FicWad

A/N: Hello again, guys! I told you I got a bunch of new songs on my iPod last week, and this week I actually decided to do one of them. The second one I wrote, however, isn't new, but you guys still love me. Right? XD

Disclaimer: I do not own the lyrics to "Lie in Our Graves"

Song Used: Dave Matthews Band's "Lie in Our Graves"


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Sixty-Three: Lie in Our Graves
Puppet: Keefe O'Kane


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When I step into the light,
My arms open widely,
When I step into the light,
My eyes searching wildly,
Would you not like to be,
Sitting on top of the world with your legs hanging free?
Would you not like to be okay, okay, okay?

“Ha! Too slow!”

“We'll see about that!”

I have no idea why I kept thinking about my brother, but I did.

I sat quietly on the edge of the dock, peering out and studying the calm, clear surface of Flathead Lake. A spring breeze disturbed the water ever so slightly, creating small crests of white on the otherwise blue water. It was a beautiful day, warm and sunny without being too hot. It was tempting to slip off my t-shirt and take a dip in the lake, but I restrained myself; no use getting my jeans all soggy.

I glanced down into my reflection, and once again was struck with the memory of my brother and I playing basketball outside our house. I drew in a deep breath and slowly let it back out, trying to recall every detail of the moment. We'd been happy then. We hadn't tasted the back of our stepfather's hand yet, nor had we allowed a silly, worthless girl to drag our hearts down with them. We'd been innocent. We'd been young.

To my dismay, something seemed to be missing from the memory. But I couldn't place what it was. Only that it wasn't there.

I rubbed my eyes with the back of my hand; it wasn't that. I could still remember the wide, happy grin my brother had fixed upon his marred face, the old blue house that we'd lived in until we started college and moved out. I flexed my fingers, wondering if that would help. No, that couldn't be it; I could still almost feel the rough, grimy surface of the basketball against my hands. I could still hear his voice, higher then, and the steady bounce of the ball against the pavement as we played our one-on-one. Even the smell of freshly cut grass was imprinted in my brain, never to be forgotten.

So what could it possibly be that I was forgetting?

I leaned back and rested my back against one of the posts holding the deck up and out of the lake, allowing my bare feet to dangle over the water. I rubbed my chin thoughtfully, trying hard to remember everything. It wasn't normal for me to just let things escape me, and when something did it...it bothered me to no end.

With a twitch I realized that was it. It was that young, carefree feeling that I was forgetting. It'd been so long since I'd experienced it, I guess it'd been easy for me to forget.

I eyed the water carefully. Maybe I could change that.

When I'm walking by the water,
Splish splash me and you taking a bath,
When I'm walking by the water,
Come to my toes to my ankles to my head to my soul,
Then I'm blown away...

All too suddenly, there was a massive, unexpected amount of pressure against my shoulders. With a yelp I was shoved forward and, for a moment, it seemed as if I was going to be a lot wetter than I'd planned on. Panic-borne desperation induced me to throw out my arms in an attempt to balance myself, but to no avail.

I fell.

I fell, and landed with a huge splash. The water was shockingly cold and a chill quickly spread from the tips of my toes to the top of my head, some of it managing to get in my nose and cause a sharp, stinging pain. Fear settled over me for just a moment; I was sinking, the water feeling like a live thing dragging me down, tugging at my hair and clothes and trying to swallow me up into the depths. Oh my God...which way was up?

Terror vanished as quickly as it had come, replaced with common sense. Just swim.

I surfaced, coughing and spluttering up water while at the same time trying to greedily suck in much-needed air. I was vaguely aware of another voice, feminine, laughing gaily at something, just before there was another splash nearby. I tread water and glanced around, trying to find the source. Who had pushed me?

No sooner did I get my breathing under control did someone (or something) latch onto my leg and tug me back under. Anger surged through my being, furious that whoever it was couldn't just let me salvage what little dignity I had left. I kicked out my legs, only to find that no one was holding onto them anyway. I came up for air again, eyes wild as I struggled to understand what exactly was happening.

Moments later, a very familiar person broke through the disturbed surface of the water just a few feet away from me. I blinked in surprise; why would she want to do that sort of thing to me? I could've drowned.

Casey Thane, however, thought the bewildered look on my face was the funniest thing she'd seen in a while. She laughed, the sound bubbly and cheerful and impossible to frown at. I would know; smiling was the last thing I wanted to do at the moment, and yet, here I was, grinning like a loon.

“Got ya'!” She crowed triumphantly, already climbing back up onto the dock, soaking wet but bright and warm as she ever was.

I growled playfully, willing myself to let it roll off my shoulders and just have fun with it. “You think so, huh?” I asked, slipping through the water like an aquatic snake despite being hindered by my clothes. I reached up after her and snatched her by the legs just before she pulled herself up, dragging her back into the water with me.

“All right, all right!” she cried, laughing still, “You win! Let go!”

When I'm walking by the water,
Splish splash me and you taking a bath,
When I'm walking by the water,
Come to my toes to my ankles to me head to my soul,
Then I'm blown away...

I did as she requested, releasing my hold on her and allowing her to hoist herself back up onto the dock. She turned instantly and held out a hand for me to take, a smile plastered on her face just like her clothes to her skin. “You looked like you could use a good splash,” she said matter-of-factly, “you don't have to thank me or anything.”

I laughed and shook my head, refusing her hand. Instead, I latched my hands to the wood and pulled my bulk up with a mighty heave. Water dripped from my hair into my eyes, making me blink in an attempt to clear it all away. I was completely and thoroughly soaked; my only chance of getting dry was the hope that maybe, just maybe, the warm sun would eat the water up. “You scared the shit out of me,” I grumbled, “don't ever do that again.”

She chuckled. “Don't even try to play that card with me, mister,” she said in a scolding tone, “you know you liked it.”

I couldn't argue. I had enjoyed it. I'd felt free and without worries, even if it was only for a moment. My only thought had been to have a little bit of fun with her, no matter how silly or childish it may have been.

But to my surprise, I found I could still find something to laugh about. Playfully I flicked the excess water on my hands at her, splattering it all over her face and giving her a jolt with the cold liquid. She squealed sharply and teetered backward, trying to 'escape,' only to start laughing like crazy again. “Kee – eefe!”

“Wha – at?” I mimicked, grinning happily. I felt like a little kid again, playing with one of my friends and not feeling like I had to worry about things like money or relationships.

She smiled at me, straightening up and flinging some water right back at me in a friendly game of tit-for-tat. “That water's cold!”

I recalled the chill that had rippled up my spine the second I'd hit the surface and nodded, barely blinking, unaffected by the water droplets clinging to my skin and slowly being forced to slide down. This feeling was similar, I realized with a heavy jolt to my head. It seemed to start somewhere deep inside; just a notion, nothing else, that one needed something to laugh about, to loosen their hold on serious matters. Then, as opportunities presented themselves, one was able to let go and live.

Really live. Not just survive.

With a mischievous smile I put a dripping wet arm around her soaked shoulders, as if that would somehow make it warmer. “I think I can help you with that.”

She giggled and snuggled closer despite the fact it wasn't really helping, obviously pleased. “Just remember that Dallas came with me.”

I can't believe that we would lie in our graves,
Wondering if we had spent our living days well,
I can't believe that we would lie in our graves,
Wondering what we might have been,
I can't believe that we would lie in our graves,
Wondering if we had spent our living days well,
I can't believe that we would lie in our graves,
Wondering what we might have been...

Had I been any other boy, I would've shuddered to think what Casey's elder brother would do to me, even if he just caught us doing something as innocent as holding hands. Dallas was a tough, overprotective brother, and I had to admit that if I had a sister, I probably would've defended her just as much.

But I was Keefe O'Kane, and I'd decided that I wasn't going to waste my time anymore. I wasn't going to wonder why I let everything go to waste when I got older; I was going to truthfully say that I lived every day to the fullest. I wasn't afraid of Dallas; if I could show the girl I loved how I felt physically, I was going to. He couldn't stop me.

So instead of recoiling in shock and horror, I smiled lazily and leaned in closer. “What? You think I'm gonna let a little thing like that stop me?” I asked, “If I'm gonna die, I think I'd like it best if I died because I kissed you. That way I won't be lying there wondering why I didn't kiss you goodbye later.”

She brushed a wet curl of hair from my eyes, her eyes glittering brightly at the compliment. “But you wouldn't necessarily know that you were kissing me goodbye, now, would you?” She challenged.

I shrugged. “Wouldn't matter.”

Would you not like to be?
Would you not like to be?
I can't believe you would not like to be,
Would you not like to be?

She leaned back and laughed, this time tending to her own wild hair. I scowled lightly, for now she was disappointingly out of reach and it would be much harder to get her close enough again. “You're so morbid,” she said without thinking, “talking about dyin' and all.”

I sat back and crossed my legs, shaking out both arms the way a disgruntled cat would shake water from each of its limbs as it tried to maintain its dignity. “It's not morbid. It's fact,” I argued, liking the fact that she wasn't afraid to argue with me where other people were, “tomorrow's not promised to us, you know.”

When I was younger (yes, as in my high school days; I wasn't particularly kind to myself then), that thought had sent horrid chills down my backbone. It had once tugged at my heart in a nagging, painful ache. The idea of death was terrifying. All I could think was: “good God, it's not! There're so many things I won't get to do!”

I'd been so caught up in worrying that I'd forgotten that I had a life to live in the first place.

Okay, okay, okay,
Okay, okay, okay,
Okay, okay, okay,
Okay, okay, okay...

I stood up and shook out my legs next, splattering a little more water on her. I chuckled a little to myself and leaned my head back, allowing the sun's rays to warm the cool skin on my face and neck. “You and I, Casey? We've only got one chance at this,” I said, closing my eyes and pushing my hands into my pockets, “we've gotta make it good.”

There was a shuffle of feet and the light squish of wet clothes. I opened my eyes and glanced down to see that my girl had stood up. She smiled a little up at me before pressing her hands lightly against my chest and leaning up against me, lacking her usual warmth. “Why do I get the feeling that this is something new for you?”

I smiled lightly, my hands drifting around her waist as I sought to hold her closer. “Because you know me,” I murmured, resting my chin on top of her head, “and you know that I'm the pessimist.”

“Hey! What the Hell is this?”

I was never a high-strung sort of boy, so I hardly twitched at the harsh, angry sound of another male voice. I glanced carelessly over my shoulder to see a miffed Dallas Thane standing there, his arms crossed over his chest and his cat-like blue eyes daring me to defy him. I smiled boyishly at the tow-headed lad, refusing to let him ruin anything. I wasn't going to feel like I'd missed out on something ever again.

“What's the matter, Thane?” I challenged with a mirthful laugh, “Never held a girl before?”

Casey, who'd never actually minded when Dallas and I argued (even though she feared we would hurt one another from time to time), giggled in amusement. Her brother, though, didn't think it was funny at all. “That's my sister, kid.” He growled through clenched teeth, even though he and I were the same age.

“Mm hmm,” I hummed lazily, turning my attention back to Casey and winking broadly at her, “I know.”

The two of us knew what was coming next, and I was sure I could feel a thrill rush through not just my body, but hers as well. I closed the short gap between us, blessing her smiling lips with mine and enjoying the rush of warmth the its fullest extent. There was something special about that kiss, the idea that I was defying Dallas, the fact that I hadn't let him scare me into missing a moment like this.

Never again was I going to miss out on anything because of anyone. Life was too short to let things like this go to waste, whether it was with Casey, my family, or anyone else. Hold yourself back? Take it easy? Hmm. I think Patrick Star said it best. “I'll take it easy when I'm dead!”

I was going to lie in my grave a happy man. I was going to make sure of it.

And we dance away.


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A/N: Oh my God. You guys have no idea how exciting it was to be able to put that Spongebob reference in there. I love that line so much. I also thought that the whole lake scene was adorable. Keefe/Casey forever! XD