Easy To See(Sequel to 'Didn't Know It Before' - an EJ Caswell Fanfiction)

Chapter Thirteen: Valentine's Day

Cass and I hadn't spoken much since the night of Auditions. Rehearsals had started, which meant that the two of us had been living at arms length for almost a week.

We got up silently, made breakfast silently, and grumbled goodbyes before I headed out the door to go to school. It wasn't her fault, and I knew that. She was just trying to help, but I had a feeling that her help was going to take focus away from the musical and from my music, and that's a distraction that I just can't afford right now.

I grumbled my usual goodbye and walking out the front door, only to trip over an unexpected object that was placed directly in front of the doorway. I stumbled forward, attempting to keep my balance when I ran face-first into one of the support beams on the porch. I winced, toppling backwards onto the ground with a loud crash, causing Cass to come running out the door.

"Meg? What the heck did you do?!"

"Who the frick would just leave that in front of the freaking door?!" I asked, gesturing to the object I'd tripped over, with one hand cupped over my face, which was now throbbing from the collision with a giant wooden pole. She followed my gaze, and I finally looked at it myself to see that it was a giant gift basket wrapped in purple and teal cellophane. It was full of The Little Mermaid memorabilia, and had a card taped to the top. Cass bent over, snatching it off of the handle and flipping it open.

"You poor unfortunate soul. Why don't you come to a place where your talent will be appreciated?" She read. I shoved the basket with my foot, sending it sliding across the porch. I took my hand off of my face, letting it fall into my lap.

"Zackey Roy." I muttered.

"Ooh, Meg, your face is starting to swell." She said, offering me a hand. I took it, allowing her to hoist me to my feet. "You're gonna want to ice that."

"I don't have time, I'm gonna be late for school," I said, "I'll stop by the nurse's office when I get there."

"Are you sure?" She asked. "What if it swells shut while you're driving?"

"Its not that far," I insisted, "But if it gets too bad, I will pull over and I will call you. Promise."

I stood up, brushing off my clothes and heading down the stairs towards the car.

"Hey," Cass called. I paused, turning around to face her, "I know its been weird here lately, since..."

"Yeah." I said, tucking my hair behind my ear.

"But I'm serious about the driving thing, ok? You call me. I'm gonna lose it if you don't." She replied. I nodded, blowing out a breath.

"I will." I pulled my car door open, sliding into the Driver's seat and waving at Cass before pulling out of the driveway. It was only then that I adjusted my mirror to survey the damage to my face. "Just the icing on the cake."

~~~

"I'm sorry, do you know where I can find Megan Kline? She's my beautiful girlfriend, and I want to wish her a happy Valentine's day."

I shoved my locker shut, allowing EJ to appear in my line of sight. His eyes widened at the sight of my now-black eye, lowering the bouquet of flowers that he had in his hand.

"Good lord, Megan! What happened?!" He asked, lifting his arm to put a hand on my face.

"Stupid Zackey Roy and his stupid gift basket." I muttered, adjusting my backpack strap and walking past him towards my first class. "I tripped over it coming out my door this morning, and I'm sorry to say, I think I cheated on you with my porch. I'm lucky I didn't bust my teeth out or something."