StanfordBound2020: I'm glad you liked the scenes between Wes and Cass. When I finished writing the chapter, I was like 'Yes! Finally! You two are together now!' :D It was driving me crazy but I also smiled at the cute scenes between them. As I say, it's been a long time coming.

Cassandra's P.O.V

Another day at Avalon High, another day of football practice. We'd been running drills for an hour so far and we weren't about to stop. The drill we were doing right now was King of the Hill. I know you're asking what the hell I'm talking about but bear with me. This drill entailed two equally matched players facing each other about a foot apart on opposite ends of a long blocking pad or wooden board. Once signaled, they run and should meet each other in the middle with a collision and then attempt to drive each other backwards off of the pad or board. The player who drove his opponent off of the board is the winner. Pretty simple right?

Anyway, right now we'd been matched up and we were doing the drills in turns. I'd been matched up with Julian and once our turn came, Julian and I got into position. Once we were settled in, the whistle blew and I took off running. Julian took off a few seconds. later, which was odd. Julian was Captain of the Knights and he was football itself. From the time I had known him, he never missed a beat whenever it came to the drills. He was always the first to take off when the whistle blew. However, his speed increased and we met in the middle with a collision. However, I knew things were really wrong when that collision didn't have the force that it normally had. And everyone knew it too once we started trying to drive the other off of the pad and his pushing was half-hearted.

"Come on, Vega! Push harder! My grandmother can push harder than that!" Sean yelled.

"Put your back into it, man!" Aaliyah encouraged.

"Don't let me down! I bet my entire week's allowance on this, Boss!" Ross shouted.

Yeah, sometimes, the players bet on who could push the other off the boards. After all, the whole point of the drill was to evaluate strength and aggressiveness. And Julian would put me down on my ass always, though I wouldn't make it easy for him. This time however, he was making it too easy for me. I was pushing him back and he was letting me! What the fuck?!

"Vega... Get your head in the game... " I grunted as I exerted my strength.

"Huh... Sure... Whatever..." he responded as he pushed me back a few steps.

It was a few minutes of struggle as we pushed each other back and forth. Finally, Julian threw me off the board and I landed on my butt with a grunt. The others sighed in relief but I wasn't relieved. That wasn't the Julian I knew. It shouldn't have taken him that long to do the drill. As we stepped aside for the next pair, I pulled him aside for a talk. Julian looked at me and asked, "Cass, everything okay?"

I quirked an eyebrow at him and replied, "I should be asking you that question, Vega."

I folded my arms across my chest and tapped my foot on the ground as I waited for an answer. He wiped the sweat dripping off his forehead with the back of his hand.

"I'm fine, Sage. No need to worry about me," he said, casting me a weak smile.

"Liar," I snorted. "Come on, man. If you wanna lie, try harder than that. What's going on with you?"

I placed my hand on his chest and gave him an earnest look. He looked into my eyes and I could see the conflict in them. He sighed and looked away. "It's nothing, Cassie."

I turned his face to look at me. "Sure about that?"

"I'm damn sure."

We looked at each other before I nodded my head. It wasn't something he was willing to share with me right now and I wasn't going to push him for details. I figured he'd tell me when he was ready.

I sighed, "Okay, Julian. If you say so. But if you need someone to talk to, know that I'm your girl."

He smiled, a genuine smile this time. "I know, Cass. And thanks."

We went back to practice though my heart wasn't really in it, especially since I was worried about Julian. I just hoped that he'd be okay, whatever it was.

Julian's P.O.V.

It had been a heck of a day for me. I had a lot on my plate and on my mind. And it involved a person who meant the world to me. That person was my little sister Hope. I was worried sick about her and I didn't know what to do. She wouldn't open up to me about her problems and I was dead sure that she had one. Whenever I broached the subject, she'd either yell at me or ignore me. Cass had offered to help but I didn't know if bringing her into this was the best idea. Luckily, Cass had this way of making one feel comfortable and you could just open up to her. She'd listen and would give you her two cents on the matter. She was always genuine about how she felt and wouldn't hold back. That's what I liked about her.

After practice, I saw Cass sitting on the bench drinking some water and I figured that this was my chance to talk to her about what had been bothering me. I walked towards her and sat down next to her. She looked at me and gave me a kind smile.

"Hey. So you ready to tell me what's going on with you?" she asked.

"Yeah," I replied.

She waited patiently for me to begin. I took a deep breath and licked my lips.

"It's about my little sister, Hope..."

Cassandra gasped in surprise, "I didn't know that you had a little sister, Julian."

I gave her a sly smile. "That's because you didn't ask, Cass."

She laughed. "Ouch. Shots fired, Vega. I'm dying."

She dramatically held her hands to her chest. I chuckled at her antics. She always knew how to make me feel better.

I continued, "Anyway, she's a freshman at that magnet school downtown. You know, Statton School of the Humanities? Previously, she'd go on and on about the how much she loved her school and how fun her classes were. Everyday, she'd talk about her friends and how cool they were. But nowadays, she seems out of it. She comes home from school and won't talk to anyone. She locks herself in her room and some days, I swear I hear her sniffling. Whenever I try to talk to her, she'll either yell at me or just ignore me."

I looked down and covered my face with the palm of my hands and spread my fingers out. I sigh, "Look Cassie. It might just be me overreacting but my gut tells me that something's not right at all. I care about my sister and I need to know that everything's okay with her."

The whole time I spoke, Cassandra just looked at me and nodded as she listened to what I had to say. When I was done, she put a hand on my shoulder and said, "Julian, look at me."

I did as she instructed and she gave me a gentle smile. "I don't have a sibling but if I did, I would have every right to be worried about her as you are now. Trust what your gut is telling you."

"Yeah, well I know something is up but she won't tell me a damn thing."

"How about this? How about I come over to your place and I have a chat with Hope? Maybe she'd feel more comfortable talking to me," Cassandra suggested.

I thought about and I had to admit, it seemed like a pretty solid plan. Hope wasn't telling me anything but maybe she'd feel comfortable talking it over with Cass. I nodded. "Yeah. I can roll with that. She gets off school soon. We can head over to my place."

We stood up and headed for the locker rooms. As we walked, I called Cassandra, "Hey Cass?"

She turned around and looked at me. "Yeah?"

"Thanks for listening to me. It feels good to get it off my chest."

She beamed. "What are you thanking me for, Julian? There are no thank you's between friends."

"Still, I appreciate it."

She nodded and we continued on to the locker rooms.

(Time skip)

Cassandra's P.O.V

Julian drove me to his house after practice. It was an uneventful drive, one done in silence. We arrived at his house in a pretty quiet neighborhood. He extracted the keys from the ignition and we got out. He walked to the front door with me following him closely behind and he opened the front door. He led me inside and welcomed me, "This is home for me, Cassie."

I looked around at the warm cozy living room. There were leather couches, an oak coffee table and a flat screen TV nearby. There was a coat hanger and shoe rack by the door. Under my feet was a soft-looking rug. By the windows, there was a dining table made of mahogany. Julian told me, "Have a seat. Let me grab us some drinks."

He stepped into the kitchen to get the drinks as I went over and sat on the cozy couch. As I took note of my surroundings, I heard footsteps on the stairs and I turned around in the direction of the noise. A young girl of around fourteen years descended from the stairs. She had tanned skin, brown hair and brown eyes. She had a strong resemblance to Julian.

"Hey," I greeted her warmly.

"Ummmm...hey yourself," Hope greeted warily.

"I take it you're Hope, Julian's little sister."

"Yeah, I am. Do I know you?"

Just as I was about to respond, Julian stepped out from the kitchen with two root beers.

"I see you two have met. Hope, this is Cassandra Sage-Beckett," Julian introduced her.

Hope folded her arms across her chest and smirked. "Aah. So you're that Cassandra. Not a day goes by when he doesn't mention your name. From the way he talks about you, you'd think that the both of you are dating."

Julian's face flushed red as I chuckled and Hope beamed at her comedic wit.

"Quiet, Hope," Julian grumbled.

He walked over to the table and placed the drinks on the table and sat next to me. He subtly nudged me to get on with finding out what was going on with Hope. I nodded and grabbed my root beer and took a swig of it. Broaching this topic would require some finesse.

"So, Hope," I began. "I hear you're a student at Statton."

"Um, yeah," Hope affirmed as she tucked a strand of hair behind her left ear and licked her lips. "Why do you ask?"

"I'm just curious. Do you do art?"

"Yeah. I'm actually attending Statton on an art scholarship."

"That is good to hear."

I took in a deep breath and thought of the next question carefully. "How is it being a student there?"

Hope looked down and mumbled, "It's okay, I guess."

There was something clearly wrong with her. She wasn't making eye contact meaning she was lying about it. Her phone buzzed with a text and she took it out of her pocket. She read the text and I thought I could see her eyes water up with tears. Things were not good at all.

"You sure things are good?" I asked.

Hope gave me a weak smile. "I'm sure."

Julian whispered to me, "Do something, Cassie."

Hope wasn't clearly going to divulge anymore information if I pushed the matter. I had to get her in an environment where she would feel free to talk to me. Maybe bowling would do the trick.

"So uh, listen. Julian and I were about to step out and go bowling. I'd like you to come with us. Get to know you a little more if you don't mind," I suggested.

Hope looked at me for a few moments and replied, "Umm...okay. Sure. I don't mind."

I beamed at her. "Excellent. Grab your jacket."

Hope rushed upstairs to do as I had instructed her while Julian and I finished our drinks. A few minutes later, she came downstairs, jacket in hand and announced, "Okay, I'm ready."

We stood up and headed for Julian's car.

At Queen's Bowling Alley...

"Whoo! Go Hope! That's another strike!" I cheered.

I had to admit, Hope was really good at bowling. As the bowling ball struck all the pins, her face lit up with a smile. Her spirits seemed to have been lifted. Maybe she would be able to tell me what was going on with her.

"That's my girl! This is the happiest I have seen you in weeks!" Julian told her warmly.

"Well, you guys are good company, and I'm always happy in good company," Hope beamed.

"C'mon, I'll buy you a milkshake," I offered.

She shrugged in agreement and we walked over to the snack bar. Hope and I hopped onto 50s-style vinyl barstools and made our orders for two strawberry milkshakes. A few minutes later, the waiter handed us the shakes and we began sipping on them. Hope's phone buzzed with a text and she took her phone out of her pocket and grimaced at what she read.

I gave her a look of concern. "Everything okay?"

She looked at me and gave me strained smile. "Never better."

Her phone buzzed again and when she read what was on the screen, her eyes welled up with tears.

I raised an eyebrow at this. "You sure about that, sweetie? You can't honestly tell me that things are good."

She looked conflicted at whether to say anything and then she sighed in resignation. "Okay then. Um... some people at my school have been texting my phone and posting on my school page saying some really, um, mean things... But I swear I can handle it. Please don't tell Julian."

A voice behind us stated, "Cassandra doesn't need to tell me anything."

We both whirled around and saw Julian standing with his arms folded across his chest.

"Well, this is awkward," I murmured.

"Julian, you were eavesdropping?!" Hope exclaimed.

"Hardly. I was getting myself a snack," Julian defended himself. "And besides, nobody gets a way with hurting you. Who's doing this to you? I'll take care of him. "

"First of all, it's a girl doing this. Number two I don't want to talk about it, especially with you, so back off!"

Hope glared at him as she hopped off the stool and stomped off.

"But..." Julian tried to protest and follow her but I held him back.

"Whoa there, big guy. You do not want to piss her off more. She'll just close off. Trust me on this," I whispered in his ear.

He growled in frustration and then sighed. "You're right, Cass. Knowing her, she needs time to calm down."

I smiled at him and patted his shoulder. "That's right."

I frowned in thought. "Do you know what she meant when she said people were posting to her school page? Have people been posting stuff to her on Facebook?"

"Naah, Hope's school has its own site called the Statton School Gossip Board. Every student has their own personal page, and I think you can send messages to each other publicly. But it's hard to access. You have to be a student at their school," Julian explained.

"Not for someone with computer expertise," I smirked. "We can go to the Nerd Hangouts tomorrow and ask one of the Nerds or the Hackers to help us out."

Julian smiled. "That works for me."

The next day...

Third Person P.O.V.

Cassandra and Julian were in the Nerd Hangout with Dylan, who about to log into the Gossip Board.

"Thanks for doing us this solid, Dylan," Julian told him appreciatively.

Dylan shrugged, "It's no big deal. I have a friend who goes to Statton, and he gave me access. This is as easy as reciting pi."

Dylan logged in and typed in Hope's name. Her face popped up on the screen along with a wall of posts where other students had been publicly messaging her. The trio's eyes widened at the content in front of them.

"Holy hell," Cassandra murmured.

"Jesus Christ," Dylan remarked.

"What. The. Fuck!" Julian exclaimed.

Dylan scrolled through a bunch of nasty and insulting messages students posted to Hope's page.

"Listen to this... 'Hope Vega is such a whore'...'Ugliest girl at school. No contest.'..." Cassandra read out some of the comments.

"Damn. Or this one... 'Hope, everyone knows what you did, you dumb stupid bitch. I hope you die and burn in hell, you little...' Yeah I'm not finishing that one up. My mouth already feels dirty enough," Dylan commented.

"Isn't anyone monitoring this shit?" Julian wondered. "Dylan, can you take it down?"

"I wish, Bossman. But I can't," Dylan informed him.

Cassandra licked her lips. "Julian, this is not good."

"Yeah, no kidding," Julian agreed. "Why the hell would she hide this? Why? I mean, what is wrong with these people? Why would they do this? Why would anyone in their right minds do this?"

Julian slumped down into the seat besides Dylan, covering his face with his hands. Cassandra walked over to him and draped her arms around his neck in a comforting hug.

"It'll be okay. But I think it's time we got the whole story. Or what say you?"

"I agree. Though I can't come with. She's made it pretty clear that she won't tell me a damn thing."

"True enough. I'll get someone with people skills. I'll tell you how it goes."

Cassandra turned around and walked out of the Nerd Hangout with a determined swagger. Her only hope was that it was something she would not regret hearing.

Author's Note: Hey, hey, hey! So sorry about the silence. I've been working on the next batch of stories for this fic! Also, I was doing some research on cyberbullying so that I could make this story a little bit more interesting. This is part one and I hope you like it! :) As always, please read and review and ideas are always welcome. Bye bye! Canary out!