FicWad

“Casey, Pete, dinner’s ready,” Mrs. Wentz said outside of the closed bedroom door. She smiled when Pete opened the door and smiled at her. “Hon, fix your hair and come on downstairs,” she said as she pinched his cheek and turned away.

Pete grinned at Casey who smiled slightly and shook her head as she sat on the edge of his bed. “It’s not that bad is it?” He asked.

“I messed it up pretty good when I was playing with it,” Casey answered as she got up from his bed and linked their hands together. “Let’s do this,” she said softly before his mouth met hers in a soft, slow kiss that made her heart pound in her rib cage.

Pete slid an arm around her waist, pulling her closer as she slid her arms around his neck. When he broke the kiss, he kept her close as they shared a small smile with each other, their eyes meeting. “Are you sure you’re ready?”

Casey nodded and kissed him softly. “Let’s go.”

Pete smiled as he led Casey downstairs and into the dining room where his mom was already setting down plates. He shot Peter a look when he was heard muttering something under his breath that he hoped to God Casey hadn’t heard. He started pulling out the chair next to him when Peter cleared his throat and nodded to the spot next to Hilary.

“That spot’s for Casey, Pete,” he said with a stern tone that dared Pete to argue him.

“Why can’t my girlfriend sit next to me?” Pete asked, his jaw muscle flexing.

The two stared each other down, neither moving or talking. Andrew and Hilary were practically on the edge of their seats as they watched, waiting for the first blow. When Mrs. Wentz was about to open her mouth to tell her husband to stop acting like a child, a slightly timid voice spoke up.

“I can sit next to Hilary, Pete,” Casey said, making everyone in the room focus their attention on her, and she tried to ignore that fact. “It’s okay.”

Pete visibly relaxed and no one had realized how stiff he had gone. He looked at Casey, who gave him a small smile, and sighed, nodding. “Okay Casey.” He returned her small smile as she mouthed him a thank you and sat down next to Hilary; who was locking eyes with Andrew, the two looking at Pete, and then Casey, before looking at their Mom.

Mrs. Wentz merely shrugged at the two and gave a content smile as she began dishing out the servings to everyone, making sure to give a little extra to her husband, knowing he could never really argue on a full stomach. When she was finished serving everyone, she made her own plate and sat down, next to her husband. “Well, I hope you all enjoy the food, and let’s all have a nice dinner,” she said sweetly, though the look in her eyes directing to Peter was more than enough warning for him to behave.

“So, Casey, do you like living in Chicago?” Hilary asked, looking up at Casey from her dinner plate.

Casey looked at Hilary and nodded. “It’s an interesting place, but it grew quickly on me,” she answered, glancing at Pete, who had glanced at her when she was speaking, and smiled, looking back at Hilary.

“So, is it true you actually have your own job?” Hilary took a piece of broccoli into her mouth, chewing as she waited for Casey to finish taking a sip of her tea before she could answer.

When she set down her glass, Casey nodded. “I work at the bookstore in the downtown area,” she finally said, smiling. “I love books so it works out good for me. I get to look for new reads on breaks,” she chuckled.

Mrs. Wentz smiled and sent her husband, who looked startled, a small grin. She looked at Casey. “Peter and I had no idea you had a job. It’s refreshing to have our son dating someone who supports themselves.”

Casey smiled and looked at Pete. “Someone doesn’t like it sometimes,” she said, but her teasing smile made him smile back at her.

“I’m not used to having my brother date someone who slips money in my car under the ruse of leaving their phone in my car,” Andrew said, making Casey chuckle and Pete laugh. “It’s a shocker that I even fell for it.”

“Wentz men are notoriously stupid,” Hilary said, making her Dad, Andrew, and Pete look at her with a look that made her laugh. “Now I bet you find Pete’s angry face cute,” she said, looking at Casey, who was biting her lip slightly, grinning at Pete.

“Well your brother is attractive when he pouts like that,” Casey replied, shocked she was actually feeling this comfortable around the Wentz family. Pete’s mom was no surprise, but the others had something about them that she was easily feeling her way around since they seemed to be studying her as well. She smiled at Pete and nudged his foot with her own, making him smile. “He’s also attractive any other time.”

“I think I’m the hotter Wentz,” Andrew said before flashing a smile.

Casey chuckled. “I’m staying out of that argument,” she said when Pete had opened his mouth to say something about it.

Peter chewed his piece of steak as he watched the little looks Casey and Pete kept sharing from time to time. He could tell by the slight shifting from time to time that the two were touching feet with every small look. Truth be told he had been skeptical about Casey, since she wasn’t Pete’s usual type, being as she wasn’t a model, or some famous person, or a rising star for that fact. She was a nobody to the star world, yet Pete was interested in her. That was why he had verbally attacked her as he had, he was watching out for his son. His son worked too hard to get where he was without some girl coming along and ruining it. And here they were, going on seven months if his math was right and even he could tell from the look in Pete’s eyes that he was in head over heels for this girl.

- - - - -

While Casey was in the kitchen with Mrs. Wentz, helping her do the dishes, Pete was standing out on the porch with Peter. He eyed his Dad warily, unsure of what he had called him outside for. He chewed his lip slightly when he recognized the look on his Dad’s face as the look that meant he was weighing thoughts in his mind before he would open his mouth and speak them. This was one quality he didn’t get from either parent, having never thought before he spoke. While they perfected it, he failed at it.

“Pete, I want to ask you a couple of questions,” Peter finally said. “And I want full honesty. Now keep in mind, I’m not accusing, only asking. When his son nodded, obviously hesitant, he nodded himself. “Does she use you and your money?”

“No... She won’t even let me buy her a drink if I visit her at work,” Pete answered. “She only spends her money, never mine. And she wants us to stay private for as long as we can, because she actually fears my fame.”

Peter lifted a brow as he looked to his right at Pete. “She fears it?”

“It really isn’t my place to go into details Dad, but yeah, she fears it...”

Peter nodded to himself and looked up at the sky, weighing the next question over in his mind, knowing that this question and the next question would be the deciding point of if he would accept or reject Casey. “Do you trust her Pete? Can you openly talk to her, about anything?”

“Yes.”

Peter looked at Pete, shocked at how quickly his son had answered such a testy question. “You actually found someone you trust?”

“I’ve been away from her for two weeks and away from her for two months total,” Pete said as he looked down at the ground, the feelings in his chest scaring him. “I never once thought she was cheating on me. And I never thought that because I know she isn’t that type of person. She really is an amazing person Dad, that’s why I’ve stayed with her... That’s why I dragged her out to Cali, so I could see her, because I missed her that much.” Pete ran his fingers through his hair and gave a shaky sigh. “I don’t feel like I have to pretend with Casey, I can open up to her and show her the real me and she doesn’t judge me.”

Peter listened carefully to his son, and as he listened he gave a small smile, his first smile about Casey. “Do you love her Pete?”

“Yes.”

Again, Peter thought, no hesitation. He nodded and gave a soft sigh as he went to his son and gave him a soft pat on the back. “Have you told her you love her yet?”

Pete shook his head. “I can’t. I trust her, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t know if she loves me. I know she cares, God does she care, but caring and loving are two different things. You know?”

Peter nodded and left Pete on the back porch, going back inside and headed to the kitchen. Confused, Pete followed, and when he stepped into the kitchen, his jaw dropped. Casey was returning a hug from his Dad, the Dad that had treated her like shit. She was returning a hug from him and it made Pete smile the biggest smile he had in a long time.

“Welcome to the family Casey,” Peter said and smiled at his son over the top of Casey’s head.