BLGLB: I feel like I've been ignoring my love for Ouran—
Tamaki: You have! Brutally, severely, harshly, rudely IGNORING Ouran!
BLGLB: *guilty* So, I decided to write another fanfic with Cassie and the boys—
Tamaki: Really? Oh, I love love love you, my princess!
BLGLB: Anyway! I don't own any part of Ouran-
Tamaki: Except for my heart! You have my heart, amore.
BLGLB: So here it is! (quick preview: tells about Cassie's backstory)
"Are you sure this is the right address, boss?" Hikaru and Kaoru asked in unison, staring up at the large, elegant manor in front of the group. Tamaki couldn't reply; he was thoroughly confused himself. He had always thought that Cassie was a simple commoner. After all, she didn't attend Ouran, and she didn't have a well-known family name.
"Takashi, is Cassie rich?" Honey asked, tugging the hem of his cousin's shirt. Mori shrugged.
"This is the right place." Kyoya pushed his glasses up his nose. "Now, are we going to waste away our Saturday just standing here, or are we going to talk to Cassie?" Not the least bit perturbed, Kyoya walked up the cobblestone path to the porch, the Hosts following, and knocked on the door.
"Yeeeeees?" A sleepy voice answered a few moments later. The door opened slowly, revealing Cassie, who was wearing short blue pajama-boxers and a holey white shirt that said 'Singers duet better'. She yawned and rubbed her eyes, still not looking up from the ground. When she did so, however, her cheeks turned bright red. "K-Kyoya. Guys. What are you doing here?"
"We came to visit, Cassie!" Honey chirped, hugging the still-his-height girl. In a state of shock and horror, Cassie hugged him back.
"Oh! Uh, come on in," Cassie managed, inviting them inside.
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The living room was humongous. It was sunken down in the floor, with two steps leading from the normal elevation to the large space. A crescent-shaped couch arced around a mosaic coffee table, facing a stone fireplace. Cassie, bright red and in quite a state, excused herself to the kitchen to make drinks for everyone, leaving the boys to wander around the room. They took advantage of this opportunity to sneak a peek into the girl's private life.
Mori stood by the fireplace mantle, quietly looking at the picture frames resting on it. The first one showed a child version of Cassie, with missing teeth and ruddy cheeks from laughing at the camera. The second, Cassie at a Halloween years ago, dressed as an angel and smiling shyly at a teenage cowboy offering her candy. The last one depicted Cassie at the beach, surrounded by girls and guys while she was in her bikini… Mori turned away quickly.
Kyoya was observing the trinkets in shadowboxes along one wall. They seem to be all foreign… And expensive, He thought, running a finger along the edge of a carved gem in the shape of a howling wolf.
Honey was perched on the couch, playing with Usa-chan, but a small sliver of pink caught his attention. He crawled across the seats and twitched aside the blankets… Revealing a stuffed turtle, complete with a shimmering silver shell and soft pink skin. Honey's eyes grew wide as he felt how utterly huggable the stuffed animal was. Is it Cassie's?
Hikaru and Kaoru stood side by side at the bay window overlooking the backyard. Green grass spilled out in all directions, with blooming rosebushes climbing up the back wall of the house. Kaoru noticed a soccer ball and net nestled beside the corner of the wrought iron fence around Cassie's property. Hikaru saw a reed mat spread out near a small rock pool, clearly meant for sunbathing. He pointed it out to his brother with a wicked grin. Hikaru pictured Cassie sprawled out on the mat in a provocative way, wearing a tiny bikini. Kaoru, on the other hand, saw her in a flowing sundress with a book in her lap.
Tamaki, having been so quiet that nobody noticed, had left the living room and was wandering around the house, exploring the rooms inside it. There were two guest bedrooms that he had seen, one decorated with pastel colors for an airy feel, and the other painted dark for a cozy environment. Finally, he came upon a nearly-invisible arch in the wall. There was a small flight of stairs, and he began to take the first step up them… But Cassie's voice called him back to the living room.
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All the boys were already seated when Tamaki returned. He took a seat between Honey and Kyoya, still uncharacteristically quiet. Cassie came in, balancing a tray of cold drinks.
"Okay, here we are!" She said, her voice heavy with fake cheerfulness as she passed out the glasses. Once all the drinks were gone, however, all the synthetic feeling seeped from her body. With a long sigh, she sat on the coffee table facing everyone. "I suppose it's time for me to spill it, huh? You guys must be wondering about all this…" She gestured to the house around her, then to herself. "Well, here goes my life."
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"I was born in America. Myrtle Beach, North Carolina, to be exact. My full name is Cassandra Lynette St. Clair. My mother's name is Helen, and my father's name is Derek. I have a sister, Nicole, who is 2 years older than me. My family is very rich, from old money that's been accumulated and passed down for as long as anyone can remember." Cassie took a glance around the room, noticing that all the boys seemed to be focused on her story. She continued.
"Growing up, I always got along with the boys better than I did with the girls. I wasn't exactly a tomboy, not on the outside. I wore dresses and lace and frills and pretty things, but I would play sports and rough-and-tumble with the guys. My mother resented that fact, and was always trying to make me into a proper girl. She forced me into dance classes, etiquette classes, everything you can think of to get rid of my improper edge. Well, it never worked, and eventually, she began to ignore me." Cassie thought she saw a flicker of unhappiness in Kyoya's eyes. Surely he knows the feeling, being the youngest of 3 sons.
"A couple years ago, Nicole got a boyfriend, Ben. She spent every minute of the day with him, and finally brought him over to have Christmas dinner with our family. My dad, uncles, granddad, and boy cousins were watching a basketball game, while my mom, aunts, grandma, and girl cousins were cooking in the kitchen. Nicole introduced him to everyone, then told him to make himself at home while she helped with cooking. I was outside, kicking around a soccer ball, and Ben found me. Of course, he hung out with me, laughing and talking as if I was one of his guy friends. Nicole… didn't like that very much. She saw us shoving each other, and was very upset with me. She yelled all night, and began to terrorize me every chance she got; bleaching my favorite clothes, breaking the trinkets in my room, spreading rumors about me…" Cassie shuddered at the unpleasant memories.
"It got so bad that I just couldn't stand it anymore. I went to stay with a friend of mine, Katie. Katie's family was hosting an exchange student from Japan at the time. Her name was Haruhi Fujioka." All mouths dropped at the name.
"Haruhi left Japan to stay in America?" Honey asked. Cassie nodded.
"It was a good thing for me. All three of us shared a room together, and Haruhi had a picture of herself with all of you guys. So I started to think, and then thinking came to dreaming, and dreaming came to wishing. Finally, a decision was made. I had gone home after a month with Katie, and I was unpacking my bag. Nicole came in, and slapped me. She said that Ben had been asking about me every time he was with her. She was so angry, so outraged." Cassie took a quaking breath, and her hand unconsciously covered her left forearm. "She pulled out a razor and ran it down my arm." Quietly, Cassie held out the forearm, showing the boys the angry silver-purple scar that went from her wrist to her inner elbow.
"Haruhi helped me get here. She helped me get the house, plane tickets, a car, everything that is here with me. My dad supported my decision to come. He sends me money every month, more than I need, and still sends presents on the holidays and my birthday. I don't go to school here, but I take online classes when I feel like it. I don't know what I'll be doing in the future, or next year, or next month, or even tomorrow. I suppose I'm just... living."
The silence seemed to stretch on forever after Cassie's story. She hadn't meant to talk as though she was complaining about her old life, though that's what it had sounded like to her ears. It was to her ears only, however. Honey was sad, terribly sad, especially after seeing her scar. Suddenly, he stood from the couch and pressed the stuffed turtle into Cassie's arms, feeling a bit happier when she hugged it close. Mori was thoughtful, wondering how the smiling, happy Cassie in the mantle pictures could have actually been the bullied, hurt Cassie that was in real life. Hikaru was wondering what Cassie's sister looked like. Kaoru was haunted by his earlier dream, the sundress-clad Cassie crying and bloody from the razor cut. Kyoya was sympathetic; he knew what it was like to feel like nobody wanted you around, but for someone to go so far as to harm you simply because they didn't like you was horrible.
And Tamaki… Tamaki stood up and left the room.
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The boys left soon after the story. Honey hugged Cassie tightly before he went out the door. Mori patted her shoulder. Hikaru gave her a knuckle-sandwich and told her to 'hang in there'; Kaoru apologized for him and offered her a small smile. Kyoya simply left, after Cassie assured him that she'd get Tamaki home safely.
Now, to go find him…
Cassie walked down the hallway, and was stopped short by the sight of blond hair in the pastel guest room. She peered into the doorframe, watching.
Tamaki's head was in his hands, his elbows on his knees. His breathing was irregular, and… Was he shaking? Surely he's not… But, as Cassie came to stand in front of him, he was crying.
"Tamaki…" Cassie murmured, holding out a hand to him. He sniffled quickly and looked up, but, realizing that she'd already seen him, dropped his head again, but not before he reached out and took her hand.
"I'm so sorry, Cassie. You had such a bad childhood…"
"But I didn't." Tamaki looked up at this, bafflement in his slightly red-rimmed eyes. Cassie knelt in front of him, placing her hands on his knees and nodding a little. "Sure, I had tough times. But I always made it through. There were many good memories I had as a kid."
"Like what?" Tamaki asked. Cassie smiled good-naturedly and pulled him to his feet.
"I'll show you."
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Cassie led him up the spiral stairs he had discovered earlier. They opened up in a spacious room. The back wall was a solid window overlooking the backyard. Cassie didn't stop there, going towards a pair of French doors and opening them. Tamaki's eyes widened as he saw her bedroom.
The walls were pale pink-orange, with hardwood floors similar to that of a farmhouse. The furniture was very modest white, but some of the decorations were extraordinary. There was a large rug that Tamaki sunk up to his ankles in, and a chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Cassie's bed was a huge circle in one corner, with silky curtains draped around it, making it look like it belonged to a fairytale princess. The entire room exuded the feeling of peace and happiness… To Tamaki, it practically radiated 'Cassie'.
"See, Tamaki?" Cassie led him over to a small section of the wall that was coated in pictures. Tamaki's mouth dropped open. "Here's me and Haruhi!" She squealed, pointing wildly. Tamaki laughed at the picture; Cassie was nearly glowing with excitement, and Haruhi's face was bored. "And here's me with my cousins, Jason and Michael." Tamaki scrutinized the shot, seeing a very young Cassie sandwiched between a brunette boy who was holding a toy truck and a redheaded boy eating ice cream. "This is one of my favorite pictures," Cassie announced, gently touching the corner of it. Tamaki squinted. All he could see was water. When he turned to her, confused, she had a faraway look on her face. "I took it from my bedroom window back in North Carolina when I was eight. It reminded me that there was so much more out there, and that the problems I was having wouldn't matter someday when I got away."
"You're brave," Tamaki said quietly, putting a hesitant hand on her shoulder, not sure if he was overstepping a boundary. Cassie stiffened slightly, turning to him and plastering another fake-smile on her face. Tamaki wasn't fooled. "But, even the bravest princesses have to let their prince support them." Cassie's pretend grin faltered, and she turned to the wall again, but Tamaki knew he'd said the right thing, because her head drooped and she leaned against him weakly. His hand slid from her shoulder and stroked her back before resting lightly around her waist. He pulled her closer to him, and she willingly obliged, coming to stand in front of him. Slowly, Tamaki brought his other arm around her, hugging her against his chest. Her arms wound around his back, and she clung to his shirt. With a secret smile, Tamaki lowered his forehead until it rested on her collarbone. Cassie sighed, comfortable in the warm circle of his embrace.
Even the bravest princesses have to let their prince support them…
And now, I have my prince.
A/N: Wellll, that's probably more than you've ever wanted to know about Cassie, but I felt like I needed to share her background story with ya'll. Reviews are gladly welcomed with a party and confetti!