And Before We Part... (Casey and Ezzie)

[Carson McGreggor H6]

The end of the year.

Carson was excited about it, he really was. It was just that so much had happened throughout this year. He had gone through so much, and so much had changed. He still really didn't know how to deal with his best friend's death, but he knew he'd one day learn to accept it. He had hoped that his friends had learned how to deal, especially Ezzie. She had only known him for about a year, and she was hurting the most over what happened. But
Carson really did wish no one had to deal with the death of a friend. He wished that Ethan didn't have to die, but Carson did believe that everything happened for a reason. Ethan died because he needed to. There was no if's and's or but's about it. He needed to die. Carson didn't know where he'd be if things hadn't turned out the way they did. He'd be an angry mess all the time, he would have been getting detentions every other day, and he would have never become a prefect. But he didn't like to pretend Ethan's death was a good thing.

Carson was dealing too, only he didn't show it. He was the glue that kept Casey and Ezzie together. What they didn't know was how he was really feeling deep down inside himself. Every time he sat down in the Great Hall he would look over at where Ethan used to sit, and he wouldn't be there any more. Carson sighed, glancing over at the windowsil where Ethan used to sit when he was bored. He turned away quickly and shut his trunk. The express would be leaving soon, and he promised he'd meet up with Casey and Ezzie in the common room.

Boy was he glad they were friends again. They wouldn't be if it weren't for him, but he didn't like to linger on the 'how' factor too much, just the fact that they were friends once more. They had gone through one rough time, but he was glad they were over it. He was upset though, because throughout this entire summer, Carson wouldn't be able to see his girlfriend. He didn't know what he'd do without her. He even felt somewhat bad, because both Carson and Ezzie were going on tour, but Casey wouldn't be able to go because she wasn't a part of it. It saddened
Carson quite a bit that he wouldn't be able to see her, but he took confidence in the fact that they would be spending an aweful lot of time together on their cell phones. He would call her during every spare moment he got. Leaving his trunk in his dorm for the elves, Carson waved goodbye to his dorm mates and walked up the stairs to the Gryffindor common room for the last time as a fifth year student. He waited outside the portrait for a few minutes, wondering where Casey and Ezzie had gotten to.

((MS word broke down, so now I'm pretty much stuck with wordpad. Sorry about the weird format.))

[Casey Allen G5]

“Ezzie where’s my..?” Casey chuckled and reached for her Gryffindor jumper. “Never mind!” She called as she stuffed the jumper into her trunk. She wouldn’t be needing it for a good while and this was something that Casey was really happy about. It wasn’t exactly a secret that Casey didn’t care for school much. She liked Hogwarts and she liked being with her friends, but she had never done great at classes. Then again, she had never really tried. Whatever. Summer was about to begin and as much as Casey had been looking forward to tour, a part of her dreaded it. How was she supposed to keep her secret from Carson for two whole months? She knew that Ezzie would help her and Casey was glad that her best-friend was on tour with her, but it was going to be a weird tour after all. Plus, London Star would be tagging along which was something that Casey really dreaded. The girl loathed Eden and Casey had no idea why. That was another person that Casey had to keep her secret from. Emphasizes on the ‘had to’. If London found out, she would tell the world. Casey had a lot riding on this tour and she had a lot to worry about. But she just had to remember how much fun it was going to be. She couldn’t worry about everything else. Not yet anyways.

“Okay so promise that you’ll help me keep the secret.” Casey said to Ezzie as she lifted up her trunk up. “Promise.” Ezzie repeated. Casey smiled and nodded as she took one final look around her dorm room. Another year down, three more to go. It was weird to think that her Hogwarts years were more than half-way over, but they were. And as much as she missed her home in Newport, Casey liked her school. She smiled as she took one more look at her bed and then followed Ezzie out of the door. Carson was waiting for them outside the common room. Casey sighed. She loved being around Carson and she loved being his girlfriend, but it was more complicated than Carson even knew. Casey wanted to tell him, but she couldn’t. What if he didn’t understand? What if he hated her for keeping the secret from him? There were too many what-if’s and Casey didn’t want to risk it. So many people tried to convince her to tell him, but she couldn’t. Even Bradley wanted his daughter to tell her boyfriend the truth. Casey shook her head. She wasn’t ready to tell him, but hopefully she would be one day. Hopefully.

“Hiya.” Casey greeted Carson as she walked out from the portrait. Casey put her trunk on the ground and kissed his cheek. Carson thought that Casey wouldn’t see him for the summer and she wouldn’t. Well, Carson wouldn’t see Casey, he would see Eden. But Casey would see him and she took comfort in that, but it would be difficult. How was she supposed to keep this a secret for the whole summer? A bunch of people on tour knew and they could accidentally say ‘Casey’ instead of ‘Eden’. So many things could go wrong and there was nothing Casey could do to change that. So for now, she just had to smile and go on the train with her boyfriend where she would say ‘miss you’ like fifty times even if it wasn’t really true. Casey smiled to Ezzie. “Sorry we’re a tad late. I’ve got too much stuff.” Well at least that wasn’t a lie. “C’mon. As much as I would love to spend a summer here, I think we better make the train.” She giggled and walked with her two best-friends to Hogsmeade.

Twenty minutes later, Casey, Carson, and Ezzie boarded the train. Not many carriages were empty but Casey finally spotted one toward the middle. “C’mon!” She called. As weird as tour was going to be, Casey was excited. Her last tour had been rather small and it was before Eden was really famous. This would be totally different. Casey was also glad that Ezzie would be performing with her. They had practiced a good bit and it was going to be a great show. Ezzie’s part was great and of course Carson was a great guitarist. And yes, London was good, but Casey wouldn’t admit it. London was too mean and Casey wasn’t about to be nice to her. The old Casey would be nice no matter what but the new Casey wouldn’t let her guard down for one little second. Out of all the people that could know her secret on tour, London couldn’t. She would tell Carson not to mention the entire world. Casey wouldn’t let that happen. Casey shook her head. She could worry about all of that later. Casey walked into the carriage and took a seat by the window. As her two friends settled in, she eyed them. “Well, I hope you two have fun. And watch out for Eden, I hear pop stars are evil.” She joked and then eyed Ezzie. Well, she wasn’t really sure what to say because everything was going to be lies. And Casey hated it but it had to be done. “But send me a postcard okay.” She said smiling. Casey eyed the window as they train whistle sounded and it started to move. “We just made it.” She said as she watched Hogsmeade being left behind as the train moved on. Casey then looked back to her best-friend and her boyfriend and smiled.

[Esmeralda Mendez]

((sorry it took so long. Had to finish up the other post so I could post here))

Ezzie figured he’d be gone by now. Vanished, out of her thoughts for good. It seemed that TJ Turner’s charms only existed while she was around him, and the second he left, Ezzie wouldn’t like him any more. And maybe if it weren’t for that mind melting kiss, that would have been the case. But Ezzie just couldn’t get that night in Hogsmeade out of her head. There had been such an alarming amount of passion and greediness for more in that kiss. Ezzie just couldn’t get rid of the feeling she got whenever she thought of him. It was like one of Ezzie’s old schoolgirl crushes…only he liked her back. Or so she thought. Ezzie could never be so sure when it came to guys like TJ. Maybe he just acted like he liked her. Guys did that sometimes….didn’t they? Ezzie sighed. She had already been packed and ready to leave for days now.

She couldn’t wait to get out of this place, with all the menacing students that never seemed to want to leave her alone. After that interview the other day though, people had begun to lighten up. No one was blaming her for Ethan’s death anymore, which was good. They basically just ignored her for the most part. Most kind of pitied her. They’d let her pass through, they’d make sure they always saw her eating in the Great Hall, and in general just pitied her. Ezzie hated that more than the ones who made fun of her or hated her. (you’d be surprised how many of those people were out there) Sighing, Ezzie looked up from her fashion magazine she’d been flipping through at Casey, who was blabbing on and on about her secret.

“Calm down, Case. You’re covered. I wish you’d just tell Carson already, but I promise.” Ezzie said rolling her eyes. She didn’t know what was holding Casey back from telling her own boyfriend about her secret. Carson would understand. He was one of the least judgmental people Ezzie knew. If he could stick by Ezzie even with all she was going through, then he could definitely deal with his girlfriend’s secret. Besides, she had told Casey time and time again that it would only make their summer so much more fun in the grand scheme of things. It would be one less person to keep the secret from for one thing, and Ezzie would be damned if neither of them would enjoy an entire summer working together. She just didn’t understand Casey sometimes, but that was her business whether or not she wanted to tell her boyfriend the biggest secret of her life. It wasn’t up to Ezzie to decide what Casey could or could not say to Carson. While Ezzie sometimes questioned her friend’s motives and decisions, Casey was after all her best friend, and the job of the best friend was to guide, not to boss the other around.

Once Casey was finally ready and packed, Ezzie and Carson made their way downstairs into the common room and out into the corridor outside the portrait. Ezzie waved goodbye to the fat lady and turned around to see Casey and Carson already together. They were so adorable, so happy. They were the perfect image of young love. There was no fighting, no yelling, no breaking up for the stupidest of reasons. They were the better Ethan and Ezzie, even while he was alive. Sighing slightly, Ezzie looked away as Casey lovingly kissed her boyfriend’s cheek. It almost made Ezzie wonder how long they were going to stay this way. Ezzie finally looked up, once again sensing that once again, she was probably the third wheel here. But then Ezzie looked down at her forearm, which was covered by her robe and smiled. TJ‘s phone number still shone bright on her forearm, flashing from various colors from the rainbow.

Ezzie looked up again and finally decided to speak. “Hey, umm we should probably get going. Wouldn’t want to miss the train, you know.” and sure enough, ten minutes later, Ezzie and Casey had found themselves in the Hogwarts Express. Casey was babbling on and on about how she wouldn’t see them at all this summer, and Ezzie had to suppress the urge to roll her eyes. “No worries, Case. I’m sure we’ll all manage to keep in touch.” She gave Casey a look. Deciding to change the subject, Ezzie decided it was finally time to tell her two best friends about everthing with TJ. Carson knew about the last time she met him (minus most of the important details…Carson would flip if he knew everything) but she hadn’t told Casey a thing. “But anyway…have you guys ever heard of TJ Turner? You know, from Romanticide?” Ezzie asked, trying to supress her excitement by biting her lip.

[Casey Allen G5]

Casey nodded and smiled when Ezzie said she was covered. She could always count on Ezzie. A part of Casey was mad at herself for leaving Ezzie alone for those months, but she couldn’t turn back time now. Well, she could, but..oh nevermind. Casey wasn’t going to go back and fix things. The best-friends just had to move one which was what they were doing. They were putting those months past them and going on tour. And only a few things stood in their way: Casey’s secret, Carson, and London Star. Casey could for the most part handle her secret even with Carson, but keeping it from London was going to be difficult. After all, the girl wasn’t exactly Casey’s friend. She hated Eden’s guts in fact. At least Casey had Ezzie on her side. After all, Casey couldn’t make it through the next few months on her own. She needed her best-friend to help her win battles and they would. Casey smiled as songs filled up in her head. She was ready to be on tour already. They had a couple of days until the kick-off in London and then after only a day of that, they’d be off in France. France! Casey was stoked.

“You’re the best.” She smiled to her friend. Casey nodded and sighed. “I’m gonna tell him one day. But this isn’t the right time.” Actually it was probably the perfect time, but Casey wasn’t ready to tell him. She didn’t want to ruin what they had and this could do just that. Things with Carson and Casey were good. She didn’t want to mess them up. Casey and Ezzie headed down to meet Carson and they all headed to Hogsmeade. Casey eyed the village around her. Only three years to go. Casey would miss Hogwarts when it was all over with. But that was still a ways away, right? Casey nodded to herself. She had no idea what she would be doing once graduation came. Would she still be Eden Sweden or will she have chosen another path? The thought kind of scared her but there was nothing Casey could do about the future right now. Nope. She simple had to live in the present and deal with it.

Casey smiled at Ezzie’s comment and looked over to Carson. He would be the one suffering really. After all, Casey got to see her boyfriend all summer, but Carson didn’t get to see his girlfriend. Well, not really. After all, Casey would practically have to wear her wig all the time. The only time she didn’t have to was when she was in her room on the bus which conjoined with Ezzie’s, so they would have to make sure all the doors were locked. Casey shook her head and took a seat in the compartment. Casey nodded at Ezzie’s question. “Yea great band. He used to go to Hogwarts right?” Casey remembered hearing some rumbling in the hallways about him a few years back. All the girls wanted to date the boy in the band. But Casey had never been that girl. She always wanted to be the girl in the band. Casey looked to Carson and then eyed Ezzie. “What about him?” She eyed while flipping a piece of wavy brown hair about and looking out the window as they train began to move and Hogsmeade was left in the background. Another year, gone.

[Esmeralda Mendez]

Ezzie sighed as she looked out the window. It was a wonder how much time flew. She didn’t even want to think about her past, everything she had been through in this past year alone. It seemed cruel really, that God had put her through so much. Ezzie found it somewhat hard to believe how he was this kind, merciful lord that sent gifts down from the heavens despite how terrible his children on earth had been. Ezzie’s image of God or Jesus Christ may have been a bit distorted since Ethan’s death, and Ezzie knew that. But that didn’t stop her from seeing that same evil face. The face that had let all these things happen in the past few months. Jesus seemed like the ultimate thrill-seeker, wanting to see just how much Ezzie could take or just how long it would take for her to snap. He lived off the lives of his children, watching them suffer as he weaved tales and stories that they would eventually encounter somewhere along their lives. Ezzie wasn’t sure if she’d ever forgive this higher power for taking Ethan away. It seemed cruel and unfair. Sure, maybe it wasn’t the best way to imagine the good lord Jesus Christ, but it was Ezzie’s way. And Ezzie’s way was almost always pretty far from normal.

She didn’t even want to think of her past anymore. What Ezzie finally realized she should be thinking more about was her future. She had no idea what fate had in store for her, and she didn’t care. She was tired of letting fate decide how she should live her life or what she should do. Ezzie wanted to make her own choices for once. Maybe I’ll sing for a few more years and hopefully do a bit of acting around the way. It sounded like a decent enough plan, to be sure. It was practical. She’d spend her teen years singing, going on tour, making herself known to the world. Then when she hit her twenties she’d begin acting. She’d never really tried acting before, as her career had been mainly singing and making her music career shine. Ezzie sighed slightly as she pulled up the sleeve to her robe to scratch her arm, forgetting that TJ’s number was still etched in bright flashing colors on her arm. Looking down, Ezzie was almost positive Casey and Carson had seen the numbers written across her arm, but at this point she didn’t really care. They were going to find out eventually anyway.

Ezzie wondered how both of them would react to Ezzie’s story about TJ. She would leave some of the more important parts until after Carson left because quite frankly, while Carson was a great friend, Ezzie didn’t think he’d be able to handle the truth. He already went all ‘big brother’ on her when she told him about meeting him in Hogsmeade the first time. She could still remember his glare at her when she told Carson she thought she had feelings for him. I dunno, Ezzie. He seems like trouble. I mean, have you seen that police record of his? It’s worse than Hanson Fitson’s! Carson had exclaimed. You know he does drugs right? I wouldn’t leave your drink unattended for too long…I dunno Ez. I just don’t trust the guy. Carson had said grumpily. Ezzie actually managed to laugh a bit at the memory. But then, realizing both Carson and Casey were probably waiting on a story, Ezzie figured she should probably snap out of her little reverie and answer Casey’s question.

“Well I think I might have a thing for him. We’ve been meeting up in Hogsmeade kind of accidentally for awhile and the other day when I went in for that interview with the Prophet, we kissed. I dunno what to do! I mean, he wants to go out with me, but it’s so soon after Ethan and he doesn’t have the best of reputations…” Ezzie trailed off, practically listing off all her worries to her two friends. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Carson’s eyes widen. “You kissed him, Ezzie? How could you? Next thing you know, he’s slipping you things and doing things and me and Casey are going to have to carry your unconscious self home after every party the guy invites you to! You can’t actually be serious about this guy.” Carson exclaimed angrily. There it was. Ezzie knew he would freak out.

“Carson! Calm down! With that tone, I’m going to have Sinclair on my arse again!” Ezzie said, instinctively checking the compartment door to make sure no one was listening in. “And besides, it’s not like I’m planning on marrying the guy! I’m just saying that maybe it wouldn’t be too terrible to give him a chance, is all I’m saying. Casey, what say you?” She asked, hoping Casey would back her up on this one. Sure, TJ may not have the best of reputations, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t a great guy. Casey and Carson needed to know that and they needed to trust that Ezzie knew what she was doing, even if in reality, she had no idea.

[Casey Allen G5]

Casey smiled at Carson and held his hand and smiled again. She felt bad. Deep down, Casey wanted to tell him the truth, but she was keeping herself from it. She was scared. No. She was terrified! What if he didn’t approve? What if he hated her forever? Maybe one day Casey would be ready to tell him everything but not yet and not now. She sighed and glanced at Ezzie. Oh well. Casey eyed the window as the train kept moving. This year had been a crazy one. With Ezzie finding out Casey’s secret and becoming famous. Then, Ethan’s death and Carson ending up in jail! It had been crazy and Casey couldn’t change it. And she wouldn’t change it. Well, she would want Ethan to come back, but that would never happen. Casey sighed. At least the year was over. It was time to move on. Time to move past everything and that wouldn’t be easy to do. But she had to. Casey had grown up a lot in the past year, but she had always stayed the same to some extent. Casey was different that was for sure and she had learned a lot. And one thing she learned was that she wasn’t ready to tell Carson. She smiled at him lightly. She wasn’t grown up enough yet for that. But one day she would be. But until then, things had to stay the way they were.

They were all silent for a moment before Ezzie leaned to scratch her arm and bright colored numbers were etched across it. “What’s that?” Casey asked loudly. She eyed Carson who didn’t look happy at all. And then Ezzie started talking about him, Carson was furious. Ezzie was like a little sister to Carson and they all knew that. Carson wasn’t about to let her do something that could hurt her in anyway. Casey eyed Carson and dropped his hand lightly when he started to get all hot and bothered. There was no use in calming him now. It probably wouldn’t work. Casey couldn’t stop everything Carson was saying, but she clung on to the words. Casey didn’t know TJ, but she trusted Carson. If Carson said that the guy was bad news then he probably was. Casey kept quiet and didn’t say a word. She listened to Ezzie and Carson bickering. It was true, TJ didn’t have the best reputation. Actually it was a horrible one. But, Casey wouldn’t stop Ezzie from dating who she wanted to date. Ezzie had to make her own decisions.

Casey looked around when Ezzie brought up the Sinclair’s. Ahh they were annoying and Casey had to make extra sure that her secret was a secret when she was around Aimee. She couldn’t give anything away. Even the slightest thing around Aimee Sinclair could end up in one of her mum’s articles. Casey’s eyed grew wide when Ezzie asked her opinion. The last time Casey gave an opinion, Casey and Ezzie didn’t talk for months. Casey sighed. She could do this. “I dunno Ez. I trust you and all, but this guy kinda seems like trouble.” She eyed Carson and nodded. “I mean Carson is a good judge of character look at the whole Hanson thing.” She said thinking back to Hanson and his groupies attacking Casey. Casey eyed her friend. “Now I’m telling you not to date him, but be careful okay. Do you really want things at school to be like they were after Ethan died? Come on Ez, you don’t want to go threw that again.” Casey eyed Carson and then looked back to her best-friend. “I don’t know him, but I already don’t trust him okay.” She didn’t want to offend her friend but she had to tell the truth. “But I guess I’m willing to give him a chance.” Casey eyed Carson. He most likely wouldn’t feel the same, but Casey would try and change his mind. “Are you Carson?” She asked trying to be as nice about it as she could. Casey then eyed Ezzie and sighed.

[Carson McGreggor H6]

Carson always knew this moment would one day arise, but he had always hoped he was going to be wrong. He didn’t want his ‘little sister’ to fall into this same hole once more. He could tell she was starting to get better. He didn’t want this to happen, but knowing Ezzie and her unwanted talent for somehow getting herself into trouble, he knew she was going to fall for T.J. Turner’s manipulative ways. Carson, of course didn’t personally know Turner, but he didn’t need to know him to know he was trouble. Personally, he really didn’t think Turner was all that great of a guy. In fact, that was like the understatement of the year. He hated Turner’s reputation. He didn’t like to pay attention on what was going on in the media, but you would have to live in a whole not to know about TJ Turner. He was always getting thrown in jail or showing up drunk to concerts. The kid was thirsty for the spotlight, and he often got what he wanted. Carson always rolled his eyes when it came to Turner showing up in the magazines and newspapers again, but now that he was supposedly interested in Ezzie, Carson had a new found hate for the seventeen year old.

Carson didn’t like the idea of Ezzie getting involved with this guy, but it was obvious he had no choice. “Ezzie, you have no idea what you’re getting yourself into. You were just starting to get your life together and now this loser comes along and he’s about to crush everything you’ve worked for! Come on, don’t let this guy into your life. All he’s going to do is ruin it. You know he probably doesn’t even like you all that much? He’s just looking for some trophy girlfriend to show off to the media, because trust me, Ezzie. You’re a trophy worth showing.” Carson didn’t want to be so harsh with Ezzie, but she had to know the truth. Carson was a guy. He knew what went on inside their heads. Not to mention he knew Ezzie. And he knew that his words would not sit well with her. She was going to fight.

“How could you even say that Carson? You don‘t even know him!” Ezzie spat back, ignoring Casey’s words for a moment. Carson, however took heed to what she had to say, and she was glad she stood up for him. He knew she would. “Because I don’t need to know him to understand what his motives are. And you see! Even your best friend believes its not a good idea. I mean, we do trust you, just like Casey said, but I definitely don’t like this.” He said stubbornly. He didn’t want Ezzie to think that he didn’t trust her judgment because he did, and he definitely couldn’t stop her from doing what she wanted to do, even though he would desperately love to at this moment.

“Thanks Casey. And don’t worry. I’ll get you and hopefully even Carson to trust him someday. At least I know I have one friend who knows I can handle myself.” Ezzie said with a slight glare at Carson. He knew she didn’t like hearing her friends’ disapproval, but she knew she had to hear it. He needed her to be careful and watch for this Turner guy, because no matter how much she tried to defend him, Turner couldn’t be trusted. “Well Ez, no offense, but you really haven’t had the best track record for handling yourself in the past. But I know you’re better than that now, and I guess you’re strong enough to handle anything that comes your way. Now I’m not giving him a chance. Not in the slightest. But I can’t stop you from doing what you want to do, so I’ll put up with the guy. But I want to talk to him before you two go absolutely anywhere by yourselves.” He said grumpily and sat back in his chair to signal that he was finally done letting Ezzie know what was on his mind.

((i guess we can move on to the next post now?))