Unravelling Zeke - Communication
Banner by aliensouldream
Title: Communication
Author: Gabi
Fandom: The Faculty
Pairing: Z/C
Rating: PG-13
Summary: A busy time for the boys who just want to move on with their lives.
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. 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 / Open / Cosy / Friends & Enemies / Brandon / The Wait / Ten / Shirt / Shell / Shock / Promise / Bella / Fritz / Pills / Facade / Heir / Void / Smoke / Search / Silent / Gesture / Milton / Drive / Retrogress / Transition / Liberty / Exposure / Resolution / Blue / Mess-en / Sanctified / Delicatessen / Want You / Apologies / Active / Reputation / Confrontation / Frustration / Rebecca / Going Through The Motions / Ranch Mosler, MO / Monday / Key / Cake
“Casey. Time to get up.” his mother’s voice called over the alarm.
“I’m up.” he mumbled into his pillow.
“Casey? Alarm.”
“I’m up.” he called louder, venturing out from under his covers to bat the alarm off.
“There’s enough coffee in the pot for both of you. Come on, now. Up.”
“Kay.”
Both of you. Casey smiled and sighed, snuggling down to perfect comfort. Zeke was back. And it was the real Zeke. His Zeke. The Zeke that came out last night and took them all on an picnic, rather than hiding from danger in the house. Casey initially thought the confrontation with Bobby would end the night sourly, but he couldn’t have been more wrong. They’d sat in the long grass under the late golden sun, ate good food, chatted, bantered, laughed and cooed over desserts. Stokes had shown her love for them by wasting an entire roll of Stan’s film on them. Stan had shown his by encouraging her. Casey was happy. Zeke was so much stronger now. His Zeke, who was in the next bedroom.
Grinning, he pulled back the covers and sat up. With a yawn, he stood and stretched, adjusted himself in his light blue cotton pyjamas and padded out across the landing to Zeke’s room. He paused at the door, but rather than knock, he opened it a crack and slid inside.
The boyfriend shaped rise in the covers rounded nicely about half way down. He loved when Zeke slept on his stomach, such pretty contours he made. Smiling, he crept over and crouched beside his sleeping lover’s face. “Hey, baby.” he whispered. “Time to get up.”
“Nuh huh.” Zeke mumbled in response.
“Yuh huh.” he argued, “You’re taking me to school, remember?”
“Uh huh.” He didn’t even open his eyes, he simply rolled back onto his side and pulled the covers oven as an invite.
Casey’s mouth watered as he stared at that wonderfully naked, tan body. “Can’t. We’ll get caught.”
“Two minutes.” Zeke begged in a whisper. He opened his eyes and offered a cheeky little smile.
“Two minutes.” Casey confirmed, unable to resist. He climbed into the bed and lay facing his boyfriend who threw the blanket back over them both, covering Casey in cosy warmth. He was pulled close and softly kissed on the nose.
“Morning.”
Casey tangled his legs in Zeke’s and relaxed into drowsy comfort. “Mmmm… Morning.” he hummed; his eyes drifting closed.
Zeke placed his lips on Casey’s forehead while searching fingers sought the edges of cotton to caress bare skin. “I miss this.”
Sighing, he smiled and curled closer to that hot, bronze body, his hand snaking over the smooth curves of Zeke’s back and buttocks. “Friday, baby. I’m all yours.”
~*~
“Come on…” Zeke snarled at the car in front, slamming his palm against the wheel. “If you’d set off a little later, you could have put your foot down and STILL got there on time!”
Casey merely chuckled at Zeke’s morning road rage; his curses turning the air blue over the punk that played on the stereo. Zeke glanced over with an exasperated huff. “If you’re late, it ain’t my fault.”
Casey grinned and stared out of the window. “Nope. It’s got nothing to do with that kiss at the door.”
“Like I said, I can’t kiss you goodbye in the schoolyard.”
He turned his grin to his boyfriend. “I’m not complaining.”
“Better not be.” Zeke muttered through a smirk.
Casey sighed as he returned his gaze to the outside world; his smile a permanent feature. He’d enjoyed their brief snuggle this morning and their longer-than-intended kiss at the door. Casey had worried that Zeke’s pause in the hall had been due to anxiety, but no. Here they were driving to school.
He casually reached up for the bar above his head as the car in front signalled right and Zeke poised for a gear change just as soon as it cleared his path. “So are you gonna do those test papers today?”
“Yeah.” The car surged forward. “Home alone and doing tests… There’s something very wrong with that picture.”
“At least you don’t have to endure ‘We hate Tate Wednesday’.”
A frown covered Zeke’s smile. “Wait… It’s Wednesday?”
Casey nodded sarcastically. “Yes, professor.”
“Shit.”
“What’s up?” he asked, intrigued.
“I’ve got an appointment at eleven.”
“So?”
Zeke remained silent for a second while he pondered. “Think I’ll drive over.”
“To Sophie’s? You not gonna call her?”
“Nah. I should do this face-to-face. Let her see how I’m coping for herself.”
Casey thought about it for a moment. It had been about month since she’d last seen him and he’d been a wreck at the time. “That’s probably not a bad idea. You’re still picking me up, right?”
“There won’t be a repeat performance, Case. I’ll be here.” Zeke turned onto the street that led to the school gates and reached for a cigarette. Once lit, he accelerated a little as he exhaled slowly. Casey tried not to watch his reaction to the building looming up before them. Zeke scowled, placed the cigarette between his lips to free his hands and swerved through the gates.
Students turned to the familiar sound as he roared onto the parking lot and screeched to a skidding halt. Removing the cigarette, he flicked ash out the window and turned. “If I tear out of here, it’s just the way I drive.”
Casey’s grin spread rapidly. “I know.”
“Give Tate Hell for me.”
“Give Sophie something she can work with.” he returned.
Zeke smirked. “See ya later, sweet. Now get out.”
Chuckling, Casey nodded, grabbed his bag and exited the car. “Later.”
Zeke threw a salute, revved the engine and left Casey to watch the car narrowly miss an incoming student at the gates. He heard the engine long after the car was out of sight.
“Is he not staying?”
He turned to see a rather disappointed Julie beside him. “No. He just gave me a ride.”
“Oh.” With that, she left him alone.
He rolled his eyes and made his way to the school steps. Stan’s car sat empty in its usual place, so he figured the pair were inside somewhere. Before he even reached the stairs Craig stopped him. “So it’s true then?”
Casey stared at the guy who never had anything good to say to him before today. “So what’s true?”
“Zeke’s back.”
Casey blinked. “Did you see him?”
“Yeah.”
“Then why ask?” He turned to leave, but Craig walked beside him.
“Is it true he’s been inside?”
“Oh for fuck sake.” he snorted. “Who told you that?”
“George.”
“And who the fuck told George?”
“How the fuck should I know?” the boy retorted. “Is it true, or not?”
“Not. Tell George to get his facts straight.” Fuck Zeke’s badboy rep, this rumour was spreading far too quickly for Casey’s liking. With one last eye roll, he slipped away and up the stairs into the building.
Before he’d reached his locker another girl he didn’t even know the name of cut him off. “Is he back?” she asked excitedly.
“What the fuck is this?” he snapped, “The Zeke Tyler fan club? Fuck off!”
Her jaw dropped as she balked. “I was only fuckin’ askin’.” she snapped before storming off down the corridor.
“Jesus fucking Christ.” he muttered as he set off to his locker.
He clucked his tongue when he saw who awaited him there. Choosing to ignore her, he opened his locker and sorted his books.
“Apparently one of my staff has been withholding information from me.”
He sighed and glared at Del’s perfectly shaded eyes. “Then fire ‘em.” He went back to his books.
She leant against the next locker and folder her arms. “Just how long did you think you could keep it from me?”
On any other day, Casey would be sweating. But this wasn’t about his secret relationship. “It’s none of your business.”
She laughed. “Casey, baby, I’m a journalist. Of course it’s my business.”
“Not this time.”
“Everything that happens in this school is my business.” She switched to a more condescending tone. “The students have a right to be informed.”
“About what, Del? What exactly happened IN this school? Hmm?”
“Now, Casey…” she smiled, “you can’t let your so-called friendship interfere with your moral obligation to the paper and the students who choose to be informed.”
“And what about my obligation to my friend?” he scowled.
“Casey,” she sighed, “you’re a journalist. A journalist always reports the news regardless of personal interest.”
“Then I never want to be a journalist.” he said, slamming his locker shut. “I quit.”
She blinked, stunned. “You’d rather throw away your dream than tell the truth? This must be some juicy story.”
How he kept his temper below his mouth, he didn’t know, but it came out in a weird, growled calm. “It hasn’t been my dream for a while now. I’m done with the paper, I’m done with the likes of you. You’re not a real journalist, Del. You don’t care about the facts, you care about sensationalism and sales. Paparazzi bullshit. That’s not who I am.”
She slammed her hand against the locker, blocking his path. “Then give me the truth, or I write speculation.”
He couldn’t believe she was doing this. Well, yeah, he could, but… “I thought you’d grown out of the bitch phase. Guess I was wrong.”
“The facts, Casey.”
He didn’t trust her. Not an inch. “About what?”
“Zeke’s absence.”
Casey bristled. “Yes, he’s back. No, he’s not been to jail, he was dealing with a family emergency.” He cocked his head and folded his arms. “That enough for you?”
“Don’t get shirty with me, boy, I’m just following a lead.”
“A lead from, let me guess… Neil Drummond, Simon Henley or David Banks. Do I get a prize?”
She glared at him for a moment before sighing. “I have no idea where the lead came from, but word’s spreading fast enough to catch my interest. Why them? Why that rumour?”
He half snarled, half smiled. “A bunch of us went to a diner last night, they were there. Dave assumed that because Zeke’s absence was a ‘temporary measure’ that meant jail time. Zeke just threw him a look, so obviously, he’s guilty.” He shrugged. “Ask Dave if Zeke confirmed the assumption, or just glared at him for it.”
Del closed her eyes and shook her head in despair. “I swear jocks have a mud pit for a gene pool.”
“So are we done? Can I go?”
“One more thing. If he’s back from some family emergency, why’s he not in school?”
“Extended study leave.”
She narrowed her eyes. “He’s back home now. There’s no reason for his absence… Right?”
He smiled at her. “His absence remains none of your business. If you have a problem with school policy, perhaps you should take it up with the principal. Now if you’ll excuse me, I don’t wanna be late for class.” He breezed past her.
She let him go.
~*~
“Good day at school, hun?”
Casey ignored Zeke’s sarcasm, collapsed into the passenger seat and slammed the door shut. “Drive. Just drive.”
“Yes Sir.”
They drove in silence for a few minutes until Zeke’s occasional glancing developed into concern. “So what’s up?”
Casey let all the tension slide out with a hard sigh. “Did you really have to let Dave think you’d been inside?”
Zeke struggled against a smirk. “No, but it amused me. Why? He been giving you shit?”
“Him? No. Everyone else? Oh Casey," he mimicked in a high pitched, girly voice, "is Zeke back? Is he back Casey? Is it true he’s been inside, Casey? Has he really got a girl on the side? Oh, Casey, is it true he’s back? What was he in for? ALL day!” He glared when Zeke chuckled. “The guys were desperate to know what you’d done, and the girls? The girls were just trying to figure if they had a shot as an extra in your love life. And as for Del? …Fuckin’ vulture.”
“Pecking for the inside scoop, huh?”
“I swear, I never want to be a journalist if it means behaving like that. I don’t have it in me.”
Zeke frowned a little in contemplation as he took a corner. “Was that your dream career?”
Casey’s stomach sank. “You’re not letting that go, are you?”
“You’re the one who brought it up.”
“Not any more. I don’t have the personality for it. I thought it’d be a way to see the world, but thinking about it… Harassing people for information, being pushy like that. Photographing a dying child in a war torn town rather than help it. I couldn’t do it.”
Again, Zeke frowned. “Yeah, you’re right. That’s definitely not you.”
“No it isn’t, and I understand that now. I’ll find another way to make money from photography. One that doesn’t involve me leaving you for weeks on end for a story on the other side of the planet.”
Zeke’s expression softened into a smile. He reached out to squeeze Casey’s hand and glanced over. “I didn’t wanna say anything.”
Casey smiled and squeezed Zeke’s gorgeously tanned arm in return. “Thank you. I needed to figure it out for myself.”
“Glad you did. Now get the fuck off me man, I gotta change gear.”
~*~
“So to counterbalance your shitty day,” Zeke said as he handed Casey a mug and sat beside him on the couch, “I… am a free man.”
Casey turned to him, holding his mug an inch from his thirsty lips. “Free from what?”
“Appointments… court orders… Sophie.”
“She signed you off?” he asked, suddenly excited.
“Yep. I’m dealing, I’m no danger to society, I’m free. She filed the report before I left.”
“That’s awesome news!” he grinned, “See… Told you you’re not a sociopath.”
Zeke smirked. “Shut the fuck up and kiss me.”
Carefully placing his mug on the table, Casey twisted and straddled his boyfriend’s thighs. Smiling, Zeke cupped his cheeks and guided him down. “Come here.” he whispered. Casey was all too happy to oblige.
This was a new beginning. And Zeke had earned it. “Proud of you.” he mumbled against soft lips.
Zeke broke the kiss and grinned up. “Then prepare to be impressed.” When Casey merely raised his eyebrows, awaiting the news, he continued. “Our little Prom jaunt’s itinerary is all booked and good to go.”
“Where are we going?” he asked, not sure what he was hoping for.
“I considered a lakeside cabin or somethin’, but the small town, narrow-mindedness last week put me off. So we’re hittin’ the Big City. Pittsburgh to be precise.”
Casey scrunched his nose up. “What’s in Pittsburgh?”
“Rivers, bridges, architecture, shit you love to photograph. Galleries, museums, you name it. Plus it has gay-friendly bars n’ shit. We can party the night away.”
Casey smirked and nuzzled closer in his lap. “Don’t you mean dance the night away?”
Zeke’s eyes narrowed, but a wary smile remained. “Case…”
Casey bounced a little. “I am SO gonna watch you dance topless.”
~*~
Casey had finished his test and was daydreaming of his trip this weekend while patiently waiting for the final bell. The buzz in his pocket made him jump hard enough to turn a few heads.
“Problem, Mr Connor?” his teacher asked.
“Twitch.” he replied, cursing his cell phone.
When the bell finally rang, he almost fell over his desk trying to get out to check his missed calls and messages. It was a text from Zeke.
Ask stan for a ride. Don’t panic.
At yours. Will explain.
He wasn’t sure what to make of it. At least Zeke had made it clear he hadn’t done a runner. And after the questioning this morning from students wondering why he’s getting a ride to school so early by his friend who wasn’t actually going to school, it was probably for the best that Zeke hadn’t turned up. He’d already asked Stokes for a ride the next morning. Stuffing his phone back into his pocket, he rushed off to find her before she left.
~*~
As promised, Zeke’s car was parked outside the house, managing to make his entire home seem cooler for having it sat there. A touch of teenage flair and rebellion in the neighbourhood. He let his fingers stroke the hood as he passed, smiling at the prospect of their road trip tomorrow.
When he entered the house, he dumped his bag at the foot of the stairs and checked the living room.
Zeke glanced up from the couch where he leant forward, resting his elbows on his knees; hands clasped and thumbs fidgeting. “Hey.” he said with a forced smile. Something was wrong. Zeke appeared as if jolted from deep, all-consuming thoughts.
“Are you okay?” Casey asked, walking over to sit beside him. He noticed letters on the coffee table. “Is that mail?”
“I went home.” Zeke told the coffee table. “Wanted shit for tomorrow. Picked up my mail while I was there.”
“You went home?” he asked. Zeke nodded at the table. “Baby, what’s wrong?”
Zeke reached forward and handed him an envelope. It was addressed to F. Peterson of Peterson & Stark in Missouri. “Read it.”
Totally confused and fearing the worst, Casey removed the lined paper from its envelope and read the handwritten letter.
Zeke,
If you’re reading this you’ve tried to contact me.
Casey’s hand instinctively flew to his mouth. “Jesus.”