Chapter Text
They stared at each other for a few awkward minutes, Grace waiting for the other man to say something, but all he did was chew on his toothpick a little bit, his hands staying in the pockets of his jacket. This man and his twin brother had dropped by his class without any warning after lunch, having been doing some shooting for the film they were working on nearby and Colt said 'fuck it they won't need us for the rest of the day', and seemed to drag the other man with him to the middle school Grace worked at.
It was certainly nice to see his brother again after he had been in Los Angeles for the last two months, and his afternoon classes had earned bragging rights for the rest of the week that they got to meet Hollywood actors. Or at least their stuntmen. While Grace knew Colt worked as a stunt double, the man he had brought with him worked as a stunt driver, which was an almost equally dangerous job. Colt and this stranger seemed to have known each other for at least a year or so, not always working on the same project, but they were in the same kind of bubble, so they would have run into each other a few times at some point. Grace assumed his twin thought this other guy was really cute and gave him his number, which this stranger took and kept it seems.
"I gotta head off; you two play nice!" Colt had said before he ditched them both after he got a phone call, pouting at whatever news he had received. Likely Jody chewing his ear off for leaving too early and still being needed for a scene or two. Which is how the current awkward moment began. "Well, I'm not sure if Colt's mentioned me much, but I'm his twin, Ryland Grace." Grace finally spoke up, holding a hand out to the other man, who left him hanging until Grace felt even more awkward and dropped his hand back down. "...Driver." The other man finally spoke up, voice soft but loud enough to be clearly heard. "Driver? Is that your last name, or..?" Grace trailed off, but Driver said nothing, just kept staring at him.
So this was Colt's twin. The man had been right: if it wasn't for the fact Grace wore glasses, and Colt's hair was styled like it was, it really is impossible to tell them apart. At least he's got a proper face to the name now, even if he was already familiar with it. He had been watching Grace the entire time he and Colt were in Grace's classroom, speaking up only when it was needed or a student had asked him a question directly. Colt had informed all of Grace's afternoon classes that he has a habit of staying quiet because driving takes a good amount of focus and talking tended to be distracting. It wasn't exactly the truth, but he felt no need to correct the other man. Casey usually found that there was no need to speak most of the time, so he just didn't.
But the second he laid eyes on Grace, he felt it. He had felt it before with Irene, though that had been slower. This was fast and sharp, like the g-force spiking after pulling the E-Brake. He knew what it was and it was very important to him that he kept it tamed. Grace was very new, gentle, skittish; a wounded and anxious fox that has been backed into a corner. If he moved too fast, he'll scare him off into hiding, and Casey didn't want that in the slightest. Yes, he wanted Grace in a cage, but he wanted it to be HIS cage. It would be nice, and pretty, and comfortable, and provide the school teacher with every and all of his needs. He hastily threw those thoughts out of his head, trying to remain calm and keep his face schooled into a neutral expression.
"Well, Driver, um... It was very nice to meet you. I-I should be heading home now." Grace stumbled out as he finished gathering his things, shoving them into his bag, and then hurrying out of his classroom. Driver followed him out, keeping in stride with him as he took a moment to pulled out his bike helmet and the key to his bike lock. "I can give you a ride, if you'd like?" Driver spoke up after he saw that Grace was kinda fumbling to unlock his bicycle. "What?" "My car is parked just over there. I can give you a ride back to your place, if that's ok?" "O-Oh! Um, no... No, that's ok. Thank you for offering though." Grace replied as he managed to unlock his bike, slipping the bike lock out and putting it in his bag. He swung a leg over the bike and put on his helmet, clicking the strap in place. "A-Again, it was nice to meet you!" Grace called as he started to pedal away from both Driver and the school.
Casey watched Grace leaving, a massive war clashing in his head. He should just leave it alone; he's Colt's twin brother after all, he's bound to encounter the man again. ...But it won't hurt to know where he lived. Just in case something were to happen and Colt asked Casey to make sure his brother was safe. He walked back to his car, climbed inside, and waited about two more minutes before he started it up and began to tail Grace back to his home. He kept a good distance behind the school teacher, making sure that Grace didn't feel like he was being followed. Casey almost instantly wanted to kidnap Grace, put him in the backseat of his car, and take him to his own home when some reckless chunk of flesh nearly hit Grace with their car. It took everything not to pit the other car and watch them go flying into a ditch or oncoming traffic, keeping his focus on Grace.
It was a struggle, but he managed to convince himself that he didn't need to follow Grace into the apartment complex. Instead, he stayed in his car, watching as Grace locked his bike up on an empty section of the outside bike rack, pulled his helmet off his head, and jogged into the building through the front door that someone was holding open. Casey felt his hands tightening on the steering wheel as he watched Grace smile brightly to the other person, the gross individual reaching out to pat Grace's shoulder as he walked past them into the building. No. No. Calm. Keep calm. That other person could just have Grace as a regular person they bump into this time of day, a point of familiarity; they've given no indication that they know Grace as anything more than a familiar stranger. The line of logic was enough to quell what was stirring within, a part of him he hates as much as he knows it serves him well.
But he knows where Grace lives now. He can scope it out on a later day; maybe figure out when this building gets mail and then intercept the mailman and request to have Grace's under the guise that he's on his way to visit him. Then he'd know for sure exactly where the school teacher resides inside the building. Casey has a passing thought as he finally drives away of why he didn't feel this sensation at all when he first encountered Colt; he was indeed Grace's identical twin, so what was it about Grace that invoked this feeling in Casey but not from his brother? Could it just be that Grace looked so innocent to the world? That would make some sense, as Colt has confessed that his hands are dirty like Casey's, though he had done so in order to protect his brother from something he's yet to tell him about. He should call Colt when he gets back home, ask him more about his past, see if he's more willing to divulge anything more after getting to see his brother again.