3
Title: "Bliss (Part Three)"
Rating: R for language
Pairing: We shall see as time moves on, shall we?
Synopsis: Is ANYWHERE safe?
“We're rotten fruit
We're damaged goods
What the hell, we've got nothing more to lose
One gust and we will probably crumble
We're backdrifters”
- Radiohead, “Backdrifts”
“Casey? It’s for you,”
Casey’s head lifted from his pillow, eyes drowsy from only the tiniest inkling of rest he’d managed to get in the night. He looked over at his mother, standing next to his bed and extending the phone to him. “Thanks,” he muttered, taking it. “’Lo?”
“Hey, Case… it’s Stokely,”
“Oh… hey,”
“Did I wake you? Geez, you’re usually up before seven, even on weekends.”
“Mmm… what time is it?”
“Uh… almost eleven.”
Casey groaned. He’d remembered the sun rising, but could have sworn he’d stayed up through the whole morning. He must have gotten SOME sort of sleep. “Oh… yea, I slept in then.”
“I’ll say.” Stokes replied. “You all right?”
“Yea… yea, just tired,” he said, accentuated by an insistent, wide yawn.
“A’right then. Listen, Stan’s birthday is this Monday. He said he doesn’t want a party, and I was willing to go by that… until- about ten minutes ago,”
Casey had to chuckle. “He’ll act pissed, but it’ll be an act.”
“Exactly, kid,” she said with a laugh. “Please say you can come. I know it’s totally short notice, but I want to have something for him.”
“Yea, I’ll come,” Casey said, sitting up and rubbing the back of his head. His hair felt sore for whatever reason.
“Cool!” Stokely exclaimed happily. “Oh… and bring some food. I don’t care what. Just… something…”
“To absorb the alcohol?” Casey teased with a grin.
“Shut up, Case.”
“Love you too,”
“See ya,”
Casey hung up, sighing deeply. At least he wouldn’t be bored tonight. He lay back on the bed, his head landing in a thump upon the pillow. He frowned, reaching again behind it. Feeling around, he bit his lip. Will’s fingernails hadn’t pierced into him that hard, had they?
*********
The supermarket was on the way to Stokely’s; Casey walked in, sighing deeply. He wondered what to get- he knew Stan liked fresh fruit, always had. Insisted upon it everywhere he went. His biggest reason for it was his being on the team, claiming it gave him a great, healthy and natural high. Even though he’d quit the team after the Incident, he could still be found munching on a fruit salad he made for himself every day to bring to school. Casey figured they’d all be too busy (or lazy) during the preparations of this impromptu get together to make one in Stokes’ kitchen, so he walked into the produce department heading to the racks of pre-made fruit salads. They were expensive but… the fact that Casey could buy about forty of these salads right now no problem was there, right in his jeans pocket.
He secretly squirmed at the thought, feeling the bulky wad of bills there. It was as if the fact that he was going to actually spend this money sealed the deal. No matter his denial, his role last night had been a whore. ‘Don’t think like that,’ he tried telling himself in his thoughts as he shook his head slowly, staring at the mounds of pineapple, strawberries, grapes and watermelon encased in plastic. He realized he was growing hypnotized by the colors; he shook off his trance and grabbed one of the salads, walking off.
*********
“Oh DAMN, Casey… I forgot your elephant sized memory!!”
Casey smiled as Stokely unbagged the items he’d gotten, finding the fruit first. “It’s hard to forget,” he said with a shrug. “I’ve wondered if the guy wears fruit as a cologne,”
“Hah, I know. Just surprised I didn’t think of it,” she said. She grabbed up her wallet from the counter. “Let me give you the money for this, it must have cost you an assload of money-“
“No, Stokes- really, don’t worry about it,” Casey interjected. She cocked an eyebrow his way.
“Casey, don’t fool with me. I know how much stuff like this costs.”
“Don’t worry,” he repeated. She sighed and rolled her eyes.
“Always were the stubborn little shit,” she said, giving him a wink. Casey went to grab a soda, his throat incredibly dry from the cool air he’d walked through.
“So,” he said, cracking it open and sipping. “Who else is coming, anyways?”
“Oh, not many people. Most said they couldn’t make it on such short notice,” she explained with a shrug. Casey nodded as she continued. “But a few said they wouldn’t miss it. Don’t worry, I didn’t call Delilah,” she told him, looking like she’d tasted something bitter. Casey smiled.
“Thanks for that,”
“Hey, I don’t want to deal with the bitch either.” Stokely said. “So yea, we got Brad, Tim, Angie, Zeke, Peter…”
Casey froze mid-sip, looking at Stokely with a blank stare. He lowered the soda and averted his eyes. “Oh. Zeke’s coming,”
“Yea, of course,” Stokely said, giving Casey a concerned frown. “Why?” she asked. Casey shrugged and blinked slowly, staring into the fizzing liquid he held.
“Nothing… don’t worry about it,”
“No, what’s up? We’re all friends here… aren’t we?”
Casey sighed deeply and shrugged again. “We all were, yea. That’s true. The first week after… what we dealt with was great. Wasn’t it?”
Stokely stopped chopping vegetables to turn to him, crossing her arms. “Okay, Case. Spill.”
“Spill?”
“Yea. Suddenly you went all angst and tragic on me.”
Casey bit his lip; Stokely was one hell of a perceptive young lady; he should have kept his emotions about Zeke in check. Out of everything thus far, he’d kept his anger towards Zeke a secret, even from Stokely and Stan. “It just… bothers me a little, how he went out for the ‘team’ and all,” he started. “I remember when him and me went out to this diner after Delilah broke it off with me, and he just… we had such a good time, y’now? He was all apologetic that he couldn’t make it to the party you and Stan did up. So he took me out to eat, we saw a movie, drove around town WELL past my curfew. Having my phone taken out of my room… again… never felt so good.”
Stokely smiled, though she still looked concerned. “We all go down different paths, Case. Look at me.”
This made Casey laugh out loud, looking back up to her. “Yea. When are you gonna go ‘back in black’? I liked that look on you.” He said, motioning towards her purple and red sweater. She blushed slightly, shaking her head slowly.
“I still do, y’now. Dress like I did.” She said, turning back to her food preparations. “But before… I ALWAYS dressed like that. I needed a fresh change from all that, all the time anyways.”
Casey nodded knowingly, going quiet now as she hurried about the kitchen.
**********
From what Casey had recalled of Stokely’s listing of friends coming tonight, it was certainly not what was going on now. He’d answered the door about fifteen times for her already, her face peeking out past the kitchen doorway to look down the hall. “Who’s that?” she asked Casey, nodding towards the two young men that had just come in, slapping hands with another young man. Casey blinked and shrugged.
“Hell if I know.” He replied.
“Great. I guess it’s gonna end up like one of those movies… Jesus Christ, if anything that happens in ‘Animal House’ happens here, I’ll take a sledgehammer to everyone… well, not you,” she added at the end, seeing his eyebrow cocked at her.
“Spare Stan too. He doesn’t even know what’s going on.” Casey told her.
“Oh. Yea.”
Another hour went by, along with at least eleven more people over Stokely’s threshold. “Okay… um, everyone??” Stokely called over the loud music and talking going on in her spacious living room; most turned to look as she cleared her throat. “It’s almost eight- we should shut the music off, Stan is gonna be here soon,”
Everyone began milling around; Casey saw a huge mess of soda and beer cans already starting in the corner. He went over and began picking them up, just as the doorbell rang. He didn’t look up until he heard Stokely’s concerned voice.
“Um… Delilah?”
His eyes shot up, looking over to where Stokely stood by her front door. He could see her knuckles going white on the door handle as yes, Delilah’s voice replied from the porch.
“Um… yea.” She said, sounding defensive. Casey shuddered; he could almost see her face, her upper lip curling with distaste. Damn it. “Tim called, asked if Gabe and I were coming to a party for Stan.”
The pounding of blood in Casey’s ears blurred the rest of the conversation. Delilah… AND Gabe? Fuck all, NO. Even though their talking had grown louder, he still could only make out expressions Stokely gave instead of words. She kept glancing into the living room towards him, anger in her face. Casey clutched the trash he held hard, standing up and rushing into the adjacent dining room, going into the kitchen. He went to the way back, near the back door and threw them into a large trash barrel. He froze here, leaning back on the dryer behind him.
This was all wrong. He KNEW Stokely would have made it just fine for him to come and not have to face two of the people he loathed. She hated them herself; would she actually have the nerve to kick them off her porch and back into the streets?
The back door opened then, snapping Casey out of his frustrated trance. As if things couldn’t get worse, there was Zeke walking in, finding Casey only a few feet from him and widening his eyes. “Oh… hey, Case,” he said, smiling a little as he shut the door behind him. Casey sighed shakily.
“Hey.” He replied blankly. Zeke rubbed the back of his head, rolling his eyes.
“I would have come in the front, but… I saw the ‘Queen Bitch’ and her ass of a boyfriend on the porch.”
“Did they come in?” Casey asked, though at that moment a clear yell of anger was heard from Stokely.
“I didn’t invite you, for Christ’s sake!” she bellowed. Casey turned away; Zeke’s hand fell on his shoulder.
“You all right? Haven’t talked to you in ages,” he asked. Before Casey could reply, Stokely yelled again, angrier.
“Oh! For fuck’s sake, THANK you for ruining EVERYTHING, you ice bitch!!”
“What’s going on?”
Stan. Well, that ruined the entire surprise, didn’t it?