Sixx

Common Bonds

When she'd left her house, it hadn't actually occurred to Eros that she had very little to do out here, most of the things she'd needed to do that day having already been done. Still, the clip of her heels against the cold ground were a welcome comfort, the monotonous familiarity of each night strangely relaxing. That was the thing in the South side of the city, nothing ever really changed. Sure, people died, lives moved on, hell, some even made it out of the slum, but even with an influx of people arriving and leaving, it never changed. The attitude of the people was a constant, driving them to prostitution, drug dealing, arms dealing; if you could think of it and it wasn't exactly legal, there was more than likely at least three desperate vagrants selling it. Need someone killed? Done. Need your next fix of a drug? Done. Hell, are you just damn horny? Done. It was a brutal and dirty place, but it never pretended to be anything other than that, and that was exactly the way Eros liked it.

Digging around in her pockets for another cigarette, she glanced around at the street she was on, admittedly having not strayed too far from her own home. On the corner sulked the usual suspects, scantily clad women that were more rib cage than boob offering the little aesthetics they had by wearing pants that were practically knickers and oversized transparent tops, draped over what was essentially just bone. Nothing was left to the imagination, and Eros hated every second of it. Hadn't they any decency? Did the word 'subtly' mean nothing to them? Hell, was that word even within the grasps of their vocabulary? It sure as hell didn't look like it. She shrugged the feeling of disgust creeping up her spine off and turned away from the group, trying her hardest to ignore the obnoxious cackle that seemed to explode from one of the girls, laughing as if one of them had actually managed to say something funny. Another even dared to shout some lazily thought out insult Eros' way, but it was hard to understand someone that had that few teeth, and so all she did in return was blow them a kiss, even bothering to wink just to show how undaunted she was. Continuing on her way down the road, her hand finally clasped around a spare cigarette in her pocket, and she was about to light it when a figure crashed down in front of her, pausing her hand as it twitched against the lighter.

She stood, frozen for a minute, not quite sure what to do. It wasn't often people planted themselves right in front of her, showing a certain amount of courage by even looking her in the eye. Her hands still paused where they were, Eros cocked her head to the right, a look of pure curiosity passing over her features, her head panicking slightly as she tried to figure out how to handle the situation. She wasn't great with new situations, it took her a while to adjust at the best of times, but she'd just have to try.

Unsticking her hands, she finally managed to light the fag, an unsatable tremor running through her right hand, something she hadn't been able to rid herself for some time. Dropping the lighter back into her pocket, she offered the woman in front of her a curious smile, one eyebrow raised as she took a long drag, letting the smoke blow out into the air as she finally spoke, silk tones filling the air, "uh, you okay there sweetie? You seem, how do I put this nicely?" she paused, running her tongue over her teeth as she thought, "frazzled," she finally concluded, gaze not once leaving the petite, black haired woman. She'd caught Eros' attention, that was for sure, because she didn't even see the man observing the pair from a far, and she was usually one to acknowledge (and judge) everything.

Common Bonds

The lid of Eros' zippo closed with a familiar click, taming the red flame within with just one small 'click'. She sat, right leg crossed over her left, as a puff of smoke blew from her mouth into the cold, night air, the cloud of toxic chemicals blending with it's surroundings until it had dissipated completely, leaving no trace it was ever actually there. That's how Eros liked to be, intrusive and toxic, only to disappear minutes later with no signs that she'd even been there in the first place. Unfortunately, however, the only thing she had in common with the smoke was the cigarette it'd come from, as it was currently residing in her hand, placed lazily between two bony fingers as she leaned back in her chair, one eyebrow lazily raised at the guy in front of her. It was a man she knew well - Reed Clarke, in the flesh. Honestly, she had no idea why he was here, but something about him seemed to reek desperation but, then again, that could've just been the cheap cologne he insisted on wearing when he went out to 'pull' girls.

"'ight, I know what you did, and I know that the chances of hearing anything that even sounds like sorry from you is about as likely as pigs hijacking a jet and flying to Mars, but I just wanted you to know that you owe me, bitch. The crap you stole? It's actually worth something to some people because, unlike you, some people do actually care about something other than how they look in the mir-" he was interrupted by a puff of smoke blowing in his face, disrupting his speech for long enough so Eros could stand up, pulling the flimsy nightgown she had on tighter to ensure she wasn't showing skin without intending to. Her face was pulled into a pout, lips painted a bright shade of red in a stark contrast to her almost porcelain skin, as she slowly faced him, a long sigh escaping her lips.

"Reed," she began, pout slowly dropping to form a disappointed frown, "I didn't take anything of yours, no drugs, no nothing, so get the fuck out of here and leave me alone, will ya?" The words fell off her tongue effortlessly, even the dirtiest of words sounding almost velvety. That was the trick, to sound like you meant what you were saying, no matter how big the lie. Sure, maybe she'd stolen some of his stuff, but she'd doubted he'd miss it. Besides, taking a woman's necklace you were sure he'd never wear in his life practically counted as 'nothing', right? She sure as hell thought so. She offered him a small smile, taking another long drag of the cigarette as her gaze lifted to look him in the eye, almost daring him to call her out on the lies.

"I think you forget that I know you, Ero. I know the way you act when you want to pretend you're right, or that you're telling the truth, I know how you pretend to be so very, very confident about absolutely everything, even when you're quaking in your six inch heels; I know you," he replied quickly, the volume of his voice dropping quieter and quieter with every word as one hand stretched out to Eros, pulling at the strings of her nightie to pull her closer to him, not stopping until the pair were uncomfortably close, Reed's breath warm and wet against her neck. His hands somehow moved to her hips, running his fingers along the fabric of the nightie, tracing invisible lines into her skin. "I know you." His gaze lifted to meet hers then, blue eyes meeting green eyes before he leaned in to kiss her, only to be greeted by an eruption pain in his downstairs area, Eros having kneed him in the balls.

"I think you forget that I'm not your whore," was all she said, taking a step away from the figure that had now fallen to the ground, clutching his privates like his life depended on it. Dainty feet deftly walked over to the door, pulling on an oversized black parka to cover her nightie, hands ditching the cigarette to a glass ash tray in favor of the coats pockets. She knew she probably looked like some kind of hooker, but she honestly didn't care. She quickly slipped on a pair of strappy black heels and turned back to look at him, cocky smile spreading over her lips.
"If you find it, you can have it. But if you're still here when I get back, or if I find anything that's not yours missing, I won't hesitate to shoot you in the head, okay?" She purred, grabbing her keys out of the bowl next to the door before slipping out into the night, the door slamming shut behind her. She'd pay for leaving him in there alone, she already knew that, but she wasn't all that bothered - Reed didn't even register when it came to dangerous people in the South. It was time for an evening adventure, she thought, just as long as she didn't accidentally get herself killed along the way.

The Path Ahead

Can we please just talk about:

The Scotsman said
His parents were dead. Not getting kinky at a Motel 8

You're actually freaking hilarious, no joke.

EDIT:

Piqsy said
I'm going to ignore the hideous pun I could make with that last sentence.
It totally wasn't about sugar content

I was thinking the same thing

The Path Ahead

Travesty said
I like Spencer tbh. I like how you wrote about him and his family, which I can totally relate since I get grounded a lot. lol You're doing great really.

Cheers (I was never actually grounded so I wouldn't know).

MST3K 4ever said
LOL...it's fine. The cookies...poisonous? do you have any idea how much it costs to by non-traceable poison these days? I mean wow it...oops i said too much.

*eyes mst3k suspiciously* Please don't kill me with cookies, although, I suppose there are worse ways to go..

Death by cookies actually sounds pretty sweet.

The Path Ahead

MST3K 4ever said
Nice on the pronunciation. I like bringing...cookies and a nice deli tray.

I pronounce it mssteek forever (not that you needed to know).

& please tell me the cookies you bring aren't poisonous because that's not cool

The Path Ahead

Travesty said
Actually I've read mine, may be for the hundredth time already since I posted it, and I didnt feel happy nor bad about it. I mean, I know its not that good, but it wasnt that bad also. I dunno, looking at this great posts from everyone makes me feel like there's still a lot of work I need to do with my writing.

I know what you mean; I when I read everyone else's I was like '...welp, I'm going to have to actually try here', and even then my stupidly short attention span got the better of me. *sigh* Oh well.

You're all fab writers though, just thought I'd put that out there.

The Path Ahead

Do you ever read back your own post just like '....Why?'

EDIT:

Apokalipse said
I can't wait for when the characters all begin to interact

^Seconded!

The Path Ahead

I think they're all pretty accurate, truth be told. Funny, too. ^_^

The Path Ahead

The Scotsman said There was Hannibal, Red Fox, Rosario Dawson, Hit Girl, Rattata, Bandman, and Captain Nixon

...Anyone else playing 'who's who?'

Common Bonds Character sheets

---

Name: Eros Arco
Age: 22
Gender: Female

---

Sexuality: Straight, but she's open to ideas
Race: White American
Position: drug user, but she deals a little on the side.

---

Personality: Eros is one of those people who, according to her, has never, ever done anything wrong. She'd like to think she was the innocent flower, whose life had just not been kind to her and, through a series of unfortunate incidents, she landed up in the slums, but the reality she's more like the serpent underneath. Manipulative yet charming, she's the kind of girl that strongly believes that, not only does the world revolve around her, but literally anything is possible when you have a pretty face. And fortunately enough for her, she's always known she was pretty. If she's not aimlessly trying to double cross you for no other reason than she can, she's actually pretty friendly, and would happily defend those she considers 'friends' as if her life counted on it. Having said that, however, if it came down to it, and she really had to risk her life to save someone else, she'd happily push them under the bus in the name of self preservation. In her head, she always come first. No exceptions.

Appearance: Eros is skinny, unnaturally so, but then again, what can you expect when you spend half your time on drugs that restrict your appetite? Her dirty blonde hair naturally sits half way down her back, but she often finds she can't be bothered dealing with it as it's too curly, and tangles easily, so ties it up in a high ponytail. The little money Eros does actually make goes on keeping herself clean, mainly. It's always been said that, for someone who lives in the slums, she's surprisingly well kept. She can most often be seen in a bright red lipstick to contrast her pale skin and gold toned eyeshadow to highlight her emerald eyes. Some say she spends too much on make up, but it's gotten to the point where she really couldn't care less.

---

History: Born and raised on the North side of the river, Eros' life wasn't always as dirty as it is now. Her parents divorced when she was little and her dad moved out, but that didn't mean her mother couldn't provide for the family sufficiently. It meant she was out a lot though, always busy with work or going on an endless amount of first dates with men that she'd met over the internet. There wasn't enough time in the day to care for a daughter that was just going to school, and so Eros learnt to take care of herself, and ensure that if she couldn't get attention from her mum, she'd make sure she got it from everyone else.

By high school, she almost popular. The friends she'd had were ones she'd gained when she was younger, sticking her claws into the smart kids, the naive kids, anyone that she could twist around her finger by batting her eyelashes and pretending she needed their help. She was under the impression that she could do anything as long as she was pretty, but the obsession with beauty quickly turned toxic. She found herself restricting her eating so she could lose weight, telling her friends she'd already eaten so she could skip meals, hell, even throwing her fingers down her throat to purge her stomach of its contents every once in a while. She didn't see the problem with it, but she also knew she couldn't tell anyone, so she didn't. She kept it secret and kept it hidden, offering the whole world the same smile every day, just as long as she just kept losing weight. She became very secretive, quickly pulling away from the friends she'd gained over the years in favor of her own company, maybe some alcohol every once in a while.

It threw her home life way out of whack. By the time all this had happened, her mother had actually settled down and found a boyfriend, someone that could take care of Eros and her mother, if only Eros thought she needed taking care of. She was determined that she didn't need her mum or her boyfriend anymore, so set in the idea that they didn't really understand what was going on, and couldn't help even if they tried. She just needed a way out, a way to pull away from the few people that actually still gave a crap about her. And that's when she met Reed, part time jackass and full time druggie.

Reed was older, you see. Reed was the kind of guy girls only dreamed of meeting and dating. He was hot, mysterious, and old enough to have a house of his own, who cared if it was on the South side of the city? A house was a house, right? Or, that's what Eros thought anyway. She fell into a toxic relationship with the guy, he'd let her stay if she gave him what he wanted, whenever he wanted it. He introduced her to his 'friends', and it wasn't long until the social pressure drove her to drugs, and lots of them. To put it simply, if you can think of it, Eros probably did it. It didn't take long for her and Reed to fall out, however, as she was too stubborn to do some of the things he wanted, and she'd be damned if someone else told her what to do. So she left and found a place of her own, selling the drugs she didn't actually take to get by. It wasn't a pretty life, but she enjoyed it all the same.
----