![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
priscaTitle: Making a new start
Character: Zeke Tyler, Casey Connor
Word Count: 1120
Challenge: missed scene
Finished: 29.04.2022
Note: This takes place right before the end of the movie. The alien incident is over, and everyone tries to move on. Zeke, though has his problems dealing with the loss of his garage.
:::
Zeke let his eyes wander over the chaos which had been his garage once, his sanctuary since he could remember. Already as a child, he did hide here when his parents had disappointed him again; yes, back then, he had still been naive enough to hope that they would come home to spend some time with him one day. But it never happened; mostly, they barely found the time for a fleeting goodbye kiss when they left the house for another important business trip. All that was left to him was a nanny, who didn't care much about him, and the garage. Here he could let himself go, could cry or hit out on the old couch until his hands hurt.
When he turned fourteen, his parents decided that he didn't need a nanny any longer; some money in his bank account was all he got from now on for care. He would never have admitted it, but to be all alone in the big house, scared him. And again, the garage had offered him shelter. The center of his life, where he didn't need to put on a show, playing the rebel who cared about no rules. The heartbreaker who could get every girl, though he actually was not interested in a serious relationship because this would mean letting someone else deeper into his life.
The dealer at school, with brilliant connections, who could find everything a highschool student would secretly dream about. No drugs, though, he had already seen what drugs could do with you, and no, he would not be the one responsible for that. Instead, he had started to build up a lab in his garage, experimented with caffeine pills, crushed them, and put them into pens. Scat! Hard to believe that so many dumbheads at school had been willing to pay a shitload of money for this.
With shaking hands, Zeke grabbed a cigarette, trying to breathe. All gone; the bookshelf with his comics, the guitar, his collection of videos you couldn't buy anywhere. The old but comfy couch buried under lots of dirt and broken glass. His life shattered into pieces. Worst of all, he couldn't even blame someone else for ruining all this. Not even this bitch Delilah Profitt.
All too clearly, he did remember all that had happened on this night. A fucking alien invasion and their queen had infiltrated Herrington High, spreading her larvas into the bodies of most teachers and students. And as hard as he had tried to be angry at her, it hadn't been Delilah's fault that he had realized almost too late that she was one of them.
He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to ignore the memories of the larvas moving under her skin, distorting her face beyond recognition. He had stood paralyzed, unable to do more than watch her acting like a berserk. Probably he should count himself lucky that at least they all had managed to escape out of the ruins of his garage without getting seriously harmed. And in the end, it had been his scat that had killed off the aliens. Most students and teachers, controlled by them, were now back to their former selves, and this horrible night was not more than a faint memory for them.
Also Delilah didn't seem to remember anymore what she had done. Bitchy as ever, she even took advantage of the incident. Not that Zeke cared much about her, but that she knew to rope Casey into her stupid games made him angry. Casey had always been different, smart enough to go his own way, no matter the consequences. And that he was so much stronger than most people would have suspected he had proven on this horrible night when he did stand up against the alien queen all alone. All the worse that he seemed to fall for...
A low crack tore Zeke out of his thoughts; panic-ridden, he jerked around. „Shit, Casey,“ he almost yelled when he noticed the boy standing on the remains of the wooden stair.
„Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you.“
„So, and what do you want? Don't you have anything better to do? Like, another interview to make you even more famous?“
„Oh, God!“ Casey rolled his eyes. „Not you, too.“
Calming down a bit, Zeke smirked. „Already sick of it, to play the hero? Good! Doesn't answer my question, though. What are you doing here?“
„I was worried because you were not at school today.“
„Oh!“
„Yeah.“ To Zeke's amusement, Casey blushed slightly. But instead of backing out, like he probably would have done before the alien incident, he held eye contact. „That's what friends do.“
„We are friends?“
„Well, something like that, I guess.“
Suddenly Zeke couldn't hold back any longer and laughed. „Something like that. Sounds okay. I would ask you to come in.“ He looked around in his garage and shrugged. „But like you see... my home is not very comfortable at the moment.“
Casey stepped over the doorsill anyway. Zeke could see him shudder at the memories so alive inside here. He stood there for a while, taking in the chaos, before turning back to Zeke. „Will you rebuild it?“
Zeke frowned; to be honest, he hadn't thought about this so far; still too stressed out from all that had happened during the last weeks. It had been only taking one step after the other. „Dunno. It wouldn't be the same anymore.“
To his surprise, Casey smiled.“No, probably not. But that's not so bad. Leaving all the memories behind. Making a new start. I guess that's what we all need now.“
„Would you help me?“ Zeke wasn't even sure why he had said this. He actually never asked for help, so used to it only to trust himself. And the garage had always been his sanctuary he hadn't been willing to share with anyone else.
„Help you? What I could help you with,“ Casey promptly answered.
„Rebuilding the garage. Making it a new place for us.“
Blue eyes widened in surprise, making Zeke chuckle inwardly. Yes, it would be fun to hang around with him more often. „Maybe we could also plan on a small photo studio for you; you would like that, wouldn't you?“
„Woah! Yes! Yes, of course. Are you serious?“
„Why not? We have already proven that we are a good team. And there is plenty of room in the garage for my lab and a small studio.“
„Okay. Okay!“ Casey's voice was shaking with excitement now. „What are we waiting for? Let's start cleaning up this mess! But I warn you; I am all thumbs."
Character: Zeke Tyler, Casey Connor
Word Count: 1120
Challenge: missed scene
Finished: 29.04.2022
Note: This takes place right before the end of the movie. The alien incident is over, and everyone tries to move on. Zeke, though has his problems dealing with the loss of his garage.
:::
Zeke let his eyes wander over the chaos which had been his garage once, his sanctuary since he could remember. Already as a child, he did hide here when his parents had disappointed him again; yes, back then, he had still been naive enough to hope that they would come home to spend some time with him one day. But it never happened; mostly, they barely found the time for a fleeting goodbye kiss when they left the house for another important business trip. All that was left to him was a nanny, who didn't care much about him, and the garage. Here he could let himself go, could cry or hit out on the old couch until his hands hurt.
When he turned fourteen, his parents decided that he didn't need a nanny any longer; some money in his bank account was all he got from now on for care. He would never have admitted it, but to be all alone in the big house, scared him. And again, the garage had offered him shelter. The center of his life, where he didn't need to put on a show, playing the rebel who cared about no rules. The heartbreaker who could get every girl, though he actually was not interested in a serious relationship because this would mean letting someone else deeper into his life.
The dealer at school, with brilliant connections, who could find everything a highschool student would secretly dream about. No drugs, though, he had already seen what drugs could do with you, and no, he would not be the one responsible for that. Instead, he had started to build up a lab in his garage, experimented with caffeine pills, crushed them, and put them into pens. Scat! Hard to believe that so many dumbheads at school had been willing to pay a shitload of money for this.
With shaking hands, Zeke grabbed a cigarette, trying to breathe. All gone; the bookshelf with his comics, the guitar, his collection of videos you couldn't buy anywhere. The old but comfy couch buried under lots of dirt and broken glass. His life shattered into pieces. Worst of all, he couldn't even blame someone else for ruining all this. Not even this bitch Delilah Profitt.
All too clearly, he did remember all that had happened on this night. A fucking alien invasion and their queen had infiltrated Herrington High, spreading her larvas into the bodies of most teachers and students. And as hard as he had tried to be angry at her, it hadn't been Delilah's fault that he had realized almost too late that she was one of them.
He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to ignore the memories of the larvas moving under her skin, distorting her face beyond recognition. He had stood paralyzed, unable to do more than watch her acting like a berserk. Probably he should count himself lucky that at least they all had managed to escape out of the ruins of his garage without getting seriously harmed. And in the end, it had been his scat that had killed off the aliens. Most students and teachers, controlled by them, were now back to their former selves, and this horrible night was not more than a faint memory for them.
Also Delilah didn't seem to remember anymore what she had done. Bitchy as ever, she even took advantage of the incident. Not that Zeke cared much about her, but that she knew to rope Casey into her stupid games made him angry. Casey had always been different, smart enough to go his own way, no matter the consequences. And that he was so much stronger than most people would have suspected he had proven on this horrible night when he did stand up against the alien queen all alone. All the worse that he seemed to fall for...
A low crack tore Zeke out of his thoughts; panic-ridden, he jerked around. „Shit, Casey,“ he almost yelled when he noticed the boy standing on the remains of the wooden stair.
„Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you.“
„So, and what do you want? Don't you have anything better to do? Like, another interview to make you even more famous?“
„Oh, God!“ Casey rolled his eyes. „Not you, too.“
Calming down a bit, Zeke smirked. „Already sick of it, to play the hero? Good! Doesn't answer my question, though. What are you doing here?“
„I was worried because you were not at school today.“
„Oh!“
„Yeah.“ To Zeke's amusement, Casey blushed slightly. But instead of backing out, like he probably would have done before the alien incident, he held eye contact. „That's what friends do.“
„We are friends?“
„Well, something like that, I guess.“
Suddenly Zeke couldn't hold back any longer and laughed. „Something like that. Sounds okay. I would ask you to come in.“ He looked around in his garage and shrugged. „But like you see... my home is not very comfortable at the moment.“
Casey stepped over the doorsill anyway. Zeke could see him shudder at the memories so alive inside here. He stood there for a while, taking in the chaos, before turning back to Zeke. „Will you rebuild it?“
Zeke frowned; to be honest, he hadn't thought about this so far; still too stressed out from all that had happened during the last weeks. It had been only taking one step after the other. „Dunno. It wouldn't be the same anymore.“
To his surprise, Casey smiled.“No, probably not. But that's not so bad. Leaving all the memories behind. Making a new start. I guess that's what we all need now.“
„Would you help me?“ Zeke wasn't even sure why he had said this. He actually never asked for help, so used to it only to trust himself. And the garage had always been his sanctuary he hadn't been willing to share with anyone else.
„Help you? What I could help you with,“ Casey promptly answered.
„Rebuilding the garage. Making it a new place for us.“
Blue eyes widened in surprise, making Zeke chuckle inwardly. Yes, it would be fun to hang around with him more often. „Maybe we could also plan on a small photo studio for you; you would like that, wouldn't you?“
„Woah! Yes! Yes, of course. Are you serious?“
„Why not? We have already proven that we are a good team. And there is plenty of room in the garage for my lab and a small studio.“
„Okay. Okay!“ Casey's voice was shaking with excitement now. „What are we waiting for? Let's start cleaning up this mess! But I warn you; I am all thumbs."