Junkyard Bastion

Drastic payments

<Beckett's POV><4:14pm>

Zeriah gave me a look like that genuinely made me nervous. I have no idea what he's gonna pull but it's clear it's not gonna be pleasant.

<Zeriah's POV>

My mind races with everything embarrassing that he could do, or maybe admit to, but one idea really stuck out to me. I whisper in Orions ear and he's snickers, nodding quickly. Beckett uncrosses his arms, looking incredibly confused, slightly scared.

...

"Do I really have to do this?" Beckett stands awkwardly at the front of a barricaded door, arms crossed. "Yes." Orion and I say, almost at the same time. Beckett sighs and he picks up Beetle, putting him on his back. "I'm not mad about giving Beetle a piggyback ride but.."

He looks around, trying to think of anything to say. "You wanted to keep Beetle so you better learn how to act like it's mother."
"But I'm not even a gi-"
"Take care of Beetle." Orion says quickly.
He groans, and trudges over to a seat taped together with duct tape, and he places Beetle down into the makeshift baby seat. Beetle squeaks at Beckett, kicking it's legs. "Be a good beetle, ok?" Magically, Beetle stops flailing.

He walks over to the counter grabbing the mom outfit me and Orion made for him. "Seriously? Flower print?" He holds it up, looking at it with doubt. "You can just put it on over your clothes, but it would lose the magic honestly." Orion waves his hand at Beckett to undress, and Orion turns to winks at me.

This asshole.

Beckett reluctantly starts to undress, and I turn away. Not without catching the muscles he's hidden under his shirt. My face begins to redden, and Orion laughs at me quietly. "Well?" Beckett says, clearly not happy. I look back and I can't help but laugh. Quietly of course. Orion holds onto my arm, covering his mouth as well. "Yeah, very funny." He sneers, walks over to Beetle and pulls out a spoon with a jar of food. "Eat up my child.."

Beetle wriggles around and smacks the food on Beckett's not very good looking dress and he groans. "I'm taking this stupid dress off." He begins to strip it off. "Keep it on." I suddenly speak, mentally unable to see him just throw his clothes on the floor again.
"I already did the dare, let me take it off" he signs to me quickly. I inhale deeply, and I slowly sign back, "Can you do it in the living room?" He gives me a confused look.

I stop signing, and I sigh while rubbing my eyes. "Orion, I'm gonna go back in the attic, you two have fun." Orion grabs my arm, and leans next to me. "Your not going anywhere Zeriah." He keeps hold of my arm and I lean back onto the wall. "Ok fine, I won't." Beckett immediately changes clothes, and I turn away again. "We're all dudes here, it's fine Zeriah." He whispers in my ear. How persistent can he even get?

"I don't wanna make him uncomfortable or anything.." I whisper to him.
"The only uncomfortable one here seems to be you." Orion says, crossing his arms.
"I really don't see why that's a big deal?"
"Cmere real quick." Orion grabs my arm, and tells Beckett to stay with the disgusting monster (Beetle), bringing me to an empty rooming and closing the door behind us.

"Are you too scared to be involved with him again?" He asks me, sitting down next to me.
"What?" He sighs and repeats his question.
"Look, I appreciate that you want us to like, well, I don't know-" I pinch the bridge of my nose, unable to process this dudes eagerness. Can't he realize this isn't some fan fiction where me and Beck just- get together and sing kumbaya while we all hold hands or some shit?
"I don't think you realize how much tension there is between you two.."

Wesley suddenly barges in with Beckett already dressed in his clothes. "The storms getting too severe. We have to move." I uncross my arms and I give Orion a look. "We can talk about this later."

<Orions POV><4:37pm>

We all hurry out the door after grabbing anything we have from the house, and getting on the bikes quickly. We begin to ride out deeper into the north, (Wesley has a compass, how british of him.) And we avoid as much mutants and weird creatures as possible. After around 10 minutes of riding, we finally stumble upon an abandoned mansion.

I hadn't even realized we were in the old suburbs until now. We quickly park our bikes outside (mostly just leaving them on the ground,) and we try to pry open the door, but it wouldn't budge. "You that weak?" Zeriah speaks up to me. "Like you aren't struggling." We begin to pull harder, trying to prove who's definitely the stronger guy here.

Quiet rumbling approaches, but it doesn't sound like thunder. "Y'all, uh.." Beckett looks over where the rumbling is. "Yeah, I think I've gone crazy." He points over to where the noise is, and 5 motorcycles are going towards us. "Does that LOOK like it's fake?" I smack Beckett on the back of his head and he seethes.

The motorcycles approach us more slowly, the bikers halting to a stop in front of the gates of the mansion.

"Open up." Wesley's eyes darken, in annoyance and recognition, catching the eyes of what seems to be the leader.