"When the face of evil occurs there is no turning back."

Martina shifted in her seat with discomfort as the narrator's ominous voice reverberated through the seats of the theater and she straightened up her spine.

Blood drinking, flesh-eating extraterrestrial humanoids weren't at the top of her list when Roman and Harley invited her to the movies this evening, but Martina needed a minute away from her cranky roommate Frankie. Earlier they had an argument about the rent and she was not in the mood to squirm under the weight of Roman's wry grin.

Martina frowned at Roman when she caught him staring, as if hoping to catch a glimpse of the fear filled in her face. The picture faded, draping the theater in darkness before Roman could tease her about it and soon the lights came back on.

As the shuffle of feet filled the theater, Martina turned around and noticed the fear plastered on the faces of those hurrying to escape the rows of seats they'd been confined to for the last hour. Martina didn't blame them. It was a gruesome movie. She wiped her sweaty palms on her jeans, smearing the leftover buttered popcorn she ate. "That was stupid."

"What?" That was awesome!" Roman negated, high-fiving his step-sister Harley. She joined Roman's enthusiasm for the horror flick by laughing, but inside, Harley hid the fact that the movie terrified her.

Martina stood up from her seat, placed a hand on her hip . "Come on, you expect me to believe that mumbo jumbo? You think Aliens from outer space are going to visit us. That's baloney!" she exclaimed, gesturing to the screen with her free hand.

Roman grinned. "Well, why not? Didn't it frighten you Marti?"

It did, but she wouldn't tell him that. Or that the only reason she agreed to go out with them was to escape Frankie's wrath.

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Marti worked two jobs in order to pay for the apartment she rented with her former boyfriend, Frankie. Martina worked as a waitress in a family restaurant by day and was a radio disc jockey during the weekends. She enjoyed being in parties, where Marti could mingle with people her age. And this is where she met Harley. They met in a bar where Marti was dared to dance with her for a dance contest, and when they won, the two became the best of friends. One kiss just said it all and the two were a match made in heaven.

Marti knew she struggled to find her true identity after she told her parents she was gay. Being their only child, they were devastated to hear the news. They tried to accept her for who she was, but also wanted to prove her wrong by playing matchmaker. In the coming weeks, several boys would come to woo Martina for a date, but she would turn them all down.

However, to appease her parents, she went out with a Casanova. Even though she knew Frankie was eyeing other women from the start, she made an agreement with him where they would remain as platonic partners. 

It was also Martina's way of telling her parents to back off and to leave her alone.

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It was a tale as old as time when the two met. Marti was shattered into pieces once her parents asked her to leave her childhood home when she told them she was in love with Harley, but a handsome Prince Charming came along to sweep her off her feet. It wasn't exactly what Martina wanted, but at the time, she needed someone to comfort her. He saw her crying on a park bench, and couldn't spare to leave the girl with punk hair alone. One thing led to another and her feelings for him wavered, as she kissed him.

Marti knew it was wrong, but she couldn't help herself from touching him, as he was quite cunning with his charms and looks. Confused on what she wanted in a relationship, Marti accepted the fact that she might be straight after all. The news that she had a new boyfriend delighted her parents, but they refused to let their daughter stay  with them as they already rented out her room to their friend without her permission.

After hearing her constant complaints on what her parents did, Frankie couldn't bear to see Marti pout. And that was when Mr. Hot Stuff offered Marti a place to stay in his condo. Frankie was a man who wouldn't take no for an answer, so he gave her an ultimatum despite her constant refusals.

"Listen, babe. Do you want the extra room or stay out in the cold homeless? I don't have all day to wait for your answer!"

Even though Marti hesitated to give her reply, she didn't have any other choice but to agree.

It was a perfect storm, since Marti had to make a decision right on the spot. It was either following the greasy - haired playboy to his abode or sleep alone in the park with the birds. She could have chosen the latter, but snoozing on the park bench felt icky after some bird droppings fell next to where she sat.

Marti disliked the fact that he also called her "Babe", a nickname she swore sounded insincere to her; so she decided to make an outburst of her own.

"I'll accept your offer, you sly Casanova, but do not call me Babe ever again! You got that! I got a name dude and it's Martina. Please learn it!" She sneered as she made her outburst.

She stood up with her hands on her hips causing him to snicker as Frankie learned how Martina was one of a kind.

But she paid the ultimate price with her cocky remark, as Frankie gave her the adjacent empty room next to his and in it, was only a mattress to sleep on. Seeing this, made her facepalm herself.

So much for him being a gentleman!

Thus, if Marti wanted to place new items in that bedroom, she had to get them from her parents, which she despised doing. Despite her rants, her parents allowed her to retrieve her belongings from her old room without haste. They figured that their new tenant didn't have any use for them anyway.

If things couldn't get any worse, Marti's new roommate kept making attempts to lure her into his bedroom, even if she refused his advances.

For the next two months, Marti endured living with Frankie. She wanted to move out, but the cost of housing was expensive, so she had to bear with the racket until she earned enough money.

But things got out of hand one day, that pushed Marti out of the limit.

After taking a shower and wrapping herself in towels, Marti sat down on her bed and pulled her drawers to obtain her clothes. At the exact minute, she heard the doorknob rustle. Marti had a hunch who her unexpected visitor would be. If walls could talk, Frankie probably heard her turn off the water from her bathroom. And as she suspected, the playboy was there for round twenty-three for another fight.

As the door opened, Marti quickly tightened the towels that covered her waist. Fortunately, she used several this time, for she learned Frankie's antics.

Marti turned her head towards the door and saw Frankie's head peeking at her.

"Why, isn't it my cunning neighbor? What brings you here this time, Frankie? Can't stay away from my satirical remarks?"

Frankie laughed at her joke, but he wasn't there for any other reason, but to collect her rent money.

The two had a staring contest for a minute, before Marti broke the pact. She had the inkling that he wouldn't leave until she acted upon it.

"Don't you know how to knock? Can you at least give a girl some privacy? Beat it Buzz!"

Frankie was tired of her crazy remarks, so he decided that if she didn't pay up, he would ask her to move out.

"You do know, you still live under my roof, Martina. And you owe me this month's rent!"

Marti threw a rag at him.

"As soon as I put on some clothes, Buster! Now out, Get out!" She stood up and opened the door for him.

But before Frankie left, he gave her a lecture.

"No need for calling me names, Marti. I'm going! You know where to find me. But I also know you met your new girlfriend, Harley. Her brother saw me at the store today and punched me. He was the one who gave me this black eye." He touched his right eye in order for her to see how bad the bruise was. "You do know I can file charges for that, but I won't. But that's the last straw, Babe. I want you out of here by tomorrow!"

It was a war zone amongst the two, yet Frankie still liked her.

She explained this new problem to Harley and Roman offered to hit the guy again. But Marti laughed at his reply. She would love to see him do that, but knew violence was not the answer.

Her friends offered her to sleep on the couch in their living room, but that was only a temporary option. Marti took it since she didn't know what else to do until she could afford a place of her own.

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Marti would often go out to the cinema with her friends during her free time, but didn't expect that the movie of choice on this day would be about a conspiracy theory of how the Earth would end and Aliens would invade their planet.

But with a title like," Eye of the Principle" Marti couldn't resist going. She felt Hollywood just wanted to scare the wits out of people in order to make some money.

In fact, Marti believed that's what makes the world go round. Greed! Without it, life would be boring.

"Naw, that shit is just a bit of brainwashing in your mind or else Hollywood is messing with us. Anyway, thanks guys for taking me to the movies. It wasn't that bad." Marti smirked even though she knew the guys didn't see her facial expression as they were still laughing.