Cassie's POV:
(Jackson's Halloween party around 3 years ago)
Kids love halloween, teenagers love halloween. Who doesn't love halloween?
It could be because of the candy, the jaco-lanterns, the parties, the dress up or even the chilly breeze on a night time and all the memories that come with it. The nostalgia of all the times you would beg to go trick or treating as a child, when times were simpler. Black and white instead of indistinguishable shades of grey.
Ever since I was little I've wanted to be a princess, to live in a fairytale where dreams come true and fairytales exist. I wanted to meet my prince charming and fall in love. I wanted to live happily ever after, just like in the books.
The closest I can get to that world is by reading and so that's how I normally spend my days, with a book in my hand, pretending to be someone I'm not.
But today we're going to a fancy dress party, that my friend Jackson is hosting, and for one night only I get to be a princess.
My friends and I decided on matching costumes this year, each of us going as a different disney princess.
I step into my large blue ballgown and pull it up my body. I clutch the fabric to my chest as I exit the bathroom. Tara, who is getting dressed up as Tiana, helps me to zip up the back as it's an almost impossible task to do alone.
We all decided to get ready together at Tara's house so we could help each other out and try out different makeup looks to match our costumes.
I pull up my pearl covered gloves and fasten my pearl necklace around the back of my neck. My shoes are hard to fasten as they have silver butterflies on and wrap up my legs but with some help I manage. Each time you touch the shoes silver sparkles come off all over your hands so by the end of it my gloved hands are covered in glitter. Quinn, who is dressed as snow white, helps me fasten them. I place my light blue headband on my head, infront of my neat bun that has two untucked pieces framing my face.
(A/n the other costumes are in my other book "Create A Divine Move" Chap 18)
Marley, who is dressed as rapunzel, does my makeup while Tara does Quinn's.
She creates a sparkly winged, blue and sliver eyeshadow look and adds some highlighter and lipstick.
I can't help but miss the presence of Mariana, she's going to be dressed as Belle. She was supposed to be here too but got called into the office for some sort of emergency. She has her own business at 17, it's a long story, a story for another day. So she's going to rush to get changed at our friend Jackson's mansion where the party is being held. By rush I mean take her sweet time because that girl can't get ready even remotely quickly to save her life.
We all finish getting ready, have a mini photoshoot in our matching costumes and then the four of us head to the party.
When we get there the large front lawn between the gate and the house is crowded with people, not a single one is not dressed up. When we weave through the masses of people and finally make it inside we have to push past even more people to find the remainder of our friends.
It takes a while for us to find the boys (Jackson, Wes, Mason and Dean) and when we do we are bombarded with compliments. It's nice to be appreciated.
Wes is dressed as Rustle, the boy scout from the disney movie UP, Mason is dressed as Raphael from teenage mutant ninja turtles, Dean as a vampire and after Wes' questioning Jackson tells us that he's James Bond, which basically just looks like his normal "business" attire to me but according to him he doesn't normally wear bow ties, it beats me. The exception to his costume being the rose in his pocket which can't possibly be a part of his costume but no one questions it. It's easy to put the dots together when you know Mariana's costume which is Belle, no doubt the unusual addition to his 'costume' has something to do with her.
"Do you want some drinks?" Jackson asks us girls as the guys arrived before us and already have them.
I volunteer to go with him so he don't have to struggle carrying them all by himself. I also want to make sure to use any sealed bottles so that none of us get spiked because you can never be too careful.
When we arrive in the kitchen one man in particular stands out straight away. He's dressed in a suit, similar to Jackson's. He's leaned against the kitchen island with a drink in one hand, the other arm lazily leaning on the countertop. His short black hair is permed and his eyes are dark but they gleam in the light, they're as green as emeralds. His unmistakable beauty and confidence, the dominance he radiates makes him unmissable even in the enormous crowd.
"Jackson." He greets when his eyes land on Jackson. I look between the two. He knows Jackson? Who is he?
"Blaine." Jackson replies. I guess that partly answers the question.
"And who's this?" He asks, his eyes now moving to me. He holds eye contact, his stare feels like it's piercing me. It feels like he's looking into my soul, it makes me incredibly uncomfortable. The cocky smile on his face gives me reason to believe that's his intention. "She your girlfriend?" He asks looking at me for a moment longer. He raises a brow and turns back to Jackson for an answer.
"This is Cassie." He replies answering only the first question in a bored tone.
"So she's free game?" He says with a smirk. What gives him the right to talk about me like that? Certifired Asshole.
"She is standing right here and can hear you." I reply.
I hate standing up for myself. I hate confrontation, I hate the way it makes me feel guilty and mean even though I wouldn't do it if it wasn't well deserved, but sometimes it's necessary. The only way some people listen is if you force them too, even then sometimes it's impossible.
I harden my gaze as I wait for a response. Even though I act confident most of the time, I'm the complete opposite inside, my head is a total and utter shit show. People see what I want them to see. I mask my true feelings because it's easier, it's the only way I can survive. I refuse to shrink under his gaze even though that's exactly what I want to do. Guys like him think that they can get away with everything and maybe they can but I refuse to be seen as weak.
"I know. I have eyes." He says trailing his eyes down my body. I suddenly become way more self aware and self conscious. I force myself not to fidget or hide my body from him even though his eyes make me feel sick to my stomach. Instead I keep up my confident front, the walls will come tumbling down later but for now I have to be strong.
I don't let the disgusted look show on my face but instead one of somewhat anger. The anger isn't fake, in fact it's the only real emotion I often let people see, the only one I can't contain.
"Stop looking at me like I'm a piece of meat."
"Well if the shoe fits, princess." He replies looking at my shoes and then back up to my eyes. The Cinderella costume. He finds himself quite hilarious doesn't he? I roll my eyes in annoyance.
Suddenly two teenage boys run past us, one of them barging into the other resulting in Jackson's white shirt being soaked in red liquid, some sort of alcohol by the smell of it.
Blaine holds in a laugh, a small smirk playing on his lips. He takes a sip of his drink to hide it and looks away suddenly very interested in the cabinets.
"Shut up." Jackson says.
"I wasn't going to say anything." Yeah sure.
"Sure you weren't." Jackson says before "Play nice." And with that he's gone, leaving me alone with whoever this Blaine character is.
I don't like him.
I look to the doorway that Jackson disappeared through willing him to come back and help me out when a question pops in my head. My curiosity gets the better of me and so I voice my thought out loud. "How do you know Jackson?" I ask.
"How do you think I know Jackson?" He asks.
"Yeah, we're not playing this game."
"How about we go somewhere more private to talk about it?" He says. Yeah, that's not going to happen.
"Unless you've got candy to lure me that's a hard pass."
The corner of his lips turn upwards into a huge grin. He reaches into his pocket pulling out a small packet filled with white powder and raising his eyebrows as if to say 'well..'
"That is not what I was talking about." I say realising he's trying to give me drugs.
"Come on Cassandra." He says.
"Don't 'Cassandra' me I don't even know you."
"Jackson does."
"Yeah still trying to figure out how he's friends with such a douchebag." I say crossing my arms in a subtle attempt to hide myself from him.
"I'm going to move past the fact that you just called me a douchebag because I'm secure enough in my masculinity."
"I'm still not taking drugs with you."
"You're no fun."
"Unlike you I don't need drugs to be fun." I say.
"Prove it."
"Prove- how?"
"Show me the fun Cassandra."
"Stop calling me Cassandra."
"So what are you going to do?" He asks.
"I don't need to prove anything to you." I state. Although for some reason, I always feel like I do have something to prove.
"No, you need to prove it to yourself." He says. "I dare you to kiss me." The nerve of this man. Who the hell does he think he is?
"So me kissing a man would prove how fun I am?" Of course anything fun a woman does has to be with a man.
"It would." Bet.
"Ok then, I accept your dare." I say with a smug smile.
My eyes catch on to a boy not to far behind Blaine, the same guy that was flirting with me earlier when me and my friends first arrived.
I step closer to Blaine, a cocky smile plastered on his face. His eyebrows rise as I sidestep him, he thinks I've chickened out. The smile stays on his face because he thinks he's won.
Oh I'll show him fun alright.
Though he did specify it was him he wanted me to kiss, when I asked him I deliberately used man, which is a collective noun meaning not him.
He thought it was a win-win situation for him but he's been outsmarted.
I feel his eyes follow me as I make my way over to the guy from earlier. I tap on his shoulder and he turns to face me "Hi."
"Hi Cassie." He says, recognising me from earlier. His gaze flickers to my lips, well this is going to be easier than originally planned because I've hit the jackpot.
He gave me his number earlier, the guys cute and seems nice he's just not really my type. He seems a little too clingy, too quickly. He asked for my number and I told him I don't give it out to strangers, he gave me his number instead. He was telling me how great I am, I'd just met the guy. I agreed to take his number, unable to break his heart by saying no. I have no intention of messaging him though.
I shouldn't really be leading this boy on by kissing him but he's probably the only willing participant I'm going to get other than Blaine and I'm not giving that asshole the satisfaction.
I look to Blaine who is already looking at me and maintain eye contact as I lean forward and kiss the random boy. His name was Thomas, I remember. I always remember people's names, I remember a lot of things most people wouldn't even pick up on because I hate forgetting and letting people down.
Blaine watches in curiosity and slight amusement as I continue to kiss the boy, my eyes not leaving his for even a second.
Why am I letting this go on for so long? It's not like I feel anything for this boy and the kiss is mediocre at best. So why won't my lips leave his?
It's like I have something to prove, do I?
I push on his shoulders and pull my face away from his. "Why don't we go somewhere a little more private?" He suggests, his eyes fixated on my boobs. Ew.
Ok maybe he's not so nice after all.
"No thanks I'm good." I say.
I don't notice Blaine is stood beside me until he speaks up. "Go on." He challenges and I look at him to see him already looking back at me. "I dare you." He says with a mischievous glint in his eyes, knowing full well that I won't.
"Fuck you." I seethe.
I try to walk away from the two of them, not wanting to be in either of their presences but one of them grabs my arm. I don't even bother to look and see who it is, quite frankly I don't care. "Let go." I demand.
They don't let go and my anger rises.
I'm about to flip and take a swing at someone when someone else speaks up. "She said let go." Blaine's deep, commanding voice says. Thomas immediately lets my arm go.
"Seriously?" I say turning around. Blaine looks shocked, like I'm about to have a go at him for helping me, I'm not. "So it takes another guy to tell you to stop for you to acctually listen. But when it's my body that you're touching you don't give a shit about what I say." Thomas looks at me flabbergasted.
"It's not that deep, chill out woman."
"And then you do that, victim blaming, telling me that I'm overreacting." I say my thoughts out loud. "Of course it would be my fault because god forbid a woman acctually stands up for herself. Misogynistic asshole." We can add that to the list of reasons why he isn't my type.
"I just wanted to have sex, you were the one who kissed me, remember?"
I roll my eyes. "Just because she kissed you doesn't mean she wants to have sex with you, it doesn't mean shit." Blaine says before I have a chance to speak. Ok maybe I don't like this guy but he's earned at least a little of my respect.
"I mean look at her body, I just kind of assumed-" He says looking me up and down. I freeze in shock. I think I'm going to throw up.
Blaine cuts him off, whispering barely audible, harsh words in his ear, resulting in the boys eyes going wide. From what I can make out Blaine says something along the lines of "Take your disgusting eyes off her body before I gauge out your eyeballs." And "You better keep your mouth shut or we'll see how good you can speak without a tongue." There's no way he said that, right?
Thomas quickly stumbles away as soon as Blaine lets go of him.
I walk away from Blaine, done with the conversation.
I feel nauseous and downright dirty. Suddenly I'm hyper aware of everyone watching me, everyone's eyes surrounding me so I make my way upstairs and into a bathroom.
This was supposed to be a good night, I was supposed to have fun but instead I just feel like crap.
♡♡♡
I sit outside on the small staircase that leads to Jacksons huge, empty back garden. I sit alone, in silence as I watch the stars twinkle in the night sky, the sight helping me decompress.
I'm so angry at everything. I'm mad at my friend Mariana who has run off and no one can find her. I'm mad at that stupid guy that I stupidly kissed, I'm mad at myself for kissing him. I'm mad at Blaine, I don't even need a reason for that he's just annoying and infuriating. And I'm mad at Jackson for leaving me alone with him, which to be fair wasn't really his fault. Most of all I'm mad at the world for always having it out for me.
For once in my life I liked the way I looked, I thought I could leave all of that behind me just for tonight but how can I when all anyone does is inspect me.
Someone fake coughs behind me, getting my attention. I slightly jump at the sudden noise before spinning around from my place on the stairs.
Blaine stands leaning against the door frame, a smile making it's way onto his face at my shocked expression and obliviousness to his presence.
"Don't think too hard, you might hurt yourself." He says and I roll my eyes and turn back around continuing star gazing.
"Don't sneak up on people or one day it'll bite you in the ass."
"I highly doubt it." He says sitting down next to me, looking up at the stars.
"You're very full of yourself you know?"
"It's called confidence. I'm not full of myself I simply know my worth."
"You can know your worth and not be such a dick about it." His eyes turn to me with a hint of amusement in them. "What?" I ask, turning to him.
"You just called me a dick." And that's funny, why?
"I've called you a dick, as well as numerous other words that should not be repeated." I state.
"Not a lot of people would dare to say that to my face." He says. Someone had to humble him.
"Well I'm not like other girls." I say completely ironically. They always say that in books, I find it funny.
"You're certainly not." He says so quiet it's barely audible and I question if he even said it at all.
"I think it's because of the whole tough guy demeanor." I offer. "And your personality could use some work."
"I don't care what other people think about me." He says.
"Well maybe you should care a bit more."
"You act as if you know me and yet you don't. Your problem is you care too much Cassandra, I see though your whole confident charade you've got going on. When you thought you were alone you were relaxed but now your full demeanor has changed, you act different when people are around you."
"Maybe it's because I don't like you." I blurt.
"Yes, you've made that very well known, you're overcompensating." He says with a smile.
"I have two conversations with you and suddenly you know my whole life story? You don't."
"I never claimed to know your full life story, Cassandra. I'm just letting you know that you can fool everyone else but you can't fool me."
"Sure, because you know everything." I say sarcastically.
"That I do."
♡♡♡
A/n do you really wanna know where I was April 29th? 🎶
I was posting this chapter, yw.
The release date of the first two chapters is the 12th of May, after that updates should be Monday & Friday or sometimes just Wednesday.
Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed the prologue :)