-Carter's POV-
As I packed my bags at five in the morning (because Cassidy invited me to come with her to Chicago for "The Dinner", as she liked to call it, the day before and I totally forgot about it until she reminded me last night), I couldn't help but wonder what it would be like. Now, she's invited me to this before, but I could never make it because I was always busy with my music career.
Yes, I have a music career. That's actually one of the reason Cassidy and I moved to California together. She composes the songs and I add and sing the lyrics. Cassidy does backup for me sometimes, but she's not one for singing unless she's trying to figure out a tune.
The two of us met in freshman year of high school when she was one of the students brought in by our choir teacher from the band to accompany one of the pieces we were doing. She played the drums. So one day after school, she stayed after to work on her instrument part and I stayed after to get help for my singing part. While we were waiting for the teacher, I walked over to her and asked her what her name is. She gave me the weirdest look before telling me her name was Cassidy. I told her my name and the two of us began to talk. After that, I discovered we had the same lunch period, except she sat alone. So one day out of the blue, I sat with her, which seemed to surprise her. I ended up sitting there the rest of the year. By the end of the year, we were best friends.
Back to present day, I could never come with her to Chicago because whenever she seemed to go, I was always in the recording studio which is in Los Angeles, singing. But this year, I was here and I could go. I didn't know what to expect.
Once I finished packing, it was six o'clock and our flight was at seven thirty. I had to get Cassidy up, as well as Anthony (I think she mentioned he would be coming). I walked out of my room and over to hers, which was right across the hall. I creaked the door open and saw her lying in bed alone. I raised my eyebrow in confusion.
I shrugged my shoulders, shaking off the confusion. First attempt: "Cass, wake up!" I said to her from the doorway. No response.
I rolled my eyes and walked in. Second attempt: I approached her and shook her gently, saying more loudly than before, "Cassidy, wake up! It's almost time to go!" Still no response.
I stepped back and crossed my arms. Third attempt: I shook her violently and shouted, "CASSIDY! WAKE UP! WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF AN EARTHQUAKE!"
"What!?!" She screamed, immediately sitting up. I laughed as she looked around the room worriedly. She realized there was no earthquake and glared up at me, throwing her pillow at me, "Don't joke about something like that, Carter!"
I deflected the pillow and continued to laugh, "Well telling you nicely doesn't do the job." She swung her legs over the side of the bed. "Hey, where's Anthony? Isn't he supposed to be over this week?"
"Yeah, but I made him go home," She answered groggily, rubbing her eyes and rising to her feet.
"What? Why?" I whined.
Before Cassidy met Anthony, I don't think I've ever seen her happier. Not even when she was dating Connor. (And they were inseparable when they first started dating. Trust me. I was there.) She and Anthony were so cute together. When they weren't in her bedroom, they'd usually snuggle on the couch or sit at her piano together - she would be working on a new song and he would tell her how great it was. She even wrote a song about him. She made me sing it, and it was really good. I want to record it, but she refuses to let me. I don't know why though.
"I made a mistake."
"What mistake?" I gasped, "Wait, did you guys break up?"
"No, we didn't break up," She reassured me.
"Then what mistake did you make?"
"The mistake was that I invited him to come to Chicago, alright?" She answered, pushing past me and walking into her bathroom, shutting the door behind her.
"Why is that a mistake?"
"You don't get it, Carter..." I barely heard her say.
"Okay, fine. But why would you send him home if he was supposed to come with us?"
"Because he's not coming with us, Carter!" She called from inside the bathroom, "If he did...then," She popped her head out of the bathroom, "Then he and I wouldn't be just acquaintances with benefits anymore."
"And what's so bad about that?"
She sighed, "I just don't want to be in a relationship again. What if it ends up just like the last one did?"
"It won't, Cassidy!" I tried to convince her, "Anthony's nothing like Connor!"
"He's a YouTuber just like Connor!" She cried, "How can you be so sure that the problems between Connor and me won't exist between Anthony and me?" She slammed the door in my face. I sighed.
"Sorry I said anything," I apologized half-heartedly, "I'm going to pack the car, okay?" There wasn't a response. I shook my head and walked out into the front room of our apartment we shared. I picked up her bag that was sitting by the door.
That's when I noticed that her notebook was propped up on the music rack on the grand piano in the corner of the room in front of a large floor-to-ceiling window. I didn't know she was working on a new song. I set the bags down and walked over, picking her notebook in my hands. The title on the top of the page read: Something On The Side.
As I tried to read the lyrics she didn't violently cross out, I heard my roommate's bathroom door click open, followed by the sound of footsteps. I hurriedly put the notebook back and rushed over to the front door, grabbing her bags and mine and practically running down the steps over to her car parked in the road.
As I set the bags into the opened trunk, I noticed a familiar face walk up the stairs and head into the building.
"Hey!" I called out to them before they walked through the front door. They stopped in their tracks, their hand holding the door open, and looked back at me. I slammed down the car trunk and rushed up the stairs to them, "What are you doing here?"
"I'm here to talk to Cassidy," They answered, slipping their hands into their pockets, "There's some things she and I need to talk about."
"What about?" I crossed my arms over my chest.
"What does it matter to you?" They snapped at me.
"Cassidy's my best friend, Connor, and I don't want what happened last time you wanted to talk with her to happen again."
He rolled his eyes, "Whatever, Carter. I didn't come here to talk to you anyways." He walked through the door he kept open and let it slam behind him. I scoffed and followed in behind him.
-Anthony's POV-
I heaved a sigh as I turned the car off. I didn't expect to be home today, and I most certainly didn't expect to leave my phone behind and for Kalel to call Cassidy from it.
I got out of my car and walked through the front door of the house I lived in with Kalel. When I walked in, Kalel was sitting on the couch. She rose to her feet and crossed her arms over her chest, "Well?"
"Well what?" I mumbled, setting down my duffel bag on the ground.
"Why'd you hang up on me?"
"Slip of the finger," I lied.
She shook her head, "I don't believe you."
"Kalel, I'm sorry, okay?" I took a step forward, "I just...sometimes life just gets to me and I need to take a break from it all."
"I get that. Sometimes I need to take a break too, but I don't sneak around with another guy!"
"Cassidy isn't another girl I'm sneaking around with, Kalel," I tried to convince her.
"Then who is she?" I noticed tears starting to form in her eyes.
I bit my lip, trying to think of who I can tell Kalel Cass is. And I told her the first thing that came into my mind, "She's just a very close friend." I wasn't totally lying. Cass and I were very close.
"A very close friend?" She repeated in disbelief.
"Yeah. We were best friends in school and have been keeping in touch ever since."
"Then why would you text her about her flinging herself at you and pulling you into a kiss?" She questioned, the tears that formed in her eyes now streaming down her face. Oh how I hated to see her cry.
I wiped the tears away with my thumb and answered untruthfully, "It's just an inside joke we have, babe." I tucked a piece of her teal-colored hair behind her ear, "It's nothing."
"Why do I feel like you're still lying to me, Anthony?" She cried.
"I'm not lying to you, Kalel! You've got to believe me!" I exclaimed. She stared at me, her eyes glistening with tears. I sighed and took her hands in mine, "I love you, Kalel. No one else."
"I'm not so sure about that anymore," She croaked before slipping her hands out of mine and walking away from me, into our bedroom and shutting the door behind her. I closed my eyes and hung my head, running my fingers through my hair. Nearly nine months I had no one suspicious of anything. What went wrong?