Come Around

"Who's Pattycakes?" Alex asked, picking Cassie's phone up off the couch and holding it out to her when it rang.

Cassie's face lit up and she took her phone, pressing the talk button without answering Alex's question, "Pattycakes!" she sang excitedly into phone.

"Sandrakins, where have you been, girl?" he said, his words slurred very slightly.

She laughed, "Are you drunk, sweetie?" she asked.

"Hell yes I am," he said, "Have you missed my drunk dials?"

"Of course," she replied, "What are you up to?"

"Oh girl, you know, just partying after a show. This tour is so much fun. We won't be in LA until after the new year though. I feel like I haven't seen you in years. Girl, I miss you," he babbled on.

Cassie giggled, "You haven't known me long enough go years without seeing me," she said.

"You know what I mean. What are you doing? I'm not bothering you, am I?" he asked.

"No, of course not. I'm just hanging out with my boy until his friends come get him to go celebrate his birthday."

"He's not taking you? What a jerk."

"It's something they've had planned for a long time, since before I knew him. It's cool, he's still coming home to me afterward." she said, shooting a smile and wink in Alex's direction.

"What are you going to do while he's gone though?" he asked.

Cassie shrugged, even though he couldn't see her, "I don't know. Probably just watch a movie or read a book or something. I'm in Maryland, so I don't really have many friends here," she said.

"You're in Maryland? For how long? We're playing Baltimore in a few days."

"Put me on the list with a plus one. Angie too. She's also here. We'll come see you."

After a few more minutes of chatting, Cassie finally pulled the phone from her ear and pressed the end button. Alex was staring at her with an expression she couldn't read. After a moment, she raised her eyebrow, as though she wanted him to speak.

"So, who was that?" he asked finally.

"Pat Brown," she said, "Sing It Loud. Angie and I met them about a year ago when they were working on their EP. Sweet dudes. We hang out with them whenever they come around," she paused, thinking about what she said, "No pun intended."

"Hang out, huh?" he said and Cassie held her hand up.

"Stop right there. It's strictly platonic," she said, "You don't get to be jealous anyway. You're going to a strip club."

"I'm not jealous," Alex said, rolling his eyes, "I just know how guys think."

"You know how you think, Alex. Believe it or not, there are actually some guys who can be friends with a girl without the intention of getting them into bed."

"Correct me if I'm wrong," he said, "Wasn't I right about your ex?"

Cassie sighed heavily and rubbed her temples, "I'm not having this argument with you right now," she said, "Yes, you were right about him. What can I say? He's a jerk. Can we let it go now?"

They sat in silence for a few minutes. Cassie's arms were folded across her chest, her face showing no sign of the frustration she felt and was trying to rid herself of. She unfolded her arms and dropped them to her sides. Alex reached over and grabbed her hand, gently stroking it with his thumb.

"Who are you taking to the Sing It Loud show?" he asked, breaking the silence.

"Well," she said calmly, "I was going to take my boyfriend, but he's upsetting me right now. Maybe I'll take Rian instead."

"Who will Angie take then?"

Cassie shrugged, "My mom, probably," she said, her tone completely serious.

Alex sighed quietly, "I'm sorry, Cassandra. Sometimes I say stupid things because I want to be right, even though I know that being right isn't the most important thing. Please don't be upset," he said, turning her face toward his with his free hand and pressing his lips against hers.

When they parted, she sighed, "That's not fair," she said.

"What?" Alex asked, confused.

Before she could answer, the front door opened and Rian walked in with Angie, who looked annoyed, followed closely by Jack and Zack. They were all quiet, which was highly uncharacteristic of the group.

Cassie stood and hugged the boys, Zack included. Over the past few months, she and Zack had formed some sort of friendship. It had started the day he apologized, and grew very slowly. They weren't close, but Cassie no longer felt any kind of dislike toward him.

"No Matt?" she asked.

"Nah," Jack said, "We've had this planned since junior year of high school, just the four of us. He'll be at the party on Saturday," he explained.

"Ooh," Cassie said, "The guest of honor may be late to his party," she said, "I didn't even realize that when I was talking to Pattycakes."

"The boys are going to be here Saturday?" Angie asked, her annoyance disappearing suddenly, "I haven't seen them in so long."

"I know, right?" Cassie said, "Pat drunk dialed me earlier and said they'd be in LA after the new year, and then I mentioned that we were here and told him to put us on the list, with a plus one for each of us."

"That's okay," Jack cut in, "Our friends will drink with or without Alex there. Makes no difference to them."

"Thanks, Jack," Alex said and everyone laughed.

Cassie grabbed Rian's hand and pulled him away from everyone, into another room, "I need you to do me a favor," she said, pulling some money out of her back pocket, "Buy Alex a lap dance, from me, of course. Make sure you pick a girl he'll like. One with nice boobs."

Rian raised an eyebrow at her, "You're really okay with this?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said, "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because he's going to look at naked women."

"So? He's coming home to me afterward. And it's not like he's going to sleep with one of them," she said and he gave her a look, "Are you and Angie fighting over this?" she asked.

"Yeah, she doesn't understand why I want to go. I tried explaining to her that I'm going because it's Alex's birthday and it's something we decided on a long time ago, not because I want to look at naked girls. She's just upset about it," he explained.

"I'll talk to her," Cassie said, "But in that case, have Zack pick a girl. I don't want to get you in any more trouble with Angie. And I don't trust Jack to not pick the first girl he sees."

Rian laughed, "You are so weird, Cass."

They rejoined the group, and as soon as they did, the boys were ready to leave. Zack and Jack were the first ones out the door, while Rian and Alex hung behind for a minute to say goodbye to the girls.

"Are you still upset with me?" Alex asked.

Cassie shook her head, "No. Go have fun. You're coming back here afterward, right?" she asked.

"Of course," he replied, wrapping his arms around her waist and pressing his lips firmly against hers.

Alex disappeared outside and Cassie turned to go back to the living room. Rian had Angie's hands in his own, his eyes pleading for her not be angry.

"I love you, Angie," he said quietly, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead.

"Love you, too," she mumbled, not looking at him.

"Ang," he started, but she cut him off.

"Just go, Rian. You're going to make everyone late. We'll talk about this later," she said, clearly annoyed with him.

He sighed and leaned down to kiss her, but she turned her head away from him. He kissed her cheek and turned, walking out of the house, shutting the door behind himself.

Angie made her way into the living room and fell on the couch next to Cassie, "I can't believe you're okay with where your boyfriend is going," she said.

"I can't believe you're so upset about it," Cassie replied, "It's not a big deal, Ang. They've had this planned forever. And it's not like they're going to run off with strippers and forget about us. They're just being boys," she said with a shrug.

"But why does he want to go look at naked girls he doesn't even know?"

Cassie sighed and rolled her eyes, "Trust me, Angie, he would much rather see you naked than some girl he doesn't know. He's going for Alex's birthday. And he's going to have a terrible time because you're mad at him."

"Good."

"You're such a fucking bitch sometimes," Cassie said plainly.