Hazbin Hotel 31 Day One Shot Challenge

Day 22 - The Smile He Hides Behind

This one is where Alastor is being observed by a certain Spider and since he has his own mask of an act, it was easy for him to notice the signs in Alastor.

An act is like a mask. It's a way to keep me safe. If they don't know the true me, I can't get hurt. The way I act is the way I need to be. Or at least, that is what I always thought. Ever since I came to this hotel, it has been a safe haven for me. I may act the way I do, but after some time, I have slowly been able to drop the act. However, that is only inside the hotel. I have to be extremely careful with my mask if I ever step outside the hotel. Inside, there are no eyes watching me that care, on the outside, Valentino could easily spy on me through Vox's tech.

I know that there are millions of people that cover up their true self all the time. That they are just like me. But I never thought that I would see someone like me within the hotel.

At first I didn't notice. Maybe it's because I didn't want to notice. Maybe it was because I was so caught up in my own problems that I didn't notice that someone else was suffering right alongside me. That he was right next to me consistently.

I noticed that Smiles wasn't quite everything he said he was. If you stop looking at his expression, and you start looking at his eyes, you see that they do not match. I have never seen this man without his signature smile. I have never seen this man have any other expression. Or at least, that's what I thought.

I'm an actor, so I have to learn how to portray many different types of emotions, which means I can start to pick them out.

At first I was observing Alastor to try and figure out why he was so sketchy. The man keeps to himself, doesn't partake in many of the activities, disappears for hours on end, and is once again, always smiling.

There is no way someone can be that happy all the time. Even Charlie will go through phases where she isn't all happy and cheerful. She at least seems like a real person. Alastor just feels so fake. It's like I'm looking at a version of myself. I have to appear happy and sexual all the time, and he appears happy and power driven all the time.

His little act got me curious. And after watching him for so long, I began to notice minor things. All of his true emotions are tied to his eyes.

I remember when Charlie's dad came over, and while I was still pulling up my act, I noticed that Alastor's composure was dropping. You could see his eyes twitch. I didn't comment on it, but I definitely noticed it.

The next time I noticed was during a fight. Specifically the fight against Adam and the other exorcist. He had disappeared for some time, and then showed back up. He really did scare Charlie. We already lost one friend, and then there's Alastor who is MIA.

When he returned, he did help out a little bit around the hotel, but I noticed he looked really tired. His grin was as big as ever, but his eyes did it have the same spark and drive as before.

He looked tired, sometimes he looks like he was in pain, and other times he looked a little paranoid.

Now I know that he is a very private man. He doesn't express things, even to Charlie. I think the only person he has ever expressed anything to is Rosie. Maybe even Niffty.

Charlie, may like to push boundaries and get into people's business, but she doesn't always observe the smaller details like that. She doesn't hide behind a mask, so she wouldn't even know what to look for. And if I mention anything about it, I have a feeling that he will kill me for getting involved. However, I know better than anyone that if you bottle something up, it won't end well. Maybe I can use that and he won't kill me for it.

I knocked on his door. "Smiles?"

I heard nothing but silence on the other end so I tried again and again and again until he finally open the door.