Interaction [Dreamnotfound]

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300 reads, pog-

-Cas

It had been a good 20 minutes and Zak was still confused. 

George was still attempting to explain his side of the story, while Darryl seemed annoyed at the fact that George had used his name to break the government rules. Clay, on the other hand, was interrupting every five seconds to offer his opinion on the matter.

Zak's head hurt.

Darryl, sitting next to Zak, curiously asked "Wait, so George, you went to visit Clay because you're his boyfriend?"

George choked on his water, spitting it everywhere and coughing violently. From across the table, Clay began to wheeze.

Darryl stared. "What?"
Clay seemed to be dying, gasping with laughter. George, in between coughs, managed to get out a very loud "NO!"

Zak held back his laughter. Though, he had to admit, George did look kind of cute next to Clay...

"So how do you know each other?" Darryl interrogated. Clay had finally collected himself, and managed to stop laughing, while George was gasping for breath, setting his now empty glass next to the sink behind him.

"George and I used to work together for the government," Clay explained, sneaking a glance at George, whose face was now bright red.

-------------------

George had never felt more embarrassed in his entire life.

He nodded, mutually agreeing with Clay, but lost in his own thoughts. Why the hell had that idiot Darryl thought he and Clay were boyfriends-

He didn't like Clay! He barely even knew him!
Unless...

It didn't matter. George pushed the intrusive thoughts out of his head and turned back to the conversation.

-------------------

"...and then Clay just leaps out and fucking attacks me!" Zak exclaimed.

"Language!"

All heads turned to Darryl, who sat with a stubborn look on his face. "Zak said a naughty word."
There was silence, and then Clay began to wheeze, bending over, unable to contain himself. His laughter was contagious - George caught on, his high pitched voice filling the kitchen.

Zak rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. "Ignore them, Darryl. I'll always love you."
The laughter stopped abruptly. Clay, cautious, asked "Are you two... together?"
Zak's stomach turned over, fear pounding into his chest. He hadn't met many people who were... homophobic, but...

Darryl took the matter into his own hands, replying simply with "yes."

Zak held his breath.

Clay's face broke into a grin. "Epic."

George was smiling too, and Zak allowed himself to relax, his fingers intertwining with Darryl's under the table. He really did love Darryl - they had been together for just over a year, and he was glad to say it had been one of the best years of his life.

Well... until now.

George's face suddenly turned serious. "Guys, where's the cat?"
"Oh, Patches? I wouldn't worry. She wanders a lot, but always comes home by sunset," Clay replied, a nonchalant look on his face.

George couldn't help but stare.

Zak broke the silence. "It... she just wanders around? All day?"
Clay nodded. "Yep."
"But what if she gets lost?" Asked Darryl, concern evident on his face.

Clay grinned. "She's been doing it for years without an issue. I think she's ok."

Zak frowned. "So we didn't have to return her?"
"Nope."
Zak groaned. They could have saved so much time - they could have been in another town by now, at least -

Oh!

Zak leapt to his feet, eyes scanning the table. "Are any of you being tracked?"
Clay stared. "Tracked?"
George shook his head. "I'm not, I coded it out of my band specifically a few days ago."
"Mine doesn't have tracking tech right now, and our brain chips don't work outside of a certain radius around our house," Darryl replied.

Clay looked uncertain. "I mean I guess I'm being tracked... I haven't done anything differently, at least not that I know of..."

George frowned. "I can code it out, I just need a name and a pc - I think mine is dead."
Darryl looked up. "Like, a government name?"
"Yep," George replied.

"Oh, we have one!" Darryl said enthusiastically. "Floris, he's the one who shot me!"
George gaped, then forced his mouth shut. "I- Wonderful. I'll look into that. Clay, do you have a pc I could use?"
Clay nodded. "Zak, are you being tracked?"
Zak shook his head. "I..."
Deciding it would be easier just to show them, he held out his arm, rolling up his sleeve to expose the bandages wrapped around his arm. Darryl inhaled sharply.

"Did the Upturns do that?"
Zak nodded. "It was for a good purpose, though. I don't think they know how to code, so this was the only way they could stop me from being tracked."

Darryl looked concerned. "When did you last change the bandages?"
Zak shook his head. "I don't think I have since they were put on..."
Darryl frowned. "I should take a look at that." He had training in medical services as well as standard coding.

Zak nodded, taking his seat once more. "So we're all good, except for Clay? No way for them to find us?
George nodded confidently.

But not far from them, another was planning.

Floris held out his standard band, which he had briefly released from his wrist in order to utilize. Holding his breath, he started his code for the fifty-fourth time that day.

The wristband flashed, and then began to beep softly. It whirred. Floris waited.

And the wristband stopped.

Floris let out a sigh. Of course it didn't work.

He went back to the code, tweaking a few things. It was a good 10 minutes before he decided he was ready to test it again. He started the code.

Like before, the wristband flashed, beeped, whirred...

And then restarted.

Floris grinned, watching it reactivate. Now, based on the fact that his registered name was "Floris604", the band would supposedly track Floris604, who was him, lock its settings, and be unable to function at all other than displaying his location, unless the direct code Floris was running was changed.

The delay was suspenseful, but the band flashed once more, and then displayed...

His location.

"Yes!" Floris pumped his arm in the air, grinning. It worked! The tracker had successfully identified "Floris's" location, and couldn't be changed unless the code was deactivated. Perfect.

Stepping back to his computer, Floris deactivated the code, and navigated to the top, changing a certain keyword.

The word was "Floris604".

He changed it to "George135".