How To Save A Life

3. past his defence

Let him know that you know best
'Cause after all you do know best
Try to slip past his defence
Without granting innocence
__

Detention.

That one word could put a frown on any teenagers face, and Cassie was no exception. However, her face didn't just show a frown; it was a kaleidoscope of expressions and negative emotions all mixed into one: disappointment.

Their punishment was to stay behind the next day and scrape chewing gum and other strange foods from the bottom of tables in the science lab. It was disgusting and probably dangerous from the amount of germs on the underside of the tables, but it was that or write a 10-page essay on Why You Should Never Skip Class... Ever.

The pair had barely gotten through half of their chore before Matthew got bored and attempted to make small talk with his friend. Of course, that led to obnoxious singing, quoting stupid movies, and being an overall idiot.

"Psst, Cassie."
"Hey, don't ignore me!"
"Caaaasssssssiiiiieeeee."
"Oh Caaaaassie, you're breaking my heart, you're shaking my confidence daily..."
"Not a fan of The Vamps? Okay."

Cassie internally cringed, but continued to ignore him instead of pointing out that the song was written way before The Vamps even existed. Heck, she might be a teenage girl but she'd never bothered listening to their music.

One thing Matt had always been good at, was annoying people. Having younger siblings came with many perks, like being able to quote bad One Direction songs or remember the lyrics to any song from any of the High School Musical movies.

"We're soaring, flying, there's not a star in heaven that we can't reach. If we're trying, yeah we're breaking free."

He began singing the first verse quietly, remembering how it was done in the movie. Most people would find this funny, especially with the hand gestures and facial expressions that came with the performance, but the frustrated girl refused to acknowledge him.

"You know the world can see us, in a way that's different from who we are, creating space between us, till we're separate hearts."

If anyone walked past the window now, they would be greatly confused by the teenage boys lowly rising from the ground in song, but of course nobody in the room (which was just the two friends, or acquaintances as Cassie would call them) bothered about what others thought.

"But your faith it gives me strength, strength to believe..."

Matt finally stood up, fist bumping the air as he began belting out the lyrics.

"WE'RE BREAKING FREE!"

He screamed the first line of the chorus, and finally Cassie snapped.

"Look, my parents are mad enough that I'm in trouble, the last thing I want to do is get distracted and have to stay behind later than I already am." She snapped at him, looking up from the table she had finally finished de-gumming.

"Hey, I'm staying here for an extra hour! I threw myself under the bus for you, I told everyone that I made you come with me and I lied to my parents just so that you got in less trouble. You could at least thank me!

The blonde girl scoffed, shaking her head at his comment. "My hero," she muttered under her breath.

Matt raised an eyebrow and asked her to repeat it.

"I said," she put emphasis on the word said. "That you're my hero. As always, Matt swoops in to save the day and make us all happy again! It's not like he caused the mess or anything - god no, he never messes anything up because Matthew Wright is an angel who just wants to make everything happy and bake cupcakes of rainbows and sparkles so we can all eat them and be happy together! How freaking happy is that?"

Matt noticed her references to Mean Girls but decided not to call her out on it, knowing it would spur her on even more.

"Don't you think you're overreacting, Cass?"

She ignored the question but flinched at his nickname. That's what her family used to call her, before she drifted away and became so... Isolated. It's like none of the old Cassie was there any more, she was just a broken girl now - a nobody.

"God, why are you so irritating?" She questioned him, looking at the older boy directly for the first time. He had taken seat on the edge of a table on the opposite side of the room and was watching her intently.

"Was it the singing? Too much?"

For Matt, this was all still a joke. He liked to lighten the mood for people, and like he had already told the smaller girl, he wanted to fix her and that meant reminding her how to laugh and have fun. But Cassie's insults had begun to get more personal, and instead of just attacking his singing and joking around she was getting into his mind,

"Not just the singing, it's everything!" She exclaimed. "You're so pushy all the time, I never wanted to be your friend but you just cling on like some sort of fucking octopus with your stupid tentacles and suction-cup-thingys. I can't even move around here without you breathing down my neck!"

She had entered a world of her own, and Matt was well aware of what was going on. Her anger built up inside for so long, it was too easy for her brain to force it all upon him and out the blame on one person. Still, it was hard not to get upset by her words, and it was tugging on his oldest insecurities.

In elementary school, Matt didn't fit into any social groups. There was nothing special about him that put him into a clique, and so finding friends was hard. Every time he thought he woad found a group, they told him to "leave them be" or "stop being clingy" and left him alone again. That's why when his parents moved state and he joined middle school, Matt became a jock; instead of clinging onto friends, he had enough to dispose of and replace in a day, and everyone else clung to him like bats.

By the time Cassie's rant was over, she felt guilty. It was obvious the line had been crossed, and by the look on Matthew's face he didn't expect to be treated so harshly. She knew he didn't deserve it, but maybe this was necessary? They were getting too close, someone would else up hurt.

"My hours up, I'm leaving." She whispered, and her friend nodded slightly as a response. With a sigh, she walked to the door and pulled her backpack over her shoulders, leaving the bucket of old gum by the door.

"Goodbye," Cassie whispered, and this time Matt was the one who couldn't think of anything to say.

******
SHIT GOING DOWN, ON A TUESDAY

this is so bad I'm actually embarrassed to publish it but it's 2:56AM right now and my brain is about to shut down and put me into hibernation mode.
BUT FR IM SO SAD ABOUT MATT HES MY BABY AND I JUST.... AWW

goodnight :-)