The Banditos

They Approach

As I'm standing by the fire, a group of Banditos approach me. They look at me with a mix of disdain and suspicion. They look around to make sure that Clancy isn't looking before surrounding me.

"Uh... hi?"

The leader of the group, a tall skinny Bandito named Trevor, glares down at me.

"We need to have a talk."

"About what?"

I take a step back, but I bump into a Bandito behind me. I'm literally being surrounded.

Trevor grins coldly, crossing his arms and towering over me. The others behind form a half-circle, trapping me between them.

"We've noticed that you've been hanging around with Clancy a lot recently," he says, "And we have some.. concerns."

"Such as...?"

I squint my eyes from the sun.

Trevor scoffs and rolls his eyes.

"Well, for starters, we don't know much about you," he says, "You just sort of... showed up one day. And now you're best friends with Clancy. We're just wondering if we can trust you."

"I wouldn't be here if you couldn't trust me, dumbass."

I rolled my eyes, looking back towards the food tent to see if Clancy was coming back.

Trevor glares at me, his expression turning a bit more hostile.

"Don't talk to me like that," he snaps, "You're not one of us. You have no idea what it takes to earn our trust."

The other Banditos murmur their agreement, all of them looking at me with... a mixture of distrust and hostility.

"Whatever."

I try to get past them, but they block me from getting to the food tent.

Trevor steps in front of me, blocking my path.

"Not so fast," he says, "We're not done talking to you."

The other Banditos close in, cutting off any escape route. They've got me completely surrounded now.

"What."

I'm clearly annoyed. I can see Clancy through the mesh of the food tent. He's digging through a barrel of apples.

Trevor looks at me for a moment, his expression smug.

"We just want to know what your game is," he says, "Why are you suddenly so buddy-buddy with Clancy? What is it that you want?"

"I don't want anything from you guys. Clancy was nice to me and he seems like the only person who wants to talk to me. I'm taking the opportunity", I sighed.

Man, this guy is annoying.

Trevor sneers and rolls his eyes again.

"Yeah, I bet you want to 'talk' to him all right.."

The other Banditos around me chuckle and jeer, giving each other knowing looks.

"Excuse me?"

What does he think I want?

Trevor grins coldly.

"You heard me," he says, "You're not fooling anyone with that innocent act of yours. We all know what you're really after."

"What do you think I'm after?"

Trevor smirks and leans in a little closer.

"You think we don't notice the way you look at him?" he says, "The way you two are always hanging out together? We're not stupid. We know what's going on here."

"You think I want to get with Clancy, don't you?"

I scoffed.

"That is not what's happening."

Trevor glares at me, a smile on his face.

"Oh really? You expect us to believe that?" he says, "You think we haven't seen the way you two are always looking at each other? You're practically all over him."

"I don't like him like that."

Clancy comes out of the tent, looking for me. His eyes land on me.

His eyes widen as he takes in the scene. I'm surrounded by the other Banditos, and they look like they're having a serious conversation with me. He takes a few steps forward, eyeing them all warily.

"There you are. What took you so long?" I asked.

Clancy looks at me for a moment, his gaze flicking to the other Banditos who are still surrounding me.

"I just wanted to get a good lunch," he says, "What's going on here?"

"Nothing."

The Banditos scoff and glare at me. One of them mutters something under his breath.

Clancy looks at me, clearly not convinced by my answer. He looks at the Banditos around me, his expression growing a little darker.

"Is that so?" he asks, his voice a little lower.

"They seem to think I like you. Like, romantically", I said.

Clancy looks at me for a moment, then glances at the other Banditos, who are all nodding and smirking.

"Ah, I see," he says quietly. There's a hint of amusement in his voice, and his lips quirk up into a small smile.

"Yea. That's it, really."

The other Banditos are looking at me and Clancy, whispering and laughing amongst themselves.

Clancy takes a step closer to me, his expression a little softer now.

"And... do you?" he asks quietly, looking me in the eye.