This is my first Drake & Josh fanfiction I ever wrote. It's posted on my site, but I thought I'd put it here as well. This story is completely written but not completely posted. In fact, I've already written up a sequel, which I will post when I finish posting this.

I don't own any of the Drake & Josh characters. I did create some characters for this fanfiction though. The song "Insensitive" is sung by Jann Arden and written by Anne Loree. No copyright infringements are intended.

This is the longest chapter in this fanfiction. A lot of stuff happens and you're about to learn a lot about Cassandra.

"Oh man," said Drake. In his opinion, his date wasn't going very well. Perhaps because he was thinking of someone else.

"Drake?" asked Sam. "Are you okay?"

"Huh, uh, yeah," he replied. Drake didn't know why he had agreed to go out with Sam. The truth of the matter was she approached him. That was fine by him, but she wasn't the person he wanted to be with. So why had he said yes? Because you can't say no to a pretty face, came a voice from inside his head. You're such a lady charmer that you can't help but say yes. It's gonna get you in trouble eventually, you'll see. Why did the stupid voice inside Drake's head remind him of Josh? What had Josh said, something about women thinking he was insensitive? Yeah, that'll be the day.

Drake drove Sam home and walked her to her porch. He didn't really want to kiss her. What was the matter with him? He quickly said good night and left Sam on the porch, looking a bit confused.

"Drake," Sam said Monday at school.

"Hmm?" he asked, wondering what she wanted now.

"Is there something wrong with me?"

"What! No! I mean, you're really pretty and funny..."

"I just get the feeling that you're not attracted to me."

"What?"

"Drake, it's okay, that's gonna happen. We can just be friends. Besides, it's not like we were boyfriend and girlfriend for a year and I just found out. Besides, my old boyfriend kinda wants to get back together."

"Oh," said Drake. "Yeah, friends. That's cool." Drake actually felt a little happy. Maybe he could get back to what he originally wanted to do before, and that was ask Cassandra out.

"See ya later Drake."

"Bye."

"So," said Josh coming around the corner. "What's up with you and Sam?"

"We're not going to see each other again."

"Drake...you can't keep this up."

"I know...there's a girl I've been thinking about and..."

"You date a girl and think about another one? What's the matter with you?"

"Nothing, it's hard to explain," said Drake.

"Yeah, I'm sure," said Josh. "Look I gotta go." Josh walked away, mumbling about his brother's love life under his breath.

"Hey Drake," came a voice.

"Oh what now!" he shouted and turned around. He came face to face with Cassandra and suddenly forgot how to speak. His chemistry teacher fixed that for him.

"Drake," said his teacher walking by.

"Yes Mr. Height?" he asked, knowing what was coming.

"I just graded your most recent test and have found that your grade has improved..."

"Really? All right!"

"I wasn't finished...it has improved, but not enough to pass. You're still failing Drake, and if your grade doesn't change soon, you'll be in summer school."

"There's gotta be something I can do, extra credit, study more..."

"Well Drake, I can give you an extra credit project, seeing as you are becoming more motivated. I do suggest studying more. If it becomes necessary we can arrange for a tutor. I do know that this class is the one you are having the most difficulty in. I have spoken with your other teachers and know that you are doing okay in their classes. Even Mrs. Haifer's. Who, by the way, says she hates you..."

"I know," said Drake. "Okay, thanks Mr. Height."

"You're welcome Drake. Now please try okay?"

"Yes sir." Mr. Height left, and Drake sighed.

"Problem with chemistry?" asked Cassandra. Drake looked over at her. He'd forgotten she was there. He must sound like an idiot to her. "Sorry," she said. "I probably shouldn't have been listening."

"It's okay," replied Drake. "Yeah, chemistry is really hard for me. There's a lot of math."

"You'll have to do something; next year is physics and that's practically all math."

"Oh, great. Another class to fail."

"No, Drake, that's not what I meant." She looked at him; that really wasn't how she wanted to come across. Why did this guy make her feel so jittery while at the same time so happy?

"I just don't know how I'm going to figure this out. Josh can't help me. He's in physics already. Sometimes him being smart is of no use to me."

"I could help you, if you wanted," Cassandra said, a bit shyly. Drake brightened a bit.

"Really?" he asked. "That would be great! Are you sure it's not too much trouble?"

"No, of course not. What are friends for?"

Drake smiled, then remembered something.

"You got a hundred on that quiz yesterday didn't you?" he asked. "...and Mr. Height had your test too; it looked like another hundred. How can you be so smart and not be in physics?"

"Oh," she said. "At my old school we always took things in the same order as everyone else. Since I was already in the middle of chemistry when my parents moved me here, they kept me in the class when I came here."

"I guess it's lucky for me they did," said Drake. "Can you come by today? If it's not too much trouble. Oh yeah, sorry I yelled."

"That's okay. Sure I'll come by today. See you later Drake," Cassandra giggled.

"Later," said Drake. Why didn't he ask her out? He kept missing his chance. Perhaps she wasn't interested though. Maybe she just wanted to be friends. After all, she knew a few people, but not a lot. She probably didn't want to latch on to a guy right now. At least, that's what the girls in his math class were gossiping about her. Apparently she did know a few people.

Cassandra walked down the hallway. She hadn't meant to make Drake feel bad. She was glad she had offered to help him. She sighed, what was wrong with her? She hadn't really had strong feelings for a guy since...well that didn't matter. She had them now, and she didn't know why. It was the strangest thing. She didn't even know if he felt that way about her. After all that Alexa had told her, she probably shouldn't want to date him so much anyway. Then again, none of her relationships lately had lasted that long either.

Drake tossed his bookbag on the couch in his room. He found Megan sitting at the computer.

"Hi Drake," said Megan, as if it were perfectly fine with him that she was in the room.

"What're you doing?" he asked.

"Trying to guess Josh's password. He changed it again. It's hard to get to his email sometimes."

"Oh," he said. "Long as it's not mine."

"No," she said. "Yours is full of love notes from girls. I don't feel like being sick to my stomach."

"Megan, get out!"

"Make me."

"Come on, I have a friend coming over."

"Oh, fine. It just gives me more time to plot against you," she said as she left with an evil grin on her face.

Drake rolled his eyes. The doorbell rang and he leaped downstairs to answer it.

"Hey Cassandra," he said.

"Hi Drake."

"So, you want something to drink?"

"Actually, water would be nice."

"Oh sure." Drake headed into the kitchen as Megan headed into the living room.

"Who are you?" Megan asked.

"I'm Cassandra."

"You're Drakes new victim...I mean girlfriend aren't you?"

"Actually, just friend. I have been warned about your brother's dating ways, don't worry."

"Oh good, then I don't have to sabotage any dates."

"Excuse me?" asked Cassandra.

"Never mind," said Megan and left the room.

"Okay..." said Cassandra looking puzzled.

"What's wrong?" Drake asked returning to the room.

"I just met a little girl who seemed to have a very conniving mind."

"Oh yeah, that's my sister Megan."

"I see." Cassandra seemed to glance into the distance. Her face didn't seem as bright as it had a few minutes ago.

"Are you okay?" Drake asked.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I just started thinking about something...It's okay."

"Alright," said Drake. "Here, why don't we head up to my room. I think Josh is bringing his girlfriend home, and I'd rather not be down here while they're both here."

"Why not?" asked Cassandra.

"They tend to get all lovey dovey, and I don't really care for Josh's girlfriend."

"Does he know that?"

"Oh yeah, I accept it though. She makes him happy."

"That's pretty big of you."

"Yeah, well, he's my brother."

Cassandra looked down at her feet. Drake knew something was bothering her, but she obviously didn't want to talk about it.

"Why don't we get started on chemistry," said Cassandra. "I need to be home for dinner."

"Okay," said Drake.

Two hours later, Drake was attempting a problem on his own when Josh walked in the room.

"Hi," said Josh.

"Oh, hi," said Drake. Josh looked from Drake to Cassandra then did a double take, because Drake was actually doing homework.

"Wow," said Josh.

"What?" asked Drake.

"I just never thought it possible."

"What?" asked Drake again.

"That you'd be doing homework and sitting up here with a girl in your room and not even making out with her."

"Josh!" yelled Drake and jumped up. He ran for the door.

"Relax man," said Josh. "I just wanted to grab my notebook." Josh grabbed it as Drake threw a pillow at him. "Headaches!" exclaimed Josh as he left the room.

"Sometimes having a brother is annoying," said Drake.

"At least you have a brother..." began Cassandra. With a quick glance around the room, she quickly changed the subject, "You play guitar?"

"Oh, yeah," said Drake. "I'm in a band. We write our own stuff."

"Wow," she said.

"Yeah, you play anything?"

"Actually, I play guitar too."

"Really?"

"Yeah, it really helped, ever since..." she stopped. Tears welled up in her eyes.

"What's the matter?" Drake asked, concerned.

"Nothing," she said.

"It's gotta be something," said Drake. "Come on, you can tell me." Cassandra sat down on the couch. She realized she hadn't told anyone this story. How she felt before the accident. How she felt after. She hadn't known Drake that long, but she felt so alone in her despair, and he seemed so eager to listen. Maybe it would hurt a little less if she told someone. After all, he was one of the first friends she had made when she moved.

"You see, when I was younger my brother Matt and I were really close. He was about ten years older than me, but he'd always take me places. He'd bring me to the beach and would show me the college campus he stayed at. Even though there was that age gap, we were still very close. People said if I were older we could have looked like twins. We both had the same brown hair and blue eyes. He was a very attractive young man and got a lot of dates. If I wasn't comfortable with a girl he was dating, he wouldn't see her anymore. My opinion mattered that much to him. He graduated from college and I'd stay the weekend at his apartment at least once a month. One Sunday morning, about a year ago, he was bringing me home. We came to a four way stop and Matt had the right of way, so he went. Well, there had been a guy in a truck on his cell phone who didn't notice us. Matt's little car was no match for this guy's truck, and it..." Cassandra's eyes were full of tears. She struggled to get the words out. Drake gently touched her shoulder.

"Look," Drake began. "If you feel like you can't tell me that's fine..."

"No," she responded. "The truck hit the driver's side of Matt's car. I was fine, being on the passenger side. Matt...he...he just...it was horrible..." Drake squeezed her shoulder a bit, to let Cassandra know it was okay. "...Matt died in that accident. In minutes I lost my brother, my only sibling. It was terrible. I wanted to forget all about guitar, because Matt had given it to me and taught me to play. Dad told me he wouldn't want that though. I used to love hearing Matt play and sing. He had the greatest voice, and I'd sing with him. It just didn't seem right without him. I thought Dad was right though. Matt wouldn't want me to give up something I love. It was a little after that I learned to play 'American Pie.' Matt loved that song and it seemed to fit what had just happened."

"I can see why," said Drake.

"I started writing more than before. I just felt so alone for a while. I've been so distant that my parents thought it would be best to move. So, we're here now. I really miss him. I miss seeing him on Saturday mornings and him watching me go to a dance or something and saying, 'Remember Cassie, any boy breaks your heart, and he's answering to me.'" Drake looked at her.

"That's why you wouldn't let me call you Cassie," he said. "Because your brother did."

"Yeah," she said. "It's just hard to hear it, after someone who called me that all the time is gone. I cared about him so much. I wouldn't let anyone call me that unless we were as close as Matt and I were, but I haven't had that connection with anyone since then. It hurts too much."

"I can understand that," said Drake. Cassandra's head had slid onto his shoulder. His heart ached for her. She had been so close to her brother, her only sibling. No wonder she had been upset everytime Drake mentioned Megan or Josh. "Cassandra, I'm so sorry."

"It's alright, Drake," she said. "It happened, and nothing can change that." Drake was amazed at her. She seemed to hold herself together so well, but she kept all this pain inside.

"Well," she said. "We'd better finish this homework."

"Cassandra," Drake said softly. She looked at him. Her eyes were a bit red.

"Drake," she responded. She brought her face close to his. She felt his lips touch hers and a chill slipped down her spine. She kissed him back and brought her hands around his neck. He moved his arms around her waist, and their kiss became deeper. Drake started to tightened his arms around Cassandra when she suddenly shot up from where she sat. "I have to go Drake. I'll see you around." She ran downstairs and out the door. Drake followed her. Not noticing Josh and Mindy on the couch until Mindy spoke.

"What'd you do to her?" she asked.

"Nothing," said Drake. Nothing except listen to her...and kiss her when she was vulnerable. Why had he done that? Then again, she had returned the kiss. So, why had she left? Drake was so confused.