"Bogus. Heinous. Most non-triumphant" – Bill and Ted'sExcellent Adventure
I couldn't believe I'd done this. I'd invited Cassie over to my apartment, to watch some romance movie. Everything about that sentence seemed so wrong, but at the time it'd seemed like the best course of action to get this project done. I didn't want to put up with her accusing me of not watching the movies for the next few weeks, and this way she could pull most of the weight without getting fussy about me not doing anything.
I'd practically run back to our apartment after practice to make sure it was clean and that I smelled okay. I knew for a fact that she'd have a judgmental comment about everything, so I was doing my best to limit things she could judge. The pile of dishes that lived in our sink, gone. The trash that hadn't been taken out in a week because Payne was a lazy fuck, gone.
By eight o'clock, when she texted me she was here, I'd had time to shower, put on clothes I knew were clean, I'd vacuumed for the first time in a while, made sure all of our hockey gear was at least somewhat contained, and sprayed Febreze around the living room. For the most part, the guys and I were pretty clean, but a guy's definition of clean was almost always different than a girl's, and Cassie was more intense than most girls. She seemed like the type of person to iron her sheets.
I'd told the guys what was happening, and they'd been torn between laughing at my pain, and betting how long it'd take for us to hook up, something I'd told them was never going to happen. That being said, nothing I did would make them go away, they were all curious about who the girl I'd been complaining about nonstop since the quarter started was. It was embarrassing, but something about her just go to me to the point where I'd been talking, or well complaining about her enough to spark their attention.
This is how I ended up walking into our apartment, with Cassie in tow to see all three of them sprawled out on the couch as if they'd been there all night, not a single one of them had been there when I'd left all but five minutes ago.
"Cassie," I turned towards her, "these are my roommates. Thomas Gibbs, Teddy Coleman, and Brandon Payne."
"So you're the one that's been giving West trouble," Coleman asked, standing up to greet her, "it's an honor, please teach us your ways."
She smiled and let out a small giggle. It was the first time I'd ever seen her look something other than annoyed. It was incredibly weird, Cassie Bennet wasn't supposed to be the kind of person who smiled or laughed. She was just pure evil all the time.
"I think you've heard wrong," she responds, "he's the one giving me trouble. Like not watching the movie this weekend like he was supposed to."
There was the Cassie I knew and despised.
The guys all shook their heads like they fucking agreed with her. Fuck this, "Don't you guys have stuff to do. In your rooms," I ask giving them the same look I gave a freshman at practice today who'd complained the drills were too hard. They all scrambled, and while they did Cassie slipped out of shoes and coat and somewhat awkwardly looked around while she waited for me to do something.
"We can watch the movie in here," I said, leading her out of the entryway/kitchen and towards the couch that was no longer occupied by my roommates. They were only out there for a few minutes, surly they couldn't have made it smell that fast.
"I was thinking since I watched the Notebook this weekend, we could go ahead and watch the next movie on the list so we stay on pace."
"The list," I ask her.
"I made a list of movies I think we should watch. I've already seen some of them, but made sure to include a few others too."
"Do I not get to choose any of the movies then," I ask her.
"No, you can, I just figured you wouldn't want to spend your precious free time looking into romance movies.
I don't take the bait, "So what's tonight?"
"When Harry Met Sally, it's on Netflix and considered a classic in the genre."
I grab the remote and sit down on the opposite end of the couch from her and begin searching for it. I press play, and the most awkward few minutes of all time occur. No matter how I sit it feels wrong, but I don't want to constantly be adjusting how I'm sitting either, that would be weird. She meanwhile hasn't moved once since she sat down, and it sitting so stiffly you'd think we were in class instead of at my place.
"Do you believe that," I ask after a few minutes, "Can men and women really not be friends?"
"Oh not at all, I mean if you can't be friends with people of the gender you're attracted to bi and pan people just straight up wouldn't have friends."
"Do you have any guy friends though," I ask her.
"I'm an astrophysics major, If I didn't have guy friends, I basically wouldn't know anyone in the department."
An astrophysics major, that surprises me. I had her pegged as some sort of English or history person. Physics is impressive or would be if I was talking to anyone else. A few minutes pass by once again in silence.
"Do you have any girl friends," she asks breaking the uncomfortable silence.
"I have you don't I," I respond menacingly. I didn't even mean to, it just came out, and after we'd gone so long with being civil. I just couldn't help it, something about her just made me say the first thing that came to mind no matter how rude.
She give me a look, "You have to like someone to be friends with them."
"Are you saying you don't like me?"
"Oh because you've done so much to try and be likeable," she shoots back.
"I happen to be very likable," I reply, feeling more heated with each word, "I'm just insufferable to stuck-up people like you who don't like me, and who quite frankly I don't want to be liked by."
"Good because you're doing a terrible job of trying to get on my good side. I wasn't sure if that was intentional or if you were just a prick all the time."
Every fiber in me wants to fight back, to say something even nastier than what she's said to me. But we are here for our grade. If I don't do this, I'll probably fail, and I don't want to fail a stupid general university class. So I say nothing and turn back to watching the movie.
I try to subtly glance at her, and see that she's smiling. She thinks she won? She did not win. If anything I won that one for being the bigger person. I try my best to focus on the movie, but it's near impossible. How the hell do people actually like this shit? Harry and Sally just need to bang already so this movie can be over. It doesn't help that every few minutes Cassie scribbles something down in her notes when so far I've only written down two things the entire time.
"Hey, what's up," Cassie says a few minutes later, confusing me until I look over and see that she's on the phone. First off who talks on the phone anymore, second during a movie. A movie that she's fucking making me watch. I don't think so. I give her the level of side-eye I imagine she'd give me.
"Okay, are you okay until I get there? It should just take me like five minutes. Okay, I'm on my way call me back if things get weird again before I get there."
Now I'm more confused than anything. If things get weird? Is she about to ditch our movie night? Is whoever she was talking to in trouble?
"I've got to go," she says turning to me, "One of my friends is on a date and the guy's like a total creep, so I'm gonna go get her."
"Are you sure you can," I ask her, "I mean if he's a creep shouldn't someone you know more..."
She cuts me off, "I can take care of myself and my friends thank you very much, believe it or not, we don't always need a 'strong man' to save us."
"That's not what I," I start to say, but she cuts me off with a look as she moves to get her shoes on.
"There's only like twenty minutes left in the movie, let's just each finish it on our own, then we can start something else next time we meet up. We can figure out when we're both free in class tomorrow."
And then without so much as a goodbye, she puts her coat on and leaves. It takes me all of thirty seconds to get my stuff and follow her. I might not like the chick, but no way in hell am I going to knowingly let her walk into a potentially dangerous situation, even if she says she doesn't need help.
She starts walking in the direction of the Port, yet another cleverly named local bar. I discreetly follow her, because I know she'll give me an earful if she sees that I'm following her.
The Port has relatively large windows, and I see her walk up towards two people sitting by one of the windows. Cassie turns and says something to a cute Asian girl, I assume this is the friend that called her, then turns toward the guy and I can tell from her body language that the guy is getting a full-blown Cassie explosion. I've been on the receiving end enough times to know it, and I'm somehow oddly proud of her.
It's clear the guy says something in response that Cassie really doesn't like, and then as if she's some sort of street fighter she punches him in the face, then grabs her friend and they begin walking away.
Holy shit, the guy is clutching his face like she did some serious damage, I'm pretty far away but I think there might be blood. How the hell did Cassie learn to punch like that? I know she said she could 'take care of herself' but that sure as hell isn't what I thought she meant when she said it. Jesus, I needed to be more careful around her before she did something like that to me.
I'm so distracted by what just happened, I don't think to move or walk away and before I know it, Cassie and her friend are outside, and she does not look happy to see me.
"West, what the hell are you doing here," she yells in a very accusatory tone.
"I just wanted to make sure you were okay," I respond, holding my hands up as if to say I'm innocent, "What kind of person would I be if I just let you leave like that."
"A normal one. I told you I could handle things, and clearly, I did," she replies crossing her arms over her chest.
"Wait," her friend asks glancing between us, "you two were together before this?"
"It was just for our project," Cassie is all too quick to respond, "Lyra you know I'd never willingly spend time with," she throws me a look and pretends to shudder, "Hayden West."
"Wait," Lyra says again this time looking directly at me and smiling, "Did you really follow her all the way here to make sure she was okay?" Lyra looks like she's about to swoon, and Cassie looks like she'd rather be anywhere but here.
"It was just because it was the right thing to do. If something bad happened I didn't want it on my conscious. That's all."
"Come on Lyra," Cassie says, "let's get back home. You drove, right?"
"Yeah," she replies, "Hayden we can drive you back too."
"No, we can't," Cassie says looking mortified.
It's only a five-minute walk from here to my apartment, it'll take practically that long to get in the car and get there, but it'll annoy Cassie Bennet to no end so I say, "Thanks I'd like that."
The three of us walk over to the car, "Cassie he's taller than you, let him sit up front," Lyra calls out as we get to the car.
"You know a gentleman would let me sit up front," Cassie practically hisses at me as I grab the handle to the front door of Lyra's Mazda.
"Good thing you don't think I'm a gentleman then."
There's practically smoke coming out of Cassie's ears as I glance back at her in the backseat. Lyra meanwhile is perfectly nice, making small talk with me as she drives up to my building.
It's only like two minutes in the car, but during those two minutes, I learn that Lyra is premed and that she and Cassie met their freshman year, and now live together with two other girls. She doesn't know much about hockey, but tells me she's heard I'm really good and that she's been trying to convince Cassie to go to a game sometime this season.
"Thank you so much for the ride, It was nice meeting you Lyra," I say as I get out of the car.
Cassie gets out of the backseat to take my spot up front, and shoulder checks me as she does.
"I'm going to choose to assume that was an accident."
"You'd have chosen wrong then, goodnight West," she says.
I shake my head as they drive away and I walk into my building. Only Cassie freaking Bennet would get mad at me for making sure she wasn't walking into a potentially dangerous situation. This is why I didn't spend time with many girls, they were unpredictable. Guys, on the other hand, are easy to read.
That's how I knew as soon as I got back that my roommates would all conveniently be out of their rooms playing video games on the couch, giving me shit for anything they overheard and asking where I'd been for the past twenty minutes.
I grab the fourth controller off the console and tell them it wasn't anything to talk about, and to let me in the next round. I could use some stress relief after the night I just had.