A/N: Okay, well trying this out for the moment. I want to see how well this does before I decide to progress any further with this. This is the prequel to Coping (A Psych Story), hence the title. The sequel to Coping is slowly being updated, but I'm not too pleased with it. I might even consider putting it on Hiatus once again or do a total re-do. Haven't decided…we'll see.

In all honesty, I've had this story written for a while now. I wanted my readers to know a little more of Cassidy's past. If you haven't read Coping I suggest you do first, it will make a lot more sense, Please, please let me know what you think of this. If you enjoy I will continue to update.

I really went easy on my last story, time to spice it up a bit. We're all adults and young adults, I'm pretty sure you can tolerate it.

NOTE: This takes place like around 11 years before Coping ended. Cassidy is about 16-17 in this story, Shawn back in his younger days when he left Santa Barbara. No Psychic business going on, just a keen eye for detail. Sorry Shules fans, there is none of that in this, total OFC.

I do NOT, repeat do NOT own Psych. I own Cassidy Reed along with a few other OC's I created.

Chapter 1: Meeting

"Come on, it'll be tons of fun, besides Jason will be there and he's way into you." She persisted.

Cassidy placed the final chair upside down on the table and wheeled to her best friend, furious. "I thought he was sick?" She cried loudly. "Dang it, I wouldn't have covered for him if I knew he was going to be attending some stupid frat party. I have to work tomorrow Becca, not to mention a major homework assignment due Monday!"

Becca rolled her eyes. "Ditch the homework Cassidy," She said. "You'll never get laid if you keep drowning yourself in your studies. Live a little and come hang out with us. Besides, your dad won't be arriving home for another four months. He'll never know."

Cassidy stared at Becca as though she had lost her mind. If her father got wind of her acting out like some wild banshee, he would literally beat her down to the ground once he arrived home. And it was something she was not willing to risk, not ever.

"Becca, you know my father. Partying is not tolerated as long as I live under his roof, his house his rules. He'll blow a gasket if he finds out I was out late at night goofing around. Besides, I don't like trotting around flaunting all my goods like some slut, no offense." Cassidy said flatly.

"Cassidy Leanne Reed, did you just call me a slut?" She laughed.

"You know I was only joking." She said. "Besides, someone has to finish the job around here. Go, I'll finish cleaning and lock up before I head home."

Becca threw her arms around Cassidy and hugged her tightly. "You're such a good friend, that's why I love you so much." She said. "I'll see you in class first thing Monday."

Cassidy pulled back and smiled weakly. "Just be careful. Don't do anything stupid, okay. If you happen to get yourself into a dangerous situation, make sure you use what I taught you. And if you two decide to have…well you know, make sure you use protection." She rambled.

"Yes mother." She scoffed jokingly.

Cassidy pursed her lips as she watched her friend walk out of the diner. Sighing, she grabbed the mop out of the bucket and wringed out the excess water and pressed play on her walkman, continuing back to another long night at work.

~PSYCH~

Closed shops and pools of light surrounded by darkness raced by as he flew along the abandon street, after minutes of running he stopped, panting for breath. He could see his breath leave his mouth, as he gasped for air. His lungs felt like thousands of needles were penetrating them as the freezing air entered his body. The footsteps echoed along the street as they were catching up to him. He noticed a street lamp was out, darkening the alley that was up ahead.

He jogged the rest of the way, his calves on fire as he entered the alley and hid behind a dumpster. "Shit, where did he go?" The dark voice questioned.

"I don't know, but he couldn't have gone far." A second voice replied, their footsteps fading as they ran off in the other direction. Sighing in relief, he stood up and walked cautiously out of the alley. Before he reached the street, He took a few steps back as he heard a voice a few feet away. "Cassidy, don't forget to lock up before you leave." Said the hoarse voice. "Cassidy, did you hear me?" He repeated irritably. "Damn kid." Throwing his hands up in annoyance he left, the door slowly closing behind him.

He took this as his opportunity to hide until the coast was clear and grabbed the door from closing and quietly went in, softly closing the door behind him. He took a look around at his surroundings and noticed it was a small diner, the smell of coffee and grease filling the air. He noticed a girl probably in her mid to late teens dancing around the diner, mopping the floor, listening to music on her walkman.

He chuckled and shook his head, taking a seat at a booth beside him. He watched her body swayed as she danced to her music. When she turned around she let out a surprised yelp and dropped the mop, placing a hand on her chest. Guess I caught her by surprise. He thought. She quickly removed her headphones, and glanced at the clock on the wall to the left of her. "Uh, you do realize were closed right?" She asked.

He slowly nodded his head. She was beautiful, correction, drop dead gorgeous. She had light complected skin, and long brown hair that reached down to her elbows, but what grabbed his attention the most were her eyes. They were a brown color, with a touch of gold in them. They held warmth and compassion, but had a hint of seriousness in them.

He noticed on the front of her jeans, she had a few grass stains and a residue on her sleeves. He also caught a glimpse of the red mark on the right side of her cheek.

"If you know we're closed then please leave, unless you're here to rob me. My boss already put the money in the safe, which I have no clue as to what the combination is. If you want to try dragging it out, by all means try, but you won't get very far with it." She said bluntly.

He smirked at her remark. "I'm not here to rob you. I just need a place to hide out for a few minutes if you don't mind. Besides, if I was here to rob you, you would have probably grabbed the gun under the register and shoot me down without hesitation," He retorted, looking through the mirror's reflection, revealing the gun under the counter.

"What makes you think I know how to use a gun, and why are you squinting your eyes like that?" She asked curiously.

He scoffed and rolled his eyes. "You have grass stains on the front of your body, which means you're lying on your stomach. You have a red mark on the right side of your cheek, most likely caused by the rifle you're holding, and the residue on your sleeves is from the shots you fired earlier."

"What're you a cop?" She asked, arching an eyebrow. "If not, you really have a keen eye for detail, it's very impressive."

He shook his head, and brushed his long bangs away from his forehead. "No, I'm not a cop. Let's just say I had some unwanted training." He muttered.

She placed her hands on her hips, and let out a sigh. "Well anyway, why do you need to hide out here? Are you in some kind of trouble?" She asked anxiously. "Should I call the cops?"

He was about to reply, when he heard the door open abruptly. "There you are you punk. Give me my money!" The man panted, his face red with anger,

She gave the mysterious young man an uneasy look and turned her attention back to the two males standing in front of her. He slowly turned his head and smiled at the men. "I have no idea what you're talking about. I think you got me confused with someone else." He said in a mocking tone. The other male shut the blinds to the windows and locked the front door. "Don't play stupid with me you little shit, you lost the bet. Now pay up!" He shouted, pulling him out of the booth, throwing him onto the floor, punching him in the face,

"Hey, you two need to leave right now or I'm calling the cops!" The waitress threatened. The two men turned their attention to the waitress and gave her a hard glare.

"You need to shut up or you'll be next." He threatened back, pointing an angry finger at her.

"Why don't you try and make me?" She retorted, taking a step forward.

The man that punched the young man in the face nodded his head in the direction of the waitress, signaling the second man behind him to take care of her. "Wait, she has nothing to do with this. Leave her out of it. She's not your problem, I am." He argued.

Ignoring his plea, the second man went around him, approaching the waitress slowly. "She should have kept her mouth shut." He spat. "Do you know what we do to pretty little girls like you?" He mused, smiling sadistically, shifting the front of his pants. "We punish them. Are you going to show us a good time, without putting up a major struggle?"

Fearing for the worst, the young man tried to stand up, but the guy kneed him in the gut, knocking the air out of him, causing him to fall back onto the floor. "Stop, don't touch her!" He gasped. "Please."

She stood her ground, fear not evident in her eyes. The man spun her around, pushing her forward onto a table. "We are going to have so much fun." He growled, licking his lips. She closed her eyes, and took a deep breath, as he began unbuttoning his jeans.

The other guy sneered down at the young man, and pulled him up by the collar. "Now you get to watch, while we take turns with her. You should have paid up you piece of shit." He growled, punching him once again, splitting his lip. He blinked back, as darkness began to engulf him. He heard a loud pitched scream as the male that was holding her down quickly stumbled back. The young man got his bearings straight enough to see what was going on. He had a fork pierced through his thigh. She quickly grabbed the steel napkin dispenser on the table and turned around smacking him across the face, causing him to fall on the ground, blood pouring out of his nose and mouth.

"You little b**ch, look what you did!" The man in front of him growled. He pulled out a switch blade and was approaching her quickly. Causing her to take a few steps back, putting her hands up in a defensive manner. The young man took this as his opportunity and grabbed a chair from the table, hitting him in the back of the head knocking him unconscious. "Are you alright?" He asked worriedly, dropping the chair to the side.

She gave me a small smile and nodded, straightening out her uniform. She turned her attention back down at the man that was about to rape her. "My daddy always says, never let a guy take advantage of a woman, and let him do to her as he pleases." She whispered, glaring down at the man. "Scum like you, don't need to walk the streets." She said kneeling down to his level.

He was amazed as this girl's courage. She had no fear of the man sitting down before her. He found it strangely attractive. He shook my head of such thoughts, and averted his attention back to the two. She pulled the fork out of the man's thigh, causing him to cry out, throwing his head back in pain, "We're a little short on forks right now, so I'm going to need this back," She smirked. "This is what you're going to do." She began. "You see this gentleman standing right behind me?"

The man nodded his head vigorously. "Whatever debt he owes you doesn't exist anymore. I can call the cops right now, and have you two arrested for assault and for sexual assault. So you're going to take your little friend there-"She said gesturing towards the unconscious man. "And get as far away from here as possible, and if I ever catch you two back around here again, you'll be sorry. Do you understand?" She asked.

The man stared wide-eyed at her, and nodded his head in agreement and crawled over to his friend lying on the floor. "And for god's sake, pull up your damn pants." She said brushing a strand of her hair behind her ear. The young man watched as the man pulled his friend up, quickly leaving the diner, pulling his pants up on the way out.

"Are you okay?" She asked, tilting her head to the side.

He turned to look at her and nodded his head. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just having trouble believing what I just witnessed." He laughed. "He got his ass handed to him by a girl."

Her face flushed red from embarrassment and grabbed his arm, leading him to a booth. "Sit." She ordered. He obeyed, not wanting to piss her off more than she was and sat down, watching her walk into the back. He could hear her rummaging through something on the other side of the door. A minute later she came back with something frozen in her hand and gently placed it on his eye. "This should stop the swelling a little." She said softly.

He noticed her hands were shaking. She put on a good poker face, but he could tell she was scared out her mind. "I'm sorry for dragging you into that." He whispered.

She met his gaze and shook her head. "It's no problem, just lending a helping hand to someone who needed it." She said giving me a smile.

"I'm Shawn Spencer." He blurted out.

She giggled. "Cassidy…Cassidy Reed, Its nice meeting you Shawn Spencer." She said extending her hand so he could shake it, which he gratefully took.

"Would you like to get a cup of coffee sometime?" He asked.

She shook her head. "I don't like coffee, it's too bitter." She replied bluntly.

"Well then, how about a smoothie? I know this great place a couple blocks down that have the best tasting smoothies I've ever had." He grinned.

She removed the frozen piece of meat from his eye, contemplating as to what to say. "I don't know, my father says I shouldn't get involved with troublesome boys. He says they're a bad influence."

He smirked. "Do you always listen to what daddy has to say?"

She scoffed and placed the frozen piece of meat back onto his eye, adding more force than necessary, causing him to wince. "No," She said. "My shift ends tomorrow at six, and it's not to be considered a date."

He let out a small chuckle. "Sure."

A/N: Review!