Yukito & Erin Maki's Apartment

[The Phantom of Paris]

Cassandra "Cassie" Wright

All right, his behavior was getting a little old. Did Kagayaki always have to act like such a kid? Being excited and enthusiastic was one thing. Being afraid of falling off of chairs and saying her birthday banner was 'very good' was taking it a bit too far. She wasn't sure if his childlike ways had been exaggerated since the shooting, or what. She had essentially ignored him since that endless night of waiting in the hospital, except for party planning.

She was curious about the mysterious "Tall Person" Kagayaki kept talking about, but before she got a chance to interrogate him further, there was a knock at the door. At first, it was so soft Cassie wondered if she had imagined it--if her wishful thinking that another person would get there so things would be less awkward had somehow manifested itself into being. But then the knock came again, more insistent, and Kagayaki opened the door to find a nervous-looking Cat standing there, a gift for Erin in his hands. Cassie's heart melted at that--imagine, getting a birthday present for someone you hadn't even spoken to before!

Her eyes lit up. "Hey!" she cried, brushing past the stunned-looking Kagayaki and taking Cat's hand to lead him across the threshold. Immediately, she scolded herself in her head for being too forward. She didn't even know what she and Cat were. They had met, talked, had coffee, and she had invited him to two parties, one of which had turned out to be a complete disaster in every imaginable sense of the word. They were in no way close enough for her to be touching him like that--or were they? She liked him. She knew that. And somehow, she felt as though he might be attracted to her, too...

She tried to push aside these worries. "Cat, this is my friend Kagayaki," she said with a smile. "Here, I can take that for you," she said, gesturing to the gift.

Come in," he said a little breathlessly, moving aside. His eyes were distracted by the figures coming out of the car, and the smirk that was growing to be more familiar.

"Hey there, neighbor! Party doesn't start till the gorgeous ladies get there, so I bet you're glad I brought them with me."

Oh sweet Lord, please no.

Cassie turned to see a forever-smirking Clarence Morgan coming up the walk, followed closely behind by a blonde bombshell with a baby. Cassie, in her plain cowgirl outfit and denim skirt, immediately felt as if she was wearing a burlap sack as she stared at the girl's red-and-black feathered gown. She couldn't remember the girl's name, but she knew who she was. Quinn's mother. Clarence's baby mama.

The awkwardness in the room was already reaching catastrophic levels. Just Clarence she could have dealt with. Maybe even just Baby Mama. But both of them in one room, plus her other ex-boyfriend, plus she-didn't-know-what-to-call-him-yet Cat?

Cassie wanted to flee.

But she forced herself to plant her feet and be brave like the cowgirl she was pretending to be, and she turned to Cat while Clarence and Kagayaki discussed the banner. "Thank you for coming," she said quietly, offering up a grateful smile. "I know its a little weird, but I appreciate it. As you can see, we're still decorating and stuff here..." she trailed off. "You probably want to meet everyone else," she finished lamely. She turned around, greeting Clarence for the first time. "Hey, Clarence. Meet my friend Cat. Cat, this is Clarence and..." she turned to Baby Mama, still dutifully carrying Baby. The baby, at least, was so adorable Cassie felt she had to be on her best behavior. "I'm sorry, I don't know your name."

[mystmoonstruck]

OOC: Yes, I know I'm very late, but I think I finally got a doctor~in the ER~who did something to get me better. ***knock on wood*** BIC:

Easy "Cat" Tanner

With a sheepish smile on his face, Easy tried not to bow his head, which was a struggle, as he felt suddenly painfully bashful, uncertain what to say to the stranger at the door. But, he glimpsed Cassie directly behind the youth. Peering at her through half-lowered lashes, he was grateful to see her expression, almost a glow, as if he might be more welcome than he had expected.

"Hey!" she cried out in greeting as she stepped forward to take him by the hand, the warmth and welcome of the contact making him dizzy enough to stumble slightly as she led him into the room. "Cat, this is my friend Kagayaki," she introduced as Easy tried to wrap his mind around the boy's name but failed. He hoped that he wouldn't be called upon to try to use it, for he was certain that he would mangle it, humiliating himself and insulting the youth. With one of her dazzling smiles, Cassie said, "Here, I can take that for you," motioning to the gift grasped in his free hand, which trembled as he placed the prettily packaged package in her proffered hand.

He was faintly aware of someone calling out to what obviously were more arrivals to the party, and he echoed Cassie's turn to look at whoever was coming up the walk, not that he would know anyone. He watched as a very attractive young man strode confidently up the walk followed by a blonde girl in a rather flashy costume. If it hadn't been for the way some others were dressed, he would have thought he had committed a faux paus~a phrase he had picked up from Jamil Mehmet, who often pointed out such social errors Easy tended to make. From the look on Cassie's face and the tension from the handhold, he knew there must be something major going on under the surface and made a leap at guessing that she and cocky-guy had meant something to each other once upon a time. Obviously, he'd gone for flash though he suspected Cassie had it in her to out-wow the... No. He didn't want to call her "lady in red", but then he thought that was being rather harsh, perhaps assuming what he had. She might be a nice girl, right? He realized with a start that he was behaving protectively toward the redhaired girl at his side. Reflexively, he gave her hand a squeeze of reassurance then feared she would take it as some sort of pass. Yet, he did not want to relinquish the feel of her soft hand in his, craving physical contact so much that he knew he would have to exert severe control over himself. No "kissing bandit" behavior here!

Then, Cassie's attention was on him, and he felt himself blush as he battled to meet her gaze, trying to relax so that he might enjoy himself at a party for once. They didn't all have to be catastrophes, or so he hoped. Paris had left him with too many troubled memories of events, and his first one in New Orleans... He gave that a mental shake, forbidding himself to think of what had occurred.

"Thank you for coming," she said, smiling again, which brought one of his rare openly sweet smiles in response. "I know its a little weird, but I appreciate it. As you can see, we're still decorating and stuff here... You probably want to meet everyone else." He tried not to panic at that notion, as suddenly, introductions were underway. "Hey, Clarence. Meet my friend Cat. Cat, this is Clarence and... I'm sorry, I don't know your name." For Easy, at least one piece of the puzzle dropped into place.

His lips seem to lose their curve as he found himself looking into the other youth's eyes for a moment before he had to look away, unnerved. "H-hi," he said breathily, hoping that would be sufficient but stumbled on to add, "C-Cassie invited me." Dumb! he berated himself. Real dumb, Cat! How he missed the security of a violin! He felt like more of a person when he had it with him. He could show people that what he lacked in social skills he had in his growing skill as a musician.