beckett wells

“i’m just saying that you shouldn’t point fingers because you don’t know shit about what happened.” roman stepped back towards the door, shaking his head, “fuck you, beckett. have you ever… even once thought about why i did what i did? and i sold fucking pills, not heroin. get off your high horse. arrogance isn’t cute.”

“no one knows shit about what happened and we probably never will so who are you to tell me not to point fingers?” beckett asked calmly. the blonde scoffed and shook his head, “no, I haven’t and, frankly, I don’t wanna know,” he muttered and sighed. honestly he was over the conversation. there was nothing roman could say that would change his mind. “it doesn’t matter. you sold it to my sister who went missing,” he said and shook his head again. “i’m not on a high horse, roman. if I was, I wouldn’t even bother with this conversation. I don’t know what else you want from me,” he shrugged.

“you’re such a fucking asshole, you know that? why are you so quick to blame me? have you ever taken a look in the mirror, beckett? huh?” roman snapped, his voice a little louder than before. he raised an eyebrow, “wait, what the fuck? she seemed…?” he sighed softly, rolling his eyes, “you’re unwilling to listen to reason. you literally treat me like a fucking criminal. it’s rude as fuck.” he just sighed, “i don’t want to be your friend. but i’m not going to continue letting you think i’m a fucking criminal.”

beckett furrowed his brow and he looks at roman. “excuse me? are you suggesting that I had something to do with it?” he asked and laughed, shaking his head, “you’re a moron.” the blonde ignored roman almost catching onto his slip up and shook his head. “all i’m saying is, it could have had something to do with whatever the fuck you gave her,” he shrugged. “you illegally sold drugs, roman. that alone makes you a criminal,” he rolled his eyes and scoffed. “I told you I would be civil. that’s all you’re getting. you won’t change my mind,” he said and crossed his arms over his chest. 

the flirtatious nature of beckett was something that evie had been used to when they were younger, but now? it was almost completely transparent to her. the boy had always been the funny one in the group and here he was, seemingly the same. they’d spent a lot of time together over the years she was friends with kennedy. things were different now. “i’ve been nothing but successful and i’m thriving and i own a fortune 500 book subscription box that tens of thousands of girls around the world subscribe to,” evie teased, winking to match her playful tone. she wanted it to be clear that she did not, in fact, have such a company. one did sponsor her podcast, though. “Peter Pan? That’s so fun!” she smiled, her eyes brightening. it was so nice to hear that he was doing something he felt passionate about. “no worries - it seems like maybe Disney makes you a little happier than lacrosse did,” eveie pointed out. it was an observation in his tone, but she could’ve been wrong. “conquer the world reading one book at a time? unfortunately it takes longer than five years to read your way through the unrest in our universe.”

beckett felt like around evie, he should be the same. he was mostly the same anyway but the added flirtation element was true to how she would remember him. for both of their sakes he felt like that was important. as she spoke, he grinned and laughed, “now that’s what i’m talking about,” he laughed, though he knew she was just joking. the blonde nodded and smiled. “it is fun! I love making all the kids so happy,” he said softly and smiled. beck gave a little nod, “it does, yeah. plus, not as much conditioning,” he laughed and nudged her lightly. he looked at her, propping his arm on his raised knee. “becoming a conqueror takes time but you’ll get there,” he said and smiled. “what took you so long to get here?” he asked curiously.

“ yup, bolsa chica, “ shiloh affirmed. she raised her eyebrows slightly as beckett immediately headed towards his bike, but took the extra helmet he was extending out to her anyway. “ and i’ve been dying to meet her, i guess. – is that weird to say you’ve been dying to meet a motorcycle? “ she laughed as she put on the helmet, slinging her backpack over her shoulders and climbing onto the bike behind beckett. she’d never ridden on a motorcycle before, something her parents had always frowned upon, but it’s something she had always wanted to try. she put her arms around beckett, holding him tightly, almost as if she was afraid she’d go flying off the bike once they got going. “ okay, let’s do this. “

beck grinned as shi took the helmet and put it on. “absolutely not,” he laughed as he put on his own. “holly is more than a motorcycle,” he said with a dramatic flare. he looked up a route to the trail on his phone and sat it in the mount he had on the bike’s small dash. once they were situated, he started up the engine and smiled to himself. feeling shiloh tighten her arms around her, he chuckled. “just let me know if it’s too much,” he told her over the roar of the engine. “hold on tight, chica,” he said playfully and laughed as he revved the engine and took off. he wasn’t going to drive like a maniac, he never did, though beckett did like to stretch holly’s legs and exercise her a bit. he followed the gps, taking a bit of a scenic route so they could cruise a little. it was nice, taking holly out. it had been the first time since he’d been at the house. once they arrived at the head of the trail, he found a place to park and killed the engine. “you alright?” he asked as he pulled off his helmet.

roman groaned softly, tilting his head back and raking his hands over his face. “you think i fucking had something to do with it? that’s a big fucking accusation. i sold her xanax, not illegal guns, beckett! get that shit out of your head. i didn’t do shit to her.” he sighed softly, rolling his eyes, “do i look like i want to be buddy buddy? civil is childish, beckett. especially when i haven’t fucking done anything wrong. don’t be a prick.” it was offensive to him that beckett though he could have something to do with kennedy’s disappearance. roman could never.

beckett looked at the other in a bit of shock. how did roman have the audacity to talk about the circumstances of his sister’s disappearance that way? “guns didn’t make her disappear, roman. no one knows. she could have overdosed or something. it’s unknown because they never fucking found her,” he said, his tone growing more tense. “maybe you didn’t have anything to do with it directly but you still sold her drugs and she seemed pretty out  —” he stopped short and cleared his throat, “that’s what the reports say, anyway.” close call. beck had almost given himself away. “civil is the opposite of childish. I can’t stand you but i’ll calm down enough to be around you if I have to,” he shrugged. “if you want to be anything more than civil, it kind of feels like you want to be friends and, quite frankly, I don’t think I could ever be your friend,” he said, his tone more calm now. 

“am i?” evie asked softly, lithe fingers slipping through the front of her hair. it was something out of a book - meeting all of her friends again, this time as a true adult. “what more do you want to hear, beckett wells?” she asked, a soft smirk tugging at her lips. it easily formed into a grin as he talked about his current life. disney. kennedy would’ve been so proud - possibly even jealous, not that the girl would admit that. “disney is a fantastic gig!” she spoke happily, her face brightening at the thought of him there. “what exactly do you do there? they don’t exactly scream lacrosse to me,” the brunette teased gently, reaching out and softly pushing on his arm. “i’m in arizona these days! just writing and reading and… going to school. doing what you all probably expect i’m doing,” she pointed out. it was mostly true. 

beck gave a charming smile and nodded, “of course you are. always have been,” he hummed with a flirty tone. the guy had always been excessively flirty with evie, though he viewed her solely as a friend. it was just entertaining to watch her get a little flustered, at least back in the day. “I want to hear that you have been nothing but successful and happy and that you are thriving,” he told her, meaning every word. he looked at her and mirrored her expression when he talked about his current goings on. “it’s the most fun thing I could be doing and still get paid,” he nodded and laughed. “well, i am usually behind the scenes and sometimes i’m out in the parks as Peter Pan,” he told her, not completely a lie but he didn’t want to mention his involvement in the stage performances. at least, not yet. “lax um..didn’t really work out in college. I just couldn’t make it and all my studies work,” he shrugged and chuckled, gently nudging her back. he listened and nodded as she spoke. “a real life desert dweller, huh?” he joked and laughed, shaking his head. “I half expected you to conquer the world by now, to be quite honest,” he admitted with a playful grin. 

“Nah, man. Hop on up- I’m sure this railing can take the both of us and if not… well, we probably won’t break any bones and we can fix it.” Marcus reasoned with a smile that spoke to all of the chances and spontaneous decisions he tended to make at every step in his life. At the mention of taking pictures, Marcus waved a hand dismissively. “Ah, as always I was chasing something, but then this breeze stopped me.” He admitted. “Felt like a slice of peace or a quiet moment that was just waiting to be enjoyed.” Marcus explained, knowing good and well that he sounded like something off an inspirational Instagram account. “Now, climb up and talk, man. Enjoy some of the peace and unload. That shit’s pretty fleeting.”

beckett chuckled and looked at his friend thoughtfully. “you know, i’ve never actually broken a bone,” he said, thinking back to how many close calls he’d had on the lacrosse field, though. the male did as marcus said and hoisted himself on to the railing, easily finding his balance as he looked out at the ocean. “the breeze stopped you? kind of funny — usually breezes keep people going,” he mentioned lightly and smiled. as marky continued, beck nodded. “I feel that. sometimes you do just have to stop and enjoy the breeze,” he agreed. he let out a deep breath and pushed a hand through his hair. “unload I shall,” he chuckled and shook his head. “so..aus and I got into it at the bonfire and we’ve talked but..things feel weird still,” he started. “the last thing I want to do is fight with her.” beckett frowned to himself, the argument replaying in his head. well, what he remembered of it. at this point he couldn’t even recall what they had argued about. “I don’t really want to fight with anyone. just..especially austen,” he added. he paused and let out a sigh, “it just isn’t vibing, you know? I feel like I should apologize but I don’t even remember what it was about,”

there was absolutely no part of evie that wanted to reminisce about kennedy and her whereabouts. the brunette just wanted a simple summer of relaxing and some possible warm feelings. the rest of it? the history, the past… she could do without that. she could definitely do without that. looking up at the boy who spoke, evie smiled a little. beckett wells. the twin of her best friend of so many years. seemed sort of like maybe the very thing she wanted to avoid. wrinkling her nose at the sand still on her book, light eyes flicked up to meet beckett’s blue ones. he looked very much the same - though, a bit older and rougher around the edges. 

“that’s me,” evie smiled easily, sitting up a little and leaning back onto her hands. a piece of her was a little miffed that he hadn’t apologized for the sand on her book, but she’d be okay. the book would be, too, which was more of her worry anyway. how had she been? an odd question to ask someone you hadn’t seen or spoken to in five years. “i’ve been just fine. what have you been doing since we graduated?” she asked, moving to sit all the way up. “where do you live now? do you love it?” 

“well aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?” beck grinned, giving her a little nudge with his elbow and chuckling lightly. talking to evie was almost like talking to kennedy. at least, it brought back memories of the two girls being at the well’s home. “just fine?” he asked and smiled, tilting his head curiously. he hummed lightly and shrugged, “I live in orlando and I love it there. I work at disney world,” he told the girl with a smile. “I graduated from university of central florida and have been working for the big mouse ever since,” he added. “what about you? where have you been?” he asked.

roman snorted, raising an eyebrow at him and placing his hands on his hips, “you’re such a dick, beckett. and i know what your problem is? i don’t think i do. why don’t you say it out loud? is it because it sounds fucking ridiculous?” he sighed softly, resting his head against the door frame, “no. you don’t have to like me. but i think we need to be more than civil. you care about austen, right? we need to figure out how to be nice to each other. so lay it on me - what’s your fucking problem?”

beck laughed and rolled his eyes. “ohh, never heard that one before,” he muttered and chuckled. he was honestly over all of the drama already but he figured if roman needed it spelled out, he might as well. “I think you had something to do with my sister’s disappearance,” he said and shrugged as if it were simple. “if not directly, whatever the fuck you sold her did,” he said and looked down at his hands, calmly. at the mention of austen, his head snapped up. “of course I care about austen. that’s why I said I would be civil,” he said, brow furrowing lightly. “i’m not going to be all buddy buddy with you, roman,” he shook his head and sighed. “I said civil. that’s all you’ll get out of me,” he told the guy and shrugged. 

//

It was a testament to how well Beckett knew Marcus that when he exited the house through the back door, he would find the man in question perched on the back railing of the patio. His camera had been abandoned on the table and he was clad only in a pair of swimtrunks since his initial plan had been to go out onto the beach in search of some interesting photography subjects but had vetoed that plan after feeling the soft ocean breeze and deciding to enjoy a moment of peace instead.

Turning when he heard the back door open, Marcus glanced over one sun-kissed shoulder to spot his friend and smiled brightly once he had. “Hey, man. You heading to the beach?” He asked, making the assumption since down the back patio was the most common route those in the house seemed to take.

it was satisfying to beck when he was right. which is why he laughed to himself when he spotted marcus on the back deck. he carefully leaned his board against one of the deck chairs and grinned. “well, I was actually coming to talk,” he explained and shrugged sheepishly. beckett was more in touch with his feelings than he’d like to admit but it didn’t make talking about them any easier. marcus had really been the only person besides kennedy that he could actually confide in. at least that’s how he felt. “we can head to the beach, though,” he nodded, adjusting the baseball cap on his head. he spotted the camera on the table and smiled. “were you about to go take some pictures?” he asked and motioned to it.

beckett’s room was about the last place on earth that roman wanted to be, but he knew that they needed to get their shit together and stop arguing so publicly. everyone else in the house was going to hate them if they weren’t careful, and roman didn’t want that - so he could assume beckett didn’t either.” he stayed in the doorway as he spoke carefully, “well, you seem to have a problem with me so i think we need to talk it out before we kill each other.” roman, conveniently, left out the fact that he also seemed to have a problem with beckett - but honestly? he mostly just hated the fact that beckett seemed to have such a low opinion of him. roman wanted everyone to like him. 

beckett furrowed his brow and tilted his head. “I have a problem with you? where would you get an idea like that?” he asked sarcastically. he could already feel the annoyance creeping up under his skin. just being in the same room as roman did that to him usually. this was no exception. “you know what my problem with you is, roman. no amount of talking it out will fix it. I agreed to be civil for every one else,” he shrugged. the blonde shook his head and sighed. “sometimes, you just have to accept that not everyone is going to be your biggest fan. whatever reason they might have,” he told the guy. “I don’t have to like you. I just have to be civil,” he added and gave a wave of his hand.

“ yay! “ shiloh squealed as beckett gave in to her demands. she tossed the pillow back on to the other bed in the room and moved out of her friend’s way so he could go change. she wandered out into the living room to wait for beckett, slipping on her hiking boots and filling up a water bottle for herself and one for beckett. when he appeared again, she flashed him a smile and tossed him one of the bottles before heading towards the front door. “ this trail called bolsa chica. it goes along the coast, so the views are going to be amazing, “ she explained, swinging open the door and stepping outside into the california sun. she looked back at beckett as she slid her heart-shaped sunglasses onto her nose. “ you wanna’ drive or shall i? “

beck grinned as shiloh tossed him a water bottle. he caught it effortlessly and tossed it into his backpack. he extended a hand, offering to stash her bottle in his bag too, as well as a few snacks. once he was zipped up, he followed shi and slong his backpack onto his shoulders. “bolsa chica?” he repeated, listening as she spoke. he reopened his bag to make sure he had his camera, in case he wanted to snap a few pictures. once he was sure he had everything, he slipped on his aviators and his red cap. “are you kidding, shi?” he chuckled, walking over to his red bike and holding out the extra helmet for her. “Holly is dying to meet you,” he grinned as he straddled the bike and slipped his helmet on.