Some Nights: Charlie Oliver - o3

When Lexi woke, early evening had fallen. The light coming through the curtains was duller, painting the room in oranges. It was still humid, uncomfortably so. She felt it was even more so. If this was how Havana was all of the time she knew she'd always be in some kind of mood. This kind of heat was suffocating to her.

Trying to quash her annoyance, grumbling as she did so, Lexi pushed herself up from the bed. She ran a hand through her short hair. Even it felt heavy and her bangs stuck a little to her forehead.

Slowly, she pushed herself to her feet. She swayed a little, reaching out for the wooden bed frame. It helped steady her for a moment. She took a few steps around to make sure her legs wouldn't give underneath her. Satisfied that she was fine, she finally walked to the door.

Lexi tested the door knob, twisting it once. The door wasn't locked so she slowly pushed it open. Cautiously, she peeked out. The hall she saw was a bit of a mess. Crates of who knew what were stacked upon each other. She didn't take the time to look over them only catching her attention briefly.

There was no sign of the man who had found her. She wasn't sure of Charlie, wasn't sure if she could trust him. He had showed her a Templar's ring as if that would prove he was an alley. Lexi wasn't about to fall for something so easy, especially if he was really an assassin.

Quietly, she slipped out of the room and closed the door behind her. She was careful as she tugged it shut, the soft click sounding much louder than it should have. She gritted her teeth, sparing a quick glance around. Charlie didn't seem to hear, if he was here in the first place.

Lexi started down the hall, being careful where she stepped. His home was a mess and poorly lit in this evening light. Her foot hit a crate or desk here and there. At one point, some small statue nearly toppled over and she had to reach out quickly to grab it.

It seemed to be that noise that finally drew his attention. "Now, where do you think you're going little poppet?" His voice rang out. Lexi flinched, turning to him. The young blond folded his arms over his chest as he smirked at her.

Her eyes narrowed to the floor, annoyance welling up in her. His home wasn't big so the sound obviously carried around. She might not have thought this through well enough as it was. She didn't really know Havana nor did she have anywhere to go.

"Well," she started, hesitance in her tone, "I was going to run off...but I suppose that's no longer going to happen. It's not like I know much about this place as it is."

He scoffed loudly as if he wanted her to hear it. Whether it was out of amusement on her attempt or something else, she could only assume. She knew nothing of Charlie other than his over confident attitude. That was already starting to drive her up a wall.

"Now that wasn't very smart, luv," he started. He took a couple of steps forward, motioning toward her. Lexi tried not to move back but she desperately wanted to. "You don't know what might be out there. There are plenty of brutes willin' to take advantage of a lost lady."

Lexi lifted her head a little, a hard frown tugging at her lips. She was stubborn enough not to admit that he was right in a way. He beamed at her as if a little proud of himself as well. She couldn't stand the look on his face knowing it was a matter of being cocky.

"I expected something against that, poppet," he started, "no rebuttal?"

Lexi scoffed in response, turning away. She started to pace, ignoring the pain that shot in her knee. The humidity was not doing her any favors right now. In fact, it made the pain worse. If Charlie thought of anything on it, he didn't move to stop her.

"You look like a caged beast, poppet. That's unbecoming of a lady." he taunted lightly.

Lexi paused, glancing up at him again. She shook her head, annoyance washing over her before she spoke up again, "you're taking way too much satisfaction from this. That's kind of creepy."

Why he did this, she couldn't imagine. Whatever it was, it was leaving her nerves shot. She was in an unfamiliar place, an era she knew very little about. If he was taking amusement out of it, that only made things all the worse for her.

"Look, I don't know what you're up to," she started, pointing at the man before her. He lifted his hands, backing up slightly. His posture still showed his amusement however. "But you better lay off me, you hear? I don't trust you, do you understand me?"

Charlie studied her for a long moment. The grin had yet to leave his lips and she had her doubts that it would ever leave. He shook his head a moment afterward. "Now poppet," he replied, "you aren't calling the shots here. As much as I hate to say it, I've got people I answer to around here. So for now, I have to have you sit tight. Until I can get a meeting in with the Grand Master, I have to keep you safe."

Lexi felt herself tense, inhaling deeply. It was the most she could do to calm herself down. There was so much running through her mind. Closing her eyes, she placed a hand on her forehead and rubbed it.

"You're doing a mighty fine job then," she replied, "already riding on my case and acting so proud about it. And I'm supposed to be staying here with you?"

Charlie shrugged lightly at that, his hands fall back to his sides. From the looks of it, that was exactly the case. Lexi hated the thought of that. She'd be stuck with him for who knew how long until she met with the Grand Master. At least now she knew that it was entirely possible he was a Templar. She still didn't extend too much trust to him however.

"Come on, luv. Don't look so glum," he prodded. He stepped forward, extending a hand, "I'm not so bad, and I'm actually charming when you get to know me."

Lexi watched him for a moment. That cheeky grin never left his lips. In fact, he seemed quite content in smiling and acting friendly. If this was his typical personality or something else, she couldn't tell. She didn't know him at all. She'd be spending days with him that would obviously change. Still, she didn't believe they would be pleasant.

She reached out, carefully pushing his hand away. His smile slipped a little bit though he shrugged in response. "I told you," she said, "I don't exactly trust you. Maybe you'll just have to go about earning that trust."

Charlie stepped back, letting his hand fall back to his side. It hung there for a long moment. He started moving around his home though didn't do much, only shoving a few things out of the way. With that done, he sat down on the nearby couch without a second glance her way.

"Alright poppet," he said, kicking his feet up on the desk. Something nearly tottered off of it though she didn't know what it was. Charlie hadn't expressed much concern about it. "Then that's a bit of a challenge. I'm not one to deny challenges. So I suppose I'll just have to go about 'earning your trust."

Lexi huffed, glancing away. She folded her arms against her chest, trying not to worry. There was too much swirling in her head to be worried about this kind of stuff. Charlie acted as if it was some kind of game.

"Lighten up, sit down!" he urged, "Not like you're going to be sleepin' at all tonight. You were out the entire day."

Eventually, Lexi heaved a sigh and sat down in a nearby chair. There wasn't much to look at in here. It was steadily getting darker as well which made things harder to see. She tried to relax but wasn't accomplishing that. Her leg bobbed up and down in her anxiousness. Across the small room, she heard Charlie sigh.

"You're a handful already," he pointed out, "in the coming weeks; maybe we'll walk around Havana. For the time being, you'll just have to sit tight."

Lexi wasn't pleased with the thought. She only spared the briefest glances toward him before looking away. For all she knew the promises were empty ones. It was hard to trust him or believe what he said. It was too much of a risk, paranoid as she was.

Despite any prodding Charlie did as the evening wore on, Lexi ignored him. Her thoughts were clouded as it was and she was worried. Her sleep would be fitful and the coming days would be worse. A foul mood would follow; one Charlie was probably unprepared for.

She decided that she would have to deal it for the time being. Until she could speak with the Grand Master and figure out what would be done, she couldn't really do much. She could only sit and wait in her anxiousness. That much, she would have trouble handling.