Part 5
The next day,
Cassie had returned to her small apartment near the military base, and was still thinking about the day before. It had definitely been eventful. She had traveled to Outworld for the first time, met the Emperor, pissed off the Emperor, been kidnapped, and, oh yeah, saved the world just as her father had once done. She had met some interesting individuals, and now, again, one in particular came to mind, Erron Black. She wondered if she would ever see him again. She hadn't told anyone about what went on between them, not Jacqui, and definitely not her parents. She stood up and stretched. She was somewhat sore from all of the fighting she and her team had done the day before, and she thought that maybe a warm shower would help. She showered and threw on a tank top and shorts and walked out into the living room to see someone standing there. At first, she was alarmed at first, but, she calmed somewhat when she realized who it was. She was still slightly unnerved as she wasn't sure how he had gotten in because she knew she had locked the front door. She always did.
"Erron. What are you doing here?" Cassie asked. She was as surprised to see him as she was happy. How did he even know where she lived? And how did he get in?
"You tell me, Cassie." he said.
"How should I know? How did you get in?" Cassie asked as she approached him.
"I have my ways." he said. Cassie would have inquired further, but, at that point she didn't really care anymore. She was just glad that he was okay and glad that he was there. She placed her hand on his muscular arm and smiled at him. He wanted to tell her how relieved he was that she was okay, but he just couldn't find the words. He wasn't very good at this. He had never done anything like this before. And he had never been very talkative to begin with.
"I... I'm glad to see you." she said.
"Me too." he said. Cassie knew what Erron was trying to say for he wasn't the expressive type, but this made her so happy. He cared, even if he had trouble saying it. She reached up and took his mask off of his face. She wanted to see his face again, his whole face. He placed his large hand on her hip, and they stared at each other for a moment before he leaned in and kissed her. After they broke the kiss, they heard someone outside the front door. They instinctively backed away from each other just as the door opened and in walked Jacqui Briggs, who was Cassie's roommate. Jacqui took one look and prepared to attack Erron.
"What the hell is this?" she asked.
"Jacqui, wait. It's okay.." Cassie said, walking up to her in an attempt to stop her best friend from killing her new boyfriend, "Let me explain." Though she was surprised by her friend's actions, she didn't miss a beat.
"Cassie, what the hell is he doing here?" she asked.
"Look, if I wanted to kill Cassie, I'd have done it by now." Erron said.
"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Jacqui said.
"Erron. Not helping." Cassie said, "Jacqui, Erron is here because we..." She was unsure of how she should say it. Jacqui knew her friend well enough to know what she was saying, the look on Cassie's face, the tone of her voice, all pointed to one conclusion, however crazy it may seem. Jacqui looked at Cassie, then at Erron, then back again, her brown eyes wide with shock.
"Oh my god, Cassie... You mean you and him... you're... what, lovers?" she said, still in disbelief. She was hoping that she was wrong and that Cassie would tell her a different story completely. But, that didn't happen. Cassie nodded.
"Yeah." she said, "That's right."
"Cassie..." Jacqui said, looking her friend in the eyes. She was unsure how she felt at that moment. She wanted her friend to be happy, but she really disliked Erron Black. She knew that Cassie was stubborn and that there was no changing her mind. Besides, who was she to tell Cassie who she could and couldn't have as a boyfriend, no matter how much of a jerk they may be. She didn't have to like him. She just had to tolerate him, for Cassie. If this was Cassie's decision, it was Jacqui's job as her friend to support her.
"If that's what makes you happy." Jacqui said, relaxing a bit as she smiled at her friend.
"What? That's it?" Cassie said. She knew that Jacqui's didn't like Erron Black, so she couldn't possibly like this situation. So, why was she not raising more of a fuss?
"Cassie, I'm your friend, not your mother. I may not like him, but, if you're happy, I'm happy for you." Jacqui said. Cassie smiled.
"Thanks, Jacqui." Cassie said. Jacqui looked at Erron.
"Just so we're clear where we stand, though, I really don't like you." she said.
"I really don't care. I'm here for Cassie, not you." Erron said. Somehow, this made Jacqui feel slightly better. At least he was up front about where he stood, not sneaky or two-faced. And, it seemed that maybe he really did care about Cassie.
"Fair enough." Jacqui said, "Cassie, do your parents know about this?"
"No. And you can't tell them." Cassie said, "At least, not yet. I'm going to tell them. I just have to figure out how. Until then, you have to promise not to tell them."
"Alright, Cassie. I won't." Jacqui said. Jacqui knew that Cassie's parents wouldn't react well, so she didn't blame her for preparing herself before telling them. She knew that Cassie would tell them when she was ready.
"Well, I'll leave you two alone." Jacqui said, "Yeah, I just remembered I'm supposed to meet Takeda for breakfast. See ya."
"Bye, Jacqui." Cassie said as she watched Jacqui leave.
"I should go, too. The Kahn doesn't know I'm gone. He'll probably be looking for me soon." Erron said. He knew Kotal Kahn would get suspicious if he couldn't find him for any length of time. But, Erron had to go there. He had to see Cassie even if only for a short time.
"Okay." Cassie said. She didn't want him to leave, but she didn't want him to be the recipient of Kotal Kahn's wrath. He suddenly wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close against him and kissed her again.
"I'll stay longer next time." he said after they broke the kiss. With that, he left. Cassie sighed and sat down on the couch. Now, all that was left was to find a way to tell her parents.
()I just had to use the dialogue from the game in one of the versus matches where Jacqui says to Erron Black, "I really don't like you." and he says, "I really don't care." I like that piece of dialogue so much, and I thought it would be a good nod to the game.
