Two Worlds Collide: Part 13

from /hhg/ - Hazbin Hotel General Thread #203
part 1: https://pastebin.com/JCGd3vAt part 2: https://pastebin.com/mGzgGjNZ part 3: https://pastebin.com/wb1HQgYG
part 4: https://pastebin.com/uSMCwNA5 part 5: https://pastebin.com/8KM7kEnA part 6: https://pastebin.com/Xuje3YTq
part 7: https://pastebin.com/esX1wmYg part 8: https://pastebin.com/ugZEYcyy part 9: https://pastebin.com/ncAvtrdv
part 10: https://pastebin.com/HsR98HX7 part 11: https://pastebin.com/sqH01FCF part 12: https://pastebin.com/uSxGkG6W
part 14: https://pastebin.com/dYavNeCR part 15: https://pastebin.com/0BEzWGca
part 16: https://pastebin.com/KVpf5Juw part 17: https://pastebin.com/wCkRp96h
---
I promised you angst last chapter so here you go. I never written angst before so I hope it came out okay. Anyways, here's part 13.

-Charlie's POV-
>"What's going on?"
>Charlie sees Al put his head down and then look at her.
"Charlie, as much as I want to continue our entertainment together, I think it's best we part ways..."
>Charlie's eyes started becoming full of confusion with some tints of sadness.
>"What do you mean Al?"
"Charlie, it's nothing personal but I think we shouldn't hang out with one another anymore. I'm so sorry..."
>She sees Al's hesitance and feels as if it wasn't really about her.
>Charlie, determined as ever, looked at him in the eye.
>"I can fix whatever's making you like this. Please, just let me."
>She sees the radio host back off, refusing to voice out his true pain.
"Charlotte, listen to me, you don't know what I'm going through. I don't want to burden you with something of my own doing."
>Al's composure started slipping away slowly, revealing a small part to Charlie of what he had been hiding.
>"Are you hurting yourself? Please, I can't help you if you won't tell me what's wrong with you!"
"What are you talking about dear, I'm quite alright."
>Al gave her a fake smile as a way to discourage her from continuing to question him.
-
>"No! Look at you, you look more skinnier than normal, your eyes have dark circles now, and you act more tired nowadays. Something's wrong here and you need help."
"Frankly, those things are none of your concern. Besides, I can always have a cup of coffee and I haven't been starving myself if that's what you're asking."
>"Al, we've been friends for 3 weeks now. I think that I have the right to be concerned for you here since sometimes, you space out and even talk to yourself. I left you alone in the past since I didn't see it as nothing too bad but now, I wished I could've helped you sooner. You're suffering Al..."
>Al became more frustrated that she wouldn't leave him alone and he turned his head away.
>Charlie reached in to try to comfort Al with a hug but she was stopped.
>Al grabbed her by the wrist and gave her an intimidating glare with a smile.
"Don't touch me..."
>Charlie became scared for him and she freed her wrist from his grip.
>"I'm not leaving until you tell me what's wrong!"
-
>Charlie stared at Al with a spirit of defiance which made the man become more guarded.
>'What do I do? I know what he did right now was wrong but I know it's because he's scared. I just need him to open up to me somehow...'
>While Charlie tried to think of a way to comfort Al and figure out what's going on, Al was relying on his fight-or-flight instincts.
>'I didn't want to have to do this but I have no choice here. If it's going to help him become better, then it's worth it.'
>Charlie released a soothing aura around her. She figured out some things based on a talk her mom gave her a week ago regarding her developing abilities.
>Although the primary purpose of pathokinesis was to make enemies not only put down their own guard but to make them disorganized, thus, can be killed more easily, it can also be used for more, humane purposes.
>Charlie doesn't really like using her abilities since not only is she trying to blend in with the humans but because of what were the original purposes of her abilities, which were mostly manipulative, or even malicious, in nature.
>Charlie senses Al calming down from the escalating argument but can still feel him resisting her with all of his strength.
-
>She concentrates harder into soothing him so that he'll be more willing to talk with her.
>Al had enough of the internal conflict and tried to bolt out of the office.
>Charlie ran after him and managed to catch up to him.
>For a simple office man, Al was surprisingly fast at running. She'll have to ask him sometime but not today.
>He didn't seem to stop or even catch for a breath until he made the mistake of taking the left path out of impulse.
>After running into a dead end, Al became defensive with Charlie attempting to reason with him.
"Leave now Charlotte. It wouldn't do you well to continue with this nonsense."
>Charlie noticed the conflict taking a toll on his willpower. After using her empathetic abilities, she sensed a disturbance within his soul.
>However, it was mostly static, which didn't allow her to get the full picture.
-
>No matter, she just has to approach him carefully and try not to appear any more threatening to him.
>Charlie slowly walked towards Al with her hand out.
>She sees Al backing up more until his back hit the wall.
>"Al please, I'm here for you..."
>The gap between them continues to close in until Charlie hugged Al.
>The radio host violently struggles against the woman, only wanting to get away before something could happen.
>He continues to fight back against the influence but eventually, as remarkably strong as his willpower is, he succumbs to her embrace after 12, whole minutes.
>She feels him relax and hesitantly hugging her back.
>Charlie looks up and asks him to open up about what's bothering him.
>Alexander sighs and looks down.
"Alright, I'll tell you but promise me you will stay..."
>Charlie nods and continues to comfort him.
"For the past few weeks, everytime I was with you, odd occurences happened. I would hear a voice continue to taunt me or threaten me, especially when I got close to you. I understand it may sound foolish but it was real."
>Even if Charlie wasn't a demon, she would still be non-judgmental to Al's distress. She listened intently.
-
"I see figures out of the corner of my eye. They kept on demanding me to separate myself from you. Afterwards, it got so bad that I refused to sleep for 3 full days. I kept myself functioning decently with some homemade coffee with extra sugar in the morning."
"Even when I'm out with you, I always feel as if someone was not only watching us but out to get me. Sometimes, I feel scratches and I would turn around, only to see nobody there."
>Although Al refused to tell Charlie the full story for obvious reasons, she accepted it as it is. She didn't want to make him more uncomfortable than he was feeling at the moment. After all, it seems that he still didn't fully trust her since the beginning so it's up to her to convince him that he isn't going through his problems alone.
>"Don't worry Al. It'll be okay. If you want, we can talk about this another time when you're upset about something. With you telling me all of this, I think I should stay around you more often so I can see what I'm dealing with here. If we're going to remain friends, we have to have better comunication so we can both stay strong for one another."
>"Just trust me on this, everything will get better."
>Charlie squeezed the tall man in the hug and waited for his answer.
>Al sighed and squeezed her a little bit back.
"Alright dear, I trust you..."
>Charlie smiled at this and they both went back to his office. It's not everyday that he allows a hug, much less hug back.
>"How about we continue with the broadcast. Your fans are waiting for you."
>While Charlie wasn't looking, Al gave her a look of adoration until he quickly went back to working in his dream career.

So yeah, here's some angst/comfort from yours truly in part 13 of "Two Worlds Collide." Just to balance this out, I may or may not add fluff to the next chapter. There's still more to come so don't worry about anything.
-Cursed Anon