nine thousand miles | cazzie

twenty four

Casey didn't really talk about the whole thing, which I appreciated a lot. I knew she was boiling with rage on the inside and if I were Jarvis, I would be shaking in my boots right now. But she also understood that directly dealing with him wasn't going to make me feel any better and she prioritised my mental health first.

This comprised of gentle and random kisses on my head and my hand, warm cuddles, jokes to get my mind off of it, and fingers running through my hair.

It was 4am and neither of us had gotten any sleep. We didn't plan on sleeping anyways. There was still a heavy, looming cloud over our heads, preventing sleep from being an option.

"Are you going to school tomorrow?" She suddenly asked. We were lying next to each other on the bed, staring at the ceiling, no words spoken and just in each others' presence.

"Yeah..."

"Are you sure?"

I nodded and turned to my side to look at her and she did the same. "Just... stay with me tomorrow please?" I asked and her face softened.

"Of course..." She said, pulling me closer to her. "And if you ever feel uncomfortable at all tomorrow, I'll try to make up an excuse to get you out of there."

I smiled at her before kissing her on the nose and proceeding to bury my face in the crook of her neck. Her comforting breathing and her familiar smell eventually put me to sleep.

It wasn't long after that when the alarm rang. When my eyes opened, they immediately shut again when the light hit them. I was in no mood to get out of bed and neither was Casey.

"You still have time to change your mind about going," I heard her mumble, still half-asleep. "No. I wanna go," I said, groaning as I sat up.

I did the usual routine but this time, with a pit of anxiety in my stomach. Every second that passed meant a second closer to seeing Jarvis.

Casey made it better though. She would notice the fear on my face as I paced around the room to get ready. She saw the disgust on my face and the way I tensed up when I looked at my body in the mirror.

And she would be there to tangle her fingers into mine and rub my back, giving me the slightest, yet most comforting touches.

We held hands as we walked down the hotel corridor, ready to brace whatever was to come together.

On the way there, Casey kept her hands wrapped around mine. Erika and Quinn, who already knew about this after Erika told her with my permission, just gave me reassuring smiles every once in a while. I knew Erika was seething on the inside.

When the bus came to a halt, reality struck me and suddenly I couldn't move. Casey sat back down and looked into my eyes. "You don't have to do this. I don't want you to do anything that makes you uncomfortable," She whispered.

I looked out of the window for a while and saw Patrick taking attendance.

"No, it's okay. I'll go."

I found the strength to stand up and made my way down the bus with Casey following behind me. When I heard the bus leave, I looked at the grand university building in front of me and for the first time, its giant size actually scared me.

When Patrick and the rest of the group started to walk off, Casey interlinked her arm with mine and we followed the group.

Erika had the schedule for the day.

"Alright we've got Mr Martin first period, then lab, and then break, then Mr Martin again... and Jarvis..."

I closed my eyes and pursed my lips and the sound of his name. "You know you can just skip his class right? Izzie don't feel pressured to do anything you don't want to," Quinn said.