Second Chance Addison

'That ancient script finally paid off!'

The teenager was grateful that he hadn't given up and deleted the outdated thing.

Those old c.u.mbersome lines of code weren't pleasant to look at and had to be repeatedly patched over the years.

To keep from focusing solely on tracking down his cousin, he had already set a rule that when the base code failed and could not handle another patch, then he'd give up.

He had already steeled himself for when it eventually failed.

Kasey Anderson, a.k.a. Kay-night, was unable to control the surge of pure joy that assaulted him when Chance answered his message.

And he couldn't help but laugh at the way his older cousin signed off.

'How lame!' He tried to get a hold of himself but Chance really hadn't changed at all.

He was exactly as how he remembered him.

To him, Chance was a goofy, yet cool, older brother.

Kasey had two siblings and five cousins, all of whom were girls.

Chance was the only other boy in the same familial generation.

Despite the significant age difference, Chance never ignored him and would frequently rescue him from the relentless prodding and teasing by the group of giggling females.

Every once in a while he would even take him out to a a park or shopping or just to wander around.

Younger Kasey's often pinched cheeks were especially grateful for those swift extractions.

Chance at that time was Kasey's hero and even now he still looked up to his cousin.

After he left, poor Kasey was at the mercy of the seven girls. He couldn't even count anymore the number of times they had forced him into their old clothes.

While Chance wasn't especially good looking, he was still decently handsome and had defined masculine features. Kasey however, had the kind of soft alluring and androgynous features that could drive both men and women crazy.

To further compare the two, Chance had a nice athletic build and was around six feet tall. Kasey was more delicate and slender and hadn't managed to grow any taller after reaching five foot eight.

His coloring, on the other hand, was near identical to Chance, with the same dark brown hair and light hazel eyes. The only difference there was his fair and smooth complexion that made women, especially his cousins, jealous.

It was truly a shame that such a beauty remained hidden away behind computer screens most of the time.

Someone started knocking on his door, ruining his good mood.

"Hey! Kasey! Can I borrow your laptop?"

He shot a glare at his bedroom door, as if it would be enough to scare the interloper away.

'It never ends.'

His younger sister continued to pound on the door and shout.

He g.r.o.a.n.e.d as he went over to the door and wrenched it open.

"Finally! Let me bor-" Kasey quickly cut her off.

"Go away Lacey." He coldly closed the door in her face and locked it.

"I'm telling Mom!" She shouted before storming off to tattletale.

Kasey just rolled his eyes and put on a pair of noise cancelling headphones. He selected his favorite playlist to drown out any further disruptions.

'Sorry Mom, but not today.'

While he still loved and respected his mother, his relationship with his sisters was a bit strained. After all the torture they had put him through, it was understandable that he had developed a strong dislike towards women in general.

He didn't wish them harm or anything. He just wanted nothing to do with them.

Even at his all boys school, he was known for his cold as ice attitude towards girls. They sought him out early in the morning and late in the afternoon. They would confess to him only to be immediately shot down without mercy every time.

So even if his mother came to his sister's defense, he would just ignore her. The headphones gave him an easy excuse if she accused him later.

Kasey bobbed his head along with the alt rock song that was playing and opened his calendar on his phone.

He set a reminder for the date and time that he was going to meet up with Chance.

'Just a few weeks.' He almost couldn't believe he could finally see his cousin again.

If someone familiar with Kasey had seen the soft longing smile that lingered on the teenager's face, they would have thought they were hallucinating.

After he had burned through about a quarter of his playlist, he figured he was in the clear.

Upon removing the headphones, he was graciously rewarded with silence.

He felt a little guilty as he did every time this sort of thing happened. But, if his mother had come by, he could just to apologize in the morning. There was no sense worrying over it. She was typically quick to forgive him anyway.

He packed his things for school, shut down his computers, plugged in his phone, and went to bed.

Unlike his cousin who was restlessly rolling around wondering if he had just jeopardized his life, Kasey easily drifted off to sleep.