𝙁𝙊𝙊𝙇𝙎 𝙂𝙊𝙇𝘿 @rvmington - Tumblr Blog

— PIPER .

“and how am i supposed to know that you’re not?” piper replies simply with an almost innocent cock of her head, brow arched challengingly for a moment before she’s adding, “i don’t know you trip. and i don’t know anything about you either. not really.” piper shrugs then, straightening as she studies trip thoughtfully for a few moments before she’s raising a finger to point at him as she says, “i’ll tell you what i do know though!”

“i know that every word that comes out of your mouth kinda feels off. just like you. everything about you kinda feels off, trip.” piper arches a brow at trip pointedly. “which could mean that you’re just kind of weird.” piper says nonchalantly, before her eyes darken as she continues. “but it could also mean that you’re a fucking liar. and that’s my guess. because i hate liars, and trip, now that we’re clearing the air, i gotta say i never really liked you either. coincidence?” piper shrugs. “maybe. but when you add it up with all the other little coincidences it looks pretty damning, honey.”

piper begins to tick said coincidences off on her fingers. “you, a guy from a literal town of criminals, practically beg half of us to let you join the group. you tag along for a little bit, and then suddenly for the first time ever we’re the ones getting robbed?” piper frowns for a moment, pretending to be puzzled as she says, “combining that with the filthy liar bit… it kind of sounds like you got us to bring you along so that you and your cowboy country friends could clean us out when we least expected it… and maybe you’re sticking around to see if you can get another chance?” piper perks up then, artificially cheerful as she asks, “how am i doing? have i hit it on the money yet?”

her little monologue has his stomach tying in knots. when trip had decided to link up with the bandits by any means necessary, he’d thought it would be a piece of cake. sure, they’ve been breezing their way through stick-ups, but he’s had his hands in this business since puberty. yet here he is, looking like a fucking fool, totally at a loss as to what had happened. and, for once, completely innocent of the crimes he’s being accused of. frankly, it’s embarrassing.

“ okay, first of all, i’m not from that fucking town. i’m from connecticut, not that you’ve cared enough to ask, ” he huffs, as offended by the accusation as his alter ego would likely be. “ second of all, i wanted to come along because i admired you all, i’ve seen you on the news— i didn’t have the money to leave on my own, and i didn’t want to be stuck there anymore! that’s it! i didn’t concoct some grand plan! ” he can feel himself getting shrill, and he closes his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath.

“ you can literally ask me anything, piper. i have nothing to hide. what do you want, my fucking birth certificate and social security number? a DNA sample? ” he shakes his head, letting out a frustrated puff of air. “ it’s not like you’re gonna believe anything i say, anyway. you just admitted that you’ve had it out for me from the start, even though i’ve done nothing wrong. i don’t even know why i’m arguing with you. you decided it was me as soon as you saw this, didn’t you? ”

#* // ♦︎ — › interactions.#* // ♦︎ interactions — › piper.#hush it was perfect

— LOGAN .

everyone thought trip did it. it was obvious, even if logan had never expressly asked anyone but piper. he was starting to feel his own doubt swell — and to think once he’d been so ready to defend trip’s being here. but every passing minute he sat around in the eerily empty motel room was another minute that chipped away at logan’s assuredness.

maybe trip had set them up. but why — ?

and how — ?

he considered trip carefully before answering, flimsily hoping for an easy giveaway. maybe some abrupt hail mary confession. they should be so fucking lucky. he inhaled slowly, his signature evenness keeping his tone steady, even if he felt the early affects of panic set in.

“looks pretty bad for you, dude.” he said finally. “can’t tell me you don’t see that.”

logan was his best hope in this, and he knew it. he was the one that’d convinced the others to let him come along in the first place— and now he thought trip had promptly turned around and stabbed them in the back.

“ of course it looks bad, ” he hissed, dragging a hand through his hair as he looked around at the mess. “ that’s why i’m freaking out. this wasn’t me. ” he was grasping at straws; desperately, trip tried to think of a way to prove his innocence. if they left him behind, he was fucked. well, he supposed, it was just a different kind of fucked than the one he was currently experiencing.

“ phones, ” he blurted after a moment, as if this was a grand discovery. “ logan, we don’t use phones. how would i have even told someone where we are? sure, they could’ve followed the news for our general location, but... i have no way of telling someone what motel we’re in, or what rooms. ”

#* // ♦︎ — › interactions.#* // ♦︎ interactions — › logan.

@ofxlogan — it had been a shock, to say the least. trip had felt like he was starting to settle in with the bandits ( more or less; piper had yet to warm up to him in any sense ), feeling a little less on edge and more like he could start to fit in, bit by bit. then, of course, a burglary-size wrench had been thrown in the middle of all his plans. it fucking sucked, obviously, but it was something they were all going through together. a bonding experience, even.

until he realized that this... was not the case. not exactly.

his ears burned even when he was in a room with all the bandits at once; they might not have said anything to his face at first, but he could tell what they were thinking about the odd man out. especially piper. fucking piper. in an attempt to do damage control before this could get any worse than it already was, trip sought out who he thought was his greatest ally in the midst of all of this: the man who’d brought him on in the first place.

“ hey, logan? i, uh... can i talk to you? ” he began, trying ( and failing ) not to sound as nervous as he was. “ this, ” he gestured to the general chaos of their rooms, items strewn everywhere. “ wasn’t me. you know that, right? ” he stared at him, expectant. “ right? ”

#* // ♦︎ — › interactions.#* // ♦︎ interactions — › logan.#this is entirely a ramble hello

— PIPER .

( @rvmington· )

Piper was a big believer in subtle plays. Yeah, sure you could just kick a guy in the balls and steal all his money, but tricking him into giving you all his money was more fun sometimes. Sure, it put off the eye catching bit of kicking a guy in the balls until much later, but as her mother always said, you caught more flies with honey than with vinegar. And Piper tried to live by that. She really did.

But that had gotten her almost nowhere with Trip. All that time she spent trying to play nice and figure out exactly what was up with the guy, how he ticked, what her intuition was just screaming at her was wrong, all of it was for nothing. Piper still got burned despite all her caution, and she was pissed about it. And she’s pretty much done hiding it.

So when she approaches Trip her anger is thinly veiled at best, the smile she offers him more of a threat than anything else. “… Where’s my stuff, Trip?” Piper wrinkles her nose with her grin, head tilting almost innocently. “Do you know?” Piper shakes her head then, waving a hand as she says, “Y’know what, forget I asked that. Because I think you do.” Piper arches her brows with a slow nod. “In fact, I know you do.” Piper points to Trip with a manicured nail, almost nonchalant as she says, “So here’s the deal… you tell me where my shit is… “ Piper shrugs, “and I don’t run you over with the van.” Piper arches a brow at Trip expectantly as her hands settle on her hips, knowing her threat isn’t empty and hoping he knows that too. “It’s a good deal, Trip. I think you should take it.”

“ that’s not funny, ” he replies at first, almost offhand, too focused on trying to identify what’s been stolen from him to think too hard about what piper is saying to him. when he looks up from his near-empty duffel bag, he’s caught off guard by the intensity of the look on her face. this isn’t a poorly-timed joke; she seems genuinely angry, and trip can’t figure out for the life of him why it’s being directed at him.

no, that’s not true. he very well knows that they haven’t exactly gotten along ever since he’d joined the group; there’s always been something... off about their conversations. he has to admit, it’s starting to crumble down around him earlier than he’d thought it would. and over something that’s not even his fault.

“ wait— i’m sorry, what? ” he shakes his head, like he’s heard her incorrectly. “ you think i did this? what the fuck, piper? ” for someone who lies and lies and lies again, it’s now that he fumbles: when there’s nothing to tell but the truth. his mouth opens and closes like a fish, his eyes darting between the shitshow of a room they’re standing in and the threatening look on piper’s face. trip blinks at her. blinks again. tries to think of how he can possibly extricate himself from this one before she makes good on her threat. “ don’t tell me you really think i’m stupid enough to stick around after a burglary. ”

#* // ♦︎ — › interactions.#* // ♦︎ interactions — › piper.

— ADRIAN .

@rvmington

the pool to the motel is not exactly the worst he’s ever seen, but it’s teetering on being a war ground of mold and other bacteria adrian wants to avoid. so instead, he just sits on the edge of one of the plastic pool chairs, eyes fixated on the chlorinated water before him as his tendency to get lost in his own thoughts finds him company. it’s not long until one hand feels against the cloth of his sweatpants, searching for the newly purchased carton of marlboro and a folded copy of a book he had found discarded in the saloon days ago.

there’s evidence of past use due to the aged spine of the book, causing adrian to wonder who had been the previous owner of the literature. ever since his impulsive departure from florida, he hasn’t had time to read something out of pure entertainment but it’s not even the words of the author that is drawing his attention. it’s the penmarks etched on the edges of the pages, small annotations that were left as if they were planning something big before they had departed with the book. it’s a puzzle he wants to unmask, and who knows - if it reaps something good, he’ll might event take credit for it.

only illuminated the faint glow of light from the pool, adrian is flipping through the pages in the cool winter night. he’s half expected the rest of the group are asleep in their own beds, but the assumption quickly falls flat when the gate to the pool closes behind him. dry hands move to close the book, adjusting himself and the newly lit cigarette wedged between his lips to welcome the new guest. “- can’t sleep either?”

there’s always an element of restlessness that accompanies a new place. ever since he’d left behind his lumpy, piece-of-shit mattress in his childhood home, nothing had ever quite felt the same. there was always an adjustment period to a new place; learning the noises a new place makes as the building settles, feeling the way your head sinks into a particular pillow. it’s something he knows he’ll have to get over with this new endeavor. there’s no time to learn the intricacies of each new place, after all, when the group stays there no longer than a week, or sometimes only for a night.

all this to say: he can’t sleep.

their motel isn’t exactly top-notch, which isn’t a shock. every minute shift in his bed brings on what feels like a cacophony of creaking springs, and it isn’t long before trip pushes himself up and out of bed. he’s determined to distract himself with a walk, but it’s only after a few minutes that he finds himself drawn by the soft glow of the pool.

as he pushes open the gate, he realizes he’s not alone: reclining languidly in one of the poolside chairs is adrian, his face cast into flickering shadows by the lit end of his cigarette. “ no, i can’t. i’ve never been great at sleeping on the road, ” he says with a sigh, coming to a stop by the edge of the pool. he stares at it for a long moment, as if mesmerized, before turning his head toward adrian. “ what’s that? ” he says, gesturing to the book in his lap. “ research? or just for fun? ”

#* // ♦︎ — › interactions.#* // ♦︎ interactions — › adrian.

— PIPER .

“Oh, good!” Piper responds brightly, eyes alight with excitement that is so close to genuine it’ll probably pass for it. Watching him blink away the flash from her camera probably helps honestly. It’s just amusing enough to give her happiness at the statement that edge of sincerity.

Her eyes crinkle with her smile at his nudge, grin widening as she gives his arm a friendly squeeze in return. “Well, aren’t you a charmer. I feel very special now, baby, you sure now how to sweet talk a girl.” Piper pulls her hand back as she looks up at Trip, gaze deceivingly playful as she says, “we’re definitely gonna have a fun day if you keep up with that. I’m telling you, flattery will get you everywhere.”

Piper frowns at his reaction to the photo, turning it back to herself to look at it curiously even as she says, “oh, honey, if you think I ever have or ever will take an unflattering photo, you’d be wrong. It’s just not gonna happen…” Piper tilts her head as she studies the photograph for another few moments, before shrugging and saying, “but how about you be the start of our little wall of fame anyways, huh?” She shoots Trip another bright smile, eyes warm even as she promptly tucks the photo into her bra. “I’ll get Logan to put you up front and center on the sun visor or something! Prime real estate!”

As aw-shucks as he acts, Trip very well knows that he can sweet talk a girl. This identity is one where he really leans into it: all of the self-assured, easy confidence of someone who’s spent a lifetime getting what he wants. Right now, though, it’s taking all his willpower to pretend to be charmed by a girl. “ What can I say? You make it easy, ” he says, grinning back at her. “ I’ll do my best to keep it up today. I’d hate to disappoint. ” He’s sure she’s used to having men like him wrapped around her finger; he understands how they’d fall. A smile, a squeeze of the bicep, a soft baby dripping from a voice that sounds like honey and wine. It’s dangerous. He’s not stupid enough to fall for it.

“ Well, I can’t disagree with you there, ” he mutters, conceding that point. Regardless of the vibes he gets from Piper, even he can’t disagree that she’s almost unfairly beautiful. It’s a little aggravating. He mirrors the smile she sends him, thinking he’d like to tear the photo to pieces before he lets her pin it up for everyone to see, but it’s already tucked safely away, in a place that is acutely off-limits to retrieve it from. “ That’s... so awesome, ” he says, barely mustering up the enthusiasm to match her own. Before she can try to do something else, Trip changes the subject. “ Well, should we get going? You wanted to explore. ”

#* // ♦︎ — › interactions.#* // ♦︎ interactions — › piper.#joe goldberg gif vibes... just for U

— LOGAN .

There certainly were a lot of trees. Trees and the occasional other car that whizzed by. Logan had gotten used to the monotony by now — but when he’d first left Pensacola he remembered being disappointed that his dreams of seeing the rest of the country had fallen so flat. He imagined Trip was in a similar position now, even if he didn’t know the other’s exact past.

“Slim pickings for sure…” he trailed, peering hard at the faded text in hand. As the bandits had quickly learned, it was a crapshoot whether the atlas was accurate or not. It was a 2014 edition, and one they hadn’t taken very good care of over the weeks they’d been driving. Logan remembered once trying to visit a White Castle on the Florida border, only to find out as they arrived that the chain had gone out of business.

He licked his tongue to turn the page, nodding his head as he eventually landed on something halfway decent. Or at least better than no food at all. “ – Looks like Burger King’s the big winner.” he said, and tossed the atlas aside thoughtlessly to the passenger side floor.

“You’re not vegetarian or nothin’ I hope.”

Trip craned his neck a little, trying to make sense of the atlas splayed out in front of them. It was a little rough around the edges; someone kinder might say it’s just well loved. Still, Trip realized it was definitely easier to let Logan figure it out. He’d never been picky, though he might poke at his inevitably-greasy food a little extra just for the sake of his persona.

“ Nope. Not vegetarian, ” he said, popping the ‘p’. “ Though Burger King has that new Impossible Burger or whatever, don’t they? The vegetarian one. ” He couldn’t imagine where a Burger King was hiding amongst the endless monotony, but if the atlas said it, certainly it must be true. So he settled back into his seat, stretching his legs out as much as possible in his limited space, and tried his best to dodge when Logan tossed the atlas back toward his side of the van.

“ Where are you from, anyways? ” he asked, figuring it was about time for the get to know you part of this ordeal. He hardly knew anything about them, apart from their names and what lip balm Honey favored. It couldn’t hurt to get a few more facts under his belt.

#* // ♦︎ — › interactions.#* // ♦︎ interactions — › logan.

— LOGAN .

“I don’t fall asleep at the wheel.” he said easily, eyes unwavering from the car just ahead of them. This was the pride of his life, and Logan didn’t mean it sarcastically. Becoming the bandits’ getaway driver had given him more direction (no pun intended) than he thought he’d have in his entire life.

With his free hand, he reached over Trip to open the glove box, revealing an assortment of items; not the least of which was a worn down atlas Logan had relieved from one of their many gas station jobs. “We don’t got phones.” he explained swiftly, as he juggled his attention between the road and thumbing through its torn up pages.

He’d gotten good at the multitasking, seeing as the bandits frequently left him to his own devices during their drives. That was how he liked it, generally, but Logan was curious about Trip. The others all passed out in the back was his moment of opportunity to fish for more about the dude, without their added snark.

“ — You hungry?”

He quirked one eyebrow at Logan’s matter-of-fact statement, but he seemed dead serious. Well, if nothing else, that was one less thing he had to worry about; he could constrain his concerns to the moments they were speeding away from clearing out a convenience store.

“ I could eat. ” He crossed his arms over his chest and settled back into his seat ( as much as the Volkswagen would let him, anyway ). Trip considered offering to look at the map for him, but he figured Logan would just shrug him off. He seemed used to managing this responsibility by himself, which made sense. It was his role, after all. Still, he felt a little useless sitting by as he juggled all of this with ease; idly, he wondered if that feeling would translate to his new place amongst the bandits.

Trip squinted at signs as they passed by in the darkness, trying to discern whether any of the displayed options would present them with the golden ticket: open 24 hours. Or just a gas station, really. He could go for some Pringles. “ Is there even anything around here? All I see is trees, trees, and more goddamn trees. ”

#* // ♦︎ — › interactions.#* // ♦︎ interactions — › logan.

— PIPER .

( @rvmington· )

Piper’s arrival is emphasized by a flash from the brand new polaroid camera in her hands, a smile on her lips as she pulls the device down enough to reveal her face to Trip. She pulls out the fresh photo and shakes it idly for a few moments, studying him quietly in the mean time before she’s breaking the silence with a widening of her sweet smile. “Hey there, cowboy country. You busy?” In all honesty, Piper is really only really expecting one answer. After all, what could the new guy be busy with?

“I was thinkin’ about going out exploring a bit. Y’know, taking pictures, making memories… I’ve never been to New York!” Piper adds with a bright surge of excitement that’s mostly real. After all, she really hasn’t been to New York. And exploring really would be exciting. There’s just something… weird about Trip that she can’t put her finger on. And admittedly, it’s a lot of the reason she’s asking him in the first place. “And I figured who better to do it with than you. I mean, I feel like I’m the only one who didn’t really get to know you the night you were recruited.” Piper puts on a pout. “Feelin’ a little left out if I’m honest.” She’s not, but Trip doesn’t have to know that.

With that, Piper’s hand finally stops it’s mindless shaking, finally turning the photo around so she can take a glance at it, only to smile brightly in response. “Oh, would you look at that.” She turns the photo to show it to Trip. “It’s a good one!”

He blinks in displeasure at the spots in his eyes; her greeting makes him feel like he’s been assaulted with a flash-bang grenade. Trip is sure the picture is going to turn out to be something horrific— he hadn’t even managed a smile, unlike Little Miss Pep-In-Her-Step here. Though her question seems innocent enough, if he’s learned anything over the years, it’s that sometimes the most normal-sounding inquiries are the biggest land mines of all. “ Nah, I’m not busy, ” he answers, taking his first careful step into the minefield.

We’re not even in the good part of New York, he thinks, but he’s not about to burst her bubble. Still, he finally conjures up that smile, settling into something he hopes looks easygoing. “ Not to worry, ” he assures her. “ We got plenty of time to get to know each other now, yeah? ” He nudges her, his smile widening. “ Maybe I just had to save best for last. ”

Despite his best efforts, he’s unable to hide his wince at the bewildered yet disgruntled look on his face in the photograph. “ Uh huh. Better put that one in a frame, ” he deadpans. “ Do y’all have a mugshot wall in the van you could put that up on? Get an unflattering one of each of you, to make it fair. ”

#* // ♦︎ — › interactions.#* // ♦︎ interactions — › piper.#live luv fake bitches

— LOGAN .

Lately it seemed like time slowed to a stop when Logan was driving. The Pennsylvania roads had been long stretches of nothingness, and unfortunately New York state was much of the same. He sat, ass practically welded to the driver’s seat, drumming idle fingers up against the steering wheel. Bored as all hell.

Somehow Trip had scored passenger’s seat — a surprise, considering how low he was on the pecking order. Most everyone else was passed out in the back rows as far as Logan could tell, different contortions of body parts overtop others, the seats laid completely flat against the van’s floor.

His stomach growled loudly against the silent car, Logan muttered a quiet ‘fuck’ as he realized just how hungry he’d gotten. Turned out, a diet of chewing tobacco and bubble gum weren’t gonna cut it forever. “ — Pal.” he said aloud, nudging the other with his free hand.

“You awake?”

@rvmington·

It had taken a little while for him to fall asleep, but eventually, the monotony of their surroundings had lulled him off to dreamland: Bumfuck, Pennsylvania’s version of counting sheep. He’d missed their crossover into New York, lost somewhere in the nonsensical dreams conjured up by his tired mind.

This didn’t last. He was jostled into wakefulness by a hand on his shoulder, blinking blearily at the darkness ahead. “ Mm, ” he said eloquently, rubbing his eyes in an attempt to rid them of sleep. It was Logan who’d woken him up, the bandits’ bona fide chauffeur ( in their less exciting moments, at least ). He liked the guy already; despite their rocky start, Logan was the one who’d originally offered to take him along.

“ I am now, ” he managed eventually, letting out a puff of air and wincing. Jesus, he needed a toothbrush. Or a mint. “ Sorry, I meant to, uh— stay awake, keep you company. So you didn’t fall asleep on the road. ” He turned his head towards him, the outline of Logan’s profile highlighted in the soft glow of the headlights. “ Do you need to stop? ”

#* // ♦︎ — › interactions.#* // ♦︎ interactions — › logan.#oof rip