CHANGES [eric matthews]

Pilot

↳CHAPTER 1.1
Pilot.
✩
『 "Beckett Hunter is an idiot"』
〉〉〉〉

"I CHALLENGE THEE..to a duel.. to. The. Death!" Demanded Beckett, who had her foot propped up on her dad's La-Z-Boy. Her left hand was set on her hip while her other held a cardboard sword into the air triumphantly.

"I accept your challenge, scallop." A smaller boy named Shawn called from his position on top of the kitchen counter. Beckett tried not to laugh, whispering as she broke character,

"It's scoundrel."

"Oh! Uh, I accept your challenge, scoundrel." He corrected himself, earning a curt nod from his greatest competitor—his older sister.

The two slowly sauntered over to each other to meet in the middle of the room, before abruptly turning to meet back to back. They counted to ten as they moved across the tiny room that acted as their makeshift battlefield.

"Ready?"

"Ready."

"Charge!" Beckett yelled, causing a battle cry to erupt from Shawn's lips. They ran at each other, their 'swords' clashing. They both wore pillowcases and duck tape as capes, showing off their personas they had created. Shawn was named 'Lord McButtface', while Beckett settled for the much classier 'Sir Lancelot'. Sure, he was already a character but knowing Shawn, he definitely wasn't aware.

"Sir Lancelot!" Shawn shouted mid-battle as their swords collided, "Your mustache seems to be smeared!"

Gullible, Beckett quickly reached a hand up to her upper lip, where she had drawn on a sharpie mustache. Sure enough, it all came off on her hand.

She barely had any time to react as Shawn swooped in and latched onto her legs, tackling the older girl to the ground with a thud. She yelled in protest as he tried to pin her down, his small size making it difficult to do so. The girl flipped him over onto his stomach and threw an arm behind his back,

"You tried to trick me!" She laughed in disbelief as the boy struggled. "I'm so proud."

"I was telling the truth! Help!" He yelled to no one in particular. "I yield! I yield!"

Beckett rolled her eyes playfully and let go. The two sat in silence for a moment as they collected their breaths, though the older girl was having a hard time as the sharpie fumes went up her nose.

"I totally won." She said after a beat, stretching her limbs. Shawn only shook his head as he stood up to go to the window. He peeked through the blinds and his eyes scanned their home, the Pink Flamingo trailer park.

Beckett felt her heart drop at the sight, feeling like an absolute idiot. He was searching for their parents. It was 9pm on a Tuesday night and they still weren't home. She had offered to play fight with her brother in efforts to distract him, but clearly it had failed.

She sighed and grabbed wet wipes off the counter, wiping the mustache off her face before calling out, "hey, come here."

Shawn's body turned before his head, his little face etched with concern as he took one last glance around. When he finally turned, Beckett was holding out an orange popsicle and he gladly took it. He loved orange popsicles.

It would be a lie if Beckett claimed she didn't care about her brother. He was her world, her only cling to reality. It broke her heart a little when she remembered he was entering high school next year.

Most kids at this age would consider playing pretend with their older sister weird, but not Shawn. there was this everlasting innocence about him that he clung to when he was around her. He felt so much more naive than her and let her take the burden of their home life, though on the inside he knew it was selfish. He wanted to be there for her like she had always been for him, but she was too closed off.