Casey pulled into the driveway of her childhood home and sighed as she turned off the car. She couldn't believe that after all these years her parents were moving into a smaller home and was sad that this would most likely be the last time she would step foot in this home.

She got out of the car and made her way into the house and saw her mom packing some boxes in the kitchen.

"Casey, is that you?" she asked without looking up.

"Yeah, it's me," said Casey as she set her purse down on the counter. "I can't believe how empty this place looks already."

"The movers are scheduled to come tomorrow," her mom replied. "So we've been working really hard to get everything done."

"Where's dad?" Casey asked.

"Oh he had to run out and get some more boxes," her mom replied. "He should be back soon."

"And Rusty?" Casey continued.

"He's not going to be in town until tomorrow for your party," Mrs. Cartwright replied. "Didn't he tell you that?"

"I thought Jordan said they were coming today," said Casey. "And do you guys really have to throw me a party? It's not like turning thirty-one is anything huge."

"Well with your father's motorcycle accident last year we really didn't get to celebrate your thirtieth birthday," said Mrs. Cartwright as she sealed the box she was working on. "So we're going to use this year to make up for it."

"Please tell me that dad isn't out on his motorcycle right now," said Casey as she glared at her mother.

"He promised to wear a helmet and take it real slow," she replied.

"I can't believe you would let him back on that thing after he broke both of his legs last year," said Casey as she crossed her arms in front of her.

"Your father will do whatever he wants to do," said Mrs. Cartwright with a sigh. "I can't stop him."

"Whatever you say mom," said Casey as she rolled her eyes.

"There are still some things in your room that need to be boxed up and taken back to your place," said Mrs. Cartwright ignoring her comment. "Why don't you go and work on that."

"Okay," said Casey as she stood up and made her way upstairs.

She had started packing up her old room earlier in the week but was called away on an emergency disposition. She still had a few things on the walls to take down and go through her desk. But before she was even able to get started her phone rang.

"Yes Valerie," said Casey answering the phone. Even though she loved having her intern, she always managed to call for the dumbest things sometimes.

"I know you have the day off," said Valerie. "But I can't find the file for the Blackmon case and the DA wants it like now. Do you know where it might be?"

"I told you that I put that file in the cabinet next to my desk," Casey replied. "The one I gave you the key to because it's locked."

"Oh yeeaahh," said Valerie. "I completely forgot that."

"It's okay," said Casey. "I'll talk to you later."

"Happy Birthday!" said Valerie eagerly.

"Thanks, I'll see you on Monday," said Casey, hanging up the phone before Valerie could continue.

Casey took several pictures she had from high school off of the wall along with her high school pendant and put them in one of the boxes she had started earlier. She then dragged the box over to her desk and began opening drawers and throwing several office supplies and papers into it. She got down to the bottom drawer and was about to throw a heap of books into the box when one in particular caught her eye. She put the rest of the books down and sat down on the side of the bed observing the flowery outside binding of the book covered with stickers of smiley faces, peace signs and her sorority letters. It was her freshman year journal.

The first couple of entries were from her first two days of college and how scared and nervous she was. She smiled as she read about meeting Ashleigh in the laundry room and deciding to go through rush. If only she knew at that time how much the sorority would really mean to her. She skipped ahead to the night of the rush parties and couldn't help but think about meeting Cappie and dancing with him most of the night.

"You know, I'm starting to get kind of tired," said Casey. "I'm going to head back to my dorm."

"Nooooo," whined Ashleigh. "We're having so much fun!"

"It's okay, you can stay," said Casey. "I'll catch up with you tomorrow."

"Be safe!" Ashleigh yelled as she was drawn back into the crowd on the dance floor.

Casey began walking up the back porch steps when suddenly Cappie was right next to her.

"Where are you going?" he asked with a smile.

"Are you stalking me?" Casey asked with a small laugh.

"Just watching…." Cappie replied.

"Well if you must know, I'm going back to my dorm," said Casey as she walked towards the back door.

"I'll walk you," said Cappie as he handed his beer to a random guy passing by him and caught up with Casey.

The two of them walked in silence out of the house and towards the sidewalk.

"So, did you have fun tonight?" Cappie asked breaking the silence.

"I did," Casey replied. "I didn't know fraternity parties could be so fun."

"Yeah, neither did I," said Cappie with a small laugh. "I really like those guys though. I hope I get a bid from them. None of the other houses stood out like they did."

"My favorite house was Zeta Beta Zeta," said Casey. "I never really thought about joining a sorority when I started here though."

"Me neither, well, fraternity that is," said Cappie correcting himself. "Evan was the one who encouraged me to go."

"Yeah, Ashleigh was the one who introduced me to the idea," said Casey.

"So I guess if it weren't for our friends, I would have never met you tonight," said Cappie as he turned to Casey and smiled.

"I guess you're right," said Casey as she locked eyes with him but quickly turned away and looked forward again.

She could see out of the corner of her eye that his smiled dropped quickly and he turned his head to look forward again too.

"Well here is my dorm," said Casey as they arrived at the front door of Pearson Hall.

"I, uh, would love to see you again," said Cappie as he turned to face her.

"Me too," said Casey avoiding eye contact. "Maybe if we get into the houses we want we will see each other again at an event or mixer or something."

"Now how come when we were on the dance floor tonight you were looking me right in the eyes but I can't get you to even glance at me now?" Cappie asked as he playfully moved his head to where Casey's gaze was.

"I don't know," said Casey as she locked eyes with him again. "I should really get inside though."

But she didn't move. It was like his eyes were paralyzing her in that moment. He had the most gorgeous blue eyes she had ever seen.

Cappie finally broke the gaze as he took her key card out of her hand and used it to open the door for her.

"I hope to see you around soon," he said as he handed the card back to her.

"Yeah, you too," said Casey with a smile.

"Goodnight," said Cappie as he turned to walk away.

"Goodnight," said Casey as she turned to walk inside.

Casey turned the page and continued to read about getting her bid from Zeta Beta Zeta and going to the bid night party to meet all of her new sisters. She wasn't too interested in reading about those events though. She honestly hadn't thought about Cappie in a little while and thinking about their first meeting brought all kinds of emotions back that she had been burying. They haven't said more than two or three words to each other since their break up on spring break her senior year of college. They were both in the wedding party for Rusty and Jordan's wedding last year but she begged Rusty to not pair her up with him to walk down the aisle and do the bridal party dance with. It was already awkward enough and there was too much hurt and anger between the two of them to be put in that situation.

She flipped a couple of pages finding the next time there was mention of Cappie.

It was Friday night, a week after the rush party and Casey was in her dorm room doing some homework. Her roommate had gone home for the weekend and even though her sisters wanted her to join them at Dobbler's she was looking forward to a relaxing night just to herself.

It was nearing eleven when there was a knock at her door. She was shocked to open the door and find Cappie standing there.

"Hey," he said as she opened the door.

"Uh, how did you find out where I live?" Casey asked as she looked up and down the hall for someone assisting him. Ashleigh was the first person who came to mind.

"You do know that your room number is on your key card right?" Cappie asked with a smile.

"And you just happened to look at it when you opened the door for me last week huh?" Casey asked.

"Guilty as charged," said Cappie with a laugh. "I was hoping to catch you around campus or at Dobbler's this week but I had no luck. So here I am knocking on your door."

"So can I help you with something?" Casey asked, a little unsure why he was actually there.

"I was hoping we could go for a walk," said Cappie.

"Now?" Casey asked.

"Sure," Cappie replied.

"I don't know," said Casey. "I just changed into my sweatpants and not really looking the most presentable."

"You look just fine," said Cappie grabbing her arm. "So let's go."

Casey was barely able to grab her key as he pulled her out into the hallway and they made their way outside.

"I was thinking we could head over towards the gardens," said Cappie as they began to walk.

"Okay," said Casey.

They walked a couple hundred feet in silence until Cappie finally spoke up.

"So tell me a little about yourself Casey Cartwright," said Cappie.

Casey was a little shocked that he actually remembered her full name but nonetheless she answered the question. "I'm from Chicago; I've lived there since I was born."

"Like actually in the city?" Cappie asked.

"No, more towards the suburbs," Casey replied. "I don't think I would want to live right in the city. It's too loud and busy."

"You know, I don't think I've ever been to Chicago," said Cappie. "What made you come to school here in the Ohio though?"

"That's a good question," said Casey with a small laugh as she turned and made eye contact with his piercing blue eyes again. She held the gaze for a couple of seconds before looking forward again. "I got an information packet in the mail one day and it just looked like a really nice school. Plus it fell into the 'far away from my parents but not too far away' plan that I was looking for."

"Trouble with your parents?" Cappie asked.

"No, not really," Casey replied. "I just felt like it was time for me to kind of grow up and get away and be on my own. If they had their way they would have had me go to school in town and live at home."

"So you think you made the right decision?" Cappie asked.

"I think so," Casey replied. "I like all my classes and really excited about getting involved in the sorority."

"Any siblings?" Cappie asked.

"No," Casey replied. "How about you?"

"I guess us only children have to stick together then huh?" Cappie said with a smile.

At that time they had reached the gardens and Cappie led her over to one of the benches and they sat down.

"So do you have a boyfriend waiting for you back in Chicago?" Cappie asked as he turned to look at her.

"No," said Casey as she blushed a little bit. "I've had boyfriends but none of them have worked out."

"I guess that leaves all the guys here to fight over you then huh?" said Cappie.

"Speaking of guys," said Casey trying to change the subject. "How long have you known your roommate Evan?"

"Ev and I go way back," Cappie replied. "We met at summer camp several years ago and have been friends since."

"It must be nice knowing someone here like that," said Casey. "I tried to get a couple of my friends to come to CRU but they wanted to stay closer to home."

"I think it's a good thing not knowing anybody though," said Cappie. "Then you can kind of start over and be whoever you want to be. No one knows who you really are."

"Well I certainly don't want to be someone I'm not," said Casey with a laugh.

"I didn't mean it like that," said Cappie.

"I know," said Casey softly as they locked eyes again, this time holding their gaze for several seconds. "So," said Casey as she finally looked away. "What do you like to do in your spare time?"

"Party," said Cappie with a laugh.

"Anything besides that?" Casey asked, almost disappointed in his answer.

"I like to listen to music," said Cappie. "I also sing, do a little karaoke sometimes."

"Really?" Casey asked. "What kind of music do you like?"

"Mostly rock and alternative," Cappie replied. "I'll let just you in on a little secret through."

"What's that?" Casey asked.

"I've been known to listen to a little pop and boy band stuff at times," he leaned in and whispered to her.

Casey almost melted when she felt his warm breath near her ear but quickly let out a giggle at his statement so he didn't notice the other effect he had had on her.

"It's not funny," he said as he backed away. "I bet you listened to the same stuff."

"Guilty as charged," said Casey repeating his statement from earlier in the evening.

The two of them continued to sit there and talk about all kinds of subjects, realizing quickly how easy it was to talk to one another. Casey eventually pulled out her phone and looked at the time.

"It's after two," she said. "I really should get back and get to sleep. We have a pledge meeting early tomorrow morning."

"On a Saturday?" Cappie asked.

"We're getting together to make presents for our big sisters," Casey replied as she stood up. "And you took me away from the homework that I wanted to get done tonight so I have to get some of that done tomorrow too."

"Is that such a bad thing?" Cappie asked as he stood up and began to walk with her.

"No, not at all," she replied. "This was so much more fun than homework."

"I should hope so," said Cappie.

The two of them walked in silence the rest of the way back to Pearson Hall. When they got to the door they turned and faced each other.

"You know, in all the talking we did tonight I didn't learn anything about your family and your growing up," said Casey.

"Well I guess that just gives us an excuse to do this again sometime huh?" said Cappie with a smile.

"So should I just wait for the next time you come knocking at my door?" Casey asked smiling back at him.

"How about I tell you I'll be there tomorrow at seven to pick you up for dinner?" Cappie asked.

Now Casey was really blushing. "Sure," she said as she continued to smile and look into his eyes.

And then as if a magnet was turned on between the two of them, they each began to lean their faces closer and closer to one another until finally their lips touched.

"GET A ROOM!" yelled a guy riding his bike near them causing Casey to pull away quickly, making the kiss last no more than a second.

"So, uh, I should, uh, get going," said Casey turning towards the door and trying to open it.

"I think your key card might unlock it," said Cappie with a laugh.

"Oh yeah," said Casey as she used it to unlock the door and avoiding any eye contact with him. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow," was the last thing she heard as the door shut.

Casey was now giggling to herself at how frazzled she had become after they kissed. Sure she had kissed other boys before but none of them had compared to the small electric spark she felt when she kissed him, even though it was for only a second.

"What's going on in here?" asked Mr. Cartwright as he stepped into Casey's room.

"Hey dad," said Casey as she got off the bed and hugged him.

"What were you giggling about?" he asked.

"Oh I found one of my old diaries and was laughing at some of the crazy stuff I had written," Casey replied.

"About what?" her dad asked.

"Just some funny things Ashleigh and I did with the sorority," Casey lied.

"Well your mother wanted me to ask if you wanted to take a break for some lunch," said Mr. Cartwright.

"As long as she has her famous lemonade to drink with it," said Casey with a smile.

"I made her make a pitcher of it last night," Mr. Cartwright smiled back as Casey hooked arms with him and the two of them headed downstairs for lunch.

A/N: So I've had the start of this story on my computer for a while and decided to post it to see if there is any interest. Basically it's about Cappie and Casey freshman year if you couldn't tell. I'll post more if there are still readers out there :0)