forum Take Me Down To Paradise City (4/4) (OPEN)

Started May 29, 2022 by @CWPoofToxicRush

tune

Frankie bit her lip, wearily glancing over the boy. He seemed harmless enough. "I'm sorry for snapping like that."

"It's no problem, you were probably right too anyway, I bumped into you." He watched her as she talked, looking away before looking back at her.

She nodded a tiny bit, adjusting her grip on her guitar case. I need to find shelter, maybe food-

"Uhm, are you okay miss?" He cast her a soft worried look as she seemed nervous, not to say he wasn't nervous.

Lars raised a brow as he looked at the two kids, just standing there not seeming to notice much else around the. “You shouldn't be here.” he informed them once he was close enough. “A place like this… You two would be robbed blind if you don't pay attention. Not to mention you both look a little young to even get in.” he added with a hint of a smirk, a little impressed at the fact that they somehow did get in.

“Ali…” his sister’s voice rose up beside him. “I don’t think we’ll find a place around here… it’s so crowded, and the alleyways are really sketchy.”
Alister looked down at her, then up at their surroundings. The alleyway they now found themselves in was dark, away from most of the lights and the crowd. There was no one around, at least not yet. Someone might take notice and try to take advantage of them. At least, that was Alister’s thought.
“You’re right… but it’s already so late.” Alister took a breath. “Somewhere quiet, but clean,” he muttered to himself, resolved. “Hang on,” he said to Noel, and she tightened her grip on his arm. He took one last look around them, then plunged into the crowd.

Frankie whirled around to face the person who spoke up behind them, trying not to seem as startled as she was. "Unless they want thrift store clothes, they'd be sorely disappointed." She said, voice even. She had hidden anything with actual value (which wasn't much) in her guitar case, since it was harder for a passerby to get into it without her noticing. She decided not to mention how she got in- in her experience, anyone older than her knowing she climbed through a window was met with consequences she'd rather not face.

He tilted his head to look at the person who approached them, in the middle of there conversation.
"Oh uh- stolen-? I don't think I have anything missing.' He moved to search his person for his valuables before his phone came up missing.
"Shoot! Where's my phone??" He opened his duffle bag digging through it before zipping it closed when he realized it wasn't going to be there.

Lars chuckled at the girl's response, finding it a bit witty, and reached into his pocket. “Took you long enough to notice. And believe it or not, I didn't take this from you, boy. I just took it back. It's a few years too old for me.” he said as he handed the phone back. “Now, either put that and any other valuables somewhere safe or get out of here quick. There's worse than just thieves around here.” he warned

"I can take care of myself." She said sharply, straightening up a little. I think, she added mentally, trying not to let the doubt show.

He exhaled when the guy tossed him his phone, he quickly put it inside his dufflebag underneath all his clothes.
"I'm, I'm not leaving.'

Lars hummed, smirking at the pair’s stance. “Well, then there might be hope for you yet. That attitude gives you a 50/50 chance around here. Keep it up and people will either back off or it could paint a large target on your backs.” he said before catching the attention of someone else in the crowd. “Hey, bring another of my last order to my booth with a pitcher of water and two glasses.” he instructed without waiting for a reply as he turned back to the kids in front of him. “Let's go somewhere a little more private so we can talk.” he offered, gesturing for them to follow him.

He looked at the person in front of him, up and down. He then looked back at Frankie, before moving to follow them after a few seconds. He didn't really have much to loose and he might as well take the opportunity to befriend someone in this chaotic place.
He glanced back at Frankie to see if she was coming as he walked away.

Frankie shrugged a little, trailing after the person. "Who even are you?"

“Call me Lars. Short for Larson, if you're interested.” he answered as he guided the two back to his booth. “And let me guess, you two are runaways, right? Something happened at home and you have no place to go?” he said simply, as that was a pretty typical case around here.

"Why would I confirm something like that? I don't know you." Frankie said, looking around a little.

"Y-yeah..how did you know?" He looked at Lars, "does that happen a lot here?"

“Smart girl.” Lars nodded as he slid into his seat. “But yeah, it happens more than you'd think.” he confirmed the boy's question. “Quite a few people here started out in your situation. Though it's still surprising when you see the variety of different ages and how long some of them stick around.”

Frankie nodded a little, glancing back out at the crowd. It was a mass of people, and if she stared too long, the lights would make her vision blur enough to make it harder to tell where one person ended and the next began.

It was like being stuck in the middle of the ocean. The crowd was dense and noisy, and carried them along like a current. Alister did his best to swim through it, or find an area where people were more spread out. Noel stayed close, clinging to his arm or his waist. It was suffocating, to the point where Alister was starting to become desperate for just a building, any building.
So, when they finally separated from the crowd, he wasn’t looking too hard at any signs or people who were around. He sort of just… crashed into the first door that opened.
Though it was less noisy, there were still quite a few people inside, which made him nervous. He pulled Noel further in, trying to find a more abandoned spot. Maybe an empty closet or something.
“Ali…” his sister’s murmur went unheard. She started pulling him too, back the opposite way. Alister looked down at her, then at their surroundings.
“Oh, shoot. I didn’t realize it was a bar.”
“We should get out of here,” Noel said nervously.
“I don’t know if I can go back out there now…” he sighed. “Maybe we’ll just… find an empty area.”
“Are you sure?”
“No.”
“I like the certainty in that statement.”
They soon found themselves in the back of the establishment, where the least amount of people were. There were a couple people in a booth some distance away, but they seemed to be the only ones. Somewhere behind them was a stairway, next to a door with an ‘Employees Only’ sign on it. Alister walked to the stairway and sat on the steps. Noel followed.
“Maybe we could wait until those guys leave… and then we could sleep in the booth,” she suggested.
Her brother chuckled softly. “Maybe.”

“Smart girl.” Lars nodded as he slid into his seat. “But yeah, it happens more than you'd think.” he confirmed the boy's question. “Quite a few people here started out in your situation. Though it's still surprising when you see the variety of different ages and how long some of them stick around.”

"Oh..that's, that's sad." He frowned, looking around the bar he couldn't help but wonder how many people were in his same situation?
He looked back to Lars, "really?'

“Maybe.” Lars shrugged, following the boy's gaze out to the crowd. “But that's the Underground for ya. Abandoned, ignored, beaten, bruised, but strong enough to fight back. In our own way, of course.” he smirked. “Around here, we don't take shit but dish it out pretty hard. As long as we don't get caught and avoid the police… We're as free as we want to be.”