AUGUST 16TH, 2017 - WEDNESDAY

CASEY’S POV

On principal, Casey did not like Tuesdays. Nothing good ever happens on Tuesday. His grandfather disappeared on a Tuesday, his father was born on a Tuesday, and occasionally the school year began on a Tuesday. Wednesdays, on the other hand, were fine. This day signified the halfway mark through the week and generally wasn’t too bad. Today was the exception.

Adam had been off since Monday morning, and Casey couldn’t figure out why. They still sat together in the mornings and ate lunch together, but the vibe was off. Adam wouldn’t meet his eyes and sat with more space between them, which wouldn’t be a problem if it was normal. The brunet thought he had done something wrong, so he ran through the entire weekend, but nothing jumped out. Then, Casey remembered Matt’s comment Monday morning.

He had thought nothing about being called Adam’s boyfriend. People had been assuming for years, especially when they were younger, and started to attend family events together. Hell, Wes began cracking jokes about it before they were in middle school. It never bothered Casey, and he thought the same about Adam, but maybe he was wrong.

Casey crossed the bridge with a mildly-annoyed sigh and moved to skate through the forest path. The sky overhead was cloudy, a perfect representation of the healer’s mood, and the wind was picking up. Earbuds hung around the teen’s neck, the music barely audible as he crested up the small hill, but a low whine had him skidding to a stop. Casey looked around, trying to find the source over the cars driving past.

A rustle to his right. Casey moved toward a cluster of small bushes and crouched down to move the branches aside. Nestled under thorns and leaves was a small dog curled up on a dirty blanket. It whimpered pitifully when the healer began to tug the animal toward him.

“Sh, sh, I know. I’m gonna help you, I promise.” Out from under the bushes, Casey realized it was a grey Pitbull, a girl if he was correct. “Oh, you’re a pretty girl, huh?” She was underneath the cuts covering her tiny body and the blood matting her fur. The brunet strapped his board to the front of his backpack and crouched to stare at the pup.

“If I pick you up, are you gonna bite me?” He asked seriously, not wanting to get rabies. She snuffled when the teen held his hand out by her nose but did not lunge at him. Inhaling deeply, Casey wrapped the blanket around her a little tighter and picked her up slowly. He cradled the dog to his chest and tried not to jostle her too much as he finished walking home.

Casey sat her down on the couch, uncaring of the dirty, and dropped to his knees. “I’m gonna help, just don’t freak out.” The brunet rolled his shoulders and then set his hands on top of her rising chest. Eyes shut, Casey could feel the energy draining from his body as he healed her. He continued until nausea began to gnaw at him and his own body begged him to stop. Poor girl… As the pain became his, the healer cursed whoever inflicted the injuries.

The cuts were gone, and she seemed to be perking up but was still covered in blood.

“How about we get a bath? Get nice and clean?” Her head cocked to the side. “Yep, it’s bath time, young lady.” Casey headed down the hall to the bathroom and heard the clicking of claws on the hardwood behind him. The pit got into the bathtub with ease and didn’t freak out about the running water, thank god, and even wagged her tail a bit.

He dried her off once the water began to run clear again and then opened the door to let her roam the house while he called Adam. The blond picked up on the third ring.

“What’s wrong?”

“I found a dog.” Adam was silent for a moment while Casey entered his bedroom, pup following behind him almost tiredly. The poor animal was obviously exhausted despite being physically healed and settled in his beanbag with a soft ‘thump’.

“You found a dog?”

“Yep, brought her home and gave her a bath. I figure I can feed her and let her sleep before sending her back out,” he replied, watching her with a small smile.

“Why not keep her?’ Casey opened his mouth to give all the reasons he couldn’t but found that he didn’t have any. Dog food wasn’t too expensive, and she was old enough to have been spayed so that only left future visits.

“What about when I’m at school?”

“Leave the back door open, but the screen shut. She can get out the bottom part if you poke it out while still being able to come inside.” He had a point. Casey was tired of being alone, of coming back to an empty house, so maybe she would be an excellent additive to the tiny family of two.

“I’ll have to name her,” he finally said. The brunet settled back into his mountain of pillows and grabbed his laptop,

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“Okay, are you goin’ for actual names or funny names?” Casey smiled, hoping that things were going back to their version of normal.

“I mean, whatever sticks, sticks, ya know?” The genius hummed as Casey opened up a page of baby names. “What about Harley?”

“Like Harley Quinn?”

“Yeah.”

“Send me a pic of your dog.” Way better than send nudes. Casey did as told, inwardly cooing over the pup. I might not like people, but I adore animals. Especially dogs. “Hm, not Harley. A superhero is a good pool of names, though. What about Wanda?”

Casey frowned. “I’m not the biggest Scarlet Witch fan. Pepper?”

“Your love of her is cute, but no.” The healer rolled his eyes and knew the other boy was grinning on his end. “Iris?”

“Eh, better. Hope, Peggy, Silena?”

The blond scoffed. “You really want to name your dog after Catwoman?” Casey was silent as he observed the dog and then nodded to himself.

“Fair point. Barbara?” Adam laughed, and the healer found himself smiling. Yeah, things are gonna be okay.

AUGUST 16TH, 2017 - THURSDAY

“I can’t believe you named your dog Shuri,” Adam grumbled from behind Casey. “I gave you some great options.”

“I mean, you gave me DC options. That’s your preference, not mine, mi socio,” he replied. The healer was half-turned in his desk chair, his back to Percy, who had been acting stranger than usual. Aside from the casual conversations in science class, the other teen had made no move to progress further than that. Aside from that, there was an obvious tension between him and Mrs. Hale since their failed date.

It wasn’t noticeable to anyone else, but Casey saw the more minor details. While Percy gave the woman an almost constant attitude, she seemed content to ignore his existence. Casey kept his observations to himself and instead compiled them in a mental notebook when the final puzzle piece was revealed.

“You got a dog?” The healer craned his neck around to find Percy leaning forward with a curious expression.

“Yep, found her walkin’ home yesterday,” he stated. “She’s just a puppy still, though she’s gonna keep growing.” Casey pulled up the photo and offered his phone like a proud father.

“I like Pitbulls; they’re a loyal breed. You named her Shuri?” He nodded. “Is that from a book or something?” Adam and the healer shared a look.

“Uh, have you never read a comic book?” Percy looked almost sheepish at the question.

“Not really, those are more my sister’s preference than mine. I like real books.” Casey bristled a bit at that comment but let it go.

“Well, Shuri is T'challa's sister in Marvel comics. She’s a genius, fiery, and even becomes the first female Black Panther.” The brunet could tell Percy doesn’t really understand or even care, but he appreciated the effort.

“Maybe you can tell me more about her, say Monday? We could hang out at my house if you’re interested.” Wow, smooth transition. “Friends hang out, right?” Casey could feel Adam watching him, finely attuned to his best friend.

“Okay,” he agreed. The pressure behind his eyes was no worse than usual but still there. The healer twisted his ring as Percy broke out into a wide grin.

“Wonderful, you don’t mind riding home with me after school, yeah?” As he had no reliable ride, Casey nodded.

“That’s fine; I look forward to it.” That wasn’t technically a lie. Casey was more interested in putting more pieces of the Percy-puzzle together than actually spending time with him, though. Seeing the teen outside of school would definitely clue the healer into the subtle nuances of his personality, and a bedroom can tell a lot about someone. Hopefully, there will be some clues.

Conversation over, Casey turned back around and happened to catch Mrs. Hale’s gaze as she ducked her head back down to whatever she was grading. He chalked it up to simple curiosity, but there was a niggling doubt that settled in the back of his mind nonetheless. There was definitely something off about her on top of Percy, and he wasn’t sure which would cause more trouble.

Thankfully, school ended, and Casey was free. He raced home quicker than usual, leaving Adam with their usual bro-hug. Now that he had Shuri, Casey didn’t dread the end of school as much. Yeah, he still hated the institution on principle, but he enjoyed the time with Adam and wasn’t keen on cutting it short. Hmm, I wonder if our codependency is becoming unhealthy.

The healer paused at the door, key in the lock, and did a run-through of their friendship. Yeah, that’s a future-me problem. He continued inside and beamed at the sleeping puppy on his couch. Shuri was settling in nicely, sleeping in Casey’s bed while her bowls remained in the laundry room with her new dog food. His room now smelled of a puppy, whatever generic floral air freshener his mom bought, and tobacco which was an odd combination, but it worked.

Casey ambled to the back of the house to make sure the screen door was still shut and then stepped outside. The air was warm despite the gentle rain that had been coming and going all day, and it felt nice as he surveyed the backyard. It wasn’t large by any means but still big enough for Shuri even when she became full-grown. There was a slim tree of some sort to his left, and a small tin shed to his right, both surrounded by overgrown grass since no one ever came back there.

The shed was rusted in some spots but still standing strong. Casey wasn’t sure what it held, but once his grandfather disappeared, all his things went in there with a shiny new padlock for safe-keeping. Aside from prying the door off with a crowbar, something he could easily do with enough effort, there was no way of knowing the actual contents. The healer eyed the little building for a moment longer and then stepped back inside, not wanting to dwell any longer. The past was sometimes better left in the past.