CHAPTER 8: Things Escalating Quickly

It's a Friday evening and Casey was very exhausted. She just went through a grueling examination for one of her classes in her second term in University of Bristol. But she can't bring herself to sleep yet. She had a ton of things on her mind as of the moment. For starters, she had a gig to attend to the next day which requires her to go to London. What's stressing her out isn't the pressure of doing good during her unpaid gig, but the fact that she had to endure an hour- well more accurately a whole night- with two sickeningly good looking people. The worst, and the best, part of it is that they look the same.

What's worse is that she's actually having weird mixed feelings about the boys, even if she only met them once. One of them makes her want to bite something really hard while the other one makes her want to laugh ridiculously out loud. Jack and Casey had been chatting and text messaging since they met in London two weeks ago where they agreed to keep a little secret, something that not even his identical twin knows. At some point, she felt that Jack is beginning to warm up to her which was somehow, still unsettling.

Jack: You're coming tomorrow right? You're really coming tomorrow?

Casey: I will, Jack. Now go away, I need to sleep because I'm driving early tomorrow!


The next day, Jack woke up early. His sister Emmy, who was already in the kitchen looked at Jack with a very puzzled look. "Why are you up so early?!" she asked him. Out of the Harries siblings, Jack was considered the laziest one around the house. Even during his gap year, he cannot be trusted to wake up early. "I have so many things to do today," Jack answered while setting up his MacBook on the kitchen counter. He also had with him his iPhone which he checked every once in a while. "Are you having an early morning broadcast again?" Emmy asked, curious as to what his older brother was up to. "Nope, we're doing it tonight," Jack said, pouring himself a glass of milk. "But we have a guest!" Emmy wasn't surprised. During the first gap year, the twins kept inviting other YouTubers around to make videos and these weird people stayed for days in their house like they were an extended family or something. Though their parents didn't complain about it, Emmy thought it was still much of a hassle having strangers in the house. "Who's coming over?" she asked as she sat beside his brother, flipping her long, blonde hair. "A friend of mine" Jack answered with a smile. He took his iPhone and texted again.

Jack: Good morning sleepy head! Drive safely, this isn't America!

Casey was already driving when she saw the text message. She smiled and dialed Jack's number instead of texting him back. "Hello? Why are you calling?" he answered, his voice filled with amusement that made Casey laugh. "Did you know that in America it's illegal to text while driving?"

"Really now?!"

"Well in most states it is. So stop texting me because I can't answer you."

"Alright, are you on the road now?"

"Yep and it's practically traffic-free! I might be able to come over early after all!"

"Really, so how do we go about this. If you get here earlier do I still pick you up at Nando's?"

"What about I pick you up at Nando's, cheeky Jack?" Casey said mocking Jack's British accent which made him laugh. Emmy watched him curiously as he talked to the phone. "I like that, let's do that!" The two bid their goodbyes just as soon as Finn walked into the kitchen. "Looks like our guest is coming in early!" Jack announced. "Casey?" Finn asked as he rummaged through the refrigerator. "Is she on her way now?" Emmy silently sneaked out of the kitchen while the two talked about their jobs. While her brothers bask in the limelight brought about by YouTube, Emmy Lou would rather stay out and be a regular kid.

"She'll meet us at Nando's later. Where do you reckon we could take her for lunch?" Jack asked as he opened up his laptop's browser to check on his social media accounts. Finn thought for a while as he poured his cereals in a bowl. "Well, how about we introduce her to some of the Crew and have lunch at Ping's?" Jack looked up at Finn who seem to be enjoying cereals on a daily basis lately. "Do you reckon she'd be fine with that? I don't think she knows other YouTubers other than us." Finn took another spoonful of cereals in his mouth, chewed a bit and said, "I think she'll be fine!"


Casey rounded the corner to the street where Nando's was. It's half past 11 and she was getting hungry. She spotted a guy leaning on a wall on the side of the street just a few steps from Nando's his iPhone on his right hand and a penny board on the other. She halted beside him and rolled down the windows. "Finn?" she asked, still quite unsure who he was because this twin was wearing eyeglasses. Jack also had to take a second look before realizing it was Casey, in glasses, a tight fitting pink top and a ponytail. He leaned down the car window, "Yes, I'm Finn!" he smiled his cheeky smile, opened the door on the passenger's side and climbed in beside Casey. She gazed at the man who now sat beside her and noticed he's wearing bracelets on his right wrist. She tried to remember, based on their Twin Mail videos, whether it was Jack or Finn that wore more bracelets. "You're not Finn!" She said watching as the man snickered at her. "I am Finn! Now could you please move on, we can't park here!" Jack looked at her and he pointed to the road ahead. Casey laughed and changed gears then steered the wheel, "I know who you are, you're Jack!"

"How do you know?" Jack asked, interested as to how Casey would know the difference between him and his twin when she haven't really had the chance to talk to Finn as much as she did with him. "First of all, you're wearing bracelets on your right wrist and as far as I remember Finn wears very few bracelets on his left wrist. Second, Finn's hair is always on the... Left side? I think... And lastly, I think I did say I'll pick up cheeky Jack and not cheeky Finn." she said, looking at Jack who was smiling so broadly.

"Jesus Christ, you say all that like you're a fangirl!"

"I'm not a fangirl Jack, I'm just an observant bitch" she answered, her eyes on the road. "I just thought you were Finn because you're wearing those damned glasses." Jack laughed. In the family where he grew up, females weren't favored when they cuss or talk loudly or swear. But Jack had different perspectives when it comes to people in general and for him Casey was one of those people who he revered for being so naturally different. "Where the heck are we going, Jack?" she asked as they halted on a stoplight. Jack looked around them, they were a few blocks away from Ping where Finn and the rest were waiting for them. "Why don't you let me drive," Jack said still looking at her. Casey looked at him quizzically. "Okay," she answered with uncertainty. She pulled over on the side of the road and they both got out of the car. Jack waited for Casey to cross over to his side and left the door open for her and as she climbed into the car, Jack couldn't help but give her a once over. Nice ass... He shook his head to drive the cheeky thoughts away and closed the door for her before moving to the other side to drive.


Finn was at Ping together with Caspar, Marcus and Zoe and were busy playing ping pong. It's been a while since he and Jack got to hang out with their friends because they had been very busy with their other projects. "There's Jack," Finn said pointing to his twin who just got in. "Who's that with him?" Caspar asked, his eyes directed at Casey who was standing beside Jack. "She looks... American." Finn looked at his friend who seemed very interested in Casey. "She IS American," he answered while waving at Jack. "She a friend of Jack's, she's studying at Bristol." As they were nearing, Caspar ogled the woman beside Jack and whispered to Finn. "Look at those boobs..." Finn hissed a quiet and giggly "shut up" to him as Jack and Casey went up to them. "Where are my dumplings?" Jack said as he took a chair and sat down. "Hi Finn!" the girl greeted sweetly. Finn managed a small hello and moved to let her sit beside him and Caspar, knowing full well that Caspar would be happy to get to know their new friend. Casey, whose heart was almost disintegrating in her chest, sat beside Finn, looked at him with adoration and smiled. "Did you know Jack told me he was you a while ago but I didn't believe him?"

"Really? How did you know?" Finn asked with his eyes on Caspar who was almost squirming shyly in his seat. "I'm observant..." she answered shyly, blushing just a bit. Finn smiled at her and she felt her insides churning. "Oh, do you know Caspar Lee? He's a YouTuber too!" Finn pointed at the blonde South African who was silently sipping on his iced tea. "Caspar, this is Casey!" he said. Caspar managed a small hi and went on to eat a dumpling. "Hello!" Casey said turning to the shy boy beside her. "I don't think I've seen your videos yet but I promise to watch from now on," she said with a smile. Caspar blushed a little and smiled back. "Thank you! Finn says you're an American?"

"Yeah," she answered. "But I live in Bristol now. I'm studying at Bristol, but I'm originally from LA."

"I didn't know that," Jack said as he ate a dumpling. "Well now you do" Casey answered, still smiling and blushing as she felt Finn's legs right beside hers. Jack also introduced her to Marcus who was beet red and flushing after a hearty ping pong game with Zoe who hugged her tight. Jeez, she smells like raspberries. They were all very chatty to her, which she loved despite the fact that she felt a little shy around them. Zoe even whipped out her camera introduced her briefly in her vlog. By 2:30PM she and twins were back in the car and on the road to the Harries' residence with Jack driving and Finn at the back. "So what do we do until 10PM?" Casey asked when they got out of the car.

"Well, I thought we could make a new video..." Jack said as he lead her into the house.

"Wait, we?"

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