basorexia || matt daddario au [completed]

27. the last game.

"this game better be gold." cassie muttered as she put her cheerleader outfit on. alex sighed from her seat on the bed and tapped on her phone with her fingernails. "okay, i'm sorry."

"no, it's fine." alex said calmly as she waved her off. "go on, you need to rant."

"it's been days." cassie muttered, putting her hair up in a ponytail. "and i'm still not mature enough to let it go! it's so awkward and tense between us, and now is the game that he's been practicing for, for so long. and i can't be excited for his sake! every time i try to be happy about this and cheerful, i remember that he ditched my art show for his training with chris. i just wish i could be happy for him!"

the cheerleader paced around as she spoke, waving her arms in the air and ending with a sigh. gazing at her roommate, she pressed her lips together and alex cracked a little smile.

"you're not immature, cassie. i'd be pissed too. but, as the cheerleader captain, you have to smile today. so just... try." alex reminded her as she got up and forced a smile on cassie's face by putting both index fingers on the corners of her mouth. "okay?"

"okay." cassie tried to pout, but failed because of alex. "i'm so close to biting your fingers off."

"alright!" alex laughed, hastily pulling them away. "i have to finish my assignment, and you have practice. so i'll see you at the game."

cassie made a face — parting her lips as she pulled the corner of her mouth sideways — and left the room with a nod. whilst walking toward the football field, she clenched and unclenched her hands.

"hey, marinov!" candice called before jogging after the girl to catch up with her.

"hi." cassie pressed a smile, glimpsing at her.

"can i ask you a question? and it's out of genuine care, i'm not here to pry or gossip." candice wondered, looking concerned almost.

"yeah, of course. you can always ask."

"are you and matt alright? it's impossible not to see that's something's going on, and i'm only asking because i care about you and you're my friend." candice asked the one question cassie had been waiting to receive.

"we're... fine, no need to worry. something happened and we're working it out." cassie answered vaguely, shielding her eyes from the sun with her hands. "now go and line up."

"alright, captain." candice mocked a salute before strutting over to the rest of the cheerleaders. that put a weak smile on cassie's face, making her sigh in slight content.

"is it too early to wish one another good luck?" matt suddenly appeared, hovering over her shoulder. cassie couldn't help but to feel a heaviness in her chest; she really tried not to, but it just planted itself there by the sound of his voice.

"it's been days, i think we're fine." she mumbled, folding her arms together softly. noticing her posture, he swallowed and turned her around carefully, still having the apologetical and regretful expression on his face.

"we're not fine." he shook his head sadly, causing her to briefly look to the side and lick her lips.

"i'm trying, matthew. i don't want to be angry with you, i don't want to be so bitter about this, but i can't help it. you completely stood me up on the one thing that matters to me here, and you're hiding something from me. you can't expect me to just–"

"i'm not." he quickly interrupted her. "i just... i'm really sorry, okay? and i will tell you, it's just not something you want to talk about."

"so it's bad news?" she scoffed, stretching her shoulders upwards for a moment. "how bad can it be, matt? what could possibly be so hard to talk about with me?"