Come Around

Two weeks passed rather quickly. Cassie and Angie spent most days in the studio with the boys and the days they weren't there, they were in the office. They had been ridiculously busy not only with that assignment, but with many other small ones as well. Justin was working them hard. On top of that, Cassie was constantly finding other people's work half finished on her desk, along with the many e-mails she would get daily with questions and work that needed finishing.

Often, she would go into the office when she left the studio and stay there late while Alex went out to parties every night. Sometimes when she would get home around three or four in the morning, Alex would already be passed out in a drunken stupor. Other times, he would come in shortly after her and kiss her sloppily before falling asleep. Then there were the occasions he wouldn't come over at all, which was fine with Cassie. She knew they didn't need to spend every night together.

They hardly talked unless it was in the studio and related to the features for the magazine and it was all beginning to take a toll on Cassie. She was tired and irritable all the time, not to mention smoking half a pack of cigarettes a day. Her habit was quickly turning into a crutch.

Angie had noticed she was smoking more. In the beginning, she kept true to herself and would harass her friend every time she went out for a smoke. But the worse it got, the more silent Angie became on that subject. She was worried about her friend but didn't know how to help. Rian had told her to wait it out, that Cassie would come out of the funk. But it seemed she was only getting deeper into it.

This particular day in the studio was one after an all nighter for Cassie. She'd already had nine cups of coffee at ten in the morning and was working on an energy drink. She did what she could to keep moving so she wouldn't feel like she was falling asleep.

"Are you okay?" Matt asked, taking notice as soon as he saw her.

"Fucking fantastic," she mumbled, sweeping a mess of papers into a pile, her hands shaking violently.

"You sure? Don't take this the wrong way," he said, "But you look terrible."

Cassie pushed past him and shoved the papers into her bag, "I haven't been sleeping. Too much work to do," she said and started setting up the cameras and computer.

Matt raised his eyebrow as he watched her, "Do you want some help? You seem pretty shaky."

"I've got it, Matt," she snapped, not meaning to, but not about to apologize for it either.

"Alright," he said, holding his hands up defensively.

Cassie ignored him and continued what she was doing. After nearly twenty minutes, much longer than it should've taken, she finally had things set up and she moved onto the next thing. Everything she did took her nearly twice as long as it usually would due to her uncontrollable shakiness.

"Have you had anything to eat to go with all that caffeine you've had?" Matt asked as she took a big drink of her energy drink.

Cassie shook her head and stared at the piece of paper that was in her hands. It was one of the many things she had taken from her desk before she left the office for the studio. The letters jumbled and blurred together the longer she stared at it. She rubbed her eyes, instantly regretting it when she felt her contacts.

She quickly grabbed a few things from her purse and made her way to the bathroom. Once inside, she carefully removed her contacts and put them away, before squeezing some eye drops into her dry, burning eyes and sliding her glasses onto her face.

Matt looked at her when she returned to the studio, "I'm going to get some Denny's to go for you. It should help with the shakiness and give you some energy. You're going to crash so hard from that shit you're drinking," he said.

"Not if I don't stop drinking it," Cassie argued halfheartedly.

Matt cracked a small smile, "I suppose you have a point. Regardless, what do you want from Denny's?"

"Anything," she said, "I'm not picky."

As Matt left, Angie walked in. She looked around and saw everything set up already and stared at Cassie like she had three heads.

"Did you pull an all nighter?" she asked and Cassie nodded. "Okay, well is there anything that still needs to be done before the guys get here?"

"I don't think so," Cassie said, pulling her cigarettes and lighter from her purse, "I'll be back in a minute."

Angie nodded but said nothing as her friend walked out the door. The sunlight hurt Cassie's tired eyes and she blinked rapidly. As her eyes slowly adjusted, she lit her cigarette and inhaled deeply, leaning against the wall. It wasn't long before the guys arrived and Alex sauntered over to her, his clothes wrinkled and sunglasses covering his eyes.

"Hey," he said, leaning down to kiss her but she turned her head and he sighed, "Is something wrong?"

Cassie laughed dryly, "It's about time you noticed," she said bitterly.

His forehead scrunched, "Are you mad at me?" he asked.

"I'm frustrated as fucking hell with you. It seems like you're always either drunk or hungover. We never spend any time together outside of this studio and we never talk," she said angrily, taking another drag off her cigarette.

"You're always working, Cassie. I didn't think you had any time for me," he said with a sigh.

"I could make time! But you're always too drunk when you come over and you just pass out," she said, "And it would be nice if, just once in awhile, I didn't taste all the alcohol you consumed when you kiss me."

Alex sighed again, louder this time, "And it would be nice if you're weren't always so distracted by your fucking job," he said, "I don't think it's fair that you're putting all the blame on me when you're partly at fault here."

"Oh, fine," she said, dropping her cigarette and stepping on it, lighting another one, "You're right. It's all my fault."

"Dammit Cassandra, I didn't say that. I said we've both been neglecting each other," he said, pushing his sunglasses out of the way and rubbing his eyes, "I don't want to fight with you."

"It's a little late for that, if you haven't noticed," she said.

He sighed yet again, defeat visible on his face, "Let's hang out tonight, just the two of us. I'll bring dinner over and we can talk and just be together," he said.

"Don't bother," Cassie snapped, dropping her cigarette and stepping on it before storming back inside the building.

The door to the studio flung open and Angie turned to see her friend, "Are you okay?" she asked.

"Fine," Cassie said, grabbing one of the bags she'd brought and going into one of the small rooms.

She sat at the table and dumped the bag out, papers scattering all over the table. One by one, she began to go through them, finishing up work that other people had left, correcting mistakes, and throwing away garbage. She worked quickly, her anger making her feel more awake than ever.

Before she knew it, someone had entered the room. The smell of food hit her nostrils and she looked up from her work, offering the boy who stood in front of her a small smile.

"I got food for myself as well," he said, "Do you mind if I sit and eat with you?" he asked.

"That's fine," she replied and he handed her a bag, sitting on the chair next to her, "How much do I owe you?" she asked, opening one of the containers.

"Don't worry about it," Matt said, "It's on me."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. I've been in your position on more than a few occasions, so I know how you're feeling. Consider this my treat to you for everything you've been doing," he said.

Cassie smiled and thanked him. It had taken about a week, but she finally warmed up to him. He worked hard, doing whatever was necessary and usually with a smile. While he hadn't made the greatest first impression, she actually found him to be a really good guy.

"So, what's going on?" he asked, "Why are you so upset?"

His question took her by surprise, "Um, it's just been a long week," she explained, "This project has been a lot of work. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm not one to complain about my job, but on top of this, no one at the office knows how do their jobs so I end up with all of it. I've worked damn near near ninety hours this week and it's only Thursday and I'm just..." she trailed off, "I'm overwhelmed."

"That's it?" he asked.

She shrugged, "My personal life is crashing down quickly because of it," she said, not mentioning Alex specifically.

Even with all of the time Matt had been around, none of the guys had told him that Alex and Cassie were dating. She didn't know why. He knew about Rian and Angie. But for some reason, Alex had decided not to tell Matt.

Matt nodded and reached over, rubbing Cassie's back. Alex watched them through the room's large window. His frustration grew and he felt his body heat rising. If anything, he should be the one in there talking to her, working things out, making her feel better.

Rian walked over and stood next to his friend, looking in the same direction Alex was and he sighed quietly, "Just give her some time, bro."