TR 15
Authors: Marina and Casey
Story: Taking Root
Challenge: Coconut 21 (who, me?), Milk Chocolate 26 (ignorance), FOTD (darkle) [Marina]; Blueberry Yogurt 17 (uncomfortable silence), Pineapple 29 (any last words?), Pomegranate 27 (permission) [Casey]
Toppings/Extras: Caramel, Chopped Nuts, Smoothie
Word Count: 2,783
Rating: PG-13 (trigger warning: panic attack)
Summary: Resh spills the beans.
Notes: So the TR version of this reveal is a lot uglier than canon and is one of the many reasons why this story is Chopped Nuts. On a lighter note, Carrie’s ringtone comes from this song. This piece and the next one are a few minutes late due to my browser being a butt.
Chase dumped his backpack in Resh and Nicole's foyer and moved out of the doorway to allow Kenz to come in behind him. "We're here!" he announced, to the general populace of the house.
Nicole poked her head out from within the living room. "Hey, Chase!"
"Come on in!" Resh yelled from deeper in the house.
"He's already ensconced on the couch as usual," his sister commented, dryly.
"Lazy butt," Chase said amiably.
"That's him."
Looking amused, Kenz set her bag neatly in the corner and moved around Nicole to join Resh. "Game time?" Nicole asked, grinning at Chase.
He returned it, throwing both fists in the air. "Game time!"
"Sweet!" She winked. "And of course it involves getting in Resh's way." She turned and bounded after Kenz.
Chase followed them, smirking. The Solaris condo was not his first choice for a place to hang out in the afternoon, but it was certainly a more preferable option than going home by himself. He did rather love driving Resh a little bit batty if he could, as well.
By the time they reached their destination, Resh and Kenz were happily settled on the couch for some quality snuggling. Ignoring them, Nicole plopped on the ground in front of the entertainment center and turned on the game system. Chase happily sat crosslegged next to her and picked up a controller. "What are we playing today?"
"Any preference?" she asked, snagging another one even as she flipped through their games.
"Where is Carrie today?" Kenz asked them. "When I talked to her first period, she said she was coming. Did something change?"
Chase glanced back at her. "I didn't know that. She just told me she wasn't going to make it." To Nicole, he added, "I don't care, you pick."
"Okay," Nicole said, grabbing one of their racing games and plugging it in.
"Did she and De..." Resh trailed off. "Nope, no idea where she is," he added, a bit too quickly.
At that, Chase swiveled halfway around so he could look Resh full in the face. The older boy had a smile on his face that meant he had a secret and was trying to hide it. "Did she and who what?"
"Resh," Kenz scolded, as Nicole rolled her eyes.
"I'm sorry! Honest slip of the tongue! I meant nothing, Chase."
"Bullshit," Nicole muttered, watching all three.
"I think you're lying," said Chase, with a sidelong glare at Nicole. "You've been saying weird things all week and you keep not finishing your sentences when you're talking about Carrie. Do you know something I don't?"
Kenz sighed. "We have suspicions, yes."
"Haven't you noticed?" Resh said, grunting as Kenz planted an elbow into his ribcage.
"Noticed what?" Chase demanded, looking between them apprehensively.
"Dean and Carrie?" he prompted. "Ever since her birthday party?"
Attempting to ignore the sudden feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach, he shook his head. "No, what?"
"They, um…" Here, Resh faltered and looked to the two girls for help.
"If they're not dating yet, I predict they will be within the week," Nicole said, sparing him the drama of a long drawn-out attempt at explaining from the older two.
Carrie and Dean. Dating. Chase stared at Nicole for a long moment, trying to process those words. "Oh," he finally said, very quietly.
The other three exchanged a look and Kenz scowled at Resh. "Why can you not be subtle?"
Nicole sighed. "Chase?" she asked, shifting so she could look him in the eye.
"What?" he asked, still numb.
"You...okay?" He could see her hesitate. "I mean, it's pretty jerky of us to spring that on you without letting Carrie do it first."
His throat tightened. It can’t be true, he thought. They have to be wrong. Carrie would have told me. Wouldn’t she? Suddenly, doubt made his chest constrict uncomfortably, and he realized what it meant. "I..." He swallowed. He had to get out, now, before they saw… "I need to go to the bathroom," he said, his words slurring almost unintelligibly. Dropping his controller, he bolted as fast as he could for the nearest restroom.
The hall restroom was tiny, but at least it was private. He slammed and locked the door, then sank against it, trying to slow his breathing as the familiar symptoms of panic came on in a rush. Breathe, breathe, BREATHE, he willed himself, but he couldn’t. All he could do was stuff the hem of his sweatshirt in his mouth to hide the high-pitched whines that were beginning to escape him.
A few minutes later, he heard a light tap on the door, followed by Kenz’s voice. "Chase?"
"Go away," he rasped.
His statement was greeted with silence, not even the quiet sound of footsteps meaning Kenz had left. It freaked him out even further. He had not had an attack in at least two years, and there was no way Laura could get to him in time to help him out of it. He had to do it on his own, and without letting Kenz know it was happening. He swallowed, tried to suck in a deeper breath, and calmed his voice as much as he could. "I'm fine, just leave me alone," he managed.
He could almost hear her hesitation. "Okay. I am sorry that we were not...tactful." Then he heard her turn and leave.
***
Dean arrived at his house first, but he did not have to wait long before Carrie appeared on her bicycle. She quickly rode it through the gate and dismounted in a smooth, practiced movement. "Hey!" she called to him.
"Hi!" He hopped to his feet, simultaneously delighted and nervous. Carrie had never visited him at home before.
"Is your dad home?"
"He'll be here in an hour or so. He stayed late at school to try some new project or another with the equipment they've got there."
She smiled and reached to unclip her helmet straps. "Okay, sounds fine."
He smiled back. "I'm afraid we don't have a lot of bells and whistles here like you do at your house."
"I didn't come for the stuff," she replied, with raised eyebrows.
Automatically, Dean's cheeks reddened. He hoped the afternoon sun hid it. "Well, good," he said as nonchalantly as he could manage. Carrie’s mouth broadened to an impertinent grin, and she reached over to ruffle his hair. He wrinkled his nose but made no effort to stop her or fix his mussed hair. "Thanks?"
She laughed. "Man, you're hilarious. In a good way, though."
His eyebrows shot up. "I'm not even going to comment to that. C'mon in," he said, jumping up to hold the front door open for her.
"Why thank you, good sir." She curtseyed so low that she almost lost her balance, then skipped merrily up the steps and into the house, her helmet swinging behind her.
He had go grin as he pulled the door shut behind them. "Want a snack or something to drink?" he offered politely.
"Water would be lovely," she replied.
"Sure." Dean bounced into the kitchen to get them both a glass, returning a moment later. "Feel free to sit anywhere."
"Including the coffee table?" she asked, with a smirk.
"If that's what makes you happy, sure, go for it," he said, amused as he sat down on the couch.
Carrie snickered and joined him. "It could be, you never know."
He eyed her. "I'm not entirely sure what that means but I'll go with it."
"Who said it means anything except what I said?" she asked innocently.
Dean grinned. "I'd be curious to know."
"I'm sure you would." She demurely took a sip of her water.
"Now that's not very nice."
"Who said I was nice?"
"Um, Chase and the others?"
Carrie's smile turned a bit bashful. "Oh, well, okay. If that's the case."
He barely resisted the urge to shift closer to her. "It is."
Seemingly oblivious, Carrie settled back into the couch and sipped her water. "Usually if I'm being cryptic it's for no good reason," she said. "If I'd really meant something by that I'd have said so."
He laughed, feeling bit of relief at the slight change in topic. "I'll take that and still try and puzzle over the original comment."
"What's puzzling about it? I didn't mean it to be."
"Nothing. Boy thoughts," he said cheerfully.
"Boy thoughts?" she repeated, eyeing him.
"Uh huh."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Ask...well, no, not Chase, he might kill me. Ask Resh sometime. Or even Kenz."
She started laughing. "Somehow I think asking Resh is probably not going to get me the answer I want. And you're being really confusing."
He grinned. "It's about time I get to be on occasion. And you're right, Resh would totally give you some song and dance routine."
"Oh, come on," she protested, "I'm not remotely confusing on a regular basis."
"Maybe you aren't, but the rest of your posse is."
Carrie set her glass on the coffee table and tucked her legs underneath her as she turned to face him. "How so?"
Dean tried to think of a way to answer that without offending her. "Just...they are. I dunno. Don't know how to describe it."
"Try? I'm curious."
He shrugged, a bit uncomfortable with the spotlight even when it was just Carrie. "Maybe it's just...them being them. I guess it's that I don't have much experience with other...you know, other teenagers."
"Maybe," she said, completely calmly. "Also, I admit we're kind of eccentric as a group. Not everybody gets that."
"I get the...I like the eccentric. I just get overwhelmed at times. And I feel like there's a lot I've missed by coming in so late."
She smiled, but an odd look crossed her face behind it. "Maybe. But I wouldn't say everyone in the group knows everything about all the others, either. It takes time. I mean, Kenz and I have been friends since elementary, but Resh and Nicole have only been with us for two years. Sidney's sort of new too, since she only got to high school this year. You have to grow together."
Dean barely kept away a frown at the look. It wasn't something he encountered all the time, but it also wasn't the first time with her and Chase. "I guess so. Want to see the workshop?" he said, knowing he was changing the subject but feeling it needed it.
Carrie immediately brightened. "I'd love to."
He led her to the garage, only to find the door opening to admit his father’s car. He couldn’t help slight disappointment at having so little private time with Carrie, but he did not say so to Sorin. "Hey, Dad."
"Hey, kids." Sorin smiled at them, in the way that usually meant he was about to do something embarrassing. "Don’t let me get in your way."
"You’re fine, Mr. D," Carrie said. "Dean was just going to show me the workshop-hang on." Her pocket had begun to spout nonsense words and techno beats, and she dug into it to retrieve the source.
"What’s that?" Dean asked, feeling bemused, as he always did about Carrie’s extensive use of technology.
"My ringtone," she said, apologetically. “I made it myself from a song I really like.” She glanced at the screen, raised an eyebrow, and slid her thumb over it to answer. “Nic? What’s going on?”
The volume on Carrie’s phone was set just loud enough that Dean could hear Nicole’s anxious tone of voice. He watched Carrie’s face closely as she listened, and grew worried when it began to darken in anger and alarm. “That moron,” she exclaimed suddenly. “He had no right to-okay, yes, I’ll be right there.” She hung up and pocketed the phone. “I’m really sorry,” she said to Dean, “but I have to go.”
“What’s the matter?”
She hesitated. “Chase knows about…us,” she said, with a sidelong glance at Sorin, “because Resh is an idiot who doesn’t know when to shut up, and he’s freaking out and it’s bad. I can’t really explain it.”
Dean bit his lip. He did not quite understand the urgency, but he wasn’t about to let her deal with it on her own if it was about both of them. “I’ll go, too.” He turned to his father. “Is that okay?”
“As long as you stay with Carrie and come back before it gets dark,” said Sorin, looking between them with a frown.
Carrie nodded distractedly and ran for the door. Dean wasted no time following.
***
When they arrived at the Solaris’ condo, Carrie dropped her bike in front and ran up to the door, disappearing inside without even knocking or taking off her helmet. Dean took the time to put down the kickstands on both bikes and tug his own helmet off before hurrying after her.
He found her, Kenz, Nicole, and Resh congregated in the foyer. "So that's when I thought we should call you," Nicole was saying, looking apologetic. "He’s shut himself in the bathroom and won’t come out."
"Why did you even say anything?" Carrie cried, mostly in Resh's direction. "You knew how he would react! I wanted to tell him myself so we could avoid this!"
Resh shifted, looking incredibly guilty. "I'm sorry! I didn't...I didn't think he'd react quite so strongly and it just kind of slipped out."
"Censorship is unfortunately not Resh's strong suit," Kenz added somberly.
Dean looked between them, frowning slightly at Carrie's comment. He knew that there was something occasionally a little...different about Chase, but locking himself in a bathroom seemed a bit extreme for this kind of news.
"Damn it, Resh!" Carrie's fists were clenched, shaking, as if she wanted desperately to punch him in the face. "These things don't just slip out! Damn you and your inability to mind your own goddamn business!" With that, she stomped off toward the bathroom.
Dean hesitated and then decided not to follow, figuring that Carrie and Chase should talk first. "Why did we even come up?"
"Resh is an asshole," Nicole said grumpily. For the first time since meeting him, Dean could tell the other boy was suitably cowed, not even making eye contact.
From the hallway, they heard pounding and jumped. "Chase Mitchell, you open this door right now before I get Resh to pick the lock!"
"You can do that?" Dean asked in surprise.
Resh shrugged. "Never know when it might be handy."
The four went silent again, trying not to seem like they were actively listening, but Dean kept an ear out for Chase’s response and knew the others were, as well. At length, the door creaked open, only to be closed again a few seconds later. Carrie's panicked tones wafted unintelligibly under the doorway.
"So, um," Dean said, striving for something to talk about in an increasingly tense and awkward atmosphere, "does this happen a lot?"
"Not a lot," Kenz said, "but when it does, it is not happy."
"I'd think that'd go without saying. What is...why does the idea of me and Carrie going out freak him out?"
Nicole frowned. "You should probably ask him that. But...well, he and Carrie are super close friends and I could understand the feeling of being afraid to lose her."
Dean stared at her. "Lose her? I'm not about to get in the way of their friendship! I'd be a giant asshole if I even wanted to."
Nicole and Kenz both shrugged at his assertion as they again went silent to listen.
The discussion in the bathroom slowly began to get softer. Finally, the door opened again. Carrie reappeared seconds later supporting Chase, who was red in the face and would not look anyone in the eye. "I need to get him home," she said to Kenz. "Can you give us a ride?"
"Of course," she said, grabbing both hers and Chase's backpacks. Dean stepped back out of the way, a stab of guilt worming its way into his gut even if he knew it was probably irrational at best.
Carrie let Kenz lead the way. As she passed, she unclipped her helmet and gave it to Nicole. "If you'd take my bike back to mine I'd appreciate it," she said quietly. She did not so much as spare Resh a glance.
"Sure," Nicole said, clutching it.
She nodded, then looked at Dean. "Sorry," she mouthed, over Chase's head.
He shook his head quickly and mouthed back, "No worries." Even though he still did not completely understand what being friends with people his own age meant, he knew enough that, in his and Carrie's relationship, there were times when Chase was just going to come first.
Story: Taking Root
Challenge: Coconut 21 (who, me?), Milk Chocolate 26 (ignorance), FOTD (darkle) [Marina]; Blueberry Yogurt 17 (uncomfortable silence), Pineapple 29 (any last words?), Pomegranate 27 (permission) [Casey]
Toppings/Extras: Caramel, Chopped Nuts, Smoothie
Word Count: 2,783
Rating: PG-13 (trigger warning: panic attack)
Summary: Resh spills the beans.
Notes: So the TR version of this reveal is a lot uglier than canon and is one of the many reasons why this story is Chopped Nuts. On a lighter note, Carrie’s ringtone comes from this song. This piece and the next one are a few minutes late due to my browser being a butt.
Chase dumped his backpack in Resh and Nicole's foyer and moved out of the doorway to allow Kenz to come in behind him. "We're here!" he announced, to the general populace of the house.
Nicole poked her head out from within the living room. "Hey, Chase!"
"Come on in!" Resh yelled from deeper in the house.
"He's already ensconced on the couch as usual," his sister commented, dryly.
"Lazy butt," Chase said amiably.
"That's him."
Looking amused, Kenz set her bag neatly in the corner and moved around Nicole to join Resh. "Game time?" Nicole asked, grinning at Chase.
He returned it, throwing both fists in the air. "Game time!"
"Sweet!" She winked. "And of course it involves getting in Resh's way." She turned and bounded after Kenz.
Chase followed them, smirking. The Solaris condo was not his first choice for a place to hang out in the afternoon, but it was certainly a more preferable option than going home by himself. He did rather love driving Resh a little bit batty if he could, as well.
By the time they reached their destination, Resh and Kenz were happily settled on the couch for some quality snuggling. Ignoring them, Nicole plopped on the ground in front of the entertainment center and turned on the game system. Chase happily sat crosslegged next to her and picked up a controller. "What are we playing today?"
"Any preference?" she asked, snagging another one even as she flipped through their games.
"Where is Carrie today?" Kenz asked them. "When I talked to her first period, she said she was coming. Did something change?"
Chase glanced back at her. "I didn't know that. She just told me she wasn't going to make it." To Nicole, he added, "I don't care, you pick."
"Okay," Nicole said, grabbing one of their racing games and plugging it in.
"Did she and De..." Resh trailed off. "Nope, no idea where she is," he added, a bit too quickly.
At that, Chase swiveled halfway around so he could look Resh full in the face. The older boy had a smile on his face that meant he had a secret and was trying to hide it. "Did she and who what?"
"Resh," Kenz scolded, as Nicole rolled her eyes.
"I'm sorry! Honest slip of the tongue! I meant nothing, Chase."
"Bullshit," Nicole muttered, watching all three.
"I think you're lying," said Chase, with a sidelong glare at Nicole. "You've been saying weird things all week and you keep not finishing your sentences when you're talking about Carrie. Do you know something I don't?"
Kenz sighed. "We have suspicions, yes."
"Haven't you noticed?" Resh said, grunting as Kenz planted an elbow into his ribcage.
"Noticed what?" Chase demanded, looking between them apprehensively.
"Dean and Carrie?" he prompted. "Ever since her birthday party?"
Attempting to ignore the sudden feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach, he shook his head. "No, what?"
"They, um…" Here, Resh faltered and looked to the two girls for help.
"If they're not dating yet, I predict they will be within the week," Nicole said, sparing him the drama of a long drawn-out attempt at explaining from the older two.
Carrie and Dean. Dating. Chase stared at Nicole for a long moment, trying to process those words. "Oh," he finally said, very quietly.
The other three exchanged a look and Kenz scowled at Resh. "Why can you not be subtle?"
Nicole sighed. "Chase?" she asked, shifting so she could look him in the eye.
"What?" he asked, still numb.
"You...okay?" He could see her hesitate. "I mean, it's pretty jerky of us to spring that on you without letting Carrie do it first."
His throat tightened. It can’t be true, he thought. They have to be wrong. Carrie would have told me. Wouldn’t she? Suddenly, doubt made his chest constrict uncomfortably, and he realized what it meant. "I..." He swallowed. He had to get out, now, before they saw… "I need to go to the bathroom," he said, his words slurring almost unintelligibly. Dropping his controller, he bolted as fast as he could for the nearest restroom.
The hall restroom was tiny, but at least it was private. He slammed and locked the door, then sank against it, trying to slow his breathing as the familiar symptoms of panic came on in a rush. Breathe, breathe, BREATHE, he willed himself, but he couldn’t. All he could do was stuff the hem of his sweatshirt in his mouth to hide the high-pitched whines that were beginning to escape him.
A few minutes later, he heard a light tap on the door, followed by Kenz’s voice. "Chase?"
"Go away," he rasped.
His statement was greeted with silence, not even the quiet sound of footsteps meaning Kenz had left. It freaked him out even further. He had not had an attack in at least two years, and there was no way Laura could get to him in time to help him out of it. He had to do it on his own, and without letting Kenz know it was happening. He swallowed, tried to suck in a deeper breath, and calmed his voice as much as he could. "I'm fine, just leave me alone," he managed.
He could almost hear her hesitation. "Okay. I am sorry that we were not...tactful." Then he heard her turn and leave.
***
Dean arrived at his house first, but he did not have to wait long before Carrie appeared on her bicycle. She quickly rode it through the gate and dismounted in a smooth, practiced movement. "Hey!" she called to him.
"Hi!" He hopped to his feet, simultaneously delighted and nervous. Carrie had never visited him at home before.
"Is your dad home?"
"He'll be here in an hour or so. He stayed late at school to try some new project or another with the equipment they've got there."
She smiled and reached to unclip her helmet straps. "Okay, sounds fine."
He smiled back. "I'm afraid we don't have a lot of bells and whistles here like you do at your house."
"I didn't come for the stuff," she replied, with raised eyebrows.
Automatically, Dean's cheeks reddened. He hoped the afternoon sun hid it. "Well, good," he said as nonchalantly as he could manage. Carrie’s mouth broadened to an impertinent grin, and she reached over to ruffle his hair. He wrinkled his nose but made no effort to stop her or fix his mussed hair. "Thanks?"
She laughed. "Man, you're hilarious. In a good way, though."
His eyebrows shot up. "I'm not even going to comment to that. C'mon in," he said, jumping up to hold the front door open for her.
"Why thank you, good sir." She curtseyed so low that she almost lost her balance, then skipped merrily up the steps and into the house, her helmet swinging behind her.
He had go grin as he pulled the door shut behind them. "Want a snack or something to drink?" he offered politely.
"Water would be lovely," she replied.
"Sure." Dean bounced into the kitchen to get them both a glass, returning a moment later. "Feel free to sit anywhere."
"Including the coffee table?" she asked, with a smirk.
"If that's what makes you happy, sure, go for it," he said, amused as he sat down on the couch.
Carrie snickered and joined him. "It could be, you never know."
He eyed her. "I'm not entirely sure what that means but I'll go with it."
"Who said it means anything except what I said?" she asked innocently.
Dean grinned. "I'd be curious to know."
"I'm sure you would." She demurely took a sip of her water.
"Now that's not very nice."
"Who said I was nice?"
"Um, Chase and the others?"
Carrie's smile turned a bit bashful. "Oh, well, okay. If that's the case."
He barely resisted the urge to shift closer to her. "It is."
Seemingly oblivious, Carrie settled back into the couch and sipped her water. "Usually if I'm being cryptic it's for no good reason," she said. "If I'd really meant something by that I'd have said so."
He laughed, feeling bit of relief at the slight change in topic. "I'll take that and still try and puzzle over the original comment."
"What's puzzling about it? I didn't mean it to be."
"Nothing. Boy thoughts," he said cheerfully.
"Boy thoughts?" she repeated, eyeing him.
"Uh huh."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Ask...well, no, not Chase, he might kill me. Ask Resh sometime. Or even Kenz."
She started laughing. "Somehow I think asking Resh is probably not going to get me the answer I want. And you're being really confusing."
He grinned. "It's about time I get to be on occasion. And you're right, Resh would totally give you some song and dance routine."
"Oh, come on," she protested, "I'm not remotely confusing on a regular basis."
"Maybe you aren't, but the rest of your posse is."
Carrie set her glass on the coffee table and tucked her legs underneath her as she turned to face him. "How so?"
Dean tried to think of a way to answer that without offending her. "Just...they are. I dunno. Don't know how to describe it."
"Try? I'm curious."
He shrugged, a bit uncomfortable with the spotlight even when it was just Carrie. "Maybe it's just...them being them. I guess it's that I don't have much experience with other...you know, other teenagers."
"Maybe," she said, completely calmly. "Also, I admit we're kind of eccentric as a group. Not everybody gets that."
"I get the...I like the eccentric. I just get overwhelmed at times. And I feel like there's a lot I've missed by coming in so late."
She smiled, but an odd look crossed her face behind it. "Maybe. But I wouldn't say everyone in the group knows everything about all the others, either. It takes time. I mean, Kenz and I have been friends since elementary, but Resh and Nicole have only been with us for two years. Sidney's sort of new too, since she only got to high school this year. You have to grow together."
Dean barely kept away a frown at the look. It wasn't something he encountered all the time, but it also wasn't the first time with her and Chase. "I guess so. Want to see the workshop?" he said, knowing he was changing the subject but feeling it needed it.
Carrie immediately brightened. "I'd love to."
He led her to the garage, only to find the door opening to admit his father’s car. He couldn’t help slight disappointment at having so little private time with Carrie, but he did not say so to Sorin. "Hey, Dad."
"Hey, kids." Sorin smiled at them, in the way that usually meant he was about to do something embarrassing. "Don’t let me get in your way."
"You’re fine, Mr. D," Carrie said. "Dean was just going to show me the workshop-hang on." Her pocket had begun to spout nonsense words and techno beats, and she dug into it to retrieve the source.
"What’s that?" Dean asked, feeling bemused, as he always did about Carrie’s extensive use of technology.
"My ringtone," she said, apologetically. “I made it myself from a song I really like.” She glanced at the screen, raised an eyebrow, and slid her thumb over it to answer. “Nic? What’s going on?”
The volume on Carrie’s phone was set just loud enough that Dean could hear Nicole’s anxious tone of voice. He watched Carrie’s face closely as she listened, and grew worried when it began to darken in anger and alarm. “That moron,” she exclaimed suddenly. “He had no right to-okay, yes, I’ll be right there.” She hung up and pocketed the phone. “I’m really sorry,” she said to Dean, “but I have to go.”
“What’s the matter?”
She hesitated. “Chase knows about…us,” she said, with a sidelong glance at Sorin, “because Resh is an idiot who doesn’t know when to shut up, and he’s freaking out and it’s bad. I can’t really explain it.”
Dean bit his lip. He did not quite understand the urgency, but he wasn’t about to let her deal with it on her own if it was about both of them. “I’ll go, too.” He turned to his father. “Is that okay?”
“As long as you stay with Carrie and come back before it gets dark,” said Sorin, looking between them with a frown.
Carrie nodded distractedly and ran for the door. Dean wasted no time following.
***
When they arrived at the Solaris’ condo, Carrie dropped her bike in front and ran up to the door, disappearing inside without even knocking or taking off her helmet. Dean took the time to put down the kickstands on both bikes and tug his own helmet off before hurrying after her.
He found her, Kenz, Nicole, and Resh congregated in the foyer. "So that's when I thought we should call you," Nicole was saying, looking apologetic. "He’s shut himself in the bathroom and won’t come out."
"Why did you even say anything?" Carrie cried, mostly in Resh's direction. "You knew how he would react! I wanted to tell him myself so we could avoid this!"
Resh shifted, looking incredibly guilty. "I'm sorry! I didn't...I didn't think he'd react quite so strongly and it just kind of slipped out."
"Censorship is unfortunately not Resh's strong suit," Kenz added somberly.
Dean looked between them, frowning slightly at Carrie's comment. He knew that there was something occasionally a little...different about Chase, but locking himself in a bathroom seemed a bit extreme for this kind of news.
"Damn it, Resh!" Carrie's fists were clenched, shaking, as if she wanted desperately to punch him in the face. "These things don't just slip out! Damn you and your inability to mind your own goddamn business!" With that, she stomped off toward the bathroom.
Dean hesitated and then decided not to follow, figuring that Carrie and Chase should talk first. "Why did we even come up?"
"Resh is an asshole," Nicole said grumpily. For the first time since meeting him, Dean could tell the other boy was suitably cowed, not even making eye contact.
From the hallway, they heard pounding and jumped. "Chase Mitchell, you open this door right now before I get Resh to pick the lock!"
"You can do that?" Dean asked in surprise.
Resh shrugged. "Never know when it might be handy."
The four went silent again, trying not to seem like they were actively listening, but Dean kept an ear out for Chase’s response and knew the others were, as well. At length, the door creaked open, only to be closed again a few seconds later. Carrie's panicked tones wafted unintelligibly under the doorway.
"So, um," Dean said, striving for something to talk about in an increasingly tense and awkward atmosphere, "does this happen a lot?"
"Not a lot," Kenz said, "but when it does, it is not happy."
"I'd think that'd go without saying. What is...why does the idea of me and Carrie going out freak him out?"
Nicole frowned. "You should probably ask him that. But...well, he and Carrie are super close friends and I could understand the feeling of being afraid to lose her."
Dean stared at her. "Lose her? I'm not about to get in the way of their friendship! I'd be a giant asshole if I even wanted to."
Nicole and Kenz both shrugged at his assertion as they again went silent to listen.
The discussion in the bathroom slowly began to get softer. Finally, the door opened again. Carrie reappeared seconds later supporting Chase, who was red in the face and would not look anyone in the eye. "I need to get him home," she said to Kenz. "Can you give us a ride?"
"Of course," she said, grabbing both hers and Chase's backpacks. Dean stepped back out of the way, a stab of guilt worming its way into his gut even if he knew it was probably irrational at best.
Carrie let Kenz lead the way. As she passed, she unclipped her helmet and gave it to Nicole. "If you'd take my bike back to mine I'd appreciate it," she said quietly. She did not so much as spare Resh a glance.
"Sure," Nicole said, clutching it.
She nodded, then looked at Dean. "Sorry," she mouthed, over Chase's head.
He shook his head quickly and mouthed back, "No worries." Even though he still did not completely understand what being friends with people his own age meant, he knew enough that, in his and Carrie's relationship, there were times when Chase was just going to come first.