Prisca's_Writing_Area

Title: Unexpected Realization
Characters: Casey Connor, Delilah Profit, mention of Zeke Tyler, Gabe Santora
Prompt: unexpected
Words: 572

:::

„Casey, wait!“ He sighed inwardly when the cheerleader queen stepped in his way. Not this again; he had different plans this weekend. „You still have the pictures from the last football training, do you? The ones with the incident, where Gabe got hurt.“

„You told me to dump them. Because this does not make a good story for the school's magazine.“

„But you didn't. Please tell me that you took some good shots of Gabe after he got hurt. And when they carried him away in the ambulance.“

Casey frowned slightly. „Well, I already shredded the photos, but I still have the negatives.“

Delilah's eyes sparkled. „Good! You need to develop them again. I want them until this evening. And they will make it into the main article of the school's magazine's next edition.“

„Okay,“ Casey drawled. „Are you sure that an article like this will amuse Coach Willis?“

„Don't worry about the coach; he is already thinking about replacing Gabe for the rest of the season. He's still in the hospital, and there are rumours that his injury is serious. It's rather unlikely that he will be back on the field ever again.“

Casey kept quiet, feeling shocked. Yes, Gabe and the other jocks were not his friends, rather the opposite; they teased and bullied him most of the time. However, as a photographer, he had visited almost every game of the Hornets, and he knew that Gabe put all his heart into this game; he was the favorite of Coach Willis and had already piqued the interest of some talent scouts from prestigious colleges. If Delilah were right, his accident would mean the end of his lifetime dream. „This sounds awful. You sure, you want to write an article about this?“

Delilah looked at him, surprised. „That's the most interesting news in weeks. Gabe was the star of the Hornets. Of course, everyone wants to hear about this; the circulation of the magazine might even double.“

Casey paused for a split of a second. „That's pretty low, Delilah, even for you. Only last week, you were still flirting with him like mad, and now you are using his misfortune to put yourself in the spotlight again?

I am done with this. I can't stop you from writing the article, but you'll have to do it without my photos.“

„Huh? Have you lost your mind?“

Casey pulled his face. „I never was that clear. Zeke has always warned me that you are only using people for your own interests. I've always taken your side, but now I must admit that he is right.“

„Pfft. Zeke! Zeke is a loser; you will never turn into a star photographer when you don't stop hanging around with him,“ Delilah spat. „Being a serious journalist comes with a prize, and I am willing to pay it.“

Casey smiled weakly. „Just good, that I am not that ambitious. Photography is fun; I would never make a job out of it. Selling my own grandmother for a tiny minute of fame, that's not me. Sorry, Del, you will have to look for photos of Gabe's accident somewhere else.“

He could feel her piercing eyes resting on his back when he turned around to leave the school building and grinned. Zeke would be pleasantly surprised by this news; never again would Delilah's demands stand in the way of their plans.

Title: Trapped in a Labyrinth of Infinity
Characters: Zeke Tyler, Casey Connor, mention of Deliah Profitt
Prompt: Yahtzee - picture of a girl in a labyrinth
Words: 566

:::

„Hey, geek boy,“

Casey barely looked up. “Hi!“

Zeke frowned, alarmed. „Okay, what's wrong?“

„I am fine!“

„No, you are not, don't try to fool me. What is it? A nightmare again?“

"Not exactly a nightmare." A deep sigh. „Do you think we can go visit Delilah today?“

Zeke kept quiet. Not how he had pictured spending the day. Visiting Delilah at the hospital would bring back lots of memories he preferred not to think about. Thoughtfully, he eyed his friend. He was pale; for sure, he hadn't slept well during the last nights. „Will you ever stop tormenting yourself?“ he asked. „It is not your fault what happened to her. It's actually no one's fault. No one was prepared for an alien queen, trying to take over the world.“

Casey shrugged. „If I hadn't hesitated... maybe I would have been at the swimming pool in time to save her, too.“

„If you had been there in time, you would be locked up at the hospital's lab with Delilah now.“ Zeke shuddered visibly; he preferred not to picture this. No one should be forced to exist like that; not dead, but neither alive. A kind of a zombie; Delilah was able to breathe, to move awkwardly. The sounds she made were not human; her eyes, hidden behind thick sunglasses because she couldn't bear daylight any longer, were dark and empty. She had nothing in common anymore with the pretty, smart cheerleader bitch she had been once. And no one, no doctor, no professor, no expert in the whole world had been able to help her so far.

To be honest, Zeke had never been a big fan of her, but even he felt miserable when thinking about her now. Maybe it would have been better if she hadn't survived that night. Better for her, better for the world. Better for Casey. Yes, he would mourn about her, but finally, he would be able to look forward again.

Now? The thought of Delilah tormented him every day anew. Although they had never been close friends, he had worked with her on the school's magazine, and she had respected him for his photography skills. Probably, Casey had saved the world when he finally, when everything seemed lost, stepped up against the alien queen. Everyone survived unharmed; even the infected people returned to their normal selves within a few days. Everyone but Delilah. Probably, she would continue to exist like a living dead until one day she would find salvation. And while everyone else called Casey a hero, he would never stop blaming himself for betraying her.

„It feels as if this is the place where I should be right now. She needs me!“ Casey looked at Zeke with his blue eyes wide open. „I know, you don't believe in this, but she calls for me in my dreams. She is still there, Zeke, and I need to reach out to her, to help her!“

:::

An endless, small way. High walls on both sides, built out of countless steel plates.

A young woman; brown hair, brown eyes, and glasses. Wearing a transparent, long dress. Her hands running over the cold, steely plates.

There was no escape from this labyrinth. She would wander around here forever. No past, no future. No memories.

Casey! Suddenly, a whisper in her mind. It got loud and louder. Casey! Casey!! Ca...sey!!!

Title: Broken Hearts
Characters: Casey Connor. Delilah Profit
Prompt: 7 days, 7 stories / any, any, These Truths / heartbreak
Words: 571

:::

„Delilah, please, don't make a drama.“ Casey felt uncomfortable, but he knew that if he didn't find the courage now to say what was long overdue, he might never find the courage again, and everything would end in a complete mess for Deliah and for him. „We both knew that it would end like this. It never was a true relationship between us.“

She looked at him with a mixture of anger and disappointment. „How can you say this? We are together...“

„No, we are not!“ he interrupted her. „It's just me and you, Del, no media around. So you can stop putting on a show. We never were the dream couple we made people believe. You never meant me when you talked about love! It was all about the fame and the interest I got,“ he paused and shrugged, „and about all the money the media was willing to pay for our story. The hero who stands up against an alien all alone, to save the girl he loves.“ He huffed. „That's stuff cheap movies are made of, not reality. And you are much too smart to say otherwise.“

„You think I am smart?“

„I think you know what you want and how to get it. And I don't complain. First, it felt good. I mean, since I can remember, I was the geek in school, bullied, teased, and ignored. But then Mary Beth came along, and my world was turned upside down. The police investigation, my parents, who looked at me as if I had lost my mind, the media everywhere. I felt confused and afraid, and I didn't know how to deal with it.

It was good that someone else took the reins. I just let it happen and followed your unwritten script. It was easier that way. But it never was real. And I can't move on like this forever.“

She narrowed her eyes. „Great. And what's with me? Have you ever thought about my feelings?“

„Don't act as if we going separate ways is the end of the world. People might have called me a hero for a while, but let's face it. Deep inside, I stayed the geek all the time. I still love photography and chess, and too much attention makes me feel uncomfortable.“ Casey smirked. „I don't think you'll suffer from a broken heart for long. Jeremy Tremblay has an eye on you for a while already; he is a sports ass, he is goodlooking and it seems he's coming from one of the most famous families in Quebec. To cut a long story short, he fits much better in your future plans than I ever did.“

Delilah wanted to protest first, but then she kept quiet. To Casey's surprise, she was even blushing slightly. „You have noticed it,“ she murmured.

„Yes,“ Casey admitted, „and I guess this was the moment I realized that it was time to bring the charade to an end. The media interest is slowly waning anyway, and without that, there isn't much left for us. Let us do the right thing now; let's bring it to an end without any drama.“

Some moments later, a smile turned up on Delilah's face. „Maybe a tiny bit of drama and broken hearts? For the media and all our followers who are still out there?“

Casey laughed. „Agreed! Let's prepare for the last big show.“