For Every Dark Night, There Is a Brighter Day

Jimmy arched a brow at her. "A cop?" he questioned. "Huh. Maybe I should meet him." He grinned at the thought, chuckling to himself. He had a bad rep and the cops hated him because he was always getting in trouble. He'd gotten arrested a few times and had to call his parents to bail him out.

But to think that this girl's uncle was a cop, it made him want to squirm into her life even more, fuck with her uncle a bit. He shook his head and looked down at her. "I'm not a delinquent, either, by the way. And it's your first day of school. So what if you come home a bit late? Say you made some friends or something, and you went to the park. Who cares?"

He grabbed her arm and practically dragged her over to his stalker van, looking down at her and wiggling his eyebrows. "Wanna sit in the back or the front?" he questioned, a smirk etching its way onto his face.

---

Cassie bit her lip gently and nodded her head. "Yeah," she said. "I'm definitely coming. I'll have to figure something out about staying, though. Maybe I can convince Robyn to cover for me? She seems like a nice enough person." She smiled at him, folding her hands on the table.

She could just imagine how much fun she would have partying with the guys. Maybe it would loosen her up a bit, make her more open. She wanted to be open and free, like she was when she painted. Pretty much her whole life, she'd been closed up and reserved and she followed her parents' orders, but now that she was getting older and more independent, she wanted to become who she'd really wanted to be her whole life.

Sure, it would take some time, it wasn't going to happen overnight, but over time, she would open up. She would be wild and crazy like Matt and his friends were. She just knew it. Maybe the alcohol would help too. Her eyes widened slightly at the thought of alcohol. "Uh, you'll take care of me, right?" she asked after a moment, staring up at him. "You know, if I get sick from the drinking? I've never had alcohol before."

@ anchored lungs.
"I'll take the front, thanks," Robyn replied scathingly, rolling her eyes. Was Jimmy being serious right now? All of these innuendos made him seem like a thirteen-year-old. Robyn climbed into the front passenger seat of Jimmy's odd van, sensing that she wasn't going to be able to change Jimmy's mind about letting her take her own car. "You'll have to bring me back to get my car later, you know that, right?" she asked.

As Jimmy drove away from the school, Robyn pulled out her phone and sent a text for her aunt. She told her she would be going somewhere after school, but left out that she'd been dragged away against her will by a delinquent in a stalker van. She and her aunt had a back and forth conversation about the typical things. Where was she going? Who was she with? What would they be doing? In the end, as long as Robyn was home by curfew, she was allowed to go out with her new friends.

"I have to be home by eleven," Robyn informed Jimmy, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. She glanced at the clock on the dash. 3:36. "So what are we gonna do for the next hour?" Robyn asked. "Cause I thought I heard Matt say that practice didn't start until five."

---

Matt smirked. He'd forgotten how sheltered Cassie was. He and the guys, they'd been drinking since they were thirteen. But obviously Cassie hadn't had the same...opportunities. "Of course," Matt promised. "You'll be my charge for the evening. I'll keep you safe but I'll also make sure you get nice and hammered."

He wouldn't get Cassie too drunk, just enough to get her loosened up. Of course, if he was watching her that meant he wouldn't be able to drink so much, at least not as much as he'd like. But at least that would mean he'd remember everything the next day. Especially if something happened to go down between him and Cassie, whatever that might be. The food arrived while Matt was lost in his thoughts and he half-way thanked the waiter as a steaming plate of lasagna was placed in front of him.

"This looks delicious," he said, smiling at Cassie. Her food looked pretty good too, but there was no spaghetti as good as his mom's. The two of them ate in relative silence, what with Matt practically shoveling down his food. When Matt was done, he picked up his phone and checked the time. 4:27 "We'd better get going soon," he said to Cassie. "You need a to-go container?"

Jimmy shrugged. "Uh, we could drive around for a bit," he said. "I can show you some of the coolest places in Huntington." He looked over at her, not waiting for an answer before looking in the rearview mirror and backing out of the parking space.

He began the drive around the little city, showing her all the cool places that he and his friends typically hung out at. It was kind of refreshing, driving around town with a new pair of eyes, and seeing what she thought of everything. He didn't know what it was like where she came from, if it was anything similar or not, but maybe this was a new experience for her, and she could really enjoy being in a new place.

"So, do you like it here so far?" he asked after a little bit, turning the radio up just a tad.

---

Cassie looked at Matt and nodded her head. "Yeah, that would be great," she murmured, smiling softly at him. "I'm gonna head to the bathroom real quick." She stood up and went to the restroom, walking in and standing in front of a mirror. She looked at herself, fluffing her hair a bit and smiling before she washed her hands.

When she finished, she walked back out and smiled at Matt as she put her leftovers in the box. "Ready to go?" she asked, watching as the waiter handed Matt the check. She really wished he'd let her pay for her own portion at least, but nope, he was stubborn and he just had to be a gentleman. Well, she really couldn't complain. At least he wasn't being an asshole. He wasn't, though, at all. He never could be. He was just too damn sweet for that.

She looked down and smiled at the thought of them maybe actually going out on a date, and him being the gentleman he was. She blushed and looked away from him, hoping he hadn't noticed.

@ anchored lungs.
"It's okay, I guess," Robyn replied. She leaned forward, hugging her knees as she stretched out her back. "Huntington's a little bit bigger than I'm used to, but I'm sure I'll get used to it."

She leaned back, closing her eyes as she listened to the music blaring from Jimmy's speakers. She really appreciated him showing her around town, even if she'd been irritated earlier when he dragged her to his van. Maybe she was wrong about him not being nice. Now if only he'd stop with all the thinly-veiled sexual comments, Robyn would be happy.

Robyn sat up when she felt her stomach growl. "I'm getting hungry," she announced. She propped her feet up on the dash, hoping Jimmy wouldn't care. "Do we have time to get something to eat or do you need to get to practice?"

---

"Alright, well let's get to my house, then," Matt said. He paid the check, noticing the strange blush on Cassie's cheeks. What was going through her mind right now that had her blushing? He knew she'd prefer to go Dutch on the bill, but that couldn't be it. There had to be something else. And there you go overthinking things.

Matt made it to his house in record time. He called out to his parents that he would be in the garage for practice and then headed that way, Cassie right behind him. Everyone but Jimmy was already waiting in his garage.

"Finally you get here!" Brian shouted. He wasn't wearing his sunglasses, which meant he wasn't hungover anymore. Too bad he would be tomorrow.

Matt jerked his thumb behind him, in Cassie's direction. "Had to make sure this pretty lady got something to eat," he laughed. He quickly realized what he'd just said and added, "You know, before she has to spend all this time with you fuckers."

Jimmy bit his lip as he thought. "They won't mind me being a few late," he said with a shrug of his shoulders. He fished his wallet out of his pocket while they sat at a red light, checking to see how much cash he had. "I've got enough for the dollar menu at McDonald's, so you're going to have to settle for that."

Once the light changed, he started heading to the nearest fast food place, pulling through the drive through and asking the lady to give him a minute. He turned to face Robyn, raising an eyebrow. "What do you want?" he asked. He figured they could probably split a large fry or whatever. He typically ate quite a lot, but he knew his mom would probably be cooking a large dinner since it was the first day of school and whatnot. She was like that. Not that he minded, because he loved food and whatnot.

He began to wonder what his parents would think of Robyn; wondered if they would think she'd be a good influence on him. Maybe he should bring her by the house sometime and introduce her to his family. Then they could get off his case, you know?

---

Cassie looked at Matt and then the guys, laughing softly. "Oh come on, they're not that bad," she said. She walked over to Johnny and sat in his lap, ruffling his hair. He was like a little brother to her, and she loved messing with him.

She assumed Jimmy was probably still hanging around the new girl, and maybe he would bring her here. She could talk to her, get to know her better. They could become good friends. She was just so excited to be able to have a girl friend. Not that she didn't love hanging out with the boys, because she totally did, it would just be nice to have another girl in the mix for a change.

She looked over at Matt, smiling brightly at him before glancing over at Brian, noticing the way he was looking at her. She bit her lip hard and tried to hide the blush on her cheeks as she looked away from him. The thought of him maybe being into her made her feel so . . . weird. It was Brian. She wanted Matt to want her, but she was kind of feeling like that would probably never happen, and it saddened her.

She wanted to be with Matt so badly.

@ anchored lungs.
"I've got money," Robyn said. When she'd mentioned that she was hungry, she didn't intend for Jimmy to buy her anything. Especially if what was in his wallet was all he had. She pulled a five from her own wallet and shoved it into Jimmy's hand. "I'll have a cheeseburger, no tomatoes, and a small fry. Oh, and a water."

Once they had their food, they were off to Matt's house. Familiar voices emanated from the garage. With her fast food bag in hand, Robyn followed Jimmy inside. She wondered what the others would say when they say her; after all, Jimmy probably hadn't told anyone else that he was inviting her.

"God, is everybody bringing dates to band practice?" Brian asked when they entered the garage.

Robyn felt her face heat up slightly, quite involuntarily. She shot Brian a disgusted look. "As if," she scoffed, plopping down next to Cassie on a small couch.

---

"Well, we should get started," Matt suggested, reaching for his microphone. "My mom will be pissed if we practice past eight, she says it's too loud."

Matt watched Brian as the brown-eyed boy readied his guitar. He saw the way Brian was looking at Cassie and Matt didn't like it one bit. He was almost a little jealous.

But that would mean he liked Cassie. As more than a friend. It was a weird idea. But the more he thought about it, the more it seemed...not so weird. He and Cassie had a lot in common and they hung out a lot, sometimes alone. They'd practically been on a date, just without actually calling it that. It wouldnt be such a stretch if they started dating. In fact, he was sure everyone in their circle of friends was expecting it to happen sooner or later.

But Matt didn't want to say anything on the off chance he was reading Cassie wrong. He just really hoped she opened up when she got drunk.

Jimmy pouted, batting his eyelashes at her playfully. "You'd love to be my date," he said, absolutely sure of himself. He sat down at his drumset, grabbing the drumsticks and pointing one of them at Robyn. "Don't deny it." He grinned at her, laughing maniacally as he began drumming random little fills.

Why wouldn't anyone want to be his date? He was fucking awesome! And he was full of it, too. He looked at the guys for their signal before he started the first song they were going to practice. He absolutely loved playing with the guys. It was the highlight of his life, honestly.

His life was pretty much about music. And his family. He loved his family, and the guys were pretty much family too. He loved them like his brothers, and he couldn't imagine his life without them right now.

---

Cassie smiled as they started playing, looking over at Robyn. She leaned close to the girl so she would be able to hear her better. "Don't pay any attention to Jimmy," she said. "He's full of himself sometimes." She smiled at her and moved back away from her, leaning forward and watching Matt. God, he was so perfect. And she wanted nothing more than to go up there right now and just grab onto him.

She wondered if maybe she should make a move or something. He didn't seem interested in her, though. He was just really chill all the time, and it was hard for her to judge whether he felt the same or not. But at this point, it was too hard to tell. He just didn't show any interest in her. Not that she could tell, anyways.

She sighed softly, leaning back and pulling her knees up to her chest. Maybe she was looking into this too much. Maybe this was all just her mind, and it would never work out between the two of them anyways.

[Sorry it's so short! Brain fart. ]

@ anchored lungs.
Robyn laughed at Cassie's statement. Jimmy was pretty full of himself, especially if he thought she would ever want to be his date to anything. Robyn didn't like bad boys, and for a good reason. She wanted something stable.

As the guys started practice, Robyn noticed how Cassie's attention was focused almost entirely on Matt. Even though she'd only known these people for a few hours, things were pretty transparent. Cassie obviously had a thing for Matt. Robyn wondered if Matt could see it. Because they'd make a cute couple.

Robyn's attention then drifted to Jimmy. As much as he was getting on her nerves, she did have to admit that he was a good drummer. Like, really good. That's kind of attractive. Robyn nearly choked on her cheeseburger when that thought crossed her mind.

Nope, she wasn't going there. Not with Jimmy.

---

"Alright guys, I think we should call it a night," Matt said, using his shirt to wipe the sweat from his forehead. The guys nodded in agreement and started packing up their equipment. Matt walked over and sat down on the couch next to Cassie.

"Just let me know when you're ready for me to take you home," he told her. It wasn't really that late, but it was a school night, so Matt didn't know how long Cassie would want to stay. "I'm gonna see if I can get these fuckers outta my garage before my parents flip their lids."

Matt shot Cassie a dimpled grin before getting to his feet and walking away. Now that he had the idea of being more than friends with Cassie, he read way too much into everything she did. Like the way she looked at him when he smiled at her. Did that mean she had feelings, too? Or was Matt just overthinking things? He really wished he had someone he could talk to about all of this.

[It's okay ]

@ anchored lungs.
Robyn laughed at Cassie's statement. Jimmy was pretty full of himself, especially if he thought she would ever want to be his date to anything. Robyn didn't like bad boys, and for a good reason. She wanted something stable.

As the guys started practice, Robyn noticed how Cassie's attention was focused almost entirely on Matt. Even though she'd only known these people for a few hours, things were pretty transparent. Cassie obviously had a thing for Matt. Robyn wondered if Matt could see it. Because they'd make a cute couple.

Robyn's attention then drifted to Jimmy. As much as he was getting on her nerves, she did have to admit that he was a good drummer. Like, really good. That's kind of attractive. Robyn nearly choked on her cheeseburger when that thought crossed her mind.

Nope, she wasn't going there. Not with Jimmy.

---

"Alright guys, I think we should call it a night," Matt said, using his shirt to wipe the sweat from his forehead. The guys nodded in agreement and started packing up their equipment. Matt walked over and sat down on the couch next to Cassie.

"Just let me know when you're ready for me to take you home," he told her. It wasn't really that late, but it was a school night, so Matt didn't know how long Cassie would want to stay. "I'm gonna see if I can get these fuckers outta my garage before my parents flip their lids."

Matt shot Cassie a dimpled grin before getting to his feet and walking away. Now that he had the idea of being more than friends with Cassie, he read way too much into everything she did. Like the way she looked at him when he smiled at her. Did that mean she had feelings, too? Or was Matt just overthinking things? He really wished he had someone he could talk to about all of this.

[It's okay ]

Jimmy stood up and wiped the sweat from his forehead before pulling his shirt off. He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, using his shirt to wipe some of the sweat from his torso. He smirked at Robyn, wiggling his eyebrows at her before walking over to Matt. He reached up, clapping him on the shoulder as he leaned in. "Kiss her already," he whispered into his ear. "It's so fucking obvious she's into you. Go for it." He winked at his friend before he walked over to Robyn.

"Ready to go?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest. He was just gonna take her back to get her car and then he planned on going home and taking a long, hot shower. Maybe he could even relieve himself. Not that he was having any problems with that right now, but hey, why the hell not?

Once Robyn said goodbye to all the guys and Cassie, he led her out to his van and climbed in. He turned the AC on and began driving back to the school. "So, are you excited for the school year?" he asked curiously, glancing over at her.

---

Cassie smiled at Matt and sat back, pondering how long she'd be staying before she asked him to take her home. She watched the guys file out, waving at Robyn when she left with Jimmy. She stood up and smoothed out her shirt before walking over to Matt. She looked him over, not able to get over how attractive he looked all sweaty like that.

She shook her head of the thoughts and cleared her throat. "I'm ready to go whenever you're ready to take me," she said. She figured she shouldn't stay too much longer. It was the first day of school and she knew her parents would be wanting to question how her day was and if she made any new friends - to replace the ones she had, of course. Her parents made it blatantly obvious they didn't like her friends, just as they had when her sister had been in the house. But now that she was at uni, they couldn't really control her life too much anymore.

"And you guys were pretty amazing tonight," she said. "It'll be so awesome when you get a gig and you play for like, a whole audience." She grinned up at him, just imagining how amazing the guys would be at an actual gig. She could really see them becoming a huge thing.

@ anchored lungs.
Robyn shrugged her shoulders. "Eh, school is school," she replied. "I just don't know what I'm gonna do after I graduate. I'd really like to go to college and ya know, do something with my life. But I don't know what I wanna do. Plus, I can't really afford to go. So I dunno."

Robyn had no idea why she told Jimmy all of that. Not even her aunt knew any of that, and Robyn usually told her everything. It was weird. But Robyn sensed that Jimmy was pretty trustworthy underneath his carefree exterior. She knew that he wouldn't divulge anything she told him.

"I've gotta admit, you're a pretty good drummer," Robyn commented randomly. She grinned at Jimmy. "I thought you were bluffing." Robyn gathered her things and grabbed her bag as Jimmy pulled into the school parking lot. "Thanks for the ride," she said, opening the door. "I'll see you at school tomorrow, I guess."

---

"Yeah, that'll be pretty fucking awesome," Matt agreed, laughing. He snatched up his car keys and nodded at the door. "Let's go, I'm sure your parents are wanting you home."

As Matt drove towards Cassie's house, Jimmy's words replayed in his head. Kiss her already. It's so fucking obvious she's into you. If Jimmy saw it, then it had to be true. The oldest boy was pretty sharp about these things. Matt glanced over at Cassie, smiling at the look that was on her face as she listened to the radio. Maybe he should kiss her.

Grow a pair and just do it.

Matt stopped Cassie as she went to get out of his car. "Uh, wait," he spit out. Go for it. Before he could lose his nerve, Matt leaned over his center console and pressed his lips against Cassie's.

Jimmy smiled at her. "Thanks," he said. "That really means a lot." He watched her get out of the car, biting his lip gently. "No problem. I'll see you tomorrow." He totally understood where she came from on the whole college thing. Sure, he already knew what he wanted to do with his own life, but he got it.

He watched her walk away, making sure she got in her car before he pulled out of the driveway and headed home. He walked inside and upstairs, hopping in the shower like he planned. He scrubbed his body and then washed his hair, climbing out of the shower and sighing contently. He grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist, beginning to dry his legs off.

Once he was fully dried off, he walked into his room, cursing quietly under his breath. He totally should have gotten Robyn's number. He made a mental note to ask her tomorrow for her number. That is, if she would even give it to him.

---

Cassie smiled over at Matt, moving to get out of the car when they arrived at her house. She gasped softly when she felt Matt's lips on hers, her heart nearly jumping out of her chest. She sat there for a moment, completely in shock. She felt him start to pull away, so she quickly pushed forward, kissing him back.

She just couldn't believe he'd kissed her. But damn, she wasn't complaining. It felt so good. And she never wanted it to end. She hesitantly reached up and touched his cheek gingerly, her heart pounding in her chest. She pulled away after a moment, sucking in a large breath and looking up at him.

Her cheeks burned bright red and she averted her gaze, looking down at the center console. She let out a nervous laugh and pulled her hand away from him, leaning back in her seat and just sitting there for a moment, completely caught off guard. She didn't know what to think. She felt speechless, thoughtless.

@ anchored lungs.
When Robyn arrived at school the next day, she quickly noticed that Jimmy's stalker van was already in the lot. It seemed like he was parked in someone else's spot, and Robyn rolled her eyes. Shouldering her bag, Robyn went inside and went to her locker. Now that it was the second day, she felt like she knew her way around a little better.

She went to the quad, where students gathered before the first bell, waved when she spotted Brian, Matt, and Cassie standing off on the far side. "Hey," she said. She glanced around. "Where's everybody else?"

Brian grinned wickedly. "Looking for your little lover boy?" he asked. Robyn glared at him and he laughed. "He's around here somewhere."

---

"You should get inside," Matt said softly. He reached over and grabbed Cassie's hand. "You know, before your parents get suspicious or anything." Matt knew Cassie's parents didn't particularly like him, but he didn't understand why. Sure, he liked to drink and sometimes got into trouble, but he wasn't as bad as say...Jimmy.

Matt leaned over and gave Cassie one last quick kiss before she climbed out of the car. "I'll see you at school tomorrow," he said.

Once he was sure Cassie was safely inside her house, Matt started his car and drove away. When he got home, he laid down in his bed, his thoughts going wild. He was slightly worried that he might've messed up by kissing Cassie, but more than anything, he was glad he did.

Kissing Cassie felt right and he was both excited and nervous to see where things would go from here. He was also immensely curious what everyone would say when they found out.

Jimmy walked over to Brian, smiling at his friend and looking at Robyn. "She came back!" he exclaimed. "Damn, I thought you'd have run for the hills by now. You survived a day with us, and you came back. That's amazing." He grinned and wrapped his arm around her, reaching up and ruffling her hair.

He laughed when she shoved him away and went to fixing her hair, shaking his head. Well, she might not come back tomorrow after that. "I thought about what you said last night. And I figured out what you'd be great at doing in life. Wanna know what I think?" He smirked as he leaned against the locker, wiggling his eyebrows at her and waiting for her answer.

---

Cassie stepped out of her mother's car, waving goodbye and watching her drive off before she walked inside the school. She went to her locker and put her things away before she walked to Matt's locker, biting her lip gently. She took a deep breath before walking up to him, reaching out and touching his arm. "Hey," she murmured. She moved to stand in front of him, smiling up at him.

She vaguely wondered if he would kiss her again, or if he regretted it and he never wanted to kiss her again. What if he didn't even want to see her again? Her smile instantly faded and she bit her lip hard, looking away from him. "You . . . you don't regret kissing me, do you?" she questioned, looking back up at him and frowning. "I don't regret it."

She looked at him with hopeful eyes, secretly wishing that he would just kiss her right then and there and never stop. She wanted him to kiss her like their lives depended on it, like he really wanted to be with her. He did want to be with her, right? And that's why he kissed her?

@ anchored lungs.
Robyn eyed Cassie and Matt. Matt was leaned close to Cassie, whispering in her ear, and every so often, Cassie would giggle softly. Robyn smirked. "You two look awful close," she commented. Matt's cheeks went up in flames.

Thankfully, Matt and Cassie were spared from any further embarrassment by the arrival of Jimmy. The tall boy was shouting - it didn't seem like his voice ever got any softer - and was saying something about how he couldn't believe she was back.

Robyn huffed when Jimmy messed up her hair, shooting him a glare. She'd spent a lot of time on it this morning and didn't appreciate people touching it. "Not really, but I know you're gonna tell me anyway," Robyn said in reply to Jimmy's question. The suggestive wiggle of his eyebrows told Robyn that the answer was probably another innuendo.

---

"Of course not," Matt replied, grinning. He closed his locker and turned to Cassie. "I mean, i did at first because I thought it would make things awkward, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that this was what I wanted."

He took her hand, threading their fingers together as they walked out to the quad. People stared at they as they walked, but Matt was expecting that. He and Cassie went over to where Brian was standing, fiddling with his phone.

Brian's eyes widened only slightly when he saw Matt and Cassie holding hands. "Fucking finally," he said, smiling widely.

Jimmy laughed. "I think you'd be like, the perfect therapist," he said. "You know, 'cause you're always analyzing people." He gave her an actual serious look for once, nodding his head. "And I could picture you helping people, you know? That just seems like the type of person you are."

While most of the time, Jimmy played dumb, he was actually pretty freaking intelligent. He just never let anyone see that he was. It would ruin his bad boy reputation, and he didn't want that. He wanted to be the cool guy, the guy that everyone looked up to, that they wanted to be. And he was maintaining that pretty damn well at this point.

He turned and looked at Brian. "Don't you think so?" he questioned.

He turned his attention to Matt and Cassie and smirked. "Matt and Cassie sittin' in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" he sang, laughing and reaching over, punching Matt in the shoulder. "Finally. You two are fucking oblivious."

---

Cassie giggled, smiling at Brian. She bit her lip gently, looking up at Matt. She was so glad that he didn't regret their kiss. It had meant a lot to her. But, did this mean they were dating, or? Because technically, they hadn't really gone out or anything. And they hadn't labeled themselves. They were really only just holding hands.

She thought for a minute, finding a sudden surge of confidence within herself. This wasn't the dark ages, she didn't need to wait for him to ask her out. She could very well do it herself. She grabbed his attention away from Brian and grinned at him. "Will you go out with me this Saturday?" she asked softly. "You know, on a date?"

She was kind of embarrassed with the fact that she was so awkward about it, but he didn't seem to mind her awkwardness usually, so she was okay with it. Really, nobody else's opinions mattered to her except his. And her own, of course.

She would always have doubts about herself, that was a fact, but that aside, as long as Matt was okay with her, then she was okay.

@ anchored lungs.
Robyn was surprised at the seriousness of Jimmy's answer. She'd honestly been expecting him to say that she'd be a good stripper or something stupid like that. She could see herself being a therapist, though. Maybe she could help kids who had terrible pasts like she did, who saw their parents head down a bad road and thought their only option was to follow.

"You're smarter than you look," Robyn teased, poking Jimmy in the stomach. "Now maybe if you'd actually go to class instead of skipping you might pass."

Robyn looked over at Matt and Cassie, who were deep in their own conversation. They really were a cute couple and from what Robyn could tell, they both seemed really happy. Robyn wished she could find someone nice; she could use a boyfriend.

---

"Sounds good to me," Matt replied, smiling. He was a little surprised that it was Cassie who'd asked him out instead of the other way around, but he wasn't complaining. "We can go out to dinner, maybe see a movie?" He smirked. "That is, if you're feeling up to it after Friday."

"Ooh, is Cassie partying with us on Friday?" Brian asked curiously, nosing into their conversation. Matt frowned at him.

"She's supposed to," Matt answered, shoving Brian away. "If she can figure out a cover for her parents."

Jimmy rolled his eyes. "What's the point of going to class?" he asked. "I'm just gonna be a distraction anyways? And it's not like I need trig or biology to know how to play the drums." He shook his head. "It's pointless." He smiled at her. "You should skip sometime too. Maybe it'll get that stick out of your ass."

He laughed to himself, shaking his head and wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "Just kidding!" He led her away from everyone, just wanting to spend time alone with her. He wanted her all to himself. "But for real, you should skip sometime with me. We could go to the beach, walk down the pier, have some fun, you know? What do you say? We can skip today."

He really wanted her to take him up on his offer so he could show her a good time. He wanted her to see just how fun he could be. He would love to take her to the beach and just mess around a bit and then go to the pier and try all the little things it had to offer. He really hoped she accepted.

---

Cassie smiled at Brian. "Yeah," she said. "I'm coming. I'll figure something out about the parent situation. It should be fine." She looked at Matt and bit her lip hard, her cheeks burning. She didn't know what it was, but whenever she looked at him, she just felt so giddy.

She shook her head and laughed softly at herself. "Uh, dinner and a movie?" she questioned. It was kind of cliche, but maybe it wouldn't be so bad since it would be Matt. She nodded her head. "Yeah, that sounds great." She smiled and kissed his cheek briefly before standing up. "I should get to class, though. I can't miss anything if I want to be able to go out Friday night. I'll see you fourth." She waved at Matt before heading off for class.

She was really looking forward to the future now. What would it hold for her and Matt? She was dying to know.

@ anchored lungs.
"I actually like biology, thank you very much," Robyn huffed, brushing hair away from her face. She followed Jimmy when he led her away from the others, wondering what on her Earth he could possibly want. Her cousin Gwen had said that Jimmy liked her, but she was only 13, what did she know?

Robyn's eyes widened when Jimmy suggested skipping. "I don't know..." Robyn let her voice trail off. She'd always kind of wanted to skip class, but she'd never had the guts to before. She wasn't that kind of person. But a free day to explore the town sounded fun, so why not?

And it'll give you an opportunity to get to know Jimmy better, the voice in the back of her head said.

"Alright, I'm in," she finally said. She looked at Jimmy. "Well, you're the expert. How do we do this?"

---

"I'll be sure to get you good and wasted, then," Brian said happily, grinning at Cassie. Matt frowned at him. Surely Brian wouldn't make a move on Cassie now that they were an item?

Matt smiled when Cassie kissed his cheek. He could really get used to this, he missed having a girlfriend. "See ya," he called out. He really should be getting to class too, but he couldn't really be bothered.

"So do you have any uh, special plans for Cassie this weekend?" Brian asked a few minutes later. The two of them, along with Zacky, had decided to skip their morning classes, inspired by Jimmy.

Matt fixed Brian with a flat look. "I'm not gonna sleep with her, if that's what you're asking," he replied. "We've been dating for like twelve hours, I think it's a little early to be thinking about that." Not that Matt didn't want to sleep with Cassie. Because he did. She was a beautiful girl. But he didn't want to ruin things by trying to rush into anything.

Jimmy grinned. "Great!" he exclaimed. He looked around them and took her hand, pulling her into the girl's bathroom. "Sh." He peeked out of the door, waiting until all the students and teachers were out of the halls before he pulled her out. Normally, he'd just have walked out because he didn't give a flying fuck, but he wanted this to be an exhilarating experience for Robyn.

He led her to the front entrance, making sure the old lady at the front desk was gone before he walked out of the school with her. It really was just that easy. Nobody really cared unless you got caught. Except the principal of course. He knew his mom would be getting a call later that day saying her son had skipped twice in a row, especially on the first two days of school, but he didn't care. Not like it hadn't happened before.

Jimmy took Robyn to his van and climbed in, waiting for her to get in before he began driving to the beach. He grinned over at her. "Fun, yeah?" he questioned, chuckling to himself.

He reached down and turned the radio up, humming along to it as he drove. Today was gonna be fun as hell, and he was excited.

---

Cassie walked to her class and sat down in her seat, just barely missing the tardy bell. She let out a small breath and noticed a few of the other girls in the room were staring at her, as if she were some piece of trash. She frowned, wanting to ask them why they were looking at her, but it finally clicked in her brain--it was because she was with Matt.

She sighed heavily and looked down at her desk, tracing small designs on the hardwood with her fingertip. She should have figured this would happen. A lot of the girls in school pined over Matt. They would give anything to date him, and now she had taken their places. Which meant she was competition. She was not looking forward to that.

Technically, she and Matt weren't even a couple yet. They were only playing the field, testing the waters. And she was okay with that, she just didn't want things to go so slow to the point where he wouldn't even want to be with her anymore.