up."

"Well don't drink too much." Vaggie said. "Save some for Charlie."

Alastor suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. That's right, Charlie had moved back into the bureau. And Alastor had forgotten when he first woke up, so he didn't bother to check his appearance.

"Vaggie, Angel, just how bad do I look exactly?"

"You look like Angel without his make up on." Vaggie said.

"Hey!" The spider demon scoffed at her.

"Oh good lord, I look terrible!" Alastor panicked. "I can't let Charlie-...I mean I can't let anyone else see me like this! I gotta get back to my room!"

He opened the first door his hand found and hurried inside the room it was connected to.

"Did he just go inside the broom closet?" Angel asked.

"Yes he did."

Five seconds later, Charlie was in the room, and she looked just as bad as Alastor. Messy hair, wrinkled clothes, sloppy stance, dark circles around her eyes. The cheery disposition that they knew her to normally wake up with had been replaced by a grumpy one that almost scared Angel into falling out of his chair.

"Whoa toots!" He gasped. "I almost didn't recognize you!"

"Hon are you alright?" Vaggie asked her concerned.

"No." She yawned. "I woke up in the middle of the night and I couldn't go back to sleep. I just laid awake in bed for hours."

"Well no wonder you look so horrible. Ow!"

Vaggie pinched Angel for saying that.

Charlie rubbed her eyes a few times and yawned again.

"Where's Alastor?" She asked before proceeding to fix her hair.

"In the closet." Angel said.

"What's he doing in there?"

Charlie stood up from the table and opened the door to find Alastor putting his pants on the right way.

"Oh hello!" He said tightening his belt buckle and then straightening out his shirt. "Good morning Charlie!"

"Good morning Al. Why are you in a broom closet?"