Hello again, readers!

I've got something a little different this time - a Cason/Rylee chapter, requested by ADangerousPastime... and maybe NeverTooLate03. (I can't remember if you had that same idea or not. :P Sorry!)

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy!

This takes place right after Chapter 18 of 'Fearless' - the chapter where Jim is named captain and there's a party at the Benbow and all that jazz.

So Jim and Tabitha were just looking out the window, thinking about Silver.

Enjoy!


"So," Jim said turning back around to look at the dancing couples once again. "Did you ever expect that to happen?"

Tabitha's eyes followed Jim's head nod to a spot across the floor where Rylee and Cason were still locked together in a dance. "Not until recently," she laughed.

Jim nodded, then suddenly burst into a fit of laughter.

"What?" Tabitha questioned.

"I was just thinking about the first time they met."

Tabitha thought for a moment, then laughed again. "Oh, yeah! I'd completely forgotten..."


Cason whistled. "Who is that?"

"Who is what?" Graham questioned, looking up from the textbook and the last minute homework assignment he was trying to complete.

"Pair of girls. 3 o'clock."

"Dude, you'd better be talking about the blonde one," Graham warned.

"Why?" Cason challenged.

"Because the other is Hawkins' girl."

"Huh?" Jim suddenly questioned at the sound of his name. He'd been too distracted by the sight of Tabitha to pay attention. Until moments ago, he'd hated the uniforms - they were hot and itchy and uncomfortable - but stars above, when he saw Tabitha walking over to him, skirt swishing back and forth across her knees, blue jacket bringing out the color in her eyes even more, he had to admit there were some upsides to them...

"Your girl. Tabitha. The one you're gawking at right now," Graham explained.

Jim glared at him. "I'm not gawking."

"Yeah, okay, whatever," he shook off the statement. "Meanwhile, Cason here is about to steal her right out from under your nose."

"What?"

"I am not!" Cason argued. "Look, Jim, Tabitha's pretty, I'll give you that, but she's not my type."

"Uh... okay?" Jim answered, unsure of whether he was offended or just relieved that he wasn't interested.

"I was talking about the blonde one."

"That's Rylee. Tabitha's roommate," Jim explained.

"Do you know anything about her?" Cason asked.

Jim watched as Tabitha waved goodbye to Rylee before turning to walk towards him. "Only that Tabitha doesn't like her."

"Big help," he mumbled under his breath.

Jim stood up as Tabitha arrived under the shady tree where the boys were currently lounging. "Hey."

"Hey," she smiled.

"Hey!" Cason chimed in.

"Um... hello," Tabitha responded with a glance towards Jim that begged for an explanation.

Cason saw it and decided to explain himself. "Name's Cason. I'm in Jim's engineering class. Listen, I was wondering if you could tell me about your roommate."

"Rylee?" Tabitha asked in surprise.

"Yeah. What's she like, where's she from... does she have a boyfriend?"

"Oh..." Tabitha smiled in understanding. "Honestly, I don't know her that well. She's from Alegria, her favorite color is green, and no, she doesn't have a boyfriend... yet." She ended with a glance over to where Rylee was now talking to a guy, laughing in an outrageously girly way at something he'd said.

"Right. Thanks," Cason said as he got up and headed over to her.

"What...?" Tabitha asked.

Graham laughed. "Don't worry about it. Cason'll hit on anything female." He looked back to the book he had open in his lap and sighed. "Damn it."

"What?" Jim questioned.

"I'm going to have to go to the library to look this up."

"That's what you get for waiting until the last minute."

"Shut up, Hawkins," Graham chuckled as he threw his bag over his shoulder. "We can't all be star students like you."

Jim laughed quietly as he watched him leave, then gestured to the area Graham had just vacated. "Sit down."

Tabitha obliged. "So... star student?"

Jim looked over at her, then scoffed and looked forward again. "It's the Dean's term for me."

"The Dean?" she repeated worriedly. "When did you go see the Dean?"

"I didn't go see the Dean. The Dean came to see me. He interrupted the engineering class I was in to see if I was 'as good as Captain Amelia said'. Then I got to spend the rest of the class explaining that yes, I knew Captain Amelia because I was the boy who found the map to Treasure Planet. It was embarrassing."

"Embarrassing? It sounds like he just made you popular."

"Yeah, but I don't want to be popular. I just want to be a normal student." He sighed. "Before the voyage, at my old school, I was, you know, the bad kid, the troublemaker or whatever, and I was failing and, well... Now, I'm expected to be some kind of genius mastermind all because I figured out how to open that damned ball that Bones gave me."

Tabitha bit her lip, but she couldn't hold back the laugh that escaped her.

"What?" he demanded, turning to face her.

"I'm sorry. That was just kinda funny," she giggled.

Jim glared at her, but a smirk was beginning to form. "You're not helping."

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry." She took a deep breath to compose herself. "If it makes you feel any better, I had kind of a... well not so much embarrassing, but awkward, start in my last class."

"What happened?"

"Well, it was my first medical class, right?" Jim nodded. "Yeah, well... I'm the only girl."

"Wait, what? Seriously?" he asked in shock, rotating to face her.

"Yeah, that's what I said!" she agreed. "But I think it's because it was the medical class. Most of the girls here are trying to prove that girls can do anything that guys can do - not that I blame them; women spacing is still a relatively new thing - and if they just wanted to be a doctor, then they could stay on land and do that. I don't care about revolutionizing the field of spacing. I just like spacing, and I wanted to be a doctor because - "

Jim raised his eyebrows when she abruptly stopped. "Because...?"

Tabitha looked him in the eye, then her face fell. "Because of Silver." She shrugged. "I mean, he taught me everything I know."

"Oh. Right." Jim hesitated then reached out and grabbed her hand and smiled.

Tabitha looked up and returned the smile. Then sighed and shifted her shoulders uncomfortably in an attempt to change the subject. "I hate these uniforms."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Jim agreed, tugging on the collar of his.

"They're hot and itchy and I feel like I can barely move."

"Yeah..." Jim agreed absent-mindedly, though his gaze had fallen down to her legs. All her antsy movement had shifted the skirt up her leg, revealing more of her thigh. It wasn't scandalous, but it was more of Tabitha's leg than Jim normally saw. "But they're not all bad," he added mischievously.

Tabitha squinted in confusion, then followed Jim's gaze down to the raised hem of her skirt. She quickly pulled the skirt back down, pink dusting her cheeks as she stammered, "I-I'm still not used to being in a skirt."

"I noticed," he smirked.

Tabitha pushed him but Jim just laughed. Just then, a loud smack echoed across the courtyard and the couple (along with everyone else) turned to see Rylee flouncing away angrily and Cason walking back to the tree, rubbing his cheek.

"What did you say to her?" Jim questioned in shock.

"Nothing!" he retorted.

"I find that hard to believe," Tabitha muttered so only Jim could hear.

"Man, that girl can hit!" Cason said, rotating his jaw.


"... as he found out several more times over the next year or so," Tabitha laughed.

"Yeah," Jim chuckled. "So... when exactly did they figure it out?"

She smirked. "Sometime between when he stopped trying to pick her up as a one night stand and when they began playing this cat and mouse game they've been at..."


"Oh, man," Rylee moaned as she walked out of the library and into the rain. She shivered, wishing she'd brought her jacket with her, before sighing and rushing out into the storm. She hadn't taken five steps before a noise from somewhere nearby stopped her.

It was the middle of the night, she was tired, she'd spent the better part of the afternoon and night studying... She so badly just wanted to head back to her dorm and fall into her soft, warm bed to sleep, but that noise was tugging at her conscience; it sounded like someone... crying, and she knew she'd never forgive herself if she left them there alone.

Rylee paused in the middle of the sidewalk and waited a moment until she heard the noise again. She followed it around the side of the building to the steps of a back door faculty entrance to the library, where Rylee was mildly surprised to find it was a boy crying. His elbows were resting on his knees and he held his head in his hands, sobbing quietly. Out of compassion, Rylee stepped closer.

"Are you alright?" she asked carefully in an attempt not to scare them.

Her attempt failed when the boy leapt to his feet and looked up at his confronter. "Yeah, I'm fine! I'm - Rylee?"

"Cason..." Rylee returned the statement of surprise.

This was awkward. To say they weren't on good terms would be an understatement. They didn't hate each other, but it was long ago that they'd discovered Cason's player persona would never click with Rylee.

"Um... what" - he cleared his throat - "What are you doing out here?"

"I was going ask you the same thing," she countered.

"Oh, I'm... nothing."

"So... you're okay?"

"Hmm? Me? Oh, yeah! Yeah, I'm fine!" Cason lied unconvincingly.

"Oh. Okay, well I... guess I'll just go then..." Rylee's voice was nervous and unsure.

"Yeah. I'm fine. Go ahead."

She nodded and turned around. She almost made it to the end of the wall when she heard the noise again. Sighing in exasperation of her own kind-heartedness, she turned around. "Okay, I know we aren't, like, on good terms. But... you don't sound okay."

"No, no. I am," he insisted, though this time he couldn't face her.

"You sound like you're crying."

Cason did look up this time. "Me? Psh, no," he shrugged off her comment. "No, I'm not crying. I don't cry. I... I-It was only the rain."

Rylee shot him a look that said he clearly wasn't fooling anyone. He defiantly held her gaze for a moment, then sighed and sank back down onto the steps.

Rylee sighed and slowly approached him. "Cason, I know we aren't exactly friends, but... um, if you want to talk, then I'll listen."

"No, y-you're busy, I'm sure - "

"I'm not," she stated.

He looked up at her. She smiled and took a seat next to him. It took him a minute of gawking before he finally sighed and opened up to her. "I got a letter from home today, and... i-it's my little sister, Cassie - er, Cassandra. She's ill."

"Ill?" Rylee whispered in shock. "Ill how?"

"That's the thing," he swallowed. "They don't know. She's in the hospital and the doctors are doing everything they can to figure it out..." He inhaled a shuddering breath. "But my parents don't want me to leave right now because it's exam week and they're sure that she's going to be okay..."

"Well, they must have a good reason for thinking that."

"But what if it's just wishful thinking? What if something's really wrong with her? If she's in the hospital already, then..." He choked on a sob. "What if something happens and I... I-I never get to see her again?"

Rylee blinked in shock. Here she was, sitting behind the library with a boy who, until just a moment ago, she believed she disliked. And yet now she found herself on the verge of tears herself just watching him cry.

"Cason, I'm... I'm sure she'll be alright," she consoled, placing a hand on Cason's knee. Cason didn't look up so she continued. "How old is she?"

He sniffled. "She's only four. God, I'm..." he gripped his hair at the roots. "I-I'm just so worried about her. Yeah, she can be annoying, but I love her. She's my little sister, you know?"

Rylee didn't say anything, but only because she couldn't think of anything worth saying.

"You think I'm overreacting, don't you?" he laughed in a sad way. "I know I look like a pansy, crying like this - "

"No, no! No, you don't!" she insisted comfortingly. "She's going to be fine. My mom runs a day care for kids around Cassandra's age. They get sick all the time. I can't tell you how many times we thought something was worse than it actually was. It happened a lot, but... the kids were always fine. I'm sure Cassandra will be, too."

Cason turned to face her and Rylee gave him a smile so comforting that he almost found himself smiling. Almost. Instead, he found himself choking on another sob.

They both seemed to hesitate for a moment. Then, as if they'd made a telepathic decision, they moved closer and Rylee wrapped her arms around him at the same time he rested his head against her shoulder, no longer caring if she knew he was crying. And that's where they stayed - in this confused huddle of somewhere between comfort and dislike. For a flicker of a second, Rylee thought she should be regretting this - sitting in the rain instead of sleeping so she could do good on her exams - but then she realized she couldn't. This was exactly where she needed to be.

A strange feeling overcame Cason. He'd never been this close to a girl without it being... physical, and yet, he wasn't put off by the fact that it wasn't this time. It surprisingly didn't feel awkward to be held by a girl that had repeatedly turned him down. He was certain she would smack him at any moment... but that moment never came. No, he was simply being comforted, and he couldn't bring himself to move away from her and the sweet smell of flowers and rain -

"Ugh, I'm sorry," Cason laughed as he sat up. "I can't believe I... Wow. I really didn't mean to - "

"It's fine," Rylee replied. She wrapped her arms around her body for the warmth she needed now that Cason had shifted away again.

"Damn it! I'm really sorry!"

"What?" she asked in surprise as he stood up and began taking off his jacket.

"I made you sit out here in the pouring rain in that."

It took only a moment for Rylee to figure out that he was referring to the fact she wasn't wearing a jacket, and was in only a white shirt. She felt her face warm and gratefully accepted the jacket when Cason handed it to her.

"Thanks..." she said quietly.

"It probably won't do much for warmth now, but at least it covers... you."

She flushed again, pulling the jacket around her tightly. It was pretty soaked itself, but it still held the warmth from Cason's body... and it smelled like him.

"God, I really am sorry I made you - "

"You didn't make me do anything," she smiled as she stepped down to join him on the ground. "I voluntee - AH!"

The second her foot touched the slick grass at the bottom of the stairs, Rylee knew she was going to fall. She subconsciously braced herself to hit the ground... but instead found herself held up by one arm around her waist.

"Whoa, you okay?" Cason asked as he pulled her back to her feet.

"Yeah, I'm..."

They were close. They were very close. So close that Rylee could feel the warmth of his breath on her face. So close that Cason realized her eyes were dazzlingly green. Why didn't she pull away? Why didn't he pull her closer?

After another silent decision, Cason released her and they backed away, laughing awkwardly.

"Well, um... thanks," he mumbled.

Rylee smiled and shrugged. He half returned the smile and then started to leave. "Wait!" she cried out. "Don't you want your jacket?"

"Nah. Just give it to me later."

"Oh." Again, he turned to leave, but she just couldn't let him go. "Wait!"

He turned around looking amused. "What?"

"I don't understand," she said, placing her hands on her hips. "You've asked me out at least a dozen times, and every time I've said no. Then tonight, you notice that my shirt is see through, but stay tactful and loan me your jacket, and you catch me to keep me from falling, ending with the perfect opportunity for you to kiss me... and you don't. Why?"

Cason scoffed, but smiled. "I'm not completely inconsiderate, you know. There's more to me than just being a... 'man-whore' I think is the term you girls use for it."

Rylee smiled. "Then why don't you ever show people that?"

Cason raised his eyebrows and grinned. "I just did."

And with that, he left, leaving Rylee standing in the rain, completely debating everything she thought she knew about Cason, while he was silently debating the same things to himself.


"Cason!"

"Cassie!" Cason replied, going down on one knee to hug the little girl as she raced into his arms.

She laughed hysterically as he stood up and swung her around in a circle. "I missed you!"

"I missed you more," he laughed.

"Did you know I had to go see the doctors?"

"Yeah, I did," he smiled. "And I'm so glad you're better now!"

"Me too! It was boring there!"

Rylee stood off to the side and watched Cason hug his mom and dad before picking up Cassandra again. She smiled, then turned to leave.

"Wait!"

Rylee turned to see Cason racing down the hall after her. "What?"

"Uh..." he began, clearly having not planned what to say next. "Where's your family?"

"Oh... they live too far away to come for these parent visitation day things. I'll see them at Christmas."

"Oh. Okay."

She turned to leave, but he stopped her again. "Wait!"

"Yes?" she laughed.

"I, um, thanks."

"For what?" she smiled.

"For... that night. You were right. She's okay."

"I'm glad."

He laughed and shoved his hands into his pockets. "I'm still pretty embarrassed about... you know, breaking down like that."

"Don't be," she giggled. "I don't think any less of you because of that."

"Well that's not saying much. You didn't think much of me to begin with," he chuckled.

"I think more of you than you think I think."

Cason blinked at the coy tone in her voice. His body seemed to make the decision before his mine could argue, and before he knew it, he was leaning closer, and then they were kissing. It was so many things - shocking, soft, daring, different - and they both realized it. They quickly pulled away before it turned into anything more confusing.

Rylee smiled, then turned and began to walk away again.

"Wait!" Cason called.

"What?" she laughed at him.

"I don't get it," he said, crossing his arms. "You turn me down at least a dozen times, then you comforted me when I was crying, and then you let me kiss you. Why?"

Rylee smirked. "There's more to be than just being rude to you, you know. I can be nice if I want."

"Then why don't you ever do that?"

"I just did."

They laughed at the repetition just as Cassandra came hurdling down the hall to them.

"Hey, mommy wants - " she stopped at the sight of Rylee. "Who are you?" she demanded.

Cason ruffled the little girls hair. "That was kind of rude."

"Sorry," she apologized. "What's your name?"

Rylee giggled. "I'm Rylee."

"Oh. I'm Cassandra. Cassandra Eleanor Reed." Cassie turned to her brother and 'whispered', "Is she your girlfriend?"

Both of the teens flushed and tried to stammer out an explanation before Cason finally came up with one. "If I tell you, will you keep it a secret?"

"Yes!" the little girl said enthusiastically.

"Okay." Cason bent down and whispered something in her ear.

Cassie glanced up at Rylee, then back to Cason, then nodded. "Well in that case, you can call me Cassie, too!"

"You won't tell, right? Not even mom and dad?" Cason verified.

"Nuh-uh," she shook her head, then mimicked zipping her lips and throwing away the key before skipping back to Cason's parents.

"What did you tell her?" Rylee asked amusedly.

Cason smirked. "It's a secret."

Rylee playfully punched him.

"Ow! Hey, you hit pretty hard for a girl!"

She gasped. "Excuse me! What is that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what it sounds like!"

"This is precisely the reason we can never date. You are so sexist."

"Okay, first of all, who said I wanted to date you? And second of all, it's a known fact that girls don't hit as hard as guys! That's genetics!"

"Oh, whatever!"


"...and then I think that argument lasted for about the next year."

Jim laughed. "Yeah that sounds about right."

Tabitha observed the couple in question. "Do you think he really likes her?"

"Well," he began thoughtfully. "Comparing this relationship to all of Cason's others, yeah. He's been going after her for more than a year. He's never anywhere near that hard with anyone else."

"I hope you're right, because Rylee really does like him," she said worriedly. "Whether she'll admit it or not."

Jim and Tabitha watched as a smirking Cason pulled a giggling Rylee outdoors before they turned to face each other.

"Well, I guess they're getting something out of it," Tabitha grinned.

Jim laughed and quickly kissed her. "Come on! I want to dance with you some more!"


I hope you enjoyed this! I originally planned for it to be focused more on them as a couple now, but I couldn't think of anything really creative, and I'm doing that later with Landon & Isabelle, so I did this instead.

If you're wondering why Cassie didn't appear in the last chapter of 'Fearless' when everyone's family is at the Benbow, it was because she hadn't been created yet, so... we'll just say she was at her grandmothers house. :P

The chapter title comes from a shirt I got from American Eagle. xD

Not sure when the next chapter will be up, but hopefully it won't be long!

Thanks!

-Emily

+Responses to Reviews+

anon: Thank you!

NeverTooLate03: I will be writing that chapter... er, soon. Eventually. Sometime before I die. xD Thanks!

MistressTaco: Thanks! :)

23jk: Glad you liked it :)

ADangerousPastime: No problem! I hope you liked this chapter as well! And thanks again for the sketches :D

EventHorizon6: No problem! Haha I totally understand. I'm exactly the same way. Glad you like it!

Kristy: Well, according to Urban Dictionary, it's called a lemon because 'the term is actually derived from a hentai anime in 1984, "Cream Lemon", which told a story about a girl called Ami and her relationships. Since then "Lemon" has been used to refer to all sexually-oriented fanworks, in particular fan-fiction.' Good question! I wondered the same thing myself.