Max met the girls in front of the movie theater and bar a little before sunset. The neon lights of Pentagram City reflected off the wet pavement, casting colorful glows across the street.
Millie, Bee, Poppi, and Verosika were already waiting for him.
Millie wore a casual red jacket over a black dress, looking comfortable yet surprisingly elegant. Verosika had chosen something more fashionable, a dark outfit that fit her celebrity image perfectly. Poppi looked relaxed but beautiful as always, while Bee somehow managed to look both casual and expensive at the same time.
Max smiled as he approached them.
"You all look gorgeous, as you always do," he said.
He greeted each of them with a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek.
Verosika grinned.
"Someone's getting smoother."
"I've been practicing," Max replied.
Millie laughed.
"Thanks, hun. Now what are we gonna watch?"
Max looked up at the theater's massive sign.
"Hmm. No clue yet."
He glanced around the lobby.
"Actually, I don't see anyone selling tickets or working concessions. Hope this place wasn't bought out by the Vees. It's about the only movie studio left in Hell that isn't owned by those assholes."
Bee laughed and waved a hand dismissively.
"Oh, don't worry about that. I bought the entire place for the day."
Everyone stared at her.
"You what?"
Bee shrugged.
"Private date. Free service. No annoying fans. No suck-ups. No paparazzi. No demons trying to flirt with my boyfriend."
"Fair enough," Max admitted.
Verosika crossed her arms.
"I was honestly planning to do the same thing."
Everyone looked at her.
"What?"
She rolled her eyes.
"Ever since I stopped leaning into the more... intimate side of my career, my music's been selling like crazy. But every time I go somewhere public, somebody wants an autograph or wants to hit on me."
She pointed at Max.
"And if I'm on a date, I'd rather spend time with him than spend three hours telling strangers to leave me alone."
"Fair point," Max said.
Poppi looked up at the movie listings.
"Ooh, how about Scary Movie?"
Millie raised an eyebrow.
"I'm not really into horror."
"That's because you're usually the one causing it," Verosika said.
Everyone laughed.
Max nodded.
"Scary Movie isn't really horror anyway. It's more of a comedy making fun of horror movies."
He smirked.
"Honestly, I'm curious how Hell remade it."
The girls agreed.
A few minutes later they entered the massive private theater.
Without other customers around, they practically treated the place like their own living room.
They loaded up on snacks, drinks, candy, popcorn, alcohol, and enough weed gummies to put most demons on the floor.
Max headed up to the projection booth to get everything started.
The equipment was surprisingly old-fashioned.
"How is this place still using this stuff?" he muttered.
A few minutes later he finally got the movie queued up.
As he finished the final settings and glanced through the booth window, he froze.
The girls were literally moving the seats.
Not rearranging them.
Removing them.
Several rows had already been ripped out entirely.
Max stared.
"What the hell..."
Bee was carrying entire rows under one arm.
Millie was helping throw them aside.
Verosika was directing traffic.
Poppi looked way too enthusiastic about destroying theater property.
Max sighed.
"I guess when you're rich enough, rules become suggestions."
The previews began playing.
He headed downstairs.
When he entered the theater proper, nearly half the seating area was gone.
"Where exactly are we supposed to sit?" he asked.
Bee grinned.
"Glad you asked."
The Sin of Gluttony suddenly expanded.
Her body grew larger and larger until she occupied a huge portion of the theater floor. Her fluffy fur expanded with her, creating what was essentially the world's largest living beanbag chair.
The girls immediately cheered.
Bee laid back comfortably.
"You four are sitting on me."
Max blinked.
"What?"
Bee pointed at him.
"My only condition is that every ten minutes you feed me gummies and alcohol."
"That's your price?"
"Absolutely."
"Deal."
Bee laughed triumphantly.
Using all four of her arms, she gently picked everyone up.
Verosika claimed Max's left side immediately.
Poppi took the right.
Millie stretched out comfortably across his chest, using him as a pillow.
Meanwhile Bee's enormous fluffy stomach served as a couch for everyone.
Max couldn't deny it was ridiculously comfortable.
The fur was softer than any blanket he had ever felt.
"This is absurd," he said.
"I know," Bee replied proudly.
"And it's awesome."
The lights dimmed.
The final advertisements ended.
The movie began.
For a while nobody paid attention to anything except the screen.
Then the alcohol started kicking in.
Millie laughed so hard during one scene she nearly rolled off Bee.
Verosika kept making sarcastic commentary.
Poppi threw popcorn whenever somebody said something stupid.
Bee somehow managed to eat an entire bucket of popcorn every fifteen minutes.
Max faithfully kept supplying gummies and drinks whenever requested.
The theater echoed with laughter.
For once there were no exterminations to worry about.
No Overlord politics.
No dangerous enemies.
No contracts.
No threats.
Just a movie, good food, and people he genuinely cared about.
As Bee's massive tail lazily curled around everyone like a blanket, Max found himself smiling.
For all the chaos his life had become, moments like this made it worth it.
Even if tomorrow brought another disaster, tonight was perfect.