Phoenix Drop University- Softmore Year

3: Out at the Pub

"Hey Aph?" Aaron seems to ask out of nowhere the day before classes start. They had already unpacked their stuff and at the moment lounging around doing nothing.

"Yeah? What's up?" Aphmau replies, flipping through the channels on the Tv, humming a jingle to herself.

"Wanna go to the new pub that opened up near campus? I heard the food is pretty good." Aaron says, combing his tail with a pet brush, normally he wouldn't bother, but his tail was starting to look sentient.

"They let a pub open up near campus? With Alcohol? It's almost like they want a baby on campus." She laughs to herself "But yeah, better than sitting here all night."

She grabs her purse and Aaron's arm before sprinting out the door, Aaron is taken aback but lets himself be dragged across the school.

"Do you even know where you're going? And who's driving? Me or you?" Aaron easily makes her stop by planting his feet just a little more firmly on the ground.

"You. And you said near campus right? Should be easy enough to find." She attempts to drag him past the aquarium in the foyer but his feet remain glued to the black tiled floor.

"Okay, you have no idea where you are going and if I'm driving, I'm in charge." He scoops Aphmau up bridal style, she screams at the suddenness of it, and tries to wiggle out of his grasp.

"Hey! I'm not a child! Put me down!" Aaron just laughs and pushes the doors to the outside, and starts making his way to his truck.

"Technically, until your 20th birthday this winter. You are a child." She pouts, but stops trying to struggle out of his arms, he reaches his faded, black pickup truck and gently sits her in the passengers seat.

"My baby girl alright?" He laughs at her as she swats at him playfully, though she came very close to slapping him clean across the face.

He jumps into the drivers side and starts the ignition, it growls and sputters, whines and groans, but it roars to life after a few seconds.

"You really need to get that checked out, it can't be good." Aphmau comments as they pull out of the school parking lot, the truck rumbling around them.

"I did, it needs a new transmission, four cylinder. But that's money I don't have." He cranks up the volume to a particularly heavy metal song, and Aphmau, even though not liking much of the hard rock genre, gently taps her foot to the beat.

"Pub is cheaper than groceries isn't it?" He eyes grow wide as he figures out the true reason her boyfriend brought her out here.

"By about 1000%, I've got enough extra cash for gas and a few meals here, the rest is for rent, textbooks, laundry." They rumble past the dark streets, the lamps not around the school are not very well maintained, and flicker dimly.

"Laundry? Why laundry? We have a washer at home." Aphmau asks, they pull into an old looking building with a neon open sign, three motorbikes and a red Mustang are parked at the front.

"Yeah, I know, but you usually do that and I don't want to ask you to do laundry for me-" He runs his fingers through his hair and laughs nervously, Aphmau almost didn't notice him put on his jacket, or slick his hair back with his hand.

"I'll do your laundry, it's no big deal- Why are making yourself look like an 80's bad boy?" She suddenly asks as he pulls a single cigar out of his pocket.

"And... when did you start smoking?" She hesitantly asks as he lights the end of his cigar with a lighter.

"Babe, its fake. This is just steam, and to answer your question, you'll understand when we get inside." He opens the door for her and swaggers in like he owns the place.

Inside are three guys with leather jackets, all with the initials SK in the back, they ignored Aphmau, but Aaron caught their eye.

"Ah! Sit down you two, so skinny!" A plump, short ginger woman with a hair net and warm brown eyes comes to greet them.

"I'm Harriet, though everyone just calls me Harry." She takes an ink pin out of her hair and takes a flip book out of her apron pocket.

A man sits in the corner, watching them take their order, he is the leader of the Shadow Knights, the gang of this part of town, he seems to recognize Aaron, and Aaron him.

Harry trots away with their order while the man approaches their table, his eyes trained on Aaron.

        "Aye. That's close enough Gene."