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p_r_i_s_c_aTitle: A new job (chapter 1 / 2)
Fandoms: Crossover - The Faculty / The Sanctuary
Characters: Casey Connor, Zeke Tyler
Words: 2397
Rating: PG13
Finished: March 2015
Zeke could feel his heart beating faster when he pulled into a parking lot in front of the little diner. It hadn’t changed much since he had been here for the last time. Ages ago, the day before Casey had left Herrington to move to Boston. MIT and a new, exciting life were waiting for him. Since then, he had avoided coming here; this place was not the same without Casey.
But now he was back. He had sounded somehow mysterious when he had called him last week and asked if they could meet here. Only a few moments. Zeke took a deep breath, then another one. It was ridiculous, wasn’t it, that his heart flattered like that?
He pulled the door open and stopped, shocked. Laughter, talking, and music hit him with full force. The last time he had been here, it had been almost empty. Not a place the high-school kids usually frequent. They did meet here because it was ‘their’ pub, ‘their’ booth, the last one on the left side at the window. They needed to be careful; it was an impossible relationship. The King and the Geek. Life would have turned into hell for both of them if anyone would have gotten to know about it.
Nevertheless, it had been a wonderful time. First, he had felt challenged by Casey; the boy was so cute, so innocent; never before had he been together with someone like him. But then, he had crept deeper under his skin than planned. Maybe he hadn’t felt alone for the first time in his life because someone accepted him like he was.
But as deep as his feelings for Casey were, he hadn’t been ready for the next step. Casey’s future plan almost freaked him out. College for both of them, somewhere in New York or Boston, far away from the narrow-mindedness in Ohio. They could share a room, as friends first, but maybe they could come out later. In a big city, it would be much easier for them.
Zeke didn’t want to hurt him, but the only way out seemed to be to quit school some weeks before graduation and look for a job. A small garage in an outer district of Herrington. Of course, Casey had been heart-broken, and Zeke had noticed tears in his eyes, but the boy fought them back and never talked about the subject again. They continued to hang out together until Casey finally left Herrington, both of them knowing that a long-distance relationship wouldn’t work for them.
This was about four years ago. It was not a big surprise that Casey didn’t come back to Herrington often. He had never been very close to his parents, but now he enjoyed his new freedom in Boston. Only a few months ago, he graduated from MIT as one of the best; the world was all before him. But he finally decided against a job at one of the big laboratories that wooed him and started working for an institution named Sanctuary.
Zeke had goggled for it. The results were strange. It was a large company, represented all over the world. In the United States, they had a location in Michigan; it was impressive, but the building looked more like a fortress or a castle arising from the Middle Ages, unlike a present-day research establishment. It was also hard to find out what they were actually working on, only some fragmented, pointless info. Then Zeke discovered an article on Terra-Mystica.com, which talked about supernatural events at ‘The Sanctuary’, which could destroy the world. He was not sure if he should laugh or start to worry. Of course, he knew he shouldn’t take this all too seriously, but wasn’t it specific for Casey that he ended up at a company linked with such wild speculations?
He had to admit he was curious to find out more. Another reason why he had been happy about Casey’s surprising call last week. While Zeke cut his way through the crowded diner he looked at Casey, who was already waiting for him in their small booth, the dark wooden table, the seating bench with the high back still the same. His hair a bit longer. Large glasses he had never seen at him before, but it made him smile. It seemed to fit to Casey, like the stupid checkered shirts he still preferred to wear and the large chocolate milkshake on the table. Good to know that some things never changed.
Suddenly, Casey noticed Zeke’s eyes resting on him and looked up. A wide smile spread across his face, and Zeke’s heart beat faster again. How much had he missed this?
“Hey!” Finally, he reached the booth and dropped down onto the bench opposite Casey. “Quiet a full house today.”
“Yeah, Annie, the waitress, told me it’s because of the ‘Burger Competition’ they won some weeks ago. Since then, they are the most famous diner in town.”
Zeke rolled his eyes. “Good god!”
Casey chuckled. “She is nice. When I told her I would meet an old friend, whom I hadn't seen for ages, she arranged for us to get our booth alone.”
“What did you do to convince her,” Zeke asked and laughed. Then he didn’t hold back any longer and pulled Casey into his arms. “It’s so good to see you again. I hope your parents don’t mind that you don’t spend this evening at home.”
Casey’s blue eyes sparkled behind his glasses. “To be honest, they don’t know about this visit. I’m here because of you.”
Oh. But before Zeke could think about the meaning of his words, the waitress stopped at their table. “There he is, the famous friend,” she said and smiled. “So, what can I do for you? I would suggest the Burger with extra cheese, bacon, and French fries. For dessert, we have chocolate waffles with cream.”
“Thanks, I’ll take that. Without the waffles, please.”
“Oh, but you should try them. I’m sure you won’t want to go without them ever again. A good reason to come more often.”
Zeke winked at her. “I know a better one,” he laughed. “No waffles, thank you. But a coffee would be nice.”
“Comes soon.”
The waitress left them alone again, and Casey grinned. “You’re still flirting like a high-school boy. Still available?”
“You know me. I’m picky.”
“Good! So you’re not in a serious relationship.”
Hm? Zeke was not sure what to think about this. Was it possible that Casey was thinking about it to come back to Herrington? That he ... wanted him back? Zeke had to admit that he liked this idea. He had missed Casey, the only one who had ever been able to sneak deeper into his life. Of course, he didn’t live like a monk for the last four years, but it had never meant much. With Casey it was different, he just needed to look into his blue eyes and the old familiarity was back. He was not sure if it would be a wise decision, but …
“Are you interested in a job?”
Casey’s words tore him out of his thoughts. Zeke blinked, confused. A job-offer? This was going in a strange direction he hadn't expected.
“What do you mean? A job,” Zeke asked.
Casey laughed slightly. “Just in case you are sick of it to work your ass off in a stupid garage.”
Zeke pulled the face. “I like what I’m doing. And I am good with it.”
“Yeah, but it’s a hobby, Zeke, not a job. You waste your talent, and you know that. Quitting school some weeks before graduation was one of the most stupid things you have ever done.”
“I panicked!”
“I know; I did press you too hard back then. Sorry for that. All I could think about was a life together with you. I refused to see that you were not ready for this step.” Casey paused for a moment before continuing. “But things are different now, right? So, can you imagine moving to Michigan?”
Zeke eyed him thoughtfully, unsure if Casey was still talking about the job or a remake of their relationship. “You and me, Casey? Do you think it’s a good idea? I know, we both have changed, but ...”
“Oh, you get this wrong.” Casey chuckled. “Well, not that I would mind. But one step after the other, okay? We will see where it will go with us.
For the moment, I’m here to offer you a job. College is not so important; you have a brilliant head and are willing to look over the edge of the plate. That’s exactly what we need.
One of the team, James, is going to marry, and his fiance wants him to look for a more ordinary job. Okay, you can’t blame her. What we are doing sometimes can get … hm, hard to explain ... I guess, for an outsider, it’s more than just strange. And I’m sure he doesn’t even tell her all. When I think about his last trip to Hawaii. It was a close call; he barely escaped being killed.”
Zeke stared at him, skeptical. “What the heck is your job about,” he asked.
Casey shrugged. “It’s not always dangerous like that,” he said. “Currently I’m working on a really nice project. I developed some simplified sign language to interact with some of the abnormal. Kyla is my favorite, she is smart and funny, she likes it when you swim with her in the pool.” He laughed about Zeke’s puzzled look. “Kyla is a mermaid,” he added.
Zeke huffed slightly. “Like Arielle,” he said, and it was evident that he didn’t believe a word.
“No, actually not. She’s not a princess waiting for the human prince. And her life was not always easy. People are stupid, when they can’t understand what’s going on they take up arms. Dr. Gregory Magnus set up the Sanctuary about a hundred years ago to save creatures like her. At the moment, we have two hundred abnormal living in Michigan. About thousands all over the world.”
"Thousands of mermaids?" Zeke smirked. “Nice try, Case. But this story is much too geeky, even for someone like you.”
“Did you believe in aliens, Zeke, before Mary Beth?”
As ever, when he thought about that night, Zeke felt shudders running through his body. Sometimes, he still did wake up in the middle of the night, shaking, drenched in sweat, and he couldn’t get rid of the pictures in his mind. All that did help then was a Whiskey or a long road trip.
As long as he had been together with Casey, it hadn’t been that worse, he had called him, and Casey had always known to find some reassuring words.
“It still feels like a nightmare caused by drugs, but I know it was real,” he said with a shaking voice. “She was a monster who tried to take over the control of the world. Not a fairy-tale character.”
“We only saw the monster," Casey answered. "But sometimes, I wonder what would have happened if I had already known about the Sanctuary and what they are doing. It wouldn’t have been necessary to kill her. She wasn’t that different from other abnormal here on earth. If we had been able to contact her, maybe we would have understood her reasons. And we had helped instead of erasing her race.”
“This is bullshit, Casey,” Zeke interrupted him, suddenly feeling angry. He didn’t like where this went at all. “What the hell is going on in this "Sanctuary"? What did they do to you? Some kind of brainwashing?”
“No need to worry, Zeke, I’m fine.” Casey’s voice was gentle and his smile open as before. “I know all this is hard to believe. When someone told me a story like this, I would probably have torn the letter I got from Helen and taken a boring job in a lab. Helen Magnus, Dr. Magnus’ daughter, she is the leader of the Sanctuary now. Luckily, I was curious and accepted her invitation. Best decision ever.”
His eyes sparkled excitedly. “My life at the Sanctuary is a continuous adventure; you can never know what will happen next. There is so much we still don’t know about our world. The abnormal can help us to understand better. But it’s based on reciprocity, you know, we offer them a safe place where they can live. The Sanctuary. Most of them have the freedom to come and go as they want. Only sometimes do we need to lock them away. But we don’t treat them like prisoners; they are not evil; it’s just their nature that they can become dangerous for our world. Because their world is a completely different one.”
He put his arm on Zeke’s and squeezed it slightly. “I want you to come to Michigan with me. Check it out first before you turn the job down. If you don’t like what you see, you can return to Herrington into your oh-so-interesting life, and I will never bother you again.”
Zeke tried to sort out his thoughts. With everyone else he just would get up now and leave, the story was much too weird to be true. But it was Casey, and Casey had always been different. Geeky, like they used to call him at school. One of the reasons why Zeke always liked him. He was no one who trusted others quickly, but he had put his life into Casey’s hands when everything seemed lost the night of the alien incident. He had known that only a geek would still be able to save the world.
Casey would never betray, hurt, or lie to him. Because Casey loved him. The realization suddenly hit him with full force. And suddenly, the decision was easy because. Yes, he wanted to go to Michigan; he wanted a second chance with Casey. Even if this meant dealing with this strange story, he still didn’t know what to think about.
“Fine, you’ve got me; I admit, I’m curious now. Let’s go to Michigan. But … just to make this clear.” He grinned. “I won’t swim in a pool with a mermaid.”
“Deal,” Casey laughed. "You won't regret it!"
Fandoms: Crossover - The Faculty / The Sanctuary
Characters: Casey Connor, Zeke Tyler
Words: 2397
Rating: PG13
Finished: March 2015
Zeke could feel his heart beating faster when he pulled into a parking lot in front of the little diner. It hadn’t changed much since he had been here for the last time. Ages ago, the day before Casey had left Herrington to move to Boston. MIT and a new, exciting life were waiting for him. Since then, he had avoided coming here; this place was not the same without Casey.
But now he was back. He had sounded somehow mysterious when he had called him last week and asked if they could meet here. Only a few moments. Zeke took a deep breath, then another one. It was ridiculous, wasn’t it, that his heart flattered like that?
He pulled the door open and stopped, shocked. Laughter, talking, and music hit him with full force. The last time he had been here, it had been almost empty. Not a place the high-school kids usually frequent. They did meet here because it was ‘their’ pub, ‘their’ booth, the last one on the left side at the window. They needed to be careful; it was an impossible relationship. The King and the Geek. Life would have turned into hell for both of them if anyone would have gotten to know about it.
Nevertheless, it had been a wonderful time. First, he had felt challenged by Casey; the boy was so cute, so innocent; never before had he been together with someone like him. But then, he had crept deeper under his skin than planned. Maybe he hadn’t felt alone for the first time in his life because someone accepted him like he was.
But as deep as his feelings for Casey were, he hadn’t been ready for the next step. Casey’s future plan almost freaked him out. College for both of them, somewhere in New York or Boston, far away from the narrow-mindedness in Ohio. They could share a room, as friends first, but maybe they could come out later. In a big city, it would be much easier for them.
Zeke didn’t want to hurt him, but the only way out seemed to be to quit school some weeks before graduation and look for a job. A small garage in an outer district of Herrington. Of course, Casey had been heart-broken, and Zeke had noticed tears in his eyes, but the boy fought them back and never talked about the subject again. They continued to hang out together until Casey finally left Herrington, both of them knowing that a long-distance relationship wouldn’t work for them.
This was about four years ago. It was not a big surprise that Casey didn’t come back to Herrington often. He had never been very close to his parents, but now he enjoyed his new freedom in Boston. Only a few months ago, he graduated from MIT as one of the best; the world was all before him. But he finally decided against a job at one of the big laboratories that wooed him and started working for an institution named Sanctuary.
Zeke had goggled for it. The results were strange. It was a large company, represented all over the world. In the United States, they had a location in Michigan; it was impressive, but the building looked more like a fortress or a castle arising from the Middle Ages, unlike a present-day research establishment. It was also hard to find out what they were actually working on, only some fragmented, pointless info. Then Zeke discovered an article on Terra-Mystica.com, which talked about supernatural events at ‘The Sanctuary’, which could destroy the world. He was not sure if he should laugh or start to worry. Of course, he knew he shouldn’t take this all too seriously, but wasn’t it specific for Casey that he ended up at a company linked with such wild speculations?
He had to admit he was curious to find out more. Another reason why he had been happy about Casey’s surprising call last week. While Zeke cut his way through the crowded diner he looked at Casey, who was already waiting for him in their small booth, the dark wooden table, the seating bench with the high back still the same. His hair a bit longer. Large glasses he had never seen at him before, but it made him smile. It seemed to fit to Casey, like the stupid checkered shirts he still preferred to wear and the large chocolate milkshake on the table. Good to know that some things never changed.
Suddenly, Casey noticed Zeke’s eyes resting on him and looked up. A wide smile spread across his face, and Zeke’s heart beat faster again. How much had he missed this?
“Hey!” Finally, he reached the booth and dropped down onto the bench opposite Casey. “Quiet a full house today.”
“Yeah, Annie, the waitress, told me it’s because of the ‘Burger Competition’ they won some weeks ago. Since then, they are the most famous diner in town.”
Zeke rolled his eyes. “Good god!”
Casey chuckled. “She is nice. When I told her I would meet an old friend, whom I hadn't seen for ages, she arranged for us to get our booth alone.”
“What did you do to convince her,” Zeke asked and laughed. Then he didn’t hold back any longer and pulled Casey into his arms. “It’s so good to see you again. I hope your parents don’t mind that you don’t spend this evening at home.”
Casey’s blue eyes sparkled behind his glasses. “To be honest, they don’t know about this visit. I’m here because of you.”
Oh. But before Zeke could think about the meaning of his words, the waitress stopped at their table. “There he is, the famous friend,” she said and smiled. “So, what can I do for you? I would suggest the Burger with extra cheese, bacon, and French fries. For dessert, we have chocolate waffles with cream.”
“Thanks, I’ll take that. Without the waffles, please.”
“Oh, but you should try them. I’m sure you won’t want to go without them ever again. A good reason to come more often.”
Zeke winked at her. “I know a better one,” he laughed. “No waffles, thank you. But a coffee would be nice.”
“Comes soon.”
The waitress left them alone again, and Casey grinned. “You’re still flirting like a high-school boy. Still available?”
“You know me. I’m picky.”
“Good! So you’re not in a serious relationship.”
Hm? Zeke was not sure what to think about this. Was it possible that Casey was thinking about it to come back to Herrington? That he ... wanted him back? Zeke had to admit that he liked this idea. He had missed Casey, the only one who had ever been able to sneak deeper into his life. Of course, he didn’t live like a monk for the last four years, but it had never meant much. With Casey it was different, he just needed to look into his blue eyes and the old familiarity was back. He was not sure if it would be a wise decision, but …
“Are you interested in a job?”
Casey’s words tore him out of his thoughts. Zeke blinked, confused. A job-offer? This was going in a strange direction he hadn't expected.
“What do you mean? A job,” Zeke asked.
Casey laughed slightly. “Just in case you are sick of it to work your ass off in a stupid garage.”
Zeke pulled the face. “I like what I’m doing. And I am good with it.”
“Yeah, but it’s a hobby, Zeke, not a job. You waste your talent, and you know that. Quitting school some weeks before graduation was one of the most stupid things you have ever done.”
“I panicked!”
“I know; I did press you too hard back then. Sorry for that. All I could think about was a life together with you. I refused to see that you were not ready for this step.” Casey paused for a moment before continuing. “But things are different now, right? So, can you imagine moving to Michigan?”
Zeke eyed him thoughtfully, unsure if Casey was still talking about the job or a remake of their relationship. “You and me, Casey? Do you think it’s a good idea? I know, we both have changed, but ...”
“Oh, you get this wrong.” Casey chuckled. “Well, not that I would mind. But one step after the other, okay? We will see where it will go with us.
For the moment, I’m here to offer you a job. College is not so important; you have a brilliant head and are willing to look over the edge of the plate. That’s exactly what we need.
One of the team, James, is going to marry, and his fiance wants him to look for a more ordinary job. Okay, you can’t blame her. What we are doing sometimes can get … hm, hard to explain ... I guess, for an outsider, it’s more than just strange. And I’m sure he doesn’t even tell her all. When I think about his last trip to Hawaii. It was a close call; he barely escaped being killed.”
Zeke stared at him, skeptical. “What the heck is your job about,” he asked.
Casey shrugged. “It’s not always dangerous like that,” he said. “Currently I’m working on a really nice project. I developed some simplified sign language to interact with some of the abnormal. Kyla is my favorite, she is smart and funny, she likes it when you swim with her in the pool.” He laughed about Zeke’s puzzled look. “Kyla is a mermaid,” he added.
Zeke huffed slightly. “Like Arielle,” he said, and it was evident that he didn’t believe a word.
“No, actually not. She’s not a princess waiting for the human prince. And her life was not always easy. People are stupid, when they can’t understand what’s going on they take up arms. Dr. Gregory Magnus set up the Sanctuary about a hundred years ago to save creatures like her. At the moment, we have two hundred abnormal living in Michigan. About thousands all over the world.”
"Thousands of mermaids?" Zeke smirked. “Nice try, Case. But this story is much too geeky, even for someone like you.”
“Did you believe in aliens, Zeke, before Mary Beth?”
As ever, when he thought about that night, Zeke felt shudders running through his body. Sometimes, he still did wake up in the middle of the night, shaking, drenched in sweat, and he couldn’t get rid of the pictures in his mind. All that did help then was a Whiskey or a long road trip.
As long as he had been together with Casey, it hadn’t been that worse, he had called him, and Casey had always known to find some reassuring words.
“It still feels like a nightmare caused by drugs, but I know it was real,” he said with a shaking voice. “She was a monster who tried to take over the control of the world. Not a fairy-tale character.”
“We only saw the monster," Casey answered. "But sometimes, I wonder what would have happened if I had already known about the Sanctuary and what they are doing. It wouldn’t have been necessary to kill her. She wasn’t that different from other abnormal here on earth. If we had been able to contact her, maybe we would have understood her reasons. And we had helped instead of erasing her race.”
“This is bullshit, Casey,” Zeke interrupted him, suddenly feeling angry. He didn’t like where this went at all. “What the hell is going on in this "Sanctuary"? What did they do to you? Some kind of brainwashing?”
“No need to worry, Zeke, I’m fine.” Casey’s voice was gentle and his smile open as before. “I know all this is hard to believe. When someone told me a story like this, I would probably have torn the letter I got from Helen and taken a boring job in a lab. Helen Magnus, Dr. Magnus’ daughter, she is the leader of the Sanctuary now. Luckily, I was curious and accepted her invitation. Best decision ever.”
His eyes sparkled excitedly. “My life at the Sanctuary is a continuous adventure; you can never know what will happen next. There is so much we still don’t know about our world. The abnormal can help us to understand better. But it’s based on reciprocity, you know, we offer them a safe place where they can live. The Sanctuary. Most of them have the freedom to come and go as they want. Only sometimes do we need to lock them away. But we don’t treat them like prisoners; they are not evil; it’s just their nature that they can become dangerous for our world. Because their world is a completely different one.”
He put his arm on Zeke’s and squeezed it slightly. “I want you to come to Michigan with me. Check it out first before you turn the job down. If you don’t like what you see, you can return to Herrington into your oh-so-interesting life, and I will never bother you again.”
Zeke tried to sort out his thoughts. With everyone else he just would get up now and leave, the story was much too weird to be true. But it was Casey, and Casey had always been different. Geeky, like they used to call him at school. One of the reasons why Zeke always liked him. He was no one who trusted others quickly, but he had put his life into Casey’s hands when everything seemed lost the night of the alien incident. He had known that only a geek would still be able to save the world.
Casey would never betray, hurt, or lie to him. Because Casey loved him. The realization suddenly hit him with full force. And suddenly, the decision was easy because. Yes, he wanted to go to Michigan; he wanted a second chance with Casey. Even if this meant dealing with this strange story, he still didn’t know what to think about.
“Fine, you’ve got me; I admit, I’m curious now. Let’s go to Michigan. But … just to make this clear.” He grinned. “I won’t swim in a pool with a mermaid.”
“Deal,” Casey laughed. "You won't regret it!"