(no subject)

[honeyandvinegar]

Title: Geek Out: Mirror
Pairing: C/Z
Rating: Light R
Disclaimer: Don't own!
Light Warning!: Some bullying and mean language, nothing huge.
Synopsis: The boys take a 'test run'.

Previous Parts:
Central Force
Solar Radii
Magnification
Nebula
Pale Blue Dot
Orbital Path
Rosette
Moonlight
Interstellar
M57
Maria
The Uncertainty Principle
Black Hole
Rings
Gemini
Deeds
Dobsonian



“What’re we gonna do?” Casey said in a whisper.

All Zeke could do was shrug. “Dunno.” He looked up from the kitchen table to Stan, who was furrowing his brow and shaking his head. “It’s okay, man. We know Del.”

“She just walked in, and Helen--didn’t know what to do, man. I just froze. Stokes was in the kitchen and--”

“We know,” Zeke tried reassuring him again. “We’re not mad at you guys or anything.”

Stokely now joined them, carrying the cake from the living room. “Fucked-up night or not, we’re eating this thing. Candles?” she asked Casey.

The boy, depressed and weary, reached next to the fruit bowl in the middle of the table and tossed a small box of candles to her. Zeke couldn’t help a smile. “Diligent, ain’t we?” he said.

“No, hungry. And it’s still your birthday,” Stokely replied.

Zeke watched her stick the candles into the cake, light them, then demand that they sing for him. The song was more like a dirge; again, Zeke had to snort in amusement. When they were finished, Casey cocked an eyebrow at him. “The hell’s so funny?” he asked.

“Nothing, man,” Zeke said. He took the plate Stokely handed him and drooled at the sight of the cake. After taking a bite of the fragrant pastry, he moaned in satisfaction. “Casey, I love your mom.”

“Mmm,” Casey hummed. Stokely went to hand him some cake, but he held up his hand. “No thanks. So not fuckin’ hungry right now.”

“Ugh,” Stokely grunted in frustration. She slapped a slice out for Stan, sat down with her own piece and proceeded to eat. It was quiet between them for a while, with just the sounds of silverware on plates, chewing and the clock over the stove ticking away.

Ever punctual, the doorbell rang exactly when Delilah said she‘d be back. Zeke watched Casey go to stand, but Stokely beat him to it. All Zeke could do was sit and listen to the exchange at the front door.

“Don’t you dare give them shit, Profitt,” Stokely said.

“Will you just let me in? Christ.”

Zeke turned his head at the sound of footsteps and found both Stokely and Delilah walking in. The head cheerleader’s fancy shoes click-clacked as she approached. She wore a serious, stern expression. Casey stood up again and shook his head. “Delilah, I have no fucking clue what to say to you--”

“I’m gonna say enough for you. Sit down,” she said.

“Don’t order him around, Del. Seriously,” Stan warned. She groaned and put her purse on the table.

“By Monday, everyone is going to know. Helen talked to Angie, who happens to be the biggest gossip in school, and it’s a sure bet that she’s called half of it by now,” Delilah said. Zeke closed his eyes and thought of an island paradise to try and escape what she was telling them, but she went on anyway. “If you want to get out of this with your dicks still attached to your bodies, you’d better listen up.”

“Why? Fuck knows you’ll probably print this story up in the fuckin’ paper,” Stokely said.

“Actually, I’m considering that, yes,” Delilah replied, making everyone sit up and gawk.

“Delilah, fuck!” Casey yelled.

“Casey, like I said… listen to me,” Delilah said. She then gave Stan and Stokely pensive looks. “I’d ask you guys to leave, but we’re gonna need your help.”

“Who the fuck asked you to for your goddamned opinion?” Stokely asked, aghast. She looked at Casey and groaned. “You never should’ve invited her here. God, Casey.”

Zeke sighed sadly at the sight of Casey’s tear-filled eyes. He scooted his chair closer and slung an arm over his shoulders. “Chill, man,” he said.

“Del… please,” Casey said in a small, whispering voice. “There’s gotta be something you can do. You’re the goddamned queen of that hellhole; you can reverse any stupid gossip.”

“The problem is--it isn’t gossip. It’s the truth.”

“And no one needs to KNOW that!” Casey spat back.

“At this point, they do--they al-ready do. Come Monday, you’re Herrington High’s first out-couple,” Delilah said.

Everyone in the room went quiet. Zeke finally cleared his throat and narrowed his eyes at the girl. “There’s a distinction there--‘out’, as in we come out.”

“Happy birthday, Zeke, you win,” Delilah said. She sat in the empty chair across from them and turned businesslike, as if she was working out a deal for a major corporation. “So let’s say one half of the school knows, like I said--you’re going to tell the other half, before it becomes secondhand knowledge and the rumor mill gets going.”

“What… do you… you’re insane, I’m not doing that,” Casey spluttered.

“Neither are we. Sorry, Del--we’re their friends, not a tabloid,” Stokely added.

“So you want people saying shit about them giving each other blowjobs behind the 7-11?” she asked Stokely.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake…” Stokely said.

“No, that’s what’ll happen, or variations of it. The more you guys hide out and avoid each other, the worse it’s going to get,” Delilah said. “Your best way out of this is sitting in this room.”

“What’s that,” Zeke stated more than asked, bored and annoyed enough already.

“Me. Casey’s right. I AM the queen of the halls--people come to me for information, for confirming gossip, whatever else. I’m not saying this because I’m an arrogant bitch--”

“Oh no, you’re not that at all,” Stokely interrupted.

Delilah rolled her eyes and continued. “I’m saying it because it’s the truth. So when Monday comes and I get assaulted for information, my answer is going to be something along the lines of, ‘of course, why do you think me and Casey broke up?’”

“Huh?” Casey uttered.

“Mmhmm. I rarely feign ignorance, but I can DO it, and do it well. Hey--I knew what everyone else did, right? No one needs to think about it. They’re too concerned with talking about it, now. I plan on shrugging it off and making out like it was old hat,” Delilah explained.

“This is insane,” Stan said. “Del… this is fucking with their lives. Don’t pretend that they’re not gonna be facing some serious problems when they walk into that place.”

“They are, more than likely.”

“So we help out by sticking knives into their backs? What do you want us to do, print out flyers that say ‘Casey Connor and Zeke Tyler are so doing it’?” Stokely angrily asked.

“Do you want my help or not? Because I’m all you’ve got in between you and the gossip-mongering assholes. Tell me to leave, right now, and I will. You can deal with this mess yourselves,” Delilah said. She raised her eyebrows at Casey and Zeke. “What’s it gonna be, boys?”

Casey went to say something--most likely ‘Leave right now’, but Zeke nodded. “Go on.”

Everyone looked at him; while Delilah looked pleased, Stan, Stokely and Casey gaped at him. “What the fuck?” Casey said.

“She’s right, okay? We’re totally boned whatever way you look at it,” Zeke said. He tried placating Casey with a shoulder rub, but it didn’t lessen the confusion and outright fury in his face. “We can at least listen.”

Stan groaned and sat on the floor, leaning on the fridge. Stokely, still thin-lipped and huffing angry breaths through her nose, shook her head but said nothing. Zeke waited for Casey to settle back and open his ears, and was thankful for when the boy looked to Delilah, shrugged and said, “Fine.”

“Smart,” she said.

~*~

“She only cares about saving her own ass.”

Zeke glanced at Casey as he pulled away from the curb. “Delilah?”

“Yea. First, she dates a queer. Then she asks another queer out. Word gets around that she turns guys gay, and it’s all over for her,” Casey said. It made Zeke chuckle, however nervous he was. Casey raised his eyebrows. “Well? It’s true.”

“I never told you about her asking me out. Man, that was weird,” Zeke said.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Aw… she was so humiliated. When I told her no, oh god. It was funny as hell, but sad,” Zeke said. “I never felt bad for the girl before, but I did then. I guess I just can’t help being a lady-killer.”

“Oh, right,” Casey grumbled. “Y’know, every girl that you’ve dated is gonna freak out.”

“Cool, ain’t it?”

“Cool? Fuck, no, Zeke. Do you understand that we’re gonna get our asses handed to us today?” Casey said, sounding scared and angry. “Zeke… I can’t go back to how it was before… what happened. Gabe and all the other jock-fucks have left me alone, but I’d be willing to bet a million that they’ve been waiting for something like this.”

“And if anyone touches you, they’ll have me to answer to,” Zeke said. He grew serious now; as they waited for the last red light before getting to school, Zeke turned to Casey and put a hand on his cheek. “Let’s get one thing straight, Casey. They may find out I’m a gay-boy, but I’m a gay-boy that can kick their asses, and they KNOW that. Okay?”

“If five guys jump us in the halls, I doubt you can take ‘em all,” Casey softly replied.

“Stop it, all right? We’re gonna be fine,” Zeke said, not knowing if he believed that. The light turned green and they passed through the intersection, heading to the smaller roads. Zeke’s hands felt numb on the wheel as they grew closer and closer to their destination. He couldn’t think clearly, relying on pure hope that Delilah had given them everything they needed… that Stan and Stokely’s support would be enough… whatever else Zeke could think of that kept him driving to school instead of turning back around to take them out-of-state. Soon enough, they were approaching the school parking lot, and Zeke did what Delilah told him to do.

“JE-sus…” Casey gasped as Zeke slammed his foot down and careened into the lot. Students milling around did what they’d always done the last three and a half years since Zeke started driving; they were all shouts and running-like-hell, hoping that this would not be the day that they ended up under the GTO’s tires. With Casey gripping the ‘oh-shit’ bar by his head, he shot a look Zeke’s way. “This is worse than usual!”

“Just doin’ what I was told,” Zeke said. He then hit the brake, cut the wheel and parked the car, taking up the usual three spots. Casey bounced twice, stilled and breathed hard. He stared through the windshield at the people passing by slowly, all of them trying to look into the car.

“Yea. They all know,” Casey morosely said.

“Probably. Let’s go,” Zeke said. He opened his door, shoved his keys in his pockets and waited for Casey to exit the car. He did, slowly but surely, leaving the sanctuary of the car behind. Rounding around it to the boy, Zeke grabbed his hand and held it tight. “So, Monday--A-day today. Shit, English is first for me.” Zeke attempted casual chat.

“Y-Yea.”

“What about you?” The whispers were growing around them, especially when they reached the main walk leading to the stairs of the school.

“Fuck off, Zeke,” Casey said, too busy looking at a large group of guys nudging each other and giving them panicked looks. “Christ Al-fuckin’-mighty…”

“Oh my god, it’s true.” A girl’s murmur came from the crowd to their left. Zeke put on an aloof expression and rolled his eyes.

“Zeke, I can’t d-do this,” Casey said; the shake in his voice was worrisome, but Zeke did his best to smile.

“It’s gonna be okay--”

“No it’s NOT,” Casey hissed with urgency. “I didn’t even know what I was up until almost two months ago, the fuck, now I have to be out-and-proud??”

“Hey, Connor. Hey, Tyler. What’s up?”

The taunting voice could only belong to Gabe; Zeke looked to the middle of the stairs where he stood with a few other footballers. “Not much, Santora,” Zeke coolly replied.

“Looks like some-thing’s goin’ on. We’ve been hearing some crazy shit about you two, something to do--”

“Guys, wait up!” someone called. The two boys looked behind them; Stan was jogging towards them with a smile on his face. “Thought we were gonna meet in the lot?”

Shit--one detail missed. “Oh yea, sorry,” Zeke said. “Got that report done yet?”

“N’aw, not due ‘til Thursday. Casey, can we hang in the library for study again today so I can finish it?” Stan asked.

“Yea, sure,” Casey replied in monotone. He seemed to try to slip away from them by lessening his grip on Zeke’s hand and jerking his arm, but Zeke squeezed it even tighter. “Zeke…”

“Since when do you hang out with fags, Rosado?” Gabe’s friend Harley called out as they got past the double doors leading in.

“Just ignore the asshole comments, okay?” Delilah’s words rang in Zeke’s head. It was hard to do, but the closing doors shut out the sniggering and rudeness. Though they were still getting weird looks and whispers kept circulating as they went, Zeke was finding it less and less annoying with every passing moment. He then realized… ‘I’m holding Casey’s hand, and everyone can see it.’ It made him swallow and feel a strange pride swell up, deep in his chest.

Zeke’s locker was closest. They finally let go of each other’s hands to let him open the thing; a keychain shaped like a skull fell out. Stan chuckled and picked it up for him. “Your locker’s such a shit-pile,” he said.

“No it ain’t,” Zeke said, offended. “Lookit this thing.”

Stan looked into the locker and sighed. “Shit-pile,” he reiterated.

“That’s just because it doesn’t have sport’s stars pasted all--hey.” Zeke interrupted himself when he saw Casey moving away from them. He widened his eyes and gritted his teeth. “Stay.”

Casey pursed his lips and went as straight as a soldier. Zeke grunted under his breath while digging out his English book, which was under a stack of loose papers. It was a small struggle, making him chuckle. “Okay, it’s a shit-pile--”

“Hello, boys!”

Delilah, as planned. “Hey, Del,” Stan stiffly replied, moving aside so that she could get closer to the other two.

“Hey Stan,” she said. Once at Zeke’s side, she grinned. “What’s up, baby-boys?”

“N’much,” Zeke mumbled.

“Ah, gorgeous day out. Perfect for a picnic in the park. You guys should have one. Seize the day, all that bullshit,” she said. She then leaned in closer and smiled even wider, if that was possible. “So far, Gabe and his band of dickholes are the only ones giving you shit.”

“Wonderful.”

“It is, isn’t it? Like I said, they don’t matter. Okay?” she said. “This is a wonderful thing, and don’t you forget it. You’ll thank me later. Now, don’t forget to give Casey a nice, big kiss when you get dropped off at your homeroom--like the one you showed me on Saturday,” With that, she strolled off, leaving the three boys to watch after her retreating form.

“It’s like… she’s taking credit for your sexuality after handing you a box of gay, with instructions and everything,” Stan remarked.

“Oh, shit,” Zeke said, unable to hide a laugh.

“I’m gonna go,” Casey said then made to leave, but Zeke slammed his locker shut and grabbed his hand again.

“My homeroom’s first, remember?” Zeke told him.

“I don’t wanna do this,” Casey said. He was visibly shaking now.

“Casey… it’s gonna be all right,” Stan said, fighting to get next to him on the other side. “Stokes is gonna pick you up and go to your first class with you, and--”

“I don’t need a goddamned babysitter,” Casey spat back. “I need to be left alone.”

Zeke’s stomach felt knotted. “He’s right, baby. Just calm down.”

“Don’t call me baby.”

“Um…” Stan uttered.

They were coming up on Zeke’s homeroom; it was as if they were walking out onto a dance floor set in the disco era, with everyone lining the halls and watching them go by. This was it; the first act to set everything in stone. Zeke stopped a few paces away from the door and cleared his throat. “So…” He made to bring Casey in, but at the last moment, the boy jerked away and continued down the hall. Zeke blinked furiously and watched him, feeling empty.

“It’ll be okay, I’ll catch up to him,” Stan said, waved him off then went double-time to get back to Casey’s side. Zeke nodded wearily and entered the room, where everyone was staring at him; even Mr. Shay stopped writing on the board to watch him walk in.

Good Christ, this was awkward, and there were no signs that the pressure would let up anytime soon.

~*~

What Casey had thought would be the best part was the worst part. ‘I don’t want anyone to say anything’ had slowly turned into ‘SAY SOMETHING, damn it!’, making him chew a pencil straight to the lead by B-period. His jaw hurt from the incessant gnawing, while his brain wouldn’t stop whirring with a dreadful anticipation.

He thought back to when he’d been tormented by bullies; he’d sit in wait for that first shove or punch, wanting to get it over with. It usually happened just once a day, twice being a rarity, so he’d breathe in relief when it would come and go. It would be nice if Ricky Suarez, the prized linebacker of the team and former bully, would stand up from his desk right now and start throwing insults at him. The class would laugh at Casey’s expense, point fingers and it would be. Over. With.

Instead, glances were exchanged and girls kept giggling behind their hands with each other. Perhaps Casey himself could break the dam by standing on his chair and yelling, ’I’m here and I’m queer!’, but there wasn’t any amount of money he’d take to do that. Finally, before he could explode, a small folded piece of paper was suddenly tossed onto his desk. He almost jumped at the action, then he looked around to see who’d thrown it. No one was looking at him, but most of them wore knowing smiles. With a small tremble in his fingers, he took one glance up to Ms. Burke, found her oblivious as always and he opened it.

ARE YOU GAY????

Casey frowned and blinked hard. Of course he was, and they all knew it--was this an insult? If so, what was the point? No matter how much he tried to rationalize this, confusion set in. It felt better than nail-biting anxiety, but not by much. Sighing, Casey wrote his reply in dark, black, easy-to-read Sharpie: ‘Why, what have you heard?’ then he held it up for the right side of the class to see.

He heard a small giggle; he found the source, being Jean Lee. He eyed her a moment as she smiled. The interpretation was odd… it wasn’t a derisive or cruel laugh, but… amused? It couldn’t have been her that had asked the ridiculous question, if he read things right. Perhaps she found his reply witty, or something. He had to admit, he had sarcasm down-pat.

The bell rang; Ms. Burke rambled out their homework assignment, hoping everyone heard her. Casey didn’t, but a one-time homework-ditch wouldn’t be a big deal. With his bag on his shoulder, he began murmuring in his mind… ‘Don’t be there, don’t be there, don’t be there…’

‘…Crap.’ Delilah stood across the hall, leaning against the lockers. She straightened when Casey came out then went to his side. “Hey, Casey-boy,” she said as they sauntered down the hallway together.

“What’s the sudden habit, calling me and Zeke ‘boys’?” he snapped.

“I don’t know, it’s just… apt. Gum?”

Casey looked to the stick of gum offered to him and rolled his eyes. “No thanks,” he replied.

“Suit yourself,” she said. She unwrapped it and stuck it into her mouth. After a moment of chewing, she sighed. “How’s everything going?”

“Fantastic. I got a note asking if I was gay.”

“They seriously asked ‘are you gay?’”

“Yup.”

Delilah chuckled and shook her head. “Good. At least they didn’t throw a brick at you or something.”

“Del…” Casey said, now stopping and sinking into the entrance of a classroom. She stopped with him and blinked in question; he closed his eyes a moment. “Why are we doing this? Seriously, what have you got invested in us?”

“Well, like I’d said back at your place… it’s easier, dealing with it all in one shot than drawing it out and having people get nasty,” she said. With her famous smile, she shrugged. “And it’s a perk, getting to spread the news myself. This is big--really big.”

“So we’re your gossip-cow, huh?”

“Yes. I’ll be honest about it. Anyway, I kinda knew you were gay. No one who’s a true hetero kisses a girl like me like you did. For real, Casey; you must give something good to Zeke, because he’s stuck around,” she said. When she moved to keep walking, Casey rolled his eyes and followed, letting her continue her rambling. “So, I’ve let the squad know, along with the newspaper staff. Mary and Ellen knew you were gay already, so they weren’t all that surprised.”

“Who the hell are they?” Casey asked.

“Mary and Ellen Wilkinson. The twins…?” she said.

“I don’t even know who they are.” Casey scoffed and pursed his lips. “Christ.”

“God, Casey; the whole country knows who you are. At least they used to; when are you going to do your next interview?”

“It’s been months, and no one bugs me anymore--thank god.”

“Hmm. Well, fair enough. But just keep thinking…” she went to say, stopping at her next class and turning to him. With a pat to his cheek, she gave him a soft, fond smile. “By the end of this week, you and Zeke are gonna be so, so boring, and no one will bat an eye at you, even if you guys start fucking each other in the band hall between classes.”

“Sure,” Casey sarcastically replied, but felt a small touch of reassurance.

When Delilah disappeared into her classroom, Casey realized that a trip to the bathroom was in order. He went to the bathroom closest to his C-period class and found it empty--thank god. Casey shuffled over to the stall furthest from the door, got in, and began relieving himself. Just as he zipped up and walked out, however, the door opened and a younger boy walked in. Not knowing who he was, Casey swallowed down the apprehension at sharing the bathroom with someone and went to the sinks.

“Hey… you’re Casey, right?”

‘Here we go,’ Casey thought. He gave the boy a nod but said nothing as he washed his hands.

“I’m in your next class. Psychology. Ben,” he haltingly said.

“Okay,” Casey said with slight recognition. He didn’t know many of the underclassmen, and Ben had to be at most a sophomore. After grabbing a paper towel, Casey dried his hands, threw it in the trash and hoisted his bag up higher. “See ya then--”

“Is it true, what they’re saying? That you--came out?” Ben blurted.

Steeling himself, Casey turned to face him. “Could say, yea.”

Ben nodded slowly. “That’s kinda cool. No… real cool,” he said. Casey then noticed how insecure and unsure he seemed, with shuffling feet and quick, darting eyes. “I sometimes wish that… y’know, I could just--y’know, it’s like--”

“Hurry the fuck up, we gotta get to class!”

Both Casey and Ben jumped at the sound of others walking in. Three boys--again, they were younger and Casey didn’t know them. They seemed familiar, however, being much like the upperclassmen jocks with jerseys on and backwards hats. The one wearing his flannel shirt around his waist looked between them and snorted. “Hey, Benny. How’re you?”

“Fine,” Ben quickly replied, now looking lost.

“Are we interrupting anything?” the one with ham-sized hands asked.

The other two chuckled cruelly, making Ben curl into himself. Now he seemed familiar… very familiar. “Shut up, Dan,” he dared to say.

“What did you say, faggot? ‘Shut up’?” Dan said.

“How rude, Benny,” the boy with a weasel-like grin said.

This wouldn’t go well, Casey figured. Instead of leaving Ben behind, he dared to step in between Ben and the younger, newer breed of bullies. “Got a problem, guys?”

“Huh, yea. We don’t like it when fags give each other blowjobs in school. It’s gross,” Flannel-Boy said. They all laughed; Casey rolled his eyes.

“I don’t give anyone blowjobs in school. I save that for the bedroom,” he retorted.

Weasel-face scoffed and scowled even more. “So it IS true. We’ve been hearing shit about you and that other guy… the tall one.”

“Tyler, yea,” Dan said. He moved closer to Casey, getting in his space and trying to look him down. They were about the same height, however--Casey, surprisingly, wasn’t intimidated at all. “So, you suck his dick, huh?”

“Damned right I do,” Casey replied without pause. “And it feels fucking good to do, believe me. You should try it sometime. Get a nice circle-jerk going with these two dipshits.” He motioned to the two others.

“You used to get your ass kicked a lot, too. I think a fag needs a beat down, what do you think, guys?” Dan asked the others.

“Go ahead, give it a shot,” Casey said. He moved forward and bumped into him. He enjoyed Dan’s small flinch--could he actually make someone do that? Apparently, he could… “Think you can throw me down? Try it. Kick my fag ass.”

The bell rang then, making everyone pause. Another few moments passed, and it became obvious that the boys weren’t going to try anything. Casey rolled his eyes and hoisted his bag higher up onto his shoulder. “All talk, I guess, okay.” He then nudged Dan out of the way, who stood still to watch him pass. “C’mon, Ben, let’s go.”

Ben blinked, coughed into his hand then followed Casey through the small path he’d made between the bullies. Once they were out in the hall and heading to class, Ben looked at Casey with a small smile. “Thanks,” was all he said before they slipped into their classroom before Mr. Gordner could shut the door.

~*~

As tough as Zeke tried to be, he was glad that their friends had stayed close to him throughout the day. He was never alone between classes, always meeting with Stan, Stokely or Delilah in the halls. Delilah, surprisingly, managed to make him chuckle and smile when she picked him up before lunch. As annoying as she’d always been, it was refreshing that--despite the ‘truth’ coming out to her--she wasn’t angry or upset about her ex-boyfriend and her second choice of one ending up together. She even seemed excited.

Though she was an influential person at Herrington High, however, she couldn’t stop everything. Now in the cafeteria, they passed a table full of young men; one of them started coughing in an exaggerated fashion. “AHEM! Ahem, cocksucker, ahem…”

His buddies chuckled profusely; Zeke forced himself to keep going, instead of turning around, grabbing the front of the asshole’s Abercrombie & Fitch t-shirt and bashing his face in. Delilah helped in putting her hand on his back and leading them to a table. “So,” she said, sounding cheerful. She took a paper bag from her giant purse and opened it, revealing a baggie of carrot sticks, an energy bar, a rice cake and a bottle of V8. “Do you usually bring a lunch, or get a hot--”

“I usually smoke in the parking lot, and what the fuck are you eating?” Zeke asked.

“Um… lunch?” Delilah said with a snooty look on her face.

“How many calories is that, ten? Shit.”

“Oh right, and a cigarette-lunch is so nutritious. Lay off, I’m a vegetarian.”

“Are you serious?” Zeke asked.

“Yea…?”

“No hamburgers?”

“No.”

“Steak?”

“Zeke, for god’s sake…” she said, exasperated.

It was then that Stan and Casey arrived, and Stokely followed shortly after. “Sorry… my locker threw up in the hallway,” she said, slapping her things down on the table.

Zeke nodded and looked to Casey, who was busy digging through his own lunch bag. “Hey,” Zeke said, hoping that Casey wasn’t as defensive and upset as he’d been in the morning. When a small smile and ‘hey’ was returned, Zeke smiled back. “Feeling better?”

“Dunno. Hungry,” Casey said. He unwrapped his chicken salad sandwich and took a big bite of it.

“Good sign,” Zeke said.

“I’m going up to the line. Anyone want anything?” Stan asked.

Everyone turned him down but Zeke, who requested a bag of chips. As the young man shuffled off to the lunch-line, Delilah cleared her throat. “You guys have something going for you,” she said.

“What’s that?” Zeke asked.

“There’s like this--weird subculture going on, where tons of chicks think gay guys are hot. I ran into the epicenter in the girl’s room on the second floor,” Delilah explained. “Four or five girls were babbling about how you guys were ‘so fucking cute’ together, and wondered if you’d done it yet.”

Casey had made the mistake of taking a sip from his juice box; he choked a little and began coughing hard. Zeke’s chest shook with chuckles. “Fag-hags. Awesome.”

“Mmm. One of them was Deb Holloway, the captain of the gymnastics team. So she has some clout. Casey, you okay?”

Casey nodded and held up his hand to Delilah’s question. “F-Fine,” he managed to irk.

“That’s good and all, but I’ve gotta question,” Stokely said. She wore a serious expression as she poked at her granola bar and glanced around the table. “What happens if the press gets wind of this shit?”

“Well…” Delilah started, then sighed. She looked to Casey. “You said they haven’t bothered with you, right?”

“No, but… with this crap?” Casey said.

“I don’t think it’s going to hit the six o’clock news, myself. If Casey was still getting asked for interviews and featured on the front page of The Enquirer every week, maybe, but I don’t know if him and Zeke being gay is going to be a hot story to them,” Delilah said. She turned to Zeke next. “They never really bothered you at all, did they?”

Zeke shrugged. “I had one group from the local news show up while I was in my lab, and I threatened them with chemical burns if they didn’t get off my property.”

“Well then, I’d say that you guys are at least ninety percent safe,” Delilah said with a beaming grin.

As Stan returned and threw Zeke’s chips to him, Casey cleared his throat. “Zeke dismantled the lab this week,” he said.

Stokely blinked. “You… did?” she asked Zeke.

“Yea.”

“Why?” Stan asked.

Figuring it was time for a PDA, Zeke put his arm over Casey’s shoulders. The boy stiffened, but stayed still and even smiled. “We’re gonna build a thirty-inch Dobsonian telescope,” Zeke said.

“Uh… what?” Stan said. “How do you build a telescope?”

While whispers began stirring around them, Stokely raised her eyebrows. “And isn’t the scope you already have that big?”

“Huh? No, it’s… oh, you’re thinking thirty inches long. No, by thirty inches, I mean wide, as in mirror size and shit,” Zeke explained.

“Shit. That sounds fuckin’ huge!” Stan said with astonishment. “How’re you gonna BUILD that?”

“Slowly,” Zeke said.

“Maybe…” Casey started. He then looked to them all and shrugged. “I dunno, maybe you can come by and check it out.”

“I took shop… we didn’t build science crap, but I got an A,” Stan said with a note of interest. “Maybe I can help.”

“I can’t. I’ll leave the nerd-shit to you,” Delilah said.

It didn’t matter that nearly everyone around them was staring at how Zeke was lightly rubbing Casey’s shoulder, or that the whispers were loud enough for them to hear. Zeke actually found himself smirking at the comments, ranging from, “Oh my god, he’s touching him!” to the main question of the day, being, “Are they gay?” It got even better when Casey’s smile grew as well, and he leaned in just a tiny bit closer. Just as Stan leaned in to say something, a young man arrived at their table--someone that made Zeke groan. Jose Mailer, the school’s cleanest-cut, most annoying evangelist, complete with pressed pants and a starched, bright-white button-down shirt was now standing behind him and Casey with his hands on the backs of their chairs and wearing a winning smile.

“Excuse me…” he said. “Sorry to interrupt. How’re you guys doing?”

“Fine,” Stokely replied in a dry voice. Zeke bit his smile; if there was one person that had been unfortunate enough to deal with this guy on a daily basis, it was the girl who’d once looked like a Satanist that needed ‘saving’.

“Y’know, I’ve been hearing things--things I’m not sure are true. But if they are…” He looked between Casey and Zeke and nodded. “My church holds teen meetings every Tuesday and Friday night. We have some awesome counselors, and on the Fridays, we watch movies. It’s really great.”

“Yea, uh… thanks, but we’re not looking to be recruited,” Zeke tried his best to be polite.

“Oh, you don’t actually have to go to church to come! Seriously, it’s a lot of fun. I’m kind of an apprentice, and let my fellow students know that if they need help, they can get it with us,” he said.

‘Fellow students’? Who the fuck described their peers that way? Zeke sat back and looked at Casey, who wore a tired expression and was staring off into space. Zeke moved his hand from his shoulder to the back of his neck to make light brushes on the skin. Casey’s eyes snapped over to him, going wide and panicked--but the smile he wore betrayed him. Unable to help himself, Zeke put on a serious expression and nodded. “Well… yea, y’know, that might make a good date, actually.”

“Yea, it does! Me and my girlfriend Jessie pick out the movies; we’re watching ‘Groundhog Day’ this week,” Jose said.

“Wow, sounds hot. Casey? Wanna go with me?” Zeke asked. He could feel Casey trembling with an earthquake of laughter.

“A date, y-y’mean?” Casey asked. “Yea. Yea… sure.”

Stan was burying his face in his arms and shaking, while Stokely covered her eyes. As Delilah munched on carrot sticks as if nothing was going on, Jose blinked profusely and looked flustered a moment before continuing. “Well, it’s not like that--”

“What isn’t? You said it’s an awesome night for dates, sooo…?” Zeke drawled.

“I’d meant that you guys could come in for help.”

“With what?” Casey asked; Zeke almost jumped when Casey put his hand on his knee and squeezed it.

“C’mon, you guys know. It’s all over school, and--”

“I don’t believe in god,” Casey said in the cheeriest voice ever. “But I like movies.”

Jose flinched and stepped back. Now wordless, he sauntered away, getting a few looks from the people around them.

“Poor guy,” Zeke said. He settled back and stretched his arms.

“You don’t believe in god?” Delilah said with shock.

“No, Del. I’m an evil, gay atheist,” Casey replied.

Delilah blinked and pursed her lips. “Um… okay…”

Stan finally rose from his nest of arms and pointed at them. “You guys. Awesome,” he said.

“We know,” Zeke said.

The bell then rang, making them all sit to attention. Their things were packed and trash was crumpled up to be thrown away. Casey sucked back the last of his juice and stood up. “Bio’s next. We share that one, so you guys don’t have to come with,” Casey said, nodding to Zeke.

“Actually, I gotta stop at my locker. Go up with Stokes, I’ll catch up with you later,” Zeke said. He then looked to Delilah. “Walk me down, baby?”

“Sure, sure,” she said.

“Okay. See you there,” Casey said. Before Zeke could reply, the boy leaned in and placed a soft kiss on his lips. The entire student body seemed to gasp in unison, and the buzzing began. With Zeke’s lips tingling, Casey broke away, now wearing a blush and a wide smile.

~*~

“Prohibition sucked,” Stan said as he read a book on early twentieth century laws.

“The same crap goes on nowadays. They should just decriminalize weed,” Casey replied. Stan chuckled; Casey looked up from his notebook to the young man. “What?”

“So you’re an evil atheist gay pot smoker?”

“Oh hell, Stan, no,” Casey said. “The worst I do is coffee. I just think it’s stupid--alcohol’s worse than weed. And the revenue the government could make from legalizing? Our economy would boom.”

“Hah, I guess. Still… always thought you were the equivalent of a choir boy. Christ,” Stan giggled.

“Anything but--but I think the priests would’ve loved me, if I was.”

“Oh, that’s just gross, shut up,” Stan replied with a grimace. He then settled back with a sigh. “Seriously though--your telescope? It sounds like an awesome project.”

“Not my telescope. Zeke’s the one who went insane and started putting shit together,” Casey replied.

“No, it’s yours, too. C’mon… like Zeke didn’t probably get it for you,” Stan said. At Casey’s chuckle, Stan shook his head. “I’m serious. I didn’t know he was a space-case until you guys started hanging. You brought that out of him.”

“He always had it in him; he wasn’t vocal about it, that’s all,” Casey said.

“Whatever… but yea, I’d love to at least watch you guys put it together. How big is it gonna be?”

“Pretty fucking big. Maybe about… I dunno, well over ten feet high, around six-hundred pounds…”

“What? Are you fuckin’ serious?”

“Yea,” Casey said. “Still wanna help?”

“Hells yea! Do they have books on stuff like that, here?” Stan said, looking around the library.

“I dunno, lemmee go look. Keep working,” Casey told him.

Stan returned to his report while Casey walked off to the science section of the library. He passed the large section of tables along the way. Only two of them had students sitting at them, all of whom glanced up to find him going by. Casey swallowed as two people began chatting in whispers while still looking at him, but the others returned to their work as if he wasn’t there.

He finally arrived at the aisle he wanted and was able to disappear past the bookshelves. The end of it was a bit shadowed, set apart from the rest of the place--a perfect spot to have a makeout session, as proved by the couple Casey now stumbled upon. “Oh… um, sorry…” he said as they drew apart and looked at him. The young man straightened and Casey froze, realizing that it was Neil Wendell, one of Gabe’s friends.

“What’re you doing here? Waiting for your boyfriend?” Neil taunted. Casey darted his eyes away to the girl--Deb Holloway. She was backing away a little and looking stern.

“Neil, stop it,” she said.

“No, I wanna know. C’mon, Connor, tell me. Is Zeke coming by to get some?” Neil asked.

“Okay, shut up,” Casey said. This wasn’t the time to stick around and look for a book. He turned away to walk back to the safety of Stan.

“Faggot.”

“Neil!”

Casey flared his nostrils and stopped. He felt his face go hot as he turned around to face Neil again. “Don’t call me that. I’m not a faggot.”

Neil chuckled derisively. “You let a guy put his dick in your mouth…?”

“That’s right--but I’m no faggot, Wendell,” Casey retorted.

“To me, you are,” Neil said. “And I always knew it, y’know. You probably check out all our asses in the locker room. Wanna suck my dick, Casey? Huh?”

“STOP it,” Deb piped up, her voice strained. She then turned to Casey and shook her head. “I’m sorry, Casey. You don’t deserve that.”

“It’s okay. I don’t care what he says,” Casey replied.

“C’mon, Deb… school’s just about done, let’s jet,” Neil said, but when he went to put his arm across her shoulders, she shrugged away from him.

“You’re such an asshole.”

“Um… what?”

“Yea. I’ve been wanting to say that for a long damned time now. You’re an asshole. Why are you talking to him like that, huh? What gives you the fucking right?”

Casey watched the obvious break-up going on. Neil scoffed, looked between them then picked up the bookbag by his feet. “Hey, you wanna be a fag-lover? Go ahead,” he said. She glared at him as he left; he made sure to shove Casey aside with his shoulder, making him stumble a little to the right. Casey scoffed.

“And you’re not much to look at, either,” Casey spat.

“Excuse me, but what?” Neil said as he turned around again. Before Casey could ball his hands, Stan appeared at the end of the aisle, saw the scene and began walking towards them.

“Leave him the fuck alone, Wendell,” Stan warned. He grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back; Neil turned on his heels and got in Stan’s face.

“What, you too, huh?”

“Me too. Get out of here,” Stan said with a dangerous edge to his voice. Neil scowled harder and went to pass him, but Stan grabbed his arm to still him at the last second. “Oh, and do me a favor, will ya? Let the team know that if they start anything, anything at all, they’ll have some bad shit to deal with.”

“Yea?”

“Yea.”

“Pfft… whatever,” Neil said, and with that, he pulled away from Stan and left.

Casey let out a breath of relief. “Thanks, Stan.”

“No problem. Hey, Deb,” Stan said, nodding to the girl.

“Hey,” she replied, then picked up her purse. She walked over and gave Casey a meek smile. “Sorry he did that. Don’t even think about it… he’s always been a jerk.”

“Don’t worry. Like I said, I could care,” Casey said.

“People got your back, okay? Believe me, they do,” Deb told him.

With that, she walked away. Casey and Stan watched her go; once she was gone, Stan took a deep breath. “Huh. Well, that’s good.”

A mountain of stress slid off of Casey at the sound of the bell. “Finally,” Casey groaned.

“Are you going to Zeke’s?” Stan asked as they walked back to their table to get their things.

“Yup.”

“To do telescope stuff, or…?”

Casey had to laugh. “No orgies today. Telescope stuff.”

“Cool--can I go with?” Stan asked.

“Hells yea. Stokes, too.”

“Delilah?”

Casey smiled and cocked an eyebrow. “She’ll force us to make her her own giant mirror,” Casey said. “So no.”

~*~