i don't belong, and my beloved, neither do you (Ted Lasso)

you can hear it in the silence

Sometimes, Thea spends a little bit too much time thinking about how she ended up being friends with Casey.

Not in a bad way.

Even in the depths of their argument, she doesn't regret a second of their friendship. It's more analytical. A puzzle that she has to piece together in order to make sense of it all. Like if she just works out what it was that made Casey stick around then she might be able to replicate it.

Because, all in all, it doesn't really make sense why Casey even bothered in the first place. Why, even in those early months when Thea was a blip in the night and only ever answered questions in stilted sentences, she cared.

But that's the thing about Casey.

She is so sincerely human and, for all of her faults, of which there are many, she would die for the people she cares about.

It's been almost two weeks since her argument with Casey and it has become easier and easier to avoid her. Scarily easy. Like Thea could live a completely independent life without ever acknowledging the living-breathing human being that shared her space.

Which, is, less than ideal.

It's too close to disappearing for her liking.

So the question becomes what it would take for her to reintegrate Casey into her life. An apology? It'd be nice but Thea has forgiven people without that before. Plus, Thea probably owes her own apology. A push? More likely. The idea of starting that conversation off of her own back sends shivers down her spine. A natural disaster? A bit far but it might work.

In the end, it isn't even a question.

Because on Saturday morning, it's Casey's name in the headline of some rag's celebrity section and just like that, Thea forgets everything. It's not even a choice. It happens in the back of her head without a second thought. The fight, the anger, it all goes into a box in the attic. Ready to be covered in dust and lost to time.

Casey is alone in the kitchen and for a rare moment that morning, she isn't on her phone. Calls have been coming in since an ungodly hour and, in a move Thea doesn't know what to make of, Casey has answered practically everyone. She looks up as Thea comes in and gives her a nod. It's the sort of nod you'd give someone as you pass them on the street. Thin-lipped and restrained. Then, after a quick moment, she says, "sorry about the noise."

"It's fine," Thea says. "You alright?"

"Got a bit of a headache but I'm not dying or anything." She shrugs. "And the rest of it is just how it is. Isn't it."

"Casey."

"I'm fine." She says. "It's part of the deal, isn't it? Snap one photo of us getting off at a club and now I'm all anyone with no life can talk about." She laughs, a thin brittle sound. "Not even the papers, is it, all this and I don't even have something to put in my scrapbook."

Thea swallows. "You could print it."

"And waste the ink? No thanks." Casey says. "Have you read it?"

Thea shakes her head. "Didn't need to. If it was something important, you'd tell me yourself."

She had seen the title though. Had to when her mum sent a screenshot and a message insisting on knowing if Casey was OK. Tartt's Tart: Star-Shooter Scores Secret Sex-Obsessed SO

"Well, the basics are that I'm a dirty slag because I used to sell photos of my tits and arse. Fucking stunning photos, by the way. More than worth the monthly fee." Casey rolls her eyes. "And, apparently, a woman enjoying sex makes her sex obsessed. Don't you just love this country?"