All It Takes

Chapter One

Cassidy
__________

"You can't be serious."
"Darling, I'm dead serious."
Ashley glares at me in only the way that she can. It's a type of glare that you know she isn't actually angry at you, but you still feel threatened to do whatever she wants you to. I glanced back through the window and shook my head.
"I am not going in there!" I whispered, looking away from the shop.
"Oh yes you are! You've been pining over this boy for long enough. Grow a pair and go talk to him," she ordered, pointing to the guy who was thankfully sitting with his back to us. The sunlight was cast at just the right angle to reveal a red tint to his unruly blond hair as he sipped his coffee and returned his attention to the laptop resting in front of him.
"Ashley, you know I can't go in there. He doesn't like me the way I want him to," I sighed, turning away from the window. People flew passed us, some running to catch the bus or train, some rushing home from work to their loving families and nighttime tv, and some taking their time to head to their graveyard shift. Every now and then a few people would give strange glances to the two girls standing in the middle of the busy sidewalk having an argument on whether or not to go into the coffee shop.
"You don't know that for sure and you have to take some risks every now and then. You've liked him since freshmen year and have been acting like a love struck puppy ever since. I'm surprised he hasn't figured it out himself, everyone else has."
"That's not true!"
"Yes it is, why do you think no guy has ever asked you out? They hang out with you for a bit and realize it's pointless because your heart is stuck on that boy in there!" She said, growing more frustrated with my stubbornness. I stood there, glancing between my best friend and my crush as people pushed passed us, a few mumbling and cursing us for being in the way.
"I can't Ashley, I just can't. Anyways, I have to get home. I have a long day tomorrow," I stated, taking her hand and walking away before my coffee shop boy could turn around and find one girl staring at him and the other drooling over him. Okay, maybe not drooling, but definitely gawking at him. Ashley trudged behind me, allowing me to drag her down the escalator, through the gates and onto the blue train. A couple stops and personal bubble intrusive people later, I pulled her off the train, back up to the surface and towards our apartment.
"Good thing we're roommates, or else I'd always get lost in those trains. Blue, green, yellow, and all those changing lines, I don't know how you do it," she commented, pulling her set of keys out of her purse.
I shook my head at her,  "you literally just get on one train, the blue, and then get off at Melbrook."
"So? You know me, I always manage to get lost somehow," she shrugged, unlocking the door and stepping inside. That's true, I thought to myself, locking the door behind me.
"Okay, so homework, dinner, and maybe a movie before bed?"
"I can only do homework and dinner, I told you I have a long day tomorrow," I sighed, loving the idea of just snuggling on the couch in my pajamas with my favorite blanket, a bowl of popcorn, and a movie.
"Oh right, is it another appointment?"
"Yeah, I honestly don't think this doctor will ever give me the go ahead to stop coming to appointments. I feel like she just keeps me from ever getting better," I shrugged, pulling up the nearest Chinese food restaurant phone number on my laptop and glancing at their website to see if I wanted something new.
"Well, just be careful. You want to get better and she doesn't seem to be helping at all. Could just be working with you for your money, " Ashley suggested, glancing over my shoulder and pointing out the meal she wanted me to order for her. With how confident she always seemed, she never had the confidence to call by herself. It was always me calling and placing orders and sometimes even setting up doctors appointments for her.
"You have the same doctor though, does she help you?"
Ashley thought for a moment, "I guess she does. She's the only doc to really ever understand me." It was interesting how we had the same doctor, but it made sense since she refused to call the doctors herself and had me do it, so why not knock out two birds with one stone and just get us the same doctor?
"Must be nice to be understood," I mumbled to myself so she wouldn't hear. I quickly placed our orders, adding in an extra order of spring rolls as my stomach growled. Quickly changing into my favorite hoodie and a pair of Soffe shorts, I reluctantly fired up my laptop, settled on the couch with a bottle of ginger ale, and began my homework.
Knocking brought me out of my focus on my art history essay and I saved my progress before grabbing my wallet and heading to the door. I paid and thanked the delivery boy before grabbing the food and setting it on the counter.
"Ashley! Food's here!" I yelled down the hall, but instead of her usual rustling to get to her food, I was met with silence. Shrugging it off, she probably had her earphones in to focus on homework. I unpacked all the food and placed ours on the table, leaving the fortune cookies on the counter. Grabbing a spring roll, I devoured it while walking down the hall to her room. Something shifted slightly on her door from the wind coming through the open window in my room.

Hey!
Got a call from Kyle, he needed some help on his homework and that boy is too behind to help over the phone so I left for a bit. Call me if you need me and leave my dinner in the microwave!
Love,  Ash
P.S. don't even think of eating my food.

I must have been entirely too focused on my work that I hadn't even noticed she left, though she knows not to disturb me when doing homework unless it's about food or an emergency. Sighing, I realized how quiet the apartment was without her, even when we were doing homework, I could usually hear her typing away and her music blaring through her earphones. Pulling my phone out, I sent her a quick text to let her know I got her note and the food had arrived, as well as a reminder to be safe and use protection. I knew the last part would leave her embarrassed, as her and Kyle had a relationship where they were basically together, but not labeled and definitely hadn't reached any type of sexual relationship yet.
Grabbing a fork, I dug into my noodles while listening to some music. Every now and then I munched on the spring rolls as well until I couldn't eat anymore. There was enough left that I could have some later if I grew hungry or possibly just have it for lunch tomorrow. That was the good thing about Chinese food, they gave you a lot of food that filled you up so there were always leftovers.
As the night continued, I finished my essay and some other written assignments, read the required chapters for the week, completed my notes ahead of time, and even started the planning process of my next essay. Satisfied with my work, I decided I deserved a hot shower and maybe even a bowl of ice cream before bed. 
My shower seemed to end too quickly though,  the hot water filled the bathroom with a thick layer of steam and helped relax my tense muscles. However, as time passed by before my eyes, the hot water soon turned cold and I was forced to get out. Water droplets fell from my hair as I walked down the hall, back in my pajamas. I pressed the towel against my hair so that it wouldn't end up making my hoodie wet. That was the one thing I hated about my long, dark brown, and incredibly thick hair, it took forever to dry.
Making sure my laptop was shut down and charging, I grabbed the love of my life, a tub of cookie dough ice cream, and with the spoon in my mouth, I sat on the couch and decided to reward myself with some tv. Halfway through the episode, I guess I must have passed out because when I woke up, I realized the empty ice cream container was laying on the floor and netflix had moved on to the next two episodes. Yawning, I turned the tv off, threw the container away and walked to my room. Casting a glance to Ashley's room, I thankfully recognized her soft snoring. Smiling a bit at her snores, which was something she denied heavily, I shut my door behind me. I made sure my alarms were set and my phone was charging, all the while I felt a sudden tension building in my chest. Pulling the comforter over me to get warm, I realized what the tension was from. Tomorrow, in only a few hours, I'd be going to yet another appointment with this doctor. Sometimes it felt like she was helping and others, it felt like she couldn't care less and wasn't helping me as much as she could have been. She seemed to help Ashley a lot, but I was a different story and I didn't know why.