(Tobi POV Still)
She was in a good mood that day. So good of a mood, she let me hold her hand the whole time we were out. If I didn't know any better, I would have called it a date.
But I did know better. We were just friends. If that.
After we said goodbye to my family, her and I went on a walk to kill time. Though we didn't say much, it was still nice to be with her. She didn't seem suspicious, either.
I offered to buy her apple cider for her birthday, but she declined. I didn't expect her to say yes anyway.
She played more of her music in the car on the drive back to the house, and I watched as she sang along. I even got her to laugh a few times.
I don't know how she didn't notice the tens of cars in our driveway, but she didn't. It was clear that the guys went all out when it came to inviting people.
I led her to the door, and she noticed the grin on my face that I couldn't push down.
"What?" She smirked, even though I could tell she tried not to.
"Nothing," I shrugged as I shoved my key in the door, pushing it open. "Ladies first."
She sighed and walked inside, with me following behind her. As soon as I closed the door behind us, everyone jumped out from their hiding spots and shouted. "Surprise!"
She jumped and grabbed my arm, but widened her eyes when she saw all of the decorations and people. There was a large banner that said, "Happy Birthday Casey!" in bright blue letters.
"I...but—but how did—" She brought a shaking hand up to her mouth. "This is...wow."
"Oh, no, you're not going to cry, are you?" I took her hand and looked into her eyes, but she shook her head.
"No, no. I've just never had this before," I saw a grin form on her face, and she turned to hug me. "I don't know how to thank you...I've been such a jerk to you—"
"It's not just me," I chuckled. "Everyone else helped, too."
She nodded against me before pulling away. "Thank you guys so much, really. Let's get this party started before I start crying like a baby."
With that, there were cheers and music started playing throughout the house. Freya bounced over with Talia's arm looped through hers and approached Casey to introduce her, so I sighed and walked away. Ethan patted my shoulder as I went into the kitchen.
"Thanks man," He grinned. "She seemed so happy, and I owe it all to you. How did you find out that it was her birthday?"
Crap. I shrugged. "I saw it on her calendar the other day."
He nodded. "Well, I'm off to the pool. Hope to see you there in a bit, yeah?"
"Yeah," I shrugged, but I vowed to keep an eye on Casey the whole night. Wherever she went, I'd make sure she didn't drink too much or do something she regretted.
No one deserved that on their birthday.
Ethan wandered off, so I poured myself a glass of water before leaving the kitchen to try to find Casey. I should have trusted the girls to take care of her, but I didn't. There were too many things that could go wrong.
I saw her talking to JJ, Freya, Simon, and Talia, and I relaxed. She didn't have a drink at all, which was good. I leaned against the far wall and watched them talk, noticing her rub her wrist nervously as she talked.
"Staring at her won't do you any good," Harry's voice from next to me made me jump, and I sighed.
"I'm not staring," I lied. "I just zoned out."
"Oh. Okay," He leaned back on the wall across from me. "Pretty sick party, right? Vik left it to Ethan and I to get things set up."
"It's perfect," I chuckled, my eyes going over to Casey once again. She was smiling at something JJ said.
"Well, it's just getting started," Harry grinned from ear to ear and I grimaced.
"Oh boy."
"Relax," He chugged the rest of his drink and started coughing. "It's under control."
I opened my mouth to interject, but he already stumbled away before I could speak.
When I looked back over at the group, I narrowed my eyes. Casey wasn't there.
As I stood up straight and took a step towards them, a hand tapped my shoulder, so I turned around. I sighed, but Casey was smirking.
"You really think I wouldn't notice you standing off in the corner?" She giggled, and the sound made my heart melt.
I just shrugged. "There's nothing wrong with watching from a distance. Partying isn't for everyone."
"Mhm," She leaned against the wall next to me and turned her head to look at me. "Sure. Let me guess, you don't drink?"
I smiled. "Rarely."
"Of course you don't," She looked down at her shoes. "Look, I didn't properly thank you for this. You were the only one that knew, so don't try telling me it was anyone else."
"It's not a big deal," I turned away from her so she couldn't see the dumb smile forming on my face. "It's what friends are for."
"I'd ask if you'd like to go to the pool, but there's way too many people in there," She said sheepishly.
I smirked and looked down at her. "You're asking me to go swimming with you?"
She rolled her eyes. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm trying to be nicer. You can at least work with me a bit."
"Well, if you'd prefer, we could play pool or beer pong or something."
She smirked. "I thought you didn't drink."
"Hey, if it helps you be nice to me then I don't mind it," I teased. "What do you say?"
She shrugged. "Sure. We can get Josh and Freya involved, too. A nice game of beer pong sounds like fun."
*****
Casey cheered and threw her hands up in the air as she sunk another ball in a cup on our side. It was Josh and I against her and Freya, and thanks to Casey they were now in the lead.
"Drink up, Jizzle!" She laughed as she looked into my eyes, so I didn't even mind the burning as I downed the drink. She was happy, and that was rare. I wanted to soak it in.
There were two cups left on Casey and Freya's side, but only one on our side. It was my turn, but Josh had been carrying for our team so I didn't expect it to go in. It bounced off the rim of one of their cups before missing, and Josh and I groaned.
Freya easily sunk the last shot, and they both cheered before hugging each other. It was crazy to see Casey so...normal.
"I love this song!" Freya shouted over the loud music. "Come dance with me, Casey!"
Casey grinned and nodded, so they both walked away. Josh chuckled. "I feel like Casey might be stealing my girl. Should I do something about it?"
"Nah," I joked. "Let them have their fun."
He smirked. "Who knows? Maybe a threesome is in order."
I raised an eyebrow, ignoring the weird feeling I got in my stomach at the thought of Casey being with anyone in that way. "Good luck with that."
I knew Josh well enough to understand that it was a joke, so I didn't press into it. We'd been friends for years.
"She's changed, but no one seems to know why," Josh continued, drinking some beer as we watched Casey and Freya move to the music. "Maybe it's from all the time she spends with you."
"You think?" She hadn't spent much time with me, but she'd definitely been around me more than any of the others, besides Ethan.
"We all know you're the nice one. You're the only one that could have caused that," He gestured to Casey, not only her new appearance but the innocent dance she was doing. We all knew she wasn't innocent, but it was nice to see that side of her.
"Maybe," I shrugged, but my grin faltered as I watched Freezy approach the two. She smiled at him, and immediately they started talking.
They were so immersed in whatever they were talking about that Freya came back over to Josh and I.
"This is so exciting!" Freya leaned her head on Josh's shoulder. "Her and Cal really seem to be hitting it off! She told me how she'd been avoiding relationships because she wasn't girlfriend material, but it looks like something might happen between the two."
I stared over at them, lost in thinking about the possibility of the two of them getting together. Cal was a great guy...but if I wasn't fit to be with her, I wasn't sure he would be, either.
I watched as he offered his hand, and he led her into the kitchen. Probably for another drink.
"Why doesn't she think she's girlfriend material?" I decided on asking.
Freya shrugged. "I think her exact words were, 'I'm kind of an ass.'"
I nodded slowly, not taking my eyes away from Cal and Casey until they were out of sight.
"Tobi. Tobi. Tobi!" Josh clapped loudly right in my face and I jumped.
"Gah! What?"
Freya and Josh looked at each other and grinned. Freya spoke. "It's not too late, Tobi. Make your move before it is."
Embarrassed, I looked down at my feet. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"It'd be less obvious if you didn't stare at her like that," Josh laughed.
"She's just a friend," I rolled my eyes. "Let's just drop it, okay? Freezy will keep an eye on her, so let's just get dressed and hit the pool."
I needed to cool off.
Not much to say about this chapter if I'm honest. Let me know what you think!