Stay (A TBZJL Fanfic)

NINETEEN

(Casey POV)

I had to unwrap myself from Tobi's hold to sneak out of his room. He looked so calm as he slept, his face buried in the pillow and his leg draped over mine. I didn't want to leave him, but I didn't have a choice.

I couldn't do that to Cal.

Even if I broke up with him, it would be a dick move to be with Tobi. Like a slap to the face, and I didn't want to be a jerk.

For once.

So I sighed and left Tobi, going not to my room but outside once again. I went down to the beach, which wasn't far at all, and stared out at the sunrise.

I liked Cal. He was fun to be around. But...no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't convince myself that I liked him in any other way.

Then here comes Tobi, giving me flowers and telling me how beautiful I am. He made me feel something that I just didn't feel with Cal, which was hard to understand since we were polar opposites.

"Can't sleep?" Ethan's voice came from behind me and I didn't bother turning around. He sat down next to me.

"I messed up," I leaned against him. He was my best friend, and I felt like I could tell him. "All those years ago...I didn't even say goodbye to you, Ethan, and I'm so sorry. But Eric told me to stop seeing you, and he threatened me, and I just couldn't find the way to tell you—"

"Shh," He slung an arm around my shoulder. "It's over now. You're here now, and that's all that matters. Is that why you're out here?"

I bit my lip, nodding despite it not being true. I didn't want to lie to him, but I wasn't sure how he'd take it if I told him what I did. Cal was his friend, and so was Tobi, so it could go either way.

"It's not your fault, Ace," He pulled me against him before playfully messing with my hair. "I was worried about you that whole time. I knew that Eric guy was an arse, and even though you tried to hide it, it was obvious he hit you. You did a good thing leaving him."

"It was hard," I admitted. "He spent months looking for me. Then you found me, and it's like he disappeared."

He nodded, scratching his beard as he stared out over the horizon. He smirked. "Remember when I came over to your flat that one day and cooked eggs?"

I giggled. "You nearly burned the whole place down. Eric was pissed when he came home, but I will always find it funny."

He chuckled. "Good times."

"What about the time we went to the park and climbed trees? Ironically, the branch I was on was the one that broke," I nudged him.

He laughed at that. "It's a miracle the entire tree didn't collapse with me on it. Didn't you have to get stitches?"

"Right on the hip, yeah," I sighed with a grin. "I wonder what would've happened if I stayed with you."

"I ask myself the same thing."

We both looked at each other before staring out at the ocean. I finally had my best friend back, and I wasn't going to leave him ever again.

*****

Another day out on the boat. This time, I didn't wear my bikini, and instead I wore my backup two piece. This one had a turquoise top and white bottoms with floral patterns on them. Over it, I had on a black cover up that flowed out at the bottom. I put on a black hat and sunglasses and walked with Freya and Talia to the boat.

We all got on the boat and started off, so I sat down in one of the white leather seats on the upper level. There was a light breeze, and I wanted to soak it in.

"Looking good," Cal came up to me and grinned, and it took everything in me not to widen my eyes. I was such a horrible person.

"Thanks," I smiled kindly as he sat down next to me.

"Odds on you jumping off from up here?" He teased.

"Three," I grinned. I wouldn't mind getting in the water. "But reversible. Unless you're scared?"

"You're on," He rolled back his shoulders. "Ready? One, two, three—three."

"Two."

"Damn!" He cursed as I grinned. We went again, and we both said one, so he pulled off his shirt once the boat stopped. He flipped me off before shouting and jumping off the boat, causing a scene and pretty much all of the other guys to do the same thing.

I giggled as I looked down at all of them in the water, waving at them as Cal flipped me off once again.

"So," I jumped and turned around when I noticed Tobi laying down across some of the white seats, grinning at me. He continued. "You getting in?"

I cleared my throat and shifted awkwardly. "Are you?"

"Nah," He draped an arm over his eyes. "Not yet, anyway."

I nodded, though he couldn't see me, and sat down in the spot I was in a minute ago. The privacy of the upper deck was nice, since I knew no one could see me unless they climbed the ladder or unless I was looking over the edge of the boat.

"Are we just going to ignore what happened last night?" He asked quietly.

I shrugged and pulled off my cover up, revealing my bathing suit. I laid across the seats opposite of him, closing my own eyes and trying to get some sun.

"You can't ignore me forever," He sighed.

"I'm not ignoring you," I mumbled. "Just don't know what to say."

When I opened my eyes, he was hovering over me, a smirk plastered on his lips. He pulled his sunglasses down slightly so he could look into my eyes.

"So don't say anything," He knelt down next to me and took my hand, tracing the tattoo on my wrist with his fingers once again. He leaned in and once again placed a sweet kiss on my lips, sending me in a daze. We both knew it was wrong. We both knew Cal would get hurt.

"Tobi," I spoke against his lips and opened my eyes.

"Mhm?"

I completely forgot what I was going to say. It flew right out of my brain, and I hated it. I hated that he had that effect on me. So I continued kissing him until he pulled away, an innocent smile forming on his lips.

But it faded slightly as he got lost in thought, most likely about Cal.

I looked around to make sure no one saw us and let out a relieved sigh. "We can't keep this up forever."

He nodded slowly, looking down at his hand still in mine. "I know."

I closed my eyes once again as he let go of my hand. "I should tell him."

"You really shouldn't," He muttered. "How about we just...make it an Ibiza thing? As soon as we get back to London, it'll be over, yeah?"

"What happens in Ibiza stays in Ibiza," I hummed, considering the idea. The idea of sneaking around for the rest of our time on holiday. It was exciting. "Fine. But if Cal finds out, I'm dead. I don't normally cheat on people, I swear."

"It's not cheating," He said quickly, obviously feeling just as guilty as I was. "Consider it...just, a friendly thing. Just friends, nothing else."

"You have yourself a deal, my friend," I took off my hat and sunglasses and stood to my feet. "And now, I'll be making my exit."

I winked at him before shouting at the guys down below. "Incoming!"

With that, I jumped off of the balcony.