For A Brief Moment

Chapter 10: Almost, nearly, nope

The boys watched as she closed her eyes, realising a big sigh at the whistles before opening her eyes with a small smile, walking directly to them. Greg smiled first catching her eyes. "No way that is Cassie Hassing, it can't be," he teased, seeing her giggle as she got closer. "I thought you said you wouldn't be caught dead hanging out with me."

"Firstly, who said I was here for you?" She questioned sarcastically, "and secondly, the last time I checked, you were the one who said that, not me," she smiled at him, silently giggling to herself. She could feel Elijah admire her, even without looking at him. She could feel him look into her soul.

"And what did they have to say?" Elijah interrupted.

"Well, they told me to come over here and tell you to leave," she said seriously, her face dropping quickly into a forced manner. "But" her tone picked up as they stared at her, "I convinced them to let you stay." They all cheered, Greg grabbing her shoulder and smiling, "You're a star Cassie, a literal star." He looked over at some of the boys who spoke about getting drinks, branching off, leaving Max, Greg, Cassie, and Elijah in the garden.

"You know, I've heard you say that a lot recently, I'm beginning to believe it," she joked.

"Believe it Princess because he's telling the truth," Elijah said with a cheeky smile on his face, arms open for her to lean into. Greg moved his hand from the closest shoulder she had to him, to the furthest, giving her a half hug, whilst she wrapped her arms around him. They pulled away quickly and she walked over to Elijah, opening her arms slightly, as she entered his. He wrapped his arms around her small figure, whilst her arms were placed on his back.

They shared a hug for a few moments, taking each other in. He smelt like cigarettes and strong aftershave. His shirt was soft against her cheek, and his breath was heavy, his chest raising slowly and gently. His hands and rings were cold against the back of her neck. She was small and he rested his chin on her head. Her hair smelt like strawberries and was smooth and shiny. Her skin was smooth, and she breathed quickly, but quietly. They hugged each other tightly, and although it was a short hug, they gathered all these different features about them and treasured it. They pulled away, staring at each other's eyes for a moment.

"Where's mine?" a voice questioned behind her. She turned quickly, her hair dancing as she turned and brushing softly against Elijah's chest. "Liars don't get hugs, Dylan," she said in a humorous tone. She walked over to Max who looked at her with a smile and opened his arms. She gave him a hug and pulled away, turning round to face Dylan. His face was in utter shock.

"I would never, "he replied sarcastically. One look. One look is all she had to give him before he corrected himself, "okay maybe once."

"Twice Dylan, twice," she held two fingers up as she spoke to him. He had two cups in his hands, extending one of them to Max. "What's in the cup Dylan?"

"Just some water," he shyly responded. Max reached out to take the cup before Cassie grabbed both cups. All the boys looked at her. Greg and Elijah looked in amusement; Max and Dylan looked in annoyance. She sniffed the cups before handing one to Greg.

"Three times," she explained, handing the second to Elijah.

"Hey, no fair, we're here to party," Max explained.

"Considering you are both freshmen, that were never invited, you are lucky I'm not telling you to leave as well. You can stay but no drinking understood? "She looked at the pair. It would have been easier if they were shorter than her, but they weren't so Cassie had to show her dominance in another way. She raised a brow as and crossed her arms staring at the pair in front of her. A moment later they finally gave in, both repeating, "Fine," before Dylan continued, "But we're going inside, it's more fun there." They turned away from the girl and walked toward the house and she giggled lightly to herself, before looking back at Greg and Elijah. "The drinks good?" They both nodded as they looked at her. They were surprised at how she just reacted, enchanted by how she handled the situation. "Hey um, Greg," she gestured for him to move down to her height, which he did. "Some little birdy told me Josh was inside at the ping pong table." He looked into her eyes, a large smile on his face, he took a few steps back before turning, raising his hand in the air, "Literal star Cassie." He yelled, catching some odd looks from some of the partygoers, as Cassie giggled once again, turning to face Elijah, who was just admiring her, a smirk plastered across his face. She looked into his eyes and tilted her head. He followed in motion, tilting his head in return. A smile grew on her face as she tried to fight the laughter. He did the same thing.