Helluva Boss - After the Party

After the Party

Verosika sat in the corner of the dimly lit room, swirling her drink and staring into its depths as if the answer to her turmoil lay hidden in the liquid. The annual "Blitz0 Haters' party" had been a success, denizens of hell of all shapes and sizes mingling, swapping stories about the infamous imp they loved to hate. There was heartbreak but there was also mutual support. Being able to vent your frustrations to a group of people who truly understood where you were coming from was important and she was happy to see that sometimes, the visitors found solace in each other by forming new... steamy relationships. Normally, she would have been the life of this party, going long into the small hours. But last night something unexpected had happened.

He showed up at the party.

Blitz0. The name itself was a knife, twisting in her gut with every reminder. When she first saw him in that ridiculous table-cloth disguise it had confirmed the rumors spreading to her from Voxtragram. She'd gotten dozens of dm's from her contacts each bearing the same news; that Blitz0 was going through hell on some sort of half-assed apology tour. She hadn't really paid it much attention, finding the news more annoying than anything. It was just some dumb stunt, like always. Blitz0 doing an apology tour? Yeah, right. Not the guy she knew. Not the guy she'd... She shook herself to get rid of the thought.

To make matters worse, he'd shown up at the party for the most unbelievable reason, an actual attempt at apologizing to the Goetia prince. Something so frustrating and inconceivable that even now it was kindling sparks of what... jealousy? She took a sip from her drink, perhaps one sip of too many lately, trying to drown the resurgence of emotions.

"Why should I care?" she muttered to herself, glaring into the drink as if it were to blame. "He's a walking disaster who ruins everyone he touches. Heartless. Stupid."

But that night he hadn't been. Not entirely. There had been a moment, a fleeting glimpse of something softer, almost lost, behind his eyes.

"I don't want to be this way, not forever" he had said and it had caught her off guard, bringing back memories she had long since buried. Their time together, the good times, the laughter, the way he used to look at her before everything went wrong. It all came rushing back, and she hated it.

She hated him. But...

Her fingers hovered over her phone, the urge to send a message battling with her pride. "Why should I check up on him? He doesn't deserve my concern," she reasoned. But her finger didn't move, and the screen remained lit, waiting.

"He's probably off self-destructing somewhere," she growled. "He'll forget this by tomorrow." The thought burned, fueling her anger. She didn't need this. She was Verosika, a force to be reckoned with, a succubus who had climbed to the top on her own terms. She didn't need him, didn't need this... weakness.

And yet.

And yet, the memory of his vulnerability gnawed at her, refusing to be ignored. "What if... what if he needs someone?" she whispered, hating the softness in her own voice. "What if he can't help himself and needs... me?"

Her thumb hovered over the screen, indecision paralyzing her. She had never been good at this—at vulnerability. A succubus had to be able to immunize themselves to these sorts of thoughts, it came with the job. It had been her downfall once, confessing her love to Blitz0, only to be met with the most disastrous rejection imaginable. She wasn't about to make that mistake again. She couldn't.

But... he had looked so different last night. So lost. Had that always been there? She straightened, trying to shake off the melancholy. She was stronger now. She didn't need him, didn't need anyone. But as the night wore on and the sips from her flask became more frequent, the thought of sending that message lingered, a small, persistent whisper in the back of her mind.

With a frustrated sigh she buried her face in her hands and . "Why do you still do this to me, Blitz0?" she whispered to the empty air. "Why is it like this!? I'm over you! I... am... over... you. I wrote an entire song about it so the whole world could know!" She clenched her fist around her phone tightly, anger blossoming as the thoughts raced through her. "No! Fuck you, you asshat!" she screamed and in a fit of rage threw the phone against a wall, where the protective casing went to splinters and the screen cracked. The noise of the object colliding with the wall echoed through the room.

Vortex, her hellhound bodyguard, burst into the room, drawn by the sound of her scream. "You okay, boss?" he asked, his eyes scanning the room for any threat.

Verosika donned her star-face in record time, beaming with masked confidence effortlessly.

"Oh, I'm good, Tex dear," she purred, waving him off with a practiced smile. "Just been throwing back a little too much Beelzejuice, I think and got carried away." She laughed, a melodic sound, and started to make her way out of the room.

"Okay, boss. Glad to hear it." He said with a raised eyebrow. "Just let me know if you need anything," he added as she walked past him. She gave him a playful bop on the nose before leaving the room entirely.

As the door closed behind her, the soft glow from the smashed phone drew his attention. He gathered the broken device in his hands, and through the cracked screen, he saw an unfinished and unsent text message to:

"Blitz0?"

His heart sank a little as he inadvertently read the contents of the message. "Hey B, just wanted to check up on you aft—"

He looked toward the door where Verosika had exited moments earlier and sighed. "Dammit, girl..." He pocketed the phone, discarding the shattered casing and glass.

"No, Tex. Remember, you're not paid enough to care," he muttered to himself before joining his boss outside.