hi y'all. i got on the cazzie train the moment it was somewhat canon. please like and review and i will write more. I LOVE THIS COUPLE. this is a continuation of the cliffhanger of season 2. i thought it was a monstrosity to leave us there, so i just filled in the blanks. enjoy!

They sat in that car for what felt like eternity- hands locked together, as if time was frozen so long as they stayed like this. Crystallised in this moment, where things made sense and external complications didn't exist. There was no boy problems or high school drama. No siblings that needed looking after. Just them two, "Newton" and Issie, and two cups of melted slurpee. Casey didn't know if her hands were sweaty or cold from the condensation, but it seemed an unspoken agreement that they wouldn't look at each other. Issie was determined to glare outside the car while Casey stared straight across the parking lot, fixated on a spot of black concrete.

Her hands were softer than she would have imagined, thought Izzie, who was hesitant to see how this situation would play out. But, she figured that if Casey was sweet enough to accept her lame "forehead promise" with little scepticism (not to mention almost kissing her), then she had to feel at least a little bit the same way. And what way was that? Fuck, she liked her. She hated that she ran faster than her but adored her sardonic humour, her weird and nerdy dress sense. Her ability to make her feel understood in a school full of snobby cat fights. She didn't have to pretend...and, if she was being honest, she never really liked Nate that much. Izzie had told Casey that before she even fully realised it.

Casey had a million things racing through her mind as well. This feels so right. Despite this being the first time they held hands, intertwined fingers and all, it felt so second nature. When they almost kissed the other day, Casey was the one who leaned in...it was obvious that Izzie wanted her to. She wanted to make sure that there was something there. Casey thought back to all those times she was talking to Evan about her, so worried that stupid shit that Nate pulled would get in the way of their friendship.

"But I, like...love her."

After that night of the birthday party, Izzie made it clear that she loved her back...but not quite the way she had initially thought. She regretted kissing Evan right afterwards in front of her. It couldn't have felt nice to to see. After her mom walked in on them, Casey had started to message Izzie a bit less, but she hadn't stopped thinking about her since.

Ah man...am I gay?

No, she couldn't be. She had a boyfriend, and she did love him. She liked kissing him and having sex with him and hanging out with him. Evan was an amazing boyfriend, and he made the turmoil in her life infinitely less miserable. Yet she could not deny that from the moment she laid eyes on Izzie, she was drawn to her. She was sassy. Ambitious. Mischievous. Damn hardworking. And they had so much in common. They could talk for hours and hours on end about running, music, family...it was nice to talk to someone whose life was also a little fucked up. Evan was also so...okay. So "fine" and uncomplicated. When they lied in the blanket fort, a part of her had really meant what she said.

"We could stay here forever." And she would never forget what Izzie has said after.

"You're like, my new favourite person. Is that tragic since we just met only a little while ago?"Casey couldn't have said it better.

A ringtone pierced into the atmosphere in the car.

INCOMING CALL- EVAN TUBA.

Casey hovered her thumb over the mute button before finally ignoring the call. She looked over to see Izzie, impatient and uncertain, waiting for her to say something.

"Izzie, I-"

"Why didn't you pick up?" She was trying so hard to feign a casual tone. Izzie kept staring down at their hands, still clasped and resting on the stick shift.

"This is more important. I wanted to ... you know there like, this thing. There's a thing between us - and I have a boyfriend, and you have a Nate, and I like you so much and-"

"Her rambling was cut short by Izzie. Their hands finally released because now, Izzie's hand was on the side of Casey's face, tucking her unkept hair behind her ears.

"I like you so much too."

It's not like Izzie was talking differently, but there was something different. Perhaps Izzie talked like this to her the whole time, and Casey had only just realised how she was talking...

With love.

"You're not gonna ask me to do another forehead promise, are you?"

"Shut the fuck up!" Izzie playfully shoved her.

"Not that I don't want to, I mean, my forehead is kinda sweaty, and we still haven't taken off our seatbelts so it's gonna be kinda hard to -"

"Maybe I just wanted an excuse for our faces to be close."

Izzie unbuckled her seatbelt and put the slurpee down. Casey slowly followed suit. Their foreheads were touching once again.

"We promised we would never leave each other again, right?"

"Right." They nuzzled. Explosions of warmth exploded inside Casey's stomach...The last time she had felt this way was when Even had kissed her for the first time. A flowery scent of lavender was emanating from Izzie's hair. Casey got nervous that she smelled like the 7-11 hotdog she had scarfed down earlier.

"Can you promise that we'll be friends, no matter what happens?"

There was a slight pause. Casey knew it was a lot to ask. No one could tell the future and nothing was ever easy...but she had to hope that Izzie would love her no matter what. A friend...or more. Ultimately, Izzie put both hands on each side of Casey's face.

The kiss that followed was one that was long overdue. It was the one that was meant to happen in Casey's bedroom, after that first promise they made to each other. After she had called Casey, "my girl", and professed just how much she missed her in that week of confusion. Izzie had thought about kissing her before. At every sleepover, she would toy with the thought; What if I just did it?...But then she remembered that loving boyfriend she had. The one that Nate never was. How she hated when Casey talked about him. With such genuine adoration. She didn't want to cause anyone any pain, especially Casey.

It was a soft and tender kiss that left both feeling high off a gateway drug. Their hands were together once.

"What does this mean?" Casey said through a huge smile. She couldn't help herself. A pant of guilt lingered behind the gush of happiness, but she'd deal with that later. Izzie took her hand and kissed it.

"I guess it means I like you. And you like me. So...maybe that's all that matters right now."

Casey's phone started ringing again.