CHAPTER 17: Fun in the Sun

Disclaimer: I don't own VM if I did then Logan and Veronica wouldn't have broken up at all along with Lilly and Cassidy would still be alive.

*Thoughts are in italics*

1 month later
_

-Dick's Point of View-
"Dude I think that this is the best idea that we have come up with in a long time." I tell Logan as we pack our last box of stuff into our new house. When Logan and I realized that we wanted to get out of our respective homes we decided to get a house together on the beach. For the time being Ronnie was going to be living with us until she and Lilly could agree on a new place or themselves. The sudden rush out of the Kane house was as a result of Duncan and Meg not wanting to move Faith again, which worked out pretty well.
Two weeks after Cassidy was admitted to the hospital I got a letter from my dad. All it said was that he was selling the house and that the three of us were on our own. Which is why we ended up getting the bigger house, at least for the next year Cassidy and Cassie would be living there to.
"Yeah it's going to be a little bit of an adjustment though don't you think?" he asked me. While the house was still in the 90909 zip it only had 6 bedrooms and 5 baths. So yeah it would be a little crammed for a while but we would manage.
"Well there is enough room for all of us." I tell him. "So we will have to learn how to take care of ourselves a little bit but we will survive. The other development since that horribly night at graduation was that Mac and I were openly dating now. Cassidy adjusted to the idea and we had a long talk about it. Mac and I were a little upset when we found out that Cassie had decided to break our news for us, but everything was worked out now.
"Hey you guys ready for company?" I hear Mac come into the house. "Or should we leave you to drag your knuckles a while longer?"
"You are not leaving me." I tell her as I sweep her up in my arms and spin her around until we land on the couch.
"So I think that in honor of our new digs we need to have a big BBQ blow out." Logan says as he wraps his arms around Veronica's waist.
"I think that's a good…" I didn't get to finish before my cell phone rang. "Hello?" I answered.
"That's great….. Yeah that can be arranged….. Okay I can do that. Thank you Doctor." I was really happy to hear the news I just received. "That was Cassidy's Doctor; he is being released tomorrow morning." I tell them as I start jumping up and down. Cassie wasn't moving into the beach house until she got back from seeing our mom in Europe but Cassidy would have to move in right away. "On that note, let's go get his stuff from the house, one of the restrictions is that he has to live with me. Let's do the BBQ tomorrow night. A celebration of Cassidy coming home and our new digs."
"Sounds like a plan Stan." Mac says. "Do you want some help backing up his stuff?" she asks me as we make our way to my truck.
"So how weird is it going to be for us to date with him around?" I ask her. We had a small discussion about it but we were both a little worried about the ramifications of our actions around him.
"At first it will be. But we have been going and hanging out with him together. I think as long as we don't go crazy PDA in front of him it will be okay." She tells me.

-Logan's Point of View-
"I will get the door. Don't worry about actually getting up." I tell my roommates as they all sit on the couch engrossed in the movie we were watching. We had been back from the Casablancas house for about an hour. We had all of Cassidy's things moved in and ready for him when he got released tomorrow.
"Hey Logan, how are you?" I was asked. I was honestly surprised to see my cousin standing in front of me. She hadn't changed much over the years. Still a tiny spit fire blond. She really reminded me a lot of Ronnie.
"Lexi? What are you doing here?" I ask her as I pull her into the house and hug her. "Do your parents know you are here?"
"Yes they do. Didn't my Dad call you?" she asks me "He was supposed to all and tell you I was coming."
"No I haven't heard from him." I tell her. I automatically see her face fall. "Don't worry though I am happy to see you. Come in there are some people that you should meet."
"Really I love the new digs Lo." She tells me as she starts to drag suit cases into the door. "Do you think you could help me?"
"Yeah. You really had to bring all of this?" I ask her
"He really didn't call did he? I am going to NHS next year." She tells me as we get her last suit case pulled in.
"Okay then follow me." I said as I put my arm around her shoulder and start to the living room. "Hey everyone there is someone I want you to meet. This is my cousin Lexi." I tell them as they start to look at her. "She is going to be living her for her senior year. For some reason she wants to go to Neptune High."
"Hi." She says as she starts to scan the room. "Did I crash a date night?" she asks me as she notices Dick and Mac cuddled together on one couch and noticed as I went to sit with V on the other chair.
"No don't worry." I tell her "we were just watching a movie after a long day of moving all of our shit in." I tell her as she looks at me like I am crazy when I realize that I hadn't introduced everyone "Oh where are my manners. This pretty little thing is my girlfriend Veronica, that is Mac attack, and her boyfriend slash your new roomie Dick." I tell her.
"Okay so where my dad sent me here without checking with you he is just going to have to except that I am going to be living with someone else other than you." She says
"Actually we have two more roommates, actually my two younger siblings, Cassidy and Cassie." Dick tells her. "Cassie will be here in a few weeks. She has been in Europe with our mom and then with Cassidy he will be moving in tomorrow."
"Oh how old are they?" she asks us.
"Actually, they will both be seniors with you next year." Veronica tells her.
"Lexi there is some stuff that we should let you know though" I tell her. I knew that it was probably too soon to let her know everything but Cassidy would be home tomorrow and she needed to know.

-Mac's Point of View-
As we sit and watch as Logan and Veronica lead his cousin toward her room I knew that she isn't prepared for everything that she found out tonight. Here she was walking into her new home only to find out that it's not going to be just her and Logan living in this place but also 3 strangers.
"What are you thinking about Mackie?" I hear Dick ask me. We had all been sitting here watching movies and it felt normal until Lexi showed.
"Just how much has changed in such a short amount of time." I tell him as I sit up and stretch. "I mean think just a little over a month ago we were in high school. I was with Cassidy and the nightmare hadn't begun." I point out.
"Are you regretting any of this Mackie?" I gave him an odd look. "I mean us. Or even though Cassidy left you in that room not being with him."
"We have already decided Dick that whiles this wasn't the perfect time for us…" I trailed off. "That it is what we both want. Right?"
"Yes, that's what I want. I am just worried about Cassidy." He tells me.
"Everything will be fine. It's getting Late I better head home before my parents start worrying too much." I tell him. "Are you going to pick me up before you go to the hospital tomorrow?" I ask.
"Yeah. The doc said I could pick him up at 9 so how about if I pick you up at 8 and we can grab some breakfast before we head to the hospital." He tells me as he walks me to the door.
"Sounds good to me." I tell him as I stand on my tip-toes and give him a soft kiss on the lips. He automatically tries to deepen the kiss out of his old habits but we had agreed to take things slow. We had both agreed that it would be for the best. "See you in the morning." With that I walked down the stairs and to my car. As difficult it had been to see Cassidy in that hospital it wasn't going to be a walk in the park when he is home and we are faced with openly dating in front of him.

-Cassidy's Point of View-
Finally after five weeks I am allowed to at least leave the hospital. I will still have to come back for outpatient sessions but I can finally start to put my life back together. Sure things are going to be awkward. I knew that Logan and Dick had purchased a house on the beach and that I wouldn't be going back to my home. I knew that I was going to be living with Dick and Logan, Cassie would be joining us in a few weeks and we would officially be one happy family. Something else I was painfully aware of was that when I left I wouldn't be going back to my girlfriend Mac. No I had accepted that Mac wasn't my girl anymore. She was dating my brother now. I knew that they were both struggling with what I had done and everything that has happened all of us, I also knew that they were comfortable with each other and that I was strong enough to be comfortable being around them and all their new found dating.
"Mr. Casablancas, your brother is here to pick you up. Are you ready to leave?" I hear the nurse ask me from the door. Am I ready to leave? You bet I am.
"Yea. Lead the way. I will be happy to get out of here." I tell her as I grab my bag and head toward the doors. When I round the corner I see that Mac had come with Dick to get me and they were standing there holding hands. I could see how happy they both were and I knew that I had accepted their relationship. When they saw me they automatically dropped their hands out of respect for me. "Hey you two," I say as I walk up to them. I grab their hands and put them back together. "It's good to see you. But if we are going to be normal I need you two to not worry about me. I am good with the two of you dating. You are two of the three people I love the most and as long as you are happy, so am I." I say as I pick up my bag again and start to walk toward the door. "But if either of you hurts the other I will have to kill you." I say with a laugh and I feel them come up on each side of me and drape their arms around me. Dicks around my shoulders and Mac around my waist it feels normal, it feels safe.
"So we got all of your stuff moved into the room yesterday and Mackie made sure that all of your gaming systems were set up right. She wouldn't even let me or Logan touch them. She called us idiots." I hear my brother say as we get to the truck.
"Well I am happy to hear that." I say as I look over at Mac. "Thanks Mackie I knew you had my back." I tell her as I kiss her on the check. "Now let's go I am so hungry. Hospital food blows."
"Yeah. We were thinking maybe heading to Java and getting some muffins and coffee." Dick says. "We kind of already went to breakfast. Besides I told Logan that I would help him set up for the party."
"Java sounds good, but Dick I don't know if I am up for a party tonight." I tell him trying to figure out what he was thinking.
"Oh it's not going to be a crazy party. Just a BBQ to celebrate you coming home and our new digs. I think the guest list is like maybe 10 people. But if it's too soon we can cancel." Mac tells me
"BBQ sounds fun." I tell them but I am still confused. "Hey did I just misunderstand, I thought you just referred to it as 'our place' are you moving in to Mackie?"
"For a while. Me, Ronnie, Lilly are going to be getting the house next door. But they have to finish the renovations first." Mac tells me. "So I am staying in what will become Cassie's room when she gets home in a few weeks. By then our place should be finished."
"Okay so what's the room set up?" I ask wondering as we started to pull away from the drive thru at the Java Hut.
"Well down stairs there are 3 bedrooms and one bathroom. The rooms down there are Logan and V's, mine, and Cassie's. Then on the main level there is one bedroom but we have turned it into a gaming room. Then upstairs are the last two rooms. One is yours and the other is Lexi's." Dick tells me.
"Who's Lexi?" I ask completely confused. I was half released to know though that I didn't have to worry about Mac shacking up in Dick's room or being in the same area of the house as them if they did decide to get it on.
"Lexi is Logan's cousin that showed up last night and will be going to NHS with you and Cas next year." Mac tells me. Great so I get to share a floor with a stranger.
"Cool. Let's go help Logan set up." I tell them. "By the way I am okay if you two share a room. There is no need for Mac to be sleeping in Cassie's room."

-Veronica's Point of View-
"Are you sure you are going to be okay Ronnie?" Logan asked me as we set up some stuff on the patio.
"Yes I am sure." I tell him. He had been worried since we found out that Cassidy was going to be released before I would be moving out. We had all thought that we would have more time. I guess we were wrong. Was I completely comfortable with Cassidy? No, not really, but I knew that he wasn't the same anymore. So I had accepted him. Just then we heard the door open and saw Cassidy.
"Hi guys we are home and look who we happened to pick up on the side of the road, lost." Dick says. I can tell that he is happy to have his brother out of the hospital.
"So how does the surf look?" Cassidy asks. Okay so that is going to be how we are going to play this. Works for me.
"Do you want to hit some waves before the BBQ?" Dick asks Cassidy
"Yeah it's been far too long since I have been out. Did you bring my board from the house?" He asks.
"Yeah it's in the garage with Dick and Logan's." Mac tells him. "I don't think that we packed any of your wet suits though."
"That's okay as long as there are some board shorts up in my room I will be good. Can you point me in the right direction?" he asks Logan.
"Yeah I will walk up with you. You need to meet Lexi anyway. We can see if she wants to join us." Logan tells him as they head toward the stairs.
"So how did it go?" I ask Mac and Dick.
"Well I will leave that to you Mackie. I am going to go change. Are you two going to join us…?" We gave him a weird look. "I mean you could always sit on the beach like normal."
"Yeah we will." Tells him, "we will be down in a few to change." She says as she gives him a quick peck on the check and he walked off.
"So how was it?" I ask her again.
"Well I think that Cassidy is more comfortable with our relationship than us." When I gave her a confused look she continued to explain. "Well when we went to pick him up we had been holding hands and when we were waiting in the Lobby for him. Well when we saw him we dropped each other's hands. He walked up to us and grabbed our hands and put them back together. Then on the way home he asked about the sleeping arrangements and when we told him that we were sleeping in separate rooms he told us that we shouldn't be. That he figures we should share a room." She finishes.
"Wow. I would say so. So does that mean that you are going to be staying in Dick's room and not Cassie's?" I ask her.
"I am thinking about it." She tells me. "Come on lets go change before they get mad about us keeping them from their waves."

-Lexi's Point of View-
"I don't think I have ever had so much fun surfing." I tell Cassidy as we sit out in the middle of the water on our boards.
"Yeah well it's kind of therapy for us 09ers." He tells me. "So why would you want to live in Neptune?"
"I hate LA. Too much hustle for me. It's still close to my family if I want to go see them and because of Logan." I tell him as we watch the four people on the beach. "What's with those four? How long have they all been together?"
"Um… V and Logan have been dating on and off for the last 3 years. But Dick and Mac have been together for only about 5 weeks." He tells me as I give him a funny look.
"Wow they seem like they have been together longer than that." I say.
"Yeah well Mac and I dated for six months prior to my being hospitalized." He tells me.
"Oh I am sorry. I didn't realize. I mean I knew about the whole sit…. I mean" I keep rambling on.
"It's okay. I know their relationship seems to be a rude gesture toward me but really it's not. Maybe we should swim in. This is something that they all need to hear also. I think it will help them understand better." He tells me as we start to paddle in to shore.
"So I am getting hungry when are we eating?" I ask
"We have to wait for my siblings to get here." Veronica tells me.
"Well while we wait I think I need to tell you guys something." Cassidy point out. I believe this will be the rest of the conversation he had started when we were out in the water.
"What's up Cassidy?" Mac asked him "everything okay?" I can tell she is nervous because when we started towards them she and Dick pulled apart a little bit.
"First off…." He approaches his brother and Mac "It's going to make me even more jumpy if every time I walk toward you guys you pull apart. I am fine with you guys dating. This is what I needed to talk to you about. With the help of my therapist I have realized that while I love Mac, it's not the kind of love that it should be." He says as he turns to her. "Mackie I love you like my sister. You are like my sister. But when we were dating that love never progressed. I think the reason I thought it had is because I was trying to but you are so important to me. You both are. I am happy that you are together. You two, I know will treat each other with respect. And I know that you guys are only beginning to date, but I know you two love each other. And it's an Epic love. Like Ronnie's and Logan's. SO are we good?"
"Yes." Mac said as she whipped a tear from her face. "Yes Cassidy we are good."
"Good now that's out of the way can we get up to the house. I agree with Lexi. I am getting hungry. By time we get the stuff ready and on the grill they will be here." I hear Veronica say as we gather our stuff and walk toward the house. I think that I am going to like it here in Neptune. It's got to be better than LA. Right?

AN: Okay here is Chapter 17. I know it's a little weird. I am starting to have writers block with this. So at this point I am not sure if I am going to do a sequel. I will finish the last 3 chapters and get them posted as soon as I can. I have already started to think about my next story so be watching for that in the next couple of weeks. Thanks for reading.-LazzyMae