Nothing Goes As Orchestrated

Somewhere in the middle of the third movie, Cassie got up and went to the kitchen to find something to drink. She was reaching for a bottle of water when she felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist. Instead of sunscreen and salt water though, the scent of CK1 filled her nostrils.

"You wanna tell me what the fuck is going on?" he snapped quietly into her ear.

"Nothing," Cassie replied, trying to wiggle out of the hold he had on her, but he wouldn't let go.

"Bullshit," he said, "Matt said you two are dating."

She sighed, "We're not. He said that because your fucking girlfriend is here and he obviously thinks it's shitty of you to invite me over when she's around," she hissed.

He laughed dryly, "Well you two look awfully cozy sitting in that chair together," he said.

Cassie rolled her eyes, "It's not what it looks like, Alex," she said, "Now let go of me before I elbow you in the stomach."

"It's not what it looks like? Really?" he said, roughly tightening his arms around her, forcing her back to slam into his body, "Because it looked like you were kissing one of my best friends." When she said nothing, he laughed in her ear again, his hold on her waist tightening even more, "Guess it was exactly what it looked like," he said.

She blinked as tears filled her eyes, praying that they wouldn't spill over, "Stop, please. You're hurting me," she said quietly as the heel of his hand pressed harder against her hip.

He loosened his grip enough to spin her around, tightening his arms around her once again when her body was pressed to his. She closed her eyes immediately as he did this, not wanting to look at him.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked quietly, feeling the tears slip between her closed lids.

"Why?" he asked, once again with a dry laugh, "Why am I doing this? Because even though you were out there kissing my friend, and even though my girlfriend is out there, I know I could have you naked on this floor in seconds if I really wanted to," he said maliciously, his fingers sliding down past the waistband of her shorts and playing with her swim suit bottom.

The only sound she made was a quiet squeak as he pressed his lips roughly against hers. She didn't push him away. It was as though she was in some sort of trance from the way his fingers were brushing against her hips. She kissed back frantically, her hands grabbing at his shirt before finally finding their way to the back of his neck, trying to get him as close to her as possible.

His hands left her hips and took up residence on the small of her back, pulling her closer as she rolled her hips into his. He moaned into her mouth at the sensation it brought over him and held her tight against him. And then, just as quickly as it had begun, it ended.

Alex removed his hands from her back and pulled his mouth away from hers, reaching up and grabbing her wrists. As he brought them away from his skin, he walked forward, forcing her backward, and bringing her hands behind her back until she hit the wall. She made a move to kiss him again, but he quickly dipped his head, his mouth so close to her neck that his breath tickled her skin.

When contact wasn't made, she spoke, "Your girlfriend is probably wondering where you are," she said, squeezing her eyes shut tightly.

Alex let out a low laugh, still holding her hands behind her back, "I bet you feel like such a-"

"Don't say it, please," she begged quietly, knowing where he was going with his statement. Tears fell from her closed eyes when he continued, his lips brushing her neck as the word came out.

"Whore," he said, dropping her hands and moving away from her.

She opened her eyes to see him walk out of the kitchen and she slowly slid down the wall, dropping her face to her knees as she pulled them to her chest. Her heart began to ache in a way it hadn't in a long time. That word would always break her, and she knew Alex knew that.

After a few minutes, she managed to calm herself and she stood, walking over to the sink. She turned on the cold water and splashed her face a few times, hoping that her eyes wouldn't give away that she'd been crying. Before she went back to the living room, she took a bottle of water from the refrigerator and grabbed a bag of pretzels from the counter.

She looked at Alex for a second when she walked into the living room. He was attached to Chelley at the mouth. The sight made Cassie's stomach lurch, but she kept her face straight and sat back down with Matt. His arms immediately wrapped around her and he kissed her cheek lightly.

"Everything okay?" he whispered quietly in her ear.

Cassie nodded, "Yeah. We were just talking," she lied.

Throughout the rest of the movie, Cassie would occasionally look over at Alex. Each time she did, she regretted it. It looked like he was going to swallow Chelley's entire face. And she knew he was only doing it to upset her. The two finally came up for air when the movie ended and Alex got up to put in the next one.

"I'm pretty tired," Cassie said quietly to Matt, faking a yawn, "Do you mind if we leave?" she asked.

"Not at all. I'm kind of tired as well," he replied and let go of her so she could stand up.

"We're going to head out," Cassie announced as Matt stood behind her.

"So soon?" Alex said with mock disappointment in his voice, "It's still early."

"Yeah, well, being outside in the sun all day really just takes all the energy right out of you," she said, shooting him a glare.

Rian and Angie looked curiously back and forth between the two while Chelley just sat there, clueless as to what was going on. It didn't surprise Cassie in the least that Alex would date someone who just didn't get it.

"I'm probably just going to stay here tonight," Angie said to Cassie.

Cassie nodded, "Alright. Then I'll see you tomorrow, I guess," she said and began to walk toward the front door.

Matt stayed silent until they had turned off Rian and Alex's street, "You're not over him, are you?" he asked.

Cassie stayed quiet for a minute, but knew there was no way of getting out of answering Matt's question and she shook her head.

"No," she admitted with a heavy sigh, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have told you I wanted you to kiss me. It wasn't fair to you to put you in that situation."

"It's okay," he said quietly, staring straight ahead.

"Don't get me wrong," she said, "I did want you to kiss me. And I wouldn't mind if you did it over and over and over again. You're a fantastic guy; sweet, smart, funny and not to mention ridiculously gorgeous. And there's no doubt in my mind that you would be an incredible boyfriend. But there's a huge obstacle that I still have to figure out how to conquer," she said.

Matt nodded, "It's not going to happen. I can't believe I'm going to say this," he said, "But you and Alex are never going to get over each other. It's pretty obvious that you two belong together. You know?"

Cassie sighed and avoided responding to his statement, "I hope I haven't completely messed up our friendship," she said, biting her lip.

"Nah," he said, "Things happen. We're still good, Sandra D."

"Thanks Matty Fly."

She pulled into the driveway and turned the car off, opening the door and getting out. Instead of walking to the front door, she made her way around the car and hugged Matt tightly when he got out. He returned the gesture and kissed her cheek as he let go.

They made their way in the house and Cassie kicked her shoes off by the door. Matt did the same and Cassie motioned for him to follow her. She led him up the stairs and to the guest room, flipping on the light.

"Make yourself at home," she said, "I'm sure you still remember where everything is?" she asked and he nodded, "Okay well, I'm beat, so I'm going to bed. You don't have to, though. There's tons of food in the kitchen and you know how to work the TV and all that jazz."

Matt nodded and Cassie hugged him again before turning and walking down the hall to her room. She locked her bedroom door behind her and changed into her pajamas, falling onto her bed once she did so. As soon as her face hit the pillows, tears began to fall once again. As tired as she was of crying, she couldn't seem to stop herself. Cassie pulled the blankets over her body, holding them tightly to chest and cried herself to sleep.