Cass walked outside to see Chris in the parking garage holding a confetti cannon over his shoulder. She put her hands up and said with a smile, "Alright there, officer. No need to go for the big guns."
Chris laughed excitedly and said, "It was Joseph's idea. Are you going with us the party? I promise to take you home as soon as you want to."
Cass stared into Chris' puppy dog like eyes and said wearily, "Okay, but I don't know how much I can handle. Kevin is going to be there… with his friends."
Chris didn't seem to acknowledge the last part of what she'd said and walked around to the passenger side to open the door for her. Cass put her hand on her hip and said defiantly, "And I'm not a child. My dominant hand is still working. I could drive on my own if I wanted."
"I know," Chris said looking embarrassed. "It's just when they told me you were in the hospital… Just let me do this for now. For me, not you."
Cass could feel her face flush as she complied. She knew what he was really thinking about, so she kept her mouth shut. Chris' mom and dad had gotten into a car accident and passed away four years ago. She knew that Chris blamed himself for not being there when it happened. Stupid, Cass thought irritably. He'd been in the Air Force. There was nothing wrong with that, but she knew better than to get into that.
"Claire sent me a message yesterday. She's doing well, and she'll be going on a vacation with some of her college friends before the end of the month."
"Oh," Chris said, trying to sound nonchalant, but Cass knew better. After the accident, Chris had come home to take care of Claire, but their relationship had become strained. Both of them seemed happy to have Cass as a mediator. However, Cass missed the ease of their relationship, and she wondered if there was a way to get them to talk to each other.
Deciding to wait until they were parked in a spot before she shared more details, she looked out of the window. Chris's reflection in the mirror looked her way. A little smirk grew on her face once he stopped the car.
"Oh, and her boyfriend's going too," Cass said and looked to Chris in time to see his eye twitch. "You know, you could just call each other from time to time. There's even this handy button called the speaker button, which could allow both of us to hear a conversation."
"She probably just doesn't want to talk to me."
"You two idgits want to talk to each other, but it seems stubbornness runs in your blood."
"Is that why you and I get along so well?" Chris asked with a smile.
"Don't put me at your level. I can go with the flow," Cass said stubbornly.
"Uh huh," Chris replied with a huge grin and handed her the confetti cannon from the back. "Then I want to see it. Go with the flow."
Chris got out of the car and opened the door her with that stupid grin. Rolling her eyes, she got out of the car and followed Chris to the field. Families sat on blankets in the field, waiting for the explosion of colors to grace the skies. Cass looked to Chris and realized why he'd been so adamant about driving together. His family had taken her to see the fireworks almost every year before Cass' family had moved away. Going alone would have been hard.
"Oh, you did come!" Kevin appeared on Cass' right. "And you brought something fun! That's surprising!"
Cass glared at him before realizing how far away Chris had gotten. With as much indifference as she could muster, she said, "Good to see you. Bye."
She walked faster to catch up to Chris. Footsteps behind her told her that Kevin was still behind her, and she quickly turned around, catching him by surprise.
"What do you want? You already think I'm a jerk or a prude, so why not just leave me alone?" she asked irritably. "You don't need to talk to me, and I don't understand why you'd even want to."
"I don't think you're a jerk," Kevin replied and brushed his hair away from his eyes, and Cass raised an eyebrow in response. "You can be… cagey, but I don't think you're as bad as everyone says."
"'As everyone says'?" she asked with narrowed eyes.
"A joke," Kevin explained with a sigh. "I just want to—"
An arm gently wrapped around her, and Chris spoke up, "Joseph is holding our spot."
"Oh, thanks, Chris," Cass said, relieved by his appearance.
"Hey, Kevin. Nice seeing you," Chris said in a friendly tone, but his eyes said something entirely different.
"Nice seeing you," Kevin said with a friendly smile before walking off to find his friends. Cass noted irritably that Kevin didn't seem even remotely fazed by Chris, just a little disappointed. She briefly wondered what he was trying to do, but she then decided that it didn't matter.
"Sorry about that," Chris muttered and moved his arm away.
"For what? You came to my rescue as usual," Cass said and pat his back with a smile. "The white knight. Always plunging headfirst into danger."
"You make it sound like a bad thing."
"It's one of your worst qualities… but I don't hate it," Cass said before gesturing. "Lead the way, Sir Redfield."
Chris' faces brightened into a smile, and he led the way. A thought occurred to Cass on the way. How many times growing up had she been led by this smiling idiot on an adventure? The only difference between then and now was that they were no longer holding hands. Her face flushed, and she looked away. Why had she thought about that? They weren't kids anymore. She looked back to where they were going to see Joseph waiting in a spot under the cover of a few trees. Not enough to block the sky but enough to serve as a back support.
"Oh, there you guys are!" Joseph said with a cheerful wave. "Did you get lost?"
"I got waylaid. Everything's fine now though," Cass answered.
Joseph looked curious but seemed to rethink asking any further questions. Cass sat on the ground and leaned onto one of the trees. As Chris sat down beside her, she stared at the sky and sighed.
"Can't see the stars?" Chris asked, leaning on the same tree with his eyes closed.
"Nope. As always, the city lights are too bright."
Joseph got up and looked around excitedly. With a note of excitement in his voice, he said, "Oh, I think I see Jill! I'm going to see if she wants to join us."
As Joseph ran off into the crowd, she felt something on her shoulder. Chris had fallen asleep and was resting his head on her shoulder. Looking at him closely, she could tell he hadn't been sleeping well lately. It was a feeling she knew well. Deciding to just be his pillow for now, she continued looking up at the sky. She let her memories of a star-covered sky fill her vision, imagining where each constellation would be.
Cass and Chris had grown up in a more rustic setting. Spending nights under the stars had been a routine thing for them. She half-expected to hear Claire's voice calling for them, but those days were long gone. Cass closed her eyes and rested her head on Chris'. The noise around her faded. The calm she'd been fighting for finally enveloped her before the sound of laughter woke her up.
She opened her eyes to see Jill giving Joseph a disapproving look. He raised his arms defensively and said, "Sorry. I just got the sudden image of a cat curled up with a dog. Sorry to wake you guys up, but the show's going to start in a few minutes."
Chris lifted his head and stretched his arms before giving Cass a goofy grin. She rolled her eyes in return but couldn't keep the smile off her own face. Jill sat on the ground on the other side of Chris, offering Cass and Chris some candy. Gleefully accepting some of the goodies, Cass relaxed and waited for the show to start while Chris, Jill, and Joseph recounted the day's events for her.
The blast of a firework made her jump. She looked up to see a burst of colors fill the sky and glanced at Chris to see him also looking up at the sky with a warm smile on his face. She rested her hand on the ground and felt a hand rest on top of hers. She glanced at Chris to see him give her an embarrassed look, but she didn't pull her hand away. Turning back to the fireworks, she felt reassured by the gentle warmth on her hand.