My first post at DW! Hello!

This is for addie71, on the occasion of her birthday. (The title is a prompt from a drabble box, and will probably change eventually.)



Tease


Casey kept his gaze down as his feet crunched through the light snow, his breath puffing crystalline, and smiled to himself at the sound of Mother's engine as the GTO roared off into the night. The taste of Zeke's mouth, with that dusty tobacco tang, was still on his, and he'd almost reached the back gate when he looked up and stopped with a painful start - Claire Stanton leaned against the jamb of the back fence gate, smoking a cigarette. A wicked smile curled her lips as she looked past him at the receding taillights, and then down at his flushed face. She'd always reminded him of Shelley Winters, especially in that Lolita movie. Maybe that was the reason he'd never trusted her - she had an air of knowing everyone's secrets that put him on edge.

And with that knowing look, she pushed away from the gate and leaned her face towards his. Feeling a thread of panic, Casey almost pulled back, but Claire only sniffed lightly at his hair and neck, then straightened up, looking like a cat with a canary under its paw.

"Casey," she purred, shaking her head. Then she took a long drag off her cigarette and leaning in again, blew the smoke in a thin stream over the front of his shirt and up over his hair. Straightening up, her smile was softer.

"Lucky for you I decided I needed a smoke," she said. She took his chin lightly in her hand, and Casey had to clamp down to keep from trembling. She moved her thumb gently near his lips. "So," she said, and a dark grey roar filled his head at her next question, "is he a good kisser?"

Oh god, oh fuck me, his brain stammered and stuck there, fear chittering like an insect behind his eyes. He managed to stay still, he didn't know how but he did. He could feel his skin burning, but the air was biting cold so maybe that wasn't so suspicious. More it was that look in her eye, like she knew exactly what was going on. Goddammit, Connor, he thought desperately, you had one job to do.

He opened his mouth, not knowing what he could say. Not like this, he thinks, terrified at the humiliation of being exposed by his mother's friend ten feet from the kitchen door. But Claire gave a little laugh, let go of his chin, and instead stroked his hair from his forehead with her fingertips.

"My brother fell in love when he was seventeen," she whispered. "He had to leave town because of it. I haven't seen him in twenty years." She smiled sadly and touched the tip of his nose. "Your secret's safe with me, Casey."

Rigid from the effort of keeping calm, he let out a long breath and closed his eyes. "Thank you," he murmured, opening his eyes, and suddenly he was sorry he ever mistrusted this woman, with her candy-hard shell that turned out to hide a butter-soft heart. Just like Shelley Winters. "Claire, I -" he began, but she shook her head and shushed him.

"I just hope he treats you right," she said. "Go on inside now." Casey ducked his head and walked into the yard, headed for the back door, "and Casey?" he stopped.

A huff as she blew smoke out. "You let me know if he doesn't." Casey held his breath, thrown off for a moment by the feel of someone he hardly even knew having his back. After a moment, he nodded, and went inside.

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Chapter 43 of High Contrast

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August
by Serai



In the darkest hour of the night, Zeke wakes with a start from a dream where he was standing at the mouth of a dark tunnel, unwilling to enter but knowing it would swallow him whether he did or not. Now he blinks into the darkness, disoriented, but his racing heart calms when he feels the warm body in his arms. The smell of the bed, bitter from their repeated bouts of fucking, makes him smile - ( until he remembers... )

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Chapter 40 of High Contrast
Chapter 41
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This one's for mollyringle.


Jewel
by Serai


( There must have been a time when his father loved him... )

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Chapter 38 of High Contrast
Chapter 39
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No, this isn't the one I was talking about the other day. That one's still cooking.

Warning: this one gets into a dark place. So be prepared.

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Snake


Casey stands at the kitchen window, looking out into the night. The moonlight washes the branches of the oak at the boathouse's door, flickering in the leaves. It pours through the glass, lighting the pale tiles. The moon's face looks down at him, with that expression that he's always wished was gentle concern, as if there were someone watching over him. He knows it's not so, ( but he wishes it were... )

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Chapter 36 of High Contrast
Chapter 37

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I asked for a prompt to get the taste of angst out of my mouth. danae_b thought "taste" would be a good prompt. I thought so too.

*sigh*

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Midnight


Zeke stands with his head pressed against the kitchen cabinet, looking down at the glass of water on the counter, the glass of water he can't drink. He rubs his eyes. How many times has he stood here, like this - up against the counter, looking down? His throat closes. Right now the moonlight is shining through the glass, making a faint shadow on the grey tile. Ripples mar the surface as first one droplet hits, then another.

He's tired of this. He wants to sleep straight through the night. He wants to go out to the lake. He wants to look at things in the moonlight. He wants to be what he once was. At least that was known, he understood its contours. He knew the map, but now the terrain has changed. Hours and days and weeks pile up before him, and the color is bled out of his life the way the moon has bled it out of his kitchen.

He wants his mind back. He wants his body back. He wants himself back.

He thinks about making scat. He thinks about the gun. He thinks about Casey's skin, and how his mouth tasted of water, and he's only just now realized it.

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Chapter 34 of High Contrast
Chapter 35
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I think popping out those little 3-sentence squibs may be having an effect. Late last night, this showed up. Written in response to naemi's prompt: mesmerizing

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Glow
by Serai


Casey looks down at Zeke, and bites his lip at the sight of that body doubled underneath him, all that hard strength opened willingly for him. Zeke's skin shines with the sweat breaking out over his body, luscious and brightening in the slowly rising dawn. ( The dark golden eyes are staring out blindly... )

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Chapter 31 of High Contrast
Chapter 32

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So, all of a rush, this was finished. It went its own way, as they always do. Make sure you've got a box of tissues handy for this one.

Thanks to fantasy_fan, yeuxdebleu, and addie71 for their help on this one. Now the boys want to show you something...

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Steam
by Serai



The road rolls away under Mother's wheels, slush spraying against her undercarriage. Casey can hear it, a faint tss tss tss sound under the roar of the GTO's bitch engine. The sky is pale gray, its light lying over the white landscape like a soft whisper of a blanket. He chews his lip a little, hoping the air will stay clear. It isn't supposed to snow again until Monday, but ( you never know... )

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Chapter 28 of High Contrast
Chapter 29
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Erik
by Serai


Zeke's been acting strange lately, Erik thinks, jittering as he waits for Ted by the lunch tables outside the cafeteria. They're supposed to go find the guy and load up on some scat for the weekend, but Ted's ass is dragging as usual. Thus the ruminating while he waits.

( All spring, Zeke has seemed a little off... )

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Chapter 27 of High Contrast
Chapter 28

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Welcome
by Serai


Casey backs up against the door as Zeke leans into him. He’s still hot and shaky from the ride over, from the dirty little interlude behind the gas station, but even so, he’s on guard as well. He can’t completely trust this guy, not yet. Still, here he is, overshadowed by that long, sinuous body and hot, amused look. ( The soft lips graze his... )

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The song is part of this, so you know.

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Scream
by Serai


You’re my silence.
You stop my mouth.
The words want to find you,
but because of you
I can’t let them out.
They batter at my skull,
crying to be set free.
I keep them caged,
safe, where their wings
won’t shatter the balance
we’ve achieved. Forget
the sound of words,
your eyes tell me. Stay
here in the darkness
with me. And I want to
disappear, stilled like a cry.

You’re my silence,
I’m your scream.

Silence me.

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Chapter 24 of High Contrast
Chapter 25
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