Title: Poolside
Author: Olivia V.
Rating: PG
Summary: Casey decides to make sure he’s no longer infected.
Pairing: Casey/Zeke pre-slash
Fandom: The Faculty
Feedback: Yes, please.
Disclaimer: Not mine, and this is a load of fiction. Response to the water challenge for the Contrelamontre Community, and cross posted to the Jacked_Up Community.




Casey sat down by the edge of the pool and watched the water swirl.

Everything seemed so... quiet now, as if it were lunchtime in the middle of the day and Casey was hiding from the football team so that he could eat his lunch in peace.

From the pool area, he couldn’t hear the police and reporters at all anymore. The only sign that Marybeth had chased them into the pool and locker area, then attacked and infected Stokely, was the dried up smear of blood where Stokely hit her head when she fell.

Casey wondered how Stokely’s nose was, and he touched his face absently, feeling for any signs of... them. All Casey felt instead were the cuts where they tried to bore into him. He reached down and kicked off his sneakers, pulled off his socks.

He was standing and unzipping his jeans when Zeke came into the pool area from the gymnasium. “Case?”

Casey said nothing as he pulled his jeans down past his hips. Zeke came closer to him and crossed his arms.

“Hey, man. What are you doing?”

“My... face feels sore, like there’s something left of her in there. I have to see something,” Casey said.

“What do you mean, left something?”

“These cuts... they don’t feel right.” Casey pulled off his shirt and shivered.

“Casey... you killed her. Whatever she might have left, it’s dead now.”

Casey’s fingers went back up to his face with a frown. “You weren’t there to see how many she... spat on me. And there’s no more Scat left, so I’m thinking the best way to find out is to get wet, check for the feelers.”

Zeke gave Casey a brief nod. “I know man. I’m sorry.”

Casey took a deep breath and walked to the edge of the pool. The water was still swirling in front of him. “Zeke... do you still have your gun?”

“Yeah, man. Why?”

Casey looked back at him. Slowly he said, “Because if she left something of herself behind, and it can live without her...”

Zeke sighed, and rubbed his eyes wearily. For a moment he looked as tired and fearful as Casey has always felt. It made Casey smile. “Got it. How long do you want me to wait and see?”

“Not too long. A minute I guess. Two at the most.”

“Then what?”

Casey shrugged. “Well, I can’t swim, so I think you better... come get me.”

“Shit... Okay.”

Casey turned back to the pool. He felt Zeke watching him protectively. It was an unfamiliar sensation, but comforting.

Then again, having his high school invaded by aliens and half dozen parasites violate his face is also unfamiliar, isn’t it?

Casey took a deep breath, and stepped into the pool. He felt the water rush up all around him, enveloping him as he slid in and sunk down to the bottom of the pool

Casey wondered if this is what it feels like to be inside a womb, and if this is what Marybeth loved so much about the oceans... He wondered as he opened his eyes and touched his cheeks, looking for the tell tale red feelers, if this is what attracted her to Earth, the number of oceans. He wondered why the water in the pool felt so warm compared to how chilly he felt just a few moments ago at the edge.

Casey felt no feelers. He touched the rest of his skin, looking for signs of feelers or bumps indicating the parasites elsewhere. He didn’t feel anything out of the ordinary.

The inspection took no more than a minute, but it was enough to tell him what he needed to know. Marybeth really was dead, and so were rest of them.

Casey’s lungs began to ache. He needed to reach the surface, to breathe...

He sighed and tried to kick upwards, but he wasn’t getting very far. Distantly he heard the rush of something jumping in beside him, followed by Zeke’s strong arm slipping around his chest, pulling him up to the surface.

The first breath after he broke the surface felt wonderful, and he hung limp, not struggling as Zeke pulled him towards the pool’s edge. Zeke guided his left hand to the ladder, and held onto Casey long enough to help him out of the pool before climbing out himself.

They both lay there by the edge, panting and wet and cold. When he caught his breath, Zeke said, “That was both the most fucked up, and bravest thing I’ve ever seen anyone do, you freak. What if I wasn’t here and you went in by yourself?”

“I guess I would have drowned,” Casey replied. He stared at the ceiling, at the lights reflecting on it from the water in the pool. “At least I would have known one way or the other. Besides, I’m the class loser. No one would have cared.”

Zeke must have moved, because Casey saw his face above his own. He looked uncharacteristically worried. “I think you have at least four people out there right now who would have cared.”

Casey blinked. “If I had... if they were still here, would you have shot me?”

Zeke licked his lip. “I don’t know. Probably. If you were faking it right now so that I could go in after you, would you have infected me?”

“I... I don’t think I would have had much choice. Just that I hope I’d be willing not to.”

Zeke touched Casey’s cheek, his fingers over the cuts from where the parasites bored their way into the skin right before Marybeth died. Casey wondered if Zeke was double checking for the feelers or the parasites. He smiled slightly at him.

“Delilah sent me in here to find you, by the way.”

“She did?”

“Yeah, she did.”

“Why?”

“I think she wants to make you into the hero for the press or something.”

Casey looked back at the ceiling for a minute. He didn’t want to talk to the press, or to Delilah. He wanted to stay by the pool, even if he knew he really didn’t have that option.

“I’m not a hero, Zeke. I’m just lucky.”

Zeke got up and pulled Casey into a standing position. “I’m getting you a blanket. Get dressed before Delilah comes in after us.”