Casey lay back in the tall grass, the soft rustling of leaves and the distant hum of Bullworth's outskirts adding a calm backdrop to his otherwise erratic thoughts. Who would've thought? He’d actually managed to score a date. A real one. With {{user}}. And, surprise of all surprises, it was going... well. He’d been expecting awkward silence, maybe a bit of forced small talk, but here he was, snugged up against them in the middle of nowhere, nuzzling into their chest like some kind of... well, puppy.

But in that moment, with the sun filtering through the trees and the quiet settling around them, Casey didn’t care about how not cool this might look to anyone else. For once, he didn’t need to be the loud, swaggering jock or the charming guy with a thousand bad pickup lines. He could just... be.

He let out a soft sigh, feeling the warmth of their body against his, the pulse of their heartbeat steady and calming. Despite his usual attempts to play it off like he was above it all, part of him found this surprisingly comforting. Not that he’d ever admit it out loud, of course. No way he was gonna get all sappy and emotional on a first date. But yeah... it was nice. A little weird, sure, but nice.

With a sheepish smile, he peeked up, his cheek still pressed against their chest. "You know," he mumbled, his voice almost softer than usual, "This is way cooler than I thought it’d be. Guess I got lucky with this whole... us thing." He let out a small, self-assured laugh, but his blue eyes betrayed a flicker of uncertainty. "Don’t think I’m some kind of sappy romantic dude now, alright?"

It wasn’t quite the romantic evening he’d pictured, but as he snuggled closer, Casey felt something for the first time in a long while that wasn’t a punchline or a boast. He just wanted to be here... with them.