Butter Pecan 30 + FOTD
Author: Marina
Story: The Dragon World
Challenge: Butter Pecan 30 (dizzy), FOTD (cater-cousin)
Toppings/Extras: Caramel, Gummy Bunnies (Three Word Wednesday: alter, fond, tranquil), Malt (Falootin’s truth: What’s Chase most afraid of?), Pineapple (“Do You Know? (The Ping-Pong Song)” - Enrique Iglesias)
Word Count: 1,592
Rating: G
Summary: Carrie breaks the news to Chase.
Notes: Follows on from Carrie and Dean’s first date.
On Monday afternoon, Chase’s sixth-period teacher let the class go three minutes early. He beat Carrie to the back gate and passed the time pondering the elusive details of an RMR story that had been forming in his mind all day. Maybe Laura should be in this one, he thought. It doesn’t seem like there’s enough people to handle the problem and it’s not crucial enough for Sir Armor.
Before he could figure out how to work her in, Carrie strode out from behind the corner of the nearby gym. He grinned and waved to her, but his cheerful mood faded slightly when she paused. The smile she sent him in return seemed like an afterthought. “You okay?” he called.
“Yeah.” Her features evened out into a more relaxed expression, and she resumed her journey with a brisk skip.
Reassured, he hummed a random melody as she fell into step with him.
Carrie did not speak again until they had cleared the gate and turned right. “You’re in a good mood,” she said then, eyeing him sidelong.
“Yup,” he replied. “Today was okay. We read a story I actually liked in English, and we’re starting a new project in Woodshop.”
“That’s great.” She bit her lip. “Hey, Chasie?”
“Yes, Carrie?” he drawled, in a very, very fake and high-pitched British accent.
She smiled a little. “You know how Dean’s been hanging out with us for a while?”
Chase glanced at her, eyebrows raised. He did not like the way she had said it-she sounded serious, as she did whenever she meant to tell him that she had to go to Texas for a week to see her grandparents, but he could also sense an underlying anxiety that he had never heard before. “Um, yes. I was there. Pretty sure I introduced you, too.”
Carrie cringed. “Yeah, sorry, that wasn’t a good way to start this discussion.”
“Discussion?” he repeated.
“Um. Not really a discussion. I don’t know. Anyway.” She cleared her throat. “Dean and I are…kinda sorta together. And…that was not at all how I meant to say that. Um.”
Chase froze. “Together as in…”
“Dating?” Carrie smiled crookedly, as if she were trying not to, but couldn’t help it. “Not really, not yet…but it’s going there. And I wanted you to know, before it did.”
“Oh.” He swallowed. “Okay.”
It was not okay, not even remotely, but he couldn’t think of anything else to say except for how could you do this to me and everything’s going to be different now, and there was no way he could say either of those things. Not to Carrie. Instead he shrugged, tried to smile, and began to walk again.
Two silent, uncomfortable blocks later, they reached the corner where they usually separated. Instead of giving her an embarrassingly cheerful hug, Chase maintained his distance, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “See you tomorrow.”
“You’re mad, aren’t you.”
He shook his head rapidly. “No, I’m not.”
Carrie gripped the strap of her book bag with both hands. “I don’t want you to be mad at me. Can we please talk about this?”
“I have to go home,” he said.
“No, you don’t. Come over for a while. We’ve got strawberry ice cream.”
Chase’s stomach churned so much that even strawberry ice cream-his favorite-did not sound appealing. As he pondered a reasonable excuse, Carrie’s unhappy expression suddenly registered in his brain. She wanted him to be okay with it, would not feel right if he didn’t. “Okay,” he said.
When they arrived at Carrie’s, Sketches met them at the front door. She looked up at Carrie with a well-behaved-cat expression as she scooted back to let them walk through the doorway. “It’s not dinner time for another two hours, you silly fluffball,” said Carrie, scooping her up. “And your dry bowl can’t be empty yet since I just filled it this morning. You have to wait.”
Chase snorted and dropped his bag next to the shoe rack. “Cats.”
“You love her,” said Carrie. “Don’t deny it.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said, with a little sniff. She chuckled and trotted off to the kitchen, dumping Sketches on the cat tree as she went. Chase followed reluctantly.
“So.” Carrie shot him an apprehensive glance over her shoulder as she opened the freezer and pulled out the ice cream.
“What? You’re the one who wanted to talk.”
“Chase, you can’t be like that.” She retrieved two bowls from the cupboard. “I know you don’t like it, but…I don’t want you to end up hating me because of it.”
“Hate you?” he cried, completely appalled. “I’d never hate you!”
“Then what is it?”
“It’s…I just…”
“Just what?”
He threw up his hands. “Dean could be a…spy for the Purple Barbarian Kingdom, for all we know!”
At that, Carrie whirled on him so fast that for a moment, he was afraid she would throw the ice cream scooper at him. “Are you kidding me right now?” she demanded, and he flinched. “Chase, we’re sixteen, for God’s sake. I love your stories, you know I do, but they’re not real, so that’s not a real reason.”
“You know what I mean,” he muttered, running a hand over his face.
“No, I don’t.”
Chase sighed heavily and hoisted himself to a seat on the counter. “We haven’t known him for that long. He could, like, have a deep dark secret.”
“You mean like we do?” Carrie asked, pinning him with a skeptical look. “I highly doubt he’s hiding the fact that some evil guy used magic to take him to a parallel world and make him fight a war.”
He scowled at her. “That’s not what I meant and you know it.”
“Sorry,” she said, looking contrite. “That was uncalled for.”
Yes, it was, he thought, but didn’t say it. “I meant that he could be into drugs or something.”
At that, Carrie laughed outright. “Chase, have you met Dean?” she asked, turning back to the ice cream.
“Yes,” he said stubbornly, “and he’s a nice guy, sure, but no one’s perfect! And maybe he’s not perfect in a way that could hurt you.”
“Yeah, but that could be the case with anyone we know, not just him.”
“Which is why you shouldn’t date anyone!”
Carrie swiveled back around, a bowl in each hand, and frowned at him. Chase immediately lowered his gaze to the floor. Good job, moron, he scolded himself. You weren’t supposed to say that. Now she’s mad.
“Chase,” she said, very quietly, “you can’t tell me not to-"
“I’m not!” he cried. “Do you really think I don’t know that? Nobody tells you what to do, and I’d never try to do that. I just don’t like it.”
She let out an exasperated half-growl. “Do you have a crush on me, or something?”
“What?” He looked up, hoping she was joking, but she stared him down with her hands on her hips. “No, of course not! Geez, Carrie, you’re practically my sister. That’s not it at all.”
“Okay,” she said, looking relieved, “because that’s how I feel about you, too.”
Offended, Chase crossed his arms and looked away from her. A moment later, he heard Carrie’s footsteps, followed by a repentant sigh and a gentle nudge at his elbow. He turned back to see her holding one of the bowls out to him. “I didn’t mean it like that,” she said.
He took the bowl and eyed the contents. “You’re my best friend, Care,” he said, swallowing hard against the tightness in his throat. “You and Laura…you’re the only ones who get stuff and I can’t…I can’t…” He rubbed his eyes. “I don’t know how to say it and I feel stupid right now.”
Carrie hopped up next to him. “You’re not stupid,” she said.
“Yeah, I am. This whole fight is stupid. Just forget I said anything.”
“Okay, look.” She deposited her ice cream a safe distance away and then shifted, crossing her legs on the counter so that she could look him in the eye. Chase followed suit but kept his bowl in his lap, privately amused by the idea that Eva would not be pleased if she came home while they were talking and caught them at it. “I really like Dean,” Carrie said bluntly. “I want it to work out. I’m pretty sure it will. But it’s like you just said-you’re pretty much my brother and your opinion means the world to me, so I want you to be okay with it.”
Poking at the partially melted ice cream with his spoon, he formulated several different potential responses. It’s not going to be the same. Maybe we won’t be best friends anymore. I don’t want you to leave me like Laura did. Each one sounded too childish or too selfish.
Finally, he sighed. “I don’t really have a good reason not to be.”
Carrie reached forward and took him by the wrists. “Chase,” she said, “you do know I love you, right?”
He mustered a smile. “Love you too, Care-bear.”
“So we’re good?”
Chase pondered it for a moment. “As long as you keep feeding me ice cream,” he said, lifting his bowl in an attempt at nonchalance.
She laughed and reached back for her own. “You’re terrible.”
“I know.” He took a bite, brightening as a new idea began to form in his brain. “So, since I’m your best friend and all, does that mean I get to interrogate him?”
She snorted. “Not a chance.”
“Aww, Carrie…”
Story: The Dragon World
Challenge: Butter Pecan 30 (dizzy), FOTD (cater-cousin)
Toppings/Extras: Caramel, Gummy Bunnies (Three Word Wednesday: alter, fond, tranquil), Malt (Falootin’s truth: What’s Chase most afraid of?), Pineapple (“Do You Know? (The Ping-Pong Song)” - Enrique Iglesias)
Word Count: 1,592
Rating: G
Summary: Carrie breaks the news to Chase.
Notes: Follows on from Carrie and Dean’s first date.
On Monday afternoon, Chase’s sixth-period teacher let the class go three minutes early. He beat Carrie to the back gate and passed the time pondering the elusive details of an RMR story that had been forming in his mind all day. Maybe Laura should be in this one, he thought. It doesn’t seem like there’s enough people to handle the problem and it’s not crucial enough for Sir Armor.
Before he could figure out how to work her in, Carrie strode out from behind the corner of the nearby gym. He grinned and waved to her, but his cheerful mood faded slightly when she paused. The smile she sent him in return seemed like an afterthought. “You okay?” he called.
“Yeah.” Her features evened out into a more relaxed expression, and she resumed her journey with a brisk skip.
Reassured, he hummed a random melody as she fell into step with him.
Carrie did not speak again until they had cleared the gate and turned right. “You’re in a good mood,” she said then, eyeing him sidelong.
“Yup,” he replied. “Today was okay. We read a story I actually liked in English, and we’re starting a new project in Woodshop.”
“That’s great.” She bit her lip. “Hey, Chasie?”
“Yes, Carrie?” he drawled, in a very, very fake and high-pitched British accent.
She smiled a little. “You know how Dean’s been hanging out with us for a while?”
Chase glanced at her, eyebrows raised. He did not like the way she had said it-she sounded serious, as she did whenever she meant to tell him that she had to go to Texas for a week to see her grandparents, but he could also sense an underlying anxiety that he had never heard before. “Um, yes. I was there. Pretty sure I introduced you, too.”
Carrie cringed. “Yeah, sorry, that wasn’t a good way to start this discussion.”
“Discussion?” he repeated.
“Um. Not really a discussion. I don’t know. Anyway.” She cleared her throat. “Dean and I are…kinda sorta together. And…that was not at all how I meant to say that. Um.”
Chase froze. “Together as in…”
“Dating?” Carrie smiled crookedly, as if she were trying not to, but couldn’t help it. “Not really, not yet…but it’s going there. And I wanted you to know, before it did.”
“Oh.” He swallowed. “Okay.”
It was not okay, not even remotely, but he couldn’t think of anything else to say except for how could you do this to me and everything’s going to be different now, and there was no way he could say either of those things. Not to Carrie. Instead he shrugged, tried to smile, and began to walk again.
Two silent, uncomfortable blocks later, they reached the corner where they usually separated. Instead of giving her an embarrassingly cheerful hug, Chase maintained his distance, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “See you tomorrow.”
“You’re mad, aren’t you.”
He shook his head rapidly. “No, I’m not.”
Carrie gripped the strap of her book bag with both hands. “I don’t want you to be mad at me. Can we please talk about this?”
“I have to go home,” he said.
“No, you don’t. Come over for a while. We’ve got strawberry ice cream.”
Chase’s stomach churned so much that even strawberry ice cream-his favorite-did not sound appealing. As he pondered a reasonable excuse, Carrie’s unhappy expression suddenly registered in his brain. She wanted him to be okay with it, would not feel right if he didn’t. “Okay,” he said.
When they arrived at Carrie’s, Sketches met them at the front door. She looked up at Carrie with a well-behaved-cat expression as she scooted back to let them walk through the doorway. “It’s not dinner time for another two hours, you silly fluffball,” said Carrie, scooping her up. “And your dry bowl can’t be empty yet since I just filled it this morning. You have to wait.”
Chase snorted and dropped his bag next to the shoe rack. “Cats.”
“You love her,” said Carrie. “Don’t deny it.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said, with a little sniff. She chuckled and trotted off to the kitchen, dumping Sketches on the cat tree as she went. Chase followed reluctantly.
“So.” Carrie shot him an apprehensive glance over her shoulder as she opened the freezer and pulled out the ice cream.
“What? You’re the one who wanted to talk.”
“Chase, you can’t be like that.” She retrieved two bowls from the cupboard. “I know you don’t like it, but…I don’t want you to end up hating me because of it.”
“Hate you?” he cried, completely appalled. “I’d never hate you!”
“Then what is it?”
“It’s…I just…”
“Just what?”
He threw up his hands. “Dean could be a…spy for the Purple Barbarian Kingdom, for all we know!”
At that, Carrie whirled on him so fast that for a moment, he was afraid she would throw the ice cream scooper at him. “Are you kidding me right now?” she demanded, and he flinched. “Chase, we’re sixteen, for God’s sake. I love your stories, you know I do, but they’re not real, so that’s not a real reason.”
“You know what I mean,” he muttered, running a hand over his face.
“No, I don’t.”
Chase sighed heavily and hoisted himself to a seat on the counter. “We haven’t known him for that long. He could, like, have a deep dark secret.”
“You mean like we do?” Carrie asked, pinning him with a skeptical look. “I highly doubt he’s hiding the fact that some evil guy used magic to take him to a parallel world and make him fight a war.”
He scowled at her. “That’s not what I meant and you know it.”
“Sorry,” she said, looking contrite. “That was uncalled for.”
Yes, it was, he thought, but didn’t say it. “I meant that he could be into drugs or something.”
At that, Carrie laughed outright. “Chase, have you met Dean?” she asked, turning back to the ice cream.
“Yes,” he said stubbornly, “and he’s a nice guy, sure, but no one’s perfect! And maybe he’s not perfect in a way that could hurt you.”
“Yeah, but that could be the case with anyone we know, not just him.”
“Which is why you shouldn’t date anyone!”
Carrie swiveled back around, a bowl in each hand, and frowned at him. Chase immediately lowered his gaze to the floor. Good job, moron, he scolded himself. You weren’t supposed to say that. Now she’s mad.
“Chase,” she said, very quietly, “you can’t tell me not to-"
“I’m not!” he cried. “Do you really think I don’t know that? Nobody tells you what to do, and I’d never try to do that. I just don’t like it.”
She let out an exasperated half-growl. “Do you have a crush on me, or something?”
“What?” He looked up, hoping she was joking, but she stared him down with her hands on her hips. “No, of course not! Geez, Carrie, you’re practically my sister. That’s not it at all.”
“Okay,” she said, looking relieved, “because that’s how I feel about you, too.”
Offended, Chase crossed his arms and looked away from her. A moment later, he heard Carrie’s footsteps, followed by a repentant sigh and a gentle nudge at his elbow. He turned back to see her holding one of the bowls out to him. “I didn’t mean it like that,” she said.
He took the bowl and eyed the contents. “You’re my best friend, Care,” he said, swallowing hard against the tightness in his throat. “You and Laura…you’re the only ones who get stuff and I can’t…I can’t…” He rubbed his eyes. “I don’t know how to say it and I feel stupid right now.”
Carrie hopped up next to him. “You’re not stupid,” she said.
“Yeah, I am. This whole fight is stupid. Just forget I said anything.”
“Okay, look.” She deposited her ice cream a safe distance away and then shifted, crossing her legs on the counter so that she could look him in the eye. Chase followed suit but kept his bowl in his lap, privately amused by the idea that Eva would not be pleased if she came home while they were talking and caught them at it. “I really like Dean,” Carrie said bluntly. “I want it to work out. I’m pretty sure it will. But it’s like you just said-you’re pretty much my brother and your opinion means the world to me, so I want you to be okay with it.”
Poking at the partially melted ice cream with his spoon, he formulated several different potential responses. It’s not going to be the same. Maybe we won’t be best friends anymore. I don’t want you to leave me like Laura did. Each one sounded too childish or too selfish.
Finally, he sighed. “I don’t really have a good reason not to be.”
Carrie reached forward and took him by the wrists. “Chase,” she said, “you do know I love you, right?”
He mustered a smile. “Love you too, Care-bear.”
“So we’re good?”
Chase pondered it for a moment. “As long as you keep feeding me ice cream,” he said, lifting his bowl in an attempt at nonchalance.
She laughed and reached back for her own. “You’re terrible.”
“I know.” He took a bite, brightening as a new idea began to form in his brain. “So, since I’m your best friend and all, does that mean I get to interrogate him?”
She snorted. “Not a chance.”
“Aww, Carrie…”