"C-Cassie?" I stammered like a fool. Nick, who was beside me eating a turkey sandwich, immediately kicked me in the shin under the table, the universal way to say, "don't make a fool out of yourself and/or me".
"What's this about?" I asked.
"Hannah," she answered.
"What?" I asked, getting worried. "What happened to her?"
"Just get to the nurse's office, it might be serious," Cassie sighed.
"Wait I don't know where-" I tried to say, but she hung up.
By now, even Nick had realised something was wrong.
"Hey, what happened?" he asked. "Is something wrong? Did she ask you out?"
I couldn't be bothered to roll my eyes. I was too worried about Hannah.
"No," I replied. "It's about Hannah."
"What about her?" Nick asked.
"Something's happened," I explained as I put on my jacket and walked towards the door. "She asked me to be at the nurse's office."
"Do you even know where the nurse's office is?" Nick called after as me as I closed the door. And before you blame me for not paying attention during the tour, remember the people asking for selfies and autographs and stuff? Yeah, try paying attention to anything while dealing with that.
"I'll find it!" I said as I closed the door and left.
Eventually, though it took 8 directors (1 repeated) and a visit to the front office, I finally found the nurse's office. Hannah was lying in one of the beds with a...
CAST ON HER LEG?!
"Hannah?" I almost couldn't believe it was her.
"Um, hi!" she sat up straight.
"What happened?" I asked.
"I kind of tripped during practice," she replied.
"Is it," I gulped.
"Broken?" Hannah asked.
When I nodded, she answered, "No, just dislocated. Might take a few months to heal though."
"They'll move me to the Roseville Community Hospital soon, they need to do some scans," she explained, just as Cassie and Maddie came into the room with a glass of water.
"Oh! I, uh, didn't know you were going to be here?" I said, stammering like a fool.
"Well, I was the one who called you, so..." she replied as she placed the glass next to Hannah's bed on a small table.
"Oh, right!" I exclaimed.
Then I turned back to Hannah, as Cassie and Maddie talked among themselves.
"What about the competition?" I asked her.
"You'll have to find another partner," she answered. "Maybe Nick?"
I laughed at her joke. "You know Nick can't dance to save his life, right?"
She laughed back. "Then maybe you could host auditions for the audition?"
"That's actually not a bad idea," I replied. "Thanks, and get well soon, Hannah."
Before I could leave, Hannah stopped me, "Hey, Jake?"
"Yeah?" I turned around.
"Promise me you'll ask her out," she said.
"Who, what, how and why?!" I questioned.
"Ask. Cassie. Out, you silly!" she replied, giggling uncontrollably.
"Shut up!" I whisper-shouted. "She's literally two feet away! She's going to hear you!"
"Jake's got a girlfriend, Jake's got a girlfriend!" she mocked playfully.
"Hannah, I'm serious," I whisper-shouted again. "Cut it out!"
She sighed as her laughter died down. "Never gets old."
Hannah was always the "mean" one of our trio. Ever since my first crush when I was 8, she'd always teased me the same way. Nick was usually her little monkey, going along with everything she'd say. Laughing if she'd laugh, teasing if she'd tease.
If I had to bet, it was probably because he was afraid of her or he liked her.
I don't even know how I ended up famous out of the three of us. Me, the kid with the nerdy glasses who had no idea what he was going to do with his life.
Shocking, really. But I guess all those years of dance lessons with Hannah paid off.
You know how Harry Potter has the Golden Trio and all that stuff? Well, that's kind of how we are. Except, of course, nobody can match Nick's personality, which is 50% "playboy", 25% "jock", and 25% "best wingman you will ever get".
Anyway, after Hannah was transferred to the hospital, I walked up to Cassie, who was still talking to Maddie.
"Um, hey, Cassie?" I tapped her on the shoulder.
"Oh, hey Jake," she said.
"So, uh, big office, am I right?" I'd have to kick myself for that one later.
"Um, yeah," she replied. "It's pretty alright."
"But, what are you going to do about the competition?" she asked.
I'd been asked these kinds of questions a million time before, but this time it felt different. She wasn't asking this because it's her job or to be polite. It was like she genuinely cared about what happened.
"I don't know," I answered. "Hannah suggested auditions, but-"
"That's a great idea!" Cassie exclaimed. "You could host auditions to see who would be the perfect dance partner for you!"
She turned to Maddie, her long hair slapping me in the face as she turned.
"What do you think, Mads?" she asked, clearly not noticing that her hair had literally just assaulted me.
"I think that it's a great idea!" Maddie replied.
As the girl continued their chatting and ideas, I stood there looking at them like, "Hello! I'm right here!"
"We'd be glad to help you out with the auditions!" Maddie said, finally facing me.
"Yeah, we can meet at the Brewer's Secret coffee shop this Wednesday to plan," Cassie said. "Does that work for you?"
"Um, yeah!" I said. "It, uh, totally works for me! I'll s-see you later then!"
And then I ran off.
Wow, Liam. I scolded myself while walking back to Building A. You really don't know how to speak, do you?
I sighed as I realised that there was no going back now. I was having an audition and Kylie was going to help me plan them.
The following Wednesday, I met up with Maddie and Cassie, who worked there, apparently, at the Brewer's Secret coffee shop. We discussed where the auditions were going to be (Kylie had reserved the auditorium from 5 to 6 pm on Friday), the sign up sheets and posters and all of that.
Once we were done, me and Maddie got up and left, but Cassie still had some cleaning up to do. So she stayed back after the coffee shop closed.
I was kind of glad, because that meant I could no longer make a fool out of myself in front of Cassie. What was this about this girl that made me look so dumb?
Maybe it was because she saw me as Jake Hale, the person. And not Jake Hale, the celebrity.
It felt weird, I had created another person, a literal celebrity skin and I'd been wearing it for so long, I'd forgotten what I really looked like.
But around her, I could step into my real skin, and I could almost pass for a normal guy if I didn't have such a recognizable face.
But seriously, Cassie was just like all the other girls that I had met, but at the same time, she was like nobody I'd ever known.
When I was halfway back to the university, I realised I'd left my phone back at the café, so I had to run back to get it, and see her again. I dreaded it, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.
Hey guys!
I think I'll definitely be posting twice today! Because the next chapter is probably one of my favourite scenes from the whole book, so enjoy! Thanks for reading chapter 5 of FS and I hope you liked it. Love y'all and don't forget to vote, comment and follow!
~Lia