(no subject)
everybody put your best suit or dress on
runaways
chase
post bkv's run
for gaisce, for whom I can never really do enough
Chase wakes up at six-thirty on New Year's Day.
He always thought that dropping out of school was the cool thing to do; he thinks he was the last person to get that geeks were in. Or maybe he was the first, because some part of Chase has always known that he's supposed to be--he's not supposed to be successful or rich. He's not a sports star or a leader of men.
He's that fuckup kid who works at 7-11, works at 7-11 Christmas Day because he doesn't even have anyone to go out and get wasted with.
He has two text messages from Victor that came after he crashed--New Year's comes later in California. The first is happy day bro and the second is calj me sometind a few hours later. He and Nico and them must have gotten drunk. Chase likes the idea of a drunk Victor, the guy slurring his words and shooting sparks out of his mouth.
Molly's still asleep in her room, of course; she's off school and her job's only on weekends. It kind of humbles him that Molly's working, pitching in. It makes him happy she's doing things; she's going to be a responsible adult. She's going to be the kind of adult who gets that hard work is its own reward, that there are no shortcuts.
Chase still worries he's going to be the guy who sells his soul for an easy break. He's not there yet, but he'd sell his soul in a second for one thing already, and it's a slippery slope, the supervillain business. He's got antisocial tendencies, a fucked up family, and the girl he loves is dead. What more do you need to go darkside? He was halfway there already.
He opens the store in a haze, not hungover, just tired. As soon as he flips the sign, some stoned kids come in and buy a billion Dorritos, giggling like fucking idiots. Chase makes himself a coffee as soon as they're gone. He'd get an IV if he could. He'd like to be that crazy dude in the hobo jacket, dragging a bag of fluids around on a wobbly rod behind him. It's like being a cat lady, but weirder and more badass.
In the future, Chase never sees himself with anyone else. He thinks he could be a good father, if Gert was alive and willing, and if nothing else went horribly wrong in their lives.
But what are the odds of that?
Molly's going to be good, someday. She's already good. And she'll go to college and send him cards and try to hold onto him, but he knows he won't let her keep him. Knows that she will be better off if he escapes while she's not looking. And she'll give up, and Victor will give up, and Karolina will give up, and he'll be alone, because Nico has already given up. Nico understands, better than anyone maybe, that Chase is a lost cause now.
The wonder isn't that he's a screw-up, that he's a loner, that he's a bad person. The wonder is that for a year or so--was it really just a year--he wasn't any of that stuff. Because Gertrude Yorkes was willing to date him, and there's something of value in that.
There are a handful of people in his whole shift; he gets time-and-a-half for working the holiday, so his boss wants him out early. He steals a bag of ho-hos as he goes, knowing that it will get him fired someday. Knowing that it's not a matter of if, but a matter of when. 7-11 thinks his name is George Dean, and the next place he works will think he's a different person with a different past.
By then, he might be.
Chase has been a losing cause his whole life, but coming out of 7-11 on New Year's Day 2009, he thinks that, yeah, he can finally upgrade to a lost one.
runaways
chase
post bkv's run
for gaisce, for whom I can never really do enough
Chase wakes up at six-thirty on New Year's Day.
He always thought that dropping out of school was the cool thing to do; he thinks he was the last person to get that geeks were in. Or maybe he was the first, because some part of Chase has always known that he's supposed to be--he's not supposed to be successful or rich. He's not a sports star or a leader of men.
He's that fuckup kid who works at 7-11, works at 7-11 Christmas Day because he doesn't even have anyone to go out and get wasted with.
He has two text messages from Victor that came after he crashed--New Year's comes later in California. The first is happy day bro and the second is calj me sometind a few hours later. He and Nico and them must have gotten drunk. Chase likes the idea of a drunk Victor, the guy slurring his words and shooting sparks out of his mouth.
Molly's still asleep in her room, of course; she's off school and her job's only on weekends. It kind of humbles him that Molly's working, pitching in. It makes him happy she's doing things; she's going to be a responsible adult. She's going to be the kind of adult who gets that hard work is its own reward, that there are no shortcuts.
Chase still worries he's going to be the guy who sells his soul for an easy break. He's not there yet, but he'd sell his soul in a second for one thing already, and it's a slippery slope, the supervillain business. He's got antisocial tendencies, a fucked up family, and the girl he loves is dead. What more do you need to go darkside? He was halfway there already.
He opens the store in a haze, not hungover, just tired. As soon as he flips the sign, some stoned kids come in and buy a billion Dorritos, giggling like fucking idiots. Chase makes himself a coffee as soon as they're gone. He'd get an IV if he could. He'd like to be that crazy dude in the hobo jacket, dragging a bag of fluids around on a wobbly rod behind him. It's like being a cat lady, but weirder and more badass.
In the future, Chase never sees himself with anyone else. He thinks he could be a good father, if Gert was alive and willing, and if nothing else went horribly wrong in their lives.
But what are the odds of that?
Molly's going to be good, someday. She's already good. And she'll go to college and send him cards and try to hold onto him, but he knows he won't let her keep him. Knows that she will be better off if he escapes while she's not looking. And she'll give up, and Victor will give up, and Karolina will give up, and he'll be alone, because Nico has already given up. Nico understands, better than anyone maybe, that Chase is a lost cause now.
The wonder isn't that he's a screw-up, that he's a loner, that he's a bad person. The wonder is that for a year or so--was it really just a year--he wasn't any of that stuff. Because Gertrude Yorkes was willing to date him, and there's something of value in that.
There are a handful of people in his whole shift; he gets time-and-a-half for working the holiday, so his boss wants him out early. He steals a bag of ho-hos as he goes, knowing that it will get him fired someday. Knowing that it's not a matter of if, but a matter of when. 7-11 thinks his name is George Dean, and the next place he works will think he's a different person with a different past.
By then, he might be.
Chase has been a losing cause his whole life, but coming out of 7-11 on New Year's Day 2009, he thinks that, yeah, he can finally upgrade to a lost one.