Chapter 1 : Honesty.

Sid paced up and down the living room of Chris' apartment until he was sure he was going to burn off the rubber on the bottom of his trainers. He was waiting for Cassie there because that's where she lived, despite Sid's constant persistence that his mum didn't mind her moving in with him. If she was living with him and his mum, he was sure this wouldn't have been a problem. His mum was what he would describe as 'A Feeder'. She liked to stuff you with some sort of edible product at any and every point of the day. Sid would rather have Cassie obese than going back to the way things were before.

Most people wouldn't understand why Sid was so worried. If your girlfriend didn't eat the dinner you had prepared for her all week, you might have been a bit offended, but you wouldn't be ten seconds away from calling the mental hospital. She was showing signs. The steps she'd shown Sid on how to make it look like she was eating when she actually wasn't. She was talking all the time, asking a thousand questions a minute, and then pretending she had revision or distracting him with sexual activities. He hadn't noticed until the Thursday that she was doing it. It was now Friday and he had their dinner laid out on the table. It was what they had been eating all week: gourmet mushroom risotto. Well, it's what he had been eating all week. It was Sid's specialty. Everyone who he had made it for had fallen completely in love with it. He'd made a huge batch at the beginning of the week to last him, Cassie, and Chris five days. Cassie hadn't touched any of it. Even the idea of eating it seemed to make her wince.

When Sid heard the front door slam and the sound of feet thumping against the wooden floor, his heart nearly burst out of his chest. As soon as she entered the living room, Sid was driven to get her sat at the table. He asked her questions without waiting for answers, he stripped her of her coat, and actually pushed her towards the table and into her seat. Cassie stared at him in confusion which quickly changed to nervousness as she saw the meal in front of her. Sid sat opposite her and took one of her hands in his across the table, picking up his fork with the other and digging in.

He gave short answers to all the questions she asked and refused all the food she offered him from her plate. She seemed flustered as Sid grew closer to mentioning to her what she was doing. She was trying every trick she had, but nothing was working. Eventually, Sid was finished and Cassie's plate was still full.

Sid looked up at Cassie and noticed tears brimming in her eyes as she bit her lip hard. He put down his fork and took her other hand, looking into her eyes. She was breathing heavily as she waited for the worst to come. She knew exactly what was coming and she didn't think she could bear it.

"Cass…" Sid said, and that was all it took before Cassie was full on sobbing in front of him. Alarmed, Sid shot from his chair and pulled her from her seat, carrying her over to the sofa where he rested her head on his chest and cooed soft words into her hair.

"I-I'm so sorry, Sid," she sobbed out, clinging to his shirt for dear life. He tightened his arms around her and pulled her away from his chest so he could look at her. She had mascara running off of her face and strands of golden hair clinging to her cheeks. Sid still thought she looked beautiful. She was his beautiful, fucked up, princess and he wouldn't have had her any other way.

"Shh, Cass, listen to me. You don't need to be sorry for anything, okay? This isn't your fault, okay? I'll call the doctors tonight and we can go to the group sessions you were telling me about. We'll do this together. Even if they say you have to stay there again, I'll visit you every day. Twice if you want me to. I'll help you get better and-"

"Wait, Sid, what are you talking about? I am better," Cassie whimpered, wiping her eyes on the cuff of her shirt.

"But you haven't been eating dinner all week. You've been showing signs. It's okay, Cass, you don't need to hide it anymore," Sid tried to reassure her, but she just shook her head persistently.

"No, Sid, wait. The reason I've not been eating dinner isn't because I'm getting sick again."

"Then why haven't been eating?"

"I…" She started, but bit her lip and squeezed her eyes shut, like she was preparing for a slap across the face. "I'm allergic to mushrooms."

Sid blinked at her a few times, not sure if she was being serious or not. When she just looked back at him with her wide, doe eyes, he decided to get her to clarify. "Excuse me?"

"I was going to tell you, but you'd gone to so much effort to make it for me and you were so excited for me to try it. I didn't want you to feel upset or think that I didn't appreciate you going to all the effort, so I just didn't tell you and I ate cereal bars when you went to bed. I'm so sorry, Sid. I never meant to-"

"Oh my God, I love you," Sid laughed, pulling her close to kiss her. He pressed his lips hard against hers and tangled his hand in her hair, feeling so relieved that she hadn't stopped eating. Her hands tugged at his beanie until it fell from his head and she could grip his hair in her hands, moving her lips more urgently against his. He moaned and tried to copy her actions, pushing her onto her back and pushing against her when she wrapped her legs around his hips.

When he pulled away, he rested his forehead against hers and allowed their breaths to mingle. She nudged her nose against his, keeping her eyes closed as a small smile tugged on the corners of her lips. He stole quick pecks every few seconds until she broke the blissful silence.

"So you're not going to break up with me?" She asked cautiously, like she actually thought that was an option. His brows furrowed as he shook her head and gave her one last gentle kiss that was loving, but serious at the same time.

"It's going to take a lot more than mushrooms to make us break up, Cass," he promised as he pushed himself off of her and made his way back to the kitchen.

"What are you doing?" Cassie asked as she pushed herself up on her elbows, cocking her head cutely at Sid and causing him to grin.

"There's a frozen pizza in the freezer. I'm not going to let you go to bed on an empty stomach," he said as he turned to pre-heat the oven. "And Cass? Next time, just be honest with me if you don't like something. You had me worried sick."