The Faculty - Written for FFFC

[prisca]

Title: Don't be so negative all the time
Character: Casey Connor, Zeke Tyler
Word Count: 230
Prompt: negative
Finished: 17.11.2021

:::

„You did skip school again,“ Casey said when he noticed this lab partner sitting on a bench near the comic store of the mall.

Zeke looked up from the car magazine he was reading, eying him up and down. „And this is your business?“

„Yes, of course, today we were supposed to present the result of our teamwork. Mr. Furlong was not amused.“

„Oh. Sorry.“

Casey's eyes sparkled; Zeke didn't look contritely in the slightest. „You dumbhead. This was your chance to earn some extra points. And you can need them if you want to graduate.“

Zeke smirked. „Who says that I want?“

Annoyed, Casey shook his head. „I don't get it; why are you always so negative? You are smart enough to make it to college, but you act as if it is great fun to fuck up your future.“

No one else would dare to talk with him like that, but for whatever reason, Zeke had a soft spot for this little geek who often enough got into trouble because he never seemed to know when it was better to keep his opinion for himself. „Don't you have enough on your own plate,“ he asked, not able to hide a smile.

Casey shrugged. „Every waste of talent makes me angry,“ he said, turning around to enter the comic store. "Even if it is just you."

The Faculty - Written for FFFC and Fallintofall

[prisca]

Title: Hear me out
Character: Casey Connor, Zeke Tyler
Word Count: 451
Prompt: nickname (FFFC) / “Hear me out.”/"Why the fuck should I listen to you?”
Finished: 19.11.2021

:::

He found Casey sitting at his usual place at the bleachers. A lonely place at lunchbreak, the perfect place of refuge for the school's geek. Zeke hesitated. Maybe it was better to let it rest, but a part of him wanted, no needed, to know the truth. Slowly he stepped closer. „Hey.“

Slightly irritated Casey looked up from his book. „Oh, hey.“

„Interesting book?“

„Ähm... yes.“ It was obvious that he didn't know what to think about Zeke's sudden interest.

„Maybe I have something more interesting for you.“ Zeke pulled a magazine out of his backpack and hold it out to Casey. He was not surprised to see him blushing. Gay porn was for sure not what the boy had expected.

„Asshole! This is... this is not fun!“

„Oh, c'mon, no need to freak out. It's only the vanilla stuff. I bet, your fantasies are wilder." When Casey wanted to jump up, he hold him back. "Wait, and hear me out."

"Why the fuck should I listen to this bullshit?”

Zeke looked at him with slightly narrowed eyes. "Einstein057,“ he said, emphasizing every syllable.

And Casey paled, grabbing for hold at the wooden bench, he was sitting on. „This is... I don't know... what are you talking about.“

„Geeky nickname for a gay forum.“ Zeke dropped down beside him, feeling satisfied. So, he had been right with his suspicion. „And maybe you shouldn't use one of your favorite pictures of him as your avatar."

With eyes wide open Casey shook his head. „No! No, you are wrong. I would never...“

„What? Having dirty talks with strangers?“

„Oh god!“

Zeke grabbed for Casey's arm to keep him from falling off the bench when he started to tremble all over. „Hey. No need to worry. I know to keep a secret.“

„What... what do you want? I still have some birthday money..."

Huffing Zeke let him go again and pulled his face. „What do you think? That I will use this knowledge for blackmail? Okay, I'm not an angel, but I never was that low. Though...“ His hazelnut brown eyes sparkled mischievously. „I wouldn't mind delving into our talk more deeply one day.“

Casey blinked wildly. „Our talk?“

„Red_Phantom,“ Zeke answered, and for a split of a second, a tiny bit of uneasiness was rushing through his body. He hadn't planned to reveal his biggest secret. No one in Herrington knew about it; at school, he was the rebellious dealer and a heartbreaker; a coming out as a gay boy had been unthinkable so far. But it was only fair, wasn't it? „I did enjoy our chat last weekend. I guess, you remember!“

The Faculty - Written for FFFC

[prisca]

Title: Trust me
Character: Casey Connor, Zeke Tyler
Word Count: 411
Prompt: necessary
Finished: 14.11.2021

:::

Zeke rolled his eyes. „No! It's not necessary to talk about it again and again. I am not interested in meeting your family.“

„Fine,“ Casey snapped, louder than planned because he had a hard time fighting his tears back. „You don't need to come to my birthday. Probably it will be a lot more fun when you can't ruin it.“

He noticed Zeke wincing and knew that his words had hurt. „That's the last I want. I've hoped we could celebrate later, just you and me. With pizza and a stupid movie... and we could have chocolate muffins from Annie.“

Casey smiled weakly. „Muffins from Annie sounds great. But it's not the same. It's my 18th birthday, and I want to celebrate with everyone I care about. What's wrong with that?“

„I am not Delilah.“

„What?“ Wide-eyed, Casey stared at Zeke. "You are still jealous because of her? Being together with her was a fatal mistake; I was still confused because of what had happened with Marybeth and the sudden media interest. Deliah could deal with all this so much better."

„I know," Zeke murmured. "But what's with your dad? He was so proud when you started to date her, the cheerleader queen from school. What will he think when suddenly I turn up as your boyfriend?“

„You can't be serious.“ Casey couldn't hide his relieved grin. „Delilah and me, it lasted barely four weeks, and my dad found out quickly that she isn't much more than a pretty shell. He wants me to be happy. And you are the best that could happen to me. Because you don't try to change me, but accept me like I am. You are interested in me, not in some fleeting fame. When he gets to know you, he will accept you."

Zeke kept quiet for a while. „But what, if you are wrong? Usually, parents have their problems with the coming out of their son. Probably he will blame me; I am always the black sheep.“

Casey placed a kiss on Zeke's lips. „I know, you have been there before. But my family is not like this. Do you trust me? I promise they will learn to love you quickly. And... just in case that my dad decides to throw you out of the house, I will go with you.“

Zeke pulled his face. „This would break your heart.“

Casey laughed. „Don't worry, it won't come to that!“