Chapter 20 - A Day To Remember

Cassie

Guys…holy fucking shit. Have you heard what happened?! Lauren and Dante are ALIVE again! I simply can't believe it! Neither can Vic. The sheer happiness I saw in his eyes when he saw Lauren standing there in that clearing is something I'll never ever forget. I know he loves me immensely, but I know he always possessed a special bond with his mom. Everyone could see it. They shared so many traits with each other. The fact that Lauren forgave me for what I mistakenly did all those years ago made it all better. Although, she did corner me while she was helping Vic move his stuff from Fujin's to my place for good.

"Don't you dare hurt my baby again," she said while folding one of Vic's t-shirts.

"Lauren, I won't," I responded.

"He loves you so much," Lauren continued. I smiled. She smiled back.

"I gathered that when he told me I was pretty when we were ten," I said. "I felt the exact same when I first saw him." Lauren continued to fold Vic's clothes while he himself was busy setting up his man cave at my place with his dad. Suddenly she gasped. I looked over and saw her frantically hiding something in her pocket.

"What?" I asked. Lauren shook her head a few times.

"Nothing, nothing. Saw a spider," she said quickly. She looked elated about something though. As I turned my head away again, I heard her tapping on her phone quickly.

Oh yeah, I know what you might be thinking. Two people have essentially returned from the dead, how does that work legally? From what Auntie Sonya was allowed to divulge to me, they were framing it as Lauren and Dante had actually been in hiding for many years after a failed assassination attempt. Vic had already revealed himself so she didn't have to do anything for him. Plus, his uncle had been handling it for a while too. Vic's aunt, Dante's sister, pretty much freaked the fuck out when Dante showed up on her doorstep the other day. Woman screamed Dante's name so loud I thought her windows were gonna shatter. Regardless, I liked Vic's aunt. She was extremely nice to me. Same with Dante's brother. Speaking of people with the last name of Harris, when the hell was Vic gonna propose to me?! It's been a few weeks since he essentially told me that he was going to! And now that this whole Jarek situation was behind us, I was getting a little anxious. I looked back over to Lauren who apparently was giving me a sly smile for the past few minutes. Wait…WAIT! IS THAT WHAT SHE'S HIDING?! IS THE RING IN HER POCKET RIGHT FUCKING NOW?! Alright…alright calm down Cass. Vic wouldn't be too happy if I spoiled the surprise for myself….BUT STILL! This is ACTUALLY about to happen within a few days or something! Lauren continued to fold the rest of Vic's clothing while muttering in her native language. Judging by her smile, they were happy things.

A Few Hours Later. My…no OUR House.

Vic was officially moved into my place by the middle of the afternoon. He and I were currently cuddling on the couch. I looked up at him and he was sort of staring at the wall.

"Hey," I said softly. "Down here handsome." He looked down and smiled. My heart melted like it always did whenever he did that.

"Sorry," he answered. "Just…you know…feeling I'm about to wake up and everything never happened…" I gently pulled his face down to my level and kissed him. Soft and tender. Nothing intense. I just needed to reassure him that I was back in his life. Me and the rest of his family. We all loved him.

"It's not a dream," I said after I pulled away. "Everything is real."

"You're way too pretty to be with me," Vic said and winced. I grabbed his chin with my thumb and index finger.

"Victor, I will say this as many times as I must," I said to him. "I. Love. You. So. Fucking. Much." I shook my hand (and his face) a little to drive the point home as much as I could. I felt that my life was back together as much as Vic believed his was. I felt so alone for the last ten years without him. Vic however, looked like he was still doubting himself. I quickly shoved him down into a lying position and climbed on top of him. He gasped in surprise…that or the fact that I nearly kneed him in the groin on accident. I pinned his arms over his head and kissed him again. I heard him moan a little this time. Good.

"Listen, Vic, you can sing, you make me happy, my parents like you," I began and ran my hand against his groin gently. "You are just all around amazing. Plus you can fucking fly." He smiled at me and pulled me into his body. I sighed in happiness yet again. This is right where I wanted to be. Forever.

A Few Days Later

"Cass, hey Cass, can you come here for a second?" Vic's voice came from outside. I marked the place in my book, put my shoes on and made my way over to where Vic was. He was doing some routine yard work today after he had spent the morning playing music with his mom. Trust me, you have not lived until you've heard a duet between Lauren and Vic. Simply magical. Right out of a movie or a Broadway show. I expected to see him standing there with some kind of broken tool and ready to say "I…I broke it…" like a doofus but he wasn't there.

"Babe?" I called. "Where are you?" I started to walk forward and suddenly someone had grabbed me around the waist. I shrieked a little in surprise until I realized who it was.

"Vic! You jer- AHHHHHH!" I yelled as Vic and I started to rocket upwards towards the clouds. Honestly…I was freaking out! What if I fell! I didn't want to paint the outside of our house red! As soon as I had that thought, a light breeze rolled over my face and body but it didn't feel like any ordinary breeze. I swear it was telling me "I've got you" over and over. I looked back at Vic and…and…started crying. The sun was hitting my man's face in such a way that it was framing him as his favorite fictional character of all time, Superman. He saw that I was staring and stopped the rapid ascent. I just remembered that I was now several hundred yards off the ground and started to panic. Vic gently ran his hands up and down my arms.

"I've got you," he said softly. "I'll never ever let you go." He then proceeded to hold onto me by his fingertips as we hovered in the air.

"Vic…why?" I stammered. He pulled me close again.

"Because, I'm about to make today a day you're never going to forget," he said. Before I could respond, before I could even realize what was going to happen, the pair of us rocketed forward propelled by one of Vic's tornados. The weirdest part was that the tornado even seemed friendly…if that makes any sort of sense. Normally, you see tornadoes wreak absolute devastation across the lands but the ones Vic can control now, seemed docile. Like they would only destroy a building or uproot a tree if Vic told it too. Meanwhile, HOLY FUCKING SHIT I'M FLYING! LITERALLY! I held onto Vic's arm and shoulder as we started to take an aerial tour of the city. Wonder if Jacqui and Takeda are seeing this…or Auntie Sonya…or my parents. I couldn't really tell if anyone was texting me at the moment because of the winds.

After a few minutes of flying around the city, I realized the direction Vic was taking me and gasped. I don't think he heard it but he did look back at me with a smile on his face. He nodded once. Vic…stop. I'm going to start sobbing if…if you…take me to where…Something caught in my throat when I saw the familiar waterfront coming up into my vision. I clutched Vic's arm tighter as we started to slow down. Tears started to fill my eyes slowly when the entirety of the waterfront came into view. It still looked pretty much the same from all those years ago. The path, the benches, the ice cream/cotton candy stand and taco truck. All of it was still there. Vic led me over to a familiar spot…the same spot where a soon to be high school freshman girl told her best friend that she loved him for the first time all those years ago. Vic put his arm around me again as we looked out over the waterfront.

"I love you," I said to him. "Like…honestly…you are the best boyfriend ever. There's barely anything I hate about you."

"Really? Cause…uh…I have to admit there's something I don't like about you," Vic said in a sort of scared voice. Oh don't you even do this to me right now! You take me out here to what, break up with me?! Or call me names or something?! What gives!

"And what is that?" I managed to say in a non accusatory sounding voice.

"Nothing major," he responded. "Just your last name." I'll admit, that caught me by surprise.

"My last name?" I asked. "What, should it be Carlton or something?"

"No, I had something better in mind," he said, barely hiding a smile. I rolled my eyes.

"No Vic, I'm not changing my last name to Lane," I said.

"What about Harris then," I heard him ask. It took me a grand total of five seconds to comprehend what he just said. I slowly turned my head to face him and…he was…down on his knee. Oh my God…this was actually real.

"Wait…" I sobbed. Vic grabbed my shaking hand and looked me dead in the face.

"Cassie, it's always been you. You and I have been in love ever since we were ten years old. I know we were apart longer than when we were together, but trust me when I say that I never want to be apart again. I know we've both experienced a fuck ton of changes to our lives within the last few months but there's absolutely no one else I want to face the rest of our lives with. I took you here because this place is special to you. It's where you truly fell in love with me all of those years ago. Now…now I'm asking you to become my wife on the same spot," Vic said. Then he pulled out a ring box and opened it. My eyes saw the most beautiful ring I've ever seen. The ring had a pear-shaped design that featured a stunning round-cut diamond surrounded by more shimmering round diamonds. It was even crafted in gold. Vic held the box out to me…and I myself was simply bawling my fucking eyes out.

"Cassandra Carlton Cage…will you marry me?" he asked. I stepped forward, grabbed Vic's face and kissed him fiercely. My man made a "mmph!" sounding noise which made me giggle a little but that didn't stop the tears from flowing. I am so happy right now!

"Yes," I sobbed. "Of course I will!" Vic removed the ring from the box and slipped onto my finger. It was just the right size. Then he hugged me and I was so happy, I wrapped my legs around him. Then I kissed him again.

"Before you ask, yes," I said after a few seconds. "I will change my last name to Harris."

"Cassie Carlton Harris?" Vic asked. I nodded.

"The soon to be wife of the infamous Rattlehead," I said through some sniffs. "God dammit, I love you so much." He hugged me tightly again. Over his shoulder, I could see Fujin and Suchin watching us happily. I brandished my ringed finger at Fujin who dropped his corn dog in surprise. It didn't hit the ground obviously but his expression was still funny. This was simply the greatest day of my life. I could finally tell the world that Victor Harris, also known as Thrash, was going to be mine forever.

A Few Days Later. Evening.

Vic and I were currently in the middle of hanging out with our parents at my dad's house. My dad was one of the first people who heard about me being engaged…but that came with a surprise too. When I called him to tell him what happened, he responded "Of course I know Punkin. Vic asked both myself and your mother if he could." What an absolute gentleman! Remember when I was with Lauren that one day and she was hiding something? She just admitted to me that yes, it was the ring.

"I thought I ruined it," she was saying to us. "But it just sort of fell out of his Superman shirt."

"Of course," Dante responded. "Figures he'd hide it in there. I would have gone with the guitar case doofus."

"That seemed too obvious!" Vic protested. "Cass usually grabs my guitar and shoves it into my hand whenever she has a bad day at work!" That was true. Hearing him sing to me always seemed to calm me down.

"Hiding in plain sight works wonders Vic," my dad responded. "Before I proposed to Cassie's mom, I had the ring in my pocket at all times."

"Cool! Didn't think I was coming here to be roasted," Vic mumbled. "What's next, the ring's not good enough?" I responded by grabbing his hand with my ringed hand.

"Sweetie, it's beautiful. I love it," I told him truthfully. "Come on, it's getting late." I stood up and Vic followed. His eyes lingered on his parents for a few moments. Lauren smiled, stood and walked over to him.

"I'm not going anywhere my sweet boy," she said. "Your father and I are back ok? We'll be at your uncle's until we manage to fully reintegrate with the world."

"Ok," Vic said softly.

"Your mom fights just as well as you bud, if not better," Dante added. "She can handle herself. Johnny over here potentially has a job lined up for me. Plus I'm sure they'll wanna do Cereal Killer 5 and The Flash: Part 2." Lauren smiled and kissed Vic's cheek.

"We'll see you next week Victor," Lauren said. "For your sister's wedding." Oh right! Kimi's getting married too! In the commotion of me getting engaged I had forgotten about Kimi and Kurtis! Kimi's reaction when I told her was pretty funny though. She looked over at Vic and said "You did not." before spying the ring on my raised hand. Then she fainted. Kurtis caught her before she hit the ground and she was unconscious for a few seconds. Anyway, Vic and I said our goodbyes and left my parent's place intending to enjoy a nice walk home in the evening sun. I kept my hand firmly grasped in Vic's as we walked down the street and began to cut through a nearby park which was a short cut to our house. Right when we got to a clearing is when we both froze. Vic had taught me how to effectively use his sensing technique and currently, I was sensing quite an influx of demons and undead. Vic apparently was too. One of the demons turned their disguised head toward us. Vic waved and then punched his fists together. The demon and his pals shed their disguises and screeched into the sky. The civilians started to panic before they saw and recognized the pair of us summoning our respective powers. Vic turned to me.

"Loser buys dinner on the way back?" he asked as he summoned his green air constructed sword.

"Sure," I responded and summoned two Shadow Cassies. "You better spoil me rotten then. Like I want the most expensive thing Guiseppe can make! Plus a whole batch of his wife's cookies!" Vic proceeded to use the winds to pinch my butt. Well no, two can play at that game! I commanded a Shadow Cassie to flick the back of his head.

"Oooh! I like 'em fiery!" Vic responded. "You're on Cass-hole!" Vic charged and I was hot on his heels.

As Vic and I cleared out the demons in the park one thing kept replaying in my mind. This was going to be my life from this point forward. After ten years of not knowing what I was going to be doing in my life, I finally felt that I was getting somewhere.

And as long as I was with Victor Harris, I wouldn't have it any other way.