"how'd your french test go?" cassie asked while brushing her straight hair.
"well, i hope." alex laughed and put on her dress.
cassie put the brush away and changed her clothes to a tight, navy blue tank top with a few buttons at the top, a cream white skirt with a few matching blue details and then a brown belt.
she smiled at her friend and checked the time on her phone, reading a few texts quickly. alex opened the door for her with a smirk and then locked it after them, exiting the college building.
they walked down the road, small talking while moving towards jason's house (technically, it was his parent's, but they weren't home, and he usually spent his days there when possible).
once they reached the ear deafening area, already propped with many college students, alex dragged her inside and to the kitchen.
"you are so eager to get drunk." cassie laughed and filled two red cups.
"not to get drunk, but to drink. i like alcohol, sue me." alex smirked and grabbed one of them. "but i do not like getting drunk. it sucks."
"right." cassie smiled and took a sip from hers. "where's vanessa?"
"on the backyard. at least she was five minutes ago." so they positioned themselves in the backyard by vanessa. jason soon joining them with a friendly smile.
"hey, glad you could come." he greeted them and nodded a bit.
"glad to come. nice mix, by the way." vanessa smiled and gestured with her cup.
"tip from my cousin, actually. thank god it tastes good." he chuckled and drank from his. cassie glanced behind his shoulder and laid eyes on matt.
he stood a bit away from them, talking to his friends as always. she stared way too intently for a while before looking away and returning her focus to her group.
"... remember when you used to hit on everyone with boobs?"
cassie frowned abruptly and looked between all three of them. jason scratched the back of his head and laughed, almost embarrassed.
"yeah, that was a very immature phase. i'm sorry, and especially to you." he apologized, fixing his eyes at cassie.
"hm? what?" she mumbled, confused.
"remember when he hit on you, like three times during the same day?" alex laughed and covered her mouth with the back of her hand.
"and it wasn't pretty either." vanessa mumbled and looked down with a sheepish smile.
"oh." cassie exhaled and shook her head at the memories. "yeah, that was... awkward. the worst part was when you were so extremely wasted that you tripped over your own feet and stumbled into me. and then you said one of those ridiculous pick-up lines."
"like i said; i'm deeply sorry." he chuckled and bit on his lip.
matt couldn't prevent himself from occasionally glimpse at cassie, despite jason's body covering half of her. he smiled a bit and slid his hands down his pockets, looking down at the ground.
"just go talk to her." his friend, mason, laughed and raised his eyebrows. matt frowned, not realizing how obvious he was.
"i don't know what you're talking about." he scoffed and pressed a smile.
"if you're going to deny it to your best friend, then i'll have to take drastic measures." mason sighed and walked away from him.
he approached the other group and smiled at them all, then focused on cassie who just drank from her cup.
"can i talk to you for a while?" he asked, and she nodded almost instantly out of habit.
cassie followed mason inside and flipped some hair behind her shoulder. matt widened his eyes a bit and quickly pushed through some people to get inside. he found them by a hallway, and nervously licked his lips.
"mason?" he spoke up.
"thank me later." mason said quietly, winked, and then returned to the backyard.
cassie frowned and tilted her head to the side, her back leaning against the wall. she waited for him to explain or at least start talking, and therefore, matt began rambling like an idiot.
"sorry, i just– i wanted to talk to you, i guess, but maybe you don't want that? i'm such a pain in the ass, aren't i? i mean, the games's next week and... why am i still talking? mason just wanted– i don't know what he wanted, because i have no idea what he said to you, but–"
cassie inhaled deeply with her lips parted and flickered with her eyes all over his face. she thought for a split second before standing on her toes and pressing her lips against his cheek to shut him up.
matt froze.
he completely, utterly froze, barely breathing either. with wide eyes, he watched her pull back again with a weak smirk playing on her lips.
"you're not a pain in the ass. and you're really cute when you're rambling." she giggled and pressed her lips together.
"i, uh– thanks." her frowned at himself and fought the urge to bring his hand to his cheek.
"mason didn't say anything at all, by the way. didn't have any time to." she informed him and finished her drink.
"oh, that's great. i mean, okay." he grinned and scratched the back of his neck.
"are you always like this when you're drunk?" she asked and eyed him quickly.
"no, definitely not." he objected and shook his head.
"then i'll take it as a compliment. i make you nervous." she smirked satisfied and bit on her thumbnail.
"i don't get nervous." he countered while folding his arms together, making her raise her eyebrows in amusement.
"really? so it doesn't make you nervous if i do this...?" she mumbled, taking a hold of his shirt and pulling him closer. he — very visibly — gulped and glanced down at her lips.
"not at all." he lied, shrugging as if to show his carelessness.
"you know i'm very flexible, right?" she said quietly and bent one leg upwards a bit, resting it against his hip.
maybe it was the extremely small amount of alcohol she had in her body that made her a bit more "seductive", but on the other hand, she was a teaser when it came to everything. she liked seeing a boy so utterly flustered, but she never really gave them the wrong idea. she was good at that.
"cass..." he mumbled and looked her in the eyes. "if you don't stop, i'm gonna get a boner."
cassie giggled and leaned her head back against the wall for a short moment. she contemplated on stopping, but she wanted to hear him admit it.
"then say i make you nervous." she shrugged and moved her hand up and down his chest.
"fine, okay, you make me really, fucking nervous." he finally blurted out, biting his lip. "please, put down your leg now."
"alright, coach." she obeyed to his request and walked by him, back to the ongoing party outside, where she accepted a new cup.
matt groaned and threw his head back in frustration. he then placed himself with mason and the rest, trying his hardest not to look over at cassie.
"hey, cassie!" someone called and approached them. she turned around and grinned when a friend of hers smiled at her.
"hey ty, what's up?" she laughed and gave him a quick hug.
"man, it's been a while." he exhaled and slid his hands down his pockets. "wanna' dance?"
"yeah, sure." she mumbled and pursed her lips.
tyler carefully seized her hand and dragged her to the circle of dancing people. cassie pulled her fingers through her hair and started moving to the music in sync with him.
"so how is everything with you?" he asked and smiled at her.
"everything's good, i guess. you?" she answered, just before he grabbed her hand and spun her around.
"great. alex showed me your painting the other day." he proclaimed, causing her to cover her face with her hands for a brief moment.
"i hate it when she does that!" she exclaimed and raised her hands to the air.
"why? you're a great artist." he uttered and tilted his head to the side.
"maybe, but i still hate it when she shows you my work."
cassie overly pouted and looked up at him, a weak smile on her face too. tyler stupidly rolled his eyes and took a gentle hold of her cheeks, so that she'd stop pouting and laugh instead.
tyler was a really old friend of hers. they've known each other since third grade when his family moved in next to her house. being the curious girl she was, cassie immediately initiated a friendship with him. when they were in seventh grade, everyone had suddenly started to grow up.
by the end of the year, they shared a kiss just to see what everyone was talking about, and if it was as nice as they said. they were each other's first kiss.
as high school started, he applied to a different one than her. and then a different college too. second year in high school was the year that tyler brought her to a secluded meadow and opened up about being homosexual.
to his surprise, cassie just smiled softly, leaned her head against his shoulder and said, "i'm glad you told me, and i'm glad you know yourself."
and thankfully, tyler and jason were old friends too, so he occasionally attended these college parties, even though he went somewhere else.
matt hadn't paid them much attention, thanks to his sister shaking her head at him when he sent her a questioning look. instead, he happily talked with his friends and decided to talk to everyone by raising his cup a bit.
"to jason, who throws amazing parties! can't wait to play some games." he started, smiling at the party host.
"thanks." jason laughed and raised his cup.
matt's eyes moved across the people, finally landing on cassie. she was looking at him too, waiting for him to continue.
"and to the football players, who are preparing for the game next week. hopefully, we'll see many of you cheering for us." he added, staring at the brunette.
cassie exhaled before raising her cup with a weak smirk, and then drank from it, still keeping her eyes on him. matt did the same and grinned at mason who gave him a light pat on the back.
"oh my god." alex mumbled and walked over to some other people. vanessa frowned with her lips before shrugging at cassie and placing herself by a friend.
"is she mad at you or something?" tyler asked and glanced down at her.
"no, she just doesn't really approve of my way with boys." she smiled and looked up at him.
"oh, i see. who?" he asked curiously and scanned the crowd of people.
"the guy who just made a toast." she mumbled and took another sip. "who's also her brother."
"smooth choice." he snorted and then eyed the football captain. "woah. he's hot."
"hey, she's been wanting me to go out with him for three years now." cassie retorted and then raised one of her eyebrows. "yeah, he is. hate to admit it, but he is so good looking, i can feel a physical pain in my chest."
"want to make him jealous?" he asked with a sly smirk.
"what?" she frowned and turned her head to him.
tyler pressed his lips against hers without any further warning, and softly grabbed her chin with his thumb and bent index finger.
cassie raised her eyebrows in surprise and automatically raised one hand in the air out of confusion. she wasn't very fond with the concept of making someone jealous for fun at all, but it was too late now.
matt clenched his jaw and hurried over to alex. he grabbed her arm to turn her around and cocked his head to the side.
"jesus christ, matt!" alex exclaimed with wide eyes and jerked her arm off.
"why would you shake your head and lie?!" he said angrily, staring at her.
"what are you talking about?" she asked and frowned deeply.
"that dude who danced with cassie, what else would i talk about?" he scoffed.
"i wasn't lying, there's nothing–" she started, but he cut her off by forcing her to gaze at tyler and cassie.
"that's nothing?" he spat and pulled his hand away. "sis, i love you, but don't shake your head and–"
"matt, he's gay." she laughed and shook her head a bit.
"what?"
"he's homosexual, into guys, not at all attracted to your crush." she smirked and raised her eyebrows. "and she wouldn't just kiss someone like that, and you know it."
"he's gay? this better not be a joke, alexandra."
"it's not."
matt breathed out and nodded, touching his face with one hand. alex gave him a nudge before hopelessly rolling her eyes.
when tyler pulled away, cassie didn't think before giving him a weak slap on the cheek.
"ty!" she yelled and widened her eyes at him. "what are you doing? i'm not like that, what were you thinking?!"
"sorry, i've had a drink and the jealousy thing usually works." he smiled innocently, stretching his shoulders upwards.
"you dumbfuck, that never works, it just causes unnecessary drama. do i look like a girl who wants that?" she sighed, then pointed at herself.
"no, you don't." he mumbled and scratched the back of his neck. "no offense, but i feel like puking after kissing you."
"jeez, none taken." she wryly smirked and rolled he eyes. "i'm gonna go and talk to him."
"do that." tyler smiled and brought his cup to his lips.
cassie pushed through the dancing people and laid eyes on matt a few meters away. she almost jogged over to him, and by a push from a drunk girl, stumbled into him.
"shit, sorry." she mumbled and gazed up at him.
"what do you want?" he muttered coldly and crossed his arms together.
"can we talk, please?" she asked, removing her hands from his body.
"oh, so you want to talk? that's a first."
"matt, please." she begged and took her bottom lip inside her mouth.
"fine."
with a sigh, matt grabbed her hand and walked out to the front yard instead, where no one else was for the moment. he sat down on the stairs to the door and placed his arms against his lap.
cassie sat down beside him and awkwardly fiddled with her fingers. she turned her head to look at him and thought about what to say.
"i'm sorry."
"for what?" he scoffed and looked down at the ground.
"oh please, as if you didn't see." she tilted her head to the side and gazed at him.
"see what? you making out with some guy before?"
"right, that. tyler's just a childhood friend, and besides, he's gay. he just kissed me to make you jealous." she said bluntly and had a severe expression on her face.
"i know, alex told me." he weakly smiled and looked up at her. "you tried to make me jealous?"
"hold up." she laughed and lifted her index finger in the air. "he wanted you to be jealous, not me. i don't do that, it's just mean."
"wait, he doesn't have a thing for me or anything...?"
"he doesn't even know who you are" she smirked and licked her bottom lip inside her mouth.
"okay. not that i have anything against that, i'm just into girls myself, so." he quickly said with a hand against his chest.
"don't worry." she chuckled and tucked some strands of hair behind her ear.
"can't believe i haven't seen you at parties more often. you seem like such a good party person." he uttered and locked his hands together.
"i'm not good, actually." she murmured and laughed through her nose. "i'm the mom at parties, and i just walk around and talk to everyone. i don't get wasted, or crazy, or make out with the first person i see."
"well, that's my defination of good."
"how convenient." she smiled and glanced behind them.
"why did you kiss my cheek before? if you wanted to shut me up, you could've just put your hand on my mouth." he asked carefully.
"selfishly, i wanted to kiss your cheek." she answered slowly and fiddled with her fingernails. he stared at her in surprise and parted his lips. "i mean... i'd rather do that than put my hand against your mouth."
"so what would you do if i kissed you right now?" he asked out of curiosity and leaned forward a bit.
"okay, we both know you'd never–"
"hypothetically speaking."
"i... don't know. i'd probably kiss you back." she reluctantly replied and frowned a bit.
matt raised his hand to tuck some hair behind her ear. she flinched a bit, believing he would caress her cheek, but then smiled unconsciously.
"i really want to kiss you right now." he whispered and looked at her.
"i know, stupid." she whispered back and cracked a brief grin.
"how?"
"because of your expression right now. i'm having the same one, and i only have it when i feel this strong wanting to kiss someone." she explained vaguely and flickered with her eyes between his eyes and lips. this was definitely the alcohol talking, although it wasn't a lie.
matt swallowed a big lump in his throat and let his hand linger by her cheek and jaw. at this moment, he couldn't care less if she kissed him and went back to avoiding him until the game. it'd be worth it.
cassie took in a deep breath and fought with her own mind. it would actually be her most romantic drunken kiss ever, but it was just not right. not now, not with him, not while being drunk — even if they were conscious and aware of their actions.
"hey, matt! you up for some beer..." mason stopped when he saw the scene in front of him and pressed his lips tightly together, sighing through his nose. "... pong."
matt closed his eyes and clenched his jaw, not at all happy over hearing his friend's voice. cassie swallowed, chewed on her bottom lip and tried to press a smile. she couldn't bare any awkward silence or such, so she was the first one to speak up of them.
"go play some beer pong." she whispered and pulled back. "i'm really rooting for you at the game now."
-
a/n
so i changed the cover to a more "accurate" one because damn elena
and i cannot belive the reads ive gotten on the first chapters tbh, i know its not many but its many for me which is crazy, i love yall
psss dont be ghost readers
bye (: