Stay (A TBZJL Fanfic)

TWELVE

(Casey POV)

"So you went to uni? What did you major in?" Cal asked me as we made our way through the house. I'll admit, I was a little uncomfortable at first when he'd approached me on the dancefloor, but after a while of talking he turned out not to be too bad.

"Psychology," I shrugged as we walked. "I dropped out when work got to be too much though."

We heard loud shouts as we approached a room, and laughing followed it. He led me to the pool room, where all of the guys were in their swim trunks, not to mention plenty of other people splashing around. They had an inflatable ball in there, and it was the epitome of a pool party with the loud music.

JJ was in the hot tub, attempting to chat up some girl, but the rest of the guys were having fun in the pool.

"I'm jumping in," Cal pulled off his shirt and grinned at me. "You coming in?"

I looked down at my clothes. "I'm not exactly dressed for it. I'll probably sit in one of those open chairs and watch."

"Before I forget," He smiled. "How about giving me your phone number?"

I bit my lip. "Look...I'll give you my number, but I hope you're not looking for anything serious. At least, not right away. I'm a bit all over the place."

He nodded. "We'll take it slow, then. For now?"

I giggled and let him text himself with my phone as my answer. "I hope I don't scare you off. I'm known to be a bit...harsh at times."

"You'll be fine," He chuckled and walked away, jumping into the pool and splashing everyone around him.

I sat down in one of the chairs and watched the guys play their game. Tobi met my eyes and grinned at me, so I waved awkwardly. For some reason, he had his chain on despite having his shirt off, but I wasn't complaining.

I looked away from them and leaned back in the chair, closing my eyes. This was the best birthday ever.

*****

My eyes opened to Tobi hovering over me, his shirt still off and a grin plastered on his face.

"Sleep well?" He asked.

I sat up, realizing I had fallen asleep in the pool chair and yawning. We were the only two in the pool room, so I assumed it was either late in the night or already morning. Music was playing, but quietly, and I raised an eyebrow when I recognized the artist and the song.

"You started playing my music?"

"After everyone left," He sat down next to me. "I know how you are about your music, for whatever reason."

"What, were you just sitting there watching me sleep?" I teased. "Why didn't Ethan wake me up?"

"He was too drunk," He smirked. "I think he passed out in the bathroom."

"Sounds like something I would do," I admitted. "Well, thanks for making sure I didn't drown."

"You sleepwalk?"

I giggled. "I've only ever done it twice, but you never know."

He stood from his spot and kept the smile on his face. "What would you say to some late night swimming?"

I rolled my eyes with a smirk. "I'd say these clothes aren't mine, and I'm not changing into a bathing suit."

"Suit yourself," He shrugged and mock-saluted me before falling backwards into the water, the splash echoing in the large room. When he resurfaced, I stood from my spot and walked over, crossing my arms and looking down at him. He rested his arms on the edge of the pool and looked up at me.

"I'm sure you're having fun in there all by yourself," I stated.

"Let me see your hand," He held out his own hand and I narrowed my eyes, resting my hand in his.

"Why do you want to see my—" I shrieked as he gripped it and yanked me into the pool, the cool water surrounding me until he pulled me up. He pushed my hair out of my face and started laughing.

"Now I'm not alone," He grinned innocently.

"Well, I might be alone with a dead body in ten seconds," I playfully shoved him so he let go of me and dunked him under the water. When he resurfaced, he flicked some water at my face. "You're lucky I'm in a good mood. If you caught me on any other day, you wouldn't be laughing."

"You're probably right," He chuckled as I pushed myself out of the pool, trying my best to straighten out my wet skirt before sitting on the edge of the pool, dangling my legs in the water. "But you have to admit, we can be fun people to be around."

"When you're not getting on my nerves, sure," I shrugged. "Your friend Callum isn't like you guys, is he? If so, I regret giving him my number."

He raised an eyebrow. "You and Freezy? I didn't think he'd actually pull it off."

I leaned back on my hands. "What's that supposed to mean?"

He widened his eyes. "Shit, I didn't mean to offend you. I just meant that he's a bit awkward sometimes."

"Oh," I bit my lip and looked down at him in the water. "Sorry. I've been through some crazy shit, so I may take things the wrong way sometimes."

"And I assume you're not going to tell me about it?"

I shook my head. I was starting to warm up to him and the guys, but I felt that it was only fair that I told Ethan first. It involved him more than it involved anyone else.

"Will you tell me anything?" He once again rested his arms on the side of the pool next to me.

I shrugged, listening to the soft song that was playing. "How about a game? We each get one question to ask each other, and we can either choose to answer it or do a forfeit."

"Good thinking," He pushed himself out of the pool and sat down next to me. "You go first. Ask me anything."

I tilted my head at him, trying to think of a question to ask him. Since he was a YouTuber, I doubted he had much hidden from the world. He seemed like an open book.

"What's one thing your fans don't know about you?" I asked.

He looked away from me and at the water. "Huh. That's tough. Uh, I guess they don't know much about my hobbies...does that count? I like drawing."

"Sure, that counts," I smirked. "That's cool. You'd think someone like you would only be into sports and stuff."

"What about you? What are your hobbies?"

"Is that your question?" I smirked and he shook his head, taking my hand. He traced his fingers along the tattoo on my wrist.

"What does this tattoo mean?" He asked, looking down at it. My smirk faded as he asked the question.

"Pass."

He sighed and let go of my hand. "I'll find out eventually, you know. Fine, let me think of a forfeit for you to do."

I cringed. Why did I come up with the stupid game? The last thing I wanted to do was a forfeit.

I let out a breath and looked out the window, into the yard where the stars were barely visible. "I was drunk, but sober enough to know what I was doing. It...it's a reminder of what happened to me...twice. First, my dad left. Then, my boyfriend. After fighting and hitting and screaming, he just walked out, leaving me broken and vulnerable and alone."

I could feel his eyes on me, but I refused to look at him. Instead, I stood to my feet, grabbing a towel from one of the chairs and wrapping it around myself.

"Thanks for the party," I mumbled as I walked away.

Yeah, we get to learn a bit more about Casey, so that's fun. It gets good I promise!