14; Superman Strikes Again

Later that night, Cassidy turned onto Main street and glanced around to look for a parking space. She let out a groan when she couldn't find an empty one.

As she waited for a car to leave, she looked over at the time on the dash of the car and swore out loud when she saw she was about ten minutes late. She didn't mean to be late, it just took longer to pick out an outfit then she thought.

Since she had no idea what they were doing, she had no idea how to dress. Should she go dressy or casual? Should she wear jeans and a nice shirt? Dress and high heels?

She wasn't sure, but in the end, she went with a simple short black dress, a blue jean jacket and black ankle boots. Something casual yet a little dressy, she figured that should do the trick.

After parking her car, she quickly exited it, hoping Stiles wouldn't be mad at her for running late. She walked as fast as she could down the sidewalk, trying hard not to shove people out of her way, until she got to the corner where she was meeting him. She lowered her eyebrows in confusion when she didn't see him standing there waiting for her like they planned.

'Maybe he's running late too.' Cassidy thought to herself as she pulled out her cell phone. She quickly dialed his number and become even more confused when his phone went straight to voicemail, which meant his phone was turned off. Stiles never turned his cell phone off.

She had just slipped the phone back into her purse when she heard someone walk up behind her. Thinking it was Stiles, she quickly turned around with a smile on her face then groaned when she saw who it was. The last two people she would ever want to see; Jackson and Lydia.

"I guess you're so hard up for a date, you're now standing on a corner trying to give yourself away." Jackson said with a huge laugh as he stood in front of his ex-girlfriend.

"Well you make dating a hooker look so much fun, so I figured why not?" Cassidy said back sarcastically as she shot him and Lydia a dirty look.

"Correction, he was dating a hooker until he dumped her for bigger and better things." Lydia snapped back.

"You got the 'bigger' part right." Cassidy pointed out, causing Lydia to gasp in surprise. It wasn't that Cassidy thought she really was big, she just knew telling a girl like Lydia she was fat was the worse insult you could give.

"So what are you doing here?" Jackson stepped in and asked before the two girls began to fight- which in his opinion wasn't really a bad thing, but since they were in public the last thing he wanted was to draw attention to them and embarrass him.

"Not that it's any of your business, but I'm meeting my date." Cassidy said proudly, wanting to show him that someone did want her, that all of his mean words in the past were not true.

"With who?" Jackson asked harsher than he meant, causing both girls to look at him; one with a surprise look and the other one angry.

Lydia wasn't surprised at all by his tone, she knew he still loved Cassidy. There had been a few times in the past year that Jackson got drunk and actually called her Cassidy, telling her that he made a mistake and that he loves her.

As hard as it was to hear, Lydia always pushed it aside and never brought it up- all that she could hope for was for him to finally get over Cassidy and love her the way she loves him.

Seeing the looks the girls gave him, Jackson chuckled to cover up his slip, then added,"I mean, who the hell would date you?"

"I hope it's not with that loser Stiles." Lydia added, before Cassidy could answer.

"Why would you say that?" Cassidy asked, confused.

"Because I saw him and that other loser you hang out with at the hospital earlier." Lydia explained with a smug smile.

"Dumped before the date even happens? I think that's a new record right, Cas?" Jackson added with a laugh.

Cassidy ignored his comment as she looked down at the sidewalk with a hurt look on her face. Between their cruel words and the fact that Stiles was standing her up, she couldn't stop the tears from filling her eyes.

As much as she hated crying in front of anyone- especially Jackson- she wasn't sure if she could hold it back before she made an escape, but she was going to try.

She quickly turned around then gasped in surprise when she slammed into someone. As if her night wasn't bad enough as it was, now she ran into someone and was probably going to fall flat on her butt.

Fortunately for her, the person she ran into wasn't just anyone- it was Isaac, who had been walking down the sidewalk across the street from them.

He could tell from where he was standing that Jackson was taunting her and upsetting her. He knew he should probably keep walking- keep going to the cemetery and get his work done, but he couldn't do that. He knew he could not ignore her, he knew she needed him and he was going to be there for her. He was her Superman after all.

As she began to fall to the ground, Isaac quickly wrapped his arms around her, catching her and helping her to stand up straight. For a moment, he forgot Jackson and Lydia were even standing there, as he looked at her closely and asked,"Are you okay?"

Cassidy, also forgetting about the other two, looked into his eyes as she nodded her head and said,"I'm okay."

Isaac didn't know what came over him as he raised his hand and wiped away the lone tear under her eye. She continued to look at him and smiled as an idea began to form in her mind. She grabbed his other hand and gave it a squeeze, hoping he'll go along with what she was about to say.

"Running a little late, huh?" Cassidy joked, causing Isaac to shot her a confused look, but before he could ask what she meant, she held onto his hand and turned to face Jackson and Lydia.

"You two know Isaac, right? He's my date tonight." Cassidy said with a bright smile.

"Seriously? You two?" Lydia asked before she began to laugh along with Jackson.

"And here I thought you couldn't do worse than Stilinski." Jackson said. Shooting a dirty look at Isaac, he added,"But he would actually be an improvement over you, Lahey."

"Don't be mad because he's a better man then you could ever be." Cassidy snapped back angrily. Jackson could say whatever he wanted to her, but she was not going to let him talk bad about Isaac. He had never hurt anyone and he didn't deserve to be treated badly. He was a sweet and loyal guy, and someone who has had her back a lot recently and she couldn't help but feel protective over him.

Jackson snorted with laughter at her comment. There was no way she could honestly think Isaac was better than him, but he didn't care enough to argue with her.

"Whatever makes you feel better, Cas." Jackson said sarcastically as he grabbed Lydia's arm and began to walk away. He didn't know what bothered him most; her comment or the fact that she never let go of Lahey's hand, but either way, he needed to walk away, he didn't want to be around them anymore.

Cassidy waited until the gruesome twosome were gone, then she took a deep breath and slowly released it, trying to get control of her emotions before she looked at a confused Isaac standing beside her.

She shot him an apologetic look before she began to ramble,"I'm sorry for pulling you in the middle of that. I'm also sorry for what Jackson said about you, it was uncalled for and-"

Isaac laid his hands on her shoulders, forcing her to look at him and hoping to stop her rambling. "Shh, it's okay. I stopped listening to Jackson a long time ago. All I care about... All I want to know is, are you okay?"

Cassidy softly smiled at his slip up, she couldn't deny it made her feel warm inside to think that he cared about her, but she didn't want to get her hopes up. It could have just been a slip up, maybe he didn't mean it at all.

Stepping forward, she wrapped her arms around his neck, wanting to feel comforted by him for a moment. She rested her forehead against his neck, cuddling into him and closing her eyes when she felt him cautiously wrap his arms around her waist to hold her close.

Isaac felt like his heart was going to explode out of his chest as he continued to hold her. He had many dreams of holding her the way he was right now, but none of those dreams even compared to how it felt to hold her for real. He couldn't help but notice how perfectly she fit in his arms- like she was made especially for him and no one else.

As much as he hated to end the moment, he needed to know what happened to upset her so badly- was it just Jackson or was it something more?

"What happened?" Isaac quietly asked.

Cassidy sniffed and quickly wiped away the few tears on her face before she pulled back to answer.

"Stiles stood me up. I tried to call him, but his phone's off. Then Jackson showed up, being his obnoxious self, rubbing it in that I was stood up." With a scoff, she added,"God, I don't understand; he dumped me and moved on, why can't he just leave me alone and let me move on."

"Maybe he hasn't move on like you think he has." Isaac pointed out.

Cassidy couldn't help but chuckle as she said,"Don't tell me you think he's still into me. He dumped me, Isaac, he doesn't care."

"It's hard to just stop caring about someone, Cassidy; especially when it's a really special girl." Isaac pointed out. He knew he would never be able to turn off his feelings for her, no matter how hard he tried.

"That might be true, but I don't think that's Jackson's problem. The only person he cares about is himself." Cassidy pointed out.

When she saw Isaac glance at his watch, she instantly felt guilty for ruining any plans he might have tonight.

"Oh God, Isaac, I'm so sorry for holding you up tonight. You probably had something planned, right?" She asked, secretly hoping he didn't have plans. Just the thought of him having a date with another girl made her sick to her stomach.

"Uh, no, it's okay. I, um, I don't have plans." Isaac lied as he looked at his watch again.

He knew he was supposed to be at work right now, but he didn't want to leave her. He wanted to spend every moment he could with her. He figured he could just go in late, work extra hard all night and into the next morning, then sneak into the house before his dad woke up and he'll never know.

"What about your dad? I don't want to get you into trouble." Cassidy added, her tone soft as a concern look appeared on her face.

"It'll be okay. I'll be back before he wakes up." Isaac said, hoping to reassure her and himself.

"Good." With a smile, she added,"Because I got an idea."

"What?" He asked.

She continued to smile, but didn't answer as she grabbed his hand and pulled him down the sidewalk to a small locally owned convenience store.

Walking into the store, she pulled him along behind her, then released his hand to say,"Go grab us two cokes and a bag of chips then meet me back right here, okay?"

Isaac nodded his head, then walked further into the store to do as she said, while she walked toward the back of the store where they had a selected few choices of food you could order to go. She placed an order for herself and Isaac, then paid for the food, as well as, the drinks and chips he was grabbing before meeting back up with Isaac at the front of the store.

"What did you get?" Isaac asked as he nodded his head toward the bag.

"You'll find out soon." Cassidy answered with a secret smile.

Isaac followed her out of the store and over toward her car. She told him to get in then drove down the road toward a less crowded part of town and parked by a brick abandoned building.

Looked over at the building, he then turned to look at her as he nervously asked,"You're not, uh, you're not going to kill me, are you?"

Cassidy laughed at his question, but didn't say anything as she opened the car door and exited the car. She made her way toward the back and opened the trunk as she called out to ask if he was coming.

Isaac turned his head to look at her and nodded his head once, before opening the door and making his way toward her.

When he got to the back of the car, she was in the middle of taking off the ankle boots she was wearing and slipping on a pair of black flats. While she was busy changing shoes, Isaac inched closer to the plastic bag she carried out of the store and tried to peek inside.

"Hey! No peeking." Cassidy called out as she wagged her finger at him.

"Sorry." Isaac mumbled as he took a step back.

Cassidy grabbed the bag of food and two cashmere throw blankets then began to walk over toward the building. Isaac looked at the blankets in her hand as he followed along behind her.

"You keep blankets in your car?" He questioned.

"Trust me when you've been friends with Scott and Stiles long enough, you learn to be prepared for anything. That's why I always keep extra clothes and shoes in there. As well as blankets, pillows, toilet paper, flashlights and so on. You name it and I probably have it." Cassidy explained as she stood under the ladder on the side of the building.

She stood on her tiptoes, trying to grab on to the last rung, but still barely missed it. She glanced over at Isaac, who was many inches taller than her. Nodding her head toward the ladder, she asked,"Do you mind grabbing that for me?"

Isaac reached up and grabbed on to the ladder and pulled it down to the ground without a word. It was on the tip of his tongue to ask why, but instead he decided to trust her and go with it, he knew she wouldn't put him in harm's way.

"What is this place?" He couldn't stop himself from asking.

"It use to be a doctor's office. My parents use to work here- it's actually the place where they met. Dad was training with a doctor while Mom was a nurse. It was love at first sight or so I'm told." Cassidy explained, then added,"They both worked here for a few years, then got married, then had Parker, then Mom quit to stay home and Dad got a job at the hospital."

Nodding toward the building, she continued,"A few years after that the office shut down and now it's abandoned."

"So why are we here?" Isaac asked, feeling confused.

"Because it's my favorite place in the whole world." Cassidy answered with a smile.

"Really?" Isaac asked as he looked over at the building, not seeing what could be so special about it.

"Just wait, you'll see." Cassidy promised as she loosely wrapped the blankets around her neck then slipping the handles of the bag on her arm to free up her hands. She grabbed on to the ladder then glanced down at the dress she was wearing before looking over at Isaac as she bit her bottom lip.

"I-I can go first." Isaac offered, realizing the thought running through her mind.

Cassidy thought about his offer for a moment, then shook her head and said,"No it's okay, I trust you. I know you won't look up my dress."

Isaac felt his cheeks turn red at her comment, then he chuckled when she shot him a wink before she began to climb up the ladder. Once she was halfway up, Isaac began to climb up the ladder behind her.

They slowly made their way up until they made it to the huge flat roof. She sat the blankets and bag down, then made her way to the edge of the building with a huge smile on her face. She glanced behind her at Isaac and motioned for him to join her. As he walked toward her, she glanced around, taking in the sights of their town as the sun began to set.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Cassidy asked as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath of the cool night air.

"Yeah, it is." Isaac softly said. He glanced over at her while her eyes were closed and added,"I've never seen anything as beautiful before."

Cassidy opened her eyes and looked over at him. She bit her lip at the look he was giving her, then lowered her head for a moment and felt her cheeks heat up.

Clearing her throat, she looked back at him and said,"Most people love sunsets, but I like the moment right after, when the stars appear. I love stars."

"I remember." Isaac said, then added when she shot him a confused look,"You told me the night you were drunk."

"Oh, right. Sorry." Cassidy said with a giggle. "A lot of what we talked about that night is a blur to me."

"It's okay." Isaac said, shooting her a smile.

Cassidy smiled back as they stared at each other again while the sun continued to set- this time she didn't want to look away.

When the sky turned dark, she finally forced herself to turn her head and break the contact. She glanced behind them and asked,"So you ready to see what I have for us to eat?"

"Yeah, you have me pretty curious about it." Isaac answered as they walked back over toward the bag.

Cassidy grabbed one of the blankets and laid it out for them to sit on. She sat down then looked up at him, waiting for him to sit beside her.

When he didn't move, she patted the spot beside her and said,"Sit down."

"We're going to share a blanket?" He asked, looking at the small blanket. It wasn't that he minded sitting close to her, he just didn't want to make her uncomfortable.

"Yeah, I figured we could sit on this one and cover up with this one." Cassidy explained as she held up the other blanket.

As he nodded his head and sat down beside her, she laid the other blanket across their laps, then said with a laugh,"Don't worry, Isaac, I'm not trying to seduce you."

"You sure?" Isaac asked, then added with a laugh,"We got food, blankets, sunset, stars."

Cassidy laughed with him, sometimes it still surprised her how funny he could be when he became comfortable around a person. Anytime she heard him laugh, she couldn't help but laugh along with him.

Once the laughter died down, she looked at him and asked,"So if I wanted to seduce you, this is the way to do it?"

"I'm not complaining." He answered with a shrug.

"You are such a guy." She joked as she began to take the food out of the bag and sat it down on the blanket. She opened the styrofoam box then picked up one of the many hot dogs inside and handed it to him.

She knew it was probably silly to be this excited about a hot dog, but these were her favorite. Parker had taken her to that store for hot dogs one time and told her they were the best around; she was right. Once you had a hot dog with homemade chili instead of chili from the can, it wasn't something you could ever forget.

"We're eating hot dogs? That's the big surprise you had in the bag?" Isaac asked.

"These are not just any plain old hot dog. It's the best hot dog in the whole town, maybe even the whole world." Cassidy pointed out.

"You don't get out often do you?" He joked as he shot her a disbelieving look.

She rolled her eyes and chuckled as she pushed the hot dog closer to his mouth and said,"Just try it."

Isaac glanced between her and the hot dog before leaning forward and taking a bite. He chewed for a few moments then grabbed one of the cokes to wash it down.

With a nod, he said,"Not bad. You might be right, this might be the best hot dog I've ever had."

"See, I told you!" She called out as she picked up another hot dog and took a bite- letting out a moan at how good it was. It had been awhile since she had a hot dog from that convenience store and she had really missed it. She took another big bite then popped a few potato chips into her mouth.

After swallowing, she looked over at Isaac to find him staring at her with a surprised look on his face.

"What?" She asked, confused.

"I just never seen a girl eat the way you are." He answered. "My brother use to tell me stories of going out with girls who would only order a salad then barely eat it. He said it was something most girls did and I've noticed a lot of girls at school do that."

"Not this girl." Cassidy said, pointing to herself. "I love to eat and the only time I get a salad is when it comes with a whole meal."

Isaac chuckled at her, then said,"Actually there was one girl he said could out eat him. He always said when you find a girl like that, you need to hold on to her."

"Why?" Cassidy asked with a laugh.

He shrugged, then said,"I don't know, he was always saying things that made no sense to me. I actually think he was only saying that to impress the girl. She was the only girl he ever loved, but she was with someone else and I guess that was his way of trying to convince her to give him a try or something."

"What happened with them? Did he ever get the girl? Do you know who she was?" Cassidy asked, hoping his brother got a happily ever after before losing his life during the war.

She honestly barely remember Camden- he was Parker's age and that was about all she remember about him. The year Parker left to go to college, Camden left for the Army; never to be seen again after being killed in combat a few years later.

With a shake of the head, he said,"No, he never got the girl and he never told me her name either, just a nickname he had for her." After a thought hit him, he added,"But he did tell me he put himself out there, he gave it his all, but she wasn't ready to commit, I guess, then she went to college and he went into the Army."

"That's sad." She softly said.

After a quiet moment, she added,"I'm sorry, Isaac. I'm sorry you lost your brother."

"I'm sorry you lost your mom." He said back quietly.

"I honestly barely remember her. I remember the stories Parker told me more than I actually remember her." With a sigh, she added,"I don't know if that makes it easier or not."

"It doesn't matter how long a person has been gone, it still hurts." He pointed out. "I barely remember my mom either, but I still feel that emptiness with her gone and it got worse when I lost Camden. It never gets easy."

Cassidy pushed the food aside and scooted closer to him. She wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head on his shoulder, hoping to comfort him

"I hate that I have forgotten Mom." She softly said with tears in her eyes. "I wish there was one thing I could remember about her; the sound of her voice, the way she smelled or something. I guess, maybe, I've blocked her out because it made it easier to be without her."

"I know what you mean, I'm that way with my mom too, but I have a lot of memories of Camden." He said, his tone matching hers. "I think about him all the time."

Raising her head to look at him, she said,"Tell me your favorite memory of him."

A smile appeared on his face as he thought about his brother. He was the best big brother anyone could have asked for.

He taught him everything he knew, he helped him with his homework and gave him advice on anything and everything; even if most of the time his advice never worked, he still tried. And when their dad started to drink heavily a few years after losing their mom and began to swing at them, Camden was the one who always stepped in front to take the beatings instead.

He put himself on the line to protect Isaac daily, that was just the type of guy he was to the people he loved. To anyone else he was just a jock and jokester, only the people who really knew him, knew he had a heart of gold and would do anything for them.

With so many memories in mind, he wasn't sure if he could pick just one, so he just told the first story that popped in his head.

"I remember when I was around six, he decided it was time to teach me to swim and since he was on the swim team he thought he could teach me with no problems, but teaching me wasn't as easy as he thought.

"I was terrified to go in the water, I wouldn't even dip my toe in the pool, which infuriated him. He couldn't understand how someone could be afraid of water since he loved it so much." He said with a faraway look on his face, like he could see the day so clearly in his mind. "After about ten minutes of begging me to get in and me refusing to do it, he got mad and jumped out of the pool. I will never forget he told me, 'I give up, you can drown for all I care', before heading back inside the house."

"That was mean." Cassidy commented.

"That was just the way Camden was. When he got mad about something he would say things he didn't mean then apologize for it afterwards, so I knew deep down he didn't mean it." He explained. "Besides he didn't go too far before he turned around and came back to me.

"At first I was worried he was just going to pick me up and throw me in. I have seen him do that before to friends of his, but instead he kneeled down in front of me and promised he wouldn't let anything happen to me; not in the pool, not in life, not ever. All I had to do was trust him. Then he held out his hand and asked, 'do you trust me?'"

"What happened next?" She asked as she laid back on the blanket and watched him as he smiled at the memory from that day. It was one of the greatest days he ever had with his brother- they ended up splashing around in the pool for hours until their fingers and toes wrinkled up and they had to get out. It was a day he would always remember.

Isaac laid down beside her with a smile still on his lips as he answered,"I trusted him. I had always trusted him and he had never let me down, so I knew he wouldn't let me down that day either."

"That's a sweet story." She said, turning her head to look at him and smile.

"Yeah." He agreed, then asked,"So you don't remember anything about your mom? Nothing at all?"

"I remember a story Parker always told me. It was stupid and silly, of course, but I always remembered it."

"What was the story?"

"Since I was so young when Mom died, I could never understand why she was gone or why she couldn't be with us. Even at her funeral, when I saw her in the casket, to me it looked like she was sleeping, so I couldn't understand why she didn't just wake up and come home to us.

"I must have asked Parker that question a million of times, but she never really knew what to say. I mean, how do you explain to a five year old that her mom died and was never coming back?" She questioned, knowing to this day no one could answer that.

Looking up at the stars above, she added,"Finally, one day, Parker, told me Mom got a new job- that as much as she loved taking care of us- this job was the most important job in the world. She was going to go be the keeper of the stars. She told me that keeping the stars in the sky was a hard job and Mom was picked to do it. So as long as there were stars in the sky, Mom was always around and anytime I saw a shooting star, that was her way of saying she loves us."

Isaac turned his head to look at her as she kept her eyes on the stars. He heard the emotional tone in her voice and knew it was hard for her to tell him the story. He could tell reminiscing about her mom and even reminiscing about Parker upset her since she missed having them both in her life.

As much as he hated to see her upset, the selfish part of him liked the fact that she could open up to him- that she trusted him enough to be vulnerable and share personal stories with him.

He liked that she felt comfortable enough around him to tell him anything, and Cassidy felt like she could tell him anything; good or bad, and he would still be there for her. She knew he wouldn't laugh at her or judge her, he would be supportive and have her back.

Looking over at him, she smiled and said,"I know it's stupid but believing that actually helped, it made it a little easier."

"That's not stupid, besides maybe it's true." He began to say, then added,"Not the keeper of the stars part, but maybe when ever you see a shooting star, maybe it is her way of saying she loves you."

"Maybe it's Camden's way too." She suggested.

"Maybe it is." He nodded in agreement.

Cassidy smiled at him then took him by surprise as she moved closer to him and laid her head on his chest. She cuddled into his side and pulled the blanket up to cover them as a cool breeze began to blow.

Once she was comfortable, she rested her arm across his stomach and asked,"You have any other stories about your brother?"

"He use to buy me comic books whenever I did well in class." Isaac answered, smiling at the memory.

"Like Superman?" She asked.

"Mm-hm." He hummed, then added,"Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, all the superheroes."

"So that's why you make a good Superman. You've been reading superheroes for years and remembering all their moves." She joked, causing him to blush.

Raising her head to look at him, she asked,"So out of all the superheroes, which is your favorite?"

"I can't pick one, I liked them all."

"You should always pick Superman, Isaac. Superman is the greatest." She laughed.

Laughing along with her, he nodded and said,"Okay, I pick Superman then."

"Good choice." She grinned before laying her head back down on his chest.

Isaac was quiet for a moment in thought, then said,"Now that I think about it, Superman is better because he can fly. All Spider-Man can do is shoot out a web and, sure, Batman has a lot of cool toys, but that's only because he's rich and can buy whatever he wants."

Letting out a groan, she joked,"Oh, God, I've created a monster. You are thinking about superheroes way too much now."

"Sorry." Isaac said, thinking he was boring her.

"It's okay, I was just kidding." She laughed and squeezed his middle, before added,"You can keep talking about superheroes if you want, I honestly don't mind."

With a smile on his face, Isaac began to talk about the difference between all the superheroes and telling her different stories that were in the comic books he use to read. While listening intently, she closed her eyes and felt like she could honestly listen to him talk all day; especially when it was something he was excited about- it was like he was a completely different person.

She couldn't help but think how since she has gotten to know him better he was a different person than the shy boy she had first talked to. The more comfortable he became around her, the more he began to show her his true self. His voice became stronger and his confidence came through, he was even joking more and more around her.

When he was with her, he could be himself and that was the Isaac she was beginning to like more as time went on. The Isaac that made her smile, made her laugh, and made her feel safe. The Isaac that had quickly became her best friend.

•••

A/N; Thank you to everyone reading and/or adding the story. Also big thanks to TeamBlaus4EVER, Allibot, alex. piccinich, Sam0728, teenwolflover323, ohsolauren, Writteninthestars08, werewolf18, Phoenix, LittleApril, Persephone Price, weekendrusher and Sage Londyn for reviewing.

Happy reading!
xx