The Gumball Ring.
Derek, Casey, Sam, and Emily take a camping trip during their winter break of senior year, during which long-suppressed feelings finally emerge. Emily/Sam, DASEY. Checked for grammar and spelling.
Casey had asked for a red gumball. The problem with these ancient gumball dispensers, however, was that there was really no way of telling which color would come out. Derek peered through the lightly scratched glass, trying to identify which color the candy at the very bottom was. It didn't work.
He and Sam were the only two shoppers in the middle-of-nowhere gas station with the poor heating system. The blonde, bearded cashier with the bleary eyes paid the two boys no attention as he flipped through a supermarket catalogue. The convenience store employee wore a puffy, dark green coat and a wool ski cap indoors, which was unsurprising considering how biting the cold was.
Sam was bustling about noisily, loading bag after bag of junk food into his arms, calling out to Derek about his preferences occasionally. Derek knew that he should be helping Sam, but Casey had requested a red gumball, and he would be damned if he would come back with anything less.
Derek thrust his bulky, mittened hand into his winter coat's pocket and dug around for a quarter. His other hand readjusted the scarf around his mouth, hoping to protect his nose from frostbite. He peered out the frosted window toward the only car in the lot, Sam's dad's Jeep. The girls were stretching their legs outside, arms crossed and feet stamping the ground for warmth.
Finally, he found the quarter and thrust it clumsily into the slightly-rusted slot. He grasped the little knob through his claw-like mitten and turned it, listening as the coin fell through the bowels of the dispenser, releasing a single gumball. He pushed the little trapdoor open hurriedly, feeling as though he had taken some gamble, and took the gum out. Green, he saw with a slight drop in his stomach. Well, it would have to do, he decided as he tucked the candy into his pocket. He turned around to look for Sam, who was partially concealed by the mountain of chips and candy in his arms.
"You need help there?" Derek called out jokingly.
"Just get the soda," Sam answered in mock annoyance.
Derek shrugged. "Fine," he said. He went over to the large fridge filled with soda bottles and picked out a few of each person's favorites. By that time, Sam had finished paying and was carrying his load out toward the car.
"I'll meet you in the car," Sam called just before the door shut after him.
Derek held the sodas under one arm, carefully scanning the store for anything Sam might have missed. For no particular reason, his eyes settled on a little slot machine next to the gumballs, one that dispensed plastic rings for little girls to play dress-up with.
Derek smiled as an idea occurred to him. He knew Casey would find this sort of thing funny, and so he fished another quarter out of his pocket and bought a ring on a whim. It came in a little plastic spherical container. The ring itself was a gaudily fake gold band with a little blue plastic pearl on it. Chuckling, he tucked it into his pocket and went to pay for the sodas.
--
Back in the car, Sam had already turned up the heat, and Derek was thrilled to escape the bitter cold as he slid into the driver's seat. Just as before, Casey sat next to him, and Emily and Sam were in the back.
"Casey, you wanted the Captain's Cracker Jacks, right?" he asked as he passed the brightly-colored bag up front.
"Yeah, thanks," Casey said as she popped the bag open.
"Did you remember what I wanted?" Emily asked flirtatiously.
Sam smiled. "Salt-and-Vinegar Ruffles, Tropical Starburst, Pirate Booty, and Peanut M&M's," he listed, passing each item over as he recited it.
"Love you," Emily chirped and pecked her boyfriend gently on the lips.
Casey rolled her eyes, amused. Derek imitated the sound of a whip cracking as he turned the key a notch further in the ignition and the engine turned over. Sam punched him gently in the arm.
Derek pulled out of the lot quickly and sped off down the highway.
"That place was so creepy," Derek announced to Casey, who was enjoying her crackerjacks noisily.
"Yeah, it looked like it," Casey responded. "Sam said they didn't have any heat at all."
"Nope, the cashier guy was wearing full winter gear and everything. And there was a sign on the wall that said Beware: Shopkeeper Is Armed."
Casey laughed. "You're such a shithead."
"No, I swear it's true! We'll turn around if you want and I'll show you."
"No, Derek, that's okay," she assured him. "Did you get my gumball like I asked?"
"Oh, yeah." Derek fished the bright, large gumball out of his pocket.
Casey frowned. "I can't eat this, Derek, it's green," she scolded jokingly.
"Hey, it's the first one the machine gave me," Derek protested. "You better enjoy it."
He glanced over at Casey, who was holding the gumball warily in the palm of her gloved hand, eyes narrowed. It was so cute when she got annoyed that sometimes Derek couldn't help himself. Sure, their relationship had come a long way since the endless squabbling of several months ago, but Derek still enjoyed making Casey squirm sometimes.
"Nope, I can't do it. You'll have to eat it," Casey declared, pressing the gum up against his mouth.
"Ew, Casey, I hate this shit," Derek complained, trying to turn his face away while still maintaining eye contact with the road. "They all taste the same, anyway."
Casey gasped as though Derek had just spoken blasphemy. "They do not! The red ones are cherry!" she explained.
"Fine, okay," Derek said, popping the green gumball into his mouth. "It's over, we're done discussing this."
He bit through the gum's hard, crunchy shell, not at all enjoying the sugary taste that suddenly spread through his mouth. Casey giggled at his grimace. "Next time, you'll get me the red one like I ask," she said.
Noting the sudden quiet in the car, Derek glanced at the rearview mirror, trying to see what Sam and Emily were up to. Sure enough, they were making out against the backseat. The only sounds in the car were the smacking of their lips. Oddly enough, Derek didn't find this awkward, and he could tell Casey didn't, either. Instead, she was smiling crookedly at him, stifling laughter.
"Keep 'er nice and steady, Derek," she said, putting a hand on the dashboard. "We don't want any 'accidents' back there."
Derek sniggered. He loved it when Casey made naughty jokes; it was something he was unaccustomed to, and he felt as though he had corrupted her in some way. He was amazed at how smoothly the breakup between Casey and Sam had been. Though it was awkward at first, the two had salvaged a friendship, and now, sharing a long car ride together while he made out in the back seat with somebody else didn't faze Casey.
"You know, this is the first road trip I've taken in a really long while," Derek said.
"Well, it's probably the first road trip I've ever taken. And my first camping trip," Casey said.
Derek scoffed. "It's not really camping, Case. We're staying at a cabin." And they were damn lucky they got such a big discount off the renting price, too. Emily's aunt worked at a campsite that rented out cabins, and they were having a slow season, so Emily used her connection to get them a cheap price.
"We're still in the middle of nature," Casey countered.
Derek chuckled. "Someday, I'll take you camping for real. With bears and deer and tents and stuff. That's nature."
"Bring it on, Bungalow Bill," Casey challenged, quoting the Beatles song that Derek had introduced her to the previous week.
Derek laughed. It hadn't been easy to get to this point with Casey, and it had taken a very strange and unlikely combination of events to get them there. First, there was Casey's early-decision acceptance letter from McGill. For days after she got the letter, she was extraordinarily easy to deal with. Derek had surprised everybody by gaining an acceptance as well, thanks to an angel of a hockey scout. With the weight of the college application process lifted before the beginning of second semester, the two could finally let go of quite a big burden.
But what really brought them together wasn't success but tragedy. It happened on a Saturday afternoon, when George and Nora had gone out to a company picnic for George. Nora had stormed into the house nearly two hours early, her expression horribly pained and angry, and locked herself in the master bedroom. George returned an hour later, a similar expression on his face. He stayed in the den, watching TV late into the night. For the entire next week, George and Nora had been cold toward each other, and on Friday they finally announced that they were getting a divorce. To that day, Derek had no idea what happened. All he knew was that Casey fell apart. The day they truly became best friends was the day he spent an afternoon holding her together and helping her pack up her things. Only when they realized that they would be torn from each other did they understand how much they needed each other.
Remembering the crushed expression on Casey's face sent a chilling heartbreak through him that was only alleviated when he glanced over to see her face a mask of tranquility, lost in sleep.
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So this chapter sets things up a little bit. Please please please leave reviews because I truly appreciate them so much!