Life After... Sunset - I
by Mina

Standard disclaimers for The Faculty apply. No money is made, no copyright infringement intended… I barely own my computer, so suing would be beyond pointless. Really.

Warnings: Some language (of the foul kind, that is) and mild slash elements. This takes place about a month after the end of the movie and, yes, it's all conjecture. So what? 'Tis what fan fiction is for!

A/N: This is all Reishin's fault and I hope she's well aware of that fact.

Life never seemed to end up where you expected it to.

Casey Conner paused on the steps of Herrington High, nibbling on his bottom lip as he looked around the campus lawn nervously. Most of the students had already cleared out from the school, and the halls were almost frighteningly quiet behind him. He turned his head to look back over his shoulder, smiling faintly as Miss Burke scuttled from the English room, clutching at the strap of her book bag. She reminded him of a bug with her movements, the frantic glances around from behind her too-large cat's-eye glasses, all hunched shoulders and bowed head, clinging to the walls as she moved down the hall. It was a bit sad, really…
And it reminded him terribly of himself.
He tried to smile encouragingly at the shy teacher as she mumbled an excuse, sidling past him and down the cement steps, not really paying much attention to him. He wondered if Zeke was out at his car, waiting for the teacher to come by and give him a hard time. And he wondered if Zeke would ever drop his macho façade and show the woman that he actually did like her…that he actually cared.
Still nibbling on his lip, Casey began to hop down the stairs, smiling as his feet impacted, knees bouncing. It made him notice that his shoes were worn on the edges, scuffed almost black. The right one was shredded on the outside, and he could see a grey-covered toe peeking through. Time to pull out some of his carefully saved money-if he told his parents that his shoes had holes in them, they'd think he'd been doing something illegal to get them in that condition, and he didn't feel like dealing with the unfounded accusations, the suggestions of therapy, the grounding…
The last step, and then he'd be at the sidewalk. One foot slid off, and he prepared to move the other, but was hauled backwards by an insistent hand fisting in his shirt. His arms pinwheeled wildly, grasping for purchase as his eyes flew wide and he prepared to fall…of all the days to have someone stick around in the hopes of re-teaching the fine art of pain to once-celebrity Casey Conner…
"Haven't seen you around in a few days, Case. Where're you off to, a hopscotch competition?"
Casey sighed as Zeke Taylor threw an arm around his shoulder, roughly pulling him against the tall, lanky teen's body. He was grinning, looking all rough-and-tumble with his t-shirt sticking to his chest, hair sticking out at all angles from the after-practise shower.
Smiling somewhat shyly in return, Casey said, "Trying to come up with an excuse not to go home for awhile. Dad has the next two days off from work, and I really don't feel like dealing with him and mom for more hours than necessary."
If anything, Zeke's grin widened, mischief and devilish intentions flashing fire into his sienna eyes. "Wanna come over? You can help me come up with creative ways to flunk my English paper that's due tomorrow."
Casey rolled his eyes, noticing after a moment that Zeke hadn't removed his arm-and that he was leaning heavily against the older boy. "Aren't you tired of flunking? How many times do you want to repeat your senior year?"
"Aw, I just wanna stick around for awhile. Come on, Case, what would you do without me?"
Casey sighed. "Probably get into less trouble."
"Look, the incident in the science lab was an accident. And it wasn't our fault that the janitor was hiding in the closet. What kind of a freak hides in a closet anyway?"
"Zeke, we set his pants on fire. We nearly got expelled."
"Minor details." Zeke waved his free hand, still grinning. "And I got us out of there, didn't I?"
He had to smile; arguing with Zeke was pointless. He wasn't going to win. "Yeah, sure."
"Huh?"
He turned his head, smiling at the taller boy. "Yeah, I'll help you flunk your paper."
Zeke's grin returned, and he ruffled Casey's sandy hair. "That's my boy. Come on."
Casey dutifully followed in Zeke's wake, wondering why he felt…warm at the lingering sensation of Zeke's arm having been thrown over him. Zeke was far from what a normal person would call "warm" or "comforting," and yet…
"Daydreaming, Casey boy?"
He shrugged, still smiling. "Aren't I always?"
Zeke snorted, but didn't say anything in reply. For that, Casey was grateful; it gave him time to think. Delilah was still his friend, but their…drifting apart, was probably something natural, something that would have happened eventually. Just as they'd never "officially" begun going out, they never "officially" broke up. It was almost as if they'd both known it was only a temporary thing, a comfort of sorts for the both of them while they dealt with the aftermath of Mary Beth. And one day they'd arrived at school, drifted together, held hands…and they realised that it wasn't what they'd wanted.
His smile grew wistful at the memory of Delilah's loss for words. She'd just smiled and kissed his forehead, ruffling his hair with that smile of hers that he's so loved, and headed for her class. He'd never looked for her for anything other then newspaper business or the occasional friendly chat-and that was fine with him.
"I heard that the Lit Club nominated Stokes for Homecoming Queen."
He nodded, forgetting that Zeke couldn't see him. "Yeah, she was pissed. Something about stupid girly pageants in slutty dresses."
"Hope Delilah didn't hear her say that. She's the football team's nomination after all."
"Uh-huh-I heard that you were nominated too."
Zeke turned then, shrugging his shoulders and flashing a grin. "It's not my scene. I told them to nominate Gabe instead. He's been hot for Delilah ever since she broke up with Stan anyway."
He smiled and nodded…because that was what he did. "I know."
They'd reached Zeke's car, and Casey trailed his fingers over the top as he drew up to the passenger door. The paint was smooth, the body dent free…it had cost a pretty penny to restore, but Zeke hadn't even flinched at the appraisal, promising the money in full if the garage could restore it completely.
"Hey, quit feeling up my car and get in already!"
He laughed at Zeke's impatient tone, opening the door and throwing his bag into the back, sliding in with familiarity. It startled him to realise that this was safe, this was sanctuary, being with Zeke in his car…being with Zeke in his basement…being with Zeke period.
The engine roared to life, tires pealing rubber as they squealed in protest against the pavement. Casey threw his head back with a laugh, fingers trailing over the door as he rolled down the window, letting the sharp wind rush between them.
After a few minutes, Zeke spoke. "Hey, I never asked…you okay with the whole thing between you and Delilah?"
Casey rolled his head, gifting Zeke with a winsome smile. "Yeah. I mean, it wouldn't have worked out between us, anyway. We were too different. But what we did have…it was nice."
"Yeah?"
Zeke had turned back to the road, affording Casey a chance to study his profile. He had such an arresting face, eyes that seemed hooded but spoke volumes if you knew how to look, lips quirked in a smile that could be either genuine or condescending… He was an enigma, a mystery, and a loner.
But he'd let Casey in.
They pulled into the driveway, Casey still lost in thought. He was abruptly pulled out of his thoughts, though, when his door was flung open, Zeke tugging at his arm.
"Come on, hurry up! Or we won't see it."
"See what?" he asked, stumbling as he tried to keep up with Zeke's longer strides; he probably would have fallen had Zeke not still be gripping his arm.
"The sunset!"
And then he was being pulled up the deck stairs in the backyard, toes tripping, hear racing, but Zeke was there to catch him when he stumbled, warm arms, bright smiles, boundless energy.
The sky was just beginning to turn, pinks and corals and oranges, filtering upwards, while purples and indigos made their way down. The sun itself, dying crescent that it was, was bright yellow with a vermilion hue wavering on the edge. He held his breath as the colours met and mingled, brilliant colour contrasts that eventually faded to soft blues and coming darkness.
He hazarded a look over at Zeke, whose arm had been thrown over his shoulders at some point, like a warm blanket against the coming night.
"Man, I can't remember the last time I got to watch a sunset with someone."
Casey had never watched a sunset before with anything other than his camera. He smiled when Zeke gave him a grin. "Come on, let's get started on that paper. You come up with excuses and I'll dig up food, all right?"
He laughed again, and let himself be led away by the hand. "All right."
Because it was Zeke, because he was Casey, and because they had just watched the sun die in brilliant glory, and everything really was, now, all right.