Unravelling Zeke - Open
Banner by aliensouldream
Title: Open
Author: Gabi
Fandom: The Faculty
Pairing: Z/C
Rating: R
Summary: Zeke gets The Talk.
Disclaimer: I own neither the rights nor the characters. If I did, Mr Tyler would be sporting a lovely new collar. I make no money. I have no money. Don’t sue me.
Note: beta’d by the wonderful Aliensouldream. I lurve you. Thank you xxx
Previous
Epiphany / Party & Boring / Plans / Casa Del Tyler / The Suit / Mom / Hate You / Meet the Connors / New York - Friday / New York - Saturday / New York - Sunday / Texting / The Deal / Complex / Snow / Pictures of You / A Connor Christmas / Missed This / Photogenic / New Years Eve / Trust / Saint Valentine / Spring Break / Calm / Storm / Stages / Whispers / Echoes / Stokely / I Love You / Mercy / Thrift / Messenger / Anticipation / So Talk / Sand / Insomnia / Penance / Signals / Murdock / Pilot / Concert / Midnight / Perspective / Lost / Nightmare / Seventeen
Takes place right after Seventeen
It was all very exciting. Moving home. Okay, so technically he wasn’t moving out. And technically he hadn’t done anything yet, but the notion was exciting. It had kept him in a fine mood for the rest of school.
As if the Gods were actually smiling down on him, Michael had ignored Casey’s existence after lunch, while the majority of the student body had noticed him. Some with smiles and some with a level of caution. Casey suspected that finally, it had nothing to do with the shark he cruised with.
So when the final bell rang he was up and out of his seat and racing towards his locker to grab his books, get the fuck out of here and go meet his soon to be live-in-lover at the GTO. He really, really liked the sound of that.
To his surprise, when he exited the building, Zeke wasn’t at the car. A swift look round at the milling students didn’t produce his boyfriend. He didn’t think much of it. Just because Zeke was almost always out first, didn’t mean he would always be out first.
He wandered over to the car, dumped his bags on the back seat and sat in shotgun while he waited. He sometimes wondered why nothing bad ever happened to the car. Zeke never locked it at school, but nothing went missing. Nothing got damaged. But then, who’d be stupid enough to risk the wrath of a psycho who’s prized possession had just been keyed? Not even Meat.
When the population of the school yard dwindled and the buses began to pull out of the grounds, Casey’s mind began to churn. Where was Zeke? Why was he late? Had something happened? Detention? He chewed on a nail and waited where he was. There was no point hunting and missing him somewhere in the building.
A few more minutes passed before Zeke appeared through the doors looking harassed and paused to light a cigarette. He made his way over and slid into his seat with his head back against the rest.
“Where’ve you been?” Casey asked, a little worried.
“Principal’s office.” He inhaled a long drag and let it out slowly, turning his head at the silence. “Fell asleep in class.” he explained. “Tate… miserable fuck… decided to wake me up… by shaking me. I fuckin’ freaked, man.”
“Jesus. What happened?”
“I didn’t hit anyone… I jumped up and yelled at him, ‘Don’t fuckin’ touch me!’. Gripped the lip of my desk, like I was gonna launch it at him before I snapped out of it. He was fuckin’ shakin’, man. Sent me to the Principal’s office.”
“Fuck… What did he say?”
“Plenty, but I’ve already told him what’s going on when I asked for a transfer so he’s a little more lenient. I even got out of a detention cos I told him I was waiting for a call from my shrink. He just looked at me like, ‘Yeah, you need a shrink WAY more than you need a detention.’ So yeah… pretty much got away with that one.”
Casey shook his head and sighed. “I guess that’s our cue to go check your messages then, huh?”
~*~
“This is a message for Zeke from Sophie. If you could call me back before four-thirty I’d appreciate it. …Don’t let me down, Zeke.”
Casey allowed a little breath of calm to wash over him. Zeke had actually called her and she’d actually called back. Things were looking up. “Bit vague.” he said as Zeke picked up the phone.
“Answer message. She doesn’t know who’ll be in the room when I listen to it. Patient confidentiality and all that.”
“Yeah, I guess.” He collapsed onto the couch as Zeke took the phone to the kitchen. “Is it that private?”
“Number’s on the notice board.” he called back.
Casey rolled his eyes at his own stupidity. “You want a coffee while you do that?”
“Sure.”
Casey heaved himself up and made his way to the kitchen while Zeke punched in the last of the numbers. The boy looked nervous. Casey knew this was a monumental step he was taking, regardless of how desperately he needed it. He knew how worried he had to be and how much strength it must be taking to make the call.
He wordlessly slipped an arm around Zeke’s waist and kissed his shoulder as he arranged the mugs. The nervous tension slid away beneath a little affectionate smile until his attention was caught by the phone. “Hey.” he blurted. “Um… I’m returning a call from Sophie?”
Casey didn’t watch him, he just listened in while he busied himself making them both a much needed drink. He couldn’t help glancing over once or twice.
“Zeke Tyler.” He leant on the counter and listened.
“Uh huh…”
He frowned. “Really?”
It changed to surprise. “She’d do that?”
“What? No, no… That’s fine.”
“Yeah… I’ll be there.”
“Ok… Thanks Anna.”
He hung up and stared at the phone for a minute, apparently shocked.
“What’s up?” Casey asked as he poured the water.
“Nothing… I have an appointment.”
“Okay, when?”
“Today… Six O’clock. She’s seeing me after her scheduled appointments.”
“Really? She’s staying behind for you?”
“Yeah…” he said softly, still looking a little dazed.
“Well that’s good of her. Here.” He distracted Zeke with coffee, the less he dwelled on it, the less nervous he’d get. “So when are we going over to mine?”
Zeke took a sip of his caffeinated import coffee and hummed his appreciation. “I wanna do it soon as. I just wanna be able to come home and die after my appointment. She has that affect on me.”
Casey chuckled. “Drink up then. Sooner we get over there, the sooner we can get back.
~*~
The first thing Casey noticed as he opened his door was that his dad’s car was already parked up. The second was that Zeke wasn’t getting out of the car. He turned to see Zeke staring apprehensively at the house. “It’s okay.” he said with gentle reassurance, “You’re okay.”
“I’m gonna say something stupid.” he said, still staring at the house. “Or your dad’ll do something stupid… like… twitch. I’ll fuck up.”
Casey grinned. “You’ll be fine, baby. You’ve been in before and coped. He just wants to talk… in a good way. He knows to keep his distance. Come on,” he coaxed, “Let’s get this over with.”
Casey got out of the car and waited a moment for Zeke to get his shit together. When he still didn’t get out of the car, Casey walked round to the driver’s door and opened it. “Don’t make me kiss you in the street.” he warned.
Zeke snorted and relaxed a little. He got out of the car and followed Casey to the front door. Once inside they made their way to the living room with Casey in front. Zeke stopped in the living room doorway and leant as casually as possible on the frame as Meredith came out of the kitchen to greet them. “Hey boys” she greeted with a big smile, “How was school?”
“The usual.” Casey replied.
Her attention turned to Zeke in the doorway. “Oh, look at you. You’ll be fine, dear. Let’s get you boys into the kitchen. I’ll make you both a nice hot drink.” She watched Zeke struggle then cautiously remove himself from the door frame. “Come on.” she coaxed, “You weren’t this nervous at Christmas.”
“You’d be surprised.” he replied quietly, “And I wasn’t getting The Talk at Christmas.”
She offered a sympathetic smile. “It’s nothing to worry about, dear. I’ve already spoken to Frank and it was his suggestion to Casey, so it won’t take a great deal of persuasion. He just wants a little reassurance, that’s all. Come on.”
“Where is dad?” Casey asked.
“In the shower, hon, he’ll be down shortly.” She led them both to the kitchen and asked them to sit at the dining table. Zeke steeled himself but he sat in the chair that gave him a view of the main counter and the door then hugged himself.
Casey pulled out four mugs but his mom shooed him away. “Go sit down.” she said firmly. “I’ll manage.”
Casey understood the request. Zeke needed a little support and he couldn’t provide it from the counter. “Okay. Coffee, black, three sugars.” he instructed before going to sit next to Zeke at the table. He rested his head on Zeke’s shoulder and refused to move when he stiffened in protest. He tilted his head to look up at him and smiled when Zeke looked back. ‘Love you.’ he mouthed. Zeke managed a smile.
They were distracted when she returned to the table with two chocolate muffins. “Here you go.” she beamed.
Casey reached for one. “Thanks, mom. You make these?”
“Yep.” she said, turning back to the counter. “Fresh today.”
As he pulled a piece off, he noticed that Zeke was staring at his own muffin nervously. He was probably far too stressed to eat. Just before he made an excuse for Zeke he stopped himself. Don’t try to help him, he thought. That won’t actually help. He purposely waited to see what Zeke would do.
Zeke looked across the table. “Is it okay if…” She turned to face him. He looked apologetic. “Could I take this to go?”
She smiled warmly. Casey had already told her about his battle with food and that her muffins were the best cure. “Sure, honey. I’ll just pop this in a bag for you.”
“Thanks.”
Casey heard footsteps on the stairs and felt Zeke tense beside him. “Hi dad.” he called out, figuring he’d give him a little warning that they were home. He didn’t want his dad to come stumbling in and alarm his boyfriend. He didn’t realise it was going to be this much work.
Frank entered the kitchen calmly with a smile and stayed close to the counter opposite. “Hi son, good day at school?”
“So, so.” he replied.
“And how are you, Zeke?”
Zeke was ridiculously tense. “I’m okay.”
“Good, good.” He turned his attention to his wife. “Which one’s mine?”
“That one.” she answered distractedly, pouring milk into mugs.
Casey dropped his hand beneath the table and squeezed Zeke’s thigh for reassurance. He probably felt like he was up before a jury. He gave a little rub then brought his hands back into full view before his dad turned back around.
Frank rested his back against the counter as he sipped his coffee. Meredith placed the mugs on the table and sat opposite Zeke so that Frank had to sit opposite Casey, further away, but he kept his place at the counter. “You staying for dinner?” he asked.
“No.” Casey answered. “We’ll grab something at home.” ..Shit. He scrunched his eyes closed. “Zeke’s home.”
Frank raised his eyebrows and looked at Zeke. “Did he tell you this was a permanent arrangement?” he asked with some amusement.
Zeke smiled timidly. “No sir. He’s just… excitable.”
“You’re welcome to stay.” Meredith cut in. “There’s plenty.”
Zeke shrugged. “Thanks, but… I have an appointment at six and I gotta clear wardrobe space n’ stuff first.” His eyes darted to Frank. “If he can stay, that is.”
Frank nodded. “It’s ok, he can stay.” he affirmed. “I just need one or two assurances first.”
Zeke scraped his teeth across his bottom lip and put on his very best ‘this is me listening with undivided attention and all respect’ face. One more in an army of cute expressions that Casey wanted to lick right off him. It was one that he showed to Miss Burke from time to time and she always forgot what she was saying.
Frank, however, wasn’t distracted. “Now… I know how much you boys care for each other and I’ll admit that I’ve never seen Casey so confident and happy since he’s been with you. Aside from that derailment the other week when you had a spat, but he assures me that’s dealt with now.”
“Yes sir.”
“Good. But my concern is that he’s still not happy. Now I’m not blaming you. This isn’t something you’ve asked to happen and God knows I’ve tried to find a way to help. But the truth is, I’m at a loss. So I’m going to offer you this… I doubt you’ll accept it, but promise me you’ll think about it before you decline.”
Zeke’s eyes narrowed. “Okay…” he said warily.
“I’m going to let Casey stay with you for a while. You both need to spend more time together, considering… well… and far be it from me to keep you two apart with this… countdown over your heads. But I need to know he’s safe. I need to know he’s physically and mentally healthy. He has to pass his exams.”
“Dad?” Casey cut in. “Can I just say something? If anything happens to Zeke, I’m gonna be seriously messed up right before my exams regardless.”
Frank inhaled a composing breath. “I know, son. But if the time comes and nothing happens then an anticipation breakdown won’t give you a future, will it?”
Casey shrugged and shut up.
“Mr Connor?”
“Yes Zeke.”
Casey watched him struggle for the words. “Believe it or not… Casey’s future is as important to me as it is to you. I need him to succeed. If… if anything happens to me I need to know he’ll be okay. It doesn’t matter how… bad I get, I’m not gonna stop pushing him towards it. And he knows it.”
Casey nodded the affirmative.
Frank smiled. “That’s good to know. I appreciate your maturity. Nevertheless, I want him to nip home on occasion so I can catch up with him, see he’s doing his homework and see how he is in himself. The first call we get from school to say he’s late or missing assignments, the arrangement is over. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes sir.”
His expression softened a little then. “That said… If you EVER need someone to talk to, a change of scene or a safe house, you come right here. The door is always open for you. Casey has to come home the day before your father’s release and I’ll hear no protests, but you’re more than welcome to come with him. You can stay as long as you need, so long as you respect that this is our house and you both behave. Do you catch my drift?”
Zeke dropped his head with an embarrassed smile. “Yes sir.” He glanced back up. “Thanks.”
“Now I don’t suppose we’ll see much of you, as I know how you feel, but you’re welcome any time. I’d like you to visit with Casey, to desensitise and get used to us. You’ll be perfectly safe here. Think about the offer, alright?”
Zeke’s expression was measured; cautious. “Okay.”
He relaxed, seemingly satisfied and turned to Casey. “Go get your stuff together.”
Casey beamed. “Thanks dad!” He nudged Zeke. “Come on. Unless you wanna stay here with the ‘rents.”
Zeke got out of his chair. “No offence Mrs C.”
“None taken honey. Don’t forget your coffee.”
Casey led Zeke out of the kitchen and paused by his dad with a cheeky smile. “We’ll keep the door open.”
He raised an eyebrow and nodded. “Yes, you will.”
~*~
“Wow… You live in this?”
“I told you it was small.” Casey answered while searching for a suitable sized bag.
“It’s not the size.” he said with mirth from the doorway. “You live in this mess?”
Casey stopped to glare at him. “It’s not that bad.”
“And that…” he said, pointing to the wall next to Casey’s bed. “is creepy.”
Casey turned his attention to the photos littering the wall. “I’m a photographer. You’re my muse.”
“It’s creepy.”
“If I wasn’t a photographer, then it’d be creepy.”
“No, then it’d be a restraining order. That’s creepy.”
Casey narrowed his eyes at the smirking boy in the doorway. “You have pictures on your mirror.”
He nodded. “A few. Of us. Not a million and one. Of you.”
“Take it as a compliment and shut the fuck up.”
Zeke snorted.
Casey was left in peace while he dug under his bed to pull out an old empty suitcase. The peace was shattered when he plonked it onto the bed. “How long you staying for?”
“Shut up. I need clothes ‘n shit.”
“I have a washing machine. And a cleaner.”
“And I have an extensive wardrobe. Blame Stokes.”
“I will.”
Casey turned back to his wardrobe and began selecting enough clothes to last him a few days. Of course there was also sexy weekend clothes, and you never know what’ll happen to the weather.
“That’s cute.”
He rolled his eyes and sighed. “What is?”
Zeke pointed to the portrait of Casey with beetle antenna.
“I was experimenting.” he blushed.
“It’s cute. It’d give me something to hold onto while I f-”
“Zeke!”
Zeke creased up, snickering.
“What’s got into you?”
“Sleep dep, man. Passed the sleep barrier, I’ve hit giddy. N’ ya know… Left the stress downstairs for the ‘rents to babysit.”
Casey shook his head with a smile and dumped an assortment of jeans and shirts into the case. It was good to see Zeke hit this strange post-traumatic euphoria. Even if he was annoying and inappropriate with the parents downstairs.
He was on his way to his drawers when Zeke piped up again. “You know… I was half expecting Star Wars bedding.”
“Sorry to disappoint.”
“Matches those geeky fucking shirts you used to wear.”
“What does?” he asked while opening a drawer.
“Your bedding.” Zeke flatly replied. He continued to gaze around the room, taking everything in. “You can tell a lot about a person by their bedroom.”
“Yeah…” he agreed, rooting through his t-shirts. “Like Giger porn.”
“I’ve seen you stare at those prints often enough.”
“It’s hard not to.” He dug out a few favourites and shut the drawer with his knee.
“They get you hot.” Zeke said quietly, “Admit it.”
Casey placed the t-shirts into his case. “They get us both hot.”
Zeke whispered. “Should see that shit on acid, man… they move.”
Casey stopped to look at him. “You jerk off to those things… on acid?”
“Have done.”
“You’re warped.” He continued to regard Zeke for some time.
“What?” he quizzed.
“You haven’t done acid in how long now?”
“Um… Shit, sixteen months.”
“Do you not, like… get the urge to do it again? One last time?”
“No. It’s tempting, but… then it’ll be one last pill, one last this, one last that. I’ve already done it all, Case. They’re already scratched off my ‘bucket’ list.”
That was a sobering thought. “Is there anything you’ve not scratched off it yet?”
“A couple. Like, see the Grand Canyon, or Bryce Canyon. Aurora Borealis. Swim with sharks, that kinda shit.”
“Sharks?”
“Yeah… But I’ve done all the achievable shit on it. I’m good to go.”
“Don’t say that!”
“Sorry, I didn’t…” He shrugged, apologetically. “Sorry.” Casey stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Zeke’s waist. Zeke returned the embrace. “Did a lot of stuff that wasn’t on my list, though.”
“Like what?” he sniffled, more from courtesy than a desire to continue this particular conversation.
“Like fall in love. That was a late addition to the list. Fall in love with a guy. Never on my list. Make love to a guy.”
“Gay sex wasn’t on your list?”
“Near the top.” he joked. “Putting any emotion into it? Not ‘til you came along.”
Casey smiled and sniffed.
“Kissing an alien. Somehow missed my list.”
Casey snorted now and hitched a breath. “Been a funny year.”
“Yeah. Fuck an angel. Didn’t see that on my list either.”
“Shit! That reminds me!” Casey exclaimed, wiping an eye. “Danny said that if we got back together he’d sell you those wings.”
Zeke pulled away to look at him with a slight frown. “What? Serious? And you’re telling me now?”
“Well… we weren’t strictly back together until this weekend.”
“He didn’t need to know that!”
“But… this whole thing with your dad and… I had bigger things to think about, ya know?”
“Yeah, I know.” he admitted. “But Case?”
“What?”
“We were in Columbus yesterday.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I was …distracted.”
“That’s my excuse. How much does he want for them?”
“He didn’t say. How much did you offer?”
“I’m not saying. Call him. I’ll haggle.”
“I’m not calling him now. All teary down the phone. ‘Hey guess what?’ Sniff ‘We’re back together.’ Sniff. He’ll think you’re beating on me or something. I’ll do it when we get back to yours.”
“Okay.” He gave Casey a gentle squeeze. “You nearly done?”
Casey pulled away and wiped his face. “Yeah, gimme a minute.” He busied himself in his sock drawer then dumped the last of the clothing and underwear in the case. “I need my books.”
“Phone charger.”
“Shit, yeah. Can you get those books off the top for me, over there? I’ll try and get them in the case.”
It took several minutes to jigsaw all the clothes, charger, schoolbooks and folders into the suitcase, but eventually they managed it. Casey almost dislocated a shoulder heaving it off the bed. Zeke snatched it off him and carried it awkwardly down the stairs.
Casey nipped into the living room doorway on their way out to say goodbye. His dad looked up from the television. “Have you got everything?”
“And everything else.” Zeke muttered from behind.
Casey flicked his hand out to bat Zeke’s thigh. “Shut up.”
“Two weeks stuff and he can’t lift it.”
“Shut up!” he hissed. “It’s books, dad. They’re heavy.”
“Uh huh.” his dad smiled. “Make sure you use them.” he said with a pointed finger.
“I know.” Casey grumbled. “Anyway, we better get off. I’ll see you Thursday, okay?”
His mom got up from the couch. “Aren’t you forgetting something?” She picked the brown paper bag up from the table, held it from Casey and offered it to Zeke instead. “If he gets his hands on these you won’t even see them.”
Zeke peered into the bag and grinned. “Thanks Mrs C.” He beamed at Casey. “I’ve got muffins.”
“We’ve got muffins.” he corrected.
“Now boys, make sure you pack a little fun in between studies, okay?”
Casey tried not to grin. “We’ll try.”
“And Zeke? Don’t be a stranger.”
“I’ll try.”
~*~
“You really…” Casey strained through gritted teeth, “need more…” he pushed, “wardrobe space!” The last shirt scraped into place.
“I do now.” Zeke got up from his vantage point on the bed and joined Casey at the crammed wardrobe. He shook his head in quiet dismay and reached over the breathless boy’s aching shoulder. He lifted a few items of his own clothing out to make room. “Won’t wear these in the next two weeks, they can go in the spare.”
Casey gaped at him incredulously. “You couldn’t do that before I gave myself a hernia?”
Zeke smirked. “I would’ve… but I was way too entertained.”
Casey grinned and swatted his arm. “Fucker!”
Zeke leant in. “Remind me to get place with a walk in wardrobe in New York.” He dumped the clothes on the bed.
Casey folded his arms with a smile. “Yeah, cos we can afford that.”
He watched Zeke plonk himself on the bed next to his clothes and lean back on his hands with an inquisitive stare. “If you could choose an ideal place. What would it be?”
Casey wasn’t entirely sure where this was going or whether or not he liked it. “One with you in it?”
“No… Stupid... A place for us. What kinda place would you want?”
Casey shrugged. “I dunno.”
“You never thought about it?”
“Yeah,” he confessed, “But the settings never mattered.” He cocked his head. “Why?”
Zeke pulled his ‘Give a shit’ expression. “Just looking for distracting conversation before go I see that draconian bitch.”
Casey smiled. “I bet she’s not a bitch. I bet she’s really nice.”
Zeke nodded. “To everyone else, but me.”
“Does she try to be nice?”
“She tries to be my shrink.”
“So today she finally gets to be both.” he beamed, “You’re doing her a favour.”
“Yeah, whatever.” But he smiled as he said it.
“Want me to come with you? Not in the room, but… I’ll wait for you.”
Zeke looked as if he was about to say no, but he stopped and paused. A slight frown appeared. “Yeah… Thanks.”
Casey smiled and walked over to plant a big firm kiss, square on his lips. He wasn’t about to say it, but he was so fucking proud of him, right now.