The Faculty + RP = AU (Part2) - written for Livejournal

[prisca]

Title: Penny Dreadful ( 2 / 3 )
Fandom: The Faculty ( + a touch of Penny Dreadful) AU
Characters: Zeke Tyler, Casey Connor, Reeve Carney
Words: 2485
Rating: PG13


Hours later, Casey was sitting on the comfy couch in Zeke's suite, a suite three times as big as his hotel room, with a double-sized bed and a great flat-screen, and tried to relax. He put a bottle of Jim Beam onto the glass-topped table.

“Do you remember,” he asked, laughing. “The night when you took me to this club in Columbus. We told my parents we would go to a movie and maybe have a pizza afterwards. I was not used to drinking, but there was no way I would have admitted that. It felt so cool to hang out with you and drink Horse's Neck. Until, out of the blue, the world started to spin around. But you did only laugh, took me home with you, and called my parents to tell them that the car was broken down and that you would bring me home later than planned.”

Zeke chuckled. “I do remember your dad the next day. I'm sure I owe your mom that he didn't shoot me right away.”

Then he filled the glasses, added some ice, and passed one to Casey. He took a large gulp, which almost made him cough. Even nowadays, he is not used to drinking much besides beer or a cocktail in a bar. But he hoped to get tipsy now. He wanted to forget what had happened in the hotel lobby about half an hour ago; for the next hours, he only wanted to enjoy his time with Zeke as he did back then in Herrington.

“So,” Zeke tore him out of his thoughts while eying him pensively over the rim of his glass. “Do you wanna tell me what's going on?”

Casey blinked. “We are going to watch a movie? Like … Tarantino or Clockwork Orange? Cheesy stuff but still cool.”

Zeke pulled his face. “Nice try, Case. But I could always read you like an open book. So don't try to fool me. What was this between you and Reeve?”

Casey sighed deeply. Of course he had noticed the tension between them, how could he have hoped otherwise?


Half an hour early, in the hotel's lobby. Casey dropped down onto one of the couches, waiting for Zeke. Without the limited ID badge, he could not enter the blocked floor with the rooms and suites for the guest stars. But he didn't mind at all, still feeling giddy at the prospect of spending some time with Zeke off the beaten track without Con, fans, and the job.

“Hey, I am Reeve! You are Casey, aren't you? Zeke will be here soon. Some fans did hold him up, asking for autographs and photos. He's very popular. I'm afraid Timothy gets a bit jealous because Ethan stirs up more interest than he did even as James Bond.”

“Ähm.” Dumbfound, Casey stared at the guy in front of him, who was grinning wide to make sure that he was just joking a bit. The last one he had hoped to see this evening. And he looked good with the silky purple shirt, the longer hair styled back, ready for partying. For a moment, Casey felt out of place in his plain jeans and sweatshirt.

Reeve didn't seem to notice the awkwardness but dropped down beside Casey, eying him curiously. “So, you are one of Zeke's old buddies, huh?”

He cringed inwardly. Buddies? Zeke used to hang around with a lot of buddies in bars and clubs, enjoying too much booze, drugs, and sex. This was before Marybeth, before he started to hang out with Casey. Casey had never been one of his buddies.

“We visited the same Highschool for three years.”

Though most of the time, they had nothing in common, with Casey being the school's geek, bullied and ignored by almost everyone, and Zeke playing the king who cared about no one and nothing. He wouldn't talk with Reeve about that, though.

“I know. And you two had some weird times there. Incredible story. An Alien tried to take over control of your school?”

It was evident that Reeve didn't take this all too seriously, and Casey actually couldn't blame him. He was a reporter; he had already heard many weird stories, and this was probably one of the most unbelievable. But he couldn't help it; he felt annoyed and wondered what else Zeke might have told him. Things he never talked about.

“It was not half the fun you think,” he said, his voice tense.

Reeve shrugged his shoulders, looking like he was apologizing. “Yeah, sorry, I understand. You don't like to talk about it.”


Now Casey was sitting here, in Zeke's suite, and when he thought back to this moment, he felt anger and disappointment rising again.

No, Reeve didn't understand. How could he? He was grown up in New York City and had visited a private school for talented young musicians. He didn't know anything about Highschool somewhere in a small town in Ohio. He couldn't know how it felt when the whole world suddenly was turned around, when people you had known for years started to change into something you couldn't even name. When they tried to kill you. No one could understand, No one who hadn't been there during that horrible night.

Hadn't it been Zeke who had always insisted that it didn't make any sense to talk about it? He knew how to avoid the media and refused to go to a shrink, like most of them did, to find a way back into normal life.

Not that it had been very helpful. Casey had hated these appointments. Yes, the doc feigned interest and encouraged him to talk, like it was his job. His parents did pay him a great deal of money for it. But he never could get rid of the feeling that the guy was secretly wondering if Casey was either totally mental or just a liar.

What had kept him sane during these weird times was to share his memories with Zeke. Though he acted untouched as ever, Casey knew better. Since this day when he found Zeke drenched in sweat, eyes full of panic, the gun in his hands, aimed at him when he opened the backdoor to his kitchen, like he did every morning.

“Zeke? What are you doing? It's me, Casey,” he had whispered, torn between shock and panic.

It had needed a moment, which had felt like hours, before Zeke was able to come back into the here and now. He put the gun onto the kitchen island and started to tremble.

“Oh god. Oh god, I'm so sorry,” he had stumbled.

Casey put a hand on his arm, trying to reassure him. “What's happened, Zeke? Should we call for help?”

Weakly, Zeke shook his head. “I've kissed a fucking alien, Casey. No one can undo the past.”

Since then, Casey knew they had more in common than cheesy movies and comics. There had been a special bond between them. And it did hurt to admit that these times seemed to be over, that there were other people now as close to Zeke as he had been back then.

“Case? What's going on in your head? Tell me!”

He finally gave in. “Marybeth. Reeve did ask me about her.”

“Oh!” Zeke smirked. “I guess that's my fault. I should have better given you a warning.”

Casey sighed. “I don't get it. Why did you tell him? It's nothing he can understand!”

“Well, I actually didn't.” Zeke lit a cigarette, and the aromatic flavor filled the room. “It was at a press conference some days before we started with the shooting for Penny Dreadful. John didn't want to reveal too much, gave them only some slight hints. But there was this one reporter; he got pretty pushy. I guess he was looking for something more interesting than the umpteenth story about a new horror series.

But I was not prepared for his questions about Marybeth. I somehow managed not to freak out, but it was hard to hide the emotional tension. Later, I had a talk with John. I told him that next time I would break up the interview when someone asks me about this incident. He was very sympathetic. The others, too, I'm not sure if they did believe the story, but no one bothered me with questions.”

Zeke shrugged. “But Reeve's curiosity was piqued, and he tried to find out more. You know how it was back then. You and Delilah, the hero who fought the wicked alien to save the love of his life. Your picture made it to the cover of almost every popular magazine. It's not difficult to dig them out again; you just need to go into the next library.

Reeve recognized you on the first con-day even before I noticed you among the other reporters.”

Casey pulled the face. “So you think it's my fault when people like him can't let this rest,” he wanted to know.

“Hm?” Zeke was visibly surprised about Casey's intense reaction. “I didn't say that! Case, what's wrong? You are so overreacting. It can get annoying, yes, but for sure, Reeve didn't mean to offend you. Tell him you don't want to talk about it, and he will accept it. He's a really nice guy. When I told him that you are working as a reporter now he said he would give you an exclusive interview for free if you want one.”

Casey kept quiet, feeling worn out. The evening seemed ruined. The last thing he had planned was a ridiculous discussion about Reeve. And he wasn't even sure if he was angry about Zeke, about Reeve, or himself right now.

“I think not,” he finally said. “It's the Herrington Post, Zeke. People don't want to read about Reeve Carney or whoever else. They want to hear about you. You are still one of them, the bad boy who became famous. I am sure they will even forgive you for making out with guys now.”

"I do what?" Zeke stared at him, and a wide grin sneaked onto his face. “Oh, good god. You think Reeve and I..., that we are more than just friends? You are jealous!”

“Jealous? Why should I,” Casey huffed, knowing he was blushing like an awkward teenage boy. “I'm happy with my life.”

Zeke laughed. “That's too funny. Case, you are a reporter, you should know how things work. You need to give people something to talk about.”

“Whatever! I don't care.”

“Really?” Zeke chuckled again. “I always secretly wondered if you are interested in girls. Beside Stokely, but she doesn't count; she was an even bigger geek than you.”

“I was together with the cheerleader queen, remember? The most wanted girl from school.”

Zeke smirked. “Oh, bitchy bitch,” he said. “How long did you need to find out that she was the biggest mistake of your life? But I guess I shouldn't blame you. Weird times, all of us were looking for a way back into normal life. Not the best timing to find out that you prefer to be together with other guys.”

“When you have suspected that I might be gay, why did you hang around with me?”

“Well, I concluded that you probably won't jump at me in the middle of the night.” Zeke smiled and shook his head. “The truth? I just didn't care, Casey. We were friends. You were so different from everyone I used to hang around with. With you, my life felt almost okay. I would never have risked this by bringing up questions we both were not ready for.”

Zeke kept quiet for a moment. "When you left Herrington to go to College, I didn't know what to do with my life anymore. And I was about to slip back into old habits. Too many parties, too much booze, too much mindless sex. The call from the agency came right in time; the modeling scene was what I needed to not sink.

But I missed you. Remember last year, Christmas? I came back to Herrington to see you. But you were in a relationship with this guy. It did hurt, much more than expected. All I wanted was to be the guy at your side. But I knew I had no right to drive a wedge between you and him. So, I left, without talking to you.”

“Oh!”
This was all Casey was able to say. His heart was up in his mouth. His thoughts were rising. Rumors turned into facts. Zeke was gay … or bi … whatever. He had wanted to be together with him. But there had already been another guy in his life. Mike...

Mike was history!

“We broke up," Casey whispered. "Mike and me. Some days before I did come here. It just didn't work anymore." He licked his dry lips. "But you, and Reeve..."

Zeke chuckled slightly. Bent forward. Pulled Casey up from the couch. He could only stare at him with his eyes wide open. Then Zeke held him in his arms, one hand around his waist to pull him close, the other around his neck. Before Casey could think about fighting against his grip, he felt Zeke's lips on his own. He could feel his warmth, smell his shower gel, could taste Jim Beam and tobacco.

Zeke's lips pressed onto his. Casey stiffened. No, this was wrong! A kiss … yes … but … he had kissed other guys before. Not many of them but enough to know how it felt when you got carried away by passion and want. Zeke's kiss was lame. Only a fake.

He managed to break away; Zeke didn't make the try to hold him back. "What are you doing," Casey almost yelled. "You can't..."

Zeke eyed him silently. He looked cute, slightly blushed, eyes wide open, gasping for air. This mixture of confusion and want. Zeke hadn't dared to hope for it, that he was free, that he still wanted him as much as Zeke longed for him. It had taken some time to accept it. He dared to name it only when he seemed to have lost him forever. Love. He had never thought that feeling like this was possible for him, but he was in love with Casey.

“You are right,” he said gently, but when he tried to put his hand on Casey's cheek, he shied away. “You shouldn't be kissed like that. A mindless kiss, a movie kiss. The only way I kiss Reeve. As hot as it looks like when we are making out, it's all just for show.”

He pulled him back into his arm, holding him tight but tender at the same time. “Come here,” he murmured. “Let's try it again.”

TBC