"What's going on?" Ward called out to the pair of road men.

"Roads closed. Nobody coming through." the girl said as she stood in the neon green, a large stop sign in her hand.

"Well, can you let just one truck through?" Ward tried to reason with a charming smile, "We just.. we kinda gotta get through today. We got a delivery that-"

"I don't think so. Sinkhole. Massive." she shook her head, standing on Rafes side and looking into the truck.

"I'm really begging you guys. If there's-" Ward began before the man shoved a gun in his face.

"Jesus christ." Aria spoke as she stared.

"Don't do anything stupid." the girl held a knife to Rafes neck before she nodded toward at Aria, "You neither, pretty girl."

"Get out. Easy." Ward encouraged. The man kept the gun on Ward while he pulled Arias door open, making sure she walked before him so his gun was pointing at the pair.

"This is what we're gonna do. You're gonna walk to the sign. You'll put those signs on the side for me. You go to that sign. You got to that sign." the older man spoke as he nodded toward Rafe and Ward. The girl shoved Rafe harshly, grabbing Aria suddenly and holding the knife to her neck.

"Get off of me." Aria tried to get out of her hold, feeling the knife press into her neck.

"Nu uh, pretty girl. I'll cut you." she threatened in her ear while Rafe and Ward moved the two signs on the side of the road.

"Barrel to the side of the road." the man encouraged now as Rafe threw one of the barrels, "Throw another barrel, and i'll blow your damn head off."

Aria struggling in the girls grip again, huffing when the blade pricked the skin of her neck, "Squirmy one, aren't you?"

"Take two steps back. Easy! Get on your knees." the mans husky voice ordered as Rafe and Ward did as told. The girl shoved Aria down onto her knees next to Rafe, keeping her blade near the both of them.

"Who are you?" Ward demanded to know.

"Hand up. Kiss the ground." he demanded the man.

Aria felt the blade nudge her back, a form of anger building up in her stomach as she turned around and grabbed the girls wrist tightly, "You touch me again and I-"

She was cut off by the blade only centimeters from her eye, shutting her mouth as she stayed completely still. Aria swallowed hard.

"I'm the Royal Commission for the redistribution of wealth." the man answered Wards previous question.

"You guys are idiots. Our escorts are right behind us."

"A wise guy, huh?" the girl mocked Rafe.

"My dad covers murders for a living, no one will even know you guys existed if he finds out what you're doing." Aria threatened with her face pressed into the ground. Though she doubted Gage would care on her part, maybe for Ward though.

"We'll see about that one, pretty girl." she mocked her just as bad as she had Rafe.

"Go! Hurry!" the man hollered, confusing the trio pushed onto the ground.

"Sarah!" Ward suddenly yelled, his gaze looking back, "Sarah! You're alive! Baby, you're alive!"

"Don't talk to her! Stay down!" the girl threatened as she left the duo and hurried over toward Ward. Aria looked over at Rafe, his eyes meeting hers as she gave a nod.

Rafe understood her gaze, yanking the gun from out of his shorts and aiming it over toward John B and Sarah, "Hey! Hey!"

The girl knocked the gun out of Rafes hand just as it fired. Aria ran at her with a yell, tackling her to the ground. She didn't have too good of a grip, the taller girl hitting her in the face with the butt of the gun and knocking Aria off of her.

"You're a coward!" Rafe called as Aria stood up, the girl grabbing her again before Rafe took over, yanking Aria back suddenly with the gun pointed at both of them. The truck swerved past them, John B and Sarah taking off with the gold. Arias lip was busted and her nose bled, giving up as she rose her hands under the stare of the gun, "Sarah!"

"Let's get the hell out of here. Let's go, T!" the girl yelled, taking the gun off the pair as her and the older man took off.

Aria scoffed as she spit out blood, watching it splatter on the gravel, "We should do it."

Rafe turned to look at her, their eyes meeting as Arias pupils blew with a minor glare, "We should kill them all."

Aria accepted the slap across the face as she stood behind the police car. After explaining what happened to her dad, he didn't do anything until after he hit her, "And you let them just get away? While you did nothing."

"There was a knife in my back and a gun in my face." Aria glared angrily, her voice rising while her nose twitch of anger, "What the hell did you expect me to do?"

"I thought I found trust you. I though for once you wouldn't screw something up for me." Gage laughed as he paced infront of her, "You're done. I was wrong and it was my mistake."

Aria shrugged, "No."

Gage looked at her with narrow eyes, "What did you say?"

"I said no. That gold is gonna be mine, with or without you." Aria glared with a nod, "Ward may need you here, but they want me. After that, they're not just gonna let me walk free with all I know. Blackmail exist."

Aria let out a minor groan of pain when Gage hit her again, this time with the back of his hand before latching onto her face tightly, "Speak to me like that again, go head, do it."

Aria didn't say anything, her dad pushing her face when he let it go, "That's what I thought."

She'd been use to it by now, but it still hurt her enough to bring a faint gloss to her eyes. When Gage walked off, he left Aria standing behind the cop car. The blue lights flashed across her features, standing in the middle of the street like a lost puppy. She found Rafe easily, Ward thanking the police a few feet away after leaving his son with a horrible pep talk. He looked numb, Rafe, like he was completely strung out and lost. Aria walked over to sit with him on the curb.

"Yo." she nudged him when she sat, "You all right?"

Rafe turned his head toward her but didn't say anything. Aria slapped him on the back a few times, a shitty form of affection but did it anyways, "You know what I think you need? Some molly and eight months of sleep. How's that sound?"

Rafes lips gave the smallest, tiniest of a grin. If Aria wasn't watching so closely she wouldn't have caught it. Rafe suddenly shook his head as he exhaled, "My head, it's like-"

He stopped with a rub to his face, clearly falling into distress.

"What? Did you get hit?" she asked, scanning his head for any form of marks.

"My mind." he corrected himself, his index finger jamming into his skull, "Its like- having all these thoughts and- and I don't know what they mean or if I can control them-"

"Okay, okay." Aria stopped quickly, latching onto his hands tightly. Rafes palms tightening around her knuckled as he gave a shaky breath, "I hear you, a lots going on in that massive forehead you have, yeah?"

Rafe stared at her with a single nod.

"I get it too." she whispered, like it was a massive secret. She felt Rafes hands so tight that both their knuckles were starting to pale.

"Yeah?" he asked her, his breathing some what evening out again, "How do you make it stop?"

Aria shook her head with a shrug, "Whenever I figure it out, you'll be the first to know."

Suddenly, and so unexpectedly, he was leaning in and dropping his head onto her chest. Aria sat still a moment, not expecting it. She couldn't even remember the last time she had any form of physical affection. Except when she rubbed his back in a comforting manor, she remembered Rafe was the last one to give her any form of affection nearly four years ago. She could bet, by the way he clung to her and softened when she rubbed his back, he hadn't gotten much of it either.

"All right, soft ass." she mocked him with a laugh, suddenly feeling weird, "We better get out of here."

"Yeah." Rafe cleared his throat as he stood up with her, glancing her way a second, "Sorry."

"I don't mind." she shook her head as they stared walking back. The blue light flashed and he saw the mark on her lip from Cleo.

"No, like, for being a really shitty friend when your dad got arrested and all that stuff about your family got out." Rafe spoke awkwardly. Aria stoped, turning to look at him oddly, "You needed me and I wasn't there for you."

"I don't need anyone, Rafe." she stared with a stern look his way before she exhaled, "I did want it though."

It was enough for her to accept his apology and enough for him to feel guilty.

•

kylie speaks

fools really leaned
against each other and
went 'yup, we're fixed,
let's kill everyone together
now'

cleo and aria would be POWERFUL IF THEY WERE
ON THE SAME SIDE. love our
girl but she knows damn well
cleo will drag her. now maybe
aria could take on sarah or
kie though, but not cleo.