Casey had never been put in a more awkward situation.

    In elementary school, all the kids were interested in her. But not for her. Their adolescent minds were curious about the way Sam Gardner behaved. The kids her year had heard the rumour about a certain Sam Gardner throwing a tantrum in art class because the garbage bin had been placed under the teacher's table and far away from him, instead of at the front of the class where everyone had easy access to it. He cried and wailed for hours to the point that the teachers desperately had to get Casey out of her Science class to calm him down and deal with the situation. Soon enough, everyone in her class knew her as the "girl with the weird brother" and they never stopped asking her questions.

    So is your brother always this whiny?

    He's older than you but still acts this way?

    Does he throw tantrums at home too? That must be difficult to deal with.

    Casey remembers sitting down at her desk as she allowed these questions to attack her repeatedly and soon enough, she became so used to it that any time anyone looked at her and Sam as they walked down the hallways, she simply looked straight ahead, or if she was feeling nice, flash them a smile.

    But there was no denying how awkward it was. She knew kids her age then would not understand the term "autism" and they wouldn't be able to comprehend the existence of people who were not neurotypical. She didn't exactly blame them but having to just accept the negative accusations that Sam was "weird" didn't really sit right with her. Thankfully, as they moved on to high school, people got more mature (some people at least), and Sam could even defend himself now (sometimes) and plus, Casey didn't let things be so awkward anymore. She's Sam's protector.

    But that weird awkward feeling started to arise again as she sat on the one bed in the large, luxurious villa, waiting for the devil as Casey liked to call her, finish her shower.

    She had unpacked pretty quickly and was thankful for the space in the cabinets to fit all her thick winter wear and other necessities. She heaved a sigh of relief seeing that there were two cabinets and she wouldn't need to share with the devil after all. As if sharing a bed wasn't bad enough, they had to share a bathroom too, which was why Casey sat impatiently, and awkwardly, as she waited for the sound of the shower to stop.

    Eventually it did and Casey got up from the bed to gather her things. She had planned to take a shower and then get out of there as soon as possible to head back to the hotel and hang out with her friends.

    Her back was facing the door as she got her things and when she heard the creak of a door opening, she muttered to herself, "Finally" before turning around. She was shocked to see the devil peaking her head outside the door.

    "Newton, which one is nicer?" She asked, surprising Casey because this was the first time she hadn't said something snarky. Well, except for the weird nickname she had decided to give her. But then again, Casey calls her a devil. Before Casey could process what she meant, Izzie held out two pairs of bras- a white one and a pink one.

    Casey could now see that she had a towel wrapping her hair and another one around her body. Casey wasn't very concerned about the lingerie she wore because honestly, she spent 90% of her time in sports bras because of her track training schedule. But of course, every once in a while, she would grab the sexy lingerie that was hidden deep in her closet, anytime she wanted to look in the mirror and feel good, or if she wanted to give Evan a little show. But still, she wasn't prepared to answer the devil's question out of nowhere.

    "What are those? Victoria's Secret?" Casey asked, not meaning for it to sound like a joke because she was genuinely confused about why she wanted to wear a wired push-up bra for something like skiing, where she would have multiple layers anyways.

    "Just answer the question. There's a party in Nate's room tonight," She said and Casey raised her eyebrows.

    "You're not invited," Izzie scowled and Casey was taken aback.

    "I-I never assumed I was," Casey said, chuckling a little at the end because she found the devil's unnecessary irritation at her quite amusing. "Good. Don't you have your friends to get back to Newton?" She asked with a fake smile and Casey chuckled again.

    "Yeah I do. You took so long in the bathroom," Casey said and Izzie rolled her eyes before finally exiting. Casey refused to admit that she allowed her eyes to linger on her bare shoulders for longer than a second.

    "What're you doing?" Izzie asked, when she noticed Casey carrying a bottle of shampoo in. "What...?"

    "The villa provides shampoo. You don't need your own," Izzie said, as if it was obvious. The truth was, Izzie didn't know either and a small bottle of her own cheap 3 in 1 shower gel was hidden below her bag. She didn't know what to expect of this place until she came here because she barely left home because she was always...

    Nevermind. Izzie Taylor does not like to talk about such things. She decided on letting Casey believe that she knew about the existence of such luxurious amenities in a villa.

    "Oh... it's fine, I'll still use mine. You can use the villa one," Casey said. Izzie wanted to leave a snarky comment about how the villa housekeeping would obviously replace the bottles so both of them could use as much of the heavenly-scented soap, but she decided against it because she couldn't help but feel a little giddy at the realisation that Casey didn't care for such a luxurious life. That she was happy with the little things.

    But Izzie Taylor is still a devil, at least to Casey. So she simply scoffed before turning towards her bag, indicating that the conversation was over.

    "You should choose the pink, by the way," Casey spoke. Izzie looked at her in confusion.

    "The pink bra. It'll look good on you."

    ...

    "Villa shampoo?!"

    "Villa shampoo. And the really expensive kind too. It was moringa flower scented. That itself sounds rich," Casey scoffed as Sharice laughed.

    "You're really living the life there Gardner. I'm jealous of you," Tanya said, handing her a drink.

    "Oh I'm happy to exchange places with you anytime. My roommate is a complete... devil."

    "Devil? Really?" Sharice snorted and Casey rolled her eyes. "I'm serious. Her name's Izzie. The first thing I walked into was her and her boyfriend making out. And the boyfriend's a total creep, he winked at me on the way out. I mean, she deserves so much better."

    The girls were confused when Casey had said that and she realised she had contradicted herself. "So you think your 'devil' deserves better?" Sharice asked with a chuckle.

    "I mean... no one deserves a guy like that. Absolute red flag. Anyways, she told me to stay out of her way and even judged me for bringing my own soap. I bet her rich parents bring her to villas every single holiday and give donations to Clayton and throw money at her. I mean, how am I even supposed to relate to her? God, this is gonna be horrible," Casey groaned, lying back down on Sharice's bed, not wanting to admit that Izzie's beauty and attractive mannerism could almost make up for a snarky attitude.

    "You'll survive Case. You don't have to go back there until tonight. Come on, let's go to the slopes. The other students have already started," Tanya exclaimed before forcefully pulling Casey from the bed and dragging her out of the room.

    The cold air that hit her lips forced her to purse them as she buttoned up her ski jacket. "Jesus, it's cold," Casey huffed as vapour rushed out of her mouth. She smiled as she thought back to the time when she was younger and the snow was piling up outside the house so she would tell Sam that she was smoking every time she huffed out vapour in the cold air. Of course, her intelligent brother didn't fall for it and proceeded to tell her the process of condensation and teased her for thinking she was smoking. Casey obviously knew that but decided to stick to her theory that 'she was smoking'.

    There were basic training classes for people who didn't know how to ski which Tanya had to attend first, but luckily for Casey and Sharice, that wasn't the case. Their families had taken a ski trip together before. They weren't absolute professionals at it but they were confident they had enough skills to at least move around.

    Casey felt a pang of excitement in her stomach as she heard her classmates scream as they went down the slopes, other people cheering at their friends' skills.

    "So should we go?" Sharice asked and Casey smiled and nodded before they trudged up the slope with their skis, crushing the ice below with their ski boots.

    They took some time to figure out how to wear the skis because they had forgotten after the last time but once Casey had figured it out, she helped Sharice with it.

    "Didn't Evan once say he really wanted to try skiing?" Sharice asked and Casey gasped. "Okay Case relax, you didn't need to react dramatically," Sharice laughed and Casey shook her head. "No, no I completely forgot to text him."

    "Well, your phone isn't with you now. Don't worry, I'm sure he'll understand," Sharice reassured, putting her hand on her shoulder to comfort her, while also steadying herself on the slippery ice.

    Casey knew Evan wouldn't be angry about it but she still felt guilty. However, all thoughts of Evan disappeared from her mind as she squinted to look below the slopes.

    A group of people were slowly walking towards the slopes and it didn't seem like anyone they recognised from Newton. "Are those Clayton kids?" Sharice asked and Casey gasped for the second time.

    "Oh God it is. What're they doing here?" Casey asked, annoyed and Sharice reminded her about what Mr Ryan had said about them sharing the slopes with them.

    Casey could just about make out Izzie. She was walking with her hand wrapped around Nate's as she talked and laughed loudly with two girls next to her. "Is that your devil?" Sharice asked, noticing that Casey was staring at her for a long time.

    Casey nodded reluctantly before sighing, the vapour coming out of her mouth now less amusing that it was before. Once again, Sharice reassured her that Clayton would stick to their side and Newton would stick to theirs.

    "You go first," Sharice dared. "I don't know..."

    "Come on, don't be such a baby!"

    Casey looked nervously down the slopes but at this point, she didn't know if she was more nervous about the steepness of the slope, or the fact that the devil was watching her.

    She shuffled closer to the edge of the slope before the icy snow finally took over and smoothly and gracefully slid her down the slope. She heard Sharice screaming in excitement from the top and Casey laughed as she took her chances and moved even faster.

    The Newton kids below were also cheering for her. She tried her best to not focus on the judgemental eyes that Clayton was probably giving her but it was like her eyes instantly gravitated towards Izzie.

    The devil- actually no, Casey wouldn't call her that right now- Izzie, was actually looking at her too, but with no judgement at all. She wasn't cheering of course but her expression was pretty unreadable. It was like she was figuring something out, as if Casey skiing down the slope was something so interesting to her, as if it was the first time she had ever seen her.

    And that distracted Casey. Before she knew it, she jerked forward and landed face-first in the show, her body curving at a weird angle before her shoulder twisted.

    A sharp pain shot down her back as she groaned, too hurt to care about the giggles she was hearing from her right- the Clayton side.

    "The training classes are at the other side," she heard a voice say and she immediately recognised that it was Nate. This was followed by louder Clayton laughter. She huffed and pushed herself up but thankfully didn't need to because some of the Newton kids came rushing to help her.

    "Ignore them Casey, they're idiots," Beth said as she lifted Casey off the ground.

    She dusted the ice off her jacket and soon, Sharice came sliding down the slope. "Casey are you okay?!" She asked in concern, shuffling towards her. "My back hurts like a bitch," She groaned and Sharice and Beth immediately supported her from each side.

    She took a glimpse at Izzie, who was the only one not laughing. She was surrounded by guys who appeared to be Nate's friends, all as loud and obnoxious as him. She figured that the girls Izzie was talking to just now had gone for the training classes too.

    She huffed before looking away from Izzie, focusing on leaning against Sharice and Beth as they helped her remove her skis.

    "You should go back to the room and rest," Beth said with a smile and Casey's heart melted at the thought of Beth being as caring as her brother. She loved the Chapins. This only made her feel more guilty about not having texted Evan.

    She wanted to look at Izzie one more time, for comfort or some sort, but decided against it. She knew Izzie was just like the other Clayton kids. She didn't need that kind of presence in her life.

    After helping her back to the hotel, Casey promised them that she was okay and she could walk back to the villa herself, not wanting to interrupt their fun. After much persuasion, they agreed and she limped back to the villa, holding onto her back.

    When she entered the villa, it felt somewhat empty and lonely because she was expecting Izzie to be sitting there, waiting to attack her with another unnecessary comment, probably something about her falling like an absolute idiot.

    She sighed and closed the door before walking to the mini fridge to get out an ice pack. There were also beer cans stacked in the fridge. When she was in the shower just now, she had heard Izzie on the phone with who she was assuming was Nate. She figured that Nate had kept some cans in the fridge to keep them cool until their party tonight. Casey could not comprehend the difference in lifestyle between the Clayton kids and her.

    But whatever, it wasn't any of her business.

    She groaned and laid down on the bed, knowing that Izzie probably wasn't going to return until the next morning because she would crash at Nate's. Casey didn't know if she was thankful for the space.

    She cranked the heater up and got under the covers before taking out her phone, finally going to message Evan. She felt guilt, seeing that she had missed two of his texts.

    Evan: hey, all settled in?

    Evan: rooming with sharice?

    Casey: evan, i'm so sorry i didn't reply... unpacking was pretty hectic. anyways i got assigned to room with a clayton student in the villa next door

    Evan: ooo, sounds fun!

    Casey decided against telling Evan about Izzie. It's not like she was causing the world to end and Casey had to immediately rant about her

    Casey: missing you!

    She smiled at the texts before putting her phone down to rub her back where the ache was getting worse.

    Suddenly, she heard the sound of keys unlocking the door and she sat up to see Izzie walking in. She seemed to have a tad of concern in her eyes when she saw Casey sitting helplessly on the bed but she quickly turned to ignore her.

    Casey was the first to break the silence.

    "What're you doing here?"

    "Skiing got boring. We decided to have the party now," She replied, walking into the kitchen. "You didn't drink any of the beer did you?" She teased and Casey was shocked, hearing Izzie joke like that.

    "No, I didn't."

    She looked at Izzie take off her jacket before hanging it neatly in the cupboard. Casey felt bad about just throwing her jacket on the floor. She somehow had assumed that Izzie wasn't a very organised person and didn't care about how the room was. Zahid, Sam's friend, had once told her that all the Clayton students had their own housekeepers so they never knew how to clean up after themselves. Izzie seemed to be great at it though. It reminded her of Elsa.

    Izzie was now bending down at the mini fridge, taking out the cans of beer, struggling to keep them all in her hands.

    "Need help?" Casey asked. "Isn't your back busted after you fell like an idiot?"

    This time, it didn't really seem like a joke and Casey turned red. She didn't reply as she continued to watch Izzie struggle to carry all the cans until she finally found a box to put it all in.

    Izzie walked back into the room and Casey looked away and out into the balcony, feeling the awkward tension again. She took a glimpse at Izzie from the corner of her eye and saw that she was taking a bag that had the Olive Gardens Villas logo on it.

    "Did the villas supply them with more beer?" Casey thought to herself. She watched as Izzie brought the bag back to the fridge and started taking things out of the bag to store them in the fridge. Unfortunately, a pillar was blocking Casey from seeing what it was. But she decided to not ask.

    Izzie then took the box of beer cans and walked back to the bathroom, grabbing the pink bra.

    Casey was lost in her thoughts until Izzie came out of the toilet. She wore high-waisted black jeans that were ripped at the knees and a black crop top which just about revealed her belly button. The top hugged her curves perfectly and Casey was shy to admit that the bra did wonders to her chest area.

    It was a simple outfit which Casey would never give a second look to on the streets but... this was Izzie Taylor. Her devil was standing in front of her looking absolutely gorgeous and suddenly she really looked like an angel.

    But still, Casey looked away because she suddenly thought about Evan. "Woah wait... what're you doing, Casey?" She thought to herself.

    "Don't wait up for me," Izzie said, grabbing her phone before leaving, knowing very well that Casey wasn't planning on waiting up for her.

    When Casey heard the door close, she looked back at her phone to see that Evan had sent her a heart emoji and now she felt even guiltier for a completely different reason. Why was she looking at Izzie like that when she has a boyfriend. And Izzie has a boyfriend too!

    She turned off her phone and proceeded to apply the ice pack when she realised that it had already melted and become warm under the blankets. She groaned and lifted herself off the bed.

    She had only seen one ice pack in the fridge just now and it was now melted. Casey decided to check the fridge in hopes that Izzie had maybe left a beer can behind so that she could press it against her back.

    Casey opened the fridge to reveal no beer cans but instead, at least 5 ice packs stacked neatly in the fridge. Confused, she looked to her side and saw the bag with the villa logo and realised that Izzie had brought up ice packs to their room for Casey.

    How could Casey possibly call her a devil now?

    Casey smiled widely and took it from the fridge, examining it for a while. She couldn't comprehend the fact that Izzie Taylor, had actually thought about her, and took the effort to bring up ice packs, knowing she would need it.

    She closed the fridge and made a mental note to thank Izzie the next time she would see her, which she guessed would be tomorrow morning.

    ...

    It had been about 3 hours since Izzie had left for the party.

    The sun had already set over the slopes and it was around 10pm. She could just about hear the thumping of loud music and she figured that Nate's villa was probably not too far away.

    She had video called her family just now and Zahid and Paige happened to be over at the Gardner household for dinner. Sam was talking to Casey all about snow and mountains. Casey wasn't surprised though as this was coming from her Antarctica connoisseur of a brother.

    Casey told them about how she fell down, but only did it when Elsa was out of the frame, not wanting to make her mother regret allowing her to go on this trip. She would have complained about Izzie to Zahid because he always gave great advice and made light of things but Casey physically could not feel any form of irritation about her anymore after what she did with the ice packs. Instead, she settled on complaining about the Clayton kids in general.

    Zahid had heard the sound of the party going on from the other end and scoffed. "I told you! All these preppies will be having their parties till 5 in the morning!" He said.

    And now, Casey was watching a show on her laptop, too tired to head to the hotel to meet up with Sharice and Tanya for dinner. She also was interested to try the room service at the villa and she was not disappointed. She didn't feel like talking to Evan either.

    Casey figured that the party wasn't going to end any time soon so she shut her laptop and decided to get ready for bed.

    She brushed her teeth and put on her pyjamas, this time making sure she put her clothes in the laundry basket. She owed it to Izzie to keep the room clean. She also made sure the housekeeping took away the dirty dinner plates after she had eaten.

    She plugged her phone into the charger and just before she was going to lie down, she heard the door open. She wondered who it was, knowing that Izzie wouldn't be back until morning.

    So she was incredibly surprised that it was her devil after all. Her eyes were red and her cheeks were clearly stained with tears and mascara.

    Before Casey could take this all in, Izzie spoke first. "I thought I told you to not wait up for me!" She yelled, furiously before quickly wiping her cheeks with her hand.

    "I- I thought you would be late. I was just gonna go to sleep," Casey mumbled. She wanted to ask Izzie what was wrong but was afraid she was going into dangerous territory. Izzie definitely didn't seem like she wanted to talk about it.

    "Whatever! The party was boring," Izzie said, pacing around the room. It was obvious that she was hopelessly attempting to save her pride and hide the fact that she was absolutely distraught right now.

    "Are- are you okay?" Casey built the nerve to ask and Izzie scoffed, half defensively and half embarrassed.

    "I'm fine!"

    Casey then realised there was only one bed. Izzie had to stay here after all. She couldn't afford any awkward tension tonight.

    "Um... did something... did something happen at the party?" Casey tried again.

    "I said I'm fine!"

    Casey had officially entered dangerous territory.

    "I'm sleeping at Quinn's," Izzie simply said, gathering her things. Casey assumed Quinn was one of Izzie's friends.

    Casey wanted to tell her that she had absolutely no obligations about Izzie sleeping in the same bed as her. It's not like anything more than sleeping was going to happen. But Izzie was too angry right now for Casey to stop her.

    Right before Izzie left the front door, Casey called her name. Izzie looked back, as if she was nearly hopeful that Casey would ask her to stay.

    "Can you stay? Please?" Izzie imagined Casey would say and she would walk right back into the room and into the bed with Casey.

    "Th-thank you for the ice packs," was all she said and Izzie's heart broke. Izzie looked her up and down, not as angry anymore, but now more hurt. Izzie had gotten her the ice packs so why couldn't Casey ask her to stay?

    But Izzie didn't expect anything to be fair like that.

    So she simply nodded and walked out, slamming the door behind her.