Cassandra isn't really a sleeping-in kind of person, so Saturday morning she's up bright and early. The house is already pretty much spotless, but she's had a bunch of nervous energy ever since her dad had said the words 'town barbecue' the other night. Because, really? A town barbecue? She can't even wrap her head around the idea that someone is able to cook enough food for an entire town. She honestly kind of wants to skip it, but her dad was all 'It'll be good community building' and her mom continued with the 'we came here for a fresh start, so we need to make an appearance as a family', which was her way of saying she didn't want to go either, but they need to keep up their appearance as the Perfect Family. So, instead of arguing, Cassandra works.
She finished her homework for the weekend at 4 am last night, so there's not a lot left to do. She has her outfit for the barbecue set out on her bed, and she's basically cleaned the entire house and is just on a second sweep when her dad comes down the stairs.
"Hey, sweetie." He says, rubbing an eye. "You think you could keep it down? It's a Saturday morning, for christ's sake."
"Sorry." Cassandra finishes putting the windex away and wipes her hands off on her jeans. "I forgot to shut off my alarm."
She hadn't, but it's better than admitting that she's nervous. She pulls the hard-boiled eggs out of the pot of water on the stove. "Want some breakfast?"
"Okay." Jimmy's saying as they all walk together to the barbecue. "So we stay for half an hour, show everyone what sweet kids we are - and then the plan goes into action. Everyone clear on what they're gonna do?"
There's a chorus of yeahs from around the group.
"Listen, guys -" Jake starts, but Brian cuts him off.
"You've had your chance to back out. You all have - but you stayed. So when we do this, we do it together."
The responses are all with various degrees of enthusiasm, but they all agree.
"Okay." Brian says crisply, looking at his watch. "We meet up at 6:15."
And then they scatter.
It's around ten minutes before Jake spots Cassandra. She's standing with a well-dressed and slightly disdainful looking couple who Jake assumes are her parents. She's looking around, biting her lip, and when she sees him her eyes light up and she beelines straight for him.
"Hey." She says breathlessly once she reaches him.
"Hey." He echoes. It's going to be fine it's going to be fine it's going to be fine.
"The entire town really does come out to these things, huh?"
"Yep. And this is the quiet bit - give it an hour and Jimmy'll have somethin' on fire, half the old uncles will be tanked, and Aunt Mabel over there'll be screeching her head off about her posies."
Cassandra smiles. "It sounds wonderful."
(It's going to be fine.)
"Yeah." He forces a grin, but he isn't sure how it comes out. "They're pretty great."
There's a long, awkward silence. "So," he asks finally, "are those your parents?"
Cassandra turns to look at the couple who are now mingling with the crowd. "Yes." She says, and there's a tightness to her voice.
"What do they do, anyway?" He asks, genuinely curious this time.
"Oh, they're botanists." Cassandra says, like it's the most normal thing in the world. "They normally work in a lab in New York, but some bigwig discovered these flowers growing out here that are native to Somalia and haven't been seen at all in North America, so they decided to move out here to study them."
"So it's a temporary move, then?" Jake notes with annoyance that he sounds a little bit disappointed. Don't be stupid, he tells himself.
Cassandra shrugs. "We'll probably be here until next summer - at least, that's what my parents said. You never really know with these things."
Jake nods like he understands, but he doesn't - not really. His family's lived in this town for generations, and he's never gone further away from it than a tank of gas will take him.
He sees Jimmy waving at him, and glances down at his watch. 6:15.
"I have to go check on something for a minute." He says hurriedly, trying his best to ignore how Cassandra's face falls. "I'll see you."
"Yep." He hears her say quietly as he jogs over to Jimmy.
"Okay, man. Everything's in place - we're meeting over in the trees."
"Sure." Jake says.
"Becky's already started." Jimmy continues, and the way every time he talks about this he gets an excited look on his face is making Jake sick to his stomach. Becky isn't part of the gang per se, but she's always eager to get on their good side, so she all but volunteered to lure Cassandra away.
"Okay." Jake says with forced determination. "Let's do this."
"And so I was like, that's so weird, right? Like, he must be some sort of freak!"
Cassandra smiles politely. After Jake left, she'd wandered around until she'd been barraged by the ball of neon standing in front of her - Betty? Becky? - and she's been trying to come up with a good excuse to leave for the past five minutes.
"Oh - here we go!" The girl giggles and gestures for Cassandra to follow her as she dashes toward the woods.
"I actually -"
"Come on, this is the best part." She pouts. "All the seniors get to have a campfire while the adults barbecue!"
Cassandra hesitates. "I guess maybe -"
"Great!" Betty/Becky latches onto her arm and drags her towards the forest.
It's significantly darker under the closely woven trees, and Cassandra struggles to keep up with the other girl. She stumbles over a bundle of branches, and when she looks up, the girl is gone.
"Hello?" She calls out, but there isn't any answer. Okay, this is as good an excuse as ever. She can turn around, and if Betty/Becky asks later, she can just say she got lost and couldn't find it -
Her train of thought is cut off as something grabs her from behind.
She lets out a shriek, and then her head is being forced into some sort of bag - a pillowcase, maybe? - and she's kicking and elbowing but there are more hands now, and something covering her mouth, and the feeling of rope being wrapped around her ankles. She can feel herself being moved - and that's when she freaks the hell out. Her thrashing becomes more desperate, and when she lashes out she hears a small gasp from someone. She kicks out with renewed vigour - she wasn't forced into all of those krav maga classes for nothing - and then she's falling, crashing into the ground in a bundle of knees and elbows and slamming pain. The wind gets knocked out of her, and for the next few moments her thoughts are just breathe breathe breathe breathe breathe. And then she makes it to her knees and pulls of the pillowcase and keeps lashing out until she has enough air to scream - and then she does, loud and piercing and long.
"For christ's sake, shut up!" A voice comes from above her, and when the world stops spinning she sees that it's one of the guys Lamia had introduced her to - Brian. And beside him are two other guys, and . . .
Her brain recognizes it before she does. She tastes apples, and then she realizes who she's looking at.
Jake.
She ignores the stutter of her heartbeat as she pushes herself to her feet. When she speaks, her voice is low and trembling.
"What. The. Hell."
"Relax, freak show." One of the other guys - Jimmy, if she remembers correctly - says uncomfortably. "It was just supposed to be a prank."
"A prank?" Cassandra can hear her voice getting loud - much louder than it ever gets. Too loud. "You kidnapped me. You tried to tie me up! And then what were you going to do?"
It's the one with an accent who speaks up this time. "We were just going to tie you up and leave you for a couple hours."
"Oh, is that all?" Cassandra bites off. Jake is still staring determinedly at the ground. Well, fine. Fine. She shakes the rope off her ankles, stumbles to her feet, and starts walking. She has no idea where she's going, but it doesn't matter. Just as long as it isn't here.
She's twenty feet away and wiping at hot tears with the backs of her hands when Jake catches up with her.
"Cassandra, I -"
"Stop." She cuts him off viciously. "Just - stop. I don't want to hear it."
He doesn't say anything, but he doesn't leave either.
"Did you ever think," she says finally, "that maybe if you didn't want to be friends, you could just tell me?"
"That's not -" he hesitates. "I swear, I didn't want to do this."
"Then why did you?" Cassandra's voice is rising again, and she laces her fingers together and focuses on her breathing, instead of the flashes of orange flickering in her vision. "Did they hold a gun to your head? Because I really don't think they made you do anything, Jake."
He doesn't speak for a couple of seconds, and then when he does it's halting. "There was a kid, who moved here a couple years back. Eddie. Brian -" He swallows. "Brian thought it would be fun to amp up the Initiation a bit - that's what we call it, pulling pranks on the new kids."
Cassandra keeps walking, but she listens.
"So anyway, we planned it out - we were going to take Eddie out to this rickety old bridge across a river outside of town, and make him climb across it. He was a real eager-to-please guy, and we told him that if he did it, he'd be a part of our group."
He stops, this time for long enough that Cassandra looks up at him. He's glaring down at the ground, but she can still see the way he's biting the inside of his cheek. "And then?" She prompts, her voice less harsh than it had been.
"He did it." Jake swallows. "But when he was just about to reach the other edge, he - he fell. The water below was really shallow - we thought he was going to die."
"But he didn't?"
"No. But he was in the hospital for weeks, and when he came out he was paraplegic. Doctor said he'll never walk again."
Cassandra lets it sink in. "So what does that have to do with me?"
Jake looks up, finally. "I needed to be there." He says, like it's obvious. "To make sure they didn't do anything like that to you."
Cassandra keeps walking in silence for a few moments. "Okay." She finally says, and Jake's head snaps up.
"Really? That's it?" He asks incredulously.
Cassandra nods. "Just - no more secrets that involve me, okay?" She asks, and Jake's eyes light up.
"Deal." He agrees. "Although, now that I've said that -"
"Oh, no." Cassandra moans, unsure of what to expect.
Jake grins and turns her so she's facing what was previously her right. "The barbecue's that way."
When they reach the barbecue, Jake's still reeling from everything - and if he's feeling this way, he can't even imagine how Cassandra's doing. She hadn't said anything the rest of the walk back, just fiddled with her hands and studied the way bits of light fell onto the leaves, and he hadn't forced her to.
"Want somethin' to eat?" He asks, and she jerks up, almost like she'd forgotten he was there.
"Oh, um - I'm actually vegetarian." She says with a slight flush in her cheeks. "You go ahead, though -"
"No way." Jake replies. "There's this little milkshake spot down the street; the owner's this lady, Ms. Olvera - absolutely hates town barbecues, so it's always the only place open during these things."
"Really?" Cassandra asks, her eyes lighting up. "You wouldn't mind?"
He can't help his laugh, ducking his head and disguising it as a cough just in time. "'Course not." He says, and the way she smiles and rolls onto her tiptoes makes his stomach flip over. Get it together, he tells himself.
(Like that would ever work.)
"Okay," he says after a minute of silence. "Truth."
Cassandra looks over at him in confusion. "Sorry?"
"You know, the game?" He says, but when she still looks confused he elaborates. "It's like truth or dare - except without the dare bit. You have to be honest, and if you pass on a question, then you get to ask me one, and if I answer it, then I win. Make sense?"
"Is this what guys do at slumber parties?" Cassandra asks, and Jake shoots her a look. "What?" She asks innocently, with a hint of a grin. "It's just - I always thought that was more of a girl thing."
"Yeah, yeah." He mutters.
"Okay, you go first." Cassandra says, skipping forward. He tries to hide his smile - she's like a giant ball of excitement.
"Favorite book." He says instantly, and her brow furrows.
"That's literally the worst question to start with."
"Does that mean you're backing out?"
"No way!" She replies instantly. "I just - I need a minute." Her walking slows to a normal pace as she thinks. "Okay - The Outsiders."
"Really?" Jake asks, because he'd expected it either to be a cutesy romance novel, or some long book on mathematics.
"Really." She replies adamantly. "It's so real, you know? That conversation where Cherry and Ponyboy talk about the sunsets - that always made a lot of sense to me. Things are rough all over. Besides," she adds as an afterthought, before he can think too much about what she said, "I always kind of thought I would grow up to be Cherry, because I had red hair and was completely in love with Dally."
Jake laughs at that. "Alright, your turn."
She thinks for a minute. "How do you actually feel about living here?"
Ouch. Jake takes a second to form his answer. "I love my family, and my friends." He says cautiously.
"But?" Cassandra inquires softly. He shrugs, looks at his feet.
"It's like - sometimes, it's like I need to get out, y'know? Like this place is - is suffocating me. But it's also like the longer I stay here, the harder it is to think about leaving."
"That sucks." She says in a quiet voice.
"Yeah, well." He replies. "It is what it is."
He doesn't get a chance to ask the next question, because then they're at The Little Milkshake & Burger Shoppe.
"Do they just add the extra 'pe' on the end to make it look fancy?" Cassandra asks, squinting her eyes at the sign.
"It's the middle english spelling." He says, then - "But basically, yeah."
They step inside, and he watches as Cassandra's jaw drops. She takes a few cautious steps, like it might break apart at any second.
The store is modelled like a 50s soda shop, from the black and white checkered floors to the red stools and curly-lettered menu. Cassandra has the look of a child in a candy store, with wide eyes and an awestruck expression - that is, until she winces suddenly.
"What's wrong?" Jake asks instantly, taking a step towards her.
"No, no, it's fine." She says automatically. "The smell was just really strong."
He waits for an explanation, but none is forthcoming. And there's nothing except the faint smell of fries cooking in the back.
"Oh, sorry." She says, when she looks over at him and sees his blank expression. "I have synesthesia - it's, um, a condition where all five -"
"- Senses are intertwined, right." Jake finishes.
"Yeah." She says, surprised. "Anyways - anything 50s smells like smoke."
"Sucks." Jake says, but she shakes her head.
"It's usually not that strong. And besides, it's not cigarette smoke, it's smoke from a campfire. Which is pretty much the greatest smell ever."
Jake shakes his head.
"What?" She demands.
"Nothin'." He replies innocently. "You're entitled to your own opinion."
"Which is the right one." She says adamantly.
"Hey, so does that mean I have some sort of smell, or taste, or something?" Jake asks curiously.
"Yep." She replies distractedly, suddenly very interested in the menu. Her cheeks are even turning a little red, though Jake can't imagine why. "You taste like apples." She immediately flushes an even darker red. "I mean, when I see you, I taste apples. Not that you -"
"I know what you meant." Jake replies, a little flushed himself for whatever reason. It's not like he's imagining what her lips would taste like, or anything -
Okay, he needs to nip that thought in the bud. And luckily, Ms. Olvera comes out of the back just at that moment.
"What can I get you two kids?" She asks dryly.
"Fries and a chocolate milkshake." Jake orders for himself, then looks over at Cassandra.
"Um, I'll get the same." She says hesitantly. "Except, strawberry for the milkshake."
"Strawberry? Really?" He teases. "Over chocolate?"
"Absolutely." She replies staunchly. "Strawberry is without a doubt the best flavour in everything." And, when he opens his mouth - "And don't say anything weird, like cheese, because chocolate doesn't taste good with that either."
Jake shuts his mouth with a grin. "Alright, alright." He acquiesces, as Ms. Olvera slides over their orders.
"Paying together or separate?" She asks, and Cassandra starts to say separate, but Jake cuts her off.
"Together." He says, pulling out his wallet. It isn't until after he's paid and Ms. Olvera's retreated to the back that he notices Cassandra looking at him strangely. He realizes, after a second of reflection, that him paying could've been construed as a date-like thing. "Think of this as an extension of my apology." He says to lift the awkwardness. Not that he would exactly hate the idea of this being a date - but, he didn't ask her. And, due to the fact that he'd been a participant in her kidnapping less than an hour earlier, he wasn't altogether certain she would've said yes.
"Okay." Cassandra says without a hint of the turmoil that's running through his head. "But this is the last time you get to apologize. After this, we're even. Got it?"
"Yes ma'am." He agrees, taking a few fries and dipping them in his milkshake.
"What are you doing?" Cassandra asks, with the voice of someone watching a child massacre. He looks up in surprise.
"Eating?"
"No, no, no." Cassandra shakes her head violently. "What you're doing is a - a disgrace to food everywhere."
"What? Dipping french fries in a milkshake?"
"Yes." She says emphatically. "You know that conversation we were having, about how cheese and chocolate don't mix?"
"It wasn't really a conversation." Jake mumbles around another handful of fries.
"Well, french fries and chocolate are another one of those combinations." Cassandra continues.
"You only say that because you've never tried it." Jake accuses, sliding his milkshake over to her. She gives him a long look.
"Jake."
"Cassandra."
"That is literally the most disgusting thing I can imagine eating."
"One bite."
"No."
"One bite, and I'll promise never to grab your hair and call you carrots, like Gilbert Blythe."
"I'd do worse to you than break a slate over your head." Then, "Fine. One bite." She takes exactly one french fry and dips it in his milkshake, before holding it tentatively between two fingers and glaring at it. "And can I state, for the record, how horrifically unsanitary this is?"
"Just eat the damn fry, Cassie."
"Yeah, yeah." She mutters, then pops it into her mouth. She winces in anticipation, but as she chews Jake can see the expression on her face change.
"Good, right?" He presses triumphantly.
Cassandra waits until she's finished chewing. "It might not be quite as bad as I thought it would be originally." She admits reluctantly. Jake grins.
"Told ya so. Okay, but let me warn you, never try it with the strawberry . . ."
They talk until the sun starts to set on the horizon and Jake realizes exactly how long they've been sitting there. He sees Cassandra glance at the clock and come to the same realization.
"I should probably be getting back." She says with a sigh.
"Walk you home?" Jake asks, sliding off the stool, and she looks over at him sharply. It's another one of those almost-date things, but he doesn't take it back.
"Sure." She replies finally, following him out of the shop. "But remember, our game of Truth is ongoing for an indeterminate length, and it's your turn to ask the question."
"Slave driver." He replies, turning down the long street lined by brilliant pink and purple redbud trees.
"Wimp."
"Sadist."
"I'll, um, see you tomorrow, then?"
"Yep."
"'Night, Jake."
"'Night, Cassie."