Chapter 8: "The New Girl"
Marcus and the girl began to head towards the gym in broad daylight. As they got closer she began to feel more anxious. Why had she agreed to follow a stranger across town even if she was desperate? Who's to say he isn't like those guys that just surrounded her.
As her worries began to build up Marcus spoke to her "Calm down, we're almost there.".
For some reason, his voice calmed her down, and she felt as if nothing could go wrong following him. This was because Marcus had left Charm active since before the two had ever even met.
They walked into the same alleyway that Cross' gym was located in and Phoenix began to look at her surroundings. She saw the dark corridor with trash lining the sides. She began to feel apprehensive, and stopped walking. When Marcus noticed this he asked her what was wrong. She responded with,
"Where are we going?" she says hesitantly.
"Cross lives right down this alley, on the far left corner. He's a good guy, and he'll probably let you stay there." Marcus attempts to assure her.
"Is there another way to get there, hopefully more open and visible to the public?" she asked pointing towards the entrance of the alleyway.
"Not that I know of, but I can ask Cross?" Marcus replied.
"Alright, I'll go wait at that bench over there where people can see me." she said walking back into the public view.
Marcus went into the gym and found Cross sitting there with a very annoyed expression on his face.
"You're late, where the hell were you!" Cross yelled at Marcus.
"Uhhh... I saved a girl." he spat out.
Cross began to stare at Marcus with an expression of disbelief. He then smacked Marcus on the back of the head.
"So uh, is there another entrance to this place? She doesn't wanna follow me down the alleyway."
"We have a front door." Cross told Marcus as he pointed towards the front door.
"Oh."
Marcus opened the front door, and saw the girl sitting down on the bench looking away. He called out to her "Hey, we have a front door apparently, come on in!"
The girl turned towards Marcus and walked into the building with caution. She looked around the room and saw what looked like a boxing gym. There were sandbags strung up, a ring in the center of the room, an a few doors lining the back of the building.
"..." The girl stayed silent as she examined her surroundings. Cross began to stare at her with a look of irritation.
"What, not nice enough decor for you 'Princess'? he asked her, his voice full of sarcasm and spite.
"I've been in worse conditions." Phoenix said obviously disgusted with Cross and his attitude.
"Guys, guys, calm down, you've literally just met." Marcus tried to remedy the situation.
"Shut up." they both told Marcus. At least they had one thing in common.
"Okay, Cross. Can she live here?" Marcus asked Cross with no hesitation.
Cross turned towards Marcus and stood there with a blank expression on his face for nearly a minute before uttering a single word. "No."
"Come on man, she doesn't have a place to stay" Marcus quickly tried to reason with him.
"Screw him, I'll go somewhere else then." She said, turning towards the entrance.
"Alright, hold on." Marcus said attempting to stop her. He chased after her as she left the building. When he finally caught up to her he asked her why she had stormed off.
"Hey, why'd you run off? We didn't even have the chance to convince him" Marcus said.
"Are you kidding me, he obviously didn't want me there." she told Marcus, as she continued walking away.
"No, he doesn't have anything against you. He's always like that, I swear!" Marcus tried to assure her.
"Are you sure about that? Is he always that much of an asshole? If he is, I wouldn't want to stay there even if you offered to pay me."
"Well, if you won't stay there, then why don't you stay at my friend Joey's?" Marcus said, desperate to stop her from being on the streets again.
"Joey? Is he an asshole too?". She then turned to Marcus with a grin and told him, "If he isn't then sure, but if he is, I'm out." Phoenix said, giving him an ultimatum...
8:00PM
Marcus and Phoenix arrived at Joey's house. Marcus knocked and Joey answered the door promptly.
"Hey Marcus what's up? Who's this?" Joey said greeting both of them.
"Hey Joey, this is Phoenix, she uh... she's homeless." Marcus said. Hearing this, Phoenix elbowed Marcus and tried to salvage her reputation.
"I'm not Homeless! I was just evicted, and I don't have a place to stay right now." She said with pride.
"That's considered homeless." Marcus retorted.
"Uh, you guys wanna come inside?" Joey offered them with a face full of confusion.
As they entered the house, Phoenix had to stop and admire the interior. It was extremely decorative and obviously cost very much.
"Woah, how much does all of this even cost?" Phoenix asked as she started to freak out.
"It probably cost quite a bit, but it was my parents that did all of that. All I asked for was a computer, but they added those decorations so the house isn't empty." Joey said, as he arrived at the kitchen.
"Are you guys hungry? I've got tons of stuff in here." Joey offered them food.
"No thanks, we're fine, but we wanted to ask you something." Marcus told him.
"Alright, what's up?" Joey asked as he focused on the conversation.
"I was wondering if you'd be willing to take Phoenix in, since she doesn't have anywhere to stay."
"Sure, I've got space." Joey replied without much thought.
"Look, I understand it's sudden, but we can't leave a beautiful girl like her on the streets, so... Wait you're okay with it?"
"Yeah, she can stay here." Joey replied.
Phoenix finally spoke, "Wait, did you just call me beautiful?"
Marcus' face reddened as he recalled what he had said.
"That's besides the point... Phoenix you can stay here for the time being, but give me your number in case anything happens." Marcus said resolutely.
After she had exchanged numbers with her, he told them it was late and he needed to head home.
"Seeya buddy." Joey told him.
""I'd say you've earned yourself a second date Marcus." Phoenix called out to him. She began to chuckle at his embarassment.
Marcus stormed off red as a tomato. He began to drive home when he saw the notification blip in the corner of his vision once again.
Upon opening the notification a large message appeared which read
[Title Obtained: Silver Tongue]
Upon checking the title description Marcus was overjoyed.
[Silver Tongue: Permanently adds a point to charisma, as well as a level to any vocal related skills.]
This effect was even better than the Charm Candy!
Marcus continued driving home, satisfied with his day.
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J0ker
J0ker Sorry for the wait, long chapter today though!
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