Unforgettable

Part 21

Natalie

"Do you really think they'll like me? I mean, I don't want to make it all awkward if they absolutely hate me... is it too late to jump out of the window?"

I wind down the window, before pretending to jump out of it. Pretending, heh.

A soft hand comes to rest on my knee, urging me to pull my head out of the window. I sigh, sitting back in my seat until my head molds into the headrest.

"You'll be fine, they'll love you." Casey comforts me, his hand squeezing my knee tenderly.

"But... I just..." I stammer, raking my hands through my hair nervously.

"Don't worry Nat. It'll be really chill. We'll get there, say hi to my parents if my dad even bothers to show up, we'll cuddle my dog, we'll probably order takeout and then we escape to my make-shift room. Really, my mom will be able to find something for you guys to bond over, she's like that, always able to find some common ground out of nothing." he continues, flashing me a smile as he takes his eyes off the road momentarily. I lay my hand over his, squeezing it lightly in appreciation.

"I just... I want to make a good impression, but I sometimes struggle to tell whether I've done that or not." I reply, my eyes focussing on Casey's side profile as I speak.

"Nat, you can't not make a good first impression." he says, causing me to snort. "No, I'm serious. You're so easy to talk to, so easy to be around, you're the exact type of person my mom loves."

I laugh, bringing Casey's hand up to my mouth, kissing his fingers softly.

"You know, you're doing a really bad job of keeping me focussed on the road." Casey whispers, a smile pulling up the line of his jaw as I watch him from the side.

"Sorry. I use you as therapy to get my nerves out. I'm sorry you had to find out this way." I joke as he simply shakes his head, his eyes never leaving the road.

"Well, hate to break it to you, but we'll never make it far enough to see if my mom actually likes you if you keep looking at me like that." he replies, drumming his hand on the steering wheel.

"Like what?" I ask sarcastically, knowing full-well that staring at the side of his face while he drives is probably annoying.

"Like you're going to either a; kill me and then roast me on the fire or b; jump across this console right here right now and kiss every single one of my freckles individually." he replies, his voice monotone as if what we're discussing is completely and utterly normal.

"Hmmm, the first option is hard to pass up... but you know me too well. Second option it is." I laugh as he shakes his head, a smirk on his face, just as the soft background music we had playing rings out.

"Pick something that'll distract you from my stunning freckles, why don't ya." Casey says sarcastically, motioning to his phone sitting in the cup holder of the centre console. I pick it up, before punching in our matching passcode. I know, we're disgusting. I pull up his spotify, my fingers hovering over the keyboard as I think of what to play.

"Hah! Taylor, yes." Casey yells from beside me as the opening bars of 'You belong with me' ring out. I laugh, placing his phone back in the cup holder before placing my hand over his again.

We dance in our seats as the song plays out, all my worries floating away through the music. Our actions mirror the lyrics, my spare hand moving to point or pick up a pretend phone as my dramatic performance unfolds. I look at Casey just before the bridge, to see him looking straight at me. I smile at him before he flicks his eyes back to the road as we prepare to belt out the best part of the song.