"this game better be gold." cassie muttered as she put her cheerleader outfit on. alex sighed from her seat on the bed and tapped on her phone with her fingernails. "okay, i'm sorry."
"no, it's fine." alex said calmly as she waved her off. "go on, you need to rant."
"it's been days." cassie muttered, putting her hair up in a ponytail. "and i'm still not mature enough to let it go! it's so awkward and tense between us, and now is the game that he's been practicing for, for so long. and i can't be excited for his sake! every time i try to be happy about this and cheerful, i remember that he ditched my art show for his training with chris. i just wish i could be happy for him!"
the cheerleader paced around as she spoke, waving her arms in the air and ending with a sigh. gazing at her roommate, she pressed her lips together and alex cracked a little smile.
"you're not immature, cassie. i'd be pissed too. but, as the cheerleader captain, you have to smile today. so just... try." alex reminded her as she got up and forced a smile on cassie's face by putting both index fingers on the corners of her mouth. "okay?"
"okay." cassie tried to pout, but failed because of alex. "i'm so close to biting your fingers off."
"alright!" alex laughed, hastily pulling them away. "i have to finish my assignment, and you have practice. so i'll see you at the game."
cassie made a face — parting her lips as she pulled the corner of her mouth sideways — and left the room with a nod. whilst walking toward the football field, she clenched and unclenched her hands.
"hey, marinov!" candice called before jogging after the girl to catch up with her.
"hi." cassie pressed a smile, glimpsing at her.
"can i ask you a question? and it's out of genuine care, i'm not here to pry or gossip." candice wondered, looking concerned almost.
"yeah, of course. you can always ask."
"are you and matt alright? it's impossible not to see that's something's going on, and i'm only asking because i care about you and you're my friend." candice asked the one question cassie had been waiting to receive.
"we're... fine, no need to worry. something happened and we're working it out." cassie answered vaguely, shielding her eyes from the sun with her hands. "now go and line up."
"alright, captain." candice mocked a salute before strutting over to the rest of the cheerleaders. that put a weak smile on cassie's face, making her sigh in slight content.
"is it too early to wish one another good luck?" matt suddenly appeared, hovering over her shoulder. cassie couldn't help but to feel a heaviness in her chest; she really tried not to, but it just planted itself there by the sound of his voice.
"it's been days, i think we're fine." she mumbled, folding her arms together softly. noticing her posture, he swallowed and turned her around carefully, still having the apologetical and regretful expression on his face.
"we're not fine." he shook his head sadly, causing her to briefly look to the side and lick her lips.
"i'm trying, matthew. i don't want to be angry with you, i don't want to be so bitter about this, but i can't help it. you completely stood me up on the one thing that matters to me here, and you're hiding something from me. you can't expect me to just–"
"i'm not." he quickly interrupted her. "i just... i'm really sorry, okay? and i will tell you, it's just not something you want to talk about."
"so it's bad news?" she scoffed, stretching her shoulders upwards for a moment. "how bad can it be, matt? what could possibly be so hard to talk about with me?"
"i'll tell you later, okay?" he assured her, tucking some loose strands of her hair behind her ear. "how about you and i go to the coffee house after the game? just to talk. we haven't done that in a while."
"alright." she said after thirty seconds of contemplating, nodding her head with a weak but genuine smile. "i'll see you there."
"oh, thank god. i thought you'd totally reject me, because honestly, i was a twat and not even i would accept this." he grinned in relief, putting a hand against his chest.
cassie actually laughed and looked down at the grass. she gazed up at him with her brown eyes again, in a way she hadn't since the art show. matt grinned as he studied her face, not wanting to ruin the moment.
"you're really bad with words, love. and... didn't you assure me that you weren't a twat when we first started hanging out?" she remarked, a teaseful look on her face.
"well, i– no one's perfect." he overly shrugged, making a 'pfft' sound whilst rolling his eyes as if it was obvious. "i better get started for the game."
"yeah, you probably should." she agreed, awkwardly scratching the spot behind her ear. he nodded once and turned to leave, but when he had taken two steps, she said his name as she grabbed his wrist and pursed her lips. "good luck. make it worth it."
"of course. besides, i've still got your mockingjay pin. for good luck, right?" he winked happily before jogging off to the team.
cassie shook her head stupidly and walked over to the cheerleaders, tightening her ponytail. they vocally went through the routine while the boys warmed up. people had gathered by the stands, including vanessa and alex sitting by their usual spots.
the brunette didn't miss to notice some of the girls' gaze on her, a questioning expression on their faces — except for candice of course. she ignored them and dreadfully waited until the other team finally arrived and they could start the game.
matt did as he promised; throughout the game, he and chris delievered one of their best games. chris too felt guilty for being the reason to their problem, so he played like never before, and matt just gave his all. cassie almost felt bad for the other team.
once the game came to its end, their team had scored a lot more than the other one. cassie suppressed a smile as matt and his teammates celebrated the victory, the last victory in their college life. cassie and matt locked eyes for a short moment, in which she smiled and nodded in an impressed way.
"can you believe this was the last time we cheered for this team?" candice sighed beside her, looking nostalgic already.
"not really. i'm gonna' miss this so much." cassie pouted, a sad frown on her face. "i mean, look at this. everyone's so happy, we just won, everyone's hugging each other... and it's for the last time here."
"aren't you supposed to hug someone?" candice whispered with a mischievous smile plastered on her face. cassie opened her mouth to speak but ended up rolling her eyes, discreetly searching for matt with them.
"i could hug you." she suggested, turning her head to the side.
"do you really want to look back to this day and not being able to say that you hugged your boyfriend as he won the last game?" candice deadpanned.
cassie nudged her playfully before slowly walking over to the mass of people. matt turned around as he noticed her in the corner of his eye and sent her a wide smile.
"congratulations. you literally crushed them." she laughed, lazily motioning to the other team with her thumb.
"you told me to make it worth it." he shrugged and glanced down. "will you kick me if i hug you?"
"i will kick you if you ask something so stupid and cheesy again." she joked, tilting her head to the side. "but you know i hate hugging you because of your damn height."
matt made a face before he wrapped his arms against the back of her thighs and lifted her a bit. cassie embraced him in a hug with her arms around his neck, sighing quietly.
"cass, i l–" he started, but wasn't granted to finish due to her softly grazing her lips against his.
"i know." she murmured, kissing him gently. it wasn't a rough or tight kiss, since their lips weren't actually pressed against each other. she was still uneasy, but she missed him and wanted to show it. "now go shower, you stink."
matt put her back down and gazed at her in disbelief for a while until he nodded and followed his friends to the locker room. mason joined her side with a smile, sliding his hands down his pockets.
"i know you two aren't perfect again yet, but he's really sorry."
"i know. i'll get past it, i just need time." she mumbled, smiling gratefully at him. "thanks. maybe i should've told the date to you instead."
"oh, i'd remember." mason grinned, putting a hand against his chest. "okay, i need to stop saying things that won't help my friend."
"what, we're not friends?" she joked with a severe face, crossing her arms together. however, mason had learned to sense her serious tone and joking one, so he just playfully nudged her shoulder with his fist.
"you're like, the coolest person i know after matt. which is why i'm positive you will get past this. also, if you two ever get kids, i either want you to name the baby after me or let me be its godfather. i'd be a great uncle mason." he rambled, being the reason to why she laughed quietly.
"i'm sure we could arrange that." she chuckled, looking at him. "now i'm gonna' go and get some chai latte. it's been a while since i last had one."
"do that. hopefully i'll see you later." mason ruffled her hair before she nodded and left.
as always, she didn't bother changing her outfit. as long as she didn't sweat, it wasn't necessary, and it was only the coffee house. matt however, did shower and change before he walked to the café. once entering, cassie looked up from her cup and cracked a little smile.
"chris wants to apologize." he proclaimed as he sat down opposite to her.
"just tell him i'm over it, really. i don't want to spend these last days accepting apologies and being sad." she shrugged it off, glancing out the window.
"are you sure? cass, i just want to make things right again." he sighed, leaning over the table to hold her hands.
"positive." she smiled assuringly, nodding weakly. "it wasn't that great of an art show anyway."
"i'm not just talking about the art show."
"we'll be fine, matt. i care about you way too much to just... stop being with you."
matt closed his mouth as an exhale left his lips. cassie studied his face; it was evident he was holding something back, but she wouldn't pry or be annoying. he'd tell if it was life-changing.
"yeah. i see you got your chai already." he answered, leaning back again.
"and here's yours." melissa grinned down and put a cup on their table. "so, how did the game go? cassie told me about it."
"we won, greatly so too." matt replied with frowning lips. "thanks for asking."
melissa nodded happily before leaving them alone again. the cheerleader smiled wryly as she looked out the window, tapping on her cup with her fingernails.
"i really thought you'd break your leg again when that guy completely dashed against you." she uttered after a moment, averting her eyes back to him.
"well, if i did... you wouldn't have to lie about being my girlfriend this time." he smirked, drinking from his own cup. she grinned down and pressed her lips together, remembering feeling so stressed that she just blurted out what needed to be said in order for her to go with them.
"that made you really happy, didn't it?" she teased, laughing a bit as he shrugged.
"to be honest, yeah, it did. however, i'm euphoric now."
"hm, i wonder why." she tilted her head to the side with a silly smile and then bit her bottom lip. "by the way, mason wants us to name our child after him. or, make him the godfather."
"he's thinking way too forward." he nodded slowly, his tongue against his bottom teeth. "and i thought marcus would be the godfather, and we could make alex the godmother. so if we die, they'll have to be together."
"... and mason's the one thinking too forward?" she listened with amusement, her big eyes looking at him as she stupidly shook her head. "let's just finish college first."
"sounds good to me."
cassie plastered a smile on her face as the two finished their lattes in silence, gazing out the window as usual. matt frequently opened his mouth to tell her, but always closed it again. when they figured it was time to get back, they waved to melissa and left the coffee shop.
the brunette pulled up her phone and texted vanessa back while matt walked beside her, looking to the side. he averted his eyes forward, just when they were about to cross a road and a car sped in front of them. instinctively, he pressed a hand against her chest and stopped her from walking right into a mess. inhaling sharply in surprise, cassie looked up from her phone and closed her eyes in relief.
"oh, my holy shit." she mumbled, licking her bottom lip between her teeth. "thank you. i didn't even see it in the corner of my eye."
"i don't want to sound like a grandfather, but please don't keep your eyes glued on your phone when walking on the street."
"you do sound like a granddad." she smirked while continuing walking. rolling his eyes, he followed closely beside her and started a conversation about cows on the way back, because he's that goddamn weird and passionate about animals.
"... and you can stop looking at me like that now." he finished as they entered her dorm.
"like what?" she questioned with a frown, leaning her side against the wall and folding her arms together.
"like that; like i'm insane." he gestured toward her with his hand whilst closing the door with his other one.
"you just talked about cows." she raised her eyebrows and grew a wide grin on her face at the same time. "how else am i supposed to look at you?"
"like..." he started, sliding his hands down his pockets. "i don't know, like i'm totally irresistable." he added jokingly, taking a few steps closer to her.
"mmh, you wish. i think i'm gonna' take a shower anyway." she mumbled, fidgeting in her spot.
"can i stay?" he asked carefully, watching her digging through her drawers after pj's and underwear. she froze for a split second while thinking, until she grabbed her things and opened the bathroom door.
"you can stay. but... i want to know what you and alex are keeping from me. so if i get out of the shower and find you still here, i'll expect the truth. otherwise you can leave. i'll just rest and then go to sleep after anyway."
cassie gave him a last look before she entered the bathroom and locked the door. matt closed his eyes and paced around in her room, rubbing his fingers in frustration as he contemplated. alex quietly walked inside, frowning as she saw the scene in front of her. the siblings locked eyes, and matt felt bad already — so he left.
cassie turned the water off, leaned her head back briefly and wrapped the towel around her body. when she slowly opened the door, she was met with the wrong daddario, causing her to drop her head and scoff through her nose in weariness and indignation.
"what is it?" alex asked, concerned, and put away her book.
"nothing." cassie muttered before closing the door again, ignoring alex's worried expression and attempt to speak.
-
a/n
tbh i'm not ready for this to come to an end but what choice do i have sigh
enjoy, please comment the pharagraphs, i love y'all (also i made something – the gif)