Phoenix: The Risen ✔️

S t r a w b e r r y

The following week everyone was back at school after the short break the weekend provided. Phoenix and Penelope both spent the two days out of the house, although the faun haired girl was with friends while the boy was in the company of people who didn't quite deserve that title.

Penelope frowned as her new friend seemed more withdrawn when she took her seat next to him that morning. His body was turned towards the window, and he didn't even flinch when she's set her bag on the floor. Her mind raced with infinite reasons as to why this might be, especially when she thought that they had made relative progress only a few days prior.

However, what the innocent beauty didn't know, was that Phoenix himself had a head full of thoughts—violent and chaotic they seemed to endlessly collide with one another.

His knee bounced as he replayed the events from Friday night, right after he stormed out of his apartment. The tight, unusual feeling of regret seemed to have him in a chokehold.

"Hey, you new 'round here?" A voice yelled from down the hallway.

Phoenix exhaled from his drag and turned with disinterested eyes, assuming that he was about to be told off for smoking in the hell hole of a building. And the only reason why he was on this floor was because the fucking elevator was out of service.

The guy appeared to be a quite a bit older than him but didn't seem to carry himself that way.

Bloodshot eyes, disheveled clothing, and a mischievous smirk on his lips; the Norwegian guessed that the man was probably much younger that he looked, but whatever drugs he was taking aged him plenty.

"Ya." Phoenix responded after a moment.

The guy rose a hand to point towards the boy's joint, his other arm holding his weight as he leaned against the doorframe.

"Who's your dealer?"

Phoenix rose a brow, his shoulders relaxing a bit given that he didn't mind having this kind of conversation.

"Why?"

"Cause you're smoking shit." The man laughed.

Phoenix's lip twitched upwards in amusement because this guy was absolutely right.

"So what, you know where I can get better?" The boy questioned as he started walking towards him.

"Maybe." He smirked; after a moment he outstretched his hand and Phoenix took it, the two men exchanging a handshake.

"I'm Xan."

"Phoenix." The boy introduced, his eyes briefly skimming over the guy's mop of black hair, facial piercings, and coloured tattoos.

"I can hook you up with some mary j but I'd need you to do something for me first."

The boy furrowed his brows at the offer, uncertainty clouding his mind as this situation triggered déjà vu. It was eerily similar to his circumstances in Norway, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to go down that road again.

"Come on, it's nothing crazy, I'm not asking you to kill somebody." Xan chuckled when he noticed the hesitation. "It's just a short run, is all. Down the street and back. Hey, I'll even chip in a few extra dollars too."

Phoenix's jaw tensed in thought, the proposition making him take another drag from the blunt. Sure, it wasn't the best weed he's had, but it got the job done. Was he really that desperate?

"You usually ask strangers to do drop-offs with you?"

Xan shrugged, his dilated pupils flashing in excitement.

"Not usually, no. But something tells me that this isn't your first go."

The Norwegian exhaled through his nose as he thought a bit more, not offering the man any indication that his presumptions had been right.

He wasn't desperate for weed, no. But he did crave an escape. It'll be something fun for him, a pastime of sorts. It wouldn't get as bad as before; he's in control this time, he wouldn't let it.

Looking back at Xan, Phoenix had his answer, but the man already had a shit eating grin on his face, knowing that he'd got him.

"Fuck" The boy muttered to himself, frustrated with his own stupidity.

Being high for days on end and coming to his senses when the fog had started to fade was unpleasant. Of course, it wasn't just one run; he had done multiple over the course of the weekend.

It wasn't even that he cared that he shouldn't be helping to sell street drugs, or that it was dangerous or anything else that was detrimental to his well-being.

He just knew that his father would lose his absolute shit if he found out that he'd fallen into something like this again. It was going to be yet another thing that he would have to keep hidden.

"Hey...Phoenix" A small voice whispered from his right.

Furrowing his brows as if he'd just realized that he was still in class, the boy turned his head to see who had called him.

Immediately, he was hit by the sweet smell of strawberries and the soft, round eyes of the girl that he'd met last week—Penelope. While he hadn't forgotten about the way her lips felt on his skin, he was surprised to see that she was still talking to him.

"What?" He muttered, and rudely he must admit. It was only a matter of time before she would grow tired of him, lose interest, and move on to someone who was a bit more...palatable.

He would make the decision easy for her, he decided. And he seemed to be quite good at making those.

"I just...I wanted to make sure that you were okay. You seem..."

Phoenix's jaw clenched at the same time his heart jumped. So what, she was concerned about him? And seemingly cared enough to ask...

A strange fluttering in his stomach joined the circus of emotions within him.

Confused at what he was feeling, Phoenix frowned, a defensive tone cutting off her train of thought.

"I seem what?" He clipped, his jaw twitching as he became paranoid that she could somehow read through him.

He wasn't a pussy; all of these feelings were starting to piss him off.

Penelope paused, a flash of hurt reading across her face at his harsh demeanour. She bit her lip and drew her eyebrows together as she shook her head, deciding not to bother him further.

"Never mind."

Phoenix wanted to groan in frustration as the pretty girl turned back to face the short film that was playing in front of the class.

He was usually that short with other people, but she wasn't just some person. The way he reacted around her said otherwise.

Clearly how he'd behaved had upset her and he could tell that she was probably more sensitive than most.

But instead of calling her back to apologize, he sighed and rested his head on the desk, deciding that perhaps his lack of emotional intelligence had been a blessing in disguise.

"I won't hurt her, and she won't hurt me" The boy thought as he closed his eyes.

Yes, that was probably best. Especially since he'd come to accept that he definitely liked the strawberry smelling girl.