Before Her Eyes (Constance Langdon x OC)

What A Night

Cassandra had woken up in the middle of the night as the end credits to her last movie rolled. She'd missed the ending, but she'd seen it before, so she wasn't too disappointed. She'd just shut of the tv and took herself up to bed. On her way up the stairs, she recalled something she did with her old mentor Phineas Black several days before her family's murder. They'd performed a ritual, one to summon a hellhound. Phineas had assured her it was safe, and should they succeed the beast would be well contained. She thought it had been a failure at the time, since there wasn't even a sign of success. Maybe she'd been wrong. Though, didn't Benjamin Norrange point her in the direction of hellhounds? And hadn't Phineas alerted the man of her possible appearance at the convention? Were the two connected? Her mind now buzzed with questions and possibilities.

Frantically padding back down the stairs in her bare feet, Cassandra tapped into her burst of energy and smiled as she passed by Moira and headed to the kitchen for a quick yet decent enough breakfast. Having not eaten much but junk food yesterday, save for the nice lunch Constance had fixed her, she figured she should probably go for a healthier option this morning. A simple bowl of unsweetened cereal, though quite bland, did the trick, and Cassandra cleaned up before heading to the library.

Phineas' book still sat on the desk, as if begging her to open it. She could hardly believe she'd never read it through even once. She'd only ever used it for reference, when she absolutely had to. She supposed she was saving it, wanting to fully engage herself with it's words and knowledge. It was about time she fully read it. Cassandra opened the book, same as she had last night, and stopped at the inscription that she was so fond of. Perhaps the answer really would be in here, she thought to herself hopefully. And so, with that in the back of her mind, she began to read.

Beginning the journey into a new direction of her quest for answers, she came across a page she must have never opened to before. There was a yellowed, old bookmark resting in between the pages. Certainly she would have seen it if she had opened to this page before now. Now she was wondering why it was there. She noted the page she'd found it on. Page 66. She removed the bookmark and examined it. Was it here for a reason? Had Phineas used it and just forgotten to take it out? She flipped the thin paper over in her hand and written on the back was a ten digit number. A phone number perhaps? She rewrote out the numbers with the appropriate dashes. If it was a phone number, it was a local one. The area code was one she'd seen listed around here. She decided to give it a call.

Cassandra held her breath as she dialed and waited in apprehension in case someone were to pick up. It turned out that the number had been disconnected. Cassandra exhaled fully in what was a mix of relief and disappointment. Maybe it wasn't meant to be a phone number after all. Cassandra sighed and set the bookmark off to the side for later analysis. It may mean nothing at all, just a simple oversight on her professor's part. Either way, she preferred to get back to her reading.

It took her an entire week to read the rather lengthy occult tome cover to cover, and take her meticulous notes along the way. Phineas had always told her she was an obsessive note taker. He even joked that her notes were longer than whatever book she had been taking them on. Cassandra smiled to herself as she shut the book and recalled the fond memory.

She'd kept a decent work schedule now. While most of her time lately had been reading that book, she also set time aside to eat, take mental breaks, draft out a few more upcoming articles and even visit Constance one afternoon.

This time she called before she just dropped by. Constance was more than happy to share her afternoon with her, so Cassandra kissed Simon on the head before leaving for the house next door, and the cat purred his goodbye to her. Not that Cassandra felt that she needed his approval, but she was glad to have Simon's support in her relationship with Constance.

While Cassandra was excited to see Constance, she still wasn't entirely sure where she stood with her. Constance was kind and affectionate with her, but was that all southern charm, or something beyond that? Cassandra was hoping for the latter. The last thing she needed was the added stress of worrying about her official relationship status. She'd have to swallow her pride, admit that she was terrible at reading signs and ask Constance outright about where this was going.

"Good afternoon, Cassie," Constance greeted warmly. It had been quite some time since anyone had called her that. It brought back mixed feelings. Only two people in her life had ever gotten away with calling her Cassie. Her sister, Emily, and Phineas. Though the memory of her younger sister still carried that dull sort of ache for her, Cassandra could actually see herself enjoying hearing the nickname again.

After a moment of inner reflection, Cassandra gave Constance a smile and walked in the door. "There's something I've been meaning to ask you," Cassandra said, needing to get right to it for the sake of her sanity, otherwise it would just eat away at her the whole time she was there.

"Sounds serious," Constance remarked. "Go on."

"Are we...a thing? Dating, I mean. In a relationship?" She inwardly cringed at her awkwardness in broaching the subject, but Constance seemed unfazed by her stammering.

"I suppose we are," Constance replied after a moment of contemplation. "I never really pictured it myself, being with a woman. I've been with someone younger in the past, but that other part is new for me. And people used to call me homophobic," she punctuated with a laugh. "I guess people really do change over time. I must say I feel somehow drawn to you. Since the day you moved in, in fact. I can't really compare you to Travis, of course. You're so vastly different from him, but I can see you being in my life in the way that he was once."

Cassandra listened politely as Constance verbally came to terms with her own feelings, knowing that it had been fairy similar for her when she first realized she was attracted to women. "We can take it slow if you want," Cassandra chimed in at last.

"Slow is not really my style," Constance said with a smirk. "I take things as they come naturally. I don't like to question. I simply do whatever feels right."

Cassandra nodded. She could respect that. She breathed a sigh of relief now that she'd gotten the issue addressed. She was able to be herself around Constance again and the two of them spent nearly the rest of the day together before Cassandra noticed that it had gotten to be so late in the evening.

Constance had treated her to dinner before she left, which was far better than her simple meal had been when she'd invited Constance over. She offered to help clean up, but Constance wouldn't hear of it. Instead, Constance walked Cassandra to the door to say goodnight.

What Constance had said about doing what felt right, that had been no lie. Cassandra was expecting nothing but a quick goodnight, followed by that beautiful smile and a wave as Cassandra looked over her shoulder on her short walk back home. What actually happened was quite different. There in the open doorway, with the comfortable warmth of the California night sneaking its way inside, Constance leaned in and kissed her. Cassandra felt her back touch the doorframe and Constance's body press up against hers. She blushed as a wave of heat rippled through her.

"Say hello to that fur ball of yours for me," Constance said when she pulled out of the kiss. "Simon, wasn't it," she asked. Cassandra gave a quick nod, the burning in her cheeks clearly reflected pink in the light of the doorway. What a night, she thought as she stepped outside. What a night.