[Copyright © 2013 A Deal with the Daredevil]

All rights reserved.

Dedicated to @tatesrose for editing.

***

I stared at the liquid in the glass that was in my hand and sighed. Raising it up to my mouth once again, I downed its entire content. Grabbing another glass, I brought it up to my lips to tip it back when someone grabbed my arm and took the glass out of my hand. I turned around angrily and glared at the person, who now held my glass. What the hell was his problem?

"What are you doing, sweetheart?" Ryder inquired, an eyebrow raised as he glanced at the glass in his hand then back at me.

"I'm trying to get drunk, what does it look like I'm doing?" I growled.

"Why?" The hell was he talking about?

"Why what?" I asked impatiently as I gave the cup in his hand a longing look. He rolled his eyes and threw the content in the glass into the sink next to him.

I gasped, "How dare you?" Who the hell does he think he is?

"That shit is full of drugs and cheap beer, trust me, this is for your own good," he told me as he took hold of my hand and dragged me through the kitchen, stopping on his way to the back-door to grab a bottle of tequila and vodka from a cabinet, along with two red cups. He led me away from the house, through the woods and down to the river. When we got there he slumped down on the grass and leaned against a rock. Pulling off his leather jacket, he spread it on the ground next to him, tapping it once it was spread out neatly. I gave him a hesitant look and sat down cautiously.

"Thanks," I muttered and he nodded as he filled the two cups with vodka. He handed me a cup as he drank out of the other. I looked down at the liquid in the cup and sighed. Swirling it around in the cup, I watched.

"You on your period or something?" Ryder asked beside me as he stared at the river. I shot him a look.

"No, I'm not on my period, what kind of question is that?" I asked as I took a sip of the alcohol and winced. It was definitely stronger than the beer I'd had a few seconds ago.

"What's your problem then? You're bringing me down with all the sighing," he complained, his eyes lowering to the cup in his hand before he brought it up to his lips and downed the whole content. How the hell he'd just done that, I couldn't say. I'd probably start coughing like a sick dog.

"You're an ass," I told him, letting my eyes drift to the calming water. This part of the river was the calmest and most deserted. It was also a lot colder, but with all the alcohol in both of our systems, we didn't seem to notice.

"Yeah, but I'm an ass with alcohol, which, judging by your sighs, you need right now," he drawled with a lazy shrug of a shoulder.

"Don't your parents get pissed off?" I changed the subject. I'd always wondered how he got away with throwing a party every Friday.

"About what?" he asked, looking away.

"About the raging parties you have every Friday night," I answered, slowly sipping the alcohol in my glass.

"No," he simply answered. Well that was quite informative, please note the sarcasm.

"Why not?" I asked.

"How come this is the first party I've seen you at?" he asked, ignoring my question.

"I'm not the party type of girl," I answered. I didn't push him on the parent thing, since I knew what it was like not wanting to share about your parents. Ryder was clearly a private guy and I respected that.

"Clearly," he answered, distractedly. He picked up a rock and threw into the water. My eyes lingered on the disturbed water for a minute before turning to him.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I chewed out.

"Whoa, don't chew my ass off. I'm just stating facts," he stated and I sighed. "What's with you?"

"Drake just broke up with me," I muttered as I tipped back the whole amount of liquid left in my glass. I held the empty glass out to him and he grabbed the bottle and filled my glass, which I immediately downed, which brought me a fit of coughs.

"You might want to slow down, sweetheart," he warned.

"I just got dumped by my boyfriend, who apparently thinks I'm the dullest person he's ever met, I think I have the fucking right to drink until I can't tell the difference between you and your imaginary double," I declared.

He shrugged nonchalantly.

There was a moment of silence, with just the sound of crickets and the water moving every now and then when wind lapped at it. "The dullest, huh?" Ryder broke the silence.

"Yep, those were his words exactly," I told him as I drank a gulp of the alcohol. "How exactly can the girl with the highest IQ, GPA and Sat scores in our high school be dull?"

"Oh jeez, sweetheart, your answer is in your question..." he trailed off, waiting for me to understand, when I gave him a confused look, he sighed, "I thought you were supposed to be the smartest girl at our school."

I rolled my eyes.

"It's Friday evening, there is a raging party going on next door and you're trying to study, do you, a) go join the party or b) find any way possible to focus on studying?" he asked and I didn't hesitate to answer.

"B." I stated firmly.

"See? You would rather spend your weekend studying instead of partying," he stated the obvious.

"Right, I know, what's so wrong about that?" I asked, crossing my arms under my chest. His eyes immediately traveled down there. "My eyes are up here."

"I can't help it, I'm a boob man," he informed me and I rolled my eyes.

"Clearly," I told him and he smirked.

"So like I was saying, before you distracted me with your globes of wonder," I couldn't help but laugh, "you may be dull but you can change that."

I snorted. "How?"

He looked away in thought for a minute. "I don't know."

"How do you do it?" I asked as I let my head rest on the rock behind me. My eyes traveled up to the bright stars and the sadness began to creep in once again. I hated feeling sad. I hated that sometimes I just wanted to cry for absolutely no reason. There were things in my past that would make anyone cry, but they were in my past. I had no reason to cry now. I was healthy, strong and on my way to a bright future. Yet, I felt like I had nothing. A sad and depressing thought.

"I don't think. That's the difference between you and me, sweetheart, you're an analyzer, you dissect every situation and try to come up with a plausible reason for unexplained things. I on the other hand, don't give a fuck." I turned towards him, momentarily forgetting my thoughts. He offered a small smile and I found myself returning it. We both looked away and up at the sky.

I glanced at him out of the corner of my eyes, when an idea suddenly hit me. "Teach me."

"What?" he asked as he pushed his body away from the rock until he was laying completely flat on the ground, his arms folded under his head.

"Teach me how to be spontaneous," I repeated.

He stared up at me like I'd lost my mind. "Are you crazy?"

"Maybe a little. Come on, Ryder, teach me to be like you," I begged with a pout.

"Don't pout unless you're pouting for me to kiss you," he ordered and I rolled my eyes.

"Are you going to teach me or what?" I asked, completely ignoring his statement. He shook his head as a grin made its way onto his face, his eyes twinkling like he'd just won the lottery.

"Funny, how the tables do turn. If I remember correctly you and I already had this conversation, except I was the one begging," he smirked.

My mood suddenly lifted as another idea hit me. "You teach me how to be spontaneous, I'll tutor you in Spanish."

"I can get someone else to tutor me," he stated with a shrug.

"You heard Ms. Sanchez, I'm her best student," I reminded him with a smirk of my own. If he wanted to pass Spanish, I was his best choice. Ms. Sanchez was a hard ass kind of teacher and she didn't make passing Spanish easy.

"I just need to pass, I don't need to suddenly become Señorita Juan," he told me and I smirked. Oh the poor sucker.

"Unless you're trying to tell me that you're secretly a girl dressed as a boy, it's Señor Juan," I told him, my smirk growing.

"Right," he answered, pulling his bottom lip in between his teeth.

"You need me just as much as I need you, buddy," he squinted his eyes, still not convinced, "you know, I'm not supposed to tell anyone this, but Mr. Shaw and I were talking and he was telling me about this scout that was coming down next season to watch you guys play...I can't really remember his name...Dean Summers, was it?"

He immediately sat up. "What? Dean Summers is coming to one of our games next season?"

"Why do you care? It's not like you'll be playing, being kicked off the team and all that," I declared, inspecting my nails. He was putty in my hands. Yes, he was. And it felt damn good.

He gave me a wide-eyed look before grabbing my shoulders. "Listen to me, woman, I will be playing next season, because you're gonna tutor me and you're gonna tutor me real hard."

I tried my best not to giggle.

"Fine, I will," I stressed, like tutoring him would be the hardest thing I'd ever had to do. His eyes lit up, his whole face transforming and I smirked. "...As long as you teach me how to be spontaneous..."

"I'm a bad influence, Casey," he muttered in warning.

"That's the point," I told him.

"I have an explosive temper," he answered.

"So do I."

"I'm an asshole that doesn't mind hurting your feelings," he tried again. I wasn't one to give up. Just like my mother could get what she wanted, so could I. I was stubborn and usually went after what I wanted with full force. There really was no use trying.

"I'm a big girl, I can handle your bullshit." And I could. I'd had enough shit thrown my way my entire life, dealing with Ryder would be like a cake walk. Whatever that means. Seriously, though, what does that mean?

"Trust me, sweetheart, I'm not really someone you want to be around." His eyes lowered to the ground for a minute, before meeting mine again.

"I don't think you're as bad as you like to pretend. I just spent an hour with you," I reminded him. And I was being honest. I'd spent years hating Ryder. He was the epitome of what I hated and stayed away from, but that night, I'd come to realize that you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, nor by its movie for that matter.

He sighed in defeat. "Do you really want to do this?"

I nodded.

"Okay, fine. Just so you know, flirting and making sexual innuendos is in my blood, also, I will probably stare at your boobs a lot," he told me as his eyes flicked down.

"I'll probably knee you every time you do," I answered, smirking.

He gave me a lop-sided grin and laid back down on the grass. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Why do you do all the crazy dares that you do?" I asked, letting my head rest on the rock. I never understood how he could put his life at risks the way he did. I'd learn that life was precious, it should be cherished.

"It's fun," he answered simply.

"It's also dangerous," I remarked.

"I know, but for a split second when I'm doing those dares, I forget about all the bullshit in my life," he muttered loud enough for me to hear. Everyone had their own form of drug, his was a little ludicrous, but who was I to judge.

"Do you ever suddenly realize what you're doing and freak out? Like on Wednesday when you rode your motorcycle on the ledge of that building?" I inquired, highly intrigued.

He lifted his head to look at me, his eyes filled with curiosity and surprise. "You were there?"

I nodded.

"What the hell were you doing there?" he asked. It was a little offensive that he was so surprised, but I couldn't really blame him. It was surprising.

"Nissa dragged me there, she never misses one of your dares," I told him, smiling.

"Who's Nissa?" he lowered perfectly shaped eyebrows.

"She's my best friend. She's the girl you were rude as fuck to today in the hospital," I told him, scowling.

"Sorry about that," he apologized. Did he just apologize?! Guess there was such a thing as miracles. "What were you doing there anyway? Are you sick?"

"No, we were visiting Bubba," I mumbled as I picked at a loose thread on my dress. I didn't like thinking about Bubba in the hospital. It scared me to my core to think that she might never leave that place.

"Bubba?" He looked muddled.

"She's Nissa's grandmother," I told him with a sad smile and he nodded. I kept picking at the thread on my dress until it was loose. "She has cancer." Why was I sharing that with him? I barely knew him and he probably didn't even care.

He gave me an understanding look and placed his hand on my hand, shocking me. His big hand covered mine completely and I was surprised at it's warmth. "I'm sorry." I gave him a curt nod and he slowly retrieved his hand.

"How long have you and Nissa known each other?" he asked changing the subject, which I happily welcomed.

"We've known each other since we were in diapers; we've lived next door to each other forever." My lips curved into a warm smile at the thought of my best friend.

"Do you have any sisters, brothers?" he asked as he played with a blade of grass. I turned away from him and shook my head sadly.

"No, do you?"

He shook his head no.

"Do you ever wish that you did?" I asked him, looking up at the dark sky.

"No," his voice was hard and distant.

"Why not?"

"I just don't." He sat up and rested his head on the rock next to mine. "Do you?"

"Yeah. I wish I had a brother," I murmured as I turned to look at him. He was staring up at the sky in thought.

His head turned towards me. "Why a brother?"

I looked away from his intense stare and back up at the sky. "Because a brother can protect you." I must have been a lot drunker than I thought, because I never shared this kind of details with people. Guess drunk Casey was a blabbermouth. Good to know.

He nudged me with his shoulder, snapping me out my thoughts. "You need protection from the monsters under your bed?"

"Not anymore," I told him, clearing my throat and sitting up. "Let's talk about something else."

"Okay. Tell me something no one knows about you," he said.

I thought about it for a minute. "I used to be a ballet dancer." Another thing I didn't share. Maybe he'd put something in my cup.

He sat up and stared at me with wide eyes. "What? Seriously?"

"Yep." I couldn't help the smile that found it's way onto my face at the amazement in his eyes. Not a lot of people knew I like dancing, but I did.

"Show me," he told me with an excited grin, his eyes twinkling in mirth and I laughed. Was he serious?

"What? No," I answered, shaking my head with a chuckle.

"Come on, Casey, show me," he begged. "Be spontaneous, get up and dance."

"But there is no music!" I argued.

He pulled his phone out of his front jean pocket and started to tap on it. A soft melody played from the speakers after a while. "There is now."

I stared at him for a minute.

"Go on, show me what you've got," he told me as he motioned for me to get up. Should I? I hadn't danced in so long and I missed it.

What the hell. I don't know if it was the liquid courage in me, but I found myself wanting to do it. Wanting to just let go and forget everything. Just for a brief moment.

I stood up and walked a little away from him where there was enough space for me to dance. I stood there for a minute, listening to the song. Once I had the melody in my head, I let go. My body took a mind of its own as I gracefully started to dance. I moved effortlessly and soon I was lost in the music. I used to love dancing, but when my mom died, I'd stop going to classes and recitals. That night was the first time I'd danced for someone other than Nissa since her death. I let the music and the movements of my body take me back to the past, when things weren't as messed up as they were now. When I wasn't completely alone. Back to the times when dancing helped me forget the bullshit in my life. The song ended and so did my movements.

I heard Ryder start clapping and whistling and I laughed, doing a bow.

"I didn't know you were going to be so fucking good, that was sexy as fuck. You have to sign up for the school's talent show," he told me, his eyes filled with admiration. I smiled.

"No way in hell. I've only danced in front of Nissa since my mom...and now you, there is no way I'm going to dance in front of the whole school," I made it known to him that there was no way in hell. He stared at me for a second and then nodded understandingly.

"Okay, but that's not the last time you're dancing for me, I want to see you dance again," he told me and I rolled my eyes.

"If you say so." He didn't need to know that there was no way in hell I was ever doing that for him again.