music speaks to my soul

“Oh really? Then maybe I should make sure it means the absolute opposite of whatever it is you’re wanting to hear.” She rose her eyebrows over at him in question, a smirk strung lightly across her lips. She’d never truly be that mean, it was all just fun and games with the other blonde. “I know you’re an adult, but I can still worry right?” She pressed her lips together as if she was thinking, her head tilting just slightly. “I do want you to come. I’d need some kind of company there.”

“You’re a tease,” he mused, matching Carly’s smirk with one of his own. He knew that deep down they cared about each other, but showing it wasn’t so easy. He really didn’t expect her to take him up on the whole tagging along vacation idea, but was pretty glad she wasn’t opposed to it. “Yeah, yeah. I guess you have a little right to worry, but I doubt they’ll even know I’m gone. I’ll just make up an excuse. I do have things to do outside of work, after all.” He was grinning now, fully. “You mean it? Alright, when’s this happening?”

“Well, however you want to accept it is how I meant it, alright? Whatever makes you happy.” She smiled over at him before taking a sip of her coffee. “I don’t know if they’d find out either, but it’s still something I’m going to be scared of. If I end up going and you want to tag along, I have no problem with it, just don’t tell your parents where you’re going. Don’t lie either, but don’t tell them.” She shrugged her shoulders, biting down on her lip a bit. Honestly, she wasn’t sure how they’d react to it, but she figured it would probably be the way they didn’t want.

“Not sure you should give me that option too often, Carly, or you may say some things you regret,” Casey joked, his blue eyes dancing with amusement. He returned the smile though, and drained another long sip of his coffee as Scarlett spoke, his eyebrows knitting together. “I’m not gonna tell them where I’m going, I promise. This may be a small town, but I’m also an adult. They don’t know every place I go and everything I do,” he shrugged, insisting they wouldn’t be found. “My lips are sealed – that is, if you even want me to go. I don’t want to just invite myself or anything. That would be downright rude.”

Her eyes rolled slightly. “Didn’t know I even complimented you. That’s so rare, you better be honored.” Her own lips were curled up into a grin. Even if they did annoy each other a lot, they were still good friends. They just didn’t hang out much because of their parents. “Well, I don’t want to go alone, I just don’t want them finding out either and expecting more than what it really is.” She wouldn’t mind him coming, even if their parents would suspect things, she’d enjoy the company.

“That’s how I saw it anyways. Whether that was intentional on your part or not, I don’t know,” Casey shook his head, accepting it anyhow. “Oh, I definitely am, I promise you that much. I know, I just don’t think they’d find out. But I’m sure you have a lot of options for company,” the blonde shrugged; he couldn’t imagine Carly was struggling to find someone to spend time with. She was a total catch.

“I guess you are better than boring.” She admitted with a heavy sigh, a grin tugging at her lips. She really did enjoy hanging out with him, but sometimes it could be awkward. Especially if their parents were around because all they could talk about was how they should get together, or have their grandbabies. Rolling her eyes, she crossed her arms over her chest. “I do enjoy your company, Cas, but us alone on the beach isn’t necessarily something I’d want mom or dad hearing about. I’m sure you wouldn’t want your folks hearing about it either.” Her eyes narrowed as she glared at him. “Shut up.”

“Such high compliments,” he teased, lips sliding into a subtle smirk. “I know, me either, but they wouldn’t have to know. They probably wouldn’t ever even think we’d do that together. We could always make excuses for leaving. It’s just an idea, if you don’t want to go alone,” he added with a little shrug. “Regardless though, you should enjoy the summer freedom however you want to.”

“Oh, no. I think everyone notices, Casey.” She laughs softly before nodding. It was nice that he was passionate, but when it was something he still lived by even now and still everyday, it got kind of old and weird at times. That didn’t mean she didn’t love him though, she loved both of his parents. However, since they were like family to her, it kind if made Casey feel like family at times too, which confused her as to why they were trying to push them together. “Uh huh, whatever helps you sleep at night.” Her eyebrows rose as she tried to hide the grin that tugged at her lips again. “No, no, you’re amazing at your job. Just I’d rather not have you trying to boss me around all the time.” She scoffed at his next set of words. “As if Wilder, not even the beach could make me fall for you.”

Casey knew things could be really weird if they did actually listen to their parents. He and Scarlett had been pretty much raised together; she was great and her family was, but wasn’t that crossing a line? “hey! I’m a good guy. Just a  little mischievous at times. Better than being boring, right?” he shrugged a little, noticing the hint of a smile playing at her lips. “I wouldn’t boss you around. That would just be my excuse to go. If you wanted, I’d totally leave you alone and enjoy the beach on my own. Or if I found someone more willing to have my company.” He was clearly joking and burst into laughter at Carly’s response. “I know, I know. But the look on your face is priceless.”

“Oh, I notice that practically everytime I am over. It’s nice that he was and still is so passionate about the job though.” Scarlett had always looked up to both of his parents when she was younger, especially since they were like another mom and dad to her anyways. Not only that, they were such loving people and such passionate people. “Well, usually you are guilty as hell, Casey.” Her lips curled into a small smirk, obviously joking with him. They both had had a little wild side in high school, but neither of them were necessarily troublemakers, not that that helped their case when it came to their parents pushing them to be together. “Yes, I know. Maybe I’ll try talking to my student and asking if that would be okay for one night.” She then rolled her eyes. “If I did need an officer, it sure wouldn’t be you Wilder. Maybe if our parents weren’t so pushy though I’d let you tag along.”

“Alright, so it’s not just me then?” he mused with a smile. “I mean, he is and that’s great, but still.” Casey loved his parents – he really did. And he adored Carly’s as well; they were like family to him. What he didn’t adore was their teaming up to nag them about being together. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I am completely innocent and never caused any bit of trouble.” He was full on grinning at that point, and nodded when Carly was considering the idea of letting his mom help her out. Still, he pretended to be offended when she shot down his offer to accompany. “Are you saying I’m not good at my job?” he gasped, really not surprised by her answer. He knew she didn’t mean it that way. “It’s not like they’d know; we don’t have to tell them. Unless…” he trailed, waggling his eyebrows playfully. “Unless you’re afraid you’ll fall in love with me if we leave Beacon.”

“Oh, I’ve noticed. Sometimes I forget he is retired.” She was around his parents enough and had been around them enough to know them well enough and notice all of their habbits. “Ooh, yeah. I’ve seen her disappointed side. Definitely worse than getting in trouble. Thankfully, I haven’t seen that side of my parents in quite some time.” Scarlett hadn’t been the perfect child when she was younger, that’s for sure. She did have those times she’d get in trouble occasionally. Nothing too serious though. “Besides me? So you’re saying I’m the only person in all of beacon that disagrees with you?” Her eyebrows raised as she smirked. She knew well that Casey was a gentleman and she was also sure he knew she was kidding, they were pretty good at picking up on each other, even their moods. She bit down on her lip a bit. “I don’t know if I could ask her to do that. Plus I’d have to make sure it was okay with the student first.” Shrugging, she leaned forward a bit more. “I don’t know. Tatum brought up the beach the last time I spoke to her, and that actually sounds amazing.”

“Trust me, you aren’t the only one. I think he forgets it often enough too.” Their parents were like a second set to each of them, which could be both good and bad in ways. “It’s awful. Makes me feel guilty as hell and she knows it,” he shook his head, his blue eyes catching hers. Carly had been a firecracker growing up, but she hadn’t been trouble. it was the perfect mix of cute and fun. As far as he knew, that much hadn’t changed. “Of course. Everyone else here doesn’t bother to argue,” he joked, flashing her a playful grin. For not having hung out a lot, they could read each other very well. “Oh I know, I’m just saying. She really wouldn’t mind if you needed it though. You know she loves you.” That was an understatement. “The beach, huh?” Casey waggled his eyebrows flirtatiously. “Sounds fun. Need an officer to tag along? You know, to make sure you behave and all?”

“It sounds absolutely amazing, I’m hoping maybe at some point this summer I can go out of town for a bit.” Though that would be incredibly hard unless she was able to then push two lessons for each kid into one week the week before or after she got back from the vacation. She nodded, smiling at her. “I’ll try my best.” She had went and seen a couple of the shows last year and she absolutely adored the work that went into the hair and makeup, it was so amazing. “Oh really? Is it that much of a secret?” She asked, raising an eyebrow slightly. They had had shows that were a secret to the town, but never so much of one that even the crew didn’t know everything.

“That would be wonderful! If you go somewhere cool, send me a postcard, will ya’?” The chances of her leaving town were slim to none. Tatum barely got by on rent as it was. Her work pay was limited and she of course had to splurge for the bets products to use. “Good then, that’s the most important thing. And it really is! Like I said, I’m not sure why, but apparently it’s super under wraps. Wish I could tell you more but all I know is how I’m supposed to style them,” she promised. “So what else have you been up to?”

“Oh, no. Definitely not bad for sure. Though I’m pretty sure if you had been, you would have been disciplined enough to get whipped right back into shape. Especially since both your parents and mine thought they all were our parents. Maybe that’s why we turned out so great.” She really did love her parents, she had just hated how they always did and still do try and push her and Casey together. It’s insane. His parents were like a second family to her, especially since they were all together most of her childhood. “Oh, sure. Never once have you ever been sarcastic. I’m not even sure if you know what that words mean to be able to be sarcastic.” Scarlett shrugged her shoulders before sipping her own coffee, letting the hot liquid slide down her throat. “I usually have about two lessons a week.” It was weird how well they knew each other, but never actually saw each other that much beside occasional times like this or at the crazy dinners their parents still had. “Nope, no trips planned quite yet.”

“That’s for sure. You know my dad; he can be a sheriff, even at home. Even after retiring he still abides by those rules,” Casey chuckled as he downed another sip. “And my mama loves me too much to get mad at me really. Instead she uses the whole ‘disappointed’ thing, which was always a million times worse.” His blue eyes gave a playful little roll at Carly’s point. He was pretty well known for sarcasm. “Nope, never. I’m always a perfect gentleman. Ask any lady in this town besides you.” Not that Scarlett would ever give him the time of day to even try and show her. It was strange though that they rarely hung out. Part of him wanted to change that, even if they could just be closer friends, but it would definitely stir up rumors. “That’s not bad. Still plenty of time for a vacation. You know, my mom still plays the piano – I’m sure she could cover a lesson for you if you needed to go out of town.” Casey would love to travel a little but with his job, it was doubtful to happen. “If you did go somewhere, where would you wanna go?”

Scarlett hadn’t seen Tatum in a while, well actually she hadn’t seen a lot of people in a while. Except her closer friends or the ones she worked with at the school. It was hard juggling a job and music lessons, but she still loved it anyways. “I’m doing pretty good, and oh definitely. I’m so ready for summer to just begin so I can relax for a little while.” She then shook her head. “No vacation planned, and I definitely don’t have the money to go to the beach, so I can’t help you there. How are you doing though? I heard this new show is supposed to be pretty cool and that a certain someone is doing a great job at makeup.” She smiled before laughing a bit. “Would you like to sit?”

Tatum appreciated the invitation and immediately took the seat across from Scarlett. “Thank you! I’m glad you’re doing well, and I get that. I can’t really afford the beach either, but it sounds lovely, you know? I’m glad  you’ll have some time off to rest and relax though. Make the most of it, Carly.” The blonde grinned brightly when her work was recognized; it made her proud to hear. “It is, though I can’t tell too much yet. Then again, I don’t know it all,” she chuckled. “But thank you! That means a lot to know that they think I’m doing well with it. I really do enjoy it, that’s for sure.”

“Would have been weird if you had broke the law then, with you being a detective now and all.” Not that that wasn’t heard of. Sometimes the kids who got in trouble had been inspired by the person taking care of their case, that they wanted to become a police officer or a detective as well. She picked up the coffee, nodding a silent thank you to him. “As if you never roll your eyes, Casey.” Her eyes met his, a smile strung across her lips. “Well, that’s because even to this day, our parents are still pushing it. Imagine what they’d say even if they just walked through that door right now and saw us sitting together.” Her guess is that instead of saying anything, they’d stay back and take pictures, assuming the two were together or getting close to it. “Well, I don’t have the whole summer off. I still have piano and voice lessons to give. Other than that, I’m not sure.”

“That would be pretty ironic, but we both know I was never that bad. Maybe a little mischievous is all.” Honestly, Casey had hoped that staying in a small town like Beacon might eliminate being around some of the younger people that just wanted to cause trouble, but it seemed to appear everywhere. “Never, of course. I’m not sarcastic at all,” he quipped, matching her smile with one of his own. “Okay, that is a pretty scary thought, but I don’t think it should mean we can’t even talk to each other because we’re worried about that.” He game a little shrug as he sipped at his coffee. “Oh, I guess that’s true. Do you do those a lot though, or just weekly or something?” Despite knowing each other so long, the whole parental thing did prevent them from really talking all that much – at least anything beyond the surface. “I didn’t know if you had any crazy trips planned or anything.”

aesthetic board 001: scarlett + casey

moodboard 001: scarlett + casey

It had been a long day at work, but finally, Scarlett was getting to go home. She had had to stay after late to help some freshman study for their finals and a couple of them just weren’t wanting to get the point. She never minded helping them, but when she had to explain it time and time again, it got a little aggravating. It was part of her job though, and for the most part she loved it. Working with high schoolers would always have it’s downsides. Now though, she was sitting in the coffee shop, drinking some much needed caffeine. She had been in this town for practically her whole life, so it wasn’t a surprise she knew nearly everyone. Especially since she had had some of the younger adults in high school recently. So, when she heard a familiar voice, her eyes flickered upwards to look at the person now standing in front of her. “Oh, hey. Long time no see.” Thanks to her job and having to work late so much, she really didn’t see a whole lot of people very often. She was glad summer was almost here and she’d have three months off.

Forest was standing there looking lost and muttering things to himself as he had important things to remember. When he heard someone’s voice he looked over. “Hello?” He asked. Nope. He didn’t remember this chick. Why was she saying long time no see then? She must have been talking to someone else and he just assumed she was speaking to him. 

“Oh, trust me. I hear about all of those cases. Kids come back to the school the next day, bragging about how they got in trouble with the cops. I really don’t understand these kids. Were we that bad?” She raised an eyebrow at the other, curious. She knew she hadn’t been, she hadn’t ever gotten in trouble nor had she ever wanted to. She tilted her head to the side a bit as Casey stepped away, letting out a sigh. Even if they had known each other for a long time, they definitely weren’t the closest people, even if they did know practically everything about each other. “I’m sorry, Wilder. Please, take a seat and welcome to the table of music and studying.” She gave him a grin before rolling her eyes. “I haven’t glared at you. Kisses are certainly out of the question. Don’t want our parents thinking they were right, do you?”

“Sadly, that doesn’t surprise me. We may have been a little mischievous – or at least, I may have been, but I never broke the law.” Casey shook his head, and finally joined her, fresh cups of coffee for them both strewn abut the table now. There were times that Casey wondered why he and Carly hadn’t hung out more, just the two of them. Maybe in an effort to not appease their parents? It was kind of a shame though. “Alright, then. Eye-rolls,” he chuckled softly, piercing blue eyes catching hers. “Well, I knew it was a long shot, but that’s what I always think of when hiding from parents. It’s kind of hilarious how innocent our intentions are, and yet, we’re still hiding.” He took a sip of the warm drink and let out a small sigh. “So, what are your plans for the summer off?”