SIXTEEN, little girl
( episode eight, the runway )
☀︎☀︎☀︎☀︎☀︎
WHEN JJ WOKE UP THE NEXT MORNING, CASSIE WASN'T BESIDE HIM. the house smelled delicious, the door to cassie's room was wide open, letting the smell waft in. the blonde haired boy pulled himself out of the bed onto the cold wood floor.
he took himself to the kitchen, following the smell. cassie had her back to the entryway, grace beside her on a step stool, mixing some pancake batter up in a bowl.
cassie laughed at something her daughter said, mixing in the bowl. "yeah, and what's your favorite movie?" she asked, very interested in the answer.
"rapunzel!" grace managed to say, even though she struggled. "mommy, can i mix?"
"sure," cassie said, moving the bowl in front of grace, handing her the spoon. "try to get all the clumps out." grace rapidly stirred at the batter, flinging it around, onto herself and cassie. "grace, stop!" jj, who had been leaned against the wall watching the girls, chuckled.
cassie turned around, wiping pancake batter from her forehead. she smiled, upon seeing him. she walked over to him and planted a kiss on his lips, gently. "good morning," she greeted.
"good morning." jj replied, kissing her again. "what're you making?"
"pancakes." cassie answered, grabbing a paper towel to wipe the batter off of her face. "i figured we could take them to everyone, for breakfast."
jj grabbed a paper towel and walked over to grace, to wipe her face too. he looked at the flour and milk spread out among the counters, asking, "you're making them from scratch?"
"mhm," cassie hummed in reply, taking the bowl from her daughter and beginning to mix the batter herself again. "it's not hard." she looked around at the mess of ingredients she had left behind. "can you two help clean up?"
the boy nodded, picking grace up from the step stool, and carrying her over to the sink. he helped her wash her hands, then helped her dry them.
"evelyn's not home?" jj asked, as he began to clean up the mess cassie had left behind her. the house was quieter
"no, she's taking faith and miles to visit their dad." the brunette answered, as she started to pour out some of the batter onto the frying pan on the stove. "i think naomi's still sleeping, so i was gonna put some in the fridge for her."
as he put away the milk, the boy listened, nodding. "wait, what about grace?" he asked, after he thought about it for a second, realizing that no one was home to watch grace. "she can't come with us today."
cassie smiled at the boys concern, setting the mixing bowl down. "we're dropping her off at max's." she replied, grabbing a spatula from the utensil cup. jj looked surprised at this, knowing what he had said at the midsummers party and how upset it made cassie.
she pulled jj closer by the arm, adding on in a whisper, "i needed a babysitter really badly, and i didn't want evelyn to have to pay the new nanny while she's not here."
"are you sure?" jj asked, raising a brow. "we can take her with, y'know, you two can sit in the car or something."
"jj, it's fine." cassie assured him, rubbing his arm. she quickly switched her attention back to the pan, sliding the spatula underneath the pancake, and flipping it. "i'm not putting her around all that again."
jj wasn't sure how he felt about leaving grace with her dad, but he had no say in the matter. "well, can we take her to the chateau with us and drop her off on the way to crain house?" he asked, grabbing cassie's waist.
she watched the pancake in front of her cook, as jj rested his head on her shoulder affectionately. she liked this, even if she was still trying to figure out the best way to go about it. she pursed her lips, moving the pancake from the pan to a plate. "sure," she replied. she turned, giving jj a kiss on the side of his head, before asking, "how many pancakes do you want?"
☀︎☀︎☀︎
CASSIE, GRACE, AND JJ MET UP WITH KIE AND POPE AT THE CHATEAU NOT LONG AFTER ALL OF THE PANCAKES WERE DONE. everyone ate quickly, then they got to work on the plan. today was the day they were going to get all of the gold, just as soon as john b got back from fishing with ward cameron.
cassie was trying to keep her relationship with jj under wraps, but it was hard, now that they had confessed their feelings for each other she just wanted to show it. she wanted to be able to kiss jj whenever she wanted to, but she was waiting for the right time to tell everyone.
kie kept shooting her suspicious looks, every time she sat on the boy's lap or held his hand, but cassie rolled her eyes in reply, like a way of saying you're crazy. she felt bad lying, but she wanted things to cool down before they opened another can of worms.
if she was being honest, cassie didn't care much about kiara and pope knowing— it was more about john b. they had broken his precious rule— although so had he and kie— and cassie was taking a huge risk by pursuing her feelings for jj.
but, everything in life has consequences.
there was a 50% chance that letting herself be with jj would end badly, but a 50% chance that it would end great. if she didn't try at all, there was a 0% chance of either happening, so she was going to at least try.
kie was sitting in the winch that pope had built, to test if it would hold the weight. pope was stood near his truck, watching her and holding onto the rope. grace, cassie, and jj sat on the edge of the hot tub, letting their legs soak in the hot water.
"how's it feeling?" pope questioned.
"feels good." kie replied, holding onto the chains.
"alright, taking you down." pope informed her, slowly beginning to start letting her and the barrel down.
cassie looked around, anxiously awaiting john b's return. jj put a comforting hand on her thigh, rubbing it gently. "john b pullin' a houdini." he commented, shaking his head.
"yeah, where is he?" pope questioned, a bit annoyed. "i got my scholarship interview tomorrow. we gotta get this done!"
john b suddenly appeared, as if he had been summoned by the mention of his name. he walked up without a greeting to anyone, his eyes focused only in front of him.
"speak of the devil." cassie muttered, swiveling around so that her legs were on the outside of the hot tub now. she pulled grace onto her lap, greeting john b, "hey, there's pancakes for you inside."
"dude, i set up the entire winch to pull up the gold and everything." jj added, although he was lying.
"no, he did not. i did that." pope corrected.
cassie furrowed her eyebrows as she watched her brother. he hadn't said a word still, or even glanced at anyone. "what's with you?"
no reply. he hurried up the steps, onto the porch, then disappeared into the house.
"uh... what's that all about?" pope asked the three sitting on the ledge of the hot tub.
jj shrugged, replying, "i was gonna ask you the same question."
cassie handed grace to jj, following after her brother quickly, with everyone joining behind her.
when they got inside, john b was rummaging through drawers frantically, like he was searching for something. jj set grace down inside and everyone surrounded john b, trying to get him to answer their questions.
"you all right, man? what— what's up?" pope questioned as he slammed the doors to a bookshelf, making everything inside jump a little.
"what are you looking for?" kie questioned.
cassie shook her head, watching as john b nearly knocked grace over in his searching frenzy. "grace, go to your room." she instructed, immediately after that, ushering her into the hall. she disappeared into the hallway as cassie returned back to her original spot, but peered out at the scene happening. cassie looked to her brother, questioning angrily, "what the hell are you doing? you almost pushed grace over!"
"bro, what's going on, man?" jj asked as john b lifted up a couch cushion and finally found it. the gun. cassie's eyes widened upon him pulling it from the couch. "john b, what do you need the gun for, man?" the boy questioned, immediately walking up to him. "talk to us!"
the brunette pushed his best friend down onto the pull out couch, continuing to walk again. "what the fuck?" cassie questioned in disbelief.
"john b, chill!" kie added.
"what, are you jj now?" pope asked, as he tried to block the way into the kitchen, but instead, john b grabbed his arms and flung him into the dining table. cassie gasped— john b was usually never violent like this.
he walked through the kitchen, to the back door and out of the house. cassie followed him, stomping against the wood floors furiously. "john b!" she shouted, as she reached the back door, which he had tried to slam on her.
he hurried over to jj's bike, which was parked on the other side of pope's dad's truck. "john b, what the hell are you doing?!"
everyone joined her, racing down the steps and running over to him as he revved up the bike. "john b, what the hell?" kie yelled. grace pushed through the door as well, staying by the steps.
"ward knows about the gold."
cassie's jaw dropped, grabbing onto john b's arms in the hopes it would make him stay. the boy turned to his sister, looking her dead in the eye. "he killed him." he said, quietly.
"what?" cassie questioned, a list of hundreds of people popped into her mind, making her head spin. "who?"
he looked to everyone else, then to his sister again. "he killed our dad." he announced, before riding off, losing cassie's grip on his arm.
cassie heard a loud ringing in her ears and her vision went blurry and spotty, as she watched him ride off. her eyes flooded with hot tears. her stomach hurt, the pancakes were no longer sitting well now that she'd been confronted with this news. the fact that the man that had taken her brother in had taken their father away from them made her throat feel dry and the color drain from her skin.
the other three ran after john b, yelling at him to come back, but he didn't.
through the deafening ringing, cassie could hear grace ask from the steps, "grandpa?" it was muffled, but she could also somehow hear it clear as day.
she began to stumble over to her daughter, attempting to comfort her, before landing on her knees on the ground. she let her breakfast spew out onto the dirt right before her, as her vision got blurrier and spottier, until eventually, she couldn't see anything.
she then lost her balance and toppled over. her head landed hard on the ground, just as it had a few days prior, at the movies. she heard her friends and grace yelling, but she couldn't make out what they were saying anymore.
she knew the probability of her dad being alive after he was pronounced dead was low, but in the back of her head she still hoped and prayed he was— even if it wasn't realistic. that he'd come back one day, like nothing had happened, full of stories to tell. but now that was never going to happen.
☀︎☀︎☀︎
HOURS LATER, CASSIE WOKE UP IN HER BED AT THE CHATEAU, IN THE DARK. no one was around, not even grace. it all came back to her, hitting her like a truck, but now she was less shocked, now she was mostly just hit with grief and confusion.
"hello?"
cassie sat up abruptly upon hearing her brother's voice. "john b?" she called out, her head spinning.
"cass?!" he asked. cassie could hear him rush through the house, frantically. he appeared in her doorway in an instant, tearfully.
"you're a sight for fucked up eyes." she mumbled, trying to lighten the mood. when he didn't find it amusing, she frowned and patted beside her. "c'mon,"
john b reluctantly sat down beside his sister, wrapping his arms around her. "where's everyone?" he asked, choking back tears.
"i have no clue." cassie answered, rubbing his back gently. she rested her head on his shoulder, pulling her knees against her chest. "probably went after you."
"sarah didn't believe me." john b informed his sister, wiping tears that had welled up in the corner of his eyes. "i told her what ward did... and she... she didn't believe me."
cassie frowned, knowing how much john b liked her. "shit, i'm sorry." she whispered, continuing to rub his back. things went quiet and neither of them moved a muscle.
but, cassie was dying to know more details. "how— uh— how'd you... y'know... find out about dad?" she asked, her voice going in and out, as it was so shaky.
john b stared at the wall in front of him, clenching his jaw. "when we were fishing, ward started talking about the gold and then he went psycho on me. i got away and i went to ms. lana." he answered, finally allowing the tears to fall from his eyes. "she... she told me... they were working together. dad and— uh— ward. and one day dad told ward he deserved more than ward... y'know, because he had spent his whole life on it... and ward got pissed and pushed him... he hurt his head and passed out, and ward just pushed him off the boat, leaving him to die."
cassie began to sob, shaking her head in disbelief that someone could've done something so cruel, to her father nonetheless.
john b was not done, though, continuing, "apparently, uh, he made it to this little island, and that was when he carved redfield into the compass. and, i guess— um— scooter grubbs, was the one who found the compass, because ward hired him to help."
cassie reached up to the bulletin board above her bed, pulling down a picture of the twins and big john. she stared at it intently, as did john b, who cried out, "i miss him."
the girl nodded, adding through sobs, "me too."
they found themselves on the dock ten minutes later, with a homemade boat, a candle in the middle and the picture of their dad taped on. it was an unspoken thing, they both wanted to say goodbye to their dad and this was the only way to do it.
cassie noticed the pogue was missing, meaning pope, kie, and jj had taken it, but she decided not to mention it. she was sure they went to look for john b, but cassie was annoyed that they hadn't told her anything about where they were going, especially with grace.
john b lit the candle with the blowtorch, and the twins stared at the picture of their dad as the flame danced behind it. cassie decided to say some words, since this was as close as they would get for a funeral.
"dad, if you're listening, we love you and we miss you. and grace loves you and misses you. and—" she paused to sniffle. "—even though you weren't father of the year, i wouldn't change the fact that you were my dad if i could."
john b nodded, swallowing the lump in his throat. "goodbye dad." he said, before carefully placing the boat into the water.
"goodbye, daddy." cassie whispered, holding back tears. she hadn't called her father daddy since she was a little girl, but it just felt right to use. she felt like a little girl in this moment. a little girl who needed her daddy.
john b wrapped an arm around cassie and they watched as their father's picture floated further and further away.
☀︎☀︎☀︎
AT SOME POINT, JOHN B FELL ASLEEP— A FEW LIFE VESTS AS HIS PILLOWS— BUT CASSIE STAYED UP. her eyes physically wouldn't stay shut, she was so jittery. she just stayed looking off into the distance, where they had sent big john's memorial boat, even though it was long gone.
"cass," a voice called out to her. it was jj, with grace in his arms, getting off the boat. he must have dropped kie and pope off on the way.
cassie stood up, quietly, leaving john b where he was. she hurried over to him, hugging the both of them tightly. "hi."
"hi," jj replied, kissing the top of her head. "i'm sorry we vanished on you."
"it's okay. did you take grace to max's?" she asked, still holding the two closely.
"uh, no." jj answered, making cassie pull away, concerned. "we watched her— i watched her." he informed her. "didn't we have fun, grace?"
"yeah!" grace replied, grinning.
cassie grabbed jj's free hand, leading him closer to the house. she grabbed grace from jj and set her down on the ground. "go play near the hot tub for just a second." she urged.
when grace was further away, cassie turned back to jj, a bit upset. "you can't just take grace, j." she told him, rubbing her face with a shaky hand.
"i know that, but we couldn't leave her with you. you hit your head again." jj reminded her. "plus, if we're dating now--" he stopped himself, realizing what he had said. "if we're... if we're... fuck, i don't know... but i can watch grace, and be responsible of her."
"yeah, but you can't just take her without asking, especially because she had plans to see max today." cassie reminded him. "i know you don't like him, but he is still her dad and he has rights and if he wanted to he could fuck me over."
jj nodded, closing his eyes. "yeah, no, i get it." he answered, immediately feeling terrible. "i'm sorry, that i didn't check with you."
"it's okay," the girl replied. a breeze blew across them, making cassie shiver and cross her arms tightly across her chest. "just... check with me next time."
"i will." jj said, pulling her into his arms. "how is he?"
cassie sighed, staring out at the dock, where her brother slept peacefully. well, as peacefully as he could at a time like this. "fucked up." she told the boy, interlocking her fingers with his. "we had a little memorial for my dad."
jj had almost forgotten that cassie had just found out her dad died not even two hours prior. he squeezed her tighter, rubbing her back. "and how are you?" he mumbled, kissing the side of her head. "are you okay?"
"i don't want to talk about it tonight." she whispered, tracing shapes gently on his back. her touch was so gentle jj could barely feel it through the fabric of his shirt. "i just want to pretend it's not happening for now."
the maybank boy nodded, kissing the girl's head a few more times. he didn't know how to comfort her, but he was trying his hardest.
☀︎☀︎☀︎
WHEN THE THREE GOT BACK TO EVELYN'S HOUSE, SHE HAD RETURNED HOME, HER CAR PARKED OUT FRONT. they had taken the twinkie, leaving john b jj's bike in case of an emergency and a note telling him they'd be back tomorrow. cassie opened up the door and jj immediately went to take grace to her bedroom. the brunette closed the door behind her, locking it.
evelyn sat on the couch, reading a book. "come here." she instructed, not looking up from the page. cassie walked over to her, sitting down beside her. she closed the book, informing her, "i'm gonna buy you a car."
cassie was surprised by the directness of her statement. "what?" she asked, a bit shocked.
"i'm gonna buy you a car because you show up close to midnight every night, and i'm tired of it." the woman answered, crossing her arms. cassie was a bit jarred by this, but she nodded anyways, a bit embarrassed. "michael from richie's came over."
cassie had totally forgot about her second job. since the hurricane hit, she wasn't getting sent her schedules online like she usually would. "shit." she mumbled.
"yeah, you're fired."
the brunette laid her head back on the couch, sighing. "shit." michael had a temper, so of course after one mistake, for the first time in her entirety of working there, she got fired.
"if you ask me it was a blessing in disguise, because that guys is an asshole." evelyn joked, setting her book down.
cassie laughed, before standing up. "i'm going to bed, anything else?" she questioned, running a hand through her hair.
"no." she answered, before realizing she did actually have something she was wondering. "wait!" cassie turned around, confused, raising a brow. "how'd things go with jj?" evelyn smirked, like she was a best friend, thirsty for answers.
cassie smiled, shaking her head playfully. "they went good." she told the woman. "it's a work in progress but, we're figuring it out."
after exchanging a bit more with evelyn, cassie eventually went to her room, shutting the door behind her. jj wasn't in there, so she opened the bathroom door, then walked through it to grace's room, where jj was helping grace get her pajamas on.
she smiled, leaning in the doorway, watching as jj slid her pajama shirt over her head carefully. "alright, go brush your teeth." jj told her, sending her to the bathroom.
"hi mommy," grace greeted as she walked to the bathroom.
"hi, honey," cassie smiled, rubbing the top of her head affectionately. jj walked over and cassie kissed him, deeply.
jj chuckled, asking her, "what was that for?"
"you're just really great." she replied, grinning. the two helped grace brush her teeth, then they both brushed their own teeth. after they were done, they tucked grace into bed, turning the lights off and shutting the door to the bathroom.
cassie kissed jj again, once the door was shut, running her hands through his hair. "i love you," she whispered, as he began to kiss down her jawline and neck.
the boy grinned, replying, "i love you too." then he walked backwards out of the bathroom, leading cassie by her hands. he closed the door behind her and pinned cassie up against the wall, which made her smile giddily. they kissed passionately, stripping off their clothes eagerly.
the blonde bumped an arm against the wall, making cassie jump. "shh!" the girl shushed him, giggling. jj picked her up, throwing her gently onto the bed.
cassie laughed, pulling jj onto the bed with her. she slipped her shorts off and threw them to the floor, along with her and jj's shirts and his shorts.
"you sure about this?" jj asked, pausing.
the girl paused, bringing herself to her knees and moving so that she was in front of jj, who was still standing. she ran a hand over his abs, smiling. "i am very, very sure."
and, that night, cassie got to pretend like nothing bad had happened that day. she got to be a normal teenager for the night, having sex with the boy she loved. it was probably way too soon, but something about it felt so right.
ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ HARPER SPEAKS
not writing smut because i don't feel comfortable doing ittt so yall are getting cut to blacks <3
anyways went thru my original notes for cassie the other day and tell me why i just wrote "she's so 'who's gonna kiss the brown haired girls' coded" with no elaboration (it is true though)