"I want us to be together."

    Those were the words Casey would never forget for the rest of her life. As they pushed the door open to their villa and collapsed on the bed, Izzie turned to her and said those words.

    "I want us to be together."

    It gave Casey the butterflies, her legs felt like jelly, she couldn't breathe. The thought of being Izzie Taylor's girlfriend? Oh lord...

    Izzie noticed the shock and reluctance on her face and felt nervous. "We don't have to... I just-"

    "Of course I'll be your girlfriend. It's... it's what I want more than anything," Casey whispered and Izzie let out a breath she was holding in.

    Casey grabbed the remote before cranking up the heater, pulling Izzie closer to her. She frowned as she looked down at Izzie who was still shivering.

    "You're gonna fall ill..." Casey mumbled against her ear, rubbing her arm up and down. "It's okay... tonight was worth it," Izzie said, looking up at her with a smirk. She hid her face in Casey's neck, inhaling her scent, satisfied that she could do it whenever she wanted to.

    "You comfortable?" Casey gently asked, pulling the blankets over them. Izzie sighed and nodded her head. Eventually, both girls fell into a deep sleep.

    ...

    The next morning, Casey woke up to the familiar figure next to her. Except this time, the blankets were drenched in sweat and Izzie was burning next to her like a furnace.

    "Oh shit..." Casey muttered, removing herself from Izzie's embrace. She looked at her girlfriend and noticed that she was in discomfort, breathing deeply through her blocked nose as sweat ran down her forehead.

    Casey rushed to her luggage bag, remembering that Elsa had stashed a bunch of medicine in the side pocket for every illness known to man. She whipped out flu tablets and pain killers, expecting Izzie to be in some form of pain when she woke up.

    She then went into the kitchen to get a glass of water before setting it down next to Izzie. She shook her awake gently. "Izzie... wake up..."

    The moment she opened her eyes, she groaned and turned to the other side to cough. "Oh my God... I feel like shit..." She muttered, holding onto her head.

    "What're you feeling?" Casey whispered as she struggled to sit up. "My throat is all scratchy, and I'm burning up and... oh God my head hurts like a bitch."

    Casey got the pain killers and flu tablets ready in her hands and handed them to Izzie before putting the glass of water in front of her. "So you were prepared huh?" Izzie laughed, taking the tablets and Casey looked at her sternly.

    "I told you you were gonna fall ill. Last night was magical but... you gotta be more careful okay?" Casey pleaded as Izzie swallowed the last tablet. "You seem healthy," Izzie giggled and Casey smirked.

    "My immune system is in pristine condition. You should learn from me."

    Just as Izzie opened her mouth to say something, she started to cough again. Casey rubbed her back before going into the kitchen to get a cold towel. She made Izzie lie down before placing it on her forehead. "That should bring your temperature back down. You have to stay in by the way."

    "Well, don't have too much fun without me."

    "What're you talking about? I'm staying in with you," Casey said, setting in between Izzie's legs. "You don't have to do that Newton. Don't waste your trip like that."

    "I WANT to stay with you. Besides, going out there without you won't be any fun. I won't have anyone to compete with," Casey said and Izzie rolled her eyes.

    "Quinn and Penelope would be looking for you."

    "Let them look. We can stay here forever."

    Casey slowly leaned down as she laid on top of Izzie who moved away. "I'm not kissing you. I don't want you getting sick too."

    "Didn't I just tell you about my immune system? Come on... one kiss..."

    Izzie giggled before leaning forward to gently press her lips against Casey's. "That's all you're getting."

    "Do you want more blankets? I can crank up the heater too," Casey said, noticing Izzie shiver a little bit. "I'm good Newton. Are you gonna be spoiling me like this the whole day?"

    "I will if you let me."

    "I would love that."

    Casey was just about to steal another quick kiss before the door slammed open. She turned around to see Quinn and Penelope storming into the room.

    "Okay look, I know you guys aren't on good terms but- oh... could it be true?" Quinn gasped, turning to Penelope.

    "Izzie Taylor and Casey Gardner have rekindled their dying flame?! Who would have thought," Penelope exclaimed, gasping just as loud as Quinn. "What the hell happened between you both? It was like an episode of the Kardashians."

    Casey and Izzie looked at each other knowingly before blushing. "Wait... wait, wait, wait. Are you guys..."

    "Dating?" They whispered together.

    The girls broke down laughing and Quinn and Penelope squealed. "I told you they were gon fuck!" Quinn said to Penelope.

    Izzie started to sneeze heavily, pushing Casey away. "Y'all better get out. I've got the flu," Izzie groaned, laying back down.

    "Gross. But we have some important news. Nate's coming back here," Penelope said and Casey and Izzie looked at each other in shock.

    Just when Casey thought things were finally going well...

    "What the hell? Why?" Izzie asked and Quinn took a seat on the counter. "No idea. I heard from Tom last night."

    "We should all come together as a force and ruin his social life or something. Or kill him, that works too," Penelope shrugged and Casey sighed. "I hate that guy. Like really, really hate him," Casey bellowed and Izzie sneezed again.

    "Okay, we better leave Izzie to rest. But really guys, we're so happy for you. Nate has nothing on y'all," Quinn said, patting Izzie on the head while keeping a distance.

    "Have fun love birds! We're having dinner together tonight, if you're feeling up to it."

    And with that, both of them left.

    "Hey Iz... are you sure you're ready to be public with our relationship? I know I am but... if you're not I totally get it," Casey whispered, sitting down next to her.

    "I'm just... worried about what my mum would say. And I don't exactly plan on telling her any time soon. But I'm okay with it with our friends. I mean clearly, they're happy about it," Izzie said and Casey smiled.

    Izzie wanted to show Casey off more than anything in the world. But in her imperfect world, there was also her homophobic mother who was a lot to deal with and she didn't need that right now. She was still figuring everything out and didn't want an external factor to ruin the new and raw relationship she had just formed with the girl.

    "Is Nate gonna be an issue?" Casey asked nervously and her girlfriend's eyes softened. "I promise you he won't be. He and I are over, okay? I'm all yours."

    Casey successfully managed to steal another kiss.

    ...

    Casey felt movement next to her as she opened her eyes. She flipped over to see Izzie curled up on the other side of the bed. The clock read 6pm and she realised that their "short" nap had turned into a long 3 hour one.

    She also had texts from Quinn and Penelope.

    Quinn: omg... you guys have to come. there's lobsters.

    Penelope: omg you're already there?! i needed advice for my make up

    Quinn: you look fine the way you are pen. anyways cazzie are y'all sleeping or something.     wake the hell up.

    Penelope: they fucking

    Quinn: LMFAO

    Penelope: cazzie= casey + izzie ???

    Quinn: mmhmm, smart right?

    Penelope: well cazzie better wake up soon

    "Fuck," Casey muttered, turning over to shake Izzie awake. "Iz... Izzie... are you feeling better? Do you wanna go for dinner?"

    Izzie took some time to adjust to her surroundings before smiling at Casey. "I'm feeling really good actually. And I'm hungry as hell."

    Casey touched her forehead and was relieved to see that her fever had gone. "Well Quinn and Penelope are looking for us, so we better go."

    They wore their jackets over their sleepwear, not bothered to change. After all, it was only Quinn and Penelope.

    The dining area was huge. There were lines of buffet trays with chefs at different stations. The place was crowded and bustling with Clayton students and other guests as well. They took some time to spot Quinn and Penelope, who were thankfully also in their pyjamas.

    "You guys came! Thank God, Penelope was just about to start telling a story about her latest hook up," Quinn said and Izzie gasped.

    "No way, is it Caleb again?" Izzie asked before laughing. Casey never really understood what they were talking about 30% of the time, since she didn't study in Clayton. But she never found herself in an awkward position around them because they always made her feel included. They never treated her differently just because she wasn't a private school darling.

    "Anyways so Caleb and I were making out and then-"

    "Izzie."

    The girls looked at each other in shock upon hearing that voice and slowly turned around to see Nate.

    "What do you want? Why are you here again?" Izzie slowly asked as she looked over at Casey who grunted her jaw.

    "I just... I'm so sorry. I love you so much and I'm the... biggest fucking asshole... for everything I did. I can't stop thinking about you and I'll... I'll never lose the love I have for you. Can you please give me a second chance?" He begged as his eyes softened.

    "I've given you so many chances. I don't trust you at all," Izzie replied, turning back to her food.

    "Izzie please-"

    "Hey, she already said no. So back off," Casey said calmly and he chuckled. "You again... always putting your nose in other people's business," He scoffed and Casey finally stood up, ignoring Izzie's hand on her arm.

    "Things were so much better before you came along. Fucking Newton trash," He snarled and Casey took in a deep breath. "Fuck off Nate. You don't get to talk to Casey that way," Quinn said, standing up too. By now, the other students and guests were watching the scene.

    "Oh what the fuck do you know Quinn?"

    "I know that Izzie deserves way better than you. And she's happier without you now. So you better fuck off before Casey breaks that nose even more," She said and Izzie started to breathe uncontrollably.

    Nate looked at Casey, Quinn and Penelope and laughed. It seemed as if the previously loud and hectic dining room was now filled with pin drop silence.

    He shook his head before getting on his knees to face Izzie, who was holding back her tears.

    "Izzie... don't let them cloud your judgement. You're the only one who knows what you want... and when you realise it's been me all along, I'll be waiting for you."

    He looked up at Casey for a second and smirked before planting a kiss on Izzie's cheek, making her shift uncomfortably.

    ...

"Casey!"

    Izzie Taylor couldn't believe that it was only the first day of dating her beautiful girlfriend but already, things were not looking their way. After Nate had left with a smirk on his face, knowing that he had gotten into Casey's head, Casey immediately ran off, leaving her food untouched.

    Izzie was now running after her but she was not quick enough. "Newton please! Let's just talk about it!" Izzie called out, finally stopping as she knew she wouldn't be able to catch up to her.

    Casey was now standing in front of their villa door and she finally turned to look at Izzie. "What the hell was that huh? Does he think he can just come back into your life like that?!" Casey yelled and Izzie sighed.

    "Casey, I'm asking myself the same question. But I promise nothing is gonna change what we have," Izzie said and Casey groaned. "He doesn't even know we're together. When he tries something with you, what're you gonna say?"

    "You mean IF?" Izzie asked.

    "No, I mean WHEN. He has some weird ulterior motive with you and it's obvious."

    "So what, are you expecting me to tell him I'm gay? I don't even know if I am!"

    "WELL NEITHER DO I!"

    Both girls stopped and took deep breaths, looking at each other while they did. "Are you rethinking this?" Izzie slowly asked and Casey sighed, looking down.

    "I didn't say that. I'm just... everything is happening so soon. It's scary," Casey admitted. By now, the conversation had shifted from being about Nate to being about them. One day, they were both together with men, and the next, they're dating each other. Two girls dating...

    It was an incredibly scary idea for both of them, but no doubt that it made sense.

    Izzie continued to look at her, figuring her out. Casey shook her head and entered the villa, slamming the door behind her, indicating that she didn't want Izzie to follow her.

    Casey had her back against the door, too exhausted to go to the couch or even take off her jacket with the heater blasting. Her lips quivered as her back slid down the door until she was sitting on the floor.

    She focussed on the falling snow outside and her heart did a skip as she thought about the night before when she had held Izzie's hand and brought her to the top of the alps. Seeing the most gorgeous stars with the most gorgeous girl on earth... Casey wondered how she got so lucky.

    But why did it have to be so confusing? She had barely thought this through. Casey knew she hated labels and had never directly labelled herself as "straight". She had only ever loved Evan before this so she never needed to question herself but right now, she questioned every single thing she had ever done.

    Was finding not only the male lead in a movie, but also his nerdy younger sister attractive a sign of being... gay?

    It can't be, right? Casey has never wanted a girlfriend. But then again, just one day of having a girlfriend had done wonders for her happiness.

    This didn't make any sense. Is she gay? Is she bisexual? Pansexual?

    Oh, Casey really hates labels.

    Why can't she just... date Izzie? Why does she have to deal with labelling herself? Why is that even a thing? Why should people even care about her sexuality?

    She whipped out her phone to talk to the one person who she could rely on to give transparent and direct advice.

    "Hello?"

    "Sam! How have you been?"

    "I'm okay. Paige and I had sex today for the fourth time."

    "Alright, very cool. Anyways, I'm gonna ask you something and you can't think I'm weird, okay?"

    "Okay."

    "What do you think about labels?"

    "Nutritional labels? No opinion."

    "No, no, no... not that... like... sexuality in general."

    "I'm straight."

    "Okay well... I don't really know what I am..."

    "You have a boyfriend."

    "I know... actually no... I broke up with him."

    "Oh... I'm sorry you broke up with your boyfriend... so you're not straight anymore?"

    "That's not... okay Sam look, I'm interested in a girl right now."

    Casey made sure to not tell him, knowing that Izzie wanted to keep their relationship private to their close circle of friends.

    "So you're gay?"

    "I don't know."

    "Okay."

    "Okay?"

    Casey started to get frustrated, feeling like this conversation was getting nowhere.

    "It doesn't matter what your sexuality is, logically speaking. Paige says that a relationship is about intimacy with another human. So I guess you can have intimacy with another woman too."

    "Oh Paige..." Casey laughed and felt her cheeks burn up. "Thanks Sam, that helps a lot," She said and she heard him shuffling around.

    "Okay, I need to feed Edison. Are there any more questions?"

    "Not as of now. Hey, I miss you."

    "Okay, goodbye."

    Casey rolled her eyes playfully as she heard him hang up. She had to go speak to Izzie, but she figured she would give her some time to think everything through. She knows she wants Izzie more than anything but if Izzie doesn't want them to happen, Casey doesn't want to get her heart broken in the long run.

It was around 10pm when Casey decided she wanted to take a dip in the jacuzzi. Yes, the villas had a jacuzzi in the balcony against the snow. Clayton really throws money at their students.

    Casey had the privilege of being selected to room with a Clayton kid in a nice villa so she figured she would take advantage of all the amenities. She hadn't brought a swimsuit so she simply took off her shirt and got in with her bra and shorts.

    Izzie was on her mind the entire time. She hadn't seen her for the past 2 hours. She was dying to talk to her and was just about to call her to come back to the room when she heard the door open.

    She stretched her neck to see Izzie walking inside and she sighed in relief. Izzie placed the keys on the counter and looked up to see Casey in the jacuzzi. She laughed to herself before walking to the balcony.

    "It's so fucking cold," Izzie sighed. "That's why you gotta hurry up and get in!" Casey exclaimed. Izzie threw off her shirt and was now left in her bra and shorts, just like Casey. She ran into the jacuzzi and sighed at the feeling of warmth.

    "A jacuzzi in the snow? Clayton kids really know how to live it up," Izzie teased and Casey smiled.

    "Hey... I'm sorry for yelling at you..." Casey started and Izzie moved closer to her. She put her arm around Casey's neck and one of her legs around her waist. Casey, being the taller, could comfortably stand on her feet while Izzie needed the support from her girlfriend.

    "It's okay. I know how scary and new this all is but... I know that I want you. And I know you're worth it," Izzie mumbled into her ear before kissing her on the cheek.

    "You're worth it too. And we'll take it slow... no one has to know about us just yet. It could just be the two of us in our little world..." Casey whispered and Izzie smiled at the thought of being alone with her girlfriend with nothing else to bother them.

    "Fuck Nate. I told you that even before I broke up with him," Izzie said and Casey blushed as she remembered their intense make out session after the party. "Yeah... fuck Nate."

    Just as Izzie was about to lean it, the doorbell rang, making them jump a little. "Oh my God, it's probably Quinn and Penelope," Izzie said and Casey laughed. "Well, let's hope they brought their swim suits," Casey replied before pulling away from Izzie.

    She quickly got out of the jacuzzi and the cold hit her skin again. She planned to quickly open the door to let them in and then run back into the warmth of the water.

    She ran towards the door and opened it.

    "Hey..."

    "Evan?"