chapter six!
"THIS IS SO DISGUSTING, is this really necessary?" Max complains as Dustin approaches the group. The group stood around of the dumpster, Lucas actually inside of the gross bin. The three stood with sticks, Cassie twirling hers easily around, like a ninja would. She nudged Max, showing off her skill, until the stick flew out of her hand and into the dumpster. Cassie hears Lucas let out a grunt.
"What the hell is going on?" asked Dustin, giving the group an incredulous look, gesturing to Lucas in the dumpster. Cassie had momentarily forgot that he wasn't there when they hatched their plan. She felt a lot better than she did the day before, having had taken her medication first thing when she woke up
this morning. The group could tell Cassie was getting back to her usual, crazy, and attention-seeking self.
"What do you think? We're looking for Dart." answers Mike, shaking his head at the boys apparent stupidness. Dustin ducks out of the way as Lucas (without warning) throws a few bags over the side of the dumpster before jumping over the side and landing on his feet next to Max and Cassie. He held Cassie's stick in his hand, the one she'd lost a moment before, and held it out to the girl. Cassie grinned, reaching out for her 'ninja-wand', when Lucas suddenly held it out of her reach, making her pout. Lucas gives her a strict look, as telling her not to play with it anymore, and Cassie nods. Grabbing the stick out of his hand, she began twirling it around again as soon as Lucas turned to talk to Dustin.
"Well, well, well, look who finally decided to show up, after I drew the short straw." said Lucas, sarcastically. Cassie laughed as Max had to duck to avoid being hit in the face with her spinning stick. Moving to the other side of Cassie, she found herself standing next to Lucas. "Real convenient."
"Ew you stink," comments Max, walking away from Lucas and towards Dustin. Cassie sniffed the air, not noticing before, and nodded in agreement, following behind her.
"Hi, Cassie," grinned Dustin, looking down at the girl. Cassie grinned back, flashing one of her charming Hargrove smiles.
"Hey, Dustin."
"Wheres Will?" asked Dustin, turning back to the group. Max rolled her eyes as Cassie began poking her in the side, apparently for no reason other than just to do it.
"He'll be here," Mike states matter-of-factly. Cassie had her doubts, however. She may have not been there when Will freaked out, but Max explained it all in thorough detail. Cassie knew that if she was Will, she'd definitely use that as an excuse to skip school the next day— the rest of the year if she could manage it.
"Are you going to just stand there—," Lucas begins, throwing Dustin a stick. Cassie is tempted to start a stick war by clashing her stick with his, and decided that it wouldn't be appropriated for the moment. She does it anyways, and Dustin subtly hits her stick back with his."—or you gonna help?"
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"All living things, from complex mammals, to single celled organisms, instinctively respond to danger. Expose a bacteria to a toxic chemical and it will flee. Or deploy some other defense mechanism. We're very much the same. When we encounter danger, our hearts start pounding, our palms start to sweat. These are signs of the physical and emotional state we call fear."
Cassie listened to the lesson, frowning slightly at how much she understood it. Sure, she was somewhat smart, but she hated showing it. This lesson in particular made her feel upset— made her tummy twist in a way that made her want to throw up. Or some other defense mechanism, he'd said. Cassie wasn't stupid— she knew her entire personality was based off a defense mechanism. It wasn't to flee— she wasn't a wimp. But being a wimp and being a coward are two completely different things. When her dad— or Billy— did what they do, it made her feel small, belittled, and unimportant. And she knew that because of that, she would seek reassurance and attention by acting out at school and with her friends. Sure, she made friends this way— several people at Hawkins Middle wanted to be her friend, but she stayed with Max and enjoyed the popularity and attention from afar— but she hated that that was what she was known for. Even at her old school she was known as that kid who did crazy shit in front of the school, and that made her cool. She was an attention-seeker and she knew it. Everyone knew it. But part of her wanted to be more. Part of her wanted to make friends the normal way and not by rollerblading down the hall or jumping in a trash can and rolling through the cafeteria. Part of her wanted to have a personality trait that wasn't crazy or cool.
And sometimes she wished she was oblivious to her own flaws, like most people, because sometimes stupidity feels better than intelligence.
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Mike slams the phone down with a sigh, running back to the group. He'd been trying to get in touch with Will because he hadn't shown up at school, and now nobody was answering the phone. Cassie thought Will was a sweet boy— weird, but sweet. He'd been sure to always ask Cassie and Max how they were, and would tell them good morning when they came into school. He didn't really talk much other than that, but Cassie was sure she talked enough for the both of them.
"Anything?" asked Lucas, as Mike rushed back over to the group. Cassie was sitting on top of the shelter that was over the top of the stairs. She'd been waving at kids passing by, who would grin and wave back. Dustin and Lucas had been trying to tell her how stupid she was and that she'd break her ankles coming down, especially since she was wearing her rollerblades. Surely nobody could safely land when jumping down like that. A few kids had even been lingering around the area, hopeful to see when she'd jump down. Max had been ignoring the three, occasionally telling the boys that it was no use trying to talk Cassie out of anything.
"We need to talk. AV room. Right now." rushed out Mike, not even stopping as he ran towards the door to the building. Everyone stood up hastily, grabbing their things and following Mike. Cassie jumped down, scaring just about everyone around her. She'd somehow managed to land perfectly on her feet and skated over to grab her bag that was against the railing. Mike spun around as he saw Max and Cassie try to follow.
"Party members only," he states firmly, Lucas and Dustin sighing apologetically, looking back at the girls. Max wore a dejected, somewhat mad look on her face, while Cassie didn't mind. She had plenty of people to hang out with if they didn't want her around.
"C'mon Mike," Dustin pleads, finding it somewhat unfair to stop the girls from hanging out with them.
"No. This is non-negotiable," refused Mike, turning around and entering the building.
"Sorry, guys," said Dustin, giving one last half-smile to the girls before turning back around and walking away.
"Sorry," Lucas mutters, following behind Dustin.
"At least we have each other," offers Cassie, a moment later, trying to lighten the mood. She knew Max was upset, which sucked, because when Max was upset Cassie was upset by relation. Cassie hated being upset.
Max smiles, turning to the blonde girl, "Yeah, honestly I think that I would've already gone insane and punched Mike if it wasn't for you, so you better not go anywhere."
Cassie raised her hands, an innocent look on her face, "Hey, I'm not stopping you from punching Mike. I think you're forgetting that I'm the insane one here."
Max laughed, but nodded nonetheless. Cassie grinned, happy she'd brightened the mood. Looking down towards the grassy area in front of her, she saw some kids staring and an idea popped into her head, "Hey, what do you say we go and make some new friends? I know for a fact that my dude Frankie would love to see me try to do a backflip on my skates."
And without another word, Cassie was jumping down from the top step and to the cement sidewalk, her rollerblades hitting the ground with a thump. Max rushed down the steps to chase after her, knowing this likely wouldn't end well.
"Cassie! Cassie, you can't even do a backflip off of your skates!"
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Later in the day, Lucas approached the girls at their lockers— acting as if nothing had happened. Max had her skateboard tucked underneath her arm, Cassie lacing up her skates. Cassie could feel Max grow annoyed by the approaching boy, "Hey guys, have you seen Dustin? We're supposed to meet up after class."
Max rolled her eyes, slamming her locker and walking away, pulling Cassie along with her. It takes Cassie a moment to regain her balance from this, but easily skates forward to go alongside Max after she does. Cassie wasn't really mad like Max was, but she was loyal so if Max wanted to ignore the boys then so would she.
"Guys?" asked Lucas, running to catch up with them. Cassie is really tempted to turn around and talk to him, but she keeps skating forward. "Hey guys, wait up! Where are you going? C'mon, we gotta look for Dart!"
"Yeah, good luck with that," sassed Max, not even turning around. Cassie does, however, and just shrugs at the boy. She could see why Max was mad— Mike was kind of a jerk about it, but she also understood that some things are private. If they didn't want Max and Cassie to know something, then oh well. It wasn't their place to know.
"What is wrong with you?" asks Lucas, the question seeming more directed towards Max than Cassie as he continues to follow the siblings.
"What's wrong with us? What's wrong with you?" Max remarks, still not turning around. Cassie figured that Lucas would get the point after that, apologize, and everything would be cool after that. But no, Lucas was a dumbass and was still confused.
"I don't understand," Lucas complains, causing Max to finally turning around to look at him. She does it so fast and suddenly, though, that Cassie is forced to skid to a stop and then skate back towards the pair.
"No, we don't understand. You guys act like you want us to be your friend but then you treat us like garbage," shoots back Max, Cassie knowing it would likely be in her best interest to stay quiet. She doesn't, however, and simply try's to defuse the situation by making a joke.
"Ha, garbage," she laughed, earning a look from both Lucas and Max. Her grin doesn't falter, pointing towards the school, where the dumpster was. "It's funny because we were searching through actual garbage this morning."
Shaking his head at Cassie's joke, Lucas turned back to Max and responds to her previous statement, "That's not true."
"Yes, it is. You just go and hide in the AV club; keeping secrets like we're in second grade or something," retorts Max, giving Lucas a confused and somewhat pained look. "I thought you guys wanted us in your party."
"We do, but it's..." Lucas starts, hesitating to go forward. This only further aggravates Max, making her interrupt before he can continue and finish.
"But what?"
"There– there are just things," he said, which told them literally nothing. Cassie crossed her arms– she understood they didn't want them know certain things, but it shouldn't be this hard to come up with an excuse for why. A simple, It's just private would've sufficed. "Things we can't tell you, alright. For your own safety."
"Our own safety?" asked Cassie, beginning to frown. Maybe it was something serious– like actually serious. Something they shouldn't get involved in. That only made her want to know more.
"Yes," nods Lucas, letting out a somewhat relived sigh at the sight of Cassie possibly beginning to understand.
"Because we're girls?" asked Max, raising her eyebrows. Cassie looked up– she hadn't thought of this possibility. The boys didn't seem like misogynists, but maybe they had unknown layers like that. She wasn't mad before, but if this is the reason they're being locked outside of the AV room on a daily basis, she is now.
"What? No–"
"Did you keep secrets from El?" asked Max, growing more and more irritated as the conversation goes on. Cassie felt as if she should say something— remind them that she's still there.
"How do you know about El?" questions Lucas, seeming taken aback by the question. This didn't go unnoticed by Cassie— maybe El was one of the secrets they didn't want the sisters to know about.
"Did you?" asked Max, again.
"That was different. Trust me that was just—just different." Lucas attempts to explain. Cassie beings to skate around the pair, going in circles. She was getting bored with the conversation and she hated standing still. She was also getting worried about the time. Billy certain would be waiting for them by now, and that alone is bad enough. If he saw them with Lucas things could get a lot worse.
"Y'know what? Forget it, okay? I don't want to be in your stupid party anyway. I'm out. Have a nice life," said Max, apparently giving up and turning to walk away without waiting for Cassie to follow.
Cassie goes to speed up and follow, but stops when Lucas calls her name, "Cassie?"
Cassie spins on her skates, shrugging at the dark-skinned boy. Pointing back to her sister, she gave Lucas a somewhat apologetic look. "Sorry, dude. If Max goes, I go. See you around."
"Seriously? Guys!" Lucas yells after them as they make their way towards Billy's blue car. Cassie listens as some random kid yells at her to do a backflip on her skates, as she had done earlier in the day. She honestly thought she'd fall on her ass, but she had managed to successfully do a backflip on rollerblades. Apparently she'd gained even more popularity from that stunt. She grinned at the short, blond-haired boy and obliged, not even coming to a complete stop before she backflips and lands perfectly. The little boy cheered.
"You still stink by the way," Max calls over her shoulder to Lucas, although her voice was a little lighter as she began to chuckle at the girl skating beside her.
Lucas sniffs his shirt and exhales roughly in frustration. "Shit," he mutters, turning around, dejectedly.
You wouldn't be able to tell it by looking at her, but Cassie was absolutely horrified at the look on Billy's face when they approached his car. She could tell that he was mad, and not just about them being late. Before they can get in the car, the older boy stopped them.
"That kid you were talking to, who is he?" He asked, Cassie looking around the parking lot. She avoided meeting his eyes and suddenly the white lines on the pavement seemed very interested. She didn't let her head drop, though, and still stood confidently. They were still at school, meaning she couldn't let her cool facade down just yet.
"No one," denies Max, reaching towards the door handle to the car.
"No one?" repeats Billy, clearly seeing right through Max's lie. The redhead pulled her seat up so Cassie could climb into the car, the brunette sitting in the backseat and unlatching her rollerblades and sliding on her converse.
"Hey, Billy, did you see me do a backflip on my skates? Can you believe I didn't have to practice that move or anything— just poof pure luck that I landed it. Cool, huh?" asked Cassie, trying to change the subject from Lucas. Billy barely pays her any kind and repeated his question to Max.
"He's just a kid from my class," she muttered, climbing into the front seat. Cassie watched as Billy opened the door to his side too, not letting the subject drop.
"Why was he talking to you?" questioned Billy as he lights a cigarette. Cassie finished lacing her shoes, leaning forward in her seat so she's between Billy and Max. She wanted nothing more than to be with her smoking bud, Frankie, at this moment. She remembered her first time smoking, thinking it was nastier than shit— almost as bad as her first time drinking vodka, 'cause that made her throw up for hours— but it had gained the entire schools attention when she did it during an assembly.
Cassie coughed a bit, letting the two in the front seat know that she was trying to speak, "You know, I'm thinking that for my next art project, I'll ride my skates through puddles of paint then skate over a canvas. Could look ugly as shit, could be a masterpiece. Who knows, right?"
"Jesus, Cassie, shut the hell up," snapped Billy, making the girl huff and lean back in her seat.
"It was just about some stupid class assignment," lied Max, keeping her eyes low. Cassie chewed on the inside of her lip, thinking of something else she could say.
"Then why are you so upset?" he asked, turning around in his seat so he can face both of the girls. He contemplated asking Cassie, but realized she'd just end up talking about something completely unrelated.
"We're not," denied Max, rolling her eyes. Cassie raised her eyebrows, wondering where Max got the we from. Now is so not the time to bring Cassie into this.
"He causing you guys trouble?"
"Why do you care?" snaps Max, finally turning to look at him. Cassie leaned forward, deciding to intervene yet again.
"Because, Max, you're a piece of shit, but we are family now, whether we like it or not. Meaning I'm stuck looking after you," answered Billy, making Cassie lean back in her seat again. She didn't feel like saying anything anymore. Billy had called Max family. Billy had said he was going to look after Max. He hadn't considered Cassie family for a long time, and he'd told her that himself. That one actually hurt. Part of her wanted to cry— honest and truly. But she didn't, obviously and just continued listening in on the conversation.
"What would I ever do without—?" questions Max, throwing her hands up in the air sarcastically. Billy grabs her wrist mid-air, cutting her off.
"Hey! This is serious shit, okay? I'm older than you and something you learn is that there are certain types of people in this world that you stay away from. And that kid—that kid is one of them. You stay away from him, you understand. Stay away." he tells her, his voice uneasily steady hand low. He gives Cassie a quick glance as he lets go of Max's wrist. "You too, loudmouth."
Racist piece of shit, she thought, crossing her arms. She took that as a dare— now she really wanted to hang out with Lucas just to piss him off. She'd do it, too, whenever Max and Lucas got over their stupid fight.
She also had an impulse to do something really stupid.
a/n: I realized i needed to more thoroughly explain why cassie is a attention-seeking daredevil, and i think it really shines through in this chapter. especially when billy ignores her during his convo with max— it shows she doesn't really get the needed attention at home, neither from her dad or billy. the only attention she gets is the bad kind, so that makes her kinda anxious for more. if that makes any sense?
~maddie