2318 Melpomene Street--Cassie's Dad's House

[The Phantom of Paris]

OOC: Gonna do a time-skip here, okay? BIC:

Cassandra "Cassie" Wright

"Now, when you say temporary," Cassie asked with a smile, "how temporary are we talking here? Do you want to go right now, or eat dinner first or something? It should be almost ready..." An excessively impish grin came over her friend's face. "What?Did I say temporary? Did you get that in writing, 'cause I don't remember that..."

Cassie's mouth fell open, still grinning. "What? Erin! No...that's not faaaaaaaair...you can't do that to me!"

"However temporary you want it. A day, a week, six weeks..." Erin gave a little shrug. Cassie relaxed. "Good! Gosh, Erin, don't do that, you almost gave me a heart attack!" She smiled. "I'll trust your judgment on this." She paused, feeling the lingering tension between them after Cassie's little outburst. Erin... she thought miserably, searching in vain for a way to make things right. I wish I could really explain it to you, but I can't, and every time I try I only end up making this worse...I hate it too, don't you see that? I hate it and so does Yukito, and I know you have to deal with this with him too and I'm sorry for that, but...I don't know how to fix this!

"I really am sorry, you know," she said quietly. "It's just...it's a learning process, trying to figure out what's okay for people to do and what's not. I'm learning that hugs for the most part are okay, but anything where people grab my hand or whatever and try to pull me somewhere really isn't. Maybe it will be eventually, but...not yet. I wish it were different, but...I'm sorry." She gave a tiny sigh.

"Yeah, I know," Erin replied, not sounding convinced. "I have practice with that, too..."

Cassie nodded, looking down. I still don't know how to fix this...! I feel terrible about it, can't you see that? Not knowing what else to do, she slowly wrapped her arms around her friend in a tight hug, hoping it would say what her words couldn't.

"Yeah, I'm guessing dinner's just about ready," she commented, pulling away. "What do you want to do?"

"Well now that I smell it, I want it...Shall we?" Erin asked with a smile.

Cassie nodded. "Yes, let's."

~~~

Dinner passed with no major disasters, and Cassie even found herself chatting pleasantly with Erin and Ilaria. After that, both girls climbed into Clarice, Cassie's car, and drove to the nearest Wal-Mart to get the hair stuff, as well as some other purchases they felt they simply could not live without. They spent way too much time goofing around in the aisles, taking funny pictures of each other and just being giggly teenage girls, so it was almost completely dark outside when they finally arrived back at Cassie's. "I dunno if Ilaria will be awake..." Cassie said as she opened the front door. "She gets tired pretty easily. But we don't need to worry about being too loud tonight, because she sleeps through everything."

She opened the door to her bedroom, throwing the bags down on the bed and reaching into the nearest one for one of the packages of M&M's they had bought. "Okay. You gonna help me or not, beauty school dropout?" she asked with a grin. "Ooh! Erin! We should watch Grease or something!"

[GGJ5]

Erin Spenser

If she could have the smells that the supper made waif through Cassie's house locked in a jar or candle so she could release it in her own home, she would do it in a heartbeat. And it tasted as good as it smelt-- this whole new-mixed-family thing Cassie had going now couldn't be all bad, not if she had dinners like this, and it was fun. Ilaria might have been her "stepmother", but she didn't feel like one, at least to Erin. It was hard not to just be her friend, even if she was baby-carrying-moody at times. She figured she would be too, if she had to carry a watermelon that kicked her from the inside.

The internet was bombarded that night with pictures and videos sent from Erin's cell phone. It was pretty awesome and ridiculous, actually, that they could go into Wal-Mart for like five things and come out with way more, and spend three times as long just getting those things. MySpace and Facebook were now graced with the presence of Erin hiding half her face behind a huge pile of silly-bandz, making an expression as if she'd just found the lost treasure of some ancient dragon. She and Cassie also easily raided the little convenience section next to the checkout, collecting M&Ms and Hershey bars and Twix and random candies and mints just for kicks. (Erin actually wanted to try to make a coke-explosion with the mints like the Myth Busters did, but she doubted Cassie would let her.) And of course, they got everything they needed for Erin to play around with hair color experimentation.

"I dunno if Ilaria will be awake..." Cassie said as she opened the front door. "She gets tired pretty easily. But we don't need to worry about being too loud tonight, because she sleeps through everything."

Erin was still giggling easily. "Even with a baby trying to find its comfy spot, too? That's funny..."

Cassie and Erin dropped everything they'd bought onto Cassie's bed-- Erin's borrowed one was still covered with her own stuff-- and they started into the packet of M&Ms. "Okay. You gonna help me or not, beauty school dropout?" she asked with a grin, resulting in Ein playfully tossing a red candy in her direction. "'Course I am!" She finished the handfull of M&Ms she held, then started to disembowel the blonde highlighting kit.

"Ooh! Erin! We should watch Grease or something!"

"Um, we need a sink, Cassie..." she muttered with a smile. Cassie was so clueless, it was cute. "You got a TV in your bathroom?" Erin giggled. "And you know, I've never sat through Grease all the way either? I always watch it in bits and pieces." Then to herself, "I guess I'll use their gloves..." To Cassie, she held out the plastic cap. "You gotta put this on, and then I pull your hair through the little holes so I have the parts I wanna highlight, then I mix up the stuff and put it on, then you wait! And that's when we can do mine!" she rattled off, chipper.

[The Phantom of Paris]

Cassandra "Cassie" Wright

"I dunno if Ilaria will be awake..." Cassie told Erin over her shoulder, opening the front door. "She gets tired pretty easily. But we don't need to worry about being too loud tonight, because she sleeps through everything." And when she's not sleeping, she's eating. All she does is freaking eat. And when she's not doing either of those things, she's trying to bond with Shelby and me, talking to us all the time and trying to hard to be perfect and...I don't even know what.

Erin only laughed more, the giggles from their Wal-Mart adventures spilling over into their current endeavors. "Even with a baby trying to find its comfy spot, too? That's funny..."

Cassie laughed too, shaking her head. "I know, right? I couldn't do it. I can't even imagine it...can you?"

They managed to get their vast hoarde of purchases--mostly candy--up the stairs and into the room she now shared with Shelby without too much of a hassle or one of them dropping the bags or something, and immediately tore into a bag of M&M's. "Okay," Cassie said, bringing a handful of the bright chocolate candies up to her mouth. "You gonna help me or not, beauty school dropout?" Erin's response was to toss an M&M her way, causing Cassie to open her mouth wide and lean back to try to catch it. She missed by a good five inches at least and pouted over at Erin, who was busy opening up the highlight kit. "'Course I am!"

"Ooh! Erin! We should watch Grease or something!" Cassie said, excitedly changing the subject. Erin seemed a little less enthusiastic about that idea. "Um, we need a sink, Cassie...You got a TV in your bathroom?" Erin giggled, and Cassie joined in, a little embarrassed. "Oh yeah. Kinda forgot about that," she said, taking another handful of M&M's. The bag was nearly empty now...luckily, they had been smart enough to get a whole lot more at the store.

"And you know, I've never sat through Grease all the way either?" Cassie's mouth was too full to comment on that, so she settled for making a small noise of surprise. "I always watch it in bits and pieces. I guess I'll use their gloves..." She turned to Cassie, holding out a little plastic cap, which she took and turned over and over in her hands, studying it. "You gotta put this on, and then I pull your hair through the little holes so I have the parts I wanna highlight, then I mix up the stuff and put it on, then you wait! And that's when we can do mine!"

"Weird," Cassie said, holding onto the cap and gathering up the Wal-mart bags of treats in her other hand. "Bathroom's this way," she said, walking towards the door, expecting Erin to follow her down the hall to the tiny bathroom she also shared with Shelby. That had been almost as bad as sharing a bedroom--she'd never had to do anything like that in her entire life. But somehow, Cassie supposed she was surviving it. She set the bags down on the carpeted hallway floor just outside the door for easy access and looked around, wondering what to do. "Should I, like, sit on the edge of the bathtub or something? Or bring up a chair from the kitchen? I really have no clue how we're gonna do this here..." As she spoke, she put the little cap on her head, leaving it up to Erin which strands would get the highlights and which wouldn't. She glanced at herself in the mirror and burst out laughing. "Oh my god, Erin! I look like an evil lunch lady or something! Fix it! Fix it!"

[GGJ5]

Erin Spenser

"And you know, I've never sat through Grease all the way either?" Erin pointed out, making Cassie make a funny little sound of shock that made her want to just continue telling her how many movies and musicals she'd never finished. "I always watch it in bits and pieces. I guess I'll use their gloves..." She turned to Cassie, holding out a little plastic cap, which her friend took and turned over and over in her hands, studying it. "You gotta put this on, and then I pull your hair through the little holes so I have the parts I wanna highlight, then I mix up the stuff and put it on, then you wait! And that's when we can do mine!"

"Weird," Cassie said, balancing all her things in her hands. Erin giggled. "I like this game..."

"Bathroom's this way," Cassie said, walking out the door. Erin collected everything she'd need and trailed after her quickly.

"Should I, like, sit on the edge of the bathtub or something? Or bring up a chair from the kitchen? I really have no clue how we're gonna do this here..."

Erin just giggled as Cassie put on the little cap. "Just do what I say," she ordered, then laughed more and pointed to the mirror. "Aww, you're so cute, Cassie!"

Cassie glanced at herself in the mirror and burst out laughing. "Oh my god, Erin! I look like an evil lunch lady or something! Fix it! Fix it!"

The description made Erin burst into strong laughter, so much that she had to lean against the door and wait for the laughing fit to pass. "Oh, my god... so quoting that one later."Okay... okay! Sit down and let me get out your hair..."

Eventually, Cassie's hair was properly streaked with the dye, the strands dangling from the cap. "All right, so, you can just wait with them like that for like, I dunno, thirty minutes? Okay, my turn!" she chirped, digging through the bags until she found her purple hair dye and another bag of candy-- this time Reese's Pieces.

[The Phantom of Paris]

Cassandra "Cassie" Wright

Erin obviously found great delight in bombarding Cassie with a whole lot of hair-dye paraphernalia that she had absolutely no idea what to do with, handing it all to her while rattling off instructions that Cassie only vaguely understood. She had to put on the weird little cap-thing, she knew. And Erin had to wear gloves...presumably so the dye wouldn't stain her hands, right? After that, though she was clueless. "Weird," was all she said, sending Erin into more little bouts of laughter. "I like this game..."

"This isn't a game, it's my haaaaaaaair..." Cassie wailed, leading Erin out of the room. "Bathroom's this way. Should I, like, sit on the edge of the bathtub or something? Or bring up a chair from the kitchen? I really have no clue how we're gonna do this here..." In truth, the bathroom she shared with her sister was barely big enough to hold one person plus everything one needed in a bathroom, including the towels and toothbrushes and hairdryers and stuff, let alone two people, hair dye, and candy. How are we all gonna fit?

"Just do what I say," Erin said, a giggling drill sergeant, as Cassie put on the little plastic cap. "Aww, you're so cute, Cassie!"

Cassie caught sight of her reflection in the mirror and stared at it in horror for a grand total of two seconds before she dissolved into giggles too. "Oh my god, Erin! I look like an evil lunch lady or something! Fix it! Fix it!" Her outburst sent Erin into hysterics and out of commission for a few minutes, leaning against the door, which only made Cassie laugh even harder. "Careful!" she managed to choke out. "Don't squish the candy!"

"Oh, my god... so quoting that one later." Cassie let out another fake gasp, convulsing with laughter. "Not the dreaded Facebook quotes...Eriiiiiin, fix it!"

"Okay... okay! Sit down and let me get out your hair..."

Before long, the dye had been distributed to Cassie's hair, although at the moment it didn't look like any sort of blonde Cassie had ever seen. She reached up one hand as if to gingerly touch the strands of hair poking through the cap, but stopped herself just in time. "All right, so, you can just wait with them like that for like, I dunno, thirty minutes? Okay, my turn!" Erin tore through the Wal-Mart bag, dragging out the purple hair dye kit which Cassie eyed doubtfully, as well as some Reeses Pieces.

"Hey, share!" Cassie protested, standing up and claiming a handful for herself. She took the box of hair dye, examining it as she opened up the packaging. "Okay, so...do I just do the same thing you did to me? I dunno, here's a cap-thing..." she tossed it down to Erin, flipping the box over to glance at the instructions. "If I screw this up, will you brutally murder me and toss my mangled corpse over a bridge or something? Or am I safe?"

[GGJ5]

Erin Spenser

"Eriiiiiin, fix it!" Cassie cried, making Erin burst into more laughter, gesturing to her friend to sit down and wait. When she got her voice back, Erin finally ordered, "Okay... okay! Sit down and let me get out your hair..."

Finally, Cassie's hair was properly dyed. All that was left was the waiting. "All right, so, you can just wait with them like that for like, I dunno, thirty minutes? Okay, my turn!" Erin tore through the Wal-Mart bag, dragging out the purple hair dye and a fresh bag of candy. She tor the corner off and poured out a handful of peanut butter goodness.

"Hey, share!" Cassie protested, standing up and claiming a handful for herself. Erin kept laughing, this time trying her best not to show teeth full of peanut butter, but that just made her snort in laughter instead.

Finally, she nudged the box toward Cassie, who took it and eyed it dubiously. "Okay, so...do I just do the same thing you did to me? I dunno, here's a cap-thing..."

She tossed it to Erin, who started to automatically weave her own hair through the little spaces, times and times of practices making it much easier. "We gotta bleach the tips first, because my hair won't hold the dye otherwise."

"If I screw this up," Cassie asked, "will you brutally murder me and toss my mangled corpse over a bridge or something? Or am I safe?"

For a moment, Erin pouted in her direction, one hand going to her head. "Don't mess it up..." The an impish smile appeared on her face. "And I wouldn't bring you to a bridge. Give me a little more credit than that. Secret passageways are way more mysterious. C'mon, get me the bleachy stuff!"

Guiding Cassie step by excited step, Erin helped her to bleach the bits of her hair that she wanted purple, then pulled out the rest of the purple dye stuff. "Okay, brush this on the bleached parts!" she said, handing the tool over to Cassie with a wide smile. "Yours is lookin' good, too!"

[The Phantom of Paris]

Cassandra "Cassie" Wright

"Okay, so...do I just do the same thing you did to me?" Cassie asked, her eyes moving frantically back and forth as she tried to read the tiny instructions printed on the box. It seemed pretty straightforward, but there were tons of ways Cassie could mess up...and then Erin would be left with hair she didn't like and couldn't fix by herself at best and a complete disaster at worst. Neither of these scenarios sounded appealing to Cassie. This was a bad idea from the start...I have no idea what I'm doing! Erin, why are you trusting me with this, this is like hair-suicide or something... "I dunno, here's a cap-thing..."

She handed the cap off to well-practiced Erin, who immediately put it on and set to work at threading the strands to be dyed through the little holes in the plastic. "We gotta bleach the tips first, because my hair won't hold the dye otherwise."

Cassie nearly winced. "Bleach? That sounds dangerous. "If I screw this up, will you brutally murder me and toss my mangled corpse over a bridge or something? Or am I safe?" She was really only half-kidding.

Erin sent her a pouty look, reaching up to touch the cap on her head as if she were rethinking her decision to let Cassie dye her hair. "Don't mess it up..."

"I didn't say I was gonna mess it up on purpose!" Cassie protested, opening up the thing of bleach. Erin only grinned. "And I wouldn't bring you to a bridge. Give me a little more credit than that. Secret passageways are way more mysterious."

Cassie raised one eyebrow. "We've got some of those over at my mom's house, actually...you getting ideas in your head or something?" She laughed.

"C'mon, get me the bleachy stuff!"

Cassie grinned. "Okaaaaay! Patience, Iago!"

They got Erin's hair bleached, Erin helping far more than Cassie had when it was her turn and probably doing more work than Cassie, as well. The only casualty was a small bit of bleach that had somehow gotten onto Cassie's shirt, but she wasn't too worried. "Okay, brush this on the bleached parts!" Erin said excitedly, handing the whole kit and caboodle over to Cassie. "Yours is lookin' good, too!"

Cassie looked at herself in the mirror, the newly blonde strands standing out in a sea of red waves. "Thanks!" she said, brushing on the first of the purple hair dye. Her face lit up. "It's just like painting!" This exciting revelation led to the rest of the dye being distributed far more quickly, and before they knew it Erin's hair was done. Cassie beamed down at her handiwork. "Not bad! What do we do now?"

[GGJ5]

Erin Spenser

"Don't mess it up..." Erin warned, semi-serious.

"I didn't say I was gonna mess it up on purpose!" Cassie protested. Her funny reaction made Erin grin. She added, "And I wouldn't bring you to a bridge. Give me a little more credit than that. Secret passageways are way more mysterious."

Cassie raised one eyebrow. "We've got some of those over at my mom's house, actually...you getting ideas in your head or something?" She laughed, but Erin looked at her with what she tried to make into a suspicious and crafty smile. "I know you do," she said cryptically, then gave a tiny laugh. Breaking character entirely and with no transition, Erin jumped for the hair dye. "C'mon, get me the bleachy stuff!"

Cassie grinned. "Okaaaaay! Patience, Iago!" Erin stuck her tongue out at the "order", and finally get got started on her hair.

It didn't take too long to bleach her hair, and even though there was one more step to the process for Erin, it seemed to go pretty quickly. Mostly because any time she found a chance to goof off without damaging the goods, Erin did it. Which probably meant that it technically took longer, but it didn't feel like it at all, so that was totally okay.

"Okay, brush this on the bleached parts!" Erin said excitedly, when the time came, giving Cassie the little kit and brush. "Yours is lookin' good, too!" It hadn't been rinsed yet, and that time was coming, but Erin wanted hers done first before they started rinsing.

"Thanks!" she said after a glance in the mirror. Erin beamed proudly. Cassie then started with the purple dye, suddenly giving a little happy start. "It's just like painting!"

The exciting revelation to Cassie made Erin giggle. "Make me a Monet, m'lady!" she ordered in a wonderfully phony accent, waving her hand Princess Mia-style.

Cassie did, and it seemed to all be done really quickly. Which was good, because Erin was itching to move around now. Sitting still that long with the sugar pumping in her felt almost impossible for the last couple of minutes. "Not bad!" Cassie declared. "What do we do now?"

"Now we rinse your hair! Or you can rinse your hair... Go rinse your hair!" Erin ordered. "Or you can get a chair and prop it here," she said, gesturing to the sink, "And I'll rinse it in there! I gotta wait like half an hour for mine or something anyway. I need something to dooo!" she drawled out, jumping a little on her feet and taking Cassie's hands in hers. Then she tore away to search the bathroom. "You have conditioner, right? You should use conditioner so your hair doesn't get all crunchy... Ooh, you know what cereal I love? Peanut Butter Cap'n Crunch. Do we have any more M&Ms?" She started searching through the bag of goodies again, and found a Kit-Kat Bar, taking half and humming the jingle to it.

[The Phantom of Paris]

OOC: As a late b-day present to MtM, let our plot commence! Mwahaha.

(I would also like to say that I know nothing about college and how they handle Thanksgiving break. Cassie said she wanted a week off. So I gave it to her. ) BIC:

Cassandra "Cassie" Wright

College was at the same time nothing like Cassie had expected it to be, and everything that she had expected. The semester had so far been difficult and stressful as Cassie tried to get adjusted to the transition from high school to college, but it was fun and rewarding as well. Living with Lilith turned out to be a strange sort of transition as well, but Cassie was getting used to the strangeness of not being at home quickly. With the weeklong Thanksgiving break off of school commencing, however, she was going to be staying at her dad's for the majority of the vacation. Unlike last year, when Kristen had demanded the girls for Thanksgiving, the custody agreement for the holidays was much simpler this time around. Kristen had specifically requested that Shelby spend not only Thanksgiving with Mark and Ilaria, but Christmas as well. She didn't want to deal with her this year for the holidays.

This had upset Cassie more than she could even put into words. Her own mother was essentially abandoning Shelby for the holidays, and there was nothing Cassie could do about it. For a while, she had thought about going over and confronting her mother, but given Kristen's level of sobriety these days, she knew it wouldn't do any good. So instead, she chose to honor the custody agreement as well, even though at eighteen and as a legal adult it no longer applied to her anymore. Like her sister, she would be spending the holidays at their dad's.

Cassie visited them every once in a while--probably around every two weeks or so--stopping in to check in on everyone and spend time with baby Chloe, who was now almost three months old and still as cute as ever. Sometimes she would spend the night, but usually it was closer to a few hours. She knew it wasn't right, but she couldn't help feeling a little out of place whenever she visited, especially when Shelby wasn't there. She liked Ilaria and adored Chloe, but she never quite felt like she belonged in this new, growing family. Cassie felt like an outsider, a simple observer watching their lives unfold before her eyes. This time, though, she'd be staying overnight at least until the day after Thanksgiving--three days from now--unless plans changed.

Taking her car keys out of the ignition, Cassie opened the door and stepped out onto the driveway of the cute little yellow house Mark and Ilaria now called home. A soft smile came over her face as she looked up at it, moving to get her bags from the trunk of her car.

Well, it's not really home yet, but I guess this is okay.

"Hello?" she called as she let herself in the front door. "Dad? Shelby?"

"Cassie!" came her dad's voice from the kitchen. "In here!"

Cassie set her stuff down by the staircase and made her way into the kitchen, where she smirked at the sight of her dad in an apron and oven mitts. "Hey," she said, coming over to give him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "You know, Thanksgiving's not until Thursday."

Her father grinned sheepishly. "I know. But I thought I could get a head start on this--" he gestured at the open cookbook that lay on the counter "--and give Ilaria and Michelle a break on the actual day."

Cassie's smile faltered a little bit. "Michelle? Cecily and Grace's mom? Are they coming over for Thanksgiving too?"

"Well, of course they are, Cassie! They live right across the street, it's not like we can just not invite them for Thanksgiving."

"I guess so. I just..." Thought it would be just us.

"Shelby left to go shopping with her friends, you just missed her. And Ilaria took Chloe to the doctor for a checkup. They'll be here later."

Cassie sighed, her good mood vanishing. What, I move away and people just stop telling me things? "How about Jake?" she asked suddenly, realizing her brother wasn't accounted for. "He's coming too, right?"

Mark broke eye contact with his daughter, turning towards the cookbook again. "No, Cassie, he's not. We invited him, but he said he didn't want to be involved with Ilaria and the rest of them--he hasn't even seen Chloe since she was born. He's with his girlfriend and her parents for Thanksgiving."

"What?" Cassie asked, her voice faltering. "Marcia?" That didn't seem right--Marcia had liked them. She wouldn't let Jake do something like that, would she?

She watched as her father shook his head. "No, they broke up about a month ago, didn't he tell you? The girl he's dating...I can't remember her name. Summer, I think it was." He gave a bitter shrug. "Shelby was supposed to tell you about this. Didn't you talk to her?"

"No," Cassie said quietly before turning and fleeing from the room, clattering up the stairs to the room she had shared with Shelby back when she, too, was getting shuttled between houses every week. She stopped short, however, when she realized that the bed that had been hers was gone. "Dad--"

"We moved your bed into the guest room," he called back. "You can stay there while you're here--I thought it would be better if Shelby had her own room. The guest room's bigger anyway, so it was easier to fit two beds for when guests--" Cassie slammed the door in protest, drowning out his words.

I guess I was stupid to think that nothing would change once I left.

[More than Music]

OOC: Just let me know if I'm steering wrong with her dad... Just kinda flying by the seat of my pants with his personality here. xD
BIC:

Kagayaki Aidou

It had been a long time since he'd seen Cassie.

The idea of what had happened the last time they'd seen each other was a little frightening, but he'd thought about it a lot and... this was silly. How could he think he'd grown up if he was still afraid to go see the girl he used to love? Yes, they hadn't parted on good terms, but she used to be a huge part of his life. He didn't want to lose that forever.

He'd called Erin earlier and found out that Cassie was at her dad's house for Thanksgiving -- though he wasn't really sure what that was. So he got the address from her and put it in his phone. It wasn't the best thing as far as leading him around, but it eventually got him outside the house that had the Wrights' name on the mailbox. He took in a deep breath as he looked up at the house. This was it. He didn't want to be away from her anymore.

And it was okay, wasn't it? He'd put a lot of thought into it and -- hard as it had been -- realized that he just didn't feel that way for her anymore. No. He loved Amane now. So it was okay that he went around Cassie, because he didn't love her like he used to. He just wanted her to be a part of his life again.

Kagayaki made himself knock on the door, forcing out a sigh so he wouldn't be holding his breath.

'I can do this. I can talk to her without fighting... it's been long enough.'

A man who he thought he recognized answered the door. He was wearing oven mitts and an apron, which didn't look quite right on him, but Kagayaki guessed that was because he never really thought about men being as good of cooks as the women in his life.

"Yes?"

Kagayaki swallowed. "Hi," he breathed, "I... I am... Kagayaki. Need see Cassie? She here, yah?"

The man nodded. "Yeah, she's upstairs, unless she's come down," he said. Then he paused, like he was remembering something. "I think we may have met. I'm her father, Mark Wright."

He honestly wasn't sure. "Ah... I--"

Wright-san held out a hand he'd freed from his oven mitt. "Come on in." There was a little sadness in this man's eyes he knew from his own father's, but he wasn't quite sure about it. "You can go on up. I don't think she's expecting you...?"

For some reason, although he wasn't seeing Cassie anymore, he still felt tense -- as if he was being judged -- around people she knew but he didn't know very well.

Not sure what else to do, he covered it up with a little smile and shook his head. "Still... I think is, okay. Yes?"

"Sure, just holler if either of you need anything."

Still feeling nervous, Kagayaki just nodded and went upstairs. He wasn't sure what room to go into, so he just stood in the middle of all of them and put his hands in his pockets. "C...Cassie?" He closed his eyes, sighing. "I need... Can I talk? To you?"

[The Phantom of Paris]

OOC: Pay no attention to Cassie's weird mood. I think she needs some chocolate. BIC:

Cassandra "Cassie" Wright

Cassie let out a heavy, petulant sigh as she looked around the room. It honestly hadn't changed much since she'd moved out--Shelby had still made very little effort to 'move in' to the bedroom. The walls still remained that soft, creamy off-white color they had had when Cassie left, and her sister hadn't made any other attempt to put her mark on the room. Except for a few subtle clues--her laptop sitting on the bed where she'd left it, a suitcase of clothes lying in the corner, her backpack hanging off the desk chair--one would think that no one even used the room at all.

Well, at least some things haven't changed around here.

She pulled out her cell phone and sent her sister a quick text, but received no response. "Perfect," she muttered angrily, shutting off her phone and tossing it down onto the bed. She crossed her arms, glancing around her surroundings again and knowing that she couldn't stay shut up here forever. Sooner or later, I'm gonna have to come down and be social...and apologize. I should have just stayed home.

"C...Cassie?"

Her ears perked up at the sound of her name, her heart sinking. For a second, she almost let herself believe that she'd imagined it. Yes, she had. She had to have been. It had to have been all in her head, because there was no earthly way that he could actually be here right now, in her father's house, calling her name. She thought back to the last time they'd spoken face-to-face--it had been here, in this very house, and they'd broken up. They'd shouted horrible things to each other, and each of them had ended things. That had been here, hadn't it?

No, it wasn't, she thought suddenly. That was at Mom's.

Everything bad happens when I'm over there.

Their last conversation on the phone hadn't been much better--she'd made a fool of herself and showed her complete inability to juggle two languages. So Kagayaki couldn't be here, because that would be crazy. Cassie had just imagined it, in all of her anger and self-pity. She had to.

"I need... Can I talk? To you?"[/b]

Now she was really wishing she'd stayed home.

Before she could stop herself, she reached for her sister's pillow and buried her face in it, letting out a scream so stifled she herself could barely hear it. She threw in a few punches to the pillow and the surrounding sheets before throwing it savagely across the room for good measure. Her tantrum finished, she walked over to the door and pulled it open, fixing her blue eyes upon him.

"I guess so," she said, crossing her arms and leaning against the doorframe. "But you don't have to look so scared about it. It's not like I'm going to eat you."

[More than Music]

Kagayaki Aidou

Talking to Cassie's father still felt weird, even though he wasn't with Cassie and didn't love Cassie.

Would it always be this way? He didn't want to always be afraid to come around her house and her family... He wanted to be her friend again, he wanted to be better. Kagayaki had pretty much pulled himself together, as far as his speech and his outlook on life, and his job helped him keep it up. But his relationships with his friends were still dwindling and he hated that.

Someone had to make the first move, and he'd decided it would be him.

"C...Cassie?"

It sounded so strange in the emptiness around him.

"I need... Can I talk? To you?"

He didn't hear anything for a while. Maybe she was asleep. Oh no, he didn't want to wake her up... but he needed to settle this. He needed to. But, finally, the door opened. Her eyes met his and he smiled a little nervously.

"I guess so," she told him, leaning in the doorway with her arms over her chest. "But you don't have to look so scared about it. It's not like I'm going to eat you."

He laughed, sighing. "Sorry," he muttered. "I... I sorry, I..." He took in a deep breath and straightened up a little. "How... how are you?"

[The Phantom of Paris]

Cassandra "Cassie" Wright

The moment she realized that it wasn't just her imagination playing cruel tricks on her, that Kagayaki actually was standing inside her house asking for her, something snapped inside of Cassie. Her blood boiled and sizzled in her veins, the unwelcome visitor feeling like just another thing thrown her way to make her day horrible. Her hands clenched into fists and she grabbed Shelby's pillow, shoving her face so deep into the fabric that it was hard to breathe as she let out a quiet, but enraged, scream. I don't want to see you! she yelled at him in her mind. I don't! I never want to see you again! Can't you see that? Every time I do something goes wrong. I embarrass myself, I say something stupid, everyone ends up crying. I can't handle that today and I don't want to. Just go away. Go away!

The scream didn't do nearly enough to calm Cassie down, so she threw a few well-aimed punches at the pillow and the bed, shaking it as she did so. Finally, in one last attempt, she threw the pillow itself harshly across the room, glaring at it as it hit the door and fell limply to the ground.

There. Now, at least, she felt like she wouldn't either strangle Kagayaki or burst into tears at the sight of him. I call that progress. She was still angry and frustrated, but she trusted herself enough after her tantrum to not let her true feelings show. Slowly, she raised herself into a sitting position before getting up and walking to the door, kicking the offending pillow out of the way before she opened it.

Her gaze rested upon her ex-boyfriend, a look of cool indifference written in her eyes. He, on the other hand, looked nervous, as if he'd heard her little outburst and was worried that she hadn't yet gotten all of her anger out. Which I hadn't. But you don't need to look so freaked out. I'm not that scary, am I? Cassie crossed her arms over her chest so he wouldn't notice how much her hands were shaking. "I guess so," she said in response to his question. "But you don't have to look so scared about it. It's not like I'm going to eat you."

Not on purpose, anyway.

Kagayaki gave a little laugh at that, but still didn't appear relaxed. "Sorry."

Cassie sighed. "You have nothing to apologize for," she said quietly, beginning to lose patience already. I see your trip to Japan hasn't changed much, has it?

"I... I sorry, I...How... how are you?"

Cassie stared at him for a second. "...Spectacular," she said finally, sarcasm evident in her voice. "Listen, I don't want to be rude, but I'm not having a very good day. And you said you wanted to talk to me about something, not make awkward small talk. So can you just tell me what you were going to tell me already?"

[More than Music]

Kagayaki Aidou

"Sorry."

Cassie sighed. "You have nothing to apologize for," she muttered, making him slump his shoulders a bit.

'It seems like, lately, everything I do makes you mad, Cassie...'

"I... I sorry, I... How... how are you?" he tried, wishing he could say what he'd come to.

Cassie looked at him pretty blankly, and he guessed that meant 'not good but I don't want to tell you that' or something. That was Cassie. "...Spectacular."

'...Yeah...'

He sighed. "Cassie--"

"Listen, I don't want to be rude, but I'm not having a very good day. And you said you wanted to talk to me about something, not make awkward small talk. So can you just tell me what you were going to tell me already?"

He shrunk a little, sighing again. "I... I miss... my friend," was all he could manage, slowly meeting her eyes. "I know... I did bad things to you. But... I want make it good." Kagayaki swallowed. This was just getting harder. "...Please?"

'What I want to say is, you don't have to worry about me loving you anymore, and ruining everything... I love Amane. But I want you back in my life. You were one of my best friends, and without you, I feel so lonely. I know I don't deserve it, but I want to try. Just another chance. I won't mess it up this time, not if I can help it, Cassie. Please.'

[The Phantom of Paris]

Cassandra "Cassie" Wright

"I... I sorry, I... How... how are you?" Kagayaki asked, still looking terrified as he resorted to small talk. Cassie felt like rolling her eyes, yelling at him, slamming the door in his face. It was harsh, she realized, but her anger about everything was still sizzling in her veins, and she was just tired of pretense and pretending that everything was okay. You said you came here to say something to me. So say it. Say what you mean instead of just standing here like a deer in the headlights, waiting for me to make the first move or something. Just talk to me. Isn't that what you wanted the whole time that we were together? You wanted me to tell you things and I tried to, but I never did. And now you have the chance to talk to me about whatever it is that's on your mind and you're completely blowing it. Why do you always do this? You and I both. We just set ourselves up for failure all the time, don't we?

Because neither of us are very good at saying what we mean, I guess. But I'm working on that. I really am.

"...Spectacular," she said finally, her flat tone implying the opposite. Kagayaki opened his mouth to speak, but Cassie cut him off before he could, her impatience getting the better of her. "Listen, I don't want to be rude, but I'm not having a very good day. And you said you wanted to talk to me about something, not make awkward small talk. So can you just tell me what you were going to tell me already?"

She watched as he let out a sad, almost pathetic sigh, losing confidence by the moment. This only intensified her anger, however, and she gripped her arms so tightly that her fingernails dug into her skin. Are you really upset, or are you just faking it the way you do because you think it's endearing or something?

He looked like he was about to speak again, so Cassie braced herself for what she might hear.

"I... I miss... my friend."

What?

Her eyes widened in surprise as Kagayaki continued. "I know... I did bad things to you. But... I want make it good....Please?"

He really did have good intentions. And it was a good start. But all the same, Cassie had her doubts. There has to be more than that, but you won't say it, will you?. You always say the bare minimum instead of what you mean. Just talk to me...

She uncrossed her arms, holding the door open for him and gesturing inside. "Come on in," she said quietly, moving in front of him and sitting down on Shelby's bed. "I understand what you're saying. But I'm sorry, but that's not enough. I need more than just an apology and a 'please.' How do you want to make things right again?" She let out a sigh. "I'm listening. You can tell me."