Elliot walked down the hall, a small smirk playing on his face. He glanced over his shoulder and looked at the two girls who stared at him, leaning provocatively against the lockers. The taller blonde winked at him and blew him a kiss, then giggled and turned back to her locker. The shorter, badly bleached blonde, continued to stare, but Elliot kept walking. Those girls werent really his type, they were more of the party girls; the ones who got too drunk at the football parties, the ones who only wanted to be able to say they screwed a football player, the ones who had nothing interesting to say and didnt care to have any sort of mentally or emotionally relevant conversation. They were the type who giggled at the wrong jokes, who flirted shamelessly with anyone who looked their way, who hated cheerleaders for no good reason. He prefered the cheerleaders, and not just for their looks. He was the only guy on the team who could honestly say that he was friends with any of the girls on the cheer squad, and who hadn't dated any of them either.
He was especially close to Olivia Benson and Alex Cabot. Alex was the captian of the cheer squad, tall, beautifully blonde, and completely natural. She didnt wear a ton of makeup, she didnt wear overly revealing clothing, she didnt even wear high heels except on special occasions. But, most unusual of all about Alex was the person she was dating. Alex was involved with Olivia, very involved. They didnt want anyone to know, but Elliot was close enough to them that he was trusted with the secret. They made a great couple, he had to admit, but they couldnt let anyone find out.
"El!" He didnt even have time to turn around before he felt a slender pair of arms wrap around his neck, there was only one person who ever did that.
"Hey Alex, whatsup?"
He turned to look at her and instantly noticed the goofy grin on her face, "Were going into the city tonight, come with us?" Alex saw the hesitation in his eyes and looked at him with large, pleading blue eyes. "Please? Come on, we hardly ever get out of this town, we could go into the city and dance until morning."
"Alex, we could dance here. Theres a hoe-down tonight at the-"
She rolled her eyes, "At the Murphey's barn. I know. And I dont want to be anywhere near Leila Murphey or her uptight mother."
Elliot laughed, "Still mad about that debutant's ball I take it?"
"Your damn right. She had no right-"
"Hey, I know, I know. I have heard all of this before. It's nothing new."
"Good, so you know why you should come out with us tonight. And..." She looked at him for a moment and smiled. "And your coming. Good." She smiled and flipped her hair over her shoulder. "Meet us at my place at eight thirty! See you later, I have to catch up with Liv." She gave him that dazzling smile that made everyone love her, and turned and disappeared down the hall.
He stood for a moment, staring into his locker, wondering how the hell she had just talked him into going to the city with them. These trips always turned into Elliot babysitting the two girls as they tried to let loose and have a good time. They seemed oblivious to all of the guys who stared at them as if they were items on a dinner menu, who touched them a little too fondly while they were dancing, who watched them with leering glances when they held hands as they walked through a crowd. But, regardless of the fact that he was bound to be playing babysitter, again, he found that he was excited to be getting out of that tiny town full of nothing. He shook his head and pulled his lettermans jacket out of the locker, dropping his un-needed books into the bottom of the metal box. He slammed it closed and began walking down the hallway.
This was his favorite time of day, when the halls were totally empty and the school was quiet. These were the only times that he was going to miss, the only moments he was going to wish he could return to and live in forever. He looked up and saw a beautiful girl walking down the hall opposite him, her eyes rested on the ground as she walked slowly down the hall. He didnt know her, he knew almost everyone but not her. She must have been different from the girls he knew, she didnt look like one of the more promiscuous girls, but she didnt look like a peppy cheerleader type either. He wanted her attention, but he couldnt just walk up to her and introduce himself without invitation. So he did what any clever teenage boy would do, he cleared his throat loudly, catching her attention instantly. She looked up at him, brilliant green eyes sparkling, her red hair catching the sun just right. He stared at her, open mouthed and wide eyed, then he felt himself tumbling forward. He had lost his balance and was now crashing into the concrete of the ground, he looked up at her quickly but she had already returned to looking at the floor, walking slowly away.
He pulled himself up quickly, dusting off his shirt and cursing himself quietly for being such a klutz. He looked back at her, but his eyes only met her back. He shook his head and let out a deep sigh, now he really needed this night in the city.
Alex tipped her head back and laugh, Elliot watched as Olivia traced the pale line of Alex's throat with her eyes, lingering on her collar bones, catching her gaze before it met Alex's chest. Olivia met Elliot's eyes and laughed, she took another drink of her beer and set it down on the table.
She looked over at Alex and smiled, "I want to dance. Will you dance with me?"
Alex's eyes widened and her mouth hung open, she was already drunk and her ability to speak properly had left her hours ago. "You want to dance? With me?" Olivia nodded and Alex gasped before allowing her face to break into a huge smile, "Baby! Of course I'll dance with you!"
Olivia led her carefully away from the table and they dissappeared on teh floor of the bar, Elliot kept an eye out for trouble but he was growing bored, as he always did, and made his way to the bar for another beer. He didnt get very far before a stunning head of red hair grabbed his attention. He watched her walk to Olivia and Alex, hugging them both and then walking to the table they were all sitting at by herself. Suddenly Elliot didnt want another drink, he just wanted to make his way back to that table, to the captivating green eyes that seemed to be staring at him every time he closed his eyes.
She looked up at him, faint recognition showing in her eyes. She gave him a small smile but didnt say anything to him. He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, "Whats your name?"
She looked back up at him, a stunned look coming into her eyes, "I-My name is Casey. Novak. Casey Novak."
"Casey Novak, I'm Ellliot-"
"Stabler, I know. Everyone knows. Star quarterback, leading our team to victory." She looked down at the table and smiled.
The slight curve of her lips thrilled him, he knew, from that moment, that all he wanted was to bring that beautiful smile to her lips as often as he could.
"How do you know Liv and Alex?"
She looked up at him and smiled, a full smile, dazzling and bright, "We've all known eachother for years. Our mothers are friends, I moved away when I was twelve, I moved back about a week ago. We have long history with eachother."
"The way you smile makes me think that there are some very interesting stories, maybe some trouble making."
"Definately trouble making. In fact, Olivia, when she was ten, broke into this old house that we thought no one was living in. Just to prove that she wasnt chicken, of course. Well it turned out that This little old lady had been living there, she just hardly ever came out because she had so much trouble walking and getting around, Olivia just broke right in the back door, and all of a sudden Alex and I hear her scream and then we hear another scream. We looked up at the house, not expecting her to come out, and she burst out the front door with this terrified look on her face, the little old lady chasing her as best she can, trying to swat at her with a broom." She laughed, a melodic sound that filled Elliot's ears and made his heart beat faster. "She was so scared that she peed her pants while she was running through the house." Casey's smile faded a little bit, her eyes growing misty again, "But I shouldnt have told you that I'm sure."
"No, I'm sure Liv wouldnt mind."
They talked all night, Elliot hardly paid any attention to Olivia and Alex until he heard Olivia's voice yelling over the noise of the bar. He could barely make out what she was saying, but he could tell it had something to do with Alex. He quickly pushed his way through the crowd, holding tight to Casey's hand so that she wouldnt get lost while he was trying to get them out of the bar, and stepped between Olivia and some guy she had picked a fight didnt even have to say anything, the guy (who happened to be about a foot shorter and much smaller than Elliot) simply walked away and Elliot turned to Olivia. "Outside, to the car. Now."
They walked solemnly to the car, Elliot helped Alex and Olivia pour themselves into the backseat and sat up front with Casey. Elliot dropped Liv and Alex off at Alex's house, same as always and got back in the car. He looked at Casey and smiled. "Where to?"
Casey looked down at her lap and sighed, "The motel 6 for now. We dont have an apartment yet."
Elliot nodded and started driving. He tried to start conversation a few times but neither of them were in the mood to talk. When he pulled up in front of the motel she quickly got out of the car. Elliot followed swiftly, he caught her by the hand and pulled her back to him. "Casey...I want to see you again."
"You'll see me every day at school."
"No," He shook his head. "Thats not what I mean. Can I take you out on a date sometime soon? Like...very soon?"
Casey looked down at his hand, holding onto hers, then gave him a shy nod. "Yes, I think so."
He smiled and released her hand, "I'll take you out someplace nice tomorrow. Be ready at eight, is that okay?"
She nodded and gave him a small smile. "Yes, thats okay."
He watched her walk to her motel room and waited until he knew she was safe in her room. He smiled to himself and got back in his car. He knew that he should go home, but after hearing a yes from this new, strange girl, he didnt think that he had any hopes of sleep that night.