Casey's POV

The sun was shining bright, rays of light streaming down onto the warm sand. Nissa and I had decided to take advantage of that and got in our bathing suits, laying out on the beach chairs to get a tan. While Nissa immediately plugged her ears with music and sang along to every song that came on in a high pitched, off tone, voice, I caught up on some reading.

Reading was one of my favorite things to do, and since I had been busy lately I hadn't had the time to sit back with a really good book. Fortunately for me, I had the entire day to kick back and read every book I wanted. Or so I thought, but with Nissa around, that was almost impossible. The girl could not keep quiet or still for more than twenty minutes.

"Oh.My.God! Who is that magnificent man?" I heard Nissa say as she sat up in her beach chair, sliding her Ray Bans over her face to rest on her head, pinning her hair back. I watched with a amusement as she arched her back, trusting her chest out. Deciding to check out the guy that had caught her attention, I followed her gaze to the beach and bit down hard on my tongue to stop myself from laughing. Walking—more like strutting in slow motion—out of the water, was none other than Austin Dashwood, Nissa's biggest enemy. I hadn't expected Nissa to recognize him; she hadn't seen him in seven years. But I sure as hell did not expect this reaction either.

"Um...I think you're about to find out," I told her, gesturing to Austin as he walked across the beach in our direction. I heard her clear her throat and saw her fix her hair out of my peripheral vision. Oh she was going to be so pissed at me, but it was so going to be worth it. Austin grinned as he approached us and I heard Nissa purr. Turning to her with a small laugh, I arched an eyebrow. She shrugged, a light shade of red tainting her cheeks.

"Hey, Case," Austin greeted and Nissa turned to me with wide, accusing eyes. Ignoring her, I smiled at Austin as he stood over us, his golden tanned abs glistening in the sun as droplets of water slid from his chest to disappear into his shorts. I turned to Nissa with a shit-eating-grin when she softly moaned. I had to admit I understood her reaction, Austin was definitely not the chubby kid he was seven years ago.

"Hey," I purposely prolonged saying his name to make the reveal better.

"Who's your friend?" He turned towards Nissa and gave her a cocky smile. Nissa flipped her hair over her shoulder and gave him a seductive smile. Oh this was just getting better and better.

"Well...this is...Nissa, Nissa Evans." Austin eyes bulged out of his head as he stared at Nissa, his mouth opening and closing. Nissa gave me a confused look and I grinned. "Nissa, you remember Austin," I paused and she turned to me with horrified eyes, I could tell she was silently praying that I wouldn't say Dashwood. Austin just stood there looking like a fish, opening his mouth and then closing it. "Austin Dashwood."

"You!" Nissa hissed, her face morphing into a glare, her fists clinging tightly at her sides. Austin, finally seeming to shake off his initial shock, grinned his trademark grin that was reserved specifically for Nissa, his eyes lighting up.

"Hello, pumpkin," he greeted with a toothy grin, making Nissa's glare intensify. Austin had always insisted on calling Nissa pumpkin, which infuriated her. "You know I have to say, getting checked out by my long-lost nemesis, is probably the most satisfying thing I've ever experienced....Actually, that's not true, just the other day I told my dad to go fuck himself, that was really satisfying as well."

"I see you haven't changed," Nissa mumbled softly, rolling her eyes with disdain. Austin just grinned, obviously happy with himself.

"Pumpkin, you and I both now that you love every part of me." His grin grew when Nissa growled, gritting her teeth.

"Nissa! It's Nissa, you pompous ass!" She jerked up, grabbed her stuff, and stomped past him, bumping him on the shoulder. Austin eyes followed after her until she was out of his sight, a satisfied grin on his face. Austin had always gotten a high off of riling her up. I never really understood it; they had an odd relationship.

"She hasn't changed at all," he told me as he lowered himself into Nissa's abandoned beach chair. I sat up and turned towards him, lifting an eyebrow.

"You always knew how to push that girl's buttons," I replied and he laughed, pulling his sunglasses over his eyes.

"It's a gift," he smirked, shrugging lazily. Placing my book on top of the bag holding all of my beach's essentials, I folded my feet under me.

"So how you been?" I asked him and he rested his arms on his bent knees, pulling his sunglasses off.

"I've been good—you know me, always taking one day at a time—"

"—and having the time of my life while doing it," I finished for him with a grin. He laughed softly and nodded.

"What about you, little pancake? How you been?" I nodded in response, afraid to speak. I was a terrible liar and Austin knew that. If I so much as uttered a word, he'd see through the bullshit and call me out on it. I didn't need that. I didn't need to go through the reasons as to why I wasn't okay. He stared at me for a second and I was glad that my eyes were shielded by my sunglasses. "Okay, if you say so." I cleared my throat as I gave him a nod, my lips pulled back in tight line; a look that conveyed the words I wanted to say but couldn't: let it go.

He gave me a small smile, glanced at the water, giving me time to regroup. When his eyes shifted towards me again, I had a big smile plastered on my face. "So...I never pegged you for a bad boy type of girl." My eyebrows lowered in confusion. Bad boy type of girl? Where had that come from?

Oh crap! Did he know about my thoughts on the beach that night Ryder whispered that...line...in my ear? "What do you mean?" I wanted to hit myself when my voice came out squeaky.

"You and Cavanaugh," he gestured towards the beach and I followed his gaze. My eyes landed on a shirtless Ryder playing football with his friends out by the seashore. Did that boy not know that he was giving every freaking girl on the beach a heart attack by flashing those rock-hard abs? Well...every girl except me, of course.

Ha! Right! Tell that to your body. That voice in the back of my head mocked and I did what I usually did: ignore it.

"What about me and Cavanaugh?" I asked him, shifting uncomfortably in my chair. Reaching up, I pulled my fingers into my mouth and began to chew on my nails.

"There is a habit," Austin smirked, staring at the hand at my mouth. I jerked my fingers out of my mouth and scowled. "So you two dating—or just skirting around the issue?"

"What?! Ryder and I? Dating? Ha!" I hated that my voice sounded so high-pitched, but I couldn't help it; the conversation was making me uncomfortable and when I was uncomfortable I suddenly became Janice from Friends. Oh my god! Gotta love-hate a girl who sounds like that and uses the phrase 'oh my god' like her life depended on it. "If you haven't noticed, Austin, Ryder isn't really the poster-child of dating. He's more like the poster-child of 'fuck 'em then leave 'em,' if you know what I mean." I also hated myself for winking like a moron, while wearing sunglasses.

"Okay...Definitely skirting around the issue, I see," he tsked and I clenched my jaw shut before I blurted out something I would later regret.

"No, we're not, there is nothing there, trust me." He lifted an eyebrow and leaned forward to give me a discerning look, and even though I knew he couldn't see my eyes, they darted away from his intense stare.

"You may not see it now, little pancake, but that boy and you, have a thing for each other. How would I know that? Four days ago, when you were leaving, you smiled at him—I know what you're thinking," his voice rose with the last part when I opened my mouth to interrupt, "you're thinking: what's the big deal, it was just a smile...but it wasn't. When you smiled at him, you smiled with your eyes, something I've never seen you do. You're always smiling, but it never, until that day, reached your eyes. And as for him? Well, even though, it's completely oblivious to you both, well, he's a little more obvious—he hasn't stopped glaring at me since I sat here."

My heart couldn't help but speed up at his words. Could he be right? Did I have a thing for Ryder? As this thought entered my mind, I couldn't help but want to laugh. Ryder and I were complete opposites. Like polar, opposites. And the biggest factor that proved he was wrong—wait for it—I was still in love with my ex-boyfriend. Who, need I remind myself, was my soul mate.

"Yes, I am happier than I have been in a long time, and yes, maybe I do smile when I'm around Ryder, but that's because he's my friend and I care about him. And as for him—Ryder is protective. I may not know him very well, but I do know that much." I smiled with satisfaction. A smile that fell when Austin gave me a pitiful look.

"If that's what you're going with, then I pity you. Anyways, moving on...We're going down to the pier carnival, tonight, you and Nissa wanna come?" I felt excitement bubble up in me. I loved carnivals, and carnivals on the beach, were the best. Nodding excitedly, I grinned. "Okay, we'll see you guys down here at the beach at seven." I nodded, my eyes wide with excitement. He laughed softly, got up and left with a 'see ya'.

***

"I can't believe you're making me go to this carnival. Stupid Austin is gonna be there," I heard Nissa complain from behind the closed bathroom door. Checking my hair one more time in the mirror, I swung open the door to find her sprawled on the bed, her legs hanging over it. She was dressed in jeans, a red blouse and black sandals. Her hair was let loose and spread out in a mess on the bed.

"It's going to be fun. Besides, Austin is a grown up now, I'm sure you two will get along fine." She groaned from the bed and I rolled my eyes. "How do I look?" She lazily pulled herself up, her eyes filled with boredom as they fell on me. When she noticed my attire they immediately lit up and her spine straightened.

"Oh my god! Mamma Mia, Case, you better get back in that bathroom and hose down, 'cause you're about to burn this hotel down! Fuck yeah, that rhymed." I laughed despite myself and glanced down at what I was wearing, my heart thudding with the thought that I was actually going out dressed like this. I was wearing a pair of high-waist white shorts, a black crop top with studs on the shoulders, and a pair of converse. I topped it off with a black fedora.

I had debated whether or not to just pull my hair into a ponytail and leave it at that, but in the end, I decided to do something different with it; be spontaneous. I had decided to flat iron it, then curl the ends into big curls. The waves softly cascaded down my back effortlessly, almost reaching the end of my back and the start of my butt. I hadn't applied any make up, other than a light coat of pink lip gloss.

"Do you really think this is fine?" I asked, growing subconscious. I had no idea why I was suddenly feeling insecure about myself. Even though I lived with a mother who constantly made me feel like I wasn't beautiful enough, I had a best friend and a nanny who made sure that I knew how beautiful I was. So even though my mother's words should have affected me, they didn't. I was confident with what I looked liked, I worked damn hard to have the body that I had and I sure as hell wouldn't make anyone make me feel as though it wasn't enough. But standing there in shorts I'd never worn before, with my hair out of it's usual ponytail, I felt insecure. I wasn't going to the carnival with just Nissa, I was also going with Oliver, Austin, Toby and...Ryder.

At his name, I felt my heart jump into my throat and my hands grow clammy. Ryder was blunt; he never missed the chance to say what he was thinking and that scared me. He had a way with words that sometimes made me feel out of control. I hated not being in control, it was one of the reasons I never did anything impulsive.

"Casey, you look gorgeous. It's about time you showed off those long legs of yours," Nissa grinned as she wiggled her eyebrows up and down, while staring at my exposed legs.

I laughed. "Thanks, Niece. You look hot as well. It's definitely different, though." Nissa's way of dressing was—as she liked to put it—and acquired taste. She usually wore bold colors and patterns. It was strange seeing her dressed the way she was.

Shrugging, she made a 'meh' face, grabbed her phone, along with mine, from the nightstand and walked past me towards the door, handing me my phone on the way there. Once we were both out of the door, I reached in and grabbed the hotel room key and some money from the little table next to the door, before closing the door behind me.

It took us a few minutes to get to the beach and spot Oliver, Toby and Austin, but Ryder was nowhere in sight. One of the boys, who I assumed was Toby, started jumping up and down on the spot, waving his hands in the air, trying to get our attention. Nissa and I both glanced at each other and laughed. He looked funny as hell jumping up and down like a little monkey.

Walking over towards them, I couldn't help but wonder where Ryder was. From what I knew, Ryder wasn't the type of person that was late, but what did I know, I was just starting to know him.

"Wow, you girls look amazing," Austin immediately complimented, his eyes on Nissa, once we reached them. I watched Nissa glare with a huff and I chuckled under my breath.

"Thanks, Austin," I replied, giving Nissa a disapproving look, which she dismissed with a roll of her eyes.

"You're welcome, Casey," Austin answered, putting an emphasis on my name, and giving Nissa a pointed look. She scoffed and flipped him off, making him grin.

"Hey, Oliver," I greeted him with a small wave, he waved back with a smile. I glanced at the boy standing next to him, fidgeting with a huge grin on his face as he stared at my legs. Shifting uncomfortably, I cleared my throat, gaining his attention as his eyes shifted up to meet mine. Plastering on a smile, I reached out a hand, "Hi, I'm Casey, you must be Toby."

He nodded his head and grasped my hand in his larger one. "Yeah that's me. It's a pleasure to meet you and your legs." I raised an eyebrow and he winked with a smirk. Pulling my hand out of his grasp, I turned to Oliver with a questioning look. Oliver sensing my stare, tore his eyes away from Toby and gave me an apologetic smile.

I heard Nissa clear her throat next to me and I turned towards her. Her eyes darted between me and Oliver and my mouth formed a silent 'oh'. "Oliver, Toby, this is Nissa, my best friend. Nissa, the guys." I waved a hand between them as I introduced them. Once they had exchanged hey's and nice to meet you's, I turned to Oliver. "Oliver, where is Ryder?"

"He's over there, making a call." He pointed behind me and I turned around sightly to follow his gaze. Ryder was sitting a distance away on some rocks, on the phone. "Cavanaugh." I jumped when Oliver's shout rang out unexpectedly. When Ryder's head turned in our direction, he cupped his hands around his mouth "We're leaving, you coming or what?"

I watched Ryder talk into his phone then lower it down and turn toward us. "You guys go ahead, I'll catch up with you." He brought his phone up to his ear again and continued talking to whomever it was he was speaking to. Turning back to the group, I stepped in line with them as they began to walk towards the pier carnival.

The smell of popcorn, cotton candy, hot dogs, corn dogs and any other food that you would find at a carnival, filled the air as we walked through the entrance of the carnival. The screams of excitement filled my ears along with the sounds of the games and shouts of vendors trying to get customers. Glancing around excitedly, my eyes widened with each possibility. There was so much to do and so little time. I wanted to get on every ride, play every game and eat every single thing that I'd never had before. Most of my life I wasn't allowed to eat meat or anything with carbs. So the few times that I had been to a carnival, I wasn't allowed to eat any of the food. But not anymore, tonight I was letting loose, I was going to eat until I puked.

"This is gonna be awesome!" I announced loudly, with a squeal. The three boys and Nissa turned towards me. The boys were grinning while Nissa just shook her head with a smile. Nissa and Austin understood my excitement, while Toby and Oliver probably just thought I had some weird carnival fetish. Mm, carnival fetish...what would I have a fetish for? The rides? Like I would get a lady boner whenever I went on the rides? Or maybe I would get a lady-boner from the smell of the food? Mm, actually that one sounds about accurate.

"Okay then, let's go have an awesome night!" Oliver hooted as he turned around and headed off to the rides and we followed behind him.

Three rides, two hot dogs and a slushy later, I was still feeling elated and ready to go again. Ryder hadn't appeared yet and Oliver doubted that he would. I was heading to the Ferris wheel with Nissa for the second time, when she stopped in her tracks. Coming to stop, I turned to give her a questioning look. Noticing her squinted eyes as she stared at something intently, I walked back towards her and turned to see to what she was looking at. A few feet away were two boys, fighting. My eyes widened when I recognize the leather hooded jacket of one of them. It was Ryder.

Grabbing Nissa's hand, I pulled her towards the fight, while pulling out my phone and texting Oliver. People were starting to move towards the two idiots fighting, to hoot them on, while others just stood and watched. I couldn't believe no one was trying to separate them. I pushed through the crowd that was starting to form until I was right at the front. I hissed when Ryder pulled back his arm and then sent it flying into the other guy's jaw, making him stumble back from the force.

My eyes traveled to Ryder's face and I honestly felt sorry for the other guy. I'd never seen Ryder so angry, not even when we would get into heated arguments. His eyes were dark and cold, loosing the usual playfulness they held. Jaw clenched, the vain in his neck jumped angrily. His fist were coiled tightly at his sides, a smudge of blood on his white knuckles.

I turned around frantically searching for any signs of Oliver, but he was nowhere to be found. "Isn't anyone going to do something?" I turned to Nissa, fidgeting anxiously on my feet.

"Why would you want anyone to do something? This is awesome!" she replied, bouncing on her two feet, her eyes brimming with excitement. "Go, Ryder! Beat his ass! Yeah!" she shouted over the crowd's hoots.

"Nissa, he can get hurt!" I insisted, wringing my hands anxiously. I hated fights. They only led to more violence.