Us Against The World
Summary: What if he wasn't alone? What if there was a reason for him to stay? What if it had been Mac and Cassidy against the world all along? What if Cassidy never needed to turn into Beaver? AU: Follows the show. MacCass. M for content
Disclaimer: The genius that is RT owns everything, except for this idea.
AN: I know, update my DMHG story. Working on it. This huge plot bunny came along
Prologue: Cassidy in seventh grade
He doesn't like to be touched. It reminds him of brown eyes, baseball caps and soft hands touching him in places where they really shouldn't be touching him. It makes him feel so dirty, so incredibly filthy that he stays in the shower for hours, trying to get rid of the feeling of his hands on his skin. And it does not work, oh God, it does not work. No matter how hard he tries to forget about it all, it only comes back to him in his nightmares. Every time he closes his eyes, or every time someone tries to touch him, he gets the flashbacks and he abruptly jerks away from whoever it is. Forgetting it does not work.
And nobody knows about it, and nobody even cares about it. His father is too busy running some kind of real estate scam, as usual, too busy to even think about his youngest sun, but not too busy to hang out with Dick. His brother Dick only has time for him if his friends don't come through, and there is no one else to hang out with. He is always a last resort.
He hopes that one day the memories will fade a little, but he knows that will not happen. He hopes that one day he will not be a last resort anymore, but he knows that he can never let anyone get close enough to him for that to happen. He will always be like this; alone.
So when the nice girl with the colored streaks in her hair comes over to him and asks him something, he could not have been more surprised. He thought nobody wanted to talk to him; thought that everyone considered him to be some kind of freak. Apparently he was wrong about that. There are people who want to talk to him after all, and it is nice.
"Excuse me, but do you know who Dick Casablancas is?"
Of course, it is just about his brother again. The only reason girls would ever talk to him; his brother. Dick is probably right in seeing himself as a chick magnet all along. He doesn't get why Dick would want to be so close to girls, but then again, Dick never played Little League.
"Who are you and what do you need my brother for?"
He does not mean to sound so hostile, but he has no idea how to act around girls. He has no idea how to act period. He does not understand why everyone can act so normal, why everyone can act like nothing is wrong, even though there are so many things wrong.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Cindy, but everyone calls me Mac."
He finds it interesting to hear that she has a nickname too, like him. Only, her nickname is a lot more friendly. He absolutely despises his nickname, and yet nobody bothers to stop using it and call him by his real name. They just continue calling him Beaver instead of Cassidy.
"I'm Cassidy Casablancas, brother of Dick, but everyone just calls me Beaver."
He says his nickname with obvious distaste, with the same distaste he felt when – no, he cannot think about that again. He has to stay far away from that subject, even though he cannot get his father to get him to stop playing baseball. His father thinks the sport is healthy and therefore good for him. He doesn't really consider what happens healthy.
"Well, Cassidy, somebody partnered me with your brother in English, since I missed a class last week because I had the flu. Do you know how I can reach your brother?"
He feels sorry for this girl, he really does. Having to work with his brother on a project. He hopes she is smart enough to get a decent grade, because he knows Dick is just going to slack off again, leaving her to do the project on her own. Sometimes he really does not like the way his brother treats people, especially people who do not live in their neighborhood.
"I'm sorry that you have to work with my brother. He is of the lazy kind."
That really is all he is going to say to this girl. He does not really know what else he could possibly say to her, and he knows that she probably does not want to talk to him any longer anyway. Because let's face the facts: who would? Nobody in their right mind, at least.
And to his absolute surprise, the nice girl named Cindy giggles at his comments and even gives him a smile. He cannot understand what he apparently did right to deserve this. He thought he was being completely moronic. Maybe she is a little geeky like him, which would be nice. The people his brother hangs out with really do not understand him.
"Ah yes, most 09-ers are. Of the lazy kind, I mean."
He smiles at this, even though this comment is not friendly to his brother and his friends. He does not feel insulted by it, and that is really all there is to it. At this moment, he does not care if his brother would feel insulted, because he is hoping he can finally make a friend.
"You seem to know exactly what my brother is like. So, I'm really sorry, but I don't think he will be of a lot of use with your project. But I can help, if you want me too."
He feels like such a dork for offering to help her. It is the only way he can make friends, by helping them with their homework. He has nothing interesting for them otherwise.
Who would want a friend like him? A friend who does not even like to shake hands with someone, in fear of having yet another flashback. A friend who does not know how to act around people, causing some inappropriate behavior according to Dick – although he does not call it inappropriate behavior, because he doubts Dick can even pronounce that. A friend who is no use besides the brains for your homework assignments. That is him, the brain.
"I can't let you do all of the work your brother is supposed to do."
He does not really get this girl. Nobody he knows would have any problems with him doing the work Dick is supposed to be doing. Why would she care so much? Really, he just does not understand. Maybe he is just too used to him being second to Dick all of the time.
He thinks if it had been any other person in this school, they would have accepted his offer to help right away, because nobody cares about other people around here. It's just about getting good grades with the lowest amount of work possible. He likes the fact that she is not like that; that she still cares about other people. He hopes he can be friends with her.
"Really, it is no big deal. It's not like it's the first time I'd have to help out."
Explaining to her why it does not matter to him might not be really smart of him. Now she is probably going to pity him, and he really hates being pitied. Really, he can handle everything that comes his way by himself. He would like to have friends with him, but he knows that is not going to happen. He is going to have to solve this all by himself.
That is why he never asks his father's help. That is why he never tells someone about what really happens at baseball practice. He does not want to be looked upon with pity and shame, which he is sure of that his father will do if he ever finds out about it.
"Fine, you've persuaded me. Do you have time right now to work on this project at my house? Don't worry, I promise it will be fun, being in the 02-neighborhood."
He smiles at that, because really, he knows people who live in another part of town really are not that different. They don't bite, or other things that are equally crazy. He thinks it just might be refreshing or interesting to see what families are like there. Maybe they actually have caring mothers and fathers there, something he would really like to have.
"Yeah, sure. I'll just cancel baseball practice. I'm not in the mood for that anyway."
This gives him an excuse not to go to little league practice. Any missed training is another day he can breathe a little easier, so he just likes Cindy even more for suggesting this particular day, even though she has no clue what is really going on with him. Nobody has.
One less day of those eyes and those hands, and he really likes it. One less day of showering for hours on end. One more day of breathing, and he really likes it. One possibility of finally making a friend. Really, he does not mind canceling the practice at all.
"Are you sure about that? Because tomorrow could work just as fine for me."
Is he sure about avoiding the creepy man who wants to do things to him? When he states it like that, it sounds kind of ridiculous. He desperately tries to avoid him, and this is an opportunity; he will not let it go to waste. He really wants this chance for a day off.
His next practice is not going to be until next week, because his father is dumping him at his mother's place this weekend, and he cannot make it to the game from there. He has a whole week to breathe, a whole week in which it is not needed to shower obsessively, a whole week without those hands that make him want to throw up his breakfast and lunch.
"No really, I don't need to go and practice obsessively, today is fine."
She smiles at this and shrugs her shoulders. He grins at her because she gave him a chance to breathe and he likes her for that. He wants to be her friend because of that.
He watches her walk towards the doors, smiles, and follows her. He grins again as he opens the door for her, because he likes the way she giggles when he does that. He thinks he is going to like working with her. He thinks he really wants her to be his friend.
His heart stops for a few seconds when he sees Dick and his crew approaching. He really does not want them to ruin this, because if there is anything Dick is good at, it is ruining every chance at friendship his little brother has. He does not want Dick to hurt Cindy.
"Hey Beav, who's the chick? You finally got yourself a girlfriend? I'm proud of you."
It is too late to help her out now, he knows this. He shoots her an apologetic look, but she just smiles at this. He hopes she knows what she is trying to do, because he has seen the way his brother treats 02-er girls before, and it really is not how anyone should be treated.
Dick treats those girls like they don't matter, just because they were born in a different zip code. It is a stupid reason, in his opinion, but it is the only reason Dick has. But then again, his brother has never been the smartest tool in the shed. If only people would see.
Most of the people his big brother hangs out with are too blinded by the money – and the white teeth, he thinks sometimes – to see what Dick really is like. And if they are not blinded by that, they are just exactly the same themselves. Really, there are not a lot of people who Dick hangs out with that he likes. Maybe Duncan Kane and Logan Echolls, but besides that, Dick's friends are just a bunch of mindless rich morons, and he hates them.
"So I guess you are the infamous Richard Casablancas junior."
He really hopes that Cindy knows what she is doing, because his big brother does not take things like this lightly. He hopes she is prepared for being laughed at, or at least joked about constantly. He knows that is what is going to happen, he has seen it before. He always wants to stop Dick from doing this, but he just really does not know how.
"Dude, my reputation even reaches the 02-er computer nerd crowd. I am that hot."
He sees Logan's "girlfriend" Lilly Kane roll her eyes, and look at her friend Veronica, who is giggling behind her hand. At least some of the girls know what a moron Dick really is. He secretly grins at them and then looks back at Cindy, who is still smiling widely.
"Seriously Beavs, I thought that even you could do better than this, dude."
And there Dick goes again, ruining a possible friendship for his brother, ruining his attempt to be friends with the girl who is going to get him out of practice for this week, who is making him able to breathe more easily for another week. He is so sick of taking Dick's crap.
Every single time Dick has done this, he just stood by from the sidelines and watched people get hurt because his brother is an inconsiderate asshole. He cannot just sit by from the sidelines again and watch Cindy get hurt. This time, he has to say something.
"One: my name is Cassidy, not Beaver. Two: the girl you call "this" has a name too. Three: I was going to help her with your English project, because you are probably too lazy to do it anyway, but now I think we are just going to erase your name from it. Goodbye Dickhead."
He watches everyone's reactions to this carefully. He sees Lilly, Veronica, Logan and Duncan laugh loudly at his comments, and he feels a little proud of himself. He does not care about the rest of Dick's mindless friends. He is glad when he sees a smile on Cindy's face.
He motions to Cindy that they should leave, because he thinks that he rather likes making a dramatic exit now, before Dick understands what he has been saying about him. She nods and walks towards the bus stop, with him on her heels. He has to get away from Dick fast, because he does not want to be there when everything gets through to him. That will get ugly.
They manage to catch the bus just in time, and he is happy for it, because he can see Dick coming around the corner. He sits down next to Cindy and smiles at her.
"So, what is the project about? I forgot to ask that with all of the things happening."
She laughs loudly, and he likes it a lot, and he thinks he has finally made a friend.
AN: I know I must seem crazy. I just love Cassidy and Mac all the way. Cassidy and Cindy. See, even the names match… LOL