CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

A/N (yes, I love talking about myself) - why am I late? Because Report Card day was approaching, and I was so scared, I wasn't able to write out of nervousness. My marks have come out now, and they were, um, better than expected - decent enough 80 percent. Now I'm in the tenth standard! Yay! Actually, no, NOOOO!

I do like this story and all, but why won't it end? Oh, and you can check out my updated profile if you want.

This chapter was difficult to write, it isn't funny, its just really weird, and an attempt to end a till forever stretching story, which I cannot afford. It may have mistakes, do tell me if you find any. Thanks in advance.

Days passed faster than they ever had, as Caius and everyone else realized how short time was.

New classrooms were built, and because of Antony's huge fuss, the characters of "Julius Caesar" and "Antony and Cleopatra" had to be kept in the same classroom. Most of the teacher's were the biology teacher, the illusion, in different types of colourful wigs.

'You know,' said the fairy god-mom one day, interrupting Caius while he was completing his Math homework, 'you should maintain a diary.'

'What?' Caius looked shocked, 'I can't cope with all this stupid coursework, and here you are, suggesting a dairy!'

'I think it's a good idea,' said the fairy, 'helps you keep in touch with your feelings.'

'About Bru you mean?' Caius looked up from his homework, 'and about Robo Dude.'

'ROBO DUDE?'

'I was joking,' said Caius, getting back to his homework. Hmm…what was two plus two?

'Yes,' said the fairy, 'this way you won't always be bursting with emotion, as you are now. Look at the state of you, Brutus this, Brutus that, Brutus blah blah blah.'

'I do not talk about him like that!' said Caius, shocked 'and I do not like him!'

'You cannot lie to me,' said the fairy.

'The exams are coming,' said Caius, quoting his chemistry teacher, and tying to change the topic of conversation. The first term examination was two months away.

'Two months is not that far away, now take my suggestion, and make a diary. I say it for your own good.'

'Right, fine,' what was the point in arguing anyway? A diary couldn't do him any harm, and writing was fun!

'Two plus two is four, by the way.'

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Later

Two months came and went.

Caius bit his pencil and pondered over the last question of the last exam of that term.

"Q. 6987. If a man has two apples, and he buys two more, how many apples does he finally have?"

Caius scratched his head. What was two plus two again? He knew the answer…why couldn't he remember it?

This, Cassius, think, he told himself, wishing the answer would come to him. He could see Brutus steadily counting on his fingers on the seat before his.

Caius shrugged and quickly scribbled a "five" onto his answer sheet. He looked carefully at it, shrugged again, carefully crossed the "five" out with a "ten-thousand-four-hundred-and-twenty-two" and moved on to the next question.

Then the bell rang.

The exam finally ended, and there was to be a party at Caius' home sweet home.

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Half an hour later

Balloons flew all over Caius' flat, green, yellow, red, blue, and purple. Caius, Brutus, Portia, and Casca helped themselves to chocolate cookies made by the fairy godmother.

Brutus suddenly burst out, 'I kinda need the washroom.'

The fairy showed him the way. Caius noticed her eyes gleaming in an evil way. A very very evil way. After she had led him and was back, she walked into the kitchen, with a slight smile on her ecstatic face. Caius followed her.

'What did you do?' he asked suspiciously.

'Who me?' said the fairy, 'I led him to your bathroom, because he needed it.'

'I sense something bad will happen,' said Caius, 'and that you are partially responsible.'

'Not me, sweetheart,' said the fairy, trying to smile sympathetically, but letting out a shrill giggle instead, 'you're the one who left your diary on the bed, wide open, free for everyone to see.'

'OH SHIT!' as he said the words Caius could hear Brutus' scream ringing in his ears.

'Oh no,' breathed Caius, 'oh no…no…no.'

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Caius ran to the room, quickly telling Portia that it was a fake spider in the bathroom that was the cause of Brutus' screaming.

'Yeah, he's terrified of spiders,' Portia had said.

Caius opened the room and burst through the door, 'YOU…DIDN'T….READ????'

Brutus' face was white and panic stricken. 'What? I didn't mean to sorry…I shouldn't have read…it was open, I was curious, so I thought-,' he stopped, pausing, wondering what to say.

'What did you read?' Caius said. Like it mattered, there wasn't a line in that diary which did not talk about Brutus. There might've been one line, which mentioned Robo Dude, but Caius highly doubted that that was the line that Brutus had read for some reason.

'Is this true?' Brutus asked.

Caius didn't say anything, and his silence was answer enough to Brutus' question.

'You didn't tell me,' said Brutus.

'How could I?' Caius asked, 'you wouldn't understand.'

'But, Cassius,' Brutus cried, 'I never – thought - you would - feel so - deeply-,' his words were placed after short pauses, his brain didn't seem to be working, his breathing was out of control, and sweat fell, drop by drop, from of his forehead.

'I'm sorry, alright!' Caius cried. How could his godmother have let this happen? Did she not have any morals at all? Why was she out to get him? He hadn't done anything to her, and she had tricked him into maintaining a journal to record his feelings about Brutus, knowing that Brutus would read those very feelings one day, and then he wouldn't be able to lie about them anymore. If she thought that that would bring them together, she was so wrong. How could she forget that Portia was his best friend? How could she be so careless? She could have easily hid Caius' diary while Brutus was doing whatever he had to in the bathroom, and he never would have read it. But no, she had to let him read it, and then insist that it was Caius' fault, because he had left his diary there. He thought that she had decided to turn into a good person, but she hadn't…she had shown her true colours, she would do anything to expose his feelings. He shouldn't have trusted her with anything, he should have known.

'There's nothing to be sorry for,' said Brutus, still in a state of shock, with eyes wide open, staring deeply into Caius', unable to think of anything, 'its not your fault, you're only being honest, oh, Cassius, Cassius, I don't know , I can't understand, how, why you felt like this…since when?'

'Ever since time,' whispered Caius.

'Don't, Cassius,' said Brutus.

'I'm sorry.'

'I-Cassius,' Brutus hung his head, 'I don't know what to say - Cassius, I don't.'

'Brutus, you-,'

'How did I not realize?' Brutus said, his eyes were starting to redden now, 'you showed it, you made it so obvious.'

'I didn't mean to,'

'Cassius,' said Brutus, now taking in deep breaths to calm himself down, 'your words, Cassius, you always, you always hinted, that you -,'

'Brutus, please, please, please,' Caius said, 'just try to forget everything you read…it doesn't mean anything.'

'Doesn't mean anything?' Brutus cried, 'look it this? It's the most passionate thing I've ever read! And for me, me…Cassius.'

'Its for you,' said Caius, 'but that doesn't matter, I can live through a crush, you, Bru, you're married, to Portia, and she's great.'

'I suppose so,' said Brutus, 'but I can't believe that you could, that you would, write this, for me of all people. For me, I mean…'

He stopped, lost for words. His eyes pleaded with Caius' to say something, to complete his unfinished sentence, to provide meaning to his meaningless life.

'Brutus, don't think about it, there's no point. Nothing will come out of it, nothing.'

Brutus didn't reply. He left the room, Caius stared behind him.

Brutus' POV

I cannot believe Cassius had feelings this strong. The diary entry had been like -

"Dear diary,

Today Brutus looked so good. Not that he ever doesn't look good, but this time he looked particularly more handsome than his usual self. It was so difficult to not blush while he smiled a "hi" at me. His dark hair and eyes, like I have so many times told you, perfectly match his features and his personality.

If he knew what all was going on inside my head while I was looking at him, he would freak out and run away. Don't get me wrong, no bad thoughts were in my head, just really long, stupid sounding passionate speeches. They made me feel like an idiot. Speeches always do.

If Brutus knew what he meant to me…-,"

I can't even bear to think of the rest of it, because, gosh, it was scary. I didn't know anyone could write like that, I mean, like, wow.

I tell myself to not think about it, but that's only asking for the impossible. After reading all that, I doubt anything will ever be the same, me and Cassius will never be able to face each other again…so that's why he wasn't talking to me, because of his stupid feelings. And he probably started to talk again because he had managed to control them by writing them down. I should have known, he always listened to me, and never to me, not once, has he even said, "No." I thought it was because he simply respected me and my decisions, but it's not because of only that, its because he simply doesn't have the strength to refuse me…or so his diary said. I don't know what I'll tell Portia, maybe its better I shut up; I don't want an end to Portia's and Cassius' friendship.

I walk out the door, looking miserable (obviously). Portia is on Cassius' computer.

'What are you doing?' I ask, trying to sound casual.

It doesn't work, because Portia notices my cracked voice and says, 'something wrong?'

'No, just the-,'

'Spider,' Cassius quickly says, coming out of the room. He's biting his lower lip, and its good Portia's eyes are on the computer, because it can clearly be seen that he is lying.

'Really, Mark,' says Portia, 'they won't eat you, you know.'

'Yeah,' I say, 'what are you doing?'

'It's for a school project,' she says, 'I'm researching my family history.'

'Family history?' I repeat, 'like, mommy, daddy?'

'And my family tree…oh, Mark, you're in it!'

Cassius is running into the kitchen now, and he's yelling at his godmother…

'I'm in it?' I repeat.

Cassius' screams can be heard. I hope I haven't caused too much harm by reading that diary. Portia seems to be deaf to his screams; she isn't that good a listener.

'Yes, you're like…um, my cousin?'

'We're related?'

'Brutus, you're like, my brother, how come you never told me?'

'I'm your cousin, not your brother.' Cassius is yelling the word "Why?" repeatedly now.

'Cousins are brothers in a way,' says Portia, apparently more shocked than I am at this piece of information.

'Mark,' she says, 'this means…that if we have children, they'll end up like the Gaunts.'

'Gaunts?'

'They were a family, and they were CRAZY, they married their cousins to preserve blood purity…and their descendants were, um, well, their eyes stared in opposite directions. (A/N - OMG! I just had another brainwave on why Portia and Brutus will break up, and its not ONLY because they are cousins. Why didn't I think of it before? I hope these notes in the middle of nowhere aren't too irritating.) I also think they were, slightly, I dunno, retarded.'

'Yeah, but that won't happen to us?'

'I sure hope not.'

A/N – Short? I know, I wasn't in a mood to write, plus, I cannot figure out how to end this and stuff? This is getting difficult. Anyway, people, review.