Chapter 15—Pas Cette Fois

Casey burst into his home. His thought process, unlike many when angry, was perfectly clear and functional. He knew what he wanted to do; the option had always been open for him. His brother in London would more than happily allow him to stay with him, as Derek had said "Whenever you want, you can just come stay here. I know you'll have to talk to dad, but I'm sure he'll be fine with it."

Casey didn't have time to talk to his dad about it. He'd made up his mind, and his father wouldn't stop him. He was tired of being humiliated and the one left out of the loop. No, it was time for Casey to take control of his own life, not some boy.

What did I even see in him in the first place? He wondered soberly.

"Casey, what are you doing home?" Max, Casey's dad, asked.

"I uh…I want to leave. It's really not you…but I just want to leave, I wanna go stay with Derek."

"All the way overseas!" his dad demanded in surprise.

"Dad…I just…I just hate it here in Briarwood. I have no friends, and…I'm just tired of it," Casey said, wiping some tears away with his wrist.

"Well what about Vida and Madison? Aren't they your friends?"

Casey gave a sneer, "No. That's what they'd like me to believe."

His dad took a deep breath, sat down on Casey's bed, and stared at the floor for a few moments.

"Son…you know I love you right?"

"Of course I do, dad. It's not your fault I'm leaving," Casey replied.

Max nodded, "But Case…there's a lot that has to be done if you're leaving for good. I'd have to un-enroll you, pass over custody to Derek, and there's just too much to go along with it."

Casey stopped packing. He knew his dad was right, he just didn't want to be in Briarwood anymore.

"Well…why don't you just come with me?"

"Casey, it's not that easy. We have a home here, I'd have to find a house in London, and what about my job?"

"You could get a transfer. They have Verizon Call Centers in London. And Derek said Derek said there's a jpise he's been trying to get, but it's out of his price range by about a thousand…I know you've got that…with mom's money and all…"

Max looked away at the mention of his deceased wife.

"You seem pretty dead set on this, huh kid?"

Casey only nodded.

"Well go for 2 weeks, see how it works…if I can't find a job, or get that apartment, we have to come back. Both of us."

Casey agreed through a hug, and his father left the room to make calls and get himself packed.

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"Oh yeah, blame it on the Green Guy! It was your fault Nick! If you hadn't caused a big scene about it, and just discussed it like a normal human being—"

"NORMAL? Xander, we're wizards for Christ's sake, and your talking about Normal? Let me get one thing straight here: You fucked up, you couldn't keep the letters straight, and somehow this is my fault?"

"If you hadn't overreacted, Casey wouldn't have. I would've had time to go and talk to him."

"If he means so much to you, why don't you go chase after him?" Nick spat.

"Oh, that's real mature Nick, throw the guilt trip out there."

"What guilt trip? I don't want you to feel guilty Xander, I want you to feel responsible.

"I am responsible!"

"Coulda had me fooled."

"Well that's not hard to do."

"Not for you anyway."

"I never lied to you!"

"Yeah, you just accused me of doing it."

Xander gritted his teeth in frustration, "You are so immature!"

"That's not what you thought that night at the Rock Porium."

Xander's eyes widened a bit, "We didn't do anything."

"No, not really…but it was enough to fool me into thinking you actually liked me; that you actually trusted me."

"I did. But you broke that."

"Oh fuck you Xander. Ya know? Just, whatever, I don't even care anymore. I don't wanna hear your…bullshit stories, and your cheap ass lines. I'm completely done with you. Completely. Fuck. You."

"Ya know, I'm pretty sure Jeremy's already done that to you once or twice, right?"

That was it. Nick lunged at Xander, but Vida was ready, already holding the two back. Luckily, they hadn't been overheard by anyone but Maddi and herself. Chip was off doing something weird with a twig, pretending to be a knight.

"That's enough! Both of you!"

Xander shrugged her hand off, a grin on his face in accomplishment. He'd cracked Nick…but somehow…it didn't have the satisfaction he wanted.

Nick was next to free himself from Vida's grip.

"I'm outta here," he said lowly.

"No, you're not," Vida ordered, grabbing hold of his jacket.

But nick was in no mood to succumb to Vida's aggressiveness. He turned around, grabbing her arm firmly and staring her in the face.

"You're not my mom."

Vida blinked, a twinge of fear blossoming in her.

His stare was ice cold, but as soon as he'd turned on her, he turned away, and was gone.

"Great. Great job Xander."

"What? Me? Didn't you see him provoking me?"

"Didn't you see him provoking me?" she mocked, "I oughta provoke my foot up your ass! You've not only let Casey go, but now you've pissed Nick off. I hope you look good in Red and Green spandex, because we're gonna need Nick."

Back with a vengeance people. Love it, hate it, let me know.