The Yin to my Yang - JiskastyaxMysticalminx

[Mysticalminx]

“You know what. Maybe I will.” Casey snapped back at Michael's comments, jaw clenching in anger and frustration. What had gotten into him? He had never been so nasty to her. She knew he didn't always agree with the way she lived her life, but he had never been so down-right mean about it. He had never called her stupid before. At least, not with such venom. And it stung. It really, really did.

“I'd much rather go and stupidly go out again, and stupidly have fun again, get stupid drunk and stupidly enjoy myself, at least there I won't be bitched at.” She then added, feeling the need for some sort of retaliation to his sharp words, but failing to find the words or even the desire to hurt him back.

Truth was, his comment truly hit deep, even if the girl refused to give in to it. It was no secret the girl wasn't exactly as academically gifted as Michael, and though she always made light of it, she could only wish to match him. The fingers of her hands had curled into tight fists, nails digging deeply into the skin to keep her focus on that slight physical ache, rather than the stab he had administered to her heart.

"So, if you'll excuse me, I'll go be stupid somewhere else." She then added, turning away from him to leave him behind. "And don't worry. I won't bother you at night."

[Jiskastya]

It was too late to apologize now. Sorry just wouldn't cover it anymore. But he knew if he let her walk away now, her stubbornness would ensure that they would never talk again. Despite the dark words, that had never been his goal. At the beginning, he had been so excited. He had wanted her to see the vast opportunity before them, and embark upon a grand adventure together. Wasn't that what friends were supposed to do? Where had it gone wrong? Why had she been so angry with him, right from the beginning? Why couldn't she just have been her usual overenthusiastic, blunt, risk-taking self?

"Oh, very good, very good," he said to her retreating back, hands beating out a slow clap. "Run away, be your usual stubborn self and decide that you are going to be perfectly 'self-sufficient'. And then, when you get yourself hurt, you'll never be able to get back to this moment. Every choice causes a change, and there is no way to undo it.

"I made a choice too, Cas. I made that choice when I realized that, for the first time in my life, I was consumed by a complete passion about something. I didn't realize that taking four days to truly figure it out would completely spoil everything between us. I thought we knew each other better than that."

They had always shared everything that made them excited, movies, video games, books. He couldn't see how this was any different from that, and couldn't see why she had been so mad at him. He was ready to share now, had been all excited to invite her into a new and colorful world. And instead she had yelled at him, and he hadn't been willing to let it go at that.

"Why did you come here so incredibly resentful of me, Cas? What made you so angry that four days would be enough to completely turn you against me?

"Or you can walk away, silent and bitter, and stay that way for the rest of your life."

[Mysticalminx]

The words Michael shot at her back had Casey come to a halt, the girl still standing with her back turned to him as he mockingly clapped at her, once more throwing insults her way. She could feel the beginnings of tears threatening to form, his insults hitting all the more hard for the fact that they were coming from his lips.

Drawing in a deep breath, she tried to force some calm back, though it was hard with those chiding words still rolling off Mike's lips. Her nails dug harshly into the palms of her hands, threatening to draw blood. At his last question, she spun around, that last accusation causing the hurt to overspill. She couldn't bite back the words.

“I don't know, Mike. You tell me. Cause you've been acting like a complete ass the last few times I've seen you.” Casey shot back, teeth gritted tight as her friend accused her of resenting him. Where he had gotten the impression, she wasn't entirely sure. Sure, she had been a bit annoyed that he had been ignoring her, and she was less than enthusiastic about the way he suddenly wanted to meet in secret, but that hardly had been resentful.

She wasn't even sure why they were fighting. Neither of them had ever been so touchy about the other. A slightly off infliction of the words had never caused such a rift between them. She had always been too laid-back to truly care too much about a less-than-thoughtful remark, and Mike too gentle to argue over poorly-thought out words. God knew Casey had a tendency to stick her foot in her mouth. As well as the girl meant, usually, she didn't really have a way with words.

“So yes, I will walk away. Before I say something I'll regret. You might want to consider that, too.” She then added, staring at the boy she had called her friend for so many years, still unable to understand how he suddenly had grown so cruel. What had happened to their friendship? How could it have unraveled so quickly? But, she had to walk away now. While there still was something to be salvaged when they both had cooled their jets. Before they'd snap the last few strands that still held them together.

[Jiskastya]

"Fine, Cas." Michael said, his voice lacking almost any emotion. "Go."

She thought she was saving their friendship by leaving, that she was keeping them from saying words that would finally tear them apart, but by leaving she was telling Michael instead that she just didn't care. She no longer cared enough about him to look even briefly into what had so consumed him. She was choosing instead to leave him adrift, give him nothing to anchor on in this whole world. Becuase that was what this conversation had begun about. Why couldn't she see it? Why had she came here so angry that she couldn't see what he had been trying to begin between them?

He had meant what he said. This was the chance, there was no taking it back. There was no getting back to this moment, the first time she could have come with him on this adventure, and that would create a rift between them that she would never be able to remove again.

But she wanted to walk away? Fine, so be it. He had other things he could be doing now, things that wouldn't involve fighting with someone who couldn't care less. This time, it was him who turned his back, him who started to walk away. Let her deal with that.

[Mysticalminx]

It was not how she had wanted it to go. She had not come to meet him with the intention to start a fight, much less to drive such a wedge between them. And yet, somehow it had happened. Somehow, she could feel that in that very short encounter, she had lost him.

She wanted to call him back. To apologize. To tell him she was sorry. But would he even want to hear? Somehow, she didn't think he'd care for it. He resented her for not sharing in his excitement, and she just couldn't pretend to be happy after he had been so insulting.

“...bye Mike.” She muttered quietly, letting out a heavy sigh. She hated seeing him go like this and yet, she could not stop him. Instead, she turned on her heel, moving towards the opposite direction, stupid as it perhaps was. Home was the other way. But, walking after him just seemed weird. Besides, a walk would do her good. She needed some fresh air. She needed to think.

[Jiskastya]

Mike walked with his hands shoved deep into his pockets, hands clenched into fists and brow wrinkled. He tried to think of this as a beginning rather than an end, but it was hard. Now that he had gotten away from Cas, all he could think about was how easily they had wound up fighting, more like antagonists than friends. But what he had told her was true, every choice had its consequences, and there were no taking them back, no matter how hard you might wish it.

Home seemed an almost welcome relief after the day, and he tried to greet his mother cheerfully, to put on a mask of the boy he had used to be. And, somehow, she didn't see through it. He wandered up into his room, before flopping down on the bed. He still had four more days of school to face this week, before he would have a chance to relax again. Running a hand through his hair, he tried not to think about the fact that he would wind up sitting next to Cas for third period on Wednesday and Friday. But it was no good. Mike let out a deep sigh, before standing up, snagging his backpack and dragging it over to his desk.

He knew something was wrong when he would rather do homework than anything else.