For A Brief Moment

Chapter 30: Happy Birthday

Chrissy had brought a few dresses over for Cassie to borrow, with her selecting a small lilac dress, that ruffled along her hips, the sleeves resting just below her shoulder. She paired it with a small gold necklace and a few simple rings, along with a pair of white sneakers. Chrissy nearly matched her, wearing a pink off-the-shoulder dress, that was tight around her body, showing her figure beautifully. Chrissy wore her hair in her iconic ponytail, a pink scrunchy holding her hair together, whilst Cassie wore two small braids, allowing the rest of her hair to cascade down her back.

"You look stunning," Chrissy sang as she walked out of the bedroom door with Cassie.

"But you look the best," Cassie stated, wrapping her arm around her side, allowing Chrissy to wrap hers around her shoulder. They danced down the stairs together, as people began to enter. Cassie felt butterflies in her stomach, knowing that Elijah was going to see her again.

"Shorty," an already drunken voice called. He pulled her in for a tight, unbreakable hug, whilst she awkwardly hugged back. She could feel the basketball player's eyes dancing around her body, something that was a constant, but became worse when alcohol became part of the mix. "She needs a drink," his voice called as he pulled away, looking down at the small figure. Chrissy looked over to Cassie before speaking to her. "Are you okay with this buttercup, we can just go to the arcade if you want," she was concerned, the story she had told her remaining in her head, a story that was completely fabricated and untrue, something that Cassie still beat herself up over.

"I will be fine Chrissy, I swear," she spoke, as she took a cup from Jaxen, who had brought both her and Chrissy one. "If I'm not- "

"You come find me," Chrissy completed her sentence a sense of seriousness in her tone.

"Always," Cassie spoke back, before taking a sip of her drink, only to retract it from her lips quickly, its contents being quite strong. This received a few chuckles from the group, some that had malicious undertones, something that Cassie tried to brush off instantly. Cassie felt a gentle grip on her shoulder as she was turned to face the door, where, through the crowd, she could see none other than Elijah Montgomery, Greg and Josh already making their way to her, whilst Dylan and Max made their way to the counter.

"Absolutely not," Cassie turned to face Chrissy, directing her attention to the two younger boys in the kitchen.

"Go get 'em," Chrissy teased, pushing her forward. She casually walked over towards them, Greg, and Josh redirecting to walk with her.

"Hi guys," she politely spoke. "What you doing?"

"Partying," Max expressed, raising his hands in the air, one which held a cup.

"Thanks again for having us," Dylan chimed in, taking a quick sip of his drink.

"No worries, Josh, Greg, you thirsty?" she questioned, her eyes not moving from the two younger boys in front of her.

"Parched," Greg teased, and with that, Cassie took the cup out of Dylan's hand, leaning over to take the other from Max, their faces falling almost instantly.

"Enjoy," she turned towards the other two, handing them the cups as they laughed at what had just happened.

"No fair Cas," Dylan whined.

"Hey, I told you last time," she mothered before looking sympathetically into their eyes. "If you go into the fridge, I brought your favourite." That was true. She had remembered how they both discussed their love for Dr Pepper and how it was far better than cola, but their parents would never buy it for them, a story she remembered when she went shopping for snacks after school that day. This received a small smile on the two boys' faces before they walked away over to the fridge, meaning Cassie could turn back to Greg and Josh who were enjoying their drinks very much. She stood next to them for a minute before an unusual aroma danced in front of her, it had clung onto Josh and Greg's clothes, which caused her to look at them in slight confusion before bringing her red cup up to her lips. They shared some light conversation before Cassie pardoned herself, and walked away to find Elijah. She looked around the whole downstairs area, before making her way out into the garden, where she continued to search, before seeing a familiar silhouette sit on the bench at the bottom of the garden.