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p_r_i_s_c_a2019-11-26 11:28 am
prisca) wrote in p_r_i_s_c_a2019-11-26 11:28 am
Reboot Universe (AU / crossover Faculty/Jeremiah) - written for Livejournal
Title: Greta (Reboot Part 2)
Characters: Casey Connor, Zeke Tyler, Delilah Profitt
Wordcount: 1264
finished: 2013
Casey was still fighting with his nightmares and guilty feelings. It was all his fault, wasn't it? If he hadn't killed MaryBeth, all this would never have happened. He refused to leave his room, dozed away most of the day in bed. Stokely and Marie sometimes came to visit him. One day Zeke had shown up with two big backpacks, had shoved all his stuff into the cabinet. Finally he dropped down onto the bed beside Casey's and lit two cigarettes without even saying a single word.
Since then he was always near, helped him through the nights, ignored his anger, his desperation, hold him in his arms when he did wake up crying and gasping for air, forced him down onto the bed with his hard grip when all he wanted was to crush his head against the walls to bring all this to an end.
"What are you doing," Casey asked annoyed when Zeke pulled the blankets away from his body.
"Get dressed. We are going down into the dining room."
Casey blinked against the glaring sun, trying to push Zeke back. All he wanted was to pull the blanket over his head again, to shut out the world. He couldn't go downstairs, and Zeke knew this all too well. They all would be there. They would look at him with eyes full of hate because he had killed their parents, friends, families.
"You can go on your own," Zeke growled. "Or I will carry you down. It's about time, Casey, that you stop drowning in self-pity. We all have a hard time. Our world is fallen to pieces. But we are still alive. Because you did what needed to be done."
"What kind of life, Zeke?" Casey stared at him with a mix of anger, angst, desperation. "We better should have never found out the truth about Mary Beth. Then it would be over now."
"You think so?" Zeke kept quiet for a moment. "Do you remember Willis? Furlong? What happened to them? I'm sure they prefer to be dead than to live like a puppet in the hand of aliens."
Casey shuddered. Furlong. He had always been one of his favorite teachers, gentle and calm, always a smile on his lips, finding encouraging words for every student. And Willis. The coach. He had often made life so miserable for Casey during gym. Nevertheless, he wished he could have saved both of them. All the people in Herrington, in the world ... No one deserved what had happened.
He stared at the clothes, Zeke had thrown onto the chair beside his bed, his denim and this stupid checkered shirt. The last one his mom had bought for him; and how much he had hated it. These shirts made him look like the geek most others used to call him. But now he would have done all to get the old times back.
"Fuck you, Zeke," he murmured helplessly.
*
The moment they entered the dining room the world started to spin around. Casey grabbed for hold; he was sure he would throw up and pass out. But Zeke was at his side with steady hands.
"Hey! Breathe, in and out. In and out," he commanded with a calm voice. "It's okay. You can do that. Open your eyes."
And he obeyed. Opened his eyes, looked around. Everyone was here. Stan, Stokes, Marie, Gabe, a lot of familiar faces from Herrington High; some strangers too.
Twins, Jenny and ... Mike? Michael? Zeke had told him about them. They had been visiting their grandparents at Herrington when it had happened. Now they couldn't go anywhere. His fault, his alone.
Jamie, a barely ten years old boy. No one knew where he did come from. One day he was wandering around the empty streets of Herrington, not able to remember anything about his past but his name. 'Yes,' 'No,' 'Jamie' ... the only words he had said since his arrival. Again, his fault. Tears were burning in his eyes. He had destroyed so many lives.
He barely noticed when Stokes put her arms around him; he winced involuntarily when Gabe came up to him. But his eyes looked almost sad, not angry or taunting as they had always done when they met. He murmured: "Good to see you. We were worried."
"I want you to get to know someone," Zeke said and dragged him forward. He was too tired to refuse and followed him.
Delilah was sitting a bit apart from the others, on a rocking chair. And she was not alone. Casey stared at the sleeping baby in her arms.
"This is Greta," said Zeke.
"Greta," Casey repeated.
Del looked up and smiled. But she never smiled at him. She was the publisher of the school magazine, the captain of the cheerleader and the girlfriend of Stan Rosado, the quarterback of the team. She had been. All that had meant anything for her was gone. No school anymore, no football. And Stan shared a room with Stokely, Zeke had told him. But she was sitting there, a baby in her arms and she smiled at him.
"I call her Greta because she reminds me of my grandma. The same eyes. Brown with a touch of green. She's a tough, little girl."
Del touched the cheek of the baby with her finger. Casey huffed slightly. This was so unreal. "But how ...," he stammered. "You have a baby?"
Del laughed. "Of course it's not my own. But someone needs to look after her, right? She has no one anymore and ..." She shrugged. "I don't know. Everything has changed, but when I look at her ... She gives me a reason to move on, you know. How can I give up when she doesn't?"
"She's a fighter," Zeke agreed. "Some days after we did move in here, some of us ventured to the Mall to get some stuff we needed. Can you picture the Mall as an empty place, the lights still glaring, music is playing, always the same stupid announcements by invisible speakers? But no one else around but you and two other guys. It's fucking strange.
But the most scaring shit was to hear her crying. Out of the blue, without warning. I don't know how she could survive for so long. We found her alone in her buggy, dirty and hungry, but she looked at me with wide-open eyes, and she cried with all her remaining power.
She was not willing to give up, Casey, it was so obvious that she wants to live. Who am I that I deny her this chance? Her and all the other people who are still living."
A chance? What kind of chance could they have in a destroyed world? Casey took a deep breath, trying to sort out his feelings. Gabe. Del. Stokes. Zeke ...
Gabe, the jock who had always enjoyed to bully him, told him that he was worried. Stokes, the lesbian gothic freak, was living together with one of the most popular guys from school. Del, the shallow cheerleader who was only interested in herself, was taking care of a baby.
And Zeke ... how often had he wished that he would at least notice him? He was the geek from school; never he would get an invitation to one of Zeke's famous parties, never he would hang out with him, never his secret dreams would come true. He had accepted this a long time ago. But now Zeke was the one who did hold him, not willing to let it happen that he gave up.
Yes, the world had changed. And obviously not all for the worse.
"It's like a crash of your computer," he heard Zeke's voice.
"You can give up, dump it, buy a new one. Or you can reboot it. We can't buy a new world, Case, but there is still a chance for a new start. It's up to us to give the world a future."
The baby, Greta, suddenly opened her eyes and smiled at him.
Characters: Casey Connor, Zeke Tyler, Delilah Profitt
Wordcount: 1264
finished: 2013
Casey was still fighting with his nightmares and guilty feelings. It was all his fault, wasn't it? If he hadn't killed MaryBeth, all this would never have happened. He refused to leave his room, dozed away most of the day in bed. Stokely and Marie sometimes came to visit him. One day Zeke had shown up with two big backpacks, had shoved all his stuff into the cabinet. Finally he dropped down onto the bed beside Casey's and lit two cigarettes without even saying a single word.
Since then he was always near, helped him through the nights, ignored his anger, his desperation, hold him in his arms when he did wake up crying and gasping for air, forced him down onto the bed with his hard grip when all he wanted was to crush his head against the walls to bring all this to an end.
"What are you doing," Casey asked annoyed when Zeke pulled the blankets away from his body.
"Get dressed. We are going down into the dining room."
Casey blinked against the glaring sun, trying to push Zeke back. All he wanted was to pull the blanket over his head again, to shut out the world. He couldn't go downstairs, and Zeke knew this all too well. They all would be there. They would look at him with eyes full of hate because he had killed their parents, friends, families.
"You can go on your own," Zeke growled. "Or I will carry you down. It's about time, Casey, that you stop drowning in self-pity. We all have a hard time. Our world is fallen to pieces. But we are still alive. Because you did what needed to be done."
"What kind of life, Zeke?" Casey stared at him with a mix of anger, angst, desperation. "We better should have never found out the truth about Mary Beth. Then it would be over now."
"You think so?" Zeke kept quiet for a moment. "Do you remember Willis? Furlong? What happened to them? I'm sure they prefer to be dead than to live like a puppet in the hand of aliens."
Casey shuddered. Furlong. He had always been one of his favorite teachers, gentle and calm, always a smile on his lips, finding encouraging words for every student. And Willis. The coach. He had often made life so miserable for Casey during gym. Nevertheless, he wished he could have saved both of them. All the people in Herrington, in the world ... No one deserved what had happened.
He stared at the clothes, Zeke had thrown onto the chair beside his bed, his denim and this stupid checkered shirt. The last one his mom had bought for him; and how much he had hated it. These shirts made him look like the geek most others used to call him. But now he would have done all to get the old times back.
"Fuck you, Zeke," he murmured helplessly.
*
The moment they entered the dining room the world started to spin around. Casey grabbed for hold; he was sure he would throw up and pass out. But Zeke was at his side with steady hands.
"Hey! Breathe, in and out. In and out," he commanded with a calm voice. "It's okay. You can do that. Open your eyes."
And he obeyed. Opened his eyes, looked around. Everyone was here. Stan, Stokes, Marie, Gabe, a lot of familiar faces from Herrington High; some strangers too.
Twins, Jenny and ... Mike? Michael? Zeke had told him about them. They had been visiting their grandparents at Herrington when it had happened. Now they couldn't go anywhere. His fault, his alone.
Jamie, a barely ten years old boy. No one knew where he did come from. One day he was wandering around the empty streets of Herrington, not able to remember anything about his past but his name. 'Yes,' 'No,' 'Jamie' ... the only words he had said since his arrival. Again, his fault. Tears were burning in his eyes. He had destroyed so many lives.
He barely noticed when Stokes put her arms around him; he winced involuntarily when Gabe came up to him. But his eyes looked almost sad, not angry or taunting as they had always done when they met. He murmured: "Good to see you. We were worried."
"I want you to get to know someone," Zeke said and dragged him forward. He was too tired to refuse and followed him.
Delilah was sitting a bit apart from the others, on a rocking chair. And she was not alone. Casey stared at the sleeping baby in her arms.
"This is Greta," said Zeke.
"Greta," Casey repeated.
Del looked up and smiled. But she never smiled at him. She was the publisher of the school magazine, the captain of the cheerleader and the girlfriend of Stan Rosado, the quarterback of the team. She had been. All that had meant anything for her was gone. No school anymore, no football. And Stan shared a room with Stokely, Zeke had told him. But she was sitting there, a baby in her arms and she smiled at him.
"I call her Greta because she reminds me of my grandma. The same eyes. Brown with a touch of green. She's a tough, little girl."
Del touched the cheek of the baby with her finger. Casey huffed slightly. This was so unreal. "But how ...," he stammered. "You have a baby?"
Del laughed. "Of course it's not my own. But someone needs to look after her, right? She has no one anymore and ..." She shrugged. "I don't know. Everything has changed, but when I look at her ... She gives me a reason to move on, you know. How can I give up when she doesn't?"
"She's a fighter," Zeke agreed. "Some days after we did move in here, some of us ventured to the Mall to get some stuff we needed. Can you picture the Mall as an empty place, the lights still glaring, music is playing, always the same stupid announcements by invisible speakers? But no one else around but you and two other guys. It's fucking strange.
But the most scaring shit was to hear her crying. Out of the blue, without warning. I don't know how she could survive for so long. We found her alone in her buggy, dirty and hungry, but she looked at me with wide-open eyes, and she cried with all her remaining power.
She was not willing to give up, Casey, it was so obvious that she wants to live. Who am I that I deny her this chance? Her and all the other people who are still living."
A chance? What kind of chance could they have in a destroyed world? Casey took a deep breath, trying to sort out his feelings. Gabe. Del. Stokes. Zeke ...
Gabe, the jock who had always enjoyed to bully him, told him that he was worried. Stokes, the lesbian gothic freak, was living together with one of the most popular guys from school. Del, the shallow cheerleader who was only interested in herself, was taking care of a baby.
And Zeke ... how often had he wished that he would at least notice him? He was the geek from school; never he would get an invitation to one of Zeke's famous parties, never he would hang out with him, never his secret dreams would come true. He had accepted this a long time ago. But now Zeke was the one who did hold him, not willing to let it happen that he gave up.
Yes, the world had changed. And obviously not all for the worse.
"It's like a crash of your computer," he heard Zeke's voice.
"You can give up, dump it, buy a new one. Or you can reboot it. We can't buy a new world, Case, but there is still a chance for a new start. It's up to us to give the world a future."
The baby, Greta, suddenly opened her eyes and smiled at him.