Back To You ~ (Cazzie Fanfic)

Hungry

"Oh! And we can use the dining room table for cooling," Elsa adds.

"Oooo I like it," Gabby says, "Thank you. Ok, we've gotta do the gluten free pies first so there's no cross contamination-"

"Uhhh... what? We're doing gluten free pies?!" Izzie asks, alarmed.

"Ugh, don't even get me started," Gabby says, rolling her eyes. "They have to have something for everyone and Elijah's mom is doing vegan so that leaves us for gluten free and peanut free."

She gestures in exasperation.

"Thanks again so much for volunteering us for this," Izzie teases with a fake scowl.

"No one else signed up!" Gabby says, unpacking a box of different kinds of berries she had gotten donated from a supermarket.

"Ok, Izzie and Chloe, you guys are on fruit fillings for now," she says, handing Izzie the recipe cards. "It's not as hard as it sounds."

Chloe bounces up and down with excitement and swipes the cards out of Izzies hands.

"Ah! Totally agree," Elsa says, unpacking a bag entirely filled with boxes of butter. "Fruit filling seems complicated but it's just following directions. Crusts are way harder."

"Truth," says Gabby. "That's why you and I are on crusts, Elsa. Ok, here's the gluten free flour."

"I've got the butter and ice water!" Elsa chirps, rubbing her hands together with excitement.

Izzie hands Chloe a colander.

"Ok let's start rinsing the berries!"

"I'm hooomme!" Casey's voice calls, quickly followed by the sound of the front door thudding closed.

Izzie's heart does a strange little wiggle at the sound of Casey's voice. She glances up to see Casey coming to lean in the kitchen doorway in a tank top and running shorts, sweat glistening off her thin, muscular limbs and her short hair held back by a cloth headband. Casey takes in the scene in front of her as she catches her breath and everyone says hello. And maybe it's Izzie's imagination but it seems like Casey's eyes linger on her a couple seconds longer, and that her already flushed cheeks grow a couple shades darker as she does so.

"What, no one wants to hug me?" She jokes, pretending to lunge at Chloe, making her shriek and giggle.

"Go shower so you can help us!" Elsa says.

"Ok, ok!" Casey says, grabbing her water bottle and heading upstairs, with one more quick glance at Izzie.

Casey ends up helping Izzie and Chloe with fruit fillings, since there are so many different kinds. While they work she keeps them talking, asking Chloe lots of questions about camp and her interests and her friends. At some point Izzie becomes aware that Casey is having no problems with the filling she's making. She's just following the recipe, moving right along with no questions or mistakes or issues... talking at the same time. And it's this, more than anything else that's happened over the past couple months, that really solidifies in Izzie's mind the fact that Casey has changed. She's changed in a hundred small and large ways over these past three years. Even with something stupid like her ability to follow a recipe. She's grown up. Izzie stares at Casey's hands as they measure sugar and cinnamon into the apples she just peeled and cut.

"Yo, Gabby- we still doing gluten free flour?" she calls.

Gabby confirms this and brings her a small bowl of flour and then Casey is measuring that into the apples and using her hands to mix them when the spoon proves inadequate. Izzie stares at her long fingers, covered in cinnamon sugar, as they work. She has to remind herself to breathe. Casey catches her staring and has the audacity to wink. Izzie blushes and looks away. No matter how much Casey has changed, some things remain the same.