ok, so this took too long im sorry. here's a picture of charlie and lola (charlies the black one) everyone needs to see them theyre the cutest
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anyways, enjoy this, its the first chapter ive written entirely by myself in a very long time.
right love yous
- M
As the sun set Frank became more antsy. He wasn't used to this; to the everyday life of civilians, the noise of the TV flicking in and out of wave lengths as Mikey tried to get a signal for anything that wasn't Better Living propaganda and Ray's desperate attempts to get the last out of the almost-certainly-illegal milkshake he had bought from a street vender.
The incessant tapping of Ray's nails against the hollow plastic had Frank's head thumping. The short Italian was certain they had a name for this; it had to be some sort of ancient torture technique. Either way, the repeated tap sound was driving its way into Frank's psyche and he wasn't sure how much more of this he could take.
"Fuck!" Mikey's sudden exclamation made Frank squeak. Ray chuckled slightly at the twenty-two year old before he turned to face the blond on the other side of the small apartment's living room. "You're on the news."
That caught Frank's attention.
"He's what?" Ray finally seemed to look worried, his calm exterior cracking. The tall man practically threw himself off of the couch, settling in front of the screen and listening intently to the cut-and-paste news reporter.
Frank could assume that his face all over the TV wouldn't be the best news but by the look on Ray and Mikey's faces that was the understatement of the century. But what could they do about it? Frank was fairly certain there wasn't another army base he could escape to and he had already moved a city over.
"So... What now?" Frank asked, eyes flicking between his new roommates. The two men just looked at each other, seemingly communicating in some sort of telepathic nerd language. Frank was getting really fuckin' sick of always being the youngest.
"Well," Mikey started, looking across at Ray for confirmation. The eldest man nodded at him, pushing his afro from his face. "First of all you're gonna need a makeover." Frank almost chuckled in response - a makeover seemed like the last of their issues at this particular moment in time.
"Oh, you're not joking." Ray raised his eyebrows and lifted himself up from the floor.
"How else are we gonna get out of here and find the killjoys?" Ray smirked and left the room, the sound of his empty milkshake bottle hitting the trash can bottom echoing through the apartment.
"Killjoys?"
•••
All of Mikey's hoodies were too big for Frank but it was the best they could do for the time being. Ray decided shopping wasn't worth the risk until they had at least reached the other side of San José and the change of clothes gave Frank at least a small amount of protection against the watchful eye of the droids littering the city.
The Mojave Desert was their final destination but the prospect of an eight hour journey spent dodging droids and trying to stay under BLI's radar was daunting to say the least. It was Ray who had the idea to source a van from one of his black-market contacts. Having their own vehicle would make the whole journey much easier but that's not to say that getting the van would be easy.
Frank had been dragged down at least four back alleys by now and every turn seemed to make the atmosphere even more tense. Mikey had taken to holding Frank by the elbow, keeping him pushed close to a dirty brick wall at all times.
"Did I really have to be here?" Frank's whisper was sharp, a harsh contrast to the light sound of footprints that had filled the air previously.
"You're our backup, Frankie." Ray sent Frank a quick wink before pushing a half-broken ray gun into his chest. "Sit tight." The two taller men disappeared around the corner and Frank huffed, pressing himself against the grubby wall, out of sight of any prying eyes.
The alley was much darker without Ray's shitty flashlight. Frank had become familiar with the city's usual muggy orange glow so the darkness of the alley was a welcomed change. Natural light, or in this case darkness, had been uncommon ever since BLI took over. They seemed determined to keep everything lit in various shades of yellow and Frank could only assume it was for monitoring reasons. Frank's current situation made the whole idea even more laughable. What good was an illuminated city if the droids couldn't even prevent a black market vehicle trade, arguably the least discreet of all deals.
Frank chuckled and relaxed, feeling the brick against his back. He let the ray gun hang loosely in his hand, arms limp at his sides. There was little point in having it anyway, it wasn't like the droids ever even passed through this section of the city.
Relaxing seemed to be a bad idea as a sudden thud sounded from around the corner. Frank whipped around, gun raised and finger itching to pull the trigger. He could feel his heart racing in his chest and his the sound of blood moving behind his ears drowned out the quiet hum of the city around him.
"Woah, chill out, Frankie." It took him a second but he soon recognised Ray's signature afro and lowered the ray gun once again. Mikey grinned and threw his arm over Frank's shoulder, swaying slightly against the short Italian.
"I take it things went well." Ray grinned and tugged on the chain around his neck, making sure Frank got a good look at the key on the other end of it. All three men smiled at each other and Frank had to stop himself laughing out of pure relief.
