Come Around

"So, if you went to Catholic school, does that mean you wore one of those uniforms?" Alex asked out of nowhere.

It had been over a week since he apologized and the two had spent most days together. Some nights, he would go to parties with his friends, and some days she would go into the office and work for a few hours. Most of the rest of the time, they were together, talking for hours on end. Alex was determined to know everything about Cassie.

She nodded, "Of course," she said. A grin spread across his face and his eyes glazed over. Cassie reached over and smacked his arm. "Stop imagining me wearing it. I was just a kid then," she said.

Alex laughed, "I was imagining you wearing it now," he said.

Cassie hit his arm again, "Stop," she laughed, "I'm sure I can't even fit into it anymore."

"You still have it?" he asked, his tone hopeful.

"Probably," she said, "I keep just about everything."

Alex closed his eyes for a minute then opened them and Cassie hit him yet again, "Ow!" he said, "Do you have to keep hitting me in the exact same spot?"

She laughed, "Stop thinking about me like that."

"I'm sorry," he lied.

"No, you aren't," she said.

"You're right. I'm not sorry. But it's not my fault. If you would stop being so damn gorgeous, it would be a lot easier for me to stop thinking about you in ways you don't like."

Cassie rolled her eyes, "Well aren't you quite the sweet talker, Gaskarth," she said and he grinned, "At least you're honest."

"You don't let me be dishonest," he said.

She laughed, "You're ridiculous. Oh, are you coming to the barbecue this weekend?" she asked, changing the subject.

His eyebrows raised, "Barbecue?" he asked.

"Rian didn't tell you about it?" she asked.

"Nope."

"I guess that means he didn't invite Jack either," she said and Alex shrugged, "Well, anyway, Angie and I have a summer barbecue and pool party every year. It's the one time she allows more than a six pack of beer or a bottle of wine in the house. And we usually invite friends and neighbors and it's a good time. We're having it on Saturday."

"You can count on me being there. Jack will probably come too," Alex said then added, "I'm hungry."

Cassie laughed, "Would you like me to make you some food?" she asked.

"Yes, please," he sang, smiling.

Cassie stood and stretched before walking into the kitchen. She opened a cabinet and pulled out a package of ramen. She put a pot of water on the stove and turned the heat all the way up, tossing in a small handful of miniature meatballs from the freezer. After chopping some green onion and garlic, she added them to the boiling water along with the noodles and seasoning. When it was just about done, she added a little Worcestershire sauce and some Sriracha.

"Smells like ramen," Alex shouted from the living room.

She laughed as she split the noodles into two bowls then grabbed some forks from the drawer and headed back out to the living room. Alex eagerly took one of the bowls from her and grinned when he saw he was right and dug into it.

"I love that you make me gourmet ramen," he said between bites, "You would be the best girlfriend ever."

"It's hardly gourmet," she said, rolling her eyes.

Alex grinned, "Well, whatever you would call it, it's fucking delicious."

Cassie laughed and shook her head, "Are you going to a party tonight?" she asked, changing the subject.

"Yeah, with Zack. Come with me," he said.

"I don't think so," she replied.

Alex looked at her, "Come on, it'll be fun."

She shook her head, "I don't like Zack, sorry," she said plainly.

"Then don't talk to him. Hang out with me. I haven't had a date to a party in a long time," he said.

"Maybe that's because if you have a date, it severely cuts your chances of hooking up with a random cute drunk girl at the party," Cassie said.

Alex sighed, "But if you were my date, then I wouldn't need to hook up with any of the girls there because I would be with the best looking girl in the world."

"Who wouldn't be hooking up with you," Cassie finished for him, "And it's not like you need to sleep with random girls anyway, you just like to."

"You're completely missing the point I'm trying to make, Cassandra."

"And what is that, exactly?" she asked.

Alex put his now empty bowl down and sat up straight, looking directly into Cassie's eyes, "When I'm hanging out with you, other girls don't matter, even if all you and I do is just hang out."

"I'm not going to the party with you, Alex. That's final."

"Fine," he said, "I won't go either."

She sighed and rubbed her temples, "You're acting like a child, Alex. Just go to the party. I know you want to go. You know you want to go. And I want you to go because I know you'll have fun. I'm just going to be really boring tonight and read a book and fall asleep early because I have an interview early in the morning."

He nodded, finally giving up, "Okay, I'll go," he said, standing, "I guess I should leave. I'm feeling like I've overstayed my welcome."

Cassie rolled her eyes and waved as he walked out of the room. She could hear him talking to someone when he opened the door but she didn't really care who it was. She turned the TV on and flipped through the channels until she found Mean Girls playing on one of the stations.

It wasn't long before Rian wandered in the living room, "Why is Alex so grumpy?" he asked, plopping down next to Cassie, "Ooh! Mean Girls!" he said excitedly when he looked at the television.

She laughed, "You're a nerd."

Rian nodded, "Seriously though, why is Alex being grumpy?" he asked again.

"I was kind of rude to him because he was irritating me."

"What was he doing?" Rian asked.

Cassie sighed, "He was trying to get me to go to some stupid party with him and Zack. He knows I don't like parties. I also do not like Zack and I told him so, but he was still saying all this stuff trying to get me to say yes but I held my ground. I don't need to be the only sober person in a strange place, surrounded by heavily intoxicated idiots, playing mommy to Alex when he's too drunk to remember his own name."

Rian's eyes were wide, "How do you really feel, Cassandra? Please, don't hold back."

She laughed and hit Rian playfully, "By the way," she said, changing the subject, "You didn't tell Alex about the barbecue on Saturday."

"Oh yeah, I forgot, sorry," he said, "I told Jack though. I'm surprised he didn't mention it to Alex."

Cassie studied her friend's face for a moment, "Did you really forget, or are you still trying to protect me from him?"

"I just," he began and sighed, "It's like he's two different people, Cass. When he's around you, he is some version of Alex that I've never met before. But when he's out in the world, he's completely different. And I just don't want you to get into something that could potentially really hurt you."

She nodded, "I get that you're looking out for me. But you have to understand a couple things. One, I'm not a fragile baby. I'm not going break if something causes me to stumble. And two, I'm not scared of getting hurt. I've been there, done that over and over again. I'm happy, Rian. But what I am scared of is never finding someone to be happy with."

"But what if he does break you?"

"Then maybe I needed to be broken again. And when I put myself back together, I'll be Cassandra Black, version five point oh."

Rian turned to face Cassie, "Not everything happens for a reason, you know."

"I know," she said, "But either way, I'll end up okay. I've been a fighter this far. There's not much point in giving up now."