In Vino Veritas
Author's Note: This idea came to me as I was lying in bed watching "Multiple Choice" my favorite episode of Chapter 1. Hope it doesn't suck too much. It's a one-shot, and as always reviews are loved and appreciated. Thanks also to my awesome beta and friend Currish, without whom this story would have multiple spelling errors I'm sure. Also, this fic shares a title with a wonderful fic by vannadear. Seeing as hers is much better than this piece of crap I fully suggest going to read hers for an awesome Cappie/Casey fic way better than this one! You won't be disappointed. I'd also like to promise everyone that I didn't give up on The Girl with His Heart in Her Hands yet, but reviews will probably speed along the process. With that note, again read, enjoy and review even if it's to say "wow that sucked, never write again". Caution: fluff abounds.
Disclaimer:
Oh Greek, how do I own thee
Let me count the ways
:crickets chirping:
Ashleigh lay in her bed in the room she shared with Casey thinking about Travis. She was never the kind of girl to stoop so low as to talk badly about an ex after they broke up. She knew that she did love Travis at one point; she had just let it go too far and she fell out of love with him somewhere along the road. Maybe it was just the comfort of having a boyfriend and all the wonderful perks it came with, or maybe she was just like a tree that had grown around another tree, intertwining with it. Well when two trees grew together one's roots always ended up choking the other. The trees couldn't live together forever. Eventually one would suffocate the other, and Travis had been the one to kill Ashleigh with his pompous demands and attitudes. He had changed her and made her too caught up in him when he came around.
She very rarely missed him. But that didn't mean she didn't think about him a lot. Only certain nights, when she let herself get too caught up in Casey's problems regarding her old flame Cappie, did she look back on her old flame Travis.
Ashleigh took a sip from the wine she kept hidden in her dresser. She really did like wine. A little known fact: she was actually the one to turn Travis on to wine. Her grandparents were wine enthusiasts, traveling to Italy on more than one occasion at the insistence of their Italian neighbors who had in turn introduced them to the exquisite drink. So they had allowed her to sample wine at every meal whenever she was visiting them, and they'd always leave her with a small amount when they came to visit her. It was a bond they shared, a secret between the three of them.
And she had wanted to share it with Travis too. Wine had always meant something special to her, and at the time he meant something special to her. It was only natural that she shared her knowledge and her enthusiasm for the drink with her boyfriend, who was always seeking to appear more high-society than he really was. He had been drawn to the selectiveness of wine, just as she thought he would be. It would never be the same reason she had for drinking it, he didn't have the memories of wine, or the true appreciation for its tastes.
She had learned her lesson from Travis. The special power wine held for her was not something to be shared. No one would get as much joy out of it as she did. She had thought about sharing with Casey, she would try to understand it, the power it held for Ashleigh, but she could never fully understand the joy it brought Ashleigh. For her, it was a special bond between her grandparents that none of the other children in her family had. It set her apart from all of them. Coming from such a big family it felt great to have a bond that none of the others had with their grandparents.
She took another sip of the wine and lay back against the headboard of her bed. She thought of what Cappie had said that night at Dobbler's when he and Travis got into their battle of the Latin phrases.
"In vino veritas"
In wine there is truth.
Ashleigh sighed. She wasn't ready for a committed relationship again. Not yet. She had been locked to Travis too long to want to jump back into a full-on relationship anytime soon. She wanted to enjoy being single for the first time since High School, enjoying random hook-ups and going after any man she damn well felt like. But Casey was different…
Part of Ashleigh's best friend duties entailed listening to her friend as she tried to work out her own problems in the romance department. Ashleigh knew as Casey's best friend that Casey and Cappie had never gotten over each other and were meant to be together. Hell, the whole school knew they were mean to be together. A random passersby could tell they were meant to be together. So why the hell couldn't she. She was so sick of the two of them dancing around each other.
"Just get together all ready," she moaned into the darkness.
Casey didn't even stir. She was an extraordinarily heavy sleeper. Something Ashleigh usually took much comfort in, as she stayed up way later than Casey every night. It was part of her best friend duties to help out her sister when she was so clearly in need of it. Casey needed to realize her feelings for Cappie, and soon, because it was totally wearing on Ashleigh's nerves. The anxiety was killing her.
In vino veritas.
The logic had never failed her before. The answer would come to her. She just needed to keep drinking and thinking. The answer would come. In wine there is truth.
A few more sips and her mind began to replay her thoughts of the evening. How had she gotten to thinking about Travis anyway? Oh right, Casey was talking about her old flame and so Ashleigh thought about hers. It's the human nature to hear what someone says and relate it to yourself. Proof of how vain the human psyche really is. That was it. Wine really never did let her down. In vino veritas indeed. She had a plan; she just needed to work out the kinks.
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Casey came into the room she shared with Ashleigh and sighed. She had been at Dobbler's when she saw Cappie practically eating Rebecca's face. Disgusting. She decided to go home to some quality time with her best friend.
As she heard Casey's footsteps outside the door, Ashleigh was almost bouncing with anticipation. As soon as she entered the room, Ashleigh pounced on her unsuspecting friend.
"Case, I thought you were going to Dobbler's. Why are you home so early?" she asked using all her self control to sound casual.
"Ash, I'm sorry, but I can't stand to see Cappie there with her." she spat, her voice bitter.
Ashleigh smiled on the inside. This might be easier than she expected.
"Why does it bother you Casey, you dumped him you know."
"Don't you think I know that Ashleigh?" Casey asked, her voice aggravated.
"I'm just wondering why you have such a problem with him moving on. You had to have known he wasn't going to wait forever."
"NO!" Casey screamed. "Of course I didn't… I mean… it's just… I didn't think… he couldn't…"
"Damn", Ashleigh thought. This was going to be a snap. She might not even need to execute her plan after all.
Her smugness must have been showing on her face because the second Casey looked up at her friend, she switched gears almost seamlessly.
"I'm just… still not convinced that Rebecca isn't using him," Casey slowly constructed.
"Or not" Ashleigh inwardly sighed. This girl must be the most stubborn, dense girl at CRU. Denial was a horrible thing. Ashleigh shook her head.
"ASH!" Casey screamed. "I'm over Cappie!"
Ashleigh couldn't help but smirk. "I never said you weren't hun".
Casey sat flabbergasted and Ashleigh took this as her chance to strike.
"Case! I have something I want to share with you!"
Casey smiled at her friend, visibly relieved at the welcome distraction. "Oooh, what?"
Ashleigh took Casey's hand and led her over to Ashleigh's bed. They sat down, Ashleigh at the foot of the bed and Casey at the head.
Casey's eyes widened. "Ash, you drink… wine?"
"Yeah, it's very special to me."
She continued to share with Casey the history of wine and the connection it has in her heart with her grandparents. Casey listened as any best friend would. Trying her best to understand, and smiling along with Ashleigh at the warm memories, even if she would never really know. She was trying to make Ashleigh's excitement become her excitement, never interrupting as Ashleigh took them both on a stroll along her personal memory lane. When she had finished they were both smiling, and Casey spoke up for the first time, her feelings about Cappie temporarily abandoned during her quest for total understanding of what Ashleigh was telling her.
"That night at Dobbler's with Tra-" She cut herself off, and her eyes instantly snapped up at Ashleigh to gage her reaction. The Travis territory still held some bitter feelings, and even though Ashleigh had just spoken of him in her story, Casey didn't know if she had the right to mention him.
Sensing her hesitancy, Ashleigh stepped in.
"Travis, Case. You can mention him. I was the one who actually dumped him, and it had nothing to do with you."
Casey smiled, grateful to have Ashleigh in her life.
"That night at Dobbler's with Travis-" her eyes glanced up at Ashleigh, who gave her an approving nod "When you ordered the wine, it wasn't just him… influencing you?"
"Not at all, weren't you listening?"
"Of course I was, it's just- I didn't think that you really liked wine".
"Well I do", and with that she leaned over to pull out a bottle of wine from under the bed, along with two wine glasses.
"Ash", Casey said as if holding back tears of joy, "you're sharing this with me? I thought you said that you learned from Travis not share this with anyone else."
"So you were listening after all", Ashleigh laughed. "Yeah, Case I want to share it with you. You're more than just anybody, you're my best friend, and my favorite sister".
Casey was so moved she reached in to embrace Ashleigh in a huge hug. When she broke away she turned to the glasses and the bottle of wine. "Okay Ash, lets open this bad boy up!"
Ashleigh poured them both a glass of wine and they held their glasses up for a toast. With the tiny clinking of the glasses Casey put her glass to her lips. Ashleigh followed suit, pausing right before her lips touched.
"In vino veritas", she muttered.
"Hmm?", Casey asked, swallowing.
"Nothing" Ashleigh replied innocently. "I didn't say anything".
"Oh. This is really good!" Casey exclaimed happily.
"Yeah, I know, right," Ashleigh said, the shadow of the smirk, it was taking all her willpower to hide from gracing her features.
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Rebecca smiled her most charming smile at the man sitting across from her. Things had been rough since they had gotten back to CRU at the end of Spring Break. She knew that in a drunken haze she had broken up with him, told him he was beneath her, and gotten him punched in the face, but really, she knew that he had warranted the remarks somewhere in the back of her mind. He was devoting as much of himself as he could to her. She knew it. She knew he cared for her. If he didn't, he wouldn't have come back to comfort her that night after he had seen the report about her father on the news. But he did, and it was then in her mind that she decided even if it was beneath her to commit herself to someone who had most of his heart taken by Casey Cartwright, she would make it work. She was Rebecca Freaking Logan after all, she could do anything. She had already gotten more attention from Cappie than she thought he had in him, so maybe it was do-able for her to win all of his heart back. In the back of her mind she knew that wasn't true, but she didn't feel like throwing something so fun and good away just yet. She needed that now more than ever with the constant attention from the media about her father's recent indiscretion.
"Something wrong, Becks?" Cappie asked from across the make-shift picnic on his bed. The media was still too relentless to risk going outside to a nice dinner.
"Not at all, Cap." He inwardly cringed; that was the pet name that Casey had always used for him. It didn't sound right coming from Rebecca's lips. The recent kiss he had shared with Casey was now playing on a loop in his mind. It was the perfect moment. It was the same kind of kiss they had shared back in freshman year, but at the same time, so different. Their kiss wasn't marked by the guilt that comes from kissing someone who isn't your boyfriend. It was a pure kiss, something that as of late wasn't too common. Cappie could tell that in her kiss she wasn't thinking about Evan and the fact that she was cheating on him. Her kiss held love meant only for him, and in that kiss, he knew was hopefulness for a future that her lips always betrayed. He felt all that and it reminded him of their kisses in freshman year. It completed the image of Freshman Casey that had entranced him over break just as it had freshman year.
Yet in the kiss he felt something he hadn't felt in freshman year. It was a longing, desperation, and hopefulness to give her one last chance. All their kisses since the break-up held passion, a willingness to forget about Evan, and the force between two lovers making up for lost time. She had never had that vulnerability, and openness for a second beginning before.
She was ready for him finally. And he had always been ready for her. Their one problem now sat before him trying to hold together what was left of their crumbling lie of a relationship. He cared for her, but he knew he didn't love her. She knew he didn't love her. But she was so hurt right now she needed his comfort no matter how unfair it was to her that every second he spent with her was spent thinking about Casey.
He heard Rebecca clear her throat forcefully. His head snapped to attention.
"Hmm? Sorry, Becks I didn't hear you."
She smiled that smile that said she knew what he was thinking of, and although she was very annoyed, she didn't expect any less from him. That smile broke his heart.
"I said, I brought this picnic especially for you and me as a sort of, apology and hopefulness that we can continue where we left off, Cap." She bit her lip in apprehension.
He had inwardly cringed at the sound of her voice saying 'Cap,' again.
"I forgive you Rebecca, you know that. You were only acting the way you did out of hurt for what your father had done."
She smiled. The fact that he didn't promise a new start was not lost on her. Still, she decided to move forward with their picnic. She reached in the basket and pulled out a bottle of wine and two wine glasses.
Cappie cocked one eyebrow. "Wine, Becca?"
"Cappie. Do you know how expensive this stuff is? I just wanted tonight to be special." She said, irritation dripping from her words.
"Sorry." He sighed at how little she knew him. Wine meant nothing to him, no matter the price. That's not what made a night special for him. What made a night special for him was the feeling of a real connection between him and the other person. A connection he had only felt with Casey.
"Well then, Miss Logan, let's bust this bad boy open".
She smiled gratefully, and retrieved the corkscrew from the basket. Within a few moments she had the cork out, and was pouring their glasses.
"To new beginnings" she said, raising her glass.
Cappie smiled and started sipping his wine, not bothering to bring his glass to hers in the toast.
This too was not lost on Rebecca.
"In vino veritas" Rebecca said offhandedly.
"In vino veritas" Cappie agreed.
The two continued their picnic with copious amounts of wine in between meaningless discussion neither was really thinking about too hard. Of course as they ingested more wine into their systems, both trying to forget about the situation they found themselves in, they began to get tipsy. Rebecca, who never could hold her liquor too well, was completely inebriated, while Cappie, who could hold his liquor as good as any Kappa Tau, was trying to get smashed to let himself go long enough to slow his anxiousness at dumping Rebecca..
As Rebecca finished another glass of wine and poured herself another she suddenly looked into the forgotten picnic basket and practically screamed.
"I almoss forgot the bess parr!" she slurred. And with that she pulled out a pink box from the basket. Cappie tensed and instantly sobered up.
"Is that pie, Rebecca?" he asked coldly.
"Mmhmm" She grinned with a sick smile on her face.
"Becks, I told you before how pie was something I didn't eat anymore."
"Thass a lie!" Rebecca slurred angrily.
"You ate pie with Caseee. I heard her talk to Ashleee 'bout it", she accused. "She doesn't eat it without you".
"Becks, it was special for Casey and me. You're great, really, but pie is something only between Casey and me." Cappie tried to explain patiently. It was a difficult task since she seemed to have already known the special bond Casey and Cappie shared over pie.
"I wanted to make you eat it. To forget 'bout Casee and love me. She said she'd never eat pie unless it was with you. I want you to betray Casee" she slurred. "I want to win yooou from her."
Cappie was furious. She had just drunkenly admitted that she had tried to ruin the special-ness of pie between Casey and him. Rebecca really was trying to just get something Casey wanted. She couldn't rest until she made Casey think Cappie had moved on completely.
"Rebecca, I know you're having a hard time with your dad, but I'm here with you. Not Casey. You don't need to try and make her feel bad." He explained patiently, as if talking to a five-year-old.
"I didn't think you'd eat it." She sighed, in the teary state that came right before one passed out. "I wanted to go back to the house with the box and say we ate it. If she thought you'd given up on her, she'd give up on you, then you really would give up on her. You could love meee"
"Becks," Cappie groaned. "What do you have against Casey? She never did anything to you."
"YOU ARE BENEATH ME!" She suddenly exploded. "YOU ALWAYS DEFEND HER, AND YOU'RE WITH ME BUT YOU WISH I WAS HER. WELL YOU KNOW WHAT? I DESERVE MORE THAN THAT! I'M REBECCA FREAKING LOGAN!"
And with that, she passed out on Cappie's bed. Cappie kissed the top of her head, covered her up and shut off the lights. As he closed the door behind him to sleep on the couch, he whispered:
"In vino veritas".
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Casey and Ashleigh were having a similar venting session. As Ashleigh was a well trained drinker, she only sipped at her drink now and again as she made sure Casey's glass never emptied for more than a few moments. Casey was completely and utterly wasted, and Ashleigh knew this was her chance to strike.
"Casey, I'm getting married" Ashleigh exclaimed like she was talking to a three year old.
"You are?" Casey's eyes widened in excitement for her best friend. She became like a winy little kid when she was drunk.
"Yup, sure am Case. Do you want to be my maid of honor?" Ashleigh asked carefully and slowly.
"YEAH!" Casey exclaimed and started bouncing sloppily on the bed.
"Well, let me tell you about my wedding". Ashleigh began very slowly so Casey could have plenty of time to process through her drunken mind.
"Its going to be a huge wedding, in a big fancy church in New York City, and I'm going to be wearing a beautiful white dress that's strapless and has lots of sparkles, and the bridesmaids will wear yellow, and Travis, my husband will have a black tuxedo with a red bowtie…" She continued throwing out meaningless words as she checked Casey's reaction. Sure enough Casey's eyes were glazed over, as she had had the same basic human reaction that Ashleigh hoped she would. She was relating what Ashleigh said to herself. Every human does.
"What are you thinking about Case?" Ashleigh said, keeping her tone innocent as if she were asking a baby why they weren't eating their vegetables.
"My wedding."
"You're wedding? Are you getting married too Casey?" And with that she took out her cell phone and began to record Casey.
"Noooooo." Casey replied sadly. If she wasn't on a mission, Ashleigh was sure it would have broken her heart.
"Why not, Case?" she pried, keeping her phone steady.
"Cappie's in love with Rebecca."
"Why can't you get married if Cappie's with Rebecca?"
"Cuz, I wanna marry him!"
Ashleigh couldn't help but smirk.
"You do?!" she said in mock surprise. "Why, Casey?"
"Cuz I love him, Ash".
"But you broke up with him"
"I STILL LOVE HIM!" and with that she started to sob like the drunk she was.
Now Ashleigh was sure her heart did break. When Casey got drunk her filtering system got shot to hell. For the first time in her life, Ashleigh was happy about this fact. After waiting a few more moments for Casey to calm down, she started again. There was no way she was leaving any room for Casey to make up some excuse for these drunken confessions.
"Casey, you still love Cappie?"
"With all my heart Ashy. I was only happy when I was with him. Lotsa fun. We loved each other." Ashleigh could tell Casey was going to be out cold soon. She had to wrap this up fast.
"Casey, you want to be with Cappie?"
"Forever and ever," she said in a sing-song voice.
"Will you make me a promise, Casey?"
"Anything Ashleigh. I'm you're maid of honor!" Casey exclaimed clearly proud of herself.
"You sure are, Case. Now promise me, that if in this moment you're really and truly in love with Cappie in a way that means you'll never be complete with anyone else-" she waited for Casey's mind to catch up with what Ashleigh was telling her.
Casey nodded vigorously, her blonde hair bouncing along with her.
"-promise me you'll tell Cappie how you feel and win your man back." Ashleigh didn't bother trying to hide the smile devouring the whole of her face.
"I promise Ash. I do. Because I really, really, really…really…really…really…love…him." And with that her body went limp as she fell into an intoxicated sleep.
Ashleigh turned her phone to herself.
"Now there's no denying it anymore. I heard you. It's on tape! In vino veritas. In wine there is truth. You heard it yourself Casey, you promised me." She then shut her phone off.
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The next morning Rebecca woke up with a note on the pillow next to her. As she tried to read it through blurry vision and a pounding headache, she started to cry:
Rebecca,
Last night you got drunk. I'm sure you can tell by what's sure to be a splitting headache now. When you were drunk you again informed me that I was beneath you. Don't worry about it. You were right. You do deserve better then someone still in love with his ex. So here I am breaking up with you, because although we had some awesome times and I do care for you, you Miss Logan deserve much better. I'll always be here to comfort you if you need me, but only as a friend.
In vino veritas,
Cappie
(P.S. you told me about your pie scam)
"Shit" Rebecca murmured. And with that she picked up her picnic basket and walked back to the ZBZ house where she was too miserable to even confront the Princess.
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Casey awoke the next morning in a bed that wasn't her own. She could tell that right away because even through the haze of her hangover and the nausea this pillow wasn't hers. She quickly panicked sobering up a bit as she looked next to her to make sure she didn't have another drunken accident like with the 16 year old.
She sat up and looked at the room. This was her room! She was in Ashleigh's bed! She had no idea why she fell asleep in Ashleigh's bed but she fully intended to find out. As she calmed down and looked at the pillow next to her she saw a piece of paper and Ashleigh's cell phone. She picked up the paper and read:
Good morning sleeping beauty!!
Watch the video and keep your promises.
3 Ashleigh.
(P.S. maybe you should take a shower and change first, but nothing else!)
Casey was thoroughly confused as she picked up Ashleigh's phone and watched the only video she had saved.
As she watched herself speak and listened to what she said her mouth fell open. It stayed that way until the end of the tape when she saw Ashleigh remind her that she had promised. A sense of dread slowly enveloped her. Cappie was with Rebecca now. If she broke them up would she really be any better than Rebecca? Her eyes narrowed and her nose scrunched up as she thought 'I need to kill Ashleigh'.
Several thoughts passed before her. The most prominent of which was the question of how Ashleigh could have gotten her to admit that aloud when she couldn't even admit it to herself. She knew she had been drunk, but still. However Ashleigh managed to drag Cappie to the forefront of her mind and out of her lips, she sure was good. Casey had to give her that. She still wasn't quite sure how she was going to approach this mess, but decided no matter what she did need a shower and a change of clothes.
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Cappie couldn't remember falling asleep last night, but he knew he must have as he awoke to the soft clicking of Rebecca's heels as she left the Kappa Tau house, as quietly as she could, trying not to wake him. He figured that it meant she was ignoring him, because if she wanted to talk to him she could have waited for him. So he kept his eyes closed and pretended to stay asleep. He stayed that way until he heard the door shut softly and the sound of her heels clicking furiously as she hurried away from the house- away from him. The last time he had been in this situation it had hurt like hell to watch the girl slip through his fingers yet again. This time it was liberating and it gave him a thrill to know that now there was nothing standing between Casey and him.
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As Ashleigh sat in the living room of the ZBZ house she couldn't help smirking at how clever she had been and how smoothly her plan went. She was just enjoying the day and the promises it held as she heard the water begin to run from the shower. For some reason, Ashleigh just knew it was Casey. And if she was correct- which she was sure she was- Casey was trying to work out her plan of attack in the shower. Ashleigh was sure Casey was considering how to approach Cappie and beg for forgiveness and another chance- which Ashleigh was sure Cappie would be more than willing to throw at her- when Rebecca was still in the picture. At that moment, the door of the house flew open and she turned to see Rebecca enter crying. Ashleigh couldn't help but smile on the inside. Clearly that hurdle had been avoided.
"Rebecca," Ashleigh asked, feigning innocence. "What's wrong?"
Rebecca glared at her. "Don't act like you don't know, okay".
"Fair enough. Did he give you a reason?"
"I don't know why I should tell you this." Rebecca grumbled. "You know damn well why, as well as I and the rest of this freaking school knows. And you're the reason's best friend" she huffed.
"Because I'm the closest thing you have to a friend in this house." Ashleigh stated rationally and calmly.
Rebecca seemed to consider this only for a moment before throwing herself on the couch next to Ashleigh.
"I um, may have gotten drunk last night… and said some things I didn't want to admit out loud," Rebecca said slowly.
Ashleigh's eyes widened. "You too?!"
Rebecca raised an eyebrow before continuing. "I may have told him that he was beneath me-"
"Again?! Ouch!"
Rebecca glared at Ashleigh, demanding silence, which she quickly got.
"And he agreed with me-."
"Because, of not being able to stay devoted to you, because of Casey, and you deserved better." Ashleigh said aloud. It wasn't a question.
"How the hell do you do that?" Rebecca asked, unnerved.
"It's a gift and a curse," Ashleigh laughed. "Plus, no offense, but those two are meant to be together and it was only a matter of time before you got taken out of the picture."
"Wow, brutal much? You make it sound like there was a hit on me."
"Well in a way there was. The whole school is pretty tired of their little dance of unvoiced feelings".
This warranted a laugh from Rebecca.
"Well if it's for the good of the school…" she laughed.
"It most definitely is" Ashleigh agreed. She then looked at Rebecca with her most innocent expression. She had heard the water stop a few minutes ago.
Rebecca sighed and laughed. "Go tell her! I know you want to!"
"Thanks!" Ashleigh squealed, and jumped up, hugging Rebecca as she ran up the stairs to tell Casey.
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Casey was already changed by the time Ashleigh got to her. Together though they decided that Casey, as Rebecca's sister, should wait at least a couple weeks before jumping back on the Cappie wagon for what everyone hoped was the final and permanent time.
In that time, with Ashleigh as the mediator, Casey and Rebecca slowly formed a bond. It turned out that besides their similar taste in men, they had quite a lot in common. They could never be best friends, for there were too many betrayed feelings for that, but with time- and Ashleigh's persistent intervention, they could be on the road to becoming good if not great friends.
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Cappie laid in his bed thinking furiously. It had been two weeks since he had broken up with Rebecca. He knew for a fact that any piece of gossip spread like wildfire in the Zeta Beta house, so that wasn't it.
Why the hell hadn't she come back to him?
He had made a promise to himself after the midterm fiasco that since he had poured his heart out to her and she had rejected him, now it was her turn to come to him. Now, however he was rethinking all of that idea.
Maybe she considered him to have rejected her when he went back to Rebecca that night during Spring Break.
He knew that she had wanted to tell him many times that she wanted to be with him, but each time something stopped her, so Cappie played dumb. He wasn't going to make this easier for her. It was her turn to put herself out there for him to squash her heart. Not that he ever would of course, if he had the chance. But the year was drawing to a close and she still hadn't approached him. In fact, she was down right avoiding him.
Was she angry at him for dumping Rebecca?
Surely she must have known it was all for her. Everything he ever did was for her.
Was he all wrong about everything he thought he felt in their kiss?
The thought terrified him. Fortunately he was saved from going over these and other questions for the millionth time when he heard a knock at his door.
"Beav, I already told you, I'm not cleaning." After waiting a week for Casey, he began to worry and in the usual Cappie-fashion, he calmed his nerves with some good old fashioned germ purge.
"Good, because you wouldn't want to make life any easier for me while I was with you." Casey smiled as she entered the room with a large beach bag.
Cappie visibly lit up. Casey had always been the one to clean his room when they were together. She always said if she was gonna stay there, then it was going to be livable. He couldn't believe it, she was there standing in his doorway after the longest two weeks of his life.
"I thought you weren't coming," he admitted sheepishly.
"Cap, I couldn't stay away from you if I wanted to." She smiled coming to rest on the edge of his bed.
"And do you want to?" he asked, fully enjoying the easy banter they had going on between them, just like freshman year, all the while closing the distance between them.
"Never ever." She said, a coy smile playing at her lips.
"Good, I think I can work with that," he agreed, closing the space between them completely as he pulled her gently on top of him.
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As they lay wrapped in the sheets of his bed, basking in the afterglow his arms tightly around her, she suddenly broke the magic by trying to loosen his arms and slip away.
This only strengthened his resolve as his arms enclosed her more tightly.
"Cap," she giggled. "Let me go."
"And give you a chance to slip through my fingers, again? Never."
"Never?" she questioned skeptically.
"Never ever." He agreed nestling his head into her hair.
"What if I said I brought you a surprise?" she asked.
"Is this just a clever ruse to make me let go of you so you can run away?" he asked, only half jokingly.
Casey picked up on his hesitancy.
"You really don't trust me?" She asked, her heart breaking.
"Case, do you blame me?" He asked, feeling guilty that he was causing her such noticeable pain.
"No, I only blame myself" she said, snuggling into his arms as she turned to face him, putting her head on his chest.
"Case, you needed to do what you thought was right. It just hurt a hell of a lot on my end. But I want you to be happy. Are you happy?"
"Only when I'm with you."
"We didn't really get a chance to talk much earlier."
"No, we didn't" she agreed. "So let's talk. I'll go first. Cappie, when we were together it was the best time of my life. I didn't know I wasn't complete before I met you, but the second I saw you at the Kappa Tau party, I knew that a part of me had been missing, and you were the missing piece of me. And everything was perfect when we were together, and it scared me. People as young as us shouldn't find love as pure and as perfect as ours. It was too soon. So, when Frannie asked me to dump you for the good of the house, I jumped on that bandwagon in a second, because frankly you scared me. But I've regretted every second that I've been away from you. And you offered me so many chances to be with you, but you still scared me. Now, though I've just embraced it, and you. Because I can't be without you Cappie. Its just too hard… You told me where you want to be in ten years, now let me tell you. I want to be with you every second of every day, because Cap, I love you."
Casey stared up at the speechless Cappie, biting her lip. Why wasn't he saying anything? Did he change his mind? Did she go too serious? Was she scaring him away now? She meant what she said: she couldn't lose him again.
"Cappie- I…"
"Don't you dare take any of that back." He said. "I won't let you." And he hugged her closer still.
"Cap," she said "you didn't tell me how you felt." She looked up at him expectantly.
"Case," he laughed "you know how I feel."
"Just, just say it again for me. Please?"
"Casey Cartwright, I have always loved you, and I always will love you, and in 10 years I want nothing more than to be with you." With that he leaned down to kiss her.
When they broke apart for air she suddenly started to escape him again.
"I almost forgot about my surprise! See how you distract me?"
"You know, Miss Cartwright, you never answered my original question. Is this some escape attempt?"
"If anything its just a chance for you to see me naked. I know how much you love that."
"Well, then, that's a horse of a different color then isn't it?" And he loosened his grip enough for her to wiggle free.
She went to the beach bag she had come in with.
"What's in the bag, Case?" he asked, craning his neck anxiously trying to survey both her body and the contents of the bag.
"Well," she said jumping back onto the bed with it, "there's quite a lot in here. There're a few days worth of clothes, so I may not have to leave quite so soon-" Cappie grunted his approval. "and there's something else down here I think…"
This is what Cappie was most anxious for, and he wasn't disappointed in the slightest when she pulled out two forks and a pink pie box.
"Tell me Case, what's the flavor extraordinaire of this evening?" Cappie asked his fork at the ready.
"Something new. Its called Apple-Pear white wine pie".
They each took turns feeding each other bites of the pie and talking to make up for lost time and sharing kisses in between until the box was empty.
Cappie turned to Casey, the happiest he had been since freshman year. Maybe in more ways happier. For now he had a plan for the next ten years, and every day in those ten years would be spent with the girl he loved.
"Case, I love you." He said, ever eager to hear the same words from her lips.
"Cap, I love you too. I never stopped."
With that he kissed her again until they needed to break apart for oxygen.
"That was some good pie, and I think it may be dubbed the 'closer than ever' pie. Or the 'promise pie'." Casey mused.
"You know what they say, Case. In vino veritas."
"In wine there is truth" she finished.
And they stayed that way in each other's arms laughing and talking and kissing. Until they had to go make another pie run, that is.
Fin.