Prisca's_Writing_Area

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

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„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.“

Title: And one day, you will have to make a decision
Characters: Casey Connor
Prompt: any, any, past and future
Words: 267

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Casey stared at the envelope in front of him; the letter he had so much feared and longed for for weeks. The letter that would decide his future. Suddenly, he wasn't sure any longer if he wanted to know the answer. Maybe it had been a mistake to send an application letter to The New Yorker to volunteer there for six months, with the chance of finally getting a permanent contract.

He had dreamed of a chance like this for his whole life; leaving the boredom of Ohio behind, discovering the world, working as a photo reporter for a great magazine. A new life, a different life.

His parents had been willing to listen when he gushed about it, but he had always known that secretly they called it a pipe dream. Maybe they were right. A boy like Casey, grown up in Herrington, always a bit shy and nerdy, didn't suddenly become a famous reporter. Maybe Ohio wasn't that bad. He could go to City College in Columbus. He was smart, so he could find a job at the Herrington Post or maybe the Columbus Dispatch. One day, he could marry a nice girl, a house, a dog, and children. Casey knew his mother was dreaming about at least two grandchildren. Not the most interesting life, but not the worst, either.

With shaking hands, he grabbed the envelope again, turned it back and forth. Whatever the answer would be, it would change everything. He couldn't have both: the future he had dreamed about since he could remember, and the safety and familiarity that only Herrington offered.