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perpetual_motionTitle: Save Cameron
Author: Perpetual Motion
Fandom: Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Pairing: None
Warnings: Direct mentions of physical abuse. Implied rape.
Rating: PG-13
Summary: The night after the day in the city.
Dis: Not mine.
Author's Nots: Way back when![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
royalwhore answered a fic challenge request by asking for Cameron/Rooney. Needless to say, I thought she was nuts. Well, she's never forgotten that she requested it, and she never fails to mention it, so I finally sat down determined to answer the damned challenge. I didn't expect to come up with something quite this dark, but I did. Enjoy, darling.
Save Cameron
By Perpetual Motion
Cameron shows up that night with a busted lip and a black eye, and a few dozen other bruises that Ferris can’t see but that he knows from experience are there. Ferris gets Cameron around his parents and upstairs to his room. Cameron doesn’t say anything while the first towel of ice melts against his face. He asks Ferris to keep the lights off when it starts to get dark, and that’s all he says while Ferris sits next to him and tries not to feel useless.
Cameron comes clean in the dark when Ferris comes back up from the kitchen with more ice. The swelling around Cameron’s eye is mostly gone, and his lip has stopped bleeding. He whispers things to Ferris that Ferris thought could only happen in really bad after-school specials.
Cameron’s dad, Ferris decides, is a bastard.
Cameron’s mother, Ferris decides, is a bitch.
Mr. Rooney, Ferris decides as he swallows back the bile in his throat, will pay with excruciating pain for what he’s done to Cameron.
Ferris is not stupid. Ferris understands very many things that the average suburban teenager doesn’t even think about. Cameron’s been his best friend since they were six-year-olds trying to slide under the fence at the back of the playground just to see if they could get away with it. Cameron’s been black and blue under his T-shirt for as long as Ferris has known him. Ferris did research and discovered the kinds of things that can happen to a kid when his parents suck, and his principal is about to become a dismembered corpse.
“Ferris, you can’t do anything.” Cameron’s voice has that plaintive tone that Ferris has learned to ignore over the years.
“Why’d he do it, Cameron?”
“I don’t-“
“Bullshit. You know. Why’d he do it?”
Cameron stares at Ferris’s bedspread and whispers why. Ferris doesn’t fight the bile when it comes up again, and he runs to the bathroom at top speed. He stares at himself in the mirror once he’s washed off his face, and he wonders when he became such a terrible person that he missed his best friend saving his ass. Literally.
Jeannie is standing on the other side of the bathroom door when Ferris opens it. She hands him a saltine and a glass of 7-Up. “What happened?”
“Why are you being nice to me?” Ferris nibbles the saltine around the edges and sucks off the salt. Jeannie saved his ass, and he can’t figure out why. Now she’s handing him non-poisoned crackers and 7-Up. Something is wrong.
“I can’t look out for my brother?”
“No.” She never has before, but Ferris doesn’t point that out. Jeannie is well aware.
Jeannie shrugs and leans against the doorjamb. “Just assume that I want terrible things to happen to people for self-amusement.”
Ferris eyes her, then nods. “Okay.” He looks down the hall to make sure that his bedroom door is securely closed. “I need to get Mr. Rooney.” The unholy gleam that suddenly lights up Jeannie’s eyes makes Ferris step back.
“What’d he do to you?”
“What’d he do to *you*?”
Jeannie shrugs. “Enough to make me seek revenge.”
“Okay,” Ferris shakes his head in disbelief. “He didn’t do anything to me. He did things to Cameron because of me.” Ferris watches Jeannie blanch. She’s smarter than the average suburban teenager as well. He waits for a scream, or a yell, or something that lets him know Jeannie isn’t going to suddenly tip over in shock.
“What do you mean?” Her voice is soft and holds a tone Ferris knows from numerous years of ducking as soon as that tone was used. Ferris gives her the bare bones about Rooney, and how he apparently wants more from Ferris than an attendance record. Cameron figured the whole thing out freshman year and went to strike up a deal. Cameron thought money, Rooney thought something else.
Ferris watches with a great deal of respect as his sister, looking utterly calm and composed, walks down the stairs and tells their parents that she’s going out on an errand. He doesn’t know what she has planned, but he’s thinking it’ll probably do the trick.
*
“Oh, Ed!” Grace jumps up from her desk and tries to stop Ed from going into his office. “You-“
“Not now, Grace!” Ed pushes past her into his office and stops short at the sight of Jeannie Bueller sitting in front of his desk with a package in her lap.
“Jeannie Bueller’s in your office.” Grace scurries away before Ed can bellow again.
Ed doesn’t even hear Grace. He’s too busy gaping at Jeannie Bueller. “Can I…” He trails off and waits for his voice to come back. “What can I do for you?” He hopes he sounds at least mildly important.
Jeannie stands up from her chair and thumps the package down on Mr. Rooney’s desk. “My mom wanted me to let you know that Ferris is going to be out for the rest of the week. Apparently, his attempt to walk home from the hospital yesterday really wore him out.” Jeannie gives Mr. Rooney her best smile. “She also asked me to give you that. It’s a thank you for leading him home.” She shoves past him and leaves the office.
Ed eyes the package with a good deal of wariness and starts to circle it. It doesn’t move or tick, so he decides to chance it and lifts the lid of the box. He jumps back at the sight of a cow’s heart with a very large knife through it. There’s a note taped to the knife. Ed leans in to read it.
SAVE CAMERON
Ed swallows hard and closes the box. He walks out of his office and breaks into a dead run. He doesn’t bother slowing down in front of the doors.
Author: Perpetual Motion
Fandom: Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Pairing: None
Warnings: Direct mentions of physical abuse. Implied rape.
Rating: PG-13
Summary: The night after the day in the city.
Dis: Not mine.
Author's Nots: Way back when
royalwhore answered a fic challenge request by asking for Cameron/Rooney. Needless to say, I thought she was nuts. Well, she's never forgotten that she requested it, and she never fails to mention it, so I finally sat down determined to answer the damned challenge. I didn't expect to come up with something quite this dark, but I did. Enjoy, darling.Save Cameron
By Perpetual Motion
Cameron shows up that night with a busted lip and a black eye, and a few dozen other bruises that Ferris can’t see but that he knows from experience are there. Ferris gets Cameron around his parents and upstairs to his room. Cameron doesn’t say anything while the first towel of ice melts against his face. He asks Ferris to keep the lights off when it starts to get dark, and that’s all he says while Ferris sits next to him and tries not to feel useless.
Cameron comes clean in the dark when Ferris comes back up from the kitchen with more ice. The swelling around Cameron’s eye is mostly gone, and his lip has stopped bleeding. He whispers things to Ferris that Ferris thought could only happen in really bad after-school specials.
Cameron’s dad, Ferris decides, is a bastard.
Cameron’s mother, Ferris decides, is a bitch.
Mr. Rooney, Ferris decides as he swallows back the bile in his throat, will pay with excruciating pain for what he’s done to Cameron.
Ferris is not stupid. Ferris understands very many things that the average suburban teenager doesn’t even think about. Cameron’s been his best friend since they were six-year-olds trying to slide under the fence at the back of the playground just to see if they could get away with it. Cameron’s been black and blue under his T-shirt for as long as Ferris has known him. Ferris did research and discovered the kinds of things that can happen to a kid when his parents suck, and his principal is about to become a dismembered corpse.
“Ferris, you can’t do anything.” Cameron’s voice has that plaintive tone that Ferris has learned to ignore over the years.
“Why’d he do it, Cameron?”
“I don’t-“
“Bullshit. You know. Why’d he do it?”
Cameron stares at Ferris’s bedspread and whispers why. Ferris doesn’t fight the bile when it comes up again, and he runs to the bathroom at top speed. He stares at himself in the mirror once he’s washed off his face, and he wonders when he became such a terrible person that he missed his best friend saving his ass. Literally.
Jeannie is standing on the other side of the bathroom door when Ferris opens it. She hands him a saltine and a glass of 7-Up. “What happened?”
“Why are you being nice to me?” Ferris nibbles the saltine around the edges and sucks off the salt. Jeannie saved his ass, and he can’t figure out why. Now she’s handing him non-poisoned crackers and 7-Up. Something is wrong.
“I can’t look out for my brother?”
“No.” She never has before, but Ferris doesn’t point that out. Jeannie is well aware.
Jeannie shrugs and leans against the doorjamb. “Just assume that I want terrible things to happen to people for self-amusement.”
Ferris eyes her, then nods. “Okay.” He looks down the hall to make sure that his bedroom door is securely closed. “I need to get Mr. Rooney.” The unholy gleam that suddenly lights up Jeannie’s eyes makes Ferris step back.
“What’d he do to you?”
“What’d he do to *you*?”
Jeannie shrugs. “Enough to make me seek revenge.”
“Okay,” Ferris shakes his head in disbelief. “He didn’t do anything to me. He did things to Cameron because of me.” Ferris watches Jeannie blanch. She’s smarter than the average suburban teenager as well. He waits for a scream, or a yell, or something that lets him know Jeannie isn’t going to suddenly tip over in shock.
“What do you mean?” Her voice is soft and holds a tone Ferris knows from numerous years of ducking as soon as that tone was used. Ferris gives her the bare bones about Rooney, and how he apparently wants more from Ferris than an attendance record. Cameron figured the whole thing out freshman year and went to strike up a deal. Cameron thought money, Rooney thought something else.
Ferris watches with a great deal of respect as his sister, looking utterly calm and composed, walks down the stairs and tells their parents that she’s going out on an errand. He doesn’t know what she has planned, but he’s thinking it’ll probably do the trick.
*
“Oh, Ed!” Grace jumps up from her desk and tries to stop Ed from going into his office. “You-“
“Not now, Grace!” Ed pushes past her into his office and stops short at the sight of Jeannie Bueller sitting in front of his desk with a package in her lap.
“Jeannie Bueller’s in your office.” Grace scurries away before Ed can bellow again.
Ed doesn’t even hear Grace. He’s too busy gaping at Jeannie Bueller. “Can I…” He trails off and waits for his voice to come back. “What can I do for you?” He hopes he sounds at least mildly important.
Jeannie stands up from her chair and thumps the package down on Mr. Rooney’s desk. “My mom wanted me to let you know that Ferris is going to be out for the rest of the week. Apparently, his attempt to walk home from the hospital yesterday really wore him out.” Jeannie gives Mr. Rooney her best smile. “She also asked me to give you that. It’s a thank you for leading him home.” She shoves past him and leaves the office.
Ed eyes the package with a good deal of wariness and starts to circle it. It doesn’t move or tick, so he decides to chance it and lifts the lid of the box. He jumps back at the sight of a cow’s heart with a very large knife through it. There’s a note taped to the knife. Ed leans in to read it.
SAVE CAMERON
Ed swallows hard and closes the box. He walks out of his office and breaks into a dead run. He doesn’t bother slowing down in front of the doors.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
on 2005-02-08 09:19 pm (UTC)(The first paragraph of this is almost exactly the same as the first part of a Cam/Ferris fic I never finished. It freaked me out. *g*)
no subject
on 2005-02-08 09:21 pm (UTC)I think perhaps we're feeding off of each other's energy if I'm picking up your writing vibes. :)
no subject
on 2005-02-08 11:17 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2005-02-09 02:28 am (UTC)So glad you enjoyed it, darling.
no subject
on 2005-02-09 01:13 am (UTC)And I must say, the title was perfect.
no subject
on 2005-02-09 02:30 am (UTC)I actually had the entire fic write itself in my head last night, and the one thing that came out perfectly clear was a piece of paper sighed 'Save Cameron'. It's one of the most indeliable moments in the movie, where you see the water tower, and it's something that Jeannie sees, so it just fed into the idea brilliantlly.
no subject
on 2005-02-09 02:46 am (UTC)no subject
on 2005-02-09 02:56 am (UTC)I am a whore for extra attention.
no subject
on 2006-01-01 03:00 am (UTC)*goggles*
WHOOOOA.
DUUUUUDE.
...
*has nothing else to add*