"Hey Casey!" Kristi called to her in the hallway, "My cousin's coming over today. Can I go to your house?"
"Why?" Casey asked. "Shouldn't you be home with your cousin?"
"Well, maybe...but I hate my cousin Brad. He's 18 and he hates me so much. I would stay if my cousin Josh came, but he can't because he has work. Josh is a year older than us and he's real nice. Please Casey, I'm begging you!" Kristi pleaded.
"Well, you can't till 4, is that OK?" Casey asked. "I have drum lessons today."
"Well, 3 would be better, but I'll be there at 4. Thank you soo much Casey!!" Kristi ran down the hallway, dissapearing around the corner. How bad can a dumb cousin be? Casey thought.
"Hold on Kristi, I'm coming!" Casey yelled as she ran to the door after Kristi started ringing the bell.
"Hi Casey..." Kristi told her friend, with a frown on her face. "My mom made Brad come with me. She said it wouldn't be right to have him be here with me not home."
"Oh..." Casey trailed off. She looked over Brad. He was pretty tall, about 5'11", very tan, and had blond hair that was falling into his eyes. he reminded Casey of a surfer. he was wearing a short sleeve button down shirt open, and had on khaki shorts.
"Hi!" he told her cheerfully. Ok, Casey thought, he doesn't seem bad at all. Maybe Kristi is wrong...
"Brad, you can watch TV or something while I'm here. Just don't bother us!" Kristi told her cousin as soon as they got into the house.
"Why Kris, so you two can talk about Taylor or something without me there so I won't ruin all your fun? Oh, Taylor's so hot!!" Brad mocked his cousin.
"Not really." Casey gave Brad a disgusted look.
"Oh, so does that mean you're not a spaz like the rest of my cousin's friends?" he asked her.
"If you're asking if I listen to Hanson, it's a no, not really, but if you're asking if I like Hanson, it's a yes because I'm only best friends with Taylor." she glared at him.
"Ok, Kristi, are you sure you friend here isn't dilusional?" he sneered.
"Oh, yeah, of course I'm just pretending, I only lived next to him for 10 years in Tulsa!" Casey shot back. "So whatever, go to your house, or stay and watch TV, or follow us or something!" she blew up.
"Fine!" Brad looked startled. He really wasn't used to people actually standing up to him. At least not his cousin's friends anyway. He could get used to this girl.
"Brad! Where the hell is the CD you borrowed from me!" Casey yelled over the phone. She had lent him "Bleach" by Nirvana the week before so he could make a tape of it, and he hadn't given it back yet. "Drive over here and give it back!" she demanded.
"Calm down babe." he told her calmly. "I'll pick you up after work and we can go do something."
"Give me my CD back too." Casey told him. She didn't remember how she and Brad had gotten together, but it was a few weeks after she met him when he was at her house with Kristi. They had been going out for a month already.
"Don't worry, I will." he told her. "I really gotta go now. I'm late for work. I'll pick you up at 9, k?"
"Fine, bye. Love ya."
"Bye." he hung up the phone. Casey had to sneak out of the house because her mom thought it was absurd that she was 14 and was going out with an 18 year old guy.
"Oh my God, Tay, you're back from England? Yes! Are you gonna just stay in T-town?"
"I think so." Tay told Casey. "I know we're not going to New York again yet."
"Oh." Casey sounded dissapointed. "I guess you have to, though. Look Tay, I really gotta go. Brad's here and he'll get real pissed I don't hurry, k?"
"Oh, Ok Casey. Bye." Tay hung up the phone dissapointed. He was really happy for Casey that she had a boyfriend and everything, but she never had time to talk to him because, as she put it 'Brad would get real mad'. He didn't like the way that sounded, but what could he do? He was in Oklahoma and she was in New York.
