Black Lotus [Vintaker]

Chapter Six

"Uhm, we have a situation," Grell looked at the front door's camera. She stared at it, blinked a few times, turned it off, turned it on again, and then sighed. 

"What's wrong?" William, aka Mortician, the guitarist in the band, asked.

"I may or may not have posted a video of that sexy waiter online and now his temperamental self is angrily stomping his foot outside our door." She laughed for a moment and twirled the tip of her hair in-between her fingers. Why didn't she think this through first? Shit. Shitty shit shit shit. 

"That is a situation," Adrian raced over to check the camera. Sure enough, Vincent was standing there just as angry as usual. He'd gotten tired of pacing and was smoking a cigarette. Or, maybe three. He should really stop smoking. That's bad for his health, and his voice, which Adrian knew he totally had. 

"I'm not here to beat any of you up," Vincent clarified, "I just want to know why you did it." He threw the cigarette down on the ground and snuffed it out with his shoe. He looked somewhat calmer now but that scared Adrian all the more. 

"Wish me luck," Adrian put on his jacket. "I'm going out there." 

"Good luck," Grell saluted.

Adrian took a deep breath and opened the door. He completely exited the building and closed the door. "Ah, so you came out finally," Vincent breathed on his hands to try and warm them up. Maybe he should've used his lighter to do that instead. But, he wasn't really thinking about it. 

"I didn't know she was going to post the video. She never mentioned it. I didn't find out until it went viral," Adrian confessed. "Please don't hate me."

"I don't hate you, relax. I actually came to see if you lot would let me join your band thing," Vincent put his hands into his pockets and shivered. "Even as just a manager or some shit. I need the extra cash and if I'm popular right now it could help you guys."

"Uhm..." Adrian scratched the side of his cheek.

"Thanks for not telling me no outright," Vincent turned to leave. "I'd probably do worse for your image with my shitty personality. Maybe I'll die down in a couple of days and no one will realize who I am."

"Who you are-?" Adrian took a step forward and stopped Vincent from leaving by blocking his path. He needed this information. Vincent rarely talked about himself since he was just Adrian's waiter. This was his chance!!! He had to get closer to him!!!

"You didn't know?" Vincent's eyes widened. "I thought the whole reason she posted it was a publicity stunt. You really don't know who I am?"

Adrian shook his head.

"I'm Vincent Phantomhive, the oldest Satanic Siblings member," he pointed to himself as he explained. Damn. That was the first time he said that in years. It felt awful to admit it out loud. After all of the shit that went down. He sighed, scratching his arm. "Shit," he muttered, wishing he hadn't said anything. 

The door instantly opened and William gestured for him to come inside. "Let's talk about this where it's warm. I'm the one who will decide if you join or not."

"It's really fine," Vincent waved it off. "I'll just go home. It was a silly idea."

"No," William grabbed his hand. "Come inside," he dragged him in and closed the door. He just barely let Adrian back in before it closed.

"So, you're telling me that you used to be a dapper motherfucker?" Grell looked at the younger picture of Vincent and held it up to his face. The two couldn't be more different now.

"Life wasn't easy on me, okay? I joined a real shitty crowd and needed to take care of myself. That's all," Vincent leaned back in his chair and sipped a cup of tea.

"If you're going to join us you have to go back to being that dapper fellow," William searched the internet for reactions of Vincent's latest news.

"I don't know if that's possible," Vincent sighed. "Can we just forget I ever asked?"

"It might be nice to have a really extra personality on our team," Adrian shrugged. "Maybe people will like it?"

"Being famous is a real tough game," William adjusted his glasses. "If we do one thing wrong we will get so much backlash for it and lose our fame. Just look at the Satanic Siblings." Vincent flinched at that comment. He did have a point though...couldn't get mad at him for it. 

"I'm sure we will figure it out if something goes wrong," Grell smiled. "Let's just do it! Make the announcement in a couple of days. If Vincent isn't that famous anymore than we won't add him to the group!"

"You want to risk everything we have ever worked for on a single waiter?" William frowned.

"What can I say? I'm a gambler!" she winked.

"It's okay," Vincent stood up and made his way over to the door. "Don't stress yourselves over it. If anything, I'd be much better off as the ghost I always was."

"Ah! That's it!" Adrian pointed to him. "You can be Phantom! It fits in with our theme perfectly. We can give you a mask-like in the Phantom of the Opera! It works with the whole aesthetic we have going for us, right? You know it's true William!" 

"We'll see how the news takes him in the next few weeks. Until then," William pointed at Vincent. "Get back to your dapper self. Phantoms need to be mysteriously good looking with a gentleman persona. Think gentleman thief. You're going to steal the audience's heart, if I accept you, that is."