Lost & Found

The Reunion

                  

She couldn't stop singing. She knew for a fact that it was probably annoying the hell out of Jessamine, but Cassie couldn't help it: she was happy.

Not that she hadn't been happy before. Cassie was a firm believer in not needing a romantic relationship to feel fulfilled, but she had to admit that there was something nice about being courted. And whether or not Tyler realized it, that was exactly what was happening.

They'd kept in contact over the last few weeks of term, whether it was through frequent text messages or the occasional phone call. There wasn't constant conversation, because they were both busy: Cassie with studying for her exams and Tyler with his swim training and studying for his exams, but she liked that at the end of the day, she could always look forward to a message from him saying that he hoped she was happy and had a good day and he couldn't wait to see her when she came home.

Which was why she hummed pretty much the entire car ride from college to the Copeland house. She was so caught up with wondering how her reunion with Tyler was going to go that she didn't notice the detour Jessamine took until they were on a road which was entirely unfamiliar.

"Where are we going?" Cassie asked, furrowing her brow as she scanned the passing scenery, wondering why she didn't recognize the suburban roads which led to the gated community where all the Flux families lived. Turning her head towards the driver, she lifted one eyebrow as she waited for Jessamine to respond.

"To Tyler's school," Jessamine said nonchalantly, keeping her eyes on the road.

Cassie's eyes widened in horror as she gaped at her friend, completely caught off guard by the change of plans. Although she had thought quite a bit about what she would say to Tyler when she saw him again, she had assumed she would have some time to prepare at the house before he arrived home from school. She didn't particularly like being thrown headfirst into the situation with absolutely no warning.

"W-what?" she stammered out, shifting uncomfortably in the leather passenger seat. "Why?"

"So you can surprise him," Jessamine replied simply, "I'm sure he'll love it. He asks about you every time I talk to him."

"Really?" Cassie's eyebrows lifted in surprise, flattered that the fact that her thoughts had quite frequently strayed to Tyler quite a lot wasn't completely one sided.

"Yep," Jessamine nodded.

Despite the fact that Jessamine had never been anything but supportive of whatever it was that Cassie and Tyler were doing, Cassie couldn't help but think it was amazing that she had that mindset at all. Surely the entire situation was a bit strange.

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" Cassie asked quietly, twisting her torso so she could more easily look at her friend. "With me and Tyler..."

Jessamine replied before Cassie could finish. "Of course! I love the both of you and I just want you to be happy, so if this is what makes you happy, then go for it. And as long as you're both smart and mature about it all, then no one will get hurt."

Cassie wondered what it meant that each time she'd had a conversation about her potential relationship with Tyler with any member of his family, they all seemed to talk about it as though it would inevitably end. And perhaps it would. Perhaps, once break was over and they went back to their separate schools, they would forget about each other and just relish in the happiness they had in the few weeks they did get to spend together. She supposed they could cross that bridge when they came to it, because for now, she had much more pressing issues on her hands.

She fiddled with her seat belt as Jessamine parked the car in the lot in front of the school. "So...what am I supposed to do?"

Settling back into her seat, Jessamine took a deep breath before she spoke. "Well, first, I'm gonna text Lucy and tell her I can take her home in case Ty already offered her a ride and then you are going to go wait by Ty's car until he comes out of school. It's that dark blue SUV over there."