Today's song goes with our chapter. This is Mindy's character song...I have a song for each character, but this is the only chapter that really warranted it.
And if I pick a song for a chapter, it's all ab the lyrics...so if you choose to listen, listen close!

"How could you do this to me."

Fawn's POV

I was sitting in Alastor's office chair, nibbling on a Hershey bar as I played with one of his fidget toys.

They're honestly kind of similar to the fidget toys from 2022, and I'd been occupying myself with them for around an hour now.

The candy bar was just something I'd seen while we were getting lunch and I begged Alastor for it.

Not like I had to, the moment I expressed interest in it he offered to buy me the entire box.

I declined, although it was a tempting offer.

He even bought himself some candy...granted, it was black licorice, but still!

Religiously, I flipped the small switch on this toy back and forth, my eyes glued to it like it was going to do something interesting.

Boredom was beginning to set in, and I was growing impatient waiting here for his broadcast to be over.

Especially since apparently I have a meeting to attend...strangely enough.

I can't imagine what he and Tom could have to talk to me about...and with Mindy?

Those two are up to something.

A sigh pushed form my lungs as I fell back into my chair, looking up at the ceiling. I took another chunk out of my chocolate and chewed slowly.

"Fawn!"

My ears perked and I looked over at the high pitched voice, smiling when I saw Niffty. I haven't seen her all day.

"Niff!" I replied with a big smile, and she scampered over to me, beginning to tidy up Al's desk.

"So..." she hummed, "how have you 'n Al been?"

When she said this she gave me a suggestive smirk, and my cheeks immediately heated up as I recalled our...shenanigan...earlier.

"Um..." my voice cracked, and I cleared my throat, "g-good, yea...good...totally...Mmhm," I nodded, "he's so sweet, and..."

"Attractive?" She added, and I snapped my fingers.

"That's the word!"

We both laughed, and she continued dusting around. The office was beginning to quiet, and that was a social queue that Al should be finished soon.

Niffty sighed softly, and I looked over at her. She was at the window, staring out.

I could partially see her face.

That little smile that she always wears had fallen, and my eyes softened as I spun in the chair to face her fully.

"You ok...?" I asked her, and she waited a second, and I almost thought she didn't even hear me.

But then, very quietly, "it wasn't him...was it...? Lilly..."

My eyes widened, and I shook my head even though she can't see me.

"No, it was not. It wasn't him, Niff...I promise you, it wasn't."

She took in another deep breath, and nodded, "yea...yea I—I knew that...just needed to hear someone confirm it, I think..." she mumbled slightly.

I think this is the stillest I've ever seen her.

Her hands slid off the window pane and to her sides.

"She was my best friend..." she said quietly, but I could clearly hear the pain in her voice. Then she chuckled slightly, "I just...I've tried to keep my spirits up, y'know?"

She turned to face me, and my eyes widened when hers were filling with tears quickly. Her lip quivered and I quickly stood up and rushed to her.

"Oh Niffty...c'mere..." I murmured, hugging her the moment I reached her.

She held onto me tightly, clutching my shirt in her hands. Her body hiccuped, and she sniffled.

"I just...I-I know she's not suffering where she went..." she whimpered, and then slowly looked up at me, big tears running off her face, "but I also know I'm never going to meet her there..."

At that, my heart completely shattered.

"Niffty..." I said softly, and brushed the tears off her face, "don't say that..."

She sniffled again and shook her head, "do you know how many...accidents...I've cleaned for him?" She said, her voice shaking and barely above a whisper.

My brows furrowed and I sighed, then brought her back into my chest and rocked her slightly.

"You're ok..." I whispered, "And Alastor loves you, Niffty...if you told him the toll you doing his dirty work took on you...I'm sure he wouldn't make you do it so much..." I reassured her, rubbing her back.

She just hugged me tighter.

Then after a moment she answered, "it's not that I mind, really...he never really kills people who aren't bad in some way or another...but I just...I don't know...I don't know..." she mumbled, shaking her head as she pressed into me further.

We hugged like that for a minute, until she felt a bit better. She had stopped crying, but held onto me a moment longer.

Finally, she let me go. I held her shoulders and squeezed gently.

"Feel better...?" I asked her with a soft smile, and she smiled back and nodded.

I wiped some leftover tears off her face, "I'm sorry about Lilly..."

Niffty nodded, "yea...me too..."

Suddenly, the door to the office opened and a familiar male voice interrupted our private moment.

"Fawn, my darling, are you ready—!" He cut himself off, and his entire expression fell the moment he saw Niffty.

I don't think I've ever seen his smile fall so fast before.

"Niffty?" His brows creased with worry, and I glanced at Niffty.

She looked a bit nervous, but as he approached I took a step back.

I nodded at her when she glanced at me, giving her a soft smile.

It's obvious she's been holding all of that back, and I don't even think she let's Al see her true emotions...she hides it behind a smile.

Alastor was focused on the smaller woman, approaching her cautiously.

"A-are...are you alright?" He asked her, and that's when I decided to step away completely, going back over to his desk to give them a bit of privacy.

But I still discreetly watched them.

Al bent down slightly, taking her by the shoulders gently just as I had. She raised her hands and rested them on his forearms.

He shook his head, his lips moving as he said something to her. I could barely hear him, he was practically whispering.

She nodded, answering him just as quietly.

They shared a few more words, and then she took her hands from his arms and brought them to his face.

Or, more specifically, the corners of his mouth.

She carefully lifted his lips into a smile, and when she pulled away he kept a soft smile on his face.

He nodded, said one more thing, and then kissed her forehead.

Then he stood back up, swiftly turning towards me and throwing on his animated smile once more as he made his way over.

"Anywho! My darling Fawn, are you ready for your meeting?" He asked excitedly, pretending none of that happened.

I nodded readily, standing up and carefully wrapping up my half eaten candy bar, setting it safely into one of his drawers.

"Sure am! Although, I don't know what you and Tom could possibly need from me," I chuckled as he took my hand and he began to walk.

"Oh, you'll see."

My brows furrowed at the almost... malicious tone.

"Uh...are you two gonna kill us?" I asked, glancing up at him with a playful smile.

He scoffed, and shook his head, "uh, no I'm afraid that's not what's on the agenda. No more questions, dear," he said, and I sighed.

I grumbled about him being cryptic for no reason, our journey coming to an end as we reached Thomas's office.

Despite us having the time arranged, he knocked politely.

Then proceeded to just open the door.

We stepped in, and my eyes widened.

Wow...I thought Al's office was nice. This office is like...double nice.

"Thomas, I've arrived with Miss Beaumont," Alastor said formally, and I immediately quirked a brow at him.

Mindy was already seated properly in a chair that was situated in front of a desk. On the other side of the desk sat Thomas, next to him an empty chair.

And next to Mindy there was an empty chair.

Alastor's hand left mine, and he gently nudged me to the chair. I glanced at him, but quietly made my way to the large leather chair next to Mindy.

He stalked around the desk, and I noticed he had undoubtedly put on his professional facade that he only wears in front of the general public.

Never really in the office, unless he's trying to intimidate someone.

His arms were behind his back, his smile looking...well...y'know, I know it's supposed to be threatening right now, but really, to me, he just looks fucking hot.

But, that's just me.

Once he'd taken his seat, I noticed the air in the room shift. I've never really been in a proper business meeting, but holy shit, this is suffocating.

I glanced at Mindy, seeing if maybe this is a prank they're all pulling on me.

However, she had her back straight and her expression was nothing short of completely stone cold serious.

My eyes went back to the boys, and I cocked an eyebrow at them. They were both smiling at us, eyelids lowered and leaning forward on the desk with their hands laced beneath their chins.

I shook my head, crossing my arms as I spoke and the thick atmospheric bubble popped.

"What the hell are you two idiots doing?" I said, slightly annoyed.

Both of their expressions shifted to be surprised, and they blinked at me.

Mindy slowly turned to me, a look of complete and utter shock on her face. I've never seen her look scared, but there was a bit of fear in the way she creased her brow.

My eyes went back to the boys. Or, specifically, my boy.

"Hm?" I pressed, raising my eyebrows slightly.

Immediately Alastor sat back and cleared his throat, "right...Um, Mr. Calcutta and I have a few business inquiries—"

"In words that I understand," I sighed, rolling my eyes.

At this, Thomas burst out laughing and the tense atmosphere was completely gone.

"Oh, this woman!" He cackled, "so much fire! I love it!"

I smiled slightly, letting off a slight chuckle of my own.

Mindy was still a bit tense, looking slightly confused. She was sending me glances every now and then, her brows still furrowed.

Thomas took over for Alastor, "do you want a job, dear?" He asked me, still laughing slightly.

My eyes immediately widened, "what?" I asked, quickly looking to Al.

His smiled had softened, and he nodded.

My frown turned into a smile quickly, and I nodded, "sure! What's the job?" I asked.

"Well..." Thomas paused, his tone dampening, "I'm sure you're aware of miss Lilian..."

The smile on my face lessened and my eyes fell. I nodded.

"Well, with her passing also opened up a job position," he added, a bit more upbeat.

Oh...a secretary? Hm...that seems simple enough.

"I'll be the new secretary?" I questioned, my smile lifting again.

Both Thomas and Al shared a glance, both of them smiling a bit wider.

They looked back at me.

"No." They said in unison.

Ok...now I'm confused. I chuckled slightly, "Um, ok...then, what?" I shrugged and shook my head.

"You enjoy writing, don't you?" Thomas asked me. Alastor was giving me a weird smile, and I narrowed my eyes on him before answering.

"Yes...I do."

"Well...miss Beaumont...how would you like to be our leading reporter."

My blood ran ice cold the moment the words left his mouth, and my mouth fell open. Slowly I looked to Mindy, beginning to realize why she's here...

Oh no...no, no...Alastor, what the fuck are you doing!

Mindy looked like someone had just knocked the air out of her, her skin was paper white. Her hands were clenched in her lap, and I noticed a bit of blood drip from her palm.

"B-but...sir, that's...t-that's my position..." she said, trying to keep her voice even.

He finally looked at her for what I think is the first time in this entire session.

As he did that, I looked at Alastor with one of the hardest glares I could muster, and the smile on his face faltered.

He gave me a confused look, and I shook my head, looking away from him.

"Oh, I know Miss Dubois. You will be filling in for miss Lilian...that is until we find a proper replacement."

My eyes widened even further.

Did...did they just fucking fire her?

"I-I don't...I don't quite—"

Thomas cut Mindy off, holding up his hand to silence her, "thank you for your service to this station, miss Dubois, but I'd suggest looking for a new occupation. Your skills are no longer needed here."

This time when I looked at Alastor, I'm surprised he didn't burst into flames with the stare I gave him.

He furrowed his brows and sat up slightly, looking away from my eyes.

"Alright! Now that that's settled, Fawn, darling, I'm sure you're aware of your position obligations?"

I opened my mouth to tell him I do not want this position...but Alastor spoke for me.

"She is! And anything she doesn't know, I shall teach her...ok, thank you girls for meeting Thomas and I, we should all probably head home now." He sent me a quick glance, and I glared hard.

He's getting hell when we get home.

We all stood up, Mindy much slower than the rest of us. I looked at her, my eyes softening.

Her legs were shaking slightly, and she looked as if she'd be sick.

I think Thomas read the room, because he cleared his throat and checked his pocket watch, "oho! Would you look at the time..." he chuckled nervously, "looks like I need to run! Buh bye!"

With that he slipped away quickly, leaving just us three. Alastor rounded the desk, approaching Mindy first.

He held his hand out to her, "thank you, for your great work here," he said.

Even I couldn't believe the audacity of that.

She looked at his hand, her glossy eyes slowly rising to his.

Then she just turned on her heel and grabbed her purse, heading to the office door swiftly.

Alastor gave me a confused look and I shook my head disapprovingly, scoffing as I quickly followed after her.

"Mindy! I didn't know, I'm so—" the moment my fingers met her shoulder she spun around and snapped at me.

"Don't!" She hissed, "just don't."

I recoiled, my lips parting slightly. I wasn't shocked, but it did hurt.

Especially when we'd just started to be somewhat friendly.

Oh, Al...you'd better pray to your mother I let you live after tonight.

When she spun back around and left, the office was deathly quiet. My back was to him, and I was tense with anger.

"Sweetheart—"

"Do not speak," I hissed, looking over my shoulder at him, "to me."

His lips sealed tight, and I looked forward again, starting towards the door. I added a few final words so he knows he's not getting off that easily.

"We will talk when we get to the house."