#pherug

Eris froze the moment she pulled her door open. He had aged, just like her, but his eyes were still the same. "Marcus." She hissed softly. The man smirked. "I think it's time to pay up, mon petit voleur." He practically purred. Just as she thought about slamming the door in his face, his smiled grew vindictive. "I wouldn't want to hurt that pretty little thing you managed to snag. Oh what was his name...oh yes, Phoebus." Eris' eyes narrowed. "You're an insolent fool to think you'd be able to hurt him." Marcus' eyes sparkled at this. "Ah yes, perhaps I would be if I didn't think to not only target you and him, but that little pup you've managed to get as well. My, my what a triangle you've created for yourself mon petit voleur." Eris' grip on the door tightened. "Let's walk shall we?" Marcus said lightly, gesturing with his hand towards outside. "You miss the life I gave you Eris, admit it." And she hated that Marcus was right. "Ten minutes, that's all you'll get for now." She snapped, grabbing her cardigan before following Marcus out of the dorm building and onto a walk path near her dorms.

Pheeb finished up in the gym, saying a quick 'later' to all the other guys on the team that were scattering after practice. By the time he made it back to his room, he didn't think it necessary to shower just yet, practice hadn't been too hard today anyways. He changed out of his practice gear, and shoved his phone into his pocket before exiting the room once more and heading out towards Eris' room. He smiled to himself as he picked one of the flowers along the walkway, and continued on his way to Eris' room. Little did he know what was awaiting him for the night. He rounded the last corner to get to her dorm building and saw Eris walking out with another guy. One he hadn't ever seen around campus before. He tried to casually stroll up, but he knew it was obvious that he wasn't too thrilled by the company, something already seemed, off about him. "Eris, hey. Who's your friend?" He called out, closing the last bit of distance between them all, and offering a faked, kind smile to the other male, and his hand for a handshake. "I'm Phoebus." He chimed, doing his best to seem like the other guy didn't give him a bad vibe.

Dug had stepped outside to clear his head. School was getting hard and he had spent most of his days either practicing, playing in games, taking tests, spending time with Rita, or holed up in his room trying to catch up on work. All of this was wearing him thin and he just wanted it to be break already...although he figured he wouldn't leave to go back to Mr. F. They couldn't swing that kind of money and his home was here now, no matter how much he missed his adopted father, there wasn't anything left for him back in Arizona. He walked along the pathway, not really thinking of where it lead when he glanced up from his thoughts, seeing a familiar building. Eris and Rita's dorm. He figured his break had been long enough and turned back, but stopped when he saw a familiar figure. Eris. And some guy that he definitely hadn't seen around. He couldn't be a friend could he? Eris didn't have friends...she made that clear. But maybe she was trying? Either way it just confused him. Soon enough another joined them, Pheeb. Maybe he was his friend? Only, Dug was close enough to hear Pheeb ask who he was. Dug furrowed his brows but still didn't want to intrude. He wanted to obey Eris's note and keep away from her, but there was no harm in trying to figure out what was going on right? And Pheeb was still his friend. He ran a hand through his hair before sighing and walking over, a little nervous about the whole thing. "Um, hi guys."

Eris nearly cursed under her breath when Pheeb walked up, in all his blissful ignorance. Eris gave him a smile she hoped didn't seem strained. Marcus practically vibrated with vindictive pleasure at Pheeb just walking up to them like this. I bet this was only making his plans go smoother, and Eris didn't have a way to let Pheeb know he need to just...leave and she'd explain later without blowing the situation up right there. Marcus reached out and shook Pheeb's hand, his smirk widening. "I'm Marcus." He said in a clear accent that mirrored her own. "I'm a friend from back home." Eris shot Pheeb a wary look for a split second before schooling her face back to one of coolness. And then as if Eris' heart wasn't already pounding with fear for Pheeb, Dug waltzed up. Marcus' smirk darkened. "Perfect. You both just saved me a whole mess of trouble." He said in that sly purr that Eris grew to hate. "Marcus." Eris said sharply, shooting him her own dark look.

Pheeb shook the other male's hand as he introduced himself as Marcus. Friend, wasn't something he heard often about Eris. She was wonderful, don't get him wrong. But she wasn't exactly the one to keep loads of friends laying around. That was another tip-off. But he didn't let that show on his features. "Nice to meet you." He muttered, stepping back to stand next to Eris just as Dug came over. He took Eris' hand in his, as a bit of a protective thing this time. "Mess of trouble?" Pheeb questioned, raising an eyebrow at the newcomer. He glanced at Eris for a moment before looking back to Marcus. He knew Eris could somewhat take care of herself, but she was his girlfriend, and he couldn't help but be protective as he stood in front of her just a bit.

Dug furrowed his brows, confused at the whole situation. All he knew was that Eris was definitely not friends with him...but he was definitely from her past because he had an accent like hers. Both of them? What did Eris's friend want with both of them? What did they have in common?...Eris. Did he want to meet them? What was his reason for this? He just delved further and further into his own questions. He just glanced over this Marcus person trying to figure out this whole situation, not saying anything until he could actually figure out how he should feel about this. His words had gotten him in trouble before with Eris, he wasn't about to jump to conclusions now and screw that over again.

Eris knew that Pheeb only meant well, only wanted to make sure she was okay when he took her hand, but that gave Marcus all the more ammo against them. Marcus didn't seem to appreciate Pheeb's blatant show of possession over her. Well, Marcus took it as possession, Eris knew Pheeb was simply taking a hold of her hand to remind her that he was here and he wouldn't be scared away, especially by her past. Marcus tsked softly at the confused look on Dug's face. "You see, I killed someone to save Eris' life and now I need her to kill someone to save mine." Eris wanted to snap Marcus' neck for saying what he wanted in front of /them/, her boys, her two knights. "And I'm afraid if she doesn't, well, it won't be very pleasant for the pair of you." He said pleasantly as though this was a conversation that people had on a daily basis.

Pheeb had known from the get go that he didn't like the guy, but as the words left his lips he wanted to strangle him. He wasn't about to let this guy push Eris into doing something just because he needed his ass saved. Chances were, he was the reason he had to save her life in the first place. "So, you think because you saved her life once, you can come waltzing in like you own the god damn place and expect Eris to just, murder someone?" Pheeb practically sneered, if there was one thing that qualified as his downfall, it was that he sometimes got too into protecting the ones he loved. He found the indirect threat to him and Dug a slight bit amusing. As if Pheeb was going to let this maniac hurt him, Eris, or Dug. "Let me make this a bit easier on you. Eris isn't killing anyone for you, and if you even think you're going to get away with it. You'll have to go through me first." He sternly told Marcus, his face as set as writing in stone, and he was sure that he looked pissed. This was not how he wanted to spend the night with Eris. But he was almost thankful he'd caught up to them.

Dug narrowed his eyes at the guy. Who did he think he was? Threatening two people he held extremely close to him even if they had gone through a rough spot. He was sick of people telling him he needed to be protected. That they would ruin him. That he wasn't competent enough to be who he was even through a rough time. They put him so high up on that pedestal that he'd be sure he'd be crushed by the ceiling before someone tainted him or whatever they wanted to call it. He wouldn't have this guy manipulate her, but he had to keep his temper, him blowing up wasn't going to solve anything and he knew it. Eris was his and even more Pheeb's not this Marcus guy's who thought he could have her do his dirty work. God, what was it with the girls he cared for getting involved with these types of guys? He llistened to Pheeb's words, nodding as he spoke before spoke calmly and cooly, "She is not killing anyone, Marcus. She does not owe you a thing."

Eris whirled around and face Pheeb and Dug. A whole slew of unspoken words written across her face. Her voice was dangerously calm as she spoke. "Boys." She said. "Let me handle this please." Marcus beamed at her words behind her. Grabbing Eris by her arm and pulling her towards him. They had no idea what Marcus was capable. They hadn't seen the look in Marcus' eyes when he killed that cop. She had. She knew he wouldn't hesitate to kill Pheeb and Dug if it saved his own neck. So, as he pulled, Eris didn't fight him. Her fingers slipped out of Pheeb's and she looked closed off even.

Pheeb looked at Eris as she turned to face him, he could see her willing him to back off. But it wasn't that easy. He couldn't let her go and do this. He couldn't give her to Marcus willingly. He would lose her, he couldn't. He looked up to Marcus, who had a smug look on his face as Eris told he and Dug that she would take care of it. His free hand clenched into a fist, oh that asshole. How he longed to slam his fist into his face. The way Marcus grabbed Eris was nearly enough to set him off, and he almost held on tighter to her hand as he pulled her to him, but he didn't want to hurt her. "I'm assuming there's no compromising with you?" Pheeb spat through clenched teeth, he was using all his willpower not to punch the guy. "There's no trading her hand for the kill for mine? It'd be nearly the same thing." His teeth remained clenched as he spoke, as did his fist. In his mind he was devising a plan to get Eris away from the sleazeball again so he could take him out. He could take him. He'd even sized him up in his head.

Dug was at the edge of his rope and at any moment he knew he'd do something, explode, yell, snarl, just something because he didn't like this at all. And the way that that flithy human being touched her and pulled her away from them sickened him. He knew that look that Eris gave them. She was shutting off. Shutting off because she thought it was the right thing to do, to kill someone to save the both of them. He couldn't stand there and let her kill someone all because this asshole thought that he was entitled to a little something for doing something actually good and saving her. But Dug saw that now as him having ulterior motives and not because he genuinely liked her and wanted to save her. This guy needed her at some point and someone stood in his way. His eyes narrowing again, all he knew was that he needed to get Eris away from this guy. He sighed, running a hand through his hair, pretending to be calmer than he was and the fact that he wanted to rip this guys head off. "You know he does have a point. You could always get me to do it." God, the thought of him killing someone almost made him want to throw up. "That way, you get an added bonus of tainting something pure." God, he hated calling himself pure but he was trying to get the point across while also trying to think of something to do that wouldn't put Eris or Pheeb in danger.

Eris nearly shouted at the pair of them. Idiots. The pair of them. She swore if Marcus even thought of taking up on either of their offers to kill this person in her place she'd snap his neck for sure and then make sure the idiots learned to never ever offer to do something so violently horrible again. Marcus looked between all of them, his eyes narrowed slightly in thought. Oh fuck. He /was/ thinking about taking up one of them on their offers. "As much as I love to ruin someone's innocence and naive heart and use sheer brawn, the debt lies with Eris, not the pair of you. She must carry out the kill in order to rid herself of this debt." Marcus explain as though it was the most logical thing in the world. "Now, come Eris, say good bye to your dog and then we must go back home."

Pheeb hated the way Marcus talked about it. About how it was Eris' debt to pay, and how that seemed so blatantly obvious. As if he and Dug weren't getting the point. He took a defensive step towards Marcus as he told her to come with him. "She's not your fucking pet." He spat, his temper getting the best of him. This was why he went to punch the punching bag so much, to tame this stupid temper of his. Sometimes he felt like the Hulk. Oh God would it be great to be the Hulk right about now. Just smash Marcus into the ground. He fist squeezed closed tighter. There were so many things he would like to say to the guy threatening to take his girl from him. Tell him how he deserved whoever was after him to get him. But Pheeb knew that no matter how much he hated someone, after Tess, he couldn't fully wish someone dead. He gave Eris a look, one that said 'I'm sorry for what I'm about to do', but also that he wasn't about to give up on her, or run scared. He side stepped just enough so that he could swing and miss Eris. And boy did he swing. He swung his arm, and collided his hand with Marcus' jaw. "And that's only 65% power, asshole." He hissed. "If you think you're getting away with my girlfriend that easily, you're seriously mistaken."

Dug bristled at the word dog. Usually it was fine for people to call him a puppy or a pup or a dog but the way Marcus had said it made him boil over. His protective, angry nature was coming out and if Pheeb hadn't punched him first, Dug would have. He saw the swing and rushed in to pull Eris out of Marcus's grasp as Pheeb spoke and pulled her over a few feet away making sure he could see the fight in case it got bad but she had her back to it. His arms wrapped around her tightly in what was a hug but it was more to keep her with him than have her rush back to Pheeb and get caught in the fight. "Eris. Stay." He growled glancing down at her, arms securely around her pulling her to him in case she decided to resist and break free. "If anyone has a chance of going up against him, its Pheeb. He is strong. He goes at a punching bag more than you know...and he has love on his side. Nothing is a more powerful motivator to win." He glanced down at her before looking back up, gauging the fight going on.

Eris wasn't sure what happened until Dug had her a few feet away from Marcus and Pheeb. Dug's words angered her because she was not some pet. She wasn't a pet to Marcus and she wasn't a pet that could be told to stay by one of her best friends. "Vous les garçons stupides, vous n'avez aucune idée de ce dont il est capable! Laissez-moi m'occuper de ça!" She hissed at Dug, English no longer computing in her brain as she tried to pry his hands off of her. Marcus seemed a little caught off guard by Pheeb's brashness and strength, but while this pesky boy was busy hitting punching bags, Marcus had the street experience. "You're going to regret that." He spat in choppy English. "Arrêtez-le! Je vais le faire, d'accord? Je vais le faire." She yelled at Marcus just as she saw him reach for his gun. Marcus didn't play fair. He would take advantage of the fact that Pheeb only had his hands and exploit that. Marcus stopped, gun barely concealed as he pointed it right at her heart. He looked at Pheeb and Dug. "You move an inch and I'll kill her." Eris' chest heaved in response. "Laissez-les sortir de là, Marcus. Donne-moi jusqu'à ce soir pour comprendre les choses."

Pheeb got ready to swing again, ready to swing harder, to punch harder. He was thankful for Dug, for taking Eris away a bit. He was perceptive though, and though he wanted to punch again, he stopped before he could deliver it as he watched Marcus reach for what he assumed was a gun. At first he thought Marcus was going to shoot him, and he wanted to let it go and punch once more. But then the words left his lips. The gun was pointed at Eris. His heart nearly stopped as he glanced at Eris, he was sure his heart was displayed through his eyes. He couldn't let her go with him, but he couldn't get her shot. He lifted his hands slowly into the air, holding them up in a sort of surrender. "Put the gun away." He breathed. "Marcus, you want Eris to do this for you? You want her to go with you to take care of this thing?" He quizzed, trying to fizzle out his temper. "Let me at least go. I'll keep my distance, I won't interfere. I just want to ensure Eris' safety." He couldn't lose Eris, he couldn't lose her, not after losing Tessa. Especially not with how much more he loved the girl standing in harms way.

Dug furrowed his brows at Eris wailing at him in French. She never slipped into French so this had to be serious. He glanced up at Marcus's words, his grip tightening around Eris as he saw the gun. Thoughts rushing through his head as to how to get her to safety and away from him, he heard Pheeb's words. And maybe Pheeb couldn't do anything and had to stop because he thought there were no other options. But to Dug, there was always an option. He wouldn't stand by and let Marcus take her. Pheeb had done his part. Now it was his turn. He had to get Eris away, if not for himself, for Pheeb. For them. He looked at her apologetically, trying to tell her that this is what he had to do and turned, impeding Eris's path to Marcus. And Marcus's shot at Eris. He was a human shield. "You have to go through me first." No matter how much Eris wailed at him in French and how much she struggled, he'd keep himself between her and the gun.

Eris waited for the gunshot when she felt Dug move around her to shield her. But Marcus hesitated. Perhaps he knew that if he killed Dug or Pheeb right now she'd kill him in a heartbeat. And he wanted to live, that was the whole point of his little trip. Calming slightly with those thoughts Eris gently removed herself from Dug, her hands ghosting over his back in silent thanks as she looked up at him her eyes hard. Her eyes shifted over to Pheeb's and she let her head fall to the side slightly. "Everyone just. Lets take a deep breath before someone gets killed." She said shooting Marcus a glare after the words left her mouth. Marcus only scowled back. "Tell your dogs to back down and then I will. I simply wanted to take you home for a few days, have you repay your debt, and then send you on your merry way." Eris didn't believe a word of it.

Pheeb took the opportunity in the hesitation to rip the gun from Marcus' hand. It felt weird in his hand, but he knew how to use it, that was not to be mistaken. He held it in his hand, looking at Marcus. "I think I'll keep this for now." He breathed, making sure he put the safety on before tucking it into the waist of his pants. "Send her on her merry way?" Pheeb scoffed. "I don't buy that for a second. I don't trust you not to hurt her, or send her back. You want her to murder someone for Christ's sake!" Pheeb looked over to Eris and Dug, before looking back to Marcus. "You better think this through really thoroughly before make a move." He warned.

Dug relaxed at the hands on his back, before turning to see Pheeb with the gun. He couldn't help the small upturn at the corner of his lips at the partial victory. That's what he wanted. To have him get thrown off and for Pheeb to gain the upper hand. "We definitely have no guarantee." He still wasn't letting up, his head was turned but his body was still shielding most of Eris.

Eris saw Marcus turn to look at her, his eyes dark. "Ce n'est pas fini mon petit voleur." He said simply and Eris nodded ever so slightly. Once Marcus had his mind set on something, he was relentless until he accomplished his goal. And right now his goal was her. "Je sais." She said simply before watching Marcus look at Dug, then Pheeb, and finally the gun tucked into Pheeb's pants. "Keep it, you'll need it." He said harshly before disappearing into the night. Once he was safely out of sight, Eris pushed Dug away from her and she punched him in the shoulder, hard. "You idiot!" She shouted at him. Whirling around on Pheeb she just looked at him almost helplessly as her eyes flickered down to the gun tucked into his pants. "You're the biggest idiot between the pair of you." She said unable to move herself to hit him as well.

Pheeb let out a breath he didn't know he was holding as Marcus disappeared. But he knew it wasn't over. Marcus was most likely to come back. He looked over to Dug and Eris just as she punched Dug in the shoulder and moved over to him. He looked down at her, waiting for her to hit him or do anything at all. He laughed a bit at her words. "But you love me." He murmured, wrapping his arms around her. He knew his punch was gonna come in time, but for now he wanted to hold her. She was still here for now, and he was going to keep that. He'd successfully kept Eris safe for the time being, and he would do it a million times. "Now, either I'm staying in your room or you're staying in mine. But I'm not letting you out of my sight for a while." He mused, kissing the top of her head.

Dug watched as Marcus left. He knew it wasn't over, but at least they'd have a plan next time and could keep an eye on her. Dug staggered back a bit at the push not expecting it after Marcus had left and felt a sharp blow to his shoulder. "Ow." He stated, rubbing his arm. That definitely hurt. She was furious. He knew she would be. They all were stubborn and it only made things difficult. He cringed a bit at the word before thinking it over, the adrelaline clouding his mind was now draining away and he just kind of stood there. He /was/ an idiot. He almost died. He almost got shot. His heart was racing and he was freaking out a little. What would've happened? How could he put himself in danger like that? How would Rita feel? Rita....shit. She was going to be upset. He didn't even think about that. His best friend was in trouble and he just acted to get her out of it. His heart was too big for his own good. He sort of looked down in shock. No, it wasn't stupid. He did it for someone he loved. Someone he cared about so incredibly much and he'd never regret it. It just, dawned on him how willingly he'd throw out his life to save any one of Eris or Pheeb or Rita. He looked over at the two of them, and smiled slightly before looking back down again, running his hands through his hair.

Eris wrapped her arms around Pheeb tightly, resting her head into the crook of his shoulder. Glancing over at Dug from Pheeb's arms, Eris shot Dug a sympathetic look. "The first time you have a gun pointed at you is always the worst." She whispered quietly, before shivering from a memory. She was shoken up by how suddenly things went from bad to worse and how close she came to losing both of them. "If either of you die by the time this is all over I will bring you back to life to kill you myself."

Pheeb held her close, sighing a bit. He mouthed a quick thank you to Dug. Though he did worry about the after affects of having a gun pointed at him. "Don't worry. I'm tougher than I look." He mused, giving her a slight squeeze, and he was. He was a lot tougher than he looked. Sometimes he took on that Sulley guy in the gym, and he'd come pretty close to winning the past few times. "No one will be dying any time soon, I promise." He muttered.