CHAPTER 25: House Arrest

Casey's dad was a cool dad. He was so cool, in fact, that when she opened the fridge she saw the top level filled with packs of canned beer which had the note: "I like the boys so you guys have fun. I went out for my own kiki. P.S. You promised not to be too noisy." She smiled and took one whole pack out of the fridge. Things like these remind her why she was a happy kid. And she still is. She took a big bag of crisps from their well stocked cupboard and called Ken to help pick up the beer. Who wouldn't be happy when you have the house all to yourself and you have all your good friends with you?!

"Casey, What is up with you and Jack?!" Ken said as they walked from the kitchen to the stairs. She had to stop walking because Ken went ahead of her and leaned against the banister. "What are you talking about?!" she asked, her eyes wide with surprise. Ken placed the pack of beers down and crossed his arms. "Okay girl, it's time to get real." Upstairs, in her bedroom, she can hear the boys moving her bed and a few more stuff to fit in the extra mattresses. "I know you've been crushing on Finn ever since you saw him in London. But what do you feel about Jack?" Casey stared at Ken blankly. What am I feeling? "You know, I can see that he likes you Casey, more than Finn does and way more than you can see! I just have a different feeling about him... It's like..." Casey breathed in and mustered up sincerity from deep within her. "Ken, you are over thinking this. Nothing is happening between the three of us. Finn and I are flirty only because people seem to like it. Jack is sweet and concerned and... touchy... because..." There was an awkward silence as Ken waited for her reply. "...we're... really close!"

"CC, is it okay if we move your dresser a bit?" Finn said, interrupting their conversation. They looked up to the green-eyed angel and she smiled and nodded. "Yeah, sure! I'll be there in a sec!" she flashed him an uneasy smile as he left. She then turned back to her best friend. "Oh my god he is such a flirt! Did you see how he looked at you? It's like he is peeling your-"

"Ken!"

"What?! I'm just saying!"

"Don't say it, okay, I don't want to hear it." Silence. It was like Ken was looking through a transparent version of a Barbie. He smiled at her and touched her hair. "I understand... I promise to zip my lips now." She smiled. "Thanks," she reached over and kissed him on the cheek which made him smile. "Now let's go back to that kiki!" They got up and went back to Casey's room which now looked like a sea of mattresses.

Casey woke up the next day with the sound of the telephone ringing downstairs. She looked at the digital clock on her bedside table. It was 7 in the morning. "What the fuck..." Lazily, she sat up, rubbed her eyes and took her prescription glasses from the drawer in her bedside table. She looked around her and saw the mess of look alike bodies on the mattresses on her floor along with seemingly endless cans of beers and cigarette butts. Beside her, Ken was starting to move as well. "Case, someone's calling..." he said, still groggy from sleep. She waited for the phone to stop ringing but it didn't. It rang and rang, crying for attention. "Jeez, I'm coming!" Grumpily, she got up from bed and ran downstairs. "Hello?"

"Oh, hello! Good morning, are you James' daughter?" She was surprised the caller knew her. "Uh, yes who is this?" she asked, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Oh, this is Mildred from next door!" Casey looked out the window which was about a foot away from the neighbor's window. She saw a middle aged woman wearing a frilly cotton dress waving at her. She waved back and smiled. "Oh hi! My name is Casey, what can I do for you?" It was the first time, since she came to Bristol, that she was able to talk to a neighbor. "Hello Casey! Is your dad in there?" she asked, her British accent thick through the phone's earpiece. "No, he went out last night. It's just me here and a couple of friends." Her heart thumped. Shit, were we that noisy last night? Dad's going to kill me... "Oh I see... Well, I just called because I wanted to check if everything's... Alright..." Casey was confused. "Uhm, yeah everything's fine Mildred, thanks for asking. Is there a problem?"

"Oh, okay... I just thought something bad happened inside because there seems to be a very large... Uhm... Group of people on your lawn?"

"What?"

"There's a bunch of teenagers waiting outside your house... They have been there since... I don't know, some of them were there last night, some came in early this morning, about 5AM and..." Casey tuned out. She clasped the mouthpiece of the wireless phone and went to the window near the door. "Oh. My. God..." There were teenage girls waiting in front of their house, some of them even carrying posters and gifts. Some were looking at the house, some were waiting at the curbside, some were on the edges of their manicured lawn talking and giggling.

"Jack! Wake up!" He felt someone shaking him on the shoulder. "What?" he moaned in protest. "There are fans camping outside my house!" Casey said whispering to his ear. "What?" he said again opening one eye. As he opened his eyes fully, Casey came into focus. She was leaning down on him, her blue camisole and pajamas hung about her, giving him a full view of her cleavage though she doesn't seem to notice. Her brown eyes stared back at him and her long brown hair touched his cheek. Jesus, what a sight. "Come on, Jack!" She pulled his arm and forced him to sit up. "Casey what are you doing?" She stood up and pulled him more, asking him to stand up and follow her. With a heavy body, Jack stood up and Casey took his hand. He looked down and watched their intertwined hands again as she led him to the big window in the hallway. This could be a thing... "Jack, look!" He peered out the window where she was pointing and his eyes went wide. Some of the girls were peering inside the red Mini Cooper which was parked on the driveway. Most of them were waiting outside, scattered on the street. "Jesus Christ! What is that?!"

"You tell me! I don't think those are MY fans..."

"But how did they know that we're here? We didn't tweet anything and the video isn't out yet!"

"Probably because you drive a really noticeable red Mini Cooper? I don't know, my neighbors have been calling me asking me if I was okay!"

"What's happening?" Finn said, sleepily. He rubbed his eyes and went out of the room. Casey tried her best not to gape at the sight of him, his hair was ruffled sexily on his head."I think you need to dress up and fix your hair because your fans are waiting for you," she said. They stood there for a few seconds, watching teenage girls sauntering outside, waiting for them. One of the girls noticed the three brooding near the windows. "Hey, there they are!" The girls begun talking loudly, calling out to them. The neighbors were starting to look out the streets to see what the commotion was all about. "Holy fuck, Casey?!" they heard Ken say. She went inside and saw that he was wide awake. "What is happening right now? Why are we being mobbed?!" there was panic in his voice that Casey has never heard of. She forgot that he wasn't a YouTuber and he hasn't fully realized the power of the community built around it. "Relax, they just wanted to see us."

"So what are you going to do now?" Ken asked

"We can't be on house arrest, we need to dress up and meet them." Jack answered smugly.

A few minutes after, Casey and the twins appeared on the driveway to meet the fans. "Oh my god, you're so pretty!" one of the teenage fans commented as they hugged her. "Thank you! How did you guys know my address?" she asked. "Oh, I took them here, I'm sorry... Do you remember me?" one of the girls said. "Of course! You're May, I hosted your birthday party!" she answered, hugging May and her friends. While their little neighborhood wondered what was going on outside their house, Casey and the twins have managed to meet and greet everyone. There were about 25 people or so, most of them brought gifts and packs of Maoams for all the three of them. There were hundreds and hundreds of pictures taken. At some point, Finn came towards the pack of girls that surrounded Casey and said hi to them which sent many of them reeling. "Finn we totally ship you with Casey!" one if the girls said.

"Oh, thank you! I ship us too!" he answered laughing and giving the girl a high five. Casey just shook her head, smiling broadly with Finn on her side. Since her summer in London, she had gotten very used to people pairing her with Finn. The Finnsey fandom was starting to grow so well since her previous video that all she can find on Tumblr when she searches her name are photos of her and Finn taken on the streets, in shops, on meet and greets and even in videos and vlogs that they were in. It was as if they have created two different individuals based on themselves for the amusement of their fans. However, for Casey, it wasn't a painful sacrifice to make. She liked Finn, that she knew too well. Besides, the Finnsey fandom has become her shield against haters whom she can never escape. "Can you two kiss for us?"

"What?! No!" Casey said laughing. Sometimes these fans can get ahead of themselves. "I can give her a cheeky kiss on the cheek though, if that's okay?" Finn argued, looking at her. His dark green eyes spoke to her as if telepathically transferring messages to her brain. Just say yes... Casey smiled. "Fine, but this is just a friendly ki-" But Finn went ahead and kissed her on the cheek anyway. For a split second, he held her waist tightly beside him and pecked her cheek which went instantly red. The girls squealed and asked for one more so they can take a picture. While Casey was protesting, Finn had already been planting three, four, five kisses on her left cheek and all she could do was laugh while everyone squealed.

A couple more minutes and the three decided it was time to cut the mini meet and greet session. Jack and Finn started saying goodbye to the girls and hugging them while Casey took a few more pictures before going back in. One of the girls asked Casey if she was going to Summer In The City. "Oh no, I don't think so. I haven't got an invite yet but I'll let you know!" She felt a hand clasping hers and pulling her away. As she turned, he saw Jack smiling at her. "What did the girl say?" Jack asked once they closed the door behind them. "She asked me if I am coming to SITC."

"Are you?" Jack asked, remembering the event that they confirmed to be in on August. "Oh no... I don't have invites to that and the tickets are sold out..." Silence.

"Do you want to come with me?"

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