Casey's POV

"You know, I've always wanted to scream, 'fuck you, fuckers,' at the top of my lungs on a mountain," I muttered, the bottle of beer making a sloshing noise as my hand moved around.

"Well, this isn't a mountain, but it could be if you're drunk enough," Ryder replied, his eyes filled with boredom. He reached down to get another beer, but instead ended up face-first onto the ground. Peering over the edge of the rock I was sprawled on, I laughed.

After stuffing our faces with ice cream, Ryder had dragged me to the convenience store on the side, bought a case of beer and dragged me back to the spot on the beach that I'd found him at earlier that night, deciding for both of us, that we would get drunk.

"Dude, you look like a crab," I laughed at my own joke, and took a swig of my beer and cringed. Yep still tasted like ass. I was down to my third beer and it was a safe bet to say I was getting close to being Captain Jack Sparrow on a two day bender. Yep, I was a light-weight. Ryder on the other hand had about seven beers already and was still a little coherent.

"How the fuck do I look like a crab?" he asked, still laying on the ground on his stomach, his head turned my way. I'd found out a few things about Ryder when he was drunk: drunk Ryder was lazy and grabby. He'd tried to slap my ass twice that night and had actually managed to cop a feel.

"Don't make me explain this shit to you, you look like a whale, punto," I drawled out, groaning as I spread my limbs over the rock, letting them roam like an octopus.

"I thought it was a crab," he mumbled from the ground, lifting his head to give me a confused look and to poke me in the ribs.

"Crabs? You want the crabs?" I shouted, fearing that he wouldn't hear me since he sounded so far away.

"I don't want the crabs, you fucker, I said...Will you finish that sentence for me? I'm lazy." He groaned like speaking was the hardest thing to do.

"You finish your own sentence, you lazy whale," I replied, feeling tired. My eyes began to drift close, and I breathed in a lungful of air, letting it back out with a happy sigh.

"You sound like a tired dog," he retorted. I could hear he was glaring by his tone and I rolled my eyes internally. How mature.

"Psst, dogs wished they sounded like me," I mumbled. "I'm gonna go scream at the top of my lungs now." Stumbling up, I walked over to the end of the deserted path, cupping my hands around my mouth, I let it all out. My high-pitched scream rang out, getting lost in the ocean. Ryder laughed behind me, pulled himself up, grasped my waist and pulled me down to lay next to him.

"You have the scream of a puny baby." I laughed along with him, resting an arm on my stomach.

"You want to know something?"

"I have a feeling you're going to tell me anyway," he replied, placing his empty bottle back into a free space in the beer case, he grabbed another and turned over to lay on his back, turning his head to look at me.

"I like hanging with you," I confessed, turning over on the ground to look at him.

"Why?" he asked, with genuine curiosity. I paused for a minute and thought about my answer. Staring at him, my eyes scanned every inch of his face. My breath hitching as I stared into his beautiful blue eyes, feeling myself getting lost in that gaze that held so many secrets, mysteries and unspoken adventures. He pulled his bottom lip into his mouth as he stared back at me, his eyes filling with an intensity I didn't fully understand. Moving towards me until his face was a breath away from mine, he brushed a strand of hair away from my face. "Why, sweetheart?" his whisper came out low and husky, making me hot all over. A mix of beer and strawberries, his breath fanned over my face, making my heart thud in my chest.

A wisp of hair fell into his eyes and before I knew what I was doing, my hand had reached out and slowly, brushed it away. His intake of breath, made my heart leap. "Because I can be myself around you."

His lips curved into a smile and he grasped my chin in between his thumb and index finger. "That's all I want you to be." His face inched towards me and I held my breath. Was it bad that I really wanted him to kiss me? I wanted to taste his lips. I wanted to know if they tasted like chocolate. I didn't know why I wanted that so bad, but I decided to blame it on the alcohol in my system.

My heart began to pound loudly in my chest, my stomach filled with vicious butterflies, but right before he reached my lips, he changed direction and planted a soft kiss on my forehead, his lips lingering there for a minute. I couldn't believe the disappointment that settled in. Never had I been so disappointed about something in my life.

"Come on, let's get you to bed. You're probably exhausted and you need to sleep." Nodding I let him pull me up, my eyes never meeting his. I didn't want him to see how hurt I was. When he crouched down in front of me, I climbed onto his back, wrapping my arms tightly around his shoulders and my legs around his torso. Resting my head on his neck, I sighed and gave into my exhaustion.

When I woke in the morning, I was in my spongebob pajamas, my hair was tied in a messy ponytail and my clothes from the previous night lay neatly folded and on the chair across the room. Wincing, I grabbed onto my head as it began to pound like a million little dudes were up there hammering nails just for the fun of it.

"Here. Ryder said to drink this and to make sure to keep yourself hydrated. After you drink that, you need to eat this toast and these crackers." Nissa mumbled, placing a bottle of water on the desk next to my bed and handing me a small white pill.

"Thanks, Nissa." I immediately regretted speaking when my scratchy throat protested in anger. Closing my eyes tightly, I wished for the room to stop spinning. It was making my stomach upset.

"Don't thank me. Thank your future husband," she smirked, waggling her eyebrows up and down. I fought the urge to roll my eyes, knowing that simple action would make my stomach reel in anger.

"Oh god, I feel like I'm dying. I am never drinking again." I mumbled. This was worst than the morning after that party. I woke up around five that morning because of a pounding headache. Thankfully Nadia had known how to make me feel better.

Feeling my mouth fill with unnecessary saliva, I cringed sourly, the taste of vomit at the back of my throat making me swallow hard, trying to get it to go back down. But it persisted, torturing me. Feeling my eyes tear up, I slugged down a gulp of water and gagged. "Bad idea, really bad idea," I cried as I bolted off of my bed and ran as fast as I could to the bathroom.

The content in my stomach rose up my throat and spewed out of my mouth without stopping. Trying not to cringe as my eyes zeroed in on my puked-up guts, I wiped my hand over my mouth with a groan. I heard someone knock on the door, before it opened and the person walked in. They walked over to me and pulled my hair away from my face, holding it up over my neck.

"Hey, sweetheart, you okay?" The sound of Ryder's voice was like balm to my soul; soothing and calm.

"I think I just puked-up this entire week's lunch along with my guts," I complained and he chuckled softly. Wiping my mouth once again, I tried to erase any evidence of my situation. I also tried to sooth my stomach by breathing in a breathing out slowly, but the smell of puke sent my head right over the toilet again. Ryder ran his hand on my back soothingly, whispering words of comfort. I was starting to realize that Ryder was really one of the best friends I'd ever had besides Nissa. What other reason would a guy sit next to me while I puked my guts out?

When my stomach finally seemed to settle, I sat back on my legs, my back leaning against Ryder's hard chest. I sighed, and grabbing a piece of toilet paper, I wiped my face. "If I ever try to drink again, promise me you'll cut my hands off if it's necessary?"

He laughed softly, "Sweetheart, you know I can't get you to do anything you don't want to do; you'll just kick my ass and do it anyways."

I smiled weakly, nodding in agreement. "You're probably right."

"Come on, maybe you should go back to bed." Nodding I tried to stand up, failing to do so as my legs were weak and tired. I felt myself begin to fall back to the floor, but instead landed in strong arms. Standing up, Ryder placed an arm under my knees and tightened his hold on the arm around my back.

"Thank you." I smiled, with a laugh, tapping his nose. He crunched up his face and shook his head.

"Don't get used to it, I don't like lugging around heavy women," he grinned teasingly and I glared at him playfully.

"Hey, is she okay? Case, are you okay?" Nissa asked as she stood up and came towards us as we stepped out the bathroom.

"Hey, best friend, I'm fine, I'm feeling so fine." I had no idea why, but my body had started to feel light and weightless, my mind becoming fuzzy. In that moment I just wanted to laugh and smile. I was feeling elated, like I was on a cloud.

"That wasn't an aspirin, was it?" Nissa's voice sounded distant, almost as if she was miles away.

"Nope. Special pill, actually." Those were the last words I heard before I drifted back to sleep.

The second time I woke up that day, my head felt much better and my throat didn't feel like asphalt. I guess the pill I'd taken had done wonders. As I sat up in my bed, I ran a hand through my tangled hair, yawning. I felt so well rested and full of energy. Looking around the room, I noticed for the first time since I woke up that I was alone. The blinds were drawn, every light was turned off and the air conditioning was blasting through the vents, making me curl my legs under me with a shiver.

My phone pinged on the desk next to my bed, the sound bouncing off the walls. Reaching for it, I pressed the home button, my screen lighting up with two unread messages. One from Nissa and the other from Ryder. Sliding my thumb over the screen, I read Nissa's first.

My brows furrowed in confusion. Future husband? Nissa was sitting at the same table as Drake?

Clicking on Ryder's message, I laughed.

Placing my phone back onto the night stand, I unfolded my legs from under me and got off the bed. Seeing my reflection, from my peripheral vision in the body-length mirror, I halted to a stop. Was that what I looked like? Ick. Slowly turning around to stare at myself, I saw my face cringe in the mirror.

My hair was an untamed mess, with strands sticking out every which way, with some sticking to my face. My face was sucked in, making me look like an anorexic Chihuahua. I was a terrible sight to see. I bet I could star in the exorcism and appear in every adults' nightmares. Shaking my head with a shudder, I headed to the bathroom to wash up.

As the warm, stream of water beat down on my back, my mind ran back to the night before. I laughed when I though about a drunk Ryder. He was a lot of fun to be around, that much I knew. But Ryder was always a lot of fun to be around. No one could make me laugh the way he did. Being around him made me feel special and I liked that.

Turning off the water, I stepped out of the shower, while wrapping a towel around my wet body. Running my fingers through my hair to untangle some of the knots, I rubbed a hand over the foggy mirror. I smiled at my reflection in the mirror; I looked much better. As I stood there staring at my reflection, I began to notice a few different things. For the first time in my life, I actually felt like smiling. I felt happy. I felt light. The sadness that had found a permanent spot in my eyes since I was born, seemed to have disappeared. Instead of finding dull, empty, brown eyes, I found bright, happy ones.

Could Austin actually be right? Was it Ryder who was making me happy? Shaking my head with an unconvincing laugh, I realized how ridiculous that was. Ryder was fun, and yes, when I was around him I could be myself without any judgement, and that made me happy, but Ryder was Ryder; anyone would feel that way around him. And even though he was good at making me laugh, Drake could also do the same.

I walked in the restaurant an hour later in a pair of shorts, white blouse and a pair of strappy sandals, my sunglasses resting on my head. Scanning the room for my friends, I spotted Nissa's messy blonde hair. I headed over to their table, my eyes falling on the other two people sitting with Nissa; Ryder and Oliver.

"Hey," I greeted as I pulled out the only chair available and sat down. Nissa grinned, Oliver waved and Ryder just grunted around a mouthful of food.

"So what are we doing today? Going out to shop? Drool over the lifeguards at the pool? Spend the day in the hotel room pigging out and watching horror movies?" Nissa asked, wiggling her eyebrows excitedly, leaning over the table towards me. "I suggest the first one."

Biting down on my lip, sorrowfully, I gave her apologetic look. "I can't. Drake and I are hanging out today, he wants to go on the brunch cruise."

"You're ditching me for that asshole?" she asked, shock written all over her face, offense seeping into her tone.

"Nissa, this is the first time he's wanted to hang out since the breakup," I pleaded with her, my eyes begging her to understand and to not be mad at me. I'd ran into Drake in the hallway and he'd asked if I'd wanted to go. I, of course, had immediately agreed. I needed to remind myself that Drake was the guy I wanted, he was the one who made me happy. Not Ryder. This cruise would be perfect, I couldn't pass it up.

"I'm gonna go get something to drink," Ryder interjected, jerking out of his chair, making it scrape on the floor, loudly. Glancing at his glass on the table, I frowned.

"But your glass is full?" I told him, gesturing to his glass. Clenching his jaw, his eyes followed my gaze.

"That's not mine, it's...Nissa's!" He slid the glass Nissa's way, who glanced at it in confusion.

"Uh, no-" At the sound of Ryder clearing his throat, the rest of her sentence hung in the air. "Actually it is, I ordered two drinks. You know me...can never have too much of iced tea."

Refusing to look my way, Ryder walked off towards the refreshment table, his back straight as a rod. I stared after him, trying to figure out what the hell had just happened.

That was weird.

You're talking about Ryder here. The voice in the back of my head reminded.

Oh, right!