Drake and Josh characters belong to their proper owners. I did create some characters for this fanfiction. "Measure of a Man" is sung by Clay Aiken. It was written by Steve Morales, Cathy Dennis, and David Seige. Any other songs mentioned also belong to their proper owners. Because you all know how much I love sticking lyrics in these things.

Now what's going to happen? Ready to find out? Read on!

Drake kicked his backpack near the couch. It was going to be one long weekend. Oh well, at least he could figure out what he was going to do about Homecoming. If he couldn't take Cassandra, what was he going to do? He really didn't want to take anyone else but her. The problem was, he was on court now and had to go. He might not have gone if he wasn't. Things were okay, then again, they didn't go his way.
Cassandra came downstairs.

"Cassandra!" said her grandmother giving her a hug.

"Hello Grandma," she replied. Her grandfather gave her a quick hug, and they all sat down to dinner.

"Well," said Cassandra's grandmother. "I hear there's a big dance next weekend. Are you going?"

"I don't think so," said Cassandra.

"Why not?" asked her mother.

"I don't have anyone to go with."

"You'll find someone I'm sure," said her mother.

Cassandra gave her mother a look. She picked up the platter of roast beef and put some on her plate. Then, handed it to her grandfather who was sitting next to her.

"You can't still be upset about the decision your father and I made earlier this summer are you?" asked her mother.

"What decision was that?" asked her grandmother.

"She was seeing a boy who switched from girl to girl very quickly. Although he had been with Cassandra for a while we knew it would only be a matter of time, and we were worried about him possibly taking advantage of her. So, we told her she couldn't see him anymore."

"Well," said her grandmother. "That seems more like a decision Cassandra should make, doesn't it?"

"Excuse me?" asked her mother. "It seems to me as her parents we should protect her."

"Yes," agreed Cassandra's grandfather. "But not to the point where she doesn't control herself ultimately. You're supposed to guide her, not smother her. Besides, I recall someone who fell in love and refused to listen to her parents, but they let her go anyway. Look at her now."

Cassandra's mother sat dumb-struck at her father's reference to her.

"That is completely different. I knew what I was doing. I had good judgement." Cassandra's mother responded.

"And I don't?" asked Cassandra, running from the table. She couldn't take it anymore. She flew up to her bedroom, where she'd isolated herself when she was at home. After slamming the door, she fell onto her bed and cried. After a while she heard a knock at her door. "Who is it?" she asked.

"Your grandma," her grandmother responded.

"Come in," Cassandra replied.

Cassandra's grandmother walked into the room and sat next to Cassandra on the bed.

"So," said her grandmother. "Tell me about this boy. Is he nice? Does he respect you?"

"Yes," said Cassandra. "He's sweet. He respects me and cares about me, but Mom and Dad won't let me see him."

"Do you think he'd date another girl while seeing you?"

Cassandra thought for a moment. She remembered how Sam screamed in the bathroom last year that Drake Parker didn't want her. He wanted someone else, and that was unheard of. He protected her in the woods when he was worried something could harm her. He looked so unhappy in school. It was torturous for the both of them to sit in their classes and barely make eye contact. He had stood throwing rocks at her window until her mother found him and made him leave. He hadn't dated anyone since her parents refused to let her see him. He wouldn't do that to her.

"No," Cassandra replied. "I don't."

"You're very upset. You must care for him a lot."

"Yes," said Cassandra. "He was the first person I was able to tell about how close Matt and I were."

"I see," said her grandmother. "The way you talk about him, it's very obvious he does respect you and would never push you into anything you weren't ready to do."

"He wouldn't," Cassandra replied.

Neither Cassandra nor her grandmother knew that Mrs. Blane was listening outside the door. She climbed down the stairs and talked with her husband.
"It must be very hard when you're not allowed to be with someone you love," said Cassandra's grandmother.

"What?" Cassandra asked. "Grandma, I..."

"You're clearly very upset about this. You must love him."

Cassandra looked at her grandmother. She was right. Cassandra did love him. She had wanted to tell him before. Then, her parents didn't allow her to see him anymore. She wished she could have told him then, but it would only have made things more painful. She kept her hurt inside because she didn't want him to be hurt. Now, it was too much for her to handle.

"Drake," said Audrey. "Megan and I are going to the store. Josh is at work, and your father is working at the station tonight. Will you be okay alone?"

"Yes," said Drake.

"Okay, there's food in the fridge if you're hungry. I'll have to pick up something to celebrate you being on court tonight. Congratulations again sweetie."

"Thanks Mom," Drake said. His mother and Megan left, and he turned on the television. He sighed. Everything, even good things, seemed to lead to a problem.

Cassandra came downstairs, her eyes finally dry.

"Cassandra," said her mother. "May your father and I speak with you privately?"

"Alright," Cassandra replied and followed them into the kitchen.

"We think we may have been a little hard on you dating Drake," said her father.

"Your grandparents are right. I was in the similar position you were in and had to make a choice," said her mother. "My parents didn't push me to a choice. They told me to look at what was truly important and trust my own judgement. You're my daughter. I should have trusted yours. Besides, you were right, he is kind of like Matt. Maybe that worried me a little too."

"Does this mean...I can see Drake again?" asked Cassandra.

"Yes," her father said, smiling.

Cassandra smiled and hugged her parents.

The doorbell rang and her grandfather walked in.

"Cassandra," said her grandfather. "Someone named Alexa is here to see you."

Cassandra headed out to the living room, and after hugging her grandparents, stepped outside to talk to Alexa.

"Allie!" she cried. "I'm allowed to see Drake again!"

"Really? That's great," her friend replied. "Just in time too. Lately he's been sitting at the Premiere after school playing with gummy bears. The poor kid. You should go see him."

Cassandra went inside and changed. Her mother gave her a nod and she left.

Cassandra got to the Parker-Nichols' house and stood in front of the door. She could finally be with him again. Wait...what if he had chosen to date someone else because of the Homecoming thing? No, she told herself. Everything she thought of before and everything Alexa told her made her sure he still wanted to be with her. She rang the doorbell.

Drake got up from the couch and dragged his feet to the door. If it was a salesperson, boy were they going to get it. You don't try to talk a heartbroken seventeen-year-old into buying a vacuum cleaner, that's for sure. He opened the door to find Cassandra standing there.

"Cassie!" Drake said. "What are you doing here? What about your parents? Aren't you going to get in trouble? Why are you..." He stopped short when she kissed him. He pulled her close. Oh, he had missed this. She ran her hands through his hair and kissed him more passionately. He wasn't the only one who missed it. They broke apart and she snuggled into his arms. "Um..." he said. "Did you want to come in?"

They walked into the living room and sat on the couch.

"So," said Drake. "What are you doing here?"

"My parents finally agreed to let me see you again," Cassandra replied.

"They did?" asked Drake. He breathed a sigh of relief. It had been a while. He hadn't dated anyone in that time. It made him realize he wanted to be with her and only her.

"I didn't think they were going to, but after my grandparents reminded them of what they were like..."

"What?" asked Drake. "Your parents not right for each other?"

"When my parents were in high school they were in love. My mom wanted to marry my dad. My grandparents didn't tell them no, but they didn't tell them yes either. They told my mom to think about what was important to her, and she chose my dad."

"Wow," said Drake. "I didn't think your mom would be like that."

"Yeah," said Cassandra. "That's why there was such an age difference between Matt and me. They had him when they were pretty young."

"Huh, yeah, that makes sense. I'm just glad we're finally allowed to see each other again...um, want to go to Homecoming with me?"

"Who else could I possibly go with?" Cassandra replied.

Drake smiled.

"...want to go to the Premiere and tell everybody the good news?" asked Drake.

"Sure Drake," laughed Cassandra.

Author's Note: I hope you realize Cassandra's parents only did this because they do care about her. Yes, Christopher was a jerk to do it to Drake and Cassandra. Everything's better now though. By the way, there's still four chapters of this story left, so don't go away!

I do have the sequel to this one written up (yeah, it's a series), but before I post that I have a different story I'd like to post. This one has nothing to do with this series. I also have a concept spinning in my head for a Christmas story.