Neither of them broke the stare-off for a while, because neither really knew how to react. How do you react to finding a boy you care about, singing of all things about how his feelings for you would destroy him? How do you react to the girl who is unconsciously decimating you emotionally seeing you wax poetic in song about all your inner thoughts and feelings that you never wanted anyone to know about?
Cater, apparently, found the answer to his question first, because without any sort of warning, he bolted in the opposite direction, away from the cause of his problems. Cassandra was left blinking in shock at the empty space where Cater used to be as the boy got the heck outta dodge with the speed of Usain Bolt.
A few seconds passed, and when the golden eyed girl realized she had unconsciously put her fellow redhead in a social fight-or-flight situation. Clearly, he had chosen flight.
Cassandra smiled annoyedly as she watched Cater run off further into the distance, arms crossed and an eyebrow raised.
"It's cute that you think you can run from me, sweetling.", she said, and like that she was off.
Cater was about a few yards past the treeline of the forest, when his sprint was halted by a wolfishly grinning Cassandra, who was leaning against a tree on a hill two yards above where he stood with crossed arms and legs.
"So, come here often?", she asked. Cater didn't answer and stood in shocked silence. How had she gotten ahead of him?!
With impossible speed, the irked redhead made her way down the hill in the blink of an eye and pinned Cater to a nearby tree, caging him between her arms. The green eyed boy became even more nervous than he already was when he saw the very apparent scowl on his captor's face.
"Enough, Cater. Running away won't solve your problems. Tell me what's wrong.", Cassandra ordered, sternly yet softly, as Cater did his best to avoid her piercing gaze by looking to the side.
"Nothing's wrong, I'm fine- ", he started to say, about to give his usual speech on how whoever saw whatever did made things seem worse than they were and nothing was wrong, when Cassandra clasped a hand over his mouth mid-sentence and made him look her in her blazing eyes, her scowl even deeper than before.
"Shut. Up. Do not give me the 'everything is fine' speech when it clearly is not.", the girl growled out, golden eyes glowing in anger, not at him, but at his situation. Cater had to physically resist the urge to moan at this.
He was pinned to a tree in the middle of nowhere by a hot woman who oozed big dom energy. If this situation had less context, he would ideally be halfway out of his clothes and covered in hickies, but we can't always get what we want, now can we?
Cassandra removed her hand, put both her arms down, and gave Cater a serious look.
"Now tell me what's wrong.", she repeated. Cater crossed his arms and glared at her, but he looked more angry with himself than the girl in front of him.
"You really want to know? Fine. It's you.", he reluctantly spat out, sounding more sad than angry. Cassandra's eyes widened in surprise.
"Me?", she asked, an eyebrow raised as she pointed to herself. Cater nodded and narrowed his eyes, frowning.
"Yes you. You just act however you want and say whatever you want without thinking of the consequences, don't you? You don't even know how you affect others, do you? How you affect me!?", the redheaded boy elaborated as he placed a hand on his chest to emphasize his words, causing Cassandra to be even more confused.
"You're not making any sense.", she said, and Cater snorted, a hysterical smile appearing on his face.
"I'll tell you what doesn't make any sense! Me, still being here, talking to you, when I know that it's only going to hurt me in the end, because for all your astute observations about others, you're still so staggeringly oblivious!", he yelled out, holding his crossed arms tighter as an unhinged shine coated his eyes. Cassandra kept a neutral expression as Cater talked. He wasn't thinking clearly, so she wasn't going to hold his words against him.
'Doesn't mean I have to like what he's saying, though.', the tanned girl thought, frowning at her friend's seemingly condescending words. Cater continued.
"You-you really don't get it, do you? Don't you understand?", he asked in a weak voice. Cassandra frowned in concern.
"Understand what?", she asked. Cater's glare came back at full force.
"That you're going to leave! That one day, you'll find a way back to wherever you came from, go back there and never come back! That... that you'll leave me...", he yelled out, muttering the last part sadly. Cassandra reached a hand out and put it on his shoulder.
"Cater, I won't- ", she started soothingly, only to have her hand pulled off of Cater's shoulder, lowered down to her side and held firmly at the wrist. It might have been bruising to a human, but she barely felt it. The redhead could break away at any time, but chose not to.
"But that's the thing! You will, and normally I could accept that, but I can't stand it this time! Because I- !", the green eyed boy exclaimed, before he cut himself off with a scowl and pulled a surprised Cassandra in by her wrist for a seething kiss, using her shock to deepen it and wrap his free arm around her waist.
Cassandra was surprised. She knew she was attracted to him and liked him as a person, yes, but she didn't expect him to make the first move. Then again, Kalim had surprised her by practically pouncing on her in an empty classroom, despite the fact he was what the pop culture community would call a 'power bottom', so she supposed anything could happen.
Melting into the kiss, Cassandra let him have control, given the fact he didn't think he had much of that right now. She wanted to reassure him that none of his fears would ever become reality.
Carding her fingers through his hair, Cater groaned at the pleasant sensation and held Cassandra tighter. This continued for quite some time, with occasional seconds long breaks for air, until both their lipstick was smudged and lips were too swollen to continue.
Resting his forehead on Cassandra's own, Cater breathlessly finished his last sentence.
"Because... because I love you...", he admitted, cheeks flushed red and eyes burning yet dazed with passion and lust. Cassandra smiled softly.
"You could have just led with that...", she said, kissing him one last time before she spoke again with a frown.
"Cater, while I feel the same, you really should have told me about how you felt earlier. I'm not going anywhere. Ever. When I find a way to return to my home world, I will not leave until I know for a fact that I will be able to travel between worlds safely.", Cassandra declared, golden eyes flickering in conviction. Cater blinked in shock.
"But, won't that be really difficult...?", he trailed off. Cassandra laughed.
"This isn't an anime, honey; if I can travel to this world, then I can travel back to mine. Every action has an inverse. Just because we don't know it yet doesn't mean it doesn't exist.", she said in non-mocking humor. Cater frowned.
"That sounds a lot like having your cake and eating it too.", he said, sounding hesitant to put all his faith in Cassandra's statement. Cassandra, who sensed his skepticism, grinned wickedly and freed her wrist from Cater's grasp with ease, putting that hand on her hip. Cater blinked in surprise at how easily she pulled her hand back. She could have moved away at any time during their makeout? (he felt giddy inside when he realized he had made out with the woman he loved for the first time and she had kissed back and she loved him too and she was staying ohSeventhiswasthegreatestdayofhislife- )
While Cater was riding his 'she-likes-me-too' high, Cassandra had noticed she had managed to put him a bit out of it (something she took pride in), but had begun to put Cater's suspicions to rest anyways.
"Everyone is able to have their cake and eat it too in the right circumstances, hun; everyone who says that and believes it is just salty that they couldn't figure out how to do it themselves.", Cassandra said, getting Cater's attention. The third year smiled.
"I guess when you put it like that it doesn't sound that impossible... ", he said in a begrudging voice, but the smile on his face betrayed his true feelings. Cassandra grinned.
"See, what did I tell you? Now, about those underlying abandonment issues...", she mumbled forebodingly. Cater gulped and resisted the urge to sprint again, before he sighed and resigned himself to his fate. Cassandra gave him a closed-eye smile and pat him on the head, causing him to blush even more furiously than before.
"Good boy.", the tribrid praised, and Cater's positive emotions were at an all time high as he was led to a nearby log.
"Sit.", the red head ordered, and Cater sat down before she did so herself beside him.
"Now lay down.", Cassandra ordered once more, and Cater looked at her with a questioning glance. A stern look from her told him not to argue, and so the green eyed boy laid down with his head in Cassandra's lap. Crossing his fingers over his chest, his girlfriend? Lover? Began to play with his hair, soothing him into freely speaking.
"Now speak, what troubles you? What's caused you such pain?", she asked kindly, and Cater took a deep breath and did the one thing he never thought he would do for anyone.
He tore down his walls and opened up.
"I guess it all started when my mom left. I had known for a long time that my parents didn't get along. To this day, I don't have any memories of them both being in the same room and not firing passive aggressive insults at each other or screaming their heads off. So when they both got a divorce when I was six, I wasn't even surprised.", the orange haired boy said in a depressed voice, before taking a deep breath and continuing.
"I can't say I blame my mom for leaving. My dad isn't the easiest guy to get along with, always seeming to love his job more than his wife and kids and moving us to a new city or country every few years or so. She must have been lonely with just her son and daughters for company in that house... but that doesn't mean I don't blame her for abandoning us.", he said ominously, clenching his hands as tightly as he could in their current position.
"She could have taken us with her, but she just left us there, with him! She had the means, but she just didn't care enough to bother! Maybe she thought she was getting rid of two unwanted relationships, killing two birds with one stone. Maybe she genuinely thought she wouldn't have won the custody battle, I don't know, but she could have at least... tried. Even if everything seems hopeless, even if the chance of being able to save them is less than zero, shouldn't you try anyway? Isn't that what love is?", Cater introspected, and Cassandra nodded her head at his true words. Seeing her silent agreement, the third year continued.
"My older sisters and I grew up surrounded by sycophants and authority figures that only pretended to give a damn for the sake of their image. At the end of the day, we only had each other, so we learned how to be self-sufficient. They were the ones who raised me, even if they were just kids themselves, and while they can definitely be a bit pushy when it comes to me doing what they want, I wouldn't trade them for the world. They were always the trendy and outgoing types, so their personalities sort of rubbed off on me, and they taught me a lot about makeup and fashion, which only served to piss my dad off more. He would prefer his son to be less of a girl.", Cater spat out bitterly, and Cassandra nodded her head in understanding, her eyes widening in realization.
"Ah, one of those... ", she trailed off. Cater scowled bitterly.
"Yeah.", he hissed out in a tone that matched his scowl, before sighing with an air of resignation that the golden eyed girl had a feeling had been present within him for far too long.
"But what can I do? He is my dad, as much as he doesn't act like it. He's legally my guardian for another year, but even after that I still won't have the means to take care of myself for another few years. My mother is not an option, and my sisters should be able to enjoy their adult lives without having to deal with my sorry ass. In the end, the only thing I can do for the foreseeable future is grin and bear it, like I always have.", the orange haired boy muttered in an emotionless tone that broke Cassandra's heart. Shifting her soft, sympathetic expression into a scowl, she glared in determination.
"Like hell you are.", she bit out in anger. The green eyed boy with his head in her lap looked up at her in confusion.
"Huh?", he asked dumbly. Cassandra looked down at him with scarelly calm yet angry eyes.
"Cater, you cannot just spill the tea on your toxic waste dump of a home life like that and expect me not to do something about it. You are not going home for breaks. You are going to your sisters or you can stay at the dorm with me and the others. Don't worry about Crowley trying to kick you out; the man's scared shitless of me, and your father will be too if the asshole has anything to say to me or you about this. If you need money, you'll have what you need and more. I have access to a large amount of funds, so supporting you would be no issue.", the red headed girl declared. Cater looked at her with wide eyes.
"I-you don't have to do that- ", he started to stammer out, shocked by the generous offer, but was cut off.
"We're dating, right? You said love is when someone tries to save you, even when the chance is less than zero. Well, the chance is way more than zero here.", the tanned skinned girl said cheerfully, before smiling lovingly.
"Let me help you, Cater. You don't have to grin and bear it anymore.", she said with certainty, reaching a hand out for him to take, and Cater felt tears welling in his eyes when he heard it.
"Y-yeah... ", he agreed simply, not trusting himself to say more and have his voice crack, and took the hand firmly in his own. Cassandra used it to pull him up out of her lap, and once he was situated beside her, helped him off the log with the same hand.
"My dad's gonna flip his shit when he finds out... ", Cater trailed off with a dry chuckle, and Cassandra grinned confidently, flashing her fangs as she placed her hands on her hips.
"Well he can take his complaints up with me, and trust me when I say I will put the fear of the gods in his ass.", the redhead promised, and Cater laughed.
"I'm sure you will.", he said fondly, and the two began the trek back to the dorm. After they had taken a few steps, the female member of the couple broke her and her partner's comfortable silence.
"Though, I've got to ask, what was... earlier?", Cassandra asked hesitantly, and Cater blinked in confusion and raised an eyebrow.
"I don't follow.", he said, wondering what aspect of the recent past was so strange to her; well, stranger. Cassandra seemed to contemplate her words for a while before speaking.
"You know, the whole singing bit? Which was really great, by the way. You have a beautiful voice.", the golden eyed girl asked, tacking on a sincere compliment at the end with a smile. Cater's eyes widened and he blushed before answering.
"Oh, that was musicae effectus.", he replied, and Cassandra raised an eyebrow.
"The music effect?", she effortlessly translated. Cater nodded.
"Yeah, it's basically this universal magical compulsion to sing in times of great emotional stress, like when you're really happy or sad or conflicted, and the singing can sometimes be accompanied by temporary solid illusions and background music created by the singer's subconscious. It only happens to a few people, though. Usually ones with magic. No one really knows what causes it, all we know is that it's relatively harmless and the illusions caused by it usually don't stick around after the song, though there are occasional exceptions. That was the first time it's happened to me, directly or indirectly.", the orange haired boy answered. Cassandra kept her eyebrow raised.
"Define 'indirectly' in this context.", she requested, and Cater nodded as he jumped off of the hill he was on and onto the stone wall surrounding the garden they had now re-entered. Sticking his arms out to balance himself, he walked slowly across the thin wall's top as Cassandra slowed down to match his pace, hands behind her back as she walked.
"Sometimes, when one person is being affected, other people can get sucked into the song as a part of a duet or as a background singer or dancer. There's no way to stop it, so people have just learned to accept it as a part of life.", the phosphorescent green eyed mage said, and grunted as he reached the end of the wall and jumped off, opening the gate beside him for Cassandra.
"Think of it like this; life here is like one big musical with the longest intermissions between songs ever seen.", the young man simplified, and Cassandra nodded in understanding as she took Cater's hand and let him lead her out of the gate.
"I suppose that makes sense...", she relented. Cater smiled, proud of her quick comprehension. Cassandra then frowned.
"It couldn't just be the movies, could it? Noooo, they just had to bring show tunes into it. The Powers That Be are lucky I'm a sucker for contemporary musical theater.", the redhead mumbled under her breath as she walked forward. Cater followed behind her and gave her a look that silently asked what the hell she was talking about.
"What did you say?", he asked, and Cassandra shot him a closed eye smile that told him not to ask questions.
"Nothing you need worry about. Now, since you have been so kind as to share your story with me, my darling diamond, I think it's time I told you mine.", the tribrid declared, causing Cater's interest to be piqued and his cheeks to turn bright red. Opening her eyes, Cassandra's golden pools were revealed to hold mischief and seriousness within their depths.
"What do you know of vampires?", she asked in an innocent tone, when her face was anything but, turning back to face her latest love with her hands behind her back. The wind blew through her hair, and for a moment, Cater's breathing stopped.
—---------------------------------------------------
Cater could only listen in awe as a tale of murder, deception, destiny and love was spun before him by the lips of his lover. He could only listen to the tale, too crazy to have been made up, in rapture as they made their way back to the dorm. A king. His girlfriend was a king, but not just any king; she was the king of kings, and she wasn't exactly human either.
At first, he didn't know how to react. He wasn't afraid or angry, just really, really confused. Also, soulmates? Kind of cliche, but he didn't mind. Same went for the whole poly relationship thing. At least he knew what that odd mark was now.
In the end, Cater settled for feeling neutral on the matter. What would happen because of all the godly stuff and magic swords and whatever would happen, and he was going to return the favor Cassandra was doing his mental state by sticking around even if the bloody ground caved in.
So, as the third year watched everyone fuss over everyone's appearances, he could only smile at the creatures of the night he was now friends with knowingly as he gleefully took his redheaded lover's arm on the way to the mirror gate, much to everyone's surprise.
He was right when he told Trey this was the good kind of crazy.
Sorry this took me like two months to finish. I took a break to work on another fic and then I just took a break from writing altogether. Happy belated Turkey Sacrifice day everyone who celebrates it! Next time, drama at the unbirthday party and an unholy amount of yelling!
So long and Goodnight, Thackery Binx