A/N: There are a lot of stories out there about what happened between Casey, Taylor, Jake and Ben. I thought I would just add to the mix. I hope WVD touches on this someday, same with Holly's story inside the Sammy Keyes series. Enjoy!

Why doesn't Casey hang out with his old friends anymore? Hudson mentioned no one had pointed out the terrain for him, makin the answer closer than you'd think.

Disclaimer says it all.

Her Impact

"You never did tell me…," She looked over at him curiously, unable to frame her thoughts into words.

"Tell you what?" His focus was not on the conversation, just on the words on the page in front of him.

"About what happened after New Years', you know, when we met...," She murmured, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. He blinked his eyes a few times, clearing his head from the words that had slid in and out of his brain.

"Oh."

For over half an hour, the pair continued to study, just waiting for the ice to be broken. She always was curious, sometime border lining nosy, but she knew when not to butt her head in where it didn't belong. The verges of feeling always kept their relationship back. It was difficult to know which lines were okay to cross, which questions could be asked. There was still so much to know about each other, aside from the divisions inside their families. The park they resided in was quiet, uncertain and unbearably still.

"It's been awhile, you know, since I've thought of them," He started to say. She adjusted her position, from laying down to sitting up and facing him, her attention undivided on him. He acted as if he didn't notice the motion, remaining on his back, watching the clouds roll aimlessly across the sky. His brown eyes darted around, catching everything above him, but her.

"You don't have to answer my question. I was--,"

"Curious," He finished for her, a quirky smile lighting his face briefly. He continued to watch the clouds, his homework all but forgotten.

She studied him closely. He was nearing the end of his freshman year, and man, he had gone through some growth spurt. His reddish, brown hair was darkening to a solidified brown color, practically rebelling against any relation with his fire headed sister. Skateboarding to and from school each day ensures build-up of more muscle and he really was filling out into a man's body. She felt unabashed, looking at him in this way. Everyone knew the feelings she harbored for this boy, except maybe the boy in question…regardless, as attractive as he was last year, this year he was even more so, if that was possible. Or it could have been the separation from schools that made her like him even more.

Beyond his own physique, she knew that she had changed a lot too, in the past year of their…friendship? She grew a little bit, and her and her friends were introduced to the bra. While it excited her friends greatly, she was unsure. She didn't want to be liked because of what was on her chest. But how could anyone not admire her personality? The tenacity, the brashness and stubbornness caught his attention immediately. Her clothes improved as well, not that it matter what she wore, but after the incident with the counterfeit cash, her grams and mother realized she was missing out on what normal kids had. But overall, life was still the same. They hadn't admitted their feelings, but maintained a close friendship.

He cleared his throat, pulling her from her musings. "After New Years', Taylor and Karl were busted, majorly. Their parents threatened to send them to reform school, but Taylor managed to wiggle his way out of punishment, through me. He said I would keep him in line, that I would make sure he stayed out of trouble. The problem with that was I had no idea what my supposed responsibility was. Taylor, Jake and Ben went out one night, just before I was going to give you your skateboard back, and came back completely wasted. Jake…Jake nearly—he got sent to the hospital. It was really bad," He choked a bit on his words before continuing,

"The three of them snuck out of their homes one night in February. They, for some reason, came to see me. I let them in and heard their story. They claimed they didn't mean to get hooked on drugs, that it just happened to them. That none of this was their fault. They blamed everything on Karl, for starting doing drugs, thus introducing them into the drug world. I yelled at them then, saying I didn't get pulled into it. I told them they needed to quit because what they were doing was unhealthy, that after everything that had happened, Karl was right.

"They left my house that night and we haven't talked since. I know they are still wired on drugs…but we aren't friends anymore. I realized what they were doing was wrong, wrong for them and wrong for me. How could I be a good friend if I didn't support what they were doing? How could I be good to myself by not helping them, but not calling the police? It's one thing that I have to deal with this with Heather, but I choose who my friends are. And since they are laced on drugs, not even listening to me anymore, I knew I couldn't hang out with them anymore, despite our history."

They sat in silence for awhile after he finished his story. He kept looking at the clouds, wondering where his friends were now. She studied him more closely now. His body language had relaxed once he got his story out into the open, but as he spoke, she had been tempted, more than once, to lay a comforting hand on his shoulder or on his hand. He was so tense, so frustrated about what had happened with his old friends. And it was easy to see that he still felt terrible about what he had to do, for himself and for them. Someday, they would learn where they went wrong and realize the friend they lost in him.

"Casey?" She said hesitantly. His eyes snapped to hers. It was the first time their eyes had met all day, "Are you…," She trailed off again.

"I'm fine. No, actually, I'm great. I haven't told anyone that. I'm glad you asked me about it," He grinned at her broadly, "I think we know each other pretty well now."

She snorted: "It's hard not to know each other when we spend every afternoon together. C'mon, is that what is really holding you back? Because that is a stupid reason. We were forced together through our parents…by the time they broke up, we were practically together," Sammy sighed melancholy and whispered, "Or so I thought."

"What?"

"Nothing. I need to get this work done," And Sammy turned her attention back to her schoolwork that had been abandoned over an hour previously. Casey caught her shoulder roughly with his hand. He looked at her steadily, trying to interpret her gaze.

"What are you doing Saturday?" He asked, out of nowhere, unaware of what he was saying until it exited his mouth.

"Um, probably just hanging out with friends," Sammy said, her attention turned back to her homework. They fell silent again, each pretending to focus on their work, "Why? Do you want to do something?"

"Yes."

"What did you have in a mind?"

"A date."

"A date?"

How hard was it to believe that he was asking her out. That Casey Acosta, the brother of Sammy's archenemy, Heather, was asking her out? Oh, that would be pretty hard to believe, but after all the time they spent together, the overt glance, the blushes, the dances…

"No, it'll just be as friends. Forget the fact that the whole time I'll be wondering when I should hold your hand or kiss you," Wait, that came out wrong. He meant to say…hug? Sammy's grin grew wide, a blush tinting her cheeks.

"You—you want to kiss me?"

"No, I want to kiss my sister. Of course I do! Why else would I be going through this painstakingly slow process in asking you out?" Casey nearly threw his hands up in frustration, but then caught the girl in question laughing happily.

"Alright, fine. Just as long as we get to talk wherever we go," Sammy laughed again before turning her attention back to her work, a small smile growing rapidly one her face. Meanwhile, Casey was absorbing what had just happened…his heart raced, thinking about Saturday. They would tease each other, joke around, and laugh like they always did, but this time it had meaning…this time it was a date. This time they might just kiss.

But why wait until Saturday? Saturday was three days from now. They were alone, they had admitted their feelings for each other. So, what was the point in waiting? "Sammy?" He was the one being hesitant now. She looked up at him curiously. He grasped her hand and they stood up together.

They looked at each other, curiously, an expressing mirrored in both of their faces. Like every single time before this moment, there was the cautious air between them, inwardly hoping nothing could interrupt them. It was distinctly impossible for Sammy to believe what was happening, but she did. She knew how to read people and their actions. Casey definitely liked her. And he pulled her close to him. Instead of being immobile, like before, Sammy moved towards him and responded when his lips met hers.

The past year had done some funny things to Sammy and Casey. Sammy fought with her mother, opened up about her living situation, learned how to fight, and formed a close-knit circle of friends with Marissa, Holly and Dot. Casey dealt with his parents divorce, his best friends turning into drug addicts, continued onto to high school, and took care of his only sister from falling off the deep end. But everything that led to this moment was pushed aside, because this—this kiss—made sense. It's warmth, it's electricity, it's sureness, and it's tenderness was all accumulated inside this one kiss.

They finally pulled apart, smiling lighting their faces.

"I have one more question," Sammy started, "What allowed you to realize what Taylor and Jake were doing was wrong?"

"I guess no one had shown me the way, until I met you."

A/N: Did you like it? If you did, click the pretty green button below. Do the same even if you didn't like it *grins.