Dynasty Decapitated

I'd Get On My Knees

((Title from Church by FOB because I'm a Midwest best too!!

-Mel))

"Bible?" Luke throws his head back and stares at the ceiling. "I'm genuinely going to kill myself."

He's bored. Who can blame him? He's going out of his mind with boredom, sitting in his chair in the big, empty warehouse. His legs are spread as far as they'll go, he checks his chipping red nails lazily, then rolls his head over to look at Ashton, curls falling in his face messily. Ashton gives him a murderous look.

"What?" Luke lifts his head a bit so he looks less like a broken doll and blinks.

Ashton somehow manages to glare at him harder. "You're really not going to untie me?" He demands.

The kidnappers hadn't bothered tying Luke up, but they'd told him to sit in the chair and shut up, so that's what he'd been doing. There's no one else in the room, all the guards are outside or in separate rooms off the side of the massive main room of the warehouse. As soon as they'd filmed their video and left, Luke had sat and waited patiently, like something else was going to happen. Ashton hadn't specifically asked to be untied, nor had he shown any major discomfort.

They've been sitting in silence for fifteen minutes.

Luke raises his hand questioningly and purses his lips. "Do you... want me to?"

"Yes!" Ashton just about launches himself out of the plastic lawn chair, but the restraints tying his hands behind his back and his ankles to the legs of the chair stop him. The chair does, however, shift about a foot in Luke's direction. "Yes! Obviously! I've been stuck here for days, Luke! Obviously I want you to untie me!"

"Alright!" Luke holds up his hands innocently. "Jeez, don't bite my head off."

"You're so stupid!" Ashton replies. "Why did they bring you here?! I don't want you here, they couldn't have kidnapped Michael at the very least?!"

Luke scoffs. "Buddy, you're not helping your case."

"Come on!" Ashton makes a frustrated noise and starts squirming in his chair again. Like if he tries to rip his shoulder out of its socket, he'll somehow get out of the ropes holding him.

Luke notices the bags under his eyes and says, "I'm glad that you and Calum respond to the other disappearing in opposite ways. You have too many emotions and he lost all of his."

Ashton visibly droops at that, shoulders falling and eyes growing sad. And,alright, now Luke feels bad. He hadn't meant to make Ashton sad, but it was the truth.

"Is he okay?" Ashton asks gently. "How close is he to finding us? How many of my clues did he find?"

Luke's eyebrows knit together in confusion. "Clues? You left clues?"

"Are you kidding me?!" Ashton tries and fails to leap out of his chair again. The sudden, loud volume of his voice makes Luke jump and shrink back in his chair. "Of course I left clues! I left millions of clues! You haven't found a single fucking one?!"

Luke is hesitant to answer. Ashton looks wild enough to murder him with his bare hands, so Luke isn't too sure he should untie him just yet. He wonders how much sleep Ashton gotten In the past four days. Judging by the bags under his eyes and the wild look glittering along his face, about two hours.

Luke reaches a hand out towards Ashton carefully, like he's protecting himself from a monster. "Um, none? I don't-"

"None?!" Ashton lurches forward again, but the chair decides its had enough abuse for the day and tips sideways, sending him falling sideways and tumbling to the ground. Luke tries to help by pretending that he's going to catch him and then mumbling something under his breath when he doesn't. Ashton lands on the floor sideways and screeches like a fucking banshee, kicking his feet out wildly until one leg breaks loose so he can slam the bottom of his foot into Luke's shin.