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Cassie screamed from the kitchen in the Howard household, grabbing the attention of her mom and sister. "What's going on?" But Cassie only cried harder.
"I just wanna die!"
"Well, a corkscrew ain't gonna cut it," Suze said, grabbing the tool from her daughter's hand and walking away with it. Cassie continued to cry and wail.
"I thought you hated Nate," Lexi pointed out. This would be the obvious observation and probably the first thing you would think when you heard about the drama.
"When I didn't know him."
"You've literally known him forever."
"Not like I do now."
Lexi's stomach twisted, picturing how worried Eliana had been over the questioning surrounding Fezco on New Year's. She ignored what Cassie had just said. "Wait, is this why you ratted on Fezco?"
Cassie was quick to reply, "No."
"Oh, my God. That's why you did it?"
"No!"
"That's why you said something? 'Cause you were sleeping with him?"
"No, I wasn't!"
"Oh really? When did you start sleeping together?"
"Uh... Uh... I, I don't, I don't know the exact date."
"Okay, well, was it before or after New Year's?"
"I don't know!" Cassie exclaimed.
"Okay, but for someone who's so obsessed with windows of time, I find that hard to believe."
"God, Lexi, you are making me feel worse!" Cassie wailed.
"Do you even know why Fezco did what he did?" Lexi asked, looking down on her sister who was sitting on the kitchen floor while Lexi was in the doorway.
"No, do you?" Cassie asked, the question clearly piquing her interest.
"Yeah, I do."
"Then tell me."
"No, I'm not gonna tell you because you'll tell Nate. I don't fuckin' trust you."
"No one does!" Cassie returned back to yelling.
"Yeah, 'cause you fell in love with someone who spent years making fun of you. It's sad," Lexi said before finally walking away, leaving her there alone.
Lexi left her house on her bike, her earbuds plugged into her ears as she felt the wind kick up her jacket. She waited a couple times for the phone to ring, which was only three before Eliana picked up, relieved when she heard her friend's voice on the other side of the line. "Yo, Lex?" Eliana spoke into the phone, a bit confused honestly. "What's up."
"Elle, I gotta tell you something real quick," Lexi spoke into the microphone.
"What's the rush, where are you going?" Ellie asked.
"Don't worry, just getting out of my house for a while," Lexi blinked, her red lips turning upwards. "So, one more thing," Lexi spoke quickly. "She still doesn't know why Fezco did what he did."
This piqued Eliana's interest. "On New Year's?"
Lexi nodded again. "Yup, she was asking me to tell her, but I didn't because I know you only told me in confidence."
It took Eliana a moment to find the right words. She hadn't been expecting this, not from Lexi, at least not today. She kind of believed Cassie knew more than she had since she realized Cassie had basically fallen in love with him. Or at least, the idea of him. But the truth was, Cassie didn't know shit. "I... I really appreciate that, Lexi. I really shouldn't have even said anything, I feel so bad repeating Fez's business, but I'm glad I can trust you."
"Don't mention it," Lexi breathed. "I gotta go."
"Are you like, working out or something?" Eliana's voice rung through her phone speaker.
"Eh... kinda."
Lexi had been on the way to Grace's house, a spur of the moment visit birthed from her head fighting with her heart over the events of her play. Lexi was basically fighting herself over whether or not she should still be putting it on or not. Surprisingly, Grace was part of the play, having a role as Jade's mom. But it wasn't like she was advertising it.
"Hmm... are you going to put Fez beating Nate's ass at the party in it?" Grace asked, leaning against the back of the couch, both girls standing in the doorway of the Smyth household. No one was even home for Grace to worry about unlike in Eliana's house, where there were three other ears basically listening all the time. "Because that would be totally hilarious."
"No!" Lexi exclaimed, bringing a smile to Grace's face with how quickly she replied. The moment, however, passed as quickly as it came. "I don't know. Cassie isn't doing too well. I'm worried that... she's gonna see the play, and then, she's gonna... freak out."
Grace was zoning out, looking at the floor as she was unsure what to say. What even do you say to that? "I feel like... it would be a bold move. But not necessarily a bad one."
Lexi nodded now. "Yeah... I... It's, like, the first time in my life I'm doing something for myself."
Regaining her composure and stretching out her arms, Grace huffed. "I know. It's like your Stand By Me moment. It's a weird idea, but it's reality. I think it'll be fun for a lot of people."
Lexi seemed to take this as a compliment, gushing over Grace's words. Her eyes trailed to the ceiling as her back touched the wall behind her, almost as if she were swooning. In truth, Lexi was just a huge geek. "Awh, Stand By Me is such a good movie."
Grace grinned. "It's one of my favorites," she agreed.
"Really?" Lexi's thin and neat brows furrowed together.
"Tell anyone and you're dead," Grace's face turned serious.
"Oh, your dirty little secret is safe with me."
It was quiet for a brief moment before Grace decided to speak. "Do you wanna... watch it? My mom's got a pina colada mix in the freezer begging to be made, we can throw M&M's in the popcorn, whatever," she shrugged, as if not giving it much of a thought when in reality she really wanted to chill out. With Lexi, preferably.
