A/N: These chapters are considerably longer than any others I have written for other stories…and I'm not even trying to do that. Guess I'm more invested than I thought.
Jbcjazz: Patience….patience :)
Everyone RE Abbie/Jane rivalry: You'll all found out soon enough…maybe…
"Why do you look like that?" Alex wonders seriously, studying her best friend with the utmost amount of closeness. She narrows her eyes and leans in closer to the brunette who continues to avoid eye contact. "Abbie?"
"Huh?" The Texan replies, blinking rapidly as she turns to find a pair of icy blue eyes boring into her. "Sorry what? Did you say something?"
Alex's frown deepens as she continues to study the other woman closely. "Abbie, I've never known you to be so quiet, especially over breakfast." She explains before snapping her head towards Serena. "What has she done?"
Serena shrugs her shoulders before vigorously shaking her head. "I don't have any kind of idea of what's going on. She was like this when I went over to her house last night."
Kim is about to open her mouth to put in her two scents when she notices her girlfriend's fidgety nature and how she is repeatedly tapping her fingers against the table. "You know something," she says, her words coming out as a firm statement rather than a question.
"What? No, I don't know anything." Emily replies quickly shaking her head before staring back down at her plate. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Emily…"
"I didn't wanna go, alright! Abbie guilt-tripped me into going and now I don't know why I didn't say no in the first place, I'm sorry!"
Abbie groans and slumps in her chair as she glares at the woman across the table. "Aw Prentiss, c'mon…I thought you had my back…."
Emily shrinks in her chair at the other woman's scrutinizing gaze. "Sorry…" she mumbles, moving her food around her plate with her fork, suddenly losing her appetite.
Alex sighs heavily and drags her fingers through her hair before she turns back to her best friend, this time with her full on Cabot glare going. "Tell me what you've done, and don't lie to me Abigail…"
"It wasn't anything big…" Abbie tries to deflect with a nonchalant shrug as she smiles nervously. "I mean, you know, it just kind of happened in passing."
"What did you do…" Serena speaks up firmly, her typical bubbly demeanor gone for the moment as she continues to glare warning signals into her girlfriend.
Abbie glances around at the three and a half pairs of eyes staring at her before she sighs heavily and hangs her head. "Alright fine. I was still a little pissed about what happened at the beach yesterday morning, so I wanted to get a little revenge of my own. Well, last night Emily, Olivia and I went over to Ziva's house and-"
"I was forced into the car and dragged." Emily interrupts with firmness in her voice. "Just let that be known before we continue this horrid story."
"Are you gonna let me tell them what happened or not?" Abbie snaps back before she sighs once again and continues. "Anyway, we went over to Ziva's house and well…we slashed her tires."
"I did none of the slashing. I kept look out, but I did absolutely none of the slashing." Emily points out quickly with widened eyes at the end of Abbie's tale.
"You were still an accomplice." Kim mutters with a sigh as she pinches the bridge of her nose and shakes her head.
Alex is completely silent for a moment before she shakes her head and crosses her arms. "I honestly can't believe you did that." she mumbles. "Damnit, Abbie, why are you always looking for a fight?!"
Abbie's mouth falls open for a brief moment before she matches Alex glare for glare. "I'm always looking for a fight?! They were looking for a fight when they showed up all high and mighty yesterday demanding that we stay off their beach! I wasn't looking for a any kind of a fight! They were all asking for it."
"You shouldn't let them get to you like that." Serena says quietly with a disappointed shake of her head. "Especially Jane. You know she just enjoys getting under your skin."
"What happened was years ago. We're all over it, why can't you be?" Kim asks with a rare amount of sincerity in her voice, though it doesn't exactly shine through her typical deadpan exterior.
Abbie rolls her eyes at the question that she deems to be rhetorical before slamming her fist down on the table. "I am over it!" she screams loudly, startling the other four women at the table.
"Yeah, sounds like you're totally over it." Emily mumbles darkly under her breath before she spots Abbie glaring at her again. "What? I'm just saying. If you were really over it then you wouldn't hate her so much. Your hate would then be deduced to a strong dislike for her, much like that of the rest of us."
"Thank you Dr. Prentiss." Abbie sneers in response. "What are you, my therapist? I don't need to 'deduce' anything. I'm fine."
Alex takes this time to chime in. She can tell that Abbie is still mad about what happened even if it was all those years ago, hell, she still is mad herself, but Abbie's anger has progressed into something of hate, and hate is just not something that Alex is about.
"Abbie…I know you're mad, but…"
"I'm not mad! I wish the four of you would stop trying to tell me I'm mad! I think if anyone would know whether or not I was mad it would be me!"
"Is there a problem?" Claire asks cautiously as she pokes her head out of the kitchen.
Alex shakes her head as she silently pulls Abbie back down into her chair. "No Claire, there's not a problem. Abbie's just gotten a little worked up."
Abbie rolls her eyes and utters several inaudible obscenities under her breath. "I wish that you guys would just see things my way. I'm getting pretty sick of all of you thinking I'm overreacting."
"You slashed someone's tires Abbie!" Serena screeches. "I would say that crosses the line of overreacting."
"But I didn't just slash someone's tires. It was Ziva! Ziva ain't someone!"
Before anyone can respond the door bursts open and the girls look up to see a rather angry woman striding in their direction with a murderous look etched across her face.
"Well you know what they say, speak of the devil…" Kim mumbles, taking a small sip of juice from her glass.
Ziva immediately dismisses the not-so-quietly stated comment before she turns her glare on a certain blonde and a rather smug looking brunette. "I know that it was you who ruined my car."
Abbie fights the urge to break out in a huge grin as she tilts her head to the side. "None of us even know what you're talking about." She remarks, before snidely correcting herself. "Then again, none of us know what you're talking about half the time away."
Ziva growls at the cheap shot towards her accent before she turns her glare on Alex. "You should learn to keep this one locked away in a box." She glowers, turning back to a sneering Abbie. "You are one to talk about not being understood. Your southern mannerisms have proven to be most…revolting."
"Listen you piece of-"
"Abbie." Alex warns firmly before addressing Ziva with a small amount of calmness in her voice. "Look, none of us have anything to do with whatever happened to your car."
Ziva's eyes narrow dangerously as she sizes up the group before pointing a lethal finger. "You do not know who you are messing with. You will pay for what you did to my car. All of you." and with that she spins on her heel and exits without another word.
There is a tense silence between the five women before Kim breaks it with a dry chuckle. "Well, that went rather well." She drones with a shake of her head.
"Ah, don't worry about her, her threats are empty." Abbie responds, leaning back in her chair as she places her hands behind her head. It's then that she takes note of the four pairs of angry eyes on her. "What? It's not like she's gonna do anything."
"It's not just her that I'm worried about." Alex mutters as she too shakes her head and rises from her seat to head over to the bar to call for Claire about settling the tab. Sometimes she wishes Abbie would think before she acts; but clearly that's just asking way too much.
Later
"Maura, you've hardly touched your dinner." Constance points out with worry in her voice as she continues to study her daughter closely. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine." Maura mutters as she absentmindedly begins to push her pasta around her plate. "I'm just not all that hungry this evening."
Constance's lips purse into a thin line for a moment before she looks around the table. "Where's Casey?"
At this, Maura shrugs and refuses to raise her eyes from her disheveled plate. "I don't know. She had plans, I suppose."
"And you didn't join her?"
"Wasn't invited…"
"Well that hardly seems fair."
Maura rolls her eyes and sighs heavily, something that her mother hardly ever sees her do in all of its rarity. "Mother it's not that big of a deal. Casey is completely entitled to make plans on her own; plans that don't include me."
Constance looks taken a back for a moment before she turns her attention back to her own dinner. "Well I'm sorry, Dear, I didn't mean to offend you. I was just curious as to why she's out having 'plans' while you're still here at home. I'm sure she wouldn't have minded if you tagged along."
"Yeah, well, I wasn't invited, okay?" Maura halfway snaps at her mother before she places her fork on her plate and rises from her seat. "I'm finished with dinner. I'm going out for a little bit."
"O-okay…please be careful."
"Yes Mother…"
About twenty minutes later, Maura pulls into the driveway behind Alex's jeep. She sighs quietly to herself and pulls her keys out of the ignition before she exits her car and heads up the stone pathway to the house. She knocks gently before ringing the doorbell and steps back, absentmindedly fiddling with her car keys.
A few seconds pass before a blonde appears at the doorway, but it's not particularly the blonde Maura is looking for. "Maura? What're you doing here?" JJ asks in genuine surprise.
"I didn't mean to show up unannounced…I was just coming to see if Alex was here." Maura wonders in response.
"Sorry, she's not. She left about fifteen minutes ago and I can't exactly say when she'll be back." JJ responds earnestly before she steps to the side. "Do you wanna come inside?"
"Thank you." Maura nods as she steps into the house. "Again, I'm sorry for showing up unannounced."
JJ shrugs nonchalantly before shaking her head. "Maura, really it's not that much of a problem." She repeats with a small laugh before her face turns serious. "Is something bothering you? You seem a little…down."
Maura immediately shakes her head though she turns around to avoid being looked at for the moment. "No, nothing's wrong. I just…" she pauses, biting down on her bottom lip for a moment before she spins around again. "Do you think I'm…weird?"
"What?"
"I know it's not necessarily something someone would usually ask you, but I really would like an honest opinion. Do you think I'm weird?"
"Well, I mean, it's not a bad weird." JJ responds carefully. "You know all of us enjoy your…weirdness. You and Garcia are very cool to have around. And between you and me, Garcia's a lot weirder than you are. Why are you asking me this?"
Maura is silent for a moment before she sighs heavily and her shoulders slump. "Because, I think that I'm too weird for Casey to hang out with me."
JJ raises her eyebrows and tilts her head to the side in confusion. "What do you mean? You're her cousin; of course she would wanna hang out with you."
"Yeah, well, she doesn't. That much is obvious. You think it's because I'm not cool like the rest of you? Is it because I don't surf? She likes to talk about surfing you know…maybe it is because I don't surf."
"Maura…"
"And maybe if I learned how to surf then she'd want to hang out with me."
"Maura…."
"Do you think one of you could teach me how to surf? Or at least teach me surfing…lingo is it?"
"Maura!"
"Yes?"
JJ sighs heavily and rubs her temples at the other blondes rambling. "You really gotta not do that…I can only understand you if you speak like a normal person at normal person speed." She states before continuing on. "I'm sure that Casey will like you for you, you're her cousin and you've known her far longer than any of us ever will. Don't let this get you down. She'll spend time with you."
Maura nods her head before glancing down at her hands. "Yes, yes, I suppose you're right." She agrees before her head snaps up. "Wait, you said that Alex wasn't here but her car is parked outside…"
"Oh yeah, she took the bike."
"The bike…?"
Meanwhile…
"I can't believe I let you talk me into this!" Casey shouts over the rush of the wind as it continues to forcefully whip her hair back. As she briefly glances down at the speeding tires of the bike, she can't help but squeal quietly before she tightens her hold around the blonde's waist.
Alex feels an overwhelming sense of warmth over take her as Casey presses herself closer to her body. She mentally shakes herself reminding herself that she needs to focus on the road and on where they're going.
As they continue to speed down the road, Alex eventually slows to a stop by a secluded area of beach. She glances behind her and chuckles when she sees that Casey has her cheek pressed against her shoulder blade as she continues to hold on for dear life. "Hey Red, we're here." She says, gently shaking the redhead.
Casey cracks an eye open, peaking for a brief moment before she realizes that they are in fact no longer moving. "That was insane!" she breaths, standing on rather wobbly legs as she slides off of the back. She adjusts the backpack Alex had commissioned her to wear before she heaves a great huff. "That was by far one of the most terrifying things I've ever done in my entire life."
"That so?" Alex responds with a chuckle as she put the motorcycle keys into the backpack before slipping it from Casey's shoulder. "I'm surprised that you handled it the way you did. The last person I took for a ride on it was Kim and she screamed every time I made a turn."
"Really? She doesn't strike me as a screamer…"
"She's not, and she'd kill me if she knew I told you this story. C'mon."
Casey follows Alex down onto the beach nearly stumbling over a rock as she gets there, blushing heavily when Alex manages to catch her before she can fall. "Um…"
Alex blinks rapidly at their close proximities before she clears her throat. "Um, w—watch your step there." She stammers, her voice suddenly becoming very hoarse."
"Yeah…" Casey whispers in response, glancing down at the blonde's lips for a moment before she clears her throat. "So…we're here at the beach…."
"Yeah…" Alex echoes before she turns around and opens the backpack. She pulls out a large blanket and spreads it on the sand before she plops down and beckons for Casey to join her. "I wasn't sure what your preference for food is so you know, I made a little bit of everything." She explains as she pulls out various Tupperware containers and insulated packages.
Casey raises her eyebrows in surprise as a small smile stretches across her face. "You're just full of surprises aren't you?" she jokes as she opens a container holding warm sandwiches. "And just how many girls have you taken out on a sunset picnic on the beach?"
Alex's fork freezes on the way to her lips as a deep blush begins to creep down her neck. "Ah, not…many." She responds with a sheepish smile.
Casey giggles at being able to fluster Alex before she begins eating her sandwich. As they sit in silence admiring the sun beginning to set down past the horizon, a thought crosses Casey's mind and she finds herself looking to Alex for an answer. "Alex? Is this….um…is this a date?"
"Well…it can be whatever you want it to be." Alex responds, trying to remain cool as she shrugs before her face turns almost childlike. "But…I really would like it to be a date."
"I think…that'd be okay." Casey responds with a blush of her own as she finishes off her meal. "I've been thinking a lot about what you said last night and well…I'm attracted to you too. I just…don't want to dive into things too soon."
"I'm not going to force you into anything you're not ready for." Alex informs her with a soft, serious tone.
Casey laughs quietly before shaking her head. "I know you won't. You don't seem like that type of person." She explains herself before continuing on. "I just…I want to spend time with you."
Alex grins at this before lightly taking Casey's hand in her own. "I think that can be arranged before she brings the redhead's hand to her lips, kissing it softly. "Oh hey, there's something I wanted to ask you. I mean it's really soon, so you can totally say no, but I was wondering…well, there's this team surf competition coming up and well, I was wondering if maybe you'd like to join our team? You don't have to answer right away, but if you'd like to think it over for a little bit, you can. No rush."
"Great. I'll think it over." Casey answers before she notices that Alex is still holding her hand.
Without word, she shuffles closer to the blonde until their shoulders are touching before she gently rests her head on Alex's shoulder. A grin slowly spreads across her face when she feels Alex slip an arm around her waist and pull her closer, all the while their hands are still intertwined.
"Oh yeah, there's something else I wanted to tell you." Alex begins, gently stroking Casey's side with her thumb. "We're going neon surfing tomorrow."
"Great." Casey hums, as she continues to gaze at her fingers linked with Alex's. It takes a moment for her brain to process what was just said and she quickly lifts her head from the blonde's shoulder.
"Wait…What the hell is neon surfing?"
What IS neon surfing? Lol, leave your thoughts!