Casey doesn't recover right away, but that's expected. He finds himself visiting Zilla's grave whenever things feel heavy, leaving her little flowers and telling her about his day. Venting to her, even if she can't talk back, feels good.
Therapy is good for him too. It's frustrating at first, trying to find someone who meshes with him and makes him feel comfortable enough to open up, but he keeps pushing forward through the support of his friends. His current therapist is the best one yet—Casey thinks he'll stick with him.
He seeks out things that feel good, things that make him feel like life is good. He joins an adult amateur hockey league so he can get some proper ice time and get back into shape. Between shifts at Nezbit Mechanics, Harry shows him around the kitchen, teaching him how to make better food to fuel himself. As time goes on, Casey's world gets brighter.
As for school, Casey does his best, and his tutor is a big help. April has always been good at motivating him. He can't forget Zilla's words though, telling him that April still loves him, and grief keeps getting in his way. He can't bring himself to talk to her about it, day after day. They try to keep things casual, if casual means not talking about their break up and pretending that they're just friends.
But, some study sessions go late, and one thing leads to another.
He lays on his bed, slightly sweaty but perfectly blissed. He stretches as he rolls over, checking his phone. The guys on the hockey team were talking about renting some ice time in the next few days and Casey's just waiting to hear their decision.
"Casey?" April calls from the ensuite. She peeks around the door, eyebrow raised. "Are you gonna shower with me or not?"
"Be right there," he says. There aren't any new messages from the chat, so he sets the phone down and gets out of bed.
April grins as she disappears back into the bathroom. Casey lingers at the door as she pushes the curtain back, testing the water with her hand. She's truly beautiful. Casey still doesn't know what he did to deserve her so much as looking in his direction.
"Hey, Red?" he asks. She glances up at him. "I've been thinking..."
"Uh oh," she says. "That can't be good."
He gives her butt a teasing swat and she laughs as she steps into the shower. He follows her in, pulling the curtain shut. The water feels good, far hotter than Casey would usually go for, but he finds that he runs colder now than he did before.
April wets her hair. "So, what were you thinking about?"
"Us."
Her eyes widen a little as her cheeks turn pink. "O-Oh, you were?"
"Yeah, like...if there is still an us, or if there could be again?"
He sticks his head under the stream to distract himself when she doesn't reply right away. His dark hair clings to his face and when he pushes it out of his eyes, she's looking at him expectantly, hopefully.
"We haven't really talked about it," he mumbles.
"Well..." She looks away, crossing her arms over her chest. "I didn't know how to bring it up."
It's been months since Zilla died. Casey was admittedly not in the best place in the weeks directly after, but through patience from everyone around him and determination from him, he's pushed through. He's still pushing.
Maybe hooking up with your ex isn't the healthiest habit he's gotten into, though.
"I never stopped loving you, you know?" he asks. She meets his eyes, lips parting. "When I broke up with you, I wanted to set you free. I thought you'd meet someone at school who'd be better for you than me."
"Casey..."
"So I'm sorry, for that. I should've talked to you instead of pushing you away." He searches for another distraction, settling on the shampoo bottle. "Just, if...if you're not interested in dating me again, I get it, but then maybe we should stop hooking up."
She takes the shampoo bottle from him, looking up at him with mild amusement. She squirts a dollop into her hand and starts lathering it into his hair for him, lightly scratching at his scalp. He sighs contentedly as he leans forward, making it easier for her to reach.
"So, what I'm hearing is...we can keep doing this, but you have to be my boyfriend?" she asks. He nods, keeping his eyes closed as she keeps lathering. "Hmm...that's a pretty nice deal, I think."
His heart leaps with excitement and his eyes snap open. Too late to realize the error of his ways, shampoo falls into his eyes and he yelps at the sudden burn. He hears April gasp as he turns his back to her, sticking his face into the water and desperately scrubbing at his eyes.
April starts to laugh, deep belly laughs that echo in the confined space. Casey blinks as his eyes stop hurting as bad, looking back at her with a fake frown.
"Was that payback?" he asks.
"Not intentionally," she retorts, still getting her breath back between giggles.
He pulls her closer to him, leaning in close until their noses touch, and her giggles fade as a delightful blush spreads across her cheeks and freckled collarbone. He steals a kiss, making her wrinkle up her nose in delight.
"So, that's a yes? You'll take me back?" he asks.
"Happily, Jones."
He smiles. "I promise, Red, and I'm gonna keep getting better."
She hugs him a little tighter. "I know you will."
Her belief in him means everything. Zilla believed in him too. It makes him feel like maybe he can succeed.
-----------
"I'm telling ya, boss lady. It's that mutagen stuff, but its colour is all wrong!"
Emery frowns. She looks out at the low-lit bar, the corner booth offering her a decent bit of privacy. It's late and the patrons are too drunk to care about who's coming in the door.
"You're sure?" she asks.
"Da, is mutagen," Steranko's voice comes over the phone. "Is a teeny vial, but could be good, da?"
Emery's ears flatten beneath her hood. That could be useful, but she can't risk using it until she has more information.
"Zeck?"
"Wazzup?"
"Find any info you can about it, and bring it back to the safehouse," she says. "If my meeting goes well here, we'll have more options. Just don't mess it up."
"I'd never do you like that, cuz," he insists. "I'm outie, boss lady!"
She hangs up. As she looks out at the bar, she realizes that there's someone new seated at the bar. It's like they appeared from nowhere, as fast as a blink. They wear a long dark cloak, but Emery can smell that they're exactly who she's looking for.
Emery rises to her feet and makes her way to the bar just as the bartender serves the newcomer a whiskey on the rocks.
She slides into the seat next to them.
"Hello, Alopex," Emery says. The mutant fox looks up at her with the same golden eyes as her. "It's been a while. We need to talk."
End of Book Seven
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Shadow Mutation (Book Seven)
Fanfiction"Try not to be stupid next time, okay?" When he's told shortly after graduation that he didn't actually pass and, in order to truly earn his diploma, he must redo his senior year math credit, Casey Jones isn't sure how things could get worse. He kno...
