A.N: Many thanks to those who reviewed From the Other Side of the Lens! You guys rock, really. Anyway, here's a new story for all of you. I'm not sure if anyone's done this before, but here's my take on it anyway. This was supposed to be a one-shot, but it got so long that I decided to just split them up according to their respective senses, so yeah, this'll run for five chapters which I'll probably update every day, since it's done anyway. I'm posting Sight and Smell at the same time though, because they're pretty short , but the last 3 senses are lengthier. Soooo....as usual, you guys be the judge of this one. :)
Senses
::Sight::
She's wearing blue eye shadow again. It takes him only one look to see it, and a part of him is wondering why he spotted it so quickly. It's an odd combination, actually, blue eye shadow and pajamas, but then again, this is Casey after all—since when has she never been odd?
"Space-Case," he says as he leaves his spot on the doorway to walk into her room. "Dinnertime."
"I'm not hungry," she replies, not looking at him, and her tone of voice is…something? Whatever it is, he's heard the tone before, and just now, he remembers that he doesn't like it very much.
"Come on," he says. "It's summer. There are only a few weeks left till we head for Queens. Don't you want to spend it 'bonding with your family' or some junk like that? Not that I really care what you do, but you know. The rest of them might."
"Besides," he adds conversationally, ignoring the fact that she still isn't looking at him. "They ordered take-out. So you can crush the possibility of food poisoning off your list. Unless Edwin got to your food first –now that just makes it a whole different story."
She looks up at him then, and he feels a kick in his stomach, and someone tell him where that came from again? Because she looks pathetic and heartbroken and her entire look just screams Post-Breakup Casey. Not just because of her expression, but also because she only wears that eye shadow paired with her house clothes when she's just broken up with someone. He'd first seen it when she'd broken up with Sam, and he's noticed that she's done it every time since then.
He doesn't even have to ask why—he already knows. She does it because it'll make her feel beautiful, so that she wouldn't feel so shitty about her break-up. Because obviously, it's always her fault why her relationships end, so she wears her eye shadow to make her feel better about herself, her appearance. (He doesn't even understand where she could've gotten that idea from.)
(It makes him sick to know that independent, self-proclaimed feminist Casey allows her confidence level to sink so low because of a guy.)
He's always been able to see her. He can pick up the little things about her, partly for blackmail purposes and lately because he just does. After years of living with her, it's like second nature, like instinct to him (and yes, he realizes just how warped that whole thing sounds, no need to point it out to him.) And when looks at her, he doesn't see the perfect, prim and proper version of her; instead, he sees the strong but slightly insecure, definitely flawed Casey.
(Unless you threaten him with death, he won't ever admit it, but Casey being flawed just makes her all the more real. More humanbeautiful. Sort of like that line from a song: "But I fell hard for your imperfections…" Not that he was falling, or anything. Or that he listened to girly chick music like that.)
"Truman and I broke up today," she suddenly says in a quiet sort of voice. "For good."
His fist unconsciously clenches, and he's idly wondering how much trouble he'd get into if he beat up the bastard. If there were no witnesses, well…
But he just gives her a look, and before he leaves her room, he tells her one thing: "I know."
(She really shouldn't look so surprised that he knows. After all, he can see and read her better than anyone else.)
