The Underworld Plan

Chapter 1

"Please, Cassie! I just need this one favor," my little sister begs. I roll my eyes and turn to face her.

"You know I hate the nickname Cassie. Why would you call me that when you're asking for a favor?"

"I've called you Cassie since as long as I can remember," she whines.

"And it has annoyed me for as long as I can remember," I growl.

"Fine. Cassandra Rose Collins, will you please do this one thing for me," she tries again.

"No. I'm really not in the mood for this, Hailee," I growl.

"Please, Cass!"

"No! Seriously, Hailee, you're in high school now. If you like him so much, ask him out yourself."

"But what if he says no?"

"Then you suck it up and move on. I really have to go, Hailee. I need to find Matt before he thinks I'm with Jason again." I try to walk away, only to have her grab my arm. My sister is a pretty small girl, being five foot exactly and just a little underweight, but she has a death grip that could kill, and that grip is currently located on my arm.

"But you know him! You're best friends with him! He can't say no if you ask," Hailee pleads. Alright, I guess it's time to take a different approach.

"Yes he can, and he definitely will if I ask for you. He refuses to date a girl that has no confidence," I keep my voice even as I reason with her. I really am in a hurry, but if I freak out it'll just start a fight, which will make things this stupid conversation take even longer.

"He does?" she questions, tilting her head to the side. There we go, that one got her.

"Yeah, but on the other hand, if a girl had the confidence to ask him out, he would be ecstatic. If you want to find him, he usually hangs out by his car. Or you can just wait until he comes over, which is pretty much a daily thing. I don't really care. Now Hails, please, I need to leave. You know how Matt gets," I beg. Great, now I'm the one pleading. Fortunately, she lets go of me, mumbles a quick 'thank you,' and scuttles off to find her friends. I glance up at the clock on the wall. Great, lunch started ten minutes ago, which means I'm definitely going to get into a fight with my boyfriend just because my sister wants me to ask my best guy friend out for her.

I run up to the lockers as fast as I can, but as I approach, the look on his face confirms that all hopes of avoiding a fight had been lost.

"You promised you would at least tell me before you go off to meet with that asshole again," he growls as I walk up. Yep, he's more than a little pissed off right now.

"I wasn't with Jason," I try, even though I know it's not going to work.

"Like shit you weren't!" Matt yells. This fight happens so often, people have quit looking at us in weird ways. It's a normal occurrence, but I still hate it.

"I swear, Matt, I would tell you if I was. I was helping Hailee with some boy problems," I state, keeping my voice down. Students may be okay with the arguing, but teachers are bound to question it, and I really don't feel like going to the counselor's office today.

"What boy problems could she possibly have? She's an anorexic freak that's more annoying than a squirrel on crack," he hisses. I instantly bristle at the insult. He can trash talk me all he wants, I know he doesn't mean it. But everyone knows he hates Hailee, and anything mean he says about her is how he really feels.

"What did you just say?" My voice is icy, my eyes are narrowed, and my fists are clenched. He has one chance to make this up.

"I said you better come up with a better backup story next time, Sweetie, because everyone knows your bitchy little sister will only have boy problems when she finds a guy, and that won't happen unless pigs fly and Hell freezes over on the same day," he growls.