Somebody Like Me

“What are you doing here, Hector?” Cassie repeated quietly, her green eyes dropping down to her feet nervously. It had been months, after their breakup, Cassie hadn’t heard of or seen Hector for months, and for a second she didn’t quite know what to do or say to him, more than slightly surprised by his sudden arrival. She had known that there was a chance he could be there, when they’d been together, Hector had grown to be quite close with Theo and she’d known that it was possible that he’d been invited to the wedding, but she had hoped that she’d be able to avoid him, even if he did show up. She had hoped to keep herself away from him.

Hector, who’d been studying her quietly, jumped a little at the sound of her voice before he lifted his head, a small smirk pulling at the corner of his mouth. “Theo invited me” he quipped “We grew to be pretty good friends when you and I were together and he invited me to the reception. It’s been a while, Cassie” he added, his voice confident and chipper, a sound which irked Sergio who sat beside his girlfriend, his dark eyes settled on the frame of the man who stood ahead of her.

He knew who he was, even though they’d tended to avoid talking about their past relationships, the name ‘Hector’ had come up more than once in conversation between him and Cassie, and Sergio could sense that she was more than a little uncomfortable with him around, something he guessed stemmed from the way that thigns had ended between them. She had been vague, whenever Sergio had asked about Hector, Cassie had been quick to change the subject, but it hadn’t taken Sergio long to figure out that things had ended badly. The way she tended to shy away whenever his name came up was all the confirmation that Sergio needed.

Cassie, who’d moved to mess with her dress slightly, shook her head. “What do you want, Hector?” she posed quietly, her eyes not even attempting to look up at him.

Hector quirked another small smirk before he shrugged. “I thought I would just drop by and say hello” he quipped “I heard about this” he added, his hand gesturing towards her bump which she had tried, unsuccessfully, to hide behind her arms.

Cassie shook her head. “It’s none of your business” she mumbled defensively “I stopped being your business when I found you in bed with that woman” she added, her voice slightly sharp.

Hector shook his head. “You didn’t hang around, did you, Cass?” he quipped “I mean, we’ve not even been broken up for a year yet and here you are, pregnant by the guy you rebounded with” he added, his blue eyes peeking towards Sergio who sat beside Cassie.

Sergio scoffed. “What exactly does that have to do with you?” he muttered as he pushed himself up to his feet, taking a step towards the other man.

Hector shook his head. “It doesn’t have anything to do with me” he quipped “But I hope you know what you’re doing, hombre” he added with a small smirk.

Sergio’s expression tightened, not liking the smirk which the other man wore, before he shook his head. “Go away, Hector” he muttered “This…” he paused as he motioned between himself and Cassie “This has nothing to do with you so why don’t you just leave?” he added, his tone firm, yet still calm. He irked him, the smirk that Hector wore on his face made Sergio want to wipe it off, but he knew that he couldn’t, regardless of how tempting it seemed. The last thing he wanted to do was embarrass Cassie.

Hector spared the defender another look before he shook his head. “We’ll see how long it lasts between the two of you” he muttered before he turned on his heel, walking away from the couple. Sergio watched after him before he shook his head, flicking his attention towards Cassie who sat a little behind him, a soft expression fixed on her features. “That’s your ex?” he posed, his voice caught between curious and slightly teasing.

Cassie nodded her head a little, a weak smile pulling at the corner of her mouth. “Unfortunately, yes” she confirmed quietly.

Sergio admired the soft expression on her features for a brief second before he gently stepped towards her, his arms taking up their familiar position around her waist. Cassie shifted slightly, a little surprised by the soft hug, before she wrapped her arms around his neck, allowing him to cuddle her close. “I’m sorry that he showed up, Cass” he mumbled softly “I mean, I know you’ve not told me a lot about him, but I know that he hurt you and I’m sorry he was here” he muttered as he pressed a soft kiss against the top of her head.

Cassie shook her head. “You don’t have to apologize for him” she mumbled as she ducked back a little, her green eyes mirroring his darker ones “He’s an ass, but that’s not on you. I’m sorry that he showed up and ruined a day which, until he appeared, was going a lot better than I was expecting.” she added softly.

Sergio let out a soft laugh. “You were worried that your friends wouldn’t like me?” he teased as he gently moved to knot their fingers together. He knew that she was upset, the expression she had worn only a few moments previous had confided it, but he was glad of the change of topic. The last thing he wanted was for her to dwell on Hector who’s only intention appeared to be upsetting her.

Cassie shrugged. “It was 50-50” she quipped, a slightly more playful smile appearing on her face “But I think you won them over. You’re not the worst person to spend time with” she mused warmly.

Sergio scoffed playfully before he took a pace towards her, sneaking a quick kiss before he ducked back, resting his forehead against hers. “You deserve a lot better than him, Cassie” he mumbled softly “I mean, I only spent a few minutes around him, but it was enough to make me wonder how you ended up with a guy like him” he added gently.

Cassie smiled a little at his words before she gently pushed herself up onto her toes, sneaking another quick kiss. “He wasn’t always like that” she mumbled softly “At least he wasn’t with me, but since I caught him cheating and we broke up, he’s been like that. He’s an ass” she added softly.

“He is” Sergio agreed softly “And you do deserve a lot better than him. I’m going to go and find the car. You want to get out of here?” he posed as he gently pulled out of their embrace slightly.

Cassie nodded her head, something which encouraged Sergio to pad away from her. Quirking a small smile, she watched him go for a couple of seconds before she shook her head, wordlessly musing about having found something a lot better than what she had had with Hector.