Every Step of the Way

Chapter Thirteen

Cassandra made her way down to the dining room, frowning. Her fast, loud steps- even on the carpeted floor- were the very image of authority, though she felt anything but.

She did not want to go to the dinner. She did not want to risk running into Varian ever again.

Courage does not erase our fear, she said to herself, courage is when we face our fears.

But even her usual spiel didn't calm her or make her think any different of the situation at hand.

Instead, it just riled her up.

And a riled-up Cassandra is someone that nobody wants to even come across.

~-~

Varian was chatting with some of the other staff members when Cassandra entered the room angrily.

Of course, the room went silent at her entrance.

"What?" she snapped, moving to take a seat, "all I did was enter the room."

"If that's what makes you happy."

She rolled her eyes before realizing that the only seat open was the one right next to the person she most wanted to avoid.

Varian smiled, standing to pull the seat out for her. She huffed before taking it.

Every fiber of her body wanted to get the heck out of there, but she couldn't, especially since she'd already made an appearance.

Goshdarnit all.

"Hey, Cassie," he whispered, "it's good to see you again."

"Good to see you too, kid," she said stiffly before turning to face Clara.

Before she could initiate a conversation, though, Varian broke in.

"Where were you?"

"Nowhere."

"Cassie..."

"I said I was nowhere. Okay?"

She was getting really frustrated, really quick.

Her mind was racing. What was going on?

Varian kept looking at her, concerned, but let his original conversation carry on.

"So, I try my best moves," he says, "I say, 'hey, we have great chemistry.' She looks at me all weird before saying 'I guess I'm glad I only see you periodically.' And that was my first attempt at flirting."

"Oh, you poor kid," Clara joined in, again throwing Cass off her game, "hey, if you ever need any tips, you can come to me."

The entire room burst into laughter- Clara was known for being a flirt, though she was terrible at it.

But Cass just sat, stone-faced, until the first course came around.

~-~

After all five courses, lots of chatting, and trying to stay awake, Varian was almost ready to head off to bed.

That is, after he talked to Cassie a little bit more.

He waited until she stood up before getting up, too, and following her out of the room.

"Hey, Cassie," he said softly, "is... is everything okay? You didn't seem to enjoy anything back there. You... you weren't yourself."

"And who is 'myself,' Varian?"

"You're acting more like your exterior. Rough and tough, nothing-can-get-to-you Cassandra. I know that that's not the real you."

"Maybe it is."

"No, it's not. You wanna know something? I named the element Cassandrium after you not just because you're my closest friend, but also because it reminded me of you. Sand goes in- rough, tough, grit. And then what comes out is smooth, friendly, kind. Beautiful."

"If that's what you were trying to get at, why not go for 'Flynn-Riderium?' I know he would've appreciated it."

"Stop it, Cass. You are more than you let on, more than you believe yourself to be. You are seriously the best person I have ever met, and this is not you!"

"Maybe it is," she snapped again, turning a sharp corner.

He followed, trying to keep pace. "Fine. Believe what you want to. Just... don't do anything stupid, okay? I wouldn't be able to live with myself if you did something stupid to yourself."

"Who said I was going to do anything stupid? I'm Cassandra. Second place in the Challenge of the Brave. I didn't get second place for nothing."

"What's that got to do with-"

"If I can kick the butts of the roughest, toughest guys around, I can handle whatever you think it is that's plaguing me."

"Okay, then..."

"Discussion over," she said, gesturing towards her bedroom door, "I'll see you later, Varian."

She entered her room, slamming the door in his face.

"Um... see you..." he murmured dejectedly, putting a hand on the door, "see you later, I guess."

~-~

{There we go. I always wanted to write in the Cassandrium analogy, what it meant to Varian, and I just did it. This part actually made me cry- at least the little argument that I wrote- because I just don't normally write like this and, goshdarnit, apparently I can bring myself to tears through my own writing. Still. I promise more parts later. It's the weekend, so I have to be off my Chromebook until Monday. I hope you enjoyed chapters eleven, twelve, and thirteen!}