September 12th, Wednesday - Casey Silpetti
Casey walks through the cafeteria and outside, looking for an empty table to sit at. Aiden is at a soccer meeting, getting ready for tonight’s game. The last two classes are cancelled today, a Pep Rally is planned to get all the students worked up into a frenzy for the game.
She sees Veronica sitting off by herself, waving her over. She smiles and heads over to the younger girl’s table. “Heya Case! Beautiful day out today, isn’t it? Should be just perfect for the game tonight!”
Casey nods as she sits. “Yep. I’m hoping I can get some good pictures for the school paper.” ‘And the paying newspaper,’ she thinks to herself.
A sudden shadow falls over her, and she hears the sickeningly familiar voice of May from over her shoulder. “Veronica, we have an empty seat over at our table if you want to come sit with us. You know image is everything, you have to watch who you’re seen with, dear.”
Casey feels the anger rise up like a fist caught in her throat. Veronica’s smile has faded away, leaving her looking upset. Casey stands and turns towards May. “Good advice May. But we can’t have her sitting with you, people might get the idea she’s a stuck-up skank or something.”
May turns an ugly purple color. “Bitch, you don’t even deserve any of my time.” She spins quickly to walk away, and slams into Cadence, making her fumble and drop her drink and dessert. “Damnit! Watch where you’re going, cow! Geez, they let anyone into this school. Next thing you know, my maid’s kids are going to be accepted here!”
Cadence just stares up at her with cold, hard eyes. Casey can see her hand hanging from her sling tighten into a hard fist, and can feel the anger radiate off the other girl. She hears a startled gasp from behind her in reaction to May’s words, and the screech of a chair being pushed back.
“Hey Celaeno, doesn’t Phineas have some food you need to go steal, so you can do your whole binge and purge thing? Get out of here, and leave my friends alone!”
Silence falls, and everyone turns back to Veronica, who’s glaring at May. She looks away and turns her attention to Casey and Cadence. May mutters “Freak,” and walks away.
“Celaeno?” Cadence asks.
“Phineas?” Casey echoes.
Veronica looks between the two of them. “You know, the Harpy? That kept stealing all the food from the king?”
Cadence and Casey both start to chuckle, and it doesn’t take long before Veronica joins them and the chuckles turn to outright laughs. All three sit down, their laughs slowly dying away.
Cadence wipes her eyes. “You sure told her, tiger. I’ll have to remember to stay on your good side.”
Roni smiles happily. “Durn tooting. Here’s half of my brownie, since yours is… well, smooshed. You can have some of my soda too.”
The three sit in comfortable silence. Veronica looks over at Casey. “Oh, guess who I got to meet last night! The cops that rescued me!” She nods as Casey and Cadence respond to her news. “Yep, the mayor had a little ceremony last night to thank them, and so we all could thank them too. In fact, they’re going to start being assigned to our guard duty. The two STARS guys who actually pulled me out of the building are on duty today. They’re so nice! And the mayor even assigned some of his personal people - some of the ones that were actually the ones who found me - to my detail too! That scary woman my mom hired is gone; I have the mayor’s personal guards now. Isn’t that cool?”
Casey tries to be enthusiastic, even though she has a bad feeling settle in her stomach, “That’s great! So, no more secret service, or are the mayor’s people and the officers in addition to the service guys?”
“Oh, the Secret Service guys are still there! I wouldn’t go anywhere without Fetch, me or my sister both! He’s our personal hero. No, the mayor just wanted to personally add a little bit more, as though more crazies were going to pop out the woodwork to try and kidnap me again.”
“Hey, don’t joke about that tiger,” Cadence says with a hard look on her face. “You gotta be careful. Just cause they say they got all those nutjobs doesn’t mean they did. I think we all want to see you safe, k?”
Casey nods in agreement and Veronica looks away, blushing slightly. Casey recognizes the look; the younger girl isn’t used to having friends who care, either.
They chit chat some more until Harmony sits down. “So did anyone else notice the extra manpower around school today? There are cops hanging out here…and they’re not bad looking,” Harmony says instead of “Hello.”
The three other girls just start laughing, Harmony staring at each of them in turn. “Harm, they’re on Veronica detail,” Casey says as she tries to control her laughter. “You do always know how to make a point…especially when it involves hot guys. What would Jake say?”
“Eh, he knows how I am. He won’t care. So V, Cade, did you get dresses yet for the dance? And don’t say you’re not going Connor, because even if you’re tired, we have tables set up, you can just sit and enjoy some snacks and drinks…non-alcoholic of course, unless you have a friend with a flask.” Harmony winks at her with that comment. “You have to at least come see all the work I’m putting in on this dance. Which by the way Case, after the Pep Rally, I have a meeting for the dance, and then I was gonna go straight to the game, you don’t need to go home for anything do you?”
The girls all stare at Harmony this time until Casey jumps in, “OK, there were way too many topics in that little talk there, Harm. First question to Roni and Cadence, did you get dresses yet for the dance?”
“I’m wearing one I had at home from a banquet we had to go to for my mom. Nobody here has seen it,” Roni pauses for a second, thinking, “except maybe Chance Mors, I think he was at that banquet too. At least I know his dad was there.”
“Connor?” Harmony asks, “How ‘bout you?”
“Uh, no, I didn’t have time. They only convinced me yesterday to go, and I had PT after school.”
“You can come over to my house after school today Cadence, before the game. Bianca and I each have a ton of dresses, and mom doesn’t like us to wear them more than once if there’s a chance we’ll be photographed in them. You’re Binks’s size, I’m sure you can borrow one of hers.”
“Thanks tiger, but I have PT after school today too. I probably won’t even be at the whole game.”
“You can come over after the game then. You’ve got to have a dress for the dance.”
Cadence pauses for a minute, “Umm…I think I can do that.”
“Cool!”
“OK, that’s settled, onto Harm’s next question. No, I don’t need to go home for anything. I’ll shoot some pix of the pep rally for the school paper, and probably the yearbook; and I can at least get the film developed before the game starts and print the pictures tomorrow. If nothing else I can edit my American History paper that’s due Friday and work on my Trig homework.”
They all finish eating and chat amicably almost until it’s time to go to class. Harmony sees May glaring at them from across the way. “So, ummm…why is May giving our table the stink eye?”
“Oh, well, she came over at the beginning of lunch and said some pretty nasty things,” Casey starts.
“Yeah and then Casey got a little upset and called her… well, something she is,” Roni continues.
“And then Veronica added some way smart mean shit, and May left in a huff,” Cadence finishes. “It was kinda crazy. But good.”
“Sorry I missed it,” Harmony says. “Oh well, maybe next time. I’m sure May won’t be able to keep her bitchiness at bay for long, and she loves the attention, so you just know it’ll be an attempt at public humiliation. Although, she does seem to be gunnin’ for ya Silpetti, so you may want to steer clear unless someone else is around.”
“I’ll keep that in mind, Harm. Uh, thanks.”
The bell rings and they all break for class, saying they’ll meet up again at the Pep Rally.
The Pep Rally itself is kind of fun. Principal Durst comes out and gives her normal speech about the upcoming school year and soccer season. May comes out and stands with principal Durst, and they both remind everyone about the Kick-Off Fall Formal Dance this Friday night. As the Social Chair, May goes over all the hard work that has gone into getting everything ready.
Then the cheerleaders and Pep Squad come out and do their thing, working the crowd into a frenzy. In the middle of that, the soccer team comes out in their uniforms, each of them introduced over the loudspeakers.
The coach gets on the microphone, giving a rousing and feel-good speech about how much ass they’re going to kick tonight.
Things eventually wind down, and Harmony excuses herself to head out to the dance meeting. The crowd starts to mingle out on the gym floor, and music starts playing over the speakers. Small events and games are being held, things like face-painting and pictures with the cheerleaders and soccer members.
It’s also during the Pep Rally that Casey gets her first look at Veronica’s new security detail. She recognizes Fetch when he takes up a spot where he can watch both Bianca and Veronica, but the other guy who does the same is new. He’s a massive, imposing looking man. He wears the suit and tie he’s in uncomfortably, and the clean lines of the designer suit do nothing to hide his impressive physique. Short, close cropped hair tops a head that sits on a neck almost as thick as Casey’s waist. She cannot see his eyes thanks to the sunglasses he wears, and is almost thankful for that. Pale scars cross his cheek and mouth, and she can see that part of his left ear is missing.
He watches the crowd intently, almost like a predator hunting in the wild. His nostrils flare, as if he were a bloodhound that could sniff out danger before seeing it. He stands almost motionless, his head turning slowly, and she gets the feeling that he is looking for something, and the way his nostrils flare, maybe it is something he can smell.
Cadence leaves early to go to her PT, promising to be back for at least the end of the game. Casey heads over to the art building so she can process the negatives for the film she just took, and work a little on her homework.
She does make sure to get outside to the bleachers in time to get a good seat, but Veronica and Bianca have made sure that it wasn’t necessary after all. The new guard moves to stop her as she walks up, but Fetch says something to him and he pulls up short. Fetch smiles and gives Casey a little wave as she walks over and sits next to the sisters, who both chirp up with ‘hello’s.’
Harmony shows up a short time later, and asks loudly whether or not Fetch can be hired for personal occasions, like birthday parties. Casey just plants her face in her hand, even as Roni gasps in stunned amusement and Bianca chuckles awkwardly.
The game gets ready to start, and Casey preps her camera. The spot she’s in now is pretty good for pictures, but there are better. She looks around to see if there is a better spot to move to during half-time, when she notices something odd. Or someone odd, is the better way to put it.
There’s a guy with a press tag on, sitting across and to her side. That’s not odd, but where he is sitting is. With her photographer’s eye, she can tell that his sightlines must be horrible up there. He has a camera on his lap, so it’s not like he’s just taking notes or anything. But for him to be able to get any pictures up there, it’s just not likely.
Her attention is broken by the team coming onto the field, the cheerleaders raising the crowds’ volume up to even higher levels. She starts taking pictures, but tells herself that at half-time she’s going to go check out that guy a little closer.
As night falls, she changes film and her settings to compensate. Luckily the spot lights are pretty strong, and she has a cheap’o monopod in her bag that she can extend to help steady her camera, and a lot of practice in using it.
As she’s setting it up, she looks over at the press guy who caught her attention earlier. He’s still there, and now the way he’s in the shadows his compositions have to be even worse. He’s not alone anymore, it looks like a girl – maybe a student, she looks young – is sitting next to him.
She’s almost finished getting her camera setup when a sudden chill rushes over her. She looks around, and notices that someone has walked up to Veronica’s new bodyguard. He’s dressed similar to the other bodyguard, but looks nothing like him. He’s nowhere near as overtly muscular; instead he has a whipcord thin physique.
His pale face is craggy and handsome; his hair cut short and neat. The two guards nod at each other, and the first walks off, leaving the new one to take his place. There is a dark magnetism about the man, but also an undercurrent that frankly chills Casey to the core.
Half-time finally gets here, and everyone gets up to stretch and get some refreshments. Casey looks over to where the press guy and the girl were, and notices empty seats.
“Hey Silpetti, want a hotdog and soda? I’ll be right back.” Harmony jets off to grab the goods.
Cadence also shows up. She no longer has the cane – which she had barely been using the past two days – or the sling on. The new bodyguard goes to stop her, and Fetch doesn’t notice at first, his attention off on Bianca, who had walked away with Harmony.
The new bodyguard holds his hand out to stop Cadence, and stares at her oddly. She’s doing a good job of looking normal, but Casey’s seen the look she has before. It’s that hard, judging look, the one she gives something that she thinks could be a threat. She’s tense, and Casey can imagine that in just another second she’s going to do something – but she’s not sure if it will be fight or flight.
Fetch finally notices what’s going on, and calls out to the mayor’s man to let Cadence pass, she’s been cleared. They both stand there for a long moment, ignoring Fetch and everyone else except each other. The guard shoots Cadence an odd smile, and steps aside, but his eyes watch her entire walk over to their seats.
Harmony and Bianca show up about that time and in all the talk don’t notice what just happened. Cadence is smiling and nodding, slipping back into the poker face that Casey has notices she wears so well.
“Who’s winning,” she asks.
Harmony nearly jumps to answer. “We are! Jake and Aiden are having a banner night, they’re killing the other team! Jake is getting so lucky tonight!”
Bianca snickers at her reply, even as her sister goes red. Cadence just rolls her eyes, but she’s smiling too.
Cadence glances back at the security guard, and leans forward towards Veronica. “Hey tiger, I’m not gonna be able to make it to check out those dresses. But I talked to my mom, and I’m gonna go shopping for one before Friday. So you don’t need to worry about me, but thanks.”
“Ok, as long as you’re getting one and going though.”
“Oh shhh shhh shhhhh…” Harmony bounces up and down. “They’re coming back out!”
The game continues, with Blake Holsey edging out a rather nice win over their opponents. Everyone whoops and cheers as the team heads off the field to the locker rooms, and then the stands start to clear. Harmony grabs Casey’s arm, “Come on, let’s go meet the guys.” as Casey hears Cadence tell Roni and Bianca goodbye and that she’s heading home.
Casey turns toward Cadence, “Hey, I know it’s only across campus, but I kinda wanted to ask you something, you care if I walk you home?” Cadence looks a little wary but finally nods yes. “Harm, I’ll meet you and the guys in the parking lot, kay?” Harmony doesn’t even bother to answer, just heads toward where the guys will come out of the locker room. Casey waves bye to Roni and Bianca and Roni leans down to give her and Cadence each quick hugs.
Casey and Cadence walk slowly toward Cadence’s apartment in comfortable silence. Once they’re away from the masses, Casey speaks up, “So, I was just wondering what you thought of the new guard you met?” She rambles on before Cadence can answer. “It’s just that you seem kinda sensitive to some things that not everyone notices and he gave me chills, and I just don’t know about him, or the other guard that left before you got there, and uh, so what did you think of him?”
Cadence is quiet for a long moment, and Casey starts to wonder if she’s even going to respond. Finally, she does though. “There was another guard before him? Of course, that makes sense…” the last bit is under her breath, Casey almost not hearing it. She turns back to Casey.
“I don’t like him. He’s…. he’s not what I was expecting from for being one of the mayor’s men. I like V, and Bianca too. They’re both nice girls. Fetch is good… he’s one of the good guys. But this new guard… and if the other is anything like him, it’s not good.
She goes silent after that, lost deep in thought and not really responding to Casey until they get almost all the way to her apartment.
Casey tries changing topics, “So, are you really going to the dance, cuz uh, I think, no I know, Roni’s expecting you to, and I think she’d be uber-disappointed if you didn’t go…”
Cadence turns a little away from Casey, who can tell that she’s trying to hide her sudden blush in the darkness. “That’s because I think V might be a little too friendly for her own good, sometimes. But yeah, I like… ya’ll, so I’m gonna go. I haven’t been to a dance in a while, the last one I went to… ahh… didn’t go so well.” She turns to Casey and smiles playfully. “You have to promise to share Aiden for at least one dance though, so I’m not a wallflower all night!”
They make it to the apartment and Cadence heads up the porch steps to the door. “Hey Cade, just wanted to remind you…if you ever need to talk, or just want to hang out, give me a call. You’ve got my number.” She waves bye and heads toward the parking lot to meet up with Harmony and the guys.
Casey finds them all hanging out by Jake’s car. “Good game guys! I think you two were the super soccer stars.” They laugh and Aiden pulls her toward him and into a kiss. Casey turns around toward Jake and Harmony, noticing they’re quite cozy, and Aiden keeps her against him, his arms around her waist. “So, what’s the plan? I’m assuming there’s a plan…”
“You hungry?” Harmony asks.
“Starved.”
“Good, then we’re going to eat. What do you feel like eating?”
“Seriously, that’s all you guys have for a plan? You’re hungry and I get to pick?” She laughs. “Great plan. Ummm…how ‘bout Chinese?”
Jake quickly says, “No, I can’t stand the smell.”
“Uh, Mexican?” Harmony vetoes that choice. “Pizza?” That gets vetoed by the guys since that’s what they had for lunch at their soccer meeting. “OK, seriously, what do you guys want to eat?”
“Burgers.” (Aiden) “Sushi.” (Harmony) “Thai.” (Jake)
“And, now I see why there wasn’t much of a plan. I’m vetoing Thai, sorry Jake. I don’t think I’ve ever had sushi, so I guess I vote burgers.” Everyone finally agrees that burgers are OK and pile into Jake’s SUV. They head over to the same greasy spoon where Aiden and Casey went after the town hall meeting. They chat all through dinner, each couple unable to keep their hands off their partners. A bunch of other kids from school and some alumni are at the diner and the mood is high. They ask for their bill and are told that one of the alumni has paid already. They drop a tip on the table and head out, to cheers from the still jubilant fans.
Jake drives back to the school. Aiden grabs Casey’s hand, “Thanks for the ride man. Harmony, I’ll give Casey a ride home.” Casey manages to say “See ya” before Aiden drags her out of the car. Casey looks back to see Harmony practically jump across the console and onto Jake’s lap. She laughs as Aiden presses her up against his car and kisses her hard. She feels him, hard against her stomach as they stop kissing for air. “You drive me crazy, you know that right?”
She doesn’t answer, just blushes and hides her face against his chest. He takes her chin and forces her to look at him. “You have since last year, all the way through Chem as my lab partner, and probably before that. You’ve always intrigued me Casey. This is how I am every time you’re around.” He bumps his hips against her, making his point. She tries to look away again and he doesn’t let her. Casey just bites her lower lip and Aiden runs his thumb across her lips. “Come on.” He kisses the tip of her nose and opens the door for her to get in.
They ride in quiet for a little bit until Casey speaks up. “Oh, I called Mr. Mors today, like he said to, about my photos, and he has a big job I might get. I have to go see him about it tomorrow after school, but he wants a digital camera for the project, so I may have to borrow one of the school’s but I don’t know.”
“Casey, that’s awesome! I’m sure he wouldn’t have told you to call him about it if he wasn’t interested in having you do it. I’m sure you’ll do great.”
“Oh, and uh, he said Chance is having an after-dance party and that me and my friends should all come over for it. Did, uh, did Chance mention it to you?”
Aiden puts his hand on Casey’s thigh, pretty high up. “He invited the whole team. I was gonna ask you later if you wanted to go. Whaddya think?”
“I think if Mr. Mors thinks I need to go to this party to get this job, I’m totally there! But if Chance is even remotely crude, we’re leaving.”
“Sounds like a plan.” He turns and grins at her, quickly turning back to the road as he pulls in his driveway. Aiden grabs his school bag and his gym back with his dirty uniform in it and Casey grabs her bag and they go inside. His parents don’t even seem to realize he’s come home and they sneak up to his room. They drop their bags and Aiden starts kissing Casey’s neck, unbuttoning her shirt at the same time.
Casey giggles a little at the thought that they might get caught, “What if your parents come in?”
His fingers start tracing circles around her nipples through her bra. “They don’t even realize I’m home, and their room is all the way across the house. They don’t come in my room, unless they really have to.” He reaches over and locks the door. “Better?”
She nods yes as she starts unbuttoning his shirt. Aiden kisses down Casey’s chest , sucking on each breast through her bra as she pushes his shirt off his shoulders and throws it somewhere across the room. He unzips her skirt and pushes it down her legs. She steps out of it as he leads her over to his bed, laying her down. He pushes down her bra cups and sucks and licks her nipples as she squirms under him. He moves down her body, making her squirm even more as he hits her ticklish spots, teasing her. He continues further down her body, his breath warm through her panties. He slowly slides Casey’s panties down her legs and focuses his attentions between her thighs, lifting her legs up onto his shoulders. He draws out her orgasm before pulling away, shedding the rest of his clothes and slipping on a condom. He nudges her legs further apart, kissing her as he pushes inside. Casey rakes her fingers through his hair, her hips lifting to meet his as she kisses the crook of his neck. Casey goes over the edge again, Aiden quickly following. He rolls on his side to not crush her and softly strokes her cheek. Casey kisses him gently. He disappears to the bathroom to get rid of the condom and comes back to bed, pulling her tight against him. “Stay here tonight, Case. Harmony won’t miss you.”
“What about school tomorrow? I don’t have another uniform. And your parents just might notice me around the house in the morning.”
“They’re out the door by 6:30 at the latest, and we can swing by Harmony’s so you can change in the morning. Please, Case…” He pulls her tighter against him, nuzzling her neck.
She sighs, “Ok,” before snuggling back against him and falling asleep.
