Big Happy Birthday to Hayley :)) it was just her bday

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J E Y R I

I WASN'T trying to avoid Giovanni but I may have subconsciously kept my distance from him. After what Lucifer said, I couldn't swallow the anxiety that kept building up inside me. I can't wrap my head around his motive. You need to make him fall in love with you. His words echoed in the back of my head throughout the day and I groaned, laying my head down on the counter.

"Wow, it's quiet in here." My head shot up and I smiled as Hayley walked in. She had her hands stuffed in her pockets as she walked in and she held them out as she walked up to me. "Hayleyy!"

She chuckled and pulled me into a hug, "Excuse me, miss. I haven't heard from you since... I don't even remember!"

I smiled sheepishly and scratched my head, "Yeah... about that, I'm sorry."

She shook her head and leaned against the counter, "How have things been here? Where's Melanie?"

"I think she's out with Matteo- I could be wrong. It's... uneventful though. What about you? How's school?"

She pursed her lips and her face dropped. My face frowned up in concern and she snorted, "Just kidding! It's going well. I have to repeat a class- I got a little distracted when things got hectic buut, it's not so bad."

"Oh? How's Sebby?"

She held her hands up to her face and groaned, "Can't you just forget that?"

"Haha, nope."

She stood up and bit her lip, "I haven't seen him in a while actually..." She admitted, her voice trailing off. "I don't expect him to call or anything but- anyway I'm not too focused on that!"

I squinted my eyes at her and she backed up, "What?" She asked, confused. "Is there something on me?"

"Did you guys-"

"No!" She cut me off before I could say anything and her face flushed. "I mean... no."

"Mmh... whatever you say."

"Astarte told me that you and Gio did the dirty-" I laughed, making her pause and she blushed, "W-whaat?"

"We did the dir- Yes, Hayley." I motioned her closer to me and she leaned into me. I whispered a detailed story of what happened and her ears turned red as she listened. She slapped her hand over her mouth and her eyes widened a little, "He choked- Jeyri!"

"Whaat?" I asked, laughing at her reaction and she covered her face. Before she could open her mouth to say anything else, the bell dinged and someone walked in.

"Welcome!" I said, flashing a smile to the man who walked in. Hayley moved behind the counter as he walked up to it and he stayed quiet for a while. Why do I always get the weird customers?

"Which one of you is Jeyri Rae?" He asked, looking up at me from under his hat. I frowned and backed up slightly, holding my hand over Hayley. "Who's asking?"

He was dressed in a casual pair of pants and a t-shirt that looked somewhat faded. He wore a baseball cap over his head that shaded over his face but when his eyes met mine, I felt shivers run down my spine.

He held a gun out in front of my face and Hayley let out a small scream. "I asked a question... which one of you is Jeyri Rae?" He repeated and I inhaled deeply before letting go.

"I am."

•| ⊱✿⊰ |•

He'd dragged me out the shop, leaving Hayley there, and covered my face so I couldn't see where we were heading but the longer he drove, I could feel the ground under us get more uneven.

He pulled the bag off my head as the car pulled to a stop.

We were in the less affluent parts of the city. The walls were covered in graffiti all over and everyone's eyes were on me as I was pulled out of the car. They were all dressed in casual clothes like any normal civilian but visibly armed.

"Keep moving," he demanded, pushing me and I walked forward. There were people from all different backgrounds around here- some of them were kids and even elderly. My face scrunched up as he led me into what looked like a club and the smell of cigarettes and alcohol hit my nose. I followed closely behind him, pushing past the crowds of people. My eyes scanned the room as we moved through it— there was an empty stage at the back of the room and off to the side was a bar.

He pushed me forward into a different room and I stumbled before catching myself. "Wait here," He said, before shutting the door.

What have I got myself dragged into now? Is this some sort of gang? It didn't seem like Gio's Mafia- his place looked classier and his men all dressed in suits. There were no kids or anything of the likes at his place...

I looked around the room and my eyes raked over the desk. There were guns laid there out in the open, small packets filled with a white powder that I can only guess was drugs, and a small pin that looked like... devil horns?

"Sorry to keep you waiting," I heard a familiar voice say. I jumped at the sound and swooped around to face him.

Lucifer.

"Welcome to the Underground!" he said, widening out his arms. When I didn't say anything he stretched his hand out and motioned for me to sit, "Don't be shy, take a seat."

He moved past me and sat behind his desk. He nodded toward the seat when I didn't move and I slid into the chair. "Why am I here?" I asked and he chuckled, "Straight to the point I see. Well... let's not waste any time, hm?"

He cleared his throat and leaned down on his arms. "This is my world. I can see the look in your eyes- I know it isn't as fancy as what Gio has but, I'm sure you've seen it. The people here... we're of all ages, races, nationalities, religions but, we have one thing in common."

"Which is...?"

"We've all come up from nothing. In the world's eyes, we are nothing. Yet a nobody like me has managed to stand alone in the same room with the most powerful men in this city."

"Congratulations. What does that have to do with me?"

"Oh? It has everything to do with you. I told you, didn't I? You will make Giovanni Russo fall in love with you and become his weakness. You will gain his trust and become the one thing he cannot toss aside."

"Why does it have to be me?"

"Hmm, well it doesn't but, he's already taken a liking in you. And in his eyes, you're probably incapable of betraying him."

"Does Astarte know that you-"

"She doesn't know anything," he cut me off, leaning back. "And you will not tell her- or anyone for that matter. I'm doing this for her. You see everyone here? They rely on me. I've saved them from situations you couldn't even begin to imagine... Even her. You have people you want to protect too, don't you? That requires power. You can't protect people as powerless as you are now... Which is why I'm doing all of this."

"Even if he does fall in love with me, how does that give you power? Doesn't working with him give you that as well?"

"Well... To put it simply, no. It's not enough." He chuckled and twirled a pen between his fingers, "So then, are you ready to listen?"

I nodded and he reached for the small bag in front of me and held it out, "I call it the Devil's Whisper. It's a drug that I've produced myself... I'm quite proud of it actually! I've already given about a dozen to Sergio- does that name ring any bells for you?"

"Sebastian's dad...?"

"Good, good. With a small dose, you'll slip into a euphoric state— it'll get you high so that your emotions and senses are both heightened. With this amount, it won't harbor any harmful effects to your body but a larger dosage... that's a different story."

He continued, "Take too much and your mind will start to slip, leaving you in a submissive state. In that way, it's more like a poison than anything- it won't kill you but, You'll just become a shell of who you were- devoid of emotions. It will destroy that part of your brain that allows you to think on your own... you'll become more susceptible to suggestions and even more so, someone could control you as they like. "

Before I could say anything, he cut me off, "I still need to test it..." His lips curved up into a small smirk and he tilted his head, "It would be a shame to see Mr. and Mrs. Rae have that occur to them but, they so happened to be on my evaluation list."

"What?!"

"Oh, but Jeyri, they won't die from it. They'll just become shells of the person they once were. Of course, it'd be a shame if I demanded they do something vile like... Kill each other."

My heart stopped at his words and he laughed, "I'm not that evil."

"What the hell do you want from me?"

"Simple. Give this drug to Gio."

My eyes widened and I looked down at the small bag he'd tossed to me. He wants me to drug Gio? And if I don't then... My parents?

"It isn't a high dosage- he won't lose himself yet-"

"What's wrong with you...?"

"Well, I told you. In this world, everything runs on power. I have both sides dancing around in the palm of my hand... They're all scrambling to defeat each other and I'm throwing both of them into defeat. Soon enough they'll kill each other off and I... will rise from the chaos."

"But my parents have nothing to do with any of this! They don't even know about all of this! Can't you leave them out of it-"

"And that is unfortunate. It's true they, have nothing to do with it... But if you don't want anything to happen to them, you'll do as I say. Look at yourself as you are now, you're powerless, what else can you expect. People like yourself get trampled over, used, and thrown away. That's what he will do with you, that's what the world will do..."

I let out a large sigh and buried my head in my hands. "If it isn't encouraging enough for you, I can add your little friend in as well. Hayley was it?"

My eyes widened and my head shot up, "No!"

He chuckled and leaned back in his chair. "I'm protecting my people from that, what will you do Jeyri... to protect yours?"

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I love Lucifer I'm ngl