"Yeah, Hell Hell," Angel replied. "It's not all that bad really. The people there make livin' there worse, but if ya start ignorin' 'em, their will to keep pestering ya drops like a fly. It's funny, really. They just kinda… give up." Angel waved one of his hands around as he spoke, using his other hands to make gestures pairing with the words he spoke, then stopped when he finished speaking. He then sat up again, clearly unsure of whether or not he wanted to lay down or sit up. "Ocean Avenue, eh? What was that like? I mean… I ain't heard of no 'Ocean Avenue' before, so I'm quite curious." Angel smirked after he said this, and prepared himself to listen to the response.
"Wow, that's interesting." Tina laid down on her side, propping herself up with one arm. "Oh, Ocean Avenue? It's just, like, the street our family lives on. We have an apartment above the restaurant my dad owns, plus a bunch of other shops and places there." She replied. "Opposite our place, there's this pizzeria owned by my dad's ''mortal enemy'', Jimmy Pesto. The actual food is bad, but Jimmy Pesto's son…" Tina's eyes lit up as she started thinking about Jimmy Pesto Jr, her crush since forever. She thought of them as Romeo and Juliet, two star-crossed lovers torn apart by feuding families. Sure, he ignored her…and never paid attention to her…and undermined her feelings…and was generally an a-hole to her… but that didn't matter!
"Mhm, mhm… I'm sensin' a crush 'ere. I'm guessin' you're gonna start goin' on and on about 'im, so I might as well listen, eh?" he said, crossing one leg over the other and using his 4 arms to fix himself up again. "Not to toot my own horn, but I know a lot about love. So, If ya tell me about 'im, I'll see what I can do to maybe get ya'll together once we get outta this place, hm?" he asked, then chuckled a little.
Tina looked up at the ceiling and smiled. "Yeah, I like him a lot. For some reason, my family's not sold on him but I don't really care because I think he's perfect." She started rambling about Jimmy Jr, smile getting wider. "So he goes to my school and we have, like, a little friend group with a bunch of other people. There's Tammy, Jocelyn, Zeke," Her voice dropped briefly. "and sometimes Darryl and Regular-sized Rudy. I like them all –Zeke not so much– but I really like spending alone time with Jimmy Jr." Tina blushed and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "What about you? Any love in your life?"
"Mh. mhm. I'll see what I can do, you seem to like this guy a lot," Angel replied. "As for me… I ain't really got a 'true love' niche yet. Only love I've ever gotten is from the men who pay for my services. And even then… the men who pay for favors from me are usually spoiled brats, and if not that, then they're my regulars; the commonfolk who cheat on their wives with another man outta spite, y'know?" He laughed and plopped down onto the bed as he had done twice before. "It's a way to make a quick buck, especially if they're willin' to pay a lot for it. Other than that, it gets pretty borin', y'hear? It's always the same thing with these men, coming back for more, never wantin' change. But hopefully, I will find a guy who's into me as more than a plaything. But… maybe include the plaything part. That could be fun." Angel laughed again, gesturing with all 4 of his arms as he spoke.
Tina was quiet for a while. "Oh. I'm sorry. That doesn't sound too fun, just doing the same thing over and over again." She sat up and crossed her legs, softly tapping on her thighs. "And by services you mean…?" she gestured to her body. "Oh, okay. I mean, you deserve a guy who treats you well, y'know? Who–who buys you flowers and takes you to nice places and listens to you. I mean, you seem like a nice guy and you should date someone who cares about you!"
"Mh, yeah frankly, it ain't. And yeah, that's what I meant," Angel replied to Tina's gesture. "And I- You're right… I guess I do deserve better. I… Yipes, that got emotional. My bad," he said, clearly lying when he said 'my bad'- the truth was, he was purely unapologetic, and in fact kinda glad this got emotional. He hadn't been able to open up like that with anyone before. He immediately swapped back to his usual demeanor once he realized the tension that was rising and said, "So uh.. That restaurant ya mentioned. You said your dad runs it, yeah? Sounds interesting. Do tell me more."
Tina enjoyed the little heart-to-heart she had with Angel. To be honest, she didn't feel like she could talk to anyone about that at home because they would just brush it off as ''Tina being in one of her moods'', so this was a refreshing take. "No, it's nice. I like being emotional sometimes." She offered a shy smile at Angel, hoping he'd appreciate the friendly gesture. It took her a while to register what he'd just said. "Oh! Yeah, yeah my dad owns a burger place called Bob's Burgers. The whole family works there: me, my mom, my brother, my sister and my dad, obviously." She pushed her glasses up. "We don't usually get a lot of customers, so, you know, not exactly swimming in money. But it's nice, just the five of us."
"Yeah, I get that," Angel replied. "And wow. A family-owned restaurant, hm? That sounds… kinda sweet. Now I ain't one for sentimental bullshit, but to be honest… That's absolutely darling. When we get outta here, you'll definitely have to introduce me to your family. They seem pretty nice." Angel smiled more genuinely than he had in ages. He was really enjoying having a new roommate, let alone being able to open up with them in a way he hadn't in a good while. "I guess sometimes you don'y need money to be rich, but rather, you need a good support system." 'Okay, what the hell was that, Angel? God you're getting soft,' he thought.
Tina's smile grew wider. "Yeah, that'll be cool! My sister would love you, by the way. Especially if you told her about you living in Hell, Louise loves that kind of stuff." She chuckled. "I guess that's true, it's not about the money but having– having people who care about you to help you support your dream, that's what matters." A strange building with a new friend would be the last place Tina would've expected to have the most heartfelt conversation in a while, but she was enjoying it a lot. "Yeah, whenever we get out of this dimension-thingy, I'll introduce you formally to the Belchers." She smoothed out her skirt. "So…any parents or siblings I get to meet in the near-distant future?" She joked.
"I'll make sure to tell her that, then," Angel said. "As for my family, hmm… Well, there's my mom, there's my dad Henroin, my twin sister Molly, and my older brother Arackniss. Dad hates me though, so I'm not sure he'll even listen to me when I try and introduce you to 'im. My brother, he's… we've been distant for a while, so I'll have to make an attempt to contact him. My mom is… well I dunno really. And then my sister Molly…we have a pretty good bond. I'm sure she'd love to meet you." As Angel spoke, he unretracted 2 of his extra arms, therefore giving him 6 rather than 4. "Mhh… That feels better."
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear about your dad. That must suck." Tina muttered. She couldn't imagine not having a good relationship with her dad, let alone someone cool like Angel not having a good relationship with his dad. "Oh, you have a twin? That sounds nice. If Gene and Louise were twins, pffft…" Tina blew air out of her cheeks. As she was talking, she didn't notice Angel growing out two extra arms until she had finished. Quickly taking off her glasses and giving them a quick swipe, she uttered, "Wow. Didn't know you could do that."
"Mhm. Mhm. Yeah, me and my dad… don't get along well. He definitely likes Arackniss more than lil ol' me," Angel whined, dramatically flopping onto the bed. He then snapped out of his drama-queen mode and said, "Yeah, I can do this with my arms. They're retractable, so I can bring them in and out as I please." Angel fixed himself up once more, and stretched all of his arms out, yawning. "Mhh… Damn, they need some fuckin' clocks in here. That or windows… Can't even tell what time it is anymore."
Tina subconsciously yawned as well. "Yeah, would it kill to put a clock in here or something?" She looked around the room, looking for windows or some indication that it was dark outside–wherever outside was. "Do you think it's, like…bedtime? I don't know. I am pretty tired." She stretched out her arms, feeling the barrette on the right-hand side of her hair. "Damn. Didn't bring any pyjamas or anything. I mean, I wasn't exactly planning to be thrown in here, was I?" She laughed.
"I guess it should be around nighttime now, I mean, in Hell there's no real way to tell what time it is, but if it was near nighttime when you got transported, then it should be night now, right?" Angel asked. He sprawled himself out across his bed and yawned again. "Whatever time it is, I don't give a damn, cuz I need me some beauty rest. I'm gonna go see if there's any extra clothes, maybe they gave us robes or somethin'. They might as well have." Angel got off the bed and walked out of the room, leaving the door open a smidge in his wake.
"Yeah, that makes sense." Tina murmured, getting sleepy. She uncrossed her legs and laid on the bed, taking her shoes and barrette off. She yawned again, wondering how her family was, getting into bed knowing she wasn't there. Would they be worried, putting up 'Missing' posters and handing them out at the restaurant? Or would they be complacent, thinking she was at a sleepover or something? She didn't know which one she wanted more. "Okay Tina," she sighed, "letting your imagination get the better of you, again." She stretched out her limbs.
Angel walked into a room he hadn't explored yet and found a wardrobe; filled with different clothing items. He grabbed two oversized robes and shut the wardrobe door, then headed out of the room, walking back into the master bedroom. "Found a closet in one of the more hidden rooms. These robes should do as pajamas since they're big and soft enough from the look of 'em," he said. Angel then tossed one of the robes next to Tina, and went to his bed, going completely under the covers, probably just to change without having to walk out again. Once he got his robe on, he removed the blanket and stretched all his arms out.
Tina grabbed the robe Angel had tossed to her, murmuring a "thanks" and standing up to wearily exit the room. "I'm just gonna…" She figured he knew what she meant, gesturing to the robe and her body. She went into the next empty room, took off her clothes and put the robe on. It was big and comfortable, and she felt that she'd have a good night's sleep in them. Re-entering the room, she turned off the lights and put her pile of clothes on the floor next to her bed; she went under the covers and took her glasses off, putting them on the bedside. "Just to warn you, I thrash in my sleep. Hope that's not too weird for you."
"Yeah, no, it's not weird at all. I knew someone who thrashed in their sleep, so I know how to deal with it," Angel said with a chuckle. He then went back under his blanket, practically tucking himself in, and curled himself up, his knees going up to his chest. He happened to fall asleep quite quickly; whether or not he did that before now was unclear. He seemed comfortable in a ball-shaped position, though. He rolled back and forth a few times, but other than that, he was as still as a statue.
Tina laid awake for a bit, but eventually settled into a deep sleep. She thrashed here and there –with a few groans– but managed to stay still for the whole night.
When morning rolled around, Angel was still asleep. He had gotten used to staying asleep until maybe the afternoon, or sometimes even later. "Mhh…" he groaned as he continued to rest, rolling over onto his back. This continued for a while, then stopped.
Tina got up relatively early, her internal clock waking her up. She yawned, put on her glasses and smacked her lips a couple of times. "Morning." She tasted her breath, then grimaced. It was times like these when she wished she had a spare toothbrush or a bar of soap or something, but oh well. She shook her head, stretched and slowly got up out of bed.
Angel's eyes finally opened, or at least they opened halfway, and he untucked himself, sitting up on the bed then rubbing his head. "Mornin'," he said, standing up and stretching his arms out. "Man, I haven't slept that well in forever." Angel let out a chuckle and gathered his clothes from the previous night, placing them on his bed. "I wonder if they have a laundry room in this place. I mean, with all the spare clothin' items they got, they'd think to set up a laundry room." Angel's energy was as high as ever, and he had already begun fast-talking again.
Tina picked up her pile of clothes from last night. "Yeah, you'd think. Usually, my siblings and I just leave our dirty clothes around the house and our mom picks them up for us, but now I gotta learn to do it myself." She laughed, which quickly turned into a yawn. "I don't know. This gown is pretty comfy though, I like it a lot. My pyjamas aren't nearly as nice as this, except that one time I was on a cruise with my family and this cute guy gave me a head massage, that gown was pretty nice too." Tina had suddenly gained some energy as well.
Angel yawned again as well, then nodded. "Mhm. Mhm. That makes sense. My hotel has their own laundry service, so I just kinda used that so I didn't really have to do anything. Too busy with the johns anyway," Angel said, snickering a little. "I guess we're both gonna have to learn to do it ourselves, eh?"
Tina chuckled. "Yep, I guess we are." She put the pile on the bed, placed her hands on it, and moved her torso around a couple of times. to crack her back. "I picked up a couple things from my mom, but not enough to leave me by myself." She smiled, thinking of her mother.
