Zeta Beta Alpha: Casey?
Disclaimer: I don't own LWD
AN: Hope you enjoy :)
Chapter 10:
The End Of The Road
Christina saw Casey as a threat the second she walked into the ZBA house months ago during rush week. At first it was purely about her appearance. Casey looked flawless; a perfect combination of put together chaos. Then when she heard Casey talk...why the hell was that girl so bubbly and upbeat? But she wasn't dumb that girl, no. She was smart, it was obvious. She had done her reading up on the sorority, asking about their history, even though it was clear that she was already filled in. A nerd? Christina had asked herself as she mingled around the room full of potential pledges. She couldn't be a nerd, not with a body like that. Christina was completely intrigued by the pleasant mystery that was held behind this girl.
Later on that night, when the girls gathered to discuss the girls they had meet in rush one mentioned Casey. "Brown hair with the blue eyes. Casey, I think was her name. She seemed pretty cool, and smart too. I liked her," Nikki smiled genuinely.
"Give her a bid," Christina said in an emotionless tone.
The girls were shocked. Chris was never one to give a bid that easily. She usually made the girls give her a lot more information on the girls before deciding that they were a good fit for the house. What's her relationship status? GPA? Major? Any good connections? Networks? That was the usual round of questions. But what the girls didn't know was that Christina was fascinated of this girl. There was something about her that simply made Chris do it. Maybe it was because this Casey girl was a mystery that needed solving. Or maybe Chris just needed her new punching bag. Who really knew?
"Next." She demanded, because it wasn't up for debate. That girl would pledge ZBA, and that was that.
Chris shook her thoughts and laughed. It's funny really how Casey even ended up there. To be Christina's Bitch. What a semester it had been. From Bitch to well... I think it's safe to say pretty close friends. It was hard to tell when things between her and Casey changed. It was probably when she was sitting across the table from Derek and he kept going on and on about her. It broke the final straw. How could she continue to hate this girl, and go after her man when he was clearly in love with her? There were certain lines you did not cross, and even Christina was above home wrecking a stable (loving) relationship, especially her sister's.
"There you are!" Christina yelled to Casey when she ran into the house a few minutes late. You could tell she was exhausted and rushing.
"I'm sorry! There was traffic, and I woke up late and ugh. Did it start yet?" She asked panicked.
Chris rolled her eyes, shocked at what Casey was saying. "I run the show, you think I'd start without my little sister?" she said smiling, a real genuine smile. Christina pulled the younger girl into her arms.
Casey whispered, "Thanks for waiting." After everything that she had gone through in the last couple of days, (losing Derek) she'll be dammed if she did it for nothing. She was going to become a ZBA, no excuses. Notice a similarity between the two ladies?
"No problem kiddo." Christina replied, as if it was no big, but in reality it was a big deal. She had 14 anxious girls inside waiting to become ZBA's but she held off, waiting for Casey's arrival. "Go!" Chris urged Casey, letting her go inside where everyone was seated and ready for the small ceremony.
Christina took a breath before entering the living room that was set up for the occasion with rows of chairs for the pledges and a podium at the front for her. She walked down the impromptu aisle and stood at her podium proudly. Her ego swelled as she felt every pair of eyes lock on her. Yes, her ego could in fact compete with Derek's.
"Good Morning pledges." she spoke with an evil look in her eyes. Yes, the bitch needed to make a final appearance.
Rounds of "Good morning" responded to her.
"Sorry, I had to." She smiled apologetically. "Because, after this, none of you will have to reply to 'pledge' ever again." She said proudly. Applause followed. "It had been a long and interesting semester. It's been tough...and not everyone made it to the end, but here you are. Every girl that stands in front of me...I am proud to now call you all my sisters. Each and ever one of you were chosen for your unique personalities and what we felt would add to our humble house. Congratulations girls, you are all Zeta Beta Alpha's." That was her second time giving the ceremonious speech, and each time it felt like a graduation speech. She almost felt as if the girls should have caps to throw up in the end, but the rest of the house disagreed.
The girls all stood up and applauded with cat calls and whistles as they awaited their pins that their big sisters had for them.
Christina walked off the podium and found Casey. "I think congratulations are in order," she said handing Casey her ZBA pin.
"Thanks Chris," she said again. It seemed like she had a lot to be grateful for from Chris. "Is that it?" She asked.
Christina was taken back. "Were you not moved by my amazing speech?" She asked, mock offended.
"No, no it was wonderful! It's just, if it's over I was hoping to run back to my room and sleep for a bit. All that driving got to me," she said staring at her shoes.
"Well...you don't want to eat? We have a bunch of food." Christina said.
"Nah...I'm okay. Really." She lied with a fake smile. Even Chris could tell it wasn't real, but she didn't push it.
"Fine...but before you go, Nikki has something she needed to show you." She winked with a smile. It was almost weird for Casey to see Chris in such a good and loving mood. She hoped it would stay, because they all knew the wrath of Christina wasn't something they wanted to encounter.
"What is it?" She asked cautiously.
"Why don't you go and find her." Chris said walking away. Hopefully everything went as planned.
"Hey Nick!" Casey said finding the redhead in the crowd of bubbly sisters.
"Casey! Congrats!" She said pulling the girl into her arms.
"Thanks. Um...Chris said you had to show me something?" She asked quickly. As happy as she was to finally be a ZBA, she needed to get out of that house. She was still very upset about the whole Derek thing. She still had a few tears left to cry.
"Yeah," Nikki beamed. "Come on," she said taking Casey's hands and pulling her upstairs.
Casey followed clearly confused but she followed anyways, as if Nikki had left her much of a choice.
"I hope you don't mind but, I realized you were my favorite pledge and well, I had a spare bed. So..." she shrugged getting up to the door to her room. The letters on the front of the door were N and the new addiction of...a C.
Casey gasps. "I'm your new roommate?" she yelled, truly excited.
Nikki nodded, happy that Casey was up for it. She was worried that she'd rather share with someone else. But they were the closest.
"AHH!" Casey yelled opening the door to her new bedroom. She was quickly silenced by the scene in front of her. Half of the room was clearly decorated by Nikki's personal style while the other half was more of a traditional, plain style. Clearly it was her side of the room. Now she had no problem with that, however she had a bit of a problem with the fact that Derek Venturi was lounging across her already made bed, with his dirty sneakers and that stupid smirk on his face.
"Well...I'll leave you two alone!" Nikki said, quickly shutting the door behind Casey as she ran for cover. She knew they were a ticking time bomb and she didn't want to be there for when they exploded. (But she had hopes that Derek could pull this off and make it all better.) She took a deep breath before heading downstairs where the food was being served. Maybe food could distract her from the war that was going on upstairs. Regardless, she couldn't help but cross her fingers in hopes it would all work out.
"Hey," he finally said after a few awkward seconds of silence.
She didn't take a step or say a word. She simply stood there and stared at him, as if she didn't believe this was all happening. As if it were all a bad dream and it could all just go away, but she could click her hells three times, and yet she wouldn't move. Because this was real and she couldn't run away from him this time. Or well...actually she could. But it would cause a scene. And she knew they couldn't afford that.
"Hi," she said as blood started to circulate throughout her body again.
"So it's official?" he asked. Was she really part of it? No going back now huh? Or did she punk out? That would have been bad ass, except he wouldn't have been able to see it which would have sucked.
"Yeah...it's official." She nodded quietly. She couldn't help but cringe as the whole scene felt...wrong. Why was he there? This was not helping at all.
"Well, congrats I guess." He shrugged. He figured she would go through with it but he couldn't help but hope she changed her mind. It wasn't even about Chris or the girls. It was just about her fighting to be with him. Not like Casey being part of the ZBA's would change anything. But still...it was the plan. It would have been nice if she stuck to it.
"You don't mean it." She spat out. Deep down she knew he didn't want her there.
"Why so bitter?" He smirked. He knew they were headed for a fight, there were due for one. He was ready for it, but she...she really wasn't. So she ignored him. "Are you just going to stand there? Come here, test out your new bed. I must say, it's pretty comfy." He added fuel to the already burning fire as she stared at him for a moment before taking a few hesitant steps towards him until she took a seat at the foot of the bed.
"Why so quiet?" He asked. He didn't like it when they were quiet. It scared him not knowing what she was thinking. It was eerie. She usually had no problem sharing her thoughts with him when she was yelling and telling him everything he did wrong. He much rather have that than her complete silence.
"You know why." She muttered under her breath.
He let out a heavy sigh. "You're frustrating." He pointed out.
"I'm frustrating?" She asked completely turning towards him.
He couldn't help but noticed the spike of anger in her voice. Yes, they were finally getting somewhere. He inwardly cheered. This is exactly what he wanted. "Yeah, you!" He yelled back at her.
"Me? You're the one that called everything off. And then you have the decency to show up here, today, with your filthy shoes on my bed!" She yelled, slapping his feet off her bed.
He laughed at her reaction. He easily kicked off his shoes and put his feet in her lap instead. "Better Princess?" He asked with a smug smile. She knew he was looking for trouble.
"Are you going to tell me what you're really doing here?" She said trying her best to keep calm. She was not going to give him what he wanted. No, she was not going to argue with him. He would not get that satisfaction from her. She refused.
"I missed you," he shrugged.
"You missed me?" She said as if she was calling his bluff. "I don't think you're allowed to miss me." She huffed, clearly annoyed by him.
"And why is that?" He asked leaning towards her a bit. He was tempting her, but she stood her ground.
"Because there is no us Derek, right?" She said sending him a wicked smile. She could play hard ball too. He had taught her that.
"You really brought that, huh? Well, I guess I'm just that good at getting under your skin, right Case?" He hissed on her name. Oh, he was loving every moment of this. He had missed this during the last few days. He had gone over it in his head, wondering what it would be like when they finally did talk. This was pretty much what he pictured. But his incrimination was never as good as the real thing. It really did make him so happy to piss her off. Those two sure are dysfunctional.
"You bastard." She said narrowing her eyes.
"You preppy little Princess." He fought back.
"I hate you Venturi," she shook her head and looked away from him, because she was close to giving in. Close to falling into his arms and kissing him like she missed him. But, she couldn't do that. Because it was over...right? Part of her wanted to test out the theory. The other part of her (the more sensible part) wanted to just leave him alone. Go one as if he didn't exist, as if they never had anything...
"Feeling's mutual babe." He said, before slamming his lips onto hers. Obviously he made up her mind for her and she didn't have the strength to push him away, it was clear that she didn't want to. She was done trying to look strong.
"I hate you," she muttered once more, pulling away from his lips. Tears once again falling.
He sighed pulling her down to the bed with him. What was it with this girl and her crying? Why did she refuse to listen to him when he told her he didn't do tears! "Why are you crying?" he asked brushing her hair out of her face as she snuggled into his chest to cry.
"You drive me crazy" she managed to say through the tears hitting him softly. She didn't actually have to strength to hit him though.
"I know," he said pulling the blanket over their bodies.
"I spent the last week crying and being upset cause I thought it was over. And then you walk in here like nothing and decide its not? You can't just do that Derek!" She yelled at him, but he knew it didn't matter. He had won that fight. She had given in and knew that it wasn't over. It never would be.
"You're right, I can't." He went along with her rant. He wasn't going to look for an argument anymore. It was best to agree until she was done.
"But you did...you just did." She cried out grabbing a handful of his t-shirt as she cried. He pulled her in tighter.
"Yup, I did." He laughed, because he was a jerk and he did things like that.
"This isn't funny!" She said looking up at him.
He hated seeing her like that, her blotchy tears streaking down her face and her red eyes. "I know it's not, but what do you want? You want me to just get up and leave you alone...For good?" He asked, confused. Because he was starting to think they were getting somewhere.
"No!" She yelled pushing him back down on the mattress. She didn't want him going anywhere without her. Not anymore, he had his chance to run. He could have stayed away. But he didn't, so he was stuck with her now.
"Then?" He whispered. What did she want?
"Just hold me." She told him, which was pretty hard to say because she hated being so vulnerable. But it was what she needed from him.
So he wrapped his arms around her tiny frame possessively and mumbled sweet nothings in her ear to calm her down. No more fighting, no more tears. No more pain. At least for now.
"You know we owe a lot to the bitch?" He smirked into her hair. It went unseen but she felt it.
"Yeah...we do." She admitted with a sigh. "I would have never asked you out that day." She said as she traced patterns on his chest with her fingertips softly. There was something about laying on Derek that oozed pure comfort that Casey adored. She would have never expected it, but she didn't mind it. She embraced it with open arms and honestly didn't want to move. She wasn't kidding when she told Christina she wanted to go home. She was exhausted but laying there with him seemed like a perfect place to stay.
"We would have never kissed the night of the party." He added with a smile at the pleasant memory that made it a good night. The dancing...people were still talking about it. They hadn't hit up many parties after that, but they had gotten plenty of invites. Everyone wanted to see them live and in person. It was like they were live entertainment. Normally he would be completely against it, but having her dance on him like that, well it made the whole idea a lot more appealing. If that was her completely sober, add a few drinks...what would you get?
"We would have never told each other all those things that night..." she whispered. That may have been her favorite part of the night. But then again that kiss...man it was really something. She would still get goosebumps and a few tingles straight down her body when she thought of it. Yeah, I guess you could say, Derek Venturi could turn girls into putty with one kiss. But she would never admit it to him.
"We wouldn't be here Case." He said placing a soft kiss on her nose, for he was happy that they were there. Sure, she had done something stupid and pushed him away. And sure, he let her do it, but right then, right there was perfect. And he even appreciated all the bad stuff that got them there. Because at least this time, he didn't have to fight her, she walked into his open arms. Because she knew that they needed to give happiness a fair shot.
"Who knew," she smiled looking up at him lovingly.
He missed the sparkle in those blue eyes; he hoped to never see it fade again. He traced her jaw line with his fingertips and tilted her chin up to him. "As long as you're mine." He said before pressing his lips against hers. It was about time he kissed his Princess, the newest member of the Zeta Beat Alphas.
He put The Prince in drive and drove out into the sunset. With one hand on the wheel and the other seemed to be encased in between her small hands which laid on her lap. So it wasn't exactly the dramatic exit they had planned in the beginning, but it was perfect none-the-less. He never thought he'd be dating a sorority girl, but things change. And a lot of things were about to change. Especially the fact that the semester was almost over, they were about to go home. But, they would deal with that when it came. Right now he had to take her out of their real first date.
AN: Well my amazing reviewers, we have come to thee end of this story. I knew this was how I wanted to end it but I don't know...it doesn't seem like I did the story justice. But I definitely left room for a squeal if I come up with something =)
So…What do you think?
Do you hate me for making Chris out to be a good person in the end? I hope I explained her transition well enough.