Casey and Me

Well, since you put it that way...

"Hey, are you alright?" Sally asked the next morning, looking at me worriedly. I brushed fresh tears from my eyes, only to have new ones fall. 

"N-not really," I confessed. I took a deep breath. "Things really went to shit last night."

"So I heard," Sophia said, frowning as she leaned over the back of my chair. "That Casey is bad bloody news."

"What did you hear?" Sally asked. 

"She invited herself along on Ellis and Sarah's catch up last night," Sophia explained, her face dark with anger. "The little bitch actually bragged about it to me this morning, and I damn near decked her."

Sally and I whistled in unison. "I wish you'd gone that one step further and followed through," I said, getting a bit of a good mood back. 

"She's not worth detention," Sophia confessed, and I had to smile. "Besides," she added, winking at me, "I already got in one good punch to another smart-mouthed bitch on Monday, and now I'm bloody defending her!" 

This time I laughed, and Sally smiled. "Good to see you laughing," she said. "You look much prettier."

I blushed. "That sounds like something Ellis would say," I said, but already I regretted mentioning his name. I hadn't been able to find him during breakfast, and there was no way of knowing how he was feeling after last night. I bit my lip hard as I forced the re-emerging tears back. "Have you seen him at all?" I asked, giving in to a sudden impulse.

Sally nodded. "He was pretty riled up this morning," she said, taking her seat just as Mr Gladstone entered the room. "He said he really wanted to knock Casey's teeth halfway down her throat last night, and I don't blame him."

"Wait, what?" I was confused. 

"I'll tell you all about it at first break," Sally promised, and I had to be content with that. 

At first break, the three of us retreated to the south courtyard for some privacy. Since it was overgrown beyond belief, not many students liked to come here. But it was the perfect place for a heart-to-heart. "Ellis told me what happened," Sally explained once we were all seated. "Casey was being a serious pain in the neck last night, and according to him, she was very possessive of you."

I nodded. "She was acting like a jealous girlfriend," I admitted. "But I didn't think Ellis would get that mad at her."

"Are you kidding?" Sally said, shocked. "He was ready to deck her, and he never hits girls. But since Casey's more a worm than a girl, he figured he'd have gotten away with it."

"Ouch," Sophia remarked. 

"So he's not mad at me?" I ventured. 

Sally looked at me as if I'd lost my mind. "Uh, no," she said firmly. "He's more worried you were mad at him. That's why he left you be after you ran Casey off."

I closed my eyes and let out a long sigh. "Damn," I said.

"Ellis is a very empathetic person," Sally told me, and I opened my eyes and nodded. "If anyone he loves is hurting, he's hurting right there along with them." She took a deep breath. "When my uncle ... attacked me when I was twelve, Ellis almost killed him. Dad had to pry him off, only so he could take a crack. I was a mess for months afterwards, and all Ellis did was sit with me and hold me while I cried. He even slept on a mattress in my room to make sure I had someone to turn to when I had nightmares. I can't even begin to describe how glad I was he was there, and I'm not lying when I say he's the best brother a girl could ever have." 

"He's a good sort," Sophia agreed. 

"He sure is," I said, thinking back on how kind he'd been the day before after I'd come back to the school. Even so... "But, he's only known me for a few days. How could he even...?"

"Love you?" Sally smiled. "It's easy. He fell in love with you the first day he saw you. He said, and I quote, 'I did a really dumb thing today. I fell in love with the new girl.' And he's never had a girlfriend before. He's had one or two dates, but none of them really meant anything until you came along."

I blushed. "Don't be silly," I said. "He's seventeen and I've only just turned fifteen. How on earth could he fall in love with someone younger than him?"

"It's not that much of an age gap," Sally reminded me. "Not to mention that he's a very serious person. He doesn't go falling in love willy-nilly with just anyone. You've got something that really caught his attention the day you met, and he hasn't been able to stop smiling since."

"Look, I'm flattered, really," I said, thankful for the warning bell, which took this precise opportunity to intervene and save me from a very intense conversation. "But I'm pretty sure it's just hormones, really."

Sally shook her head. "Not hormones," she said firmly. 

"I've seen him looking at you," Sophia added. "I think Sally might be on to something. If he's not fallen completely, I'll lay you any money you like it won't take him long to fall the rest of the way in."

I sighed. "I doubt it," I said, but deep down, I couldn't help but wonder. "We'd better get back on to class."

At lunchtime, a semi-welcome diversion came in the person of Casey, who made a beeline for me the moment our eyes met across the north courtyard. "You been avoidin' me?" she demanded, grabbing my arm and looking intensely up into my face. 

"Just classes," I said, somewhat thankful for the distraction from some very deep and not-at-all-unpleasant thoughts. "Hey, you want to catch up after training this afternoon?"

Casey shrugged. "Sure, why not," she said. "It'll be good to have you all to myself. We could go see my parents if you want."

I hesitated. "Probably not," I said reluctantly. "But maybe some other time?"

"Good idea," Casey agreed. "C'mon, lets go to the library. I wanna read up on that play Mr Gladstone wants us to study, and I need a buddy to help me get through the more muddy bits. You in?"

"I'm in," I said, and for the first time since meeting Casey, I actually felt more secure about how things were proceeding between us. Maybe my friendship was doing some good to curb Casey's wilder behaviours. At the very least, she was finally learning to cool her possessiveness. That's what I hoped anyway, as we walked over to the library. I really didn't want a repeat of last night's nastiness.