wyatt hartman

Jack was intensely unhappy with Wyatt for instigating this entire thing, but he was even more annoyed with Bailey for being stupid enough to let himself be brought into it. 

He finished pulling on his clothes and stepped over to the bag, knowing better than to argue with Wyatt. The only person that Wyatt couldn’t seem to get his way with was Ash, which probably explained the two’s mutual obsession with the other. “But where are you guys planning to go?” He demanded, reaching down to pick up the bag and frowning at the awkward weight of it. “This had better not be a body in here.” He warned, though in reality he didn’t know what he was going to do about it if it was.

“A body?” Wyatt scoffed as he opened the door that led out of the locker room, the red glow of the exit sign conspicuously absent. “What do you think I am? A criminal?” He checked their surroundings before flicking up the hood of his jacket and zipping it all the way up to his nose, motioning for Jack to follow. He was acutely aware of every second they lost while he was coaxing Jack out of his chastity belt, only vaguely relieved that dangling Bailey like the homoerotic bait he was had worked out as planned. Because while the ticking time bomb that was Belmont had him on edge, it was the doomsday clock in the duffle bag that they were really racing against.

As if summoned by Satan himself, Ash seemed to choose that moment to stir awake, a whole hour earlier than Wyatt had calculated. He wasn’t surprised, having relied on Belmont’s stash of mediocre drugs as opposed to his usual medical grade kidnapping aid. Only the best for his baby.

They’d made good progress, already several miles from the facility, but nowhere near where they should be with a groggy Ash regaining consciousness. Wyatt wasn’t prone to panic, but there was no one who could wake the most dormant emotions like Ash could. And while he wasn’t afraid of him, he fully expected their escape to become exponentially more difficult. 

Jack frowned, hurriedly pulling on his clothes but watching suspiciously as Wyatt put the bag down on the floor. “Do I want to ask what’s in there?” He already knew the answer to that, dreading the answer. “Where the hell are you guys even planning to go?”

“Oh, you know,” Wyatt answered vaguely when Jack addressed the bag. “Money, vibrators. Stuff.” He was usually a better liar than this, but he also didn’t care a whole lot. He was gratified when the other jumped into action, having known that Bailey would be the ultimate bait. 

Jack frowned, his gaze falling to the duffel bag that Wyatt was carrying. It looked heavy. Too heavy. 

“What are you talking about?” He asked cautiously, his attention drawn by Wyatt’s comment. He knew better than to trust Wyatt, but he didn’t trust Bailey either. He moved to pick up his clothes, following Wyatt’s order in spite of the growing panic that he felt. “Left to go where?” 

Wyatt grinned when Jack didn’t deny that Bailey was his boyfriend, just as amused as he would’ve been in high school. “For a six-pack and a carton of Marlboros, where do you think?” He didn’t have any misgivings about divulging the escape to Jack, who was as hopelessly devoted to Bailey as Wyatt was to Ash. For one, neither of them were ever in danger of getting sent to Belmont, and yet here they both were, trying to play knight in shining armor to damsels who weren’t so much in distress as they were distressing.

It was stupidly easy to drug Ash. For all his paranoia, the man had a crippling tendency to underestimate Wyatt and the lengths he would go to get his way. It only took twenty minutes before he was cooing apologies under his breath and carefully folding Ash’s limbs into an oversized duffle bag. He tossed a few towels and gym clothes on top of him for good measure and zipped the whole thing up. Luckily, Ash still had the killer body of an anemic nerd, so it wasn’t difficult hauling him through the dark halls of the gym and towards the locker room. 

Wyatt paused when he heard the unmistakable sound of the shower shutting off, prepared to charm or harm his way out if necessary. The sight of Jack’s obscenely chiseled torso brought only relief, and he made an impatient gesture to the pile of clothes on the bench. “Stop peacocking and get dressed. Your boyfriend already left an hour ago.”

Ash breathed a sigh, feeling as unheard as usual when it came to Wyatt. While it was true that he usually did say things just to be mean, there were also a lot of times when Wyatt had misunderstood him as trying to be mean because they communicated on different wavelengths.

“You can’t break up with someone you aren’t dating.” He stated flatly, his temper flashing as Wyatt tossed his gift into the trash bin. “You’re such an idiot, Wyatt. I’m not leaving here with you, and you want to leave. So just go.”

Wyatt brushed off the insult, more invested in what he was trying to say rather than the words themselves. Rarely was anything so clear-cut with Ash; it always took a bit of digging to get at the heart of his intentions. He’d been dumped enough times to have gleaned that the reasons Ash claimed for their separation were seldom just that. 

“We’ve been here for years, Ash. Why now? You’ve never concerned yourself with my discomfort before.” Despite the light tone, Wyatt’s expression was fierce and unreadable. “There’s nothing you can do to convince me to leave without you. I haven’t stopped loving you, and you should know by now that it’s a permanent affliction.” His smile was sharp, with the same sort of intensity that burned whenever he was backed into a corner. “Unless you feel differently-- which I know you don’t, given what your gift was.” His mind raced to pin the other’s motivations with any form of certainty, considering and discarding a number of theories before settling on one.

“I can get you out of here-- both of us-- without making you a fugitive. I just need more time. You’re not throwing me away until that happens,” Wyatt promised.

“It’s a map of the power grid and a master key to the admin that was tough to find, so don’t lose it.” Ash planted his elbows on the table, laying his arms across it and leaning over them. 

“Wyatt, I don’t want to leave. I want you to leave because you want to. If you haven’t had a bad enough time in this place it’s by no fault of mine. So, please, just listen to me for once. If you try to take me with you I will sell you out as many times as it takes, and I’m not going to help you out of here a second time. I’m not saying this to be mean, I’m just trying to get us what we both want.”

Wyatt looked contemplative as he glanced back down at the loaf, breaking off another piece with a considering noise. He tried to discern what game Ash was playing, unwilling to accept his claim at face-value. “Are you breaking up with me?” he asked, tone unchanged. They'd been down this road several times over, with each retread losing its potency. Though that didn’t mean Ash was any less serious, it did increase Wyatt’s tolerance each time, like a fix he couldn’t seem to stop chasing. 

“Not a single thing you’ve just said it true. You only say things to be mean,” he said airily. He plucked up his gift and tossed it into the trash bin behind him without bothering to check if it contained what Ash said it did. While a map and key would be immensely helpful for his escape, he had no interest in using either if the result ended up cleaving them in two. “Thank you for your present, but a gift card would’ve sufficed.”

Ash paused, glancing up at Wyatt with a withering stare. “It can be, if you want it to be.” He stated blandly, placing a small wrapped loaf of bread on the table in front of him. “I know you want to get out of here,” He slid the loaf across the table towards Wyatt. “And I want you to go.”

Unaffected by Ash’s response, Wyatt raised his brows at the foil-wrapped block offered to him. It smelled undeniably like bread and sugar, and he peeled it open to confirm his suspicions. “Did you bake a nail file in here for me?” he asked, breaking off a piece and popping it in his mouth. “How thoughtful. But how will it get us both out of here?” He didn’t even entertain the idea of leaving Belmont without Ash, which seemed like an entirely worthless endeavor. They’d be right back where they started, with Wyatt pounding down the walls to try to get to him.

Newshound: Gregory is the blond, as far as I know he's unmarried. Ajay has the nose ring and if rumor is to be believed he and the wife he separated from last year are rekindling the romance.

Newshound: Where can I find you?

Medici: library. history section, 7pm friday

R-80085: That depends on who we're talking about

R-80085: Wouldn't we all

R-80085: Do you have a key to the staff building

Medici: talkin bout leland who else

Medici: sure which room

Medici: 1st floor is free cause ur cute but 2nd and up is gonna cost the rest of ur fingers

Medici: jkjk

Newshound: Gregory and Ajay.

Newshound: I'll tell you more if you tell me who you are

R-80085: Uhhhh let's go with Bert

R-80085: Have you tried a hot air balloon? Flash mob? Kiddie pool full of Jell-o

Medici: ur useless

Medici: r we talking about the same person

R-80085: I'm guessing cheater. Hair looks sketchy

R-80085: Wait are YOU divorced

Medici: i need a name, cough up a name

Medici: i'm not divorced

Medici: what are the names of the 2 new guards on the afternoon shift @ the gym

Medici: & is the blond one divorced or does he just remove his ring

“While that would be a useful skill to have, nothing beats being able to carry an infinite number of Armani suits with me at all times.

Also: who would want to forget this face?”