Friend to Foe

Chapter seven: The Spy and the Liar

(Tw: blood mentioned)

It took every fiber of Vox's being to compose himself. Once he did, reality began to sink in, at least as much reality as Vox could process. Alastor had embarrassed him. He looked around at the influential overlords and saw how they were laughing at him and whispering to each other. He turned to Rosie who wore a sinister smile. Zestial seemed mildly agitated. Vox didn't know if he could make a comeback from this. In his mind, there was only one solution, and he needed Alastor for it.

Despite his better judgement Vox found the door that led backstage. His thoughts became so loud they just turned into deafening buzzing. He shook the feeling and kept walking. He found a door labeled "𝒜𝓁𝒶𝓈𝓉ℴ𝓇" and he knocked.

Alastor, who was still against the door, was physically startled by the knock. Who would possibly dare to bother him? His associates knew better. But Vox didn't. Alastor turned and ripped the door open.
"What do you want?" Alastor said as his head flew to one side. His smile and voice made Vox quiver as it was a far cry from his usual tone. Vox swallowed his panic.
"Alastor," he placed his hands together to appear calmer, "what the fuck was that?" Vox asked honestly. Alastor stood up straight.
"Hm? Why it was a performance, my darling?" Alastor said in a mocking tone. Vox winced at the name.
"Was it not to your liking?" Alastor leaned foward to Vox, who took a moment to respond.
"You embarrassed me." He said sternly. Alastor couldn't help but laugh slightly.
"Oh, I did? I hadn't noticed!" Alastor acted confused.

"Alastor!" Vox yelled a little louder than he wanted to, even taking the other demon by surprise.
"Why are you doing this?" Vox pleaded. His charismatic voice complete dropped. He hated how vulnerable and pathetic he sounded. Alastor took a deep breath in and said,
"Come in." as he stepped to the side. Vox hesitated but slowly followed the other into the room. Alastor shut the door and locked it. He guided Vox to sit down on the red coach in the middle. Alastor didn't sit down though, instead he began to walk around.

"Why am I doing this?" Alastor repeated Vox's question.
"Because I'm testing you." Alastor turned to look Vox directly in the eyes.
"What...?" Vox looked at him. Alastor walked closer until he was right in front of him. Vox had to keep his eyes from traveling down the other's body.
"I wished to see how you'd react, what initiative you'd take. We're in a constant age of discovery Vox, and you're another new discovery, and I'm intrigued." He explained. With the last couple words Alastor brought his face down to Vox's screen. The light reflected off his pale skin in a way that made Vox's breathing change. He felt all of his sense melt, once again.

Once Alastor put distance between them, Vox's thoughts partially came back.
"Did you have to do it in front of powerful overlords?" He asked with an agitated voice. Alastor gave him a closed lip smile with a 'really' expression.
"What good is a show if there's no audience?" Alastor asked. Vox sighed as he threw his head back. Alastor felt his eyes immediately dart to the loose wires that made up his neck.
"So, you want me to win them back, yes?" Vox asked as he pulled his screen back to its normal position.
"Precisely." Alastor said with a signature smile.

Vox spent the rest of the party abusing his charisma until his wits end. He talked up television as much as he could. He explained how the future will move forward, so it's best to be at his hands. He managed to get quite a few demons behind his plan. The whole time, he made sure to wear a smile. A smile that Alastor watched as he went from table to table, defending his legacy. Alastor eavesdropped every word. Vox couldn't help but enjoy the fact that Alastor was watching him. Sure, he's the one who's making him do all of this, but it somehow validated him. He felt exhilarated because of Alastor's eyes following him. No matter who the demon was talking to, he was still focused on Vox. Rosie instantly noticed this.