Cassie decided that she would have him, no matter what.
She kept that thought in her mind as she went back to her dorm and fetched the box she had kept under her bed. She opened it, and took out the potion she had brewed.
"Cass-" Sam called, standing in the doorway. Cassie stumbled, and dropped the bottle to the ground.
"Cass....." Sam gasped in horror. "Is that a...love potion?" He asked, seeing the color and consistency. He knew it well enough, potions being his best subject.
She sighed. "Yes."
"What are you doing with it? You know that they're really dangerous, right? If you get caught, you can be expelled." Sam urged.
"I-I'm..." Cassie tried to come up with an excuse, but she decided that she was tired of it. Sam was her friend, wasn't he? She didn't want to hide anymore. Lately, she felt the distance pull between them. Penny was a good friend, but she was taunting, cold, tacit, and she wasn't anywhere close to Sam.
"I want to tell you something, Sam. But you have to promise me to keep it a secret. Especially from Abigail."
Sam hesitated for a second. Lately, he sensed that there was something off between Cassie and Abigail. He knew that Cassie still had feelings for Gabriel, even though she always said that she did not care to Abigail's face.
"Is it about...him?" Sam asked, not wanting to believe himself. Cassie would never do something like that, he thought. A love potion sounded innocent enough, but the intent behind it was terrifying. Mind control, taking someone captive against their will. It scared Sam to think that Cassie might be capable of that.
Cassie hesitated again, looking down at the floor. "Yes." She replied, not wanting to see the look of horror on Sam's face.
"Why?" Sam asked.
"Because I love him! because I love him, and this is a last resort, Sam. There's so much that you don't know...." She trailed off, finally coming to a well of emotion.
"What don't I know? Cass-"
"I was pregnant, Sam. After that night at the party, I got pregnant. And he asked me to get rid of it. He doesn't give a flying fuck about me, Sam...she's the only one he's ever had eyes for. You don't know, Sam. You don't know how much it hurts that the person you love loves another."
Sam stumbled, unable to process the shocking information.
Cassie laughed coldly. "I was going to have his baby, Sam. We were going to be together forever, then she came in and ruined everything. She's fucking ruined everything! All this time, she claims to be my friend, yet she stole him from me, behind my back...Sam, I wish you would see her for who she truly is. A whore. A liar." Cassie said, the lines of her mouth harsh.
The look in her eye scared Sam. "Thats not true." He said, shaking his head furiously. "You're scaring me, Cass. Please..."
"I'm scaring you? You don't know how scary it is to wake up all alone on a hospitable bed and find that they've killed your baby. I didn't want that. It was my baby, my child. I felt it grow inside of me, Gabriel's child! I hate her, Sam. I'm suffering, and it's all because of her. She's playing us all, can't you see? I need him, and she just wants to keep him away from me."
"Cass...please don't do this. You don't have to do this. A love potion? He won't really love you like this. He won't treat you the way you deserve, and you won't be happy. Listen to me, pleas-" Sam begged.
"I saw them together today, Sam. I saw them together, and my heart broke. Everything I've gone through for him, and she still takes him away from me...I hate her now. Sam, please be on my side, please." She pleaded, tears in her eyes.
Sam shook his head, not knowing what his best friends have come to. All this time, he was oblivious. "Cassie, let's talk about it, lets-"
"Are you on my side or not? Help me, please!"
"I want to, Cass. I would do anything for you, you know that. But I can't let you torture yourself like this anymore. It's changed you." He said sadly.
"Changed?" She laughed. Of course she changed. Once, she was so idealistic, so romantic. Once, she believed in the goodness of the world. She believed in love, friendship, and she believed in boys. She believed that one day, he would love her. And look where that got her. "Of course I've changed."
"Cass, there's always a way to-"
"No, there isn't! I'm done being good, always waiting, always being stepped on, Sam. I'm going to have him, and I'm going to ruin her. I'm going to make her life hell, and she will pay for what she has done to me. Mark my words, I will make her pay in full with interest....If you were my friend, you would be on my side."Cassie said, hoping for a reply. She did not want to lose him too.
Sam barely recognized the crazed girl in front of him. She was not the bubbly, energetic girl he met all those years ago, with stars in her eyes. Little did he knew, those stars crashed and burned long ago.
"Please just let me talk, Cass. I love both of you, and I can't do this to either of you. Pleas don't make me choose. don't hurt her Cass, or yourself. Don't do anything you'll regret. Talk to her, tell her what happened. I know she's not like that, I know. She cares so much about you, Cass. Tell her about the baby, tell her everything, and you guys can make up..." He cried.
Cassie laughed again. "Of course. You've on her side, aren't you? Of course you are. Everyone loves sweet little Abigail because she's just oh-so-helpless. Of course, don't hurt her, we can't have her hurt, can we?"
"If you won't talk to her, I will! She needs to know, Cass. It's only fair to both of you. She needs to know about the baby...and tell her about how you feel. Don't be rash, please!" Sam urged.
Cassie stopped for a second, and her eyes turned dark. "Is that so? I'm being rash? Ha!"
"She's never going to know about this Sam, until the day I finally put her where she belongs. And you're not going to be in my way, no."
"Be sure as hell I will be! I'm not going to let you do something stupid, Cass!" He asserted.
"Fine. Fine. We have to do this the hard way, I guess."
"I just want to protect both of you, please..." Sam pleaded.
"If you talk, I'm going to tell everyone."
"About what?"
" Don't play dumb, Sammy. I'm going to tell everyone your secret, and you and your little boyfriend will be ruined. From then on, you'll be regarded as a outcast. A faggot. And I'm sure he'll leave you when that happens. You don't want that to happen, do you? What would your mother think, Sam, that her favorite son was a freak of nature." She snarled.
Sam felt as if someone had stung him in the chest. When he told Cassie that secret, he felt butterflies in his stomach, because it came from a place of love. He couldn't keep this love from his best friends. Never in a million years did he think that it would oneway be thrown in his face like that.
This was a different time, after all. He knew the consequences if the word got out. Taunts, humiliation, endless suffering. The world wasn't ready, and neither was he. He wasn't ready to expose himself in the open like that. He understood the taboo. Especially, he knew that he had to protect Avery's secret. Avery was so proud, so haughty, so popular. If the rumors got out, Avery might lose everything, even his beloved position on the Quidditch team.
Then Avery would be unhappy, and his happiness meant everything to Sam.
"You won't tell, would you?" Cassie asked again, he voice sharp.
"No-no." He said shakily, not wanting to look at her anymore.
"Good." She said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I hope you meant it, Sam."
She walked away, not looking back. She decided that the world was against her, and now even he was too, her oldest and dearest friend.
She had no one, except the liquid love in her hand. once she feeds this to Gabriel, he would love her.
................................................
"I demand an answer, Abigail." Sam said, after running to find her.
Abigail felt taken by surprise.
"An answer about what?" She asked.
"Did you know about Cassie and Gabriel?" Sam asked pointedly. He had to ask her, he felt. And if she didn't know, he had to tell her. Despite knowing the consequences, he couldn't watch this catastrophe go on any longer.
Abigail hesitated for a moment. She knew that Cassie once liked Gabriel, but that was all. She feels guilty for being with him...but at the same time, there was so much more to express, about Gabriel, about Tom Riddle, about everything. The bridge of secrets between her and Sam was to arduous, to long, to deep.
"Did you know about the pregnancy?" Sam asked, and as these words landed in the air, her eyes opened in shock and horror.
"You're joking." She said. "...right?"
"I wish I was...you didn't know?"
"Of course not..." She said. "What happened?!"
" She was pregnant with his baby...and he made her abort it." Sam said quietly.
"That's not true." Abigail cried.
Suddenly, another wall was crashing on her.
The frist was Gabriel. She ruined his life for that him, hoping that if she did what he asked, he might be happy, and that in return he might love her.
Now, it was her very best friend.
For him, he had wronged and ruined everyone and everything. All for him.
the weight of this secret was too much for her to bear.
Suddenly, she felt sick to her core.
"I-I did this." She muttered, sinking to the ground.
"Abi...you didn't." Sam said sadly, seeing the most meaningful friendships in his life crumble right in front of his eyes.
"You don't know. I only you knew." She whispered, holding back tears. She thought, if she hadn't listened to Tom Riddle and gotten with Gabriel...everything could have been avoided. Anna would still be alive. Cassie would be in a loving relationship.
Everything was her fault, and she was so selfish.
Selfish, because all she ever though of was him.
She got up, hugged Sam, and decided to confront Cassie. She had to, she told herself. She wanted to five this friendship...little did she know, some things, once broken, can never be fixed.