Come Around

The week was filled with Christmas shopping, movie marathons and Rian's birthday. He had somewhat redeemed himself with Angie by canceling his strip club birthday celebration with the guys, choosing to go to dinner with Angie, Alex and Cassie that evening instead and celebrate with all their friends at the party for him and Alex that weekend.

When Saturday rolled around, Cassie's time was consumed with wrapping Christmas presents with her parents. In the middle of it, Alex burst into the house, excitement bubbling over.

"Rian and I got the house!" he exclaimed as he entered the room. The three stopped what they were doing and turned to look at him. His cheeks tinted pink in embarrassment, having forgotten that Cassie's parents had returned home. "I'm so sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Black. I didn't see your cars outside," he said.

Cassie's mom laughed, "It's fine, Alex. And how many times do we have to ask you to call us Tina and Sam?"

"I apologize," Alex said, "I was raised to address my elders that way. It's a hard habit to break."

Tina nodded in understanding, "In that case, whatever you're comfortable with. Tell us about this house," she said, motioning for him to sit next to Cassie.

He did so and rubbed Cassie's back, kissing her cheek lightly before turning and smiling at her parents, "Rian and I had been looking into buying a house in the Los Angeles area so we could be closer to the girls when we weren't touring. And we found one we really liked shortly before we came back here for the month. It's four bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms, big yard with a pool and hot tub. It's really nice and in our price range, so we made an offer and it was accepted."

"That's great. So this is serious?" Tina asked, motioning back and forth between the two of them, taking note of Alex's hand still on the small of Cassie's back.

"Well, it's, yeah, it's serious enough. We've been dating for six months and we spent most of it together, so being apart all the time would be weird. Honestly, the two weeks I was here and she was in LA sucked."

When Cassie finished wrapping the present she was working on, she stood, "I have to go get ready," she said.

"Where are you going?" her father asked.

"I told you some friends of mine are playing a show in Baltimore tonight, remember? Angie, Rian, Alex and I are going to see them," she said, turning and walking out of the room.

"She doesn't seem thrilled," Sam pointed out once Cassie was out of ear shot.

Alex sighed, "Maybe she's just surprised? We kind of low balled on our offer, figuring they would counter offer and it would be awhile before everything was settled," he said with a shrug.

"Well don't just sit there, boy," Sam said, "Go talk to her."

Though he was surprised by the command, Alex didn't object as he stood and headed up the stairs, straight for Cassie's room. He pushed her door open without knocking and stepped inside. She had her back to him and she was shirtless, staring into her closet.

"Are you mad at me?" he asked quietly.

"Should I be?" she asked without turning around.

Alex scratched the back of his head and sighed, "No," he said, "I just don't get why you didn't have any reaction to my news."

Slowly, she turned around to face Alex, "Is this really what you want?" she asked, her eyes finding his and holding his gaze.

"What?" he asked, confusion spreading across his face.

"Me, a commitment, a house in Los Angeles. Do you really want all of that or are you just doing it because it would be weird if you didn't have it?" she asked.

"Where is this coming from, Cassandra?"

"Damn it, Alex," she said, frustration creeping into her tone, "Just answer the question."

Startled by her sudden change in attitude, Alex scratched the back of his neck and thought carefully about the words he was going to say before finally speaking.

"I never told you this, but that day we met and I was jerk, I was intimidated by you, the way you carried yourself, your very apparent independence and confidence. And it scared me. I had never felt that way before around a girl. And then I went back to the house and all I could think about was the way everything you did and everything you said was so deliberate and how I'd never met anyone like that. And all I wanted was to get to know you. I couldn't believe it when you let me. Ever since the moment you started to let me in, I have felt like the luckiest guy in the world. You took a chance on me that I didn't deserve, a chance that I still don't deserve. I've tried so hard to be the best I can be for both you and me, because I dread the day you wake up and realize that I never deserved you in the first place."

Cassie stared at Alex but said nothing. Her mouth opened and then closed again, as though she wanted to say something, but didn't know what. And after a minute she turned on her heel, back toward her closet and continued to look for something to wear.

Alex sighed, "So, to answer your question," he said to the back of her head, "Yes, this really is what I want."

She continued to stare at her closet silently and Alex finally became convinced that she wasn't really looking for clothing. He walked toward her slowly, knowing how quickly her mood could change. Bravely, he wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder.

"Why the sudden doubts?" he asked quietly.

She sighed softly, "I just don't want you to give up your life here and lose this part of who you are because of me. I want you to be happy," she said.

"I'm happy with you. And I'll figure out a way to balance everything out. That's the least of my worries."

Before she could say anything, there was a knock on her bedroom door. Alex reached out and pulled a shirt from her closet and kissed her cheek before dropping his other arm from her waist and retreating to her bed. She pulled the shirt over her head and walked over to the door, pulling it open and revealing her two best friends. Things between them were still a little tense as Angie had never been one to let things go easily.

"Are we interrupting something?" Rian asked, cautiously stepping into the room.

"Nah, we were just talking. I think we're ready to go, just as soon as Cassandra decides what shoes she wants to wear," Alex said.

Cassie quickly chose a pair of Converse and hurried everyone out of her room, giving Alex a playful push as he walked in front of her. They all said goodbye to her parents and piled into Alex's car. The drive was filled with conversation, Cassie and Angie giddy about seeing their friends again and Rian and Alex excited about their new house.

As Alex found parking near the venue, Cassie pulled her phone out and scrolled through her contacts, quickly finding the number she was looking for. She pressed the call button and held the phone to her ear, waiting patiently.

"Sandrakins," her friend sang into the phone, "Where are you?"

"We just parked and we're walking. Meet us outside?" she said, pushing the car door open.

"Sure thing," he said and hung up.

As they neared the venue, Cassie and Angie caught sight of Pat walking toward them, along with Ben and Nate. Cassie dropped Alex's hand and took off running toward them, jumping into Pat's open arms and nearly knocking him down when she reached him.

"Pattycakes!" she said excitedly, "I missed you."

"Girl, I missed you too," he said, and as soon as he let her go, Angie was where Cassie had been, "Angiepants!" he exclaimed, hugging the smaller girl tightly.

By the time the girls had hugged the other two boys, Rian and Alex had finally reached them. Pat looked at the two boys and then at the two girls, clearly a little confused.

"You two brought..." he trailed off.

"Our boyfriends," Angie explained.

"Cassie, you didn't tell me that you were dating Alex Gaskarth, or that Angie was dating Rian Dawson," Pat said.

"I guess I also didn't tell you that Rian has been my best friend ever since we were little tater tots?" Cassie said.

Pat shook his head, "No," he said, pulling Alex into a bro hug, "It's good to see you again, dude. How are your vocal chords?" he asked.

"Fantastic, as per usual," Alex replied with a grin.

"Great," Pat said, pulling laminates out of his pocket and handing one to each of them. "Do you wanna sing with us tonight?"