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You know, six, maybe seven years ago, when Cassie Howard dated her best friend’s ex, she never thought she'd ever find herself close to the brunette again.
Yet here she was, standing in the middle of their New York apartment, taking advantage of their days off from work as they danced to the sappiest Taylor Swift song Spotify could provide. Still in their pajamas as the blonde tried her hardest not to spill the smoothies she made on the expensive carpet she tried talking Maddy out of purchasing.
They’ve both been successful in their own ways. Maddy was recruited out of college by fashion magazines to become an editor and Cassie was welcomed to the world of cars, making her one of the most reliable mechanics that only the elite would go to.
Maddy and Cassie never really thought they could patch things up after the whole Nate debacle but after a year of not talking, Cassie going to therapy and Maddy learning not to hold a grudge, while also missing each other deeply, the time came where they talked things out.
Under the pouring rain, just outside the blonde’s home. She ran after Maddy after seeing her walk past, yelling her name and suddenly letting her feelings get the best of her. All the bottled up emotions she had hid for a year, or maybe more, finally escaping.
Rue and Lexi watched curiously from their windows, both girls silently cheering for the older Howard who had actually told them about wanting to speak to the brunette.
Cassie yelled her heart out, and it didn’t matter if the rain was in the way, it didn’t matter that she was shaking like a leaf and Maddy was under the umbrella. She tells her how she’s been in love with her all these years. She found that out talking to her therapist and everything was clear to her since then.
She realized she turned to every asshole she could find trying to fill the void that she thought Maddy could never fill because all she saw was her best friend—a person who was willing to bend backwards and disregard the rules for her.
Turns out she was dead wrong. Because just as she was about to give up and walk back home defeated, Maddy leaves her umbrella, runs to her arms and they share a kiss in the rain. The exact same way the movies she had watched that warped her perception of love did.
The love she’s been yearning for, the love she’s been dreaming of. All those guys, all those mistakes, but the answer—the right answer, was right in front of her all along. They’ve been together since. And their fifth anniversary is coming up soon.
So, yeah, life’s been good. The same thing goes for their friends and families at home.
Rue had actually just called them recently to tell them that she might visit soon. That is, if her duties as a doctor, a therapist that works in rehab, to be specific, allows her to.
“So is Rue actually coming or am I allowed to keep my pillows in the guest room?” Maddy asks out of the blue, her head flush against Cassie’s chest as she scrolls through her phone. The blonde shrugs, both hands cradling the tall glass of her banana smoothie, “She’s not sure yet.”
“She never is.” The shorter girl frowns, looking up at her girlfriend who could only sigh, “I know.”
“We should call them.” She suggests and the blonde furrows her eyebrows, setting the cup down, shifting in her seat carefully as the other girl sat up, “Who?”
“You know, everyone.”
“A group call? Through Zoom? Is this the pandemic all over again?” Cassie jokes, a small smile appearing on her face as she takes her phone, shooting their group chat a quick text about the call before standing up to search for her laptop. Maddy playfully rolls her eyes, “Oh shut up.”
“You love me.” Even if she was feet away, Maddy could practically hear the smirk on her voice. And she was having none of it, giving her a dramatic sigh, collapsing back on the couch, “Unfortunately.”
The older Howard finally walks back into the living space with her laptop in one hand, shaking her head cockily, “You’ve been with me for nearly five years, I don’t think you find it all that unfortunate.”
“Maybe I’m just with you for your money.” Maddy replies, a playful smile appearing on her face and Cassie nearly melts. “Hm, maybe.”
It actually didn’t matter to her that they’ve been together for a while. Plus, the other years where they’ve been close friends. Maddy would always be the most beautiful person to her.
Her phone dings seconds later and her eyes brighten, “Kat said she’s willing to talk. Lexi and Rue are probably together… Jules literally lives next door.” She trails off, already thinking about the whereabouts of her friends. Maddy laughs as she shakes her head, sitting up, “You know she lives two buildings away, right?”
“In East Highland, that’s next door.” She shrugs, setting the laptop down, sending the group the link and waiting for them to answer.
One by one, familiar faces pop up and words weren’t enough to describe how happy they all were to see each other.
“Hello whores!” Rue greets cheerily, she is seated on a desk, waving at them frantically with a huge smile on her face as she adjusts her glasses. Lexi gives her a reprimanding glare, “Rue!”
An impish grin makes its way to her face, “Hi, Lex!”
“I still don’t have my earbuds on! Slow down!” A laughing Kat exclaims, leaving the frame as Jules begins to talk—well, she talks but she wasn’t really heard by anyone. Cassie holds back a laugh as she unmuted herself, “Jules—Jules! You’re muted.”
The other blonde blinks before talking again, still muted of course when Maddy has had enough, “Bitch you’re muted!”
That seemingly gets her attention, pressing the button and grinning, “Oh! Can you guys hear me now?”
“Yeah.” Rue smiles, swiveling in her chair. Kat, finally back in her seat, runs a hand through her hair as she narrowed her eyes at the screen, “So to what do we owe this call?”
Without missing a beat, Cassie smirks, crossing her arms as she gives the girl beside her a knowing look, “Maddy missed you guys.”
“Aw.”
“Maddy has a soft spot for us!”
And a lot more overlapping sentences erupt from their screen. All directed at Maddy and how she was being adorable. The girl grumbles, hitting the blonde’s arm lightly.
“Cassie I will fucking strangle you.” She says as an empty threat, glaring at the girl who could only smile cockily. The noise from the laptop stops, and Jules was the first to break the silence.
“Doesn’t she have a thing for that?” She asks and Lexi gags, like, visibly gags. Clutching her chest and all.
“EW THAT’S MY SISTER WE’RE TALKING ABOUT?!”
“I can feel Lexi’s disgust through the screen.” Kat laughs loudly and before Rue could interject, Maddy turns her attention to the screen. Her expression changed by the second. “Okay, where the fuck are you guys?”
The question throws Rue off, tilting her head, “What do you mean?”
“Rue, your office isn’t that dark, Lexi, you’re in a fucking bathroom somewhere and Kat, I know damn well that isn’t Ethan’s apartment.” She points out, narrowing her eyes as she inched closer to the screen. Lexi blinks, “Is your girlfriend an editor for Vogue or a detective?”
Cassie gives her a proud smile, wrapping an arm around her, “Both.”
They all avoid the whole thing about them not being home after Jules cracks a joke. And then they all talk for hours that they don’t even realize that time has started to pass.
Cassie talks about working on a car for this rockstar, Maddy tells them about how she sat down with Anna Wintour. Kat, who now works as a model, talks about how she would see Jules’ designs on the runway and a glint of pride flashes across the designer’s eyes. Then Lexi tells them about selling another script and her ideas for the season finale for the show all five girls watched. Rue just sits back, providing commentary before updating them about how the hospital gave her a Jell-O cabinet.
It was fun and it doesn’t feel like they haven’t talked in weeks. It was like another slumber party, the same ones they did in high school when all their houses were just blocks away from each other.
When life was a mess, and they were all going through shit none of them were proud of, but they had each other and that made it fun.
None of them felt tired, not even when the clock hits 11:23. But Cassie yawns, stretching her arms. And suddenly, everyone clicked off one by one. Promising each other to do this again—in person next time.
“That was fun, wasn’t it?” Cassie smiles, leaning back on the couch with a small smile on her face, Maddy grins, cuddling right in her arms, “Very.”
“Are you tired?” She asks and the shorter girl shakes her head, looking up at the blonde, “Not really, no. You?”
She rubs her face, slapping it twice before standing up, getting her phone from the table in the process, “I think I just need to splash some water on my face, really.”
Cassie walks to the kitchen, splashing water in her face before Maddy follows her, finding her right in the middle of the kitchen with a smile, “Who are you texting?”
“Hm?” She hums, not bothering to look up. The brunette walks towards her and she takes note of how the other girl does something on her phone, as if hiding something. “You’re smiling at texts.”
And, okay, Cassie was definitely not the type of girl to cheat—especially not to Maddy, but the shorter girl still had trust issues.
The taller girl quickly dismisses Maddy’s cheating theory though when she realizes that she had just doubled tapped the screen to zoom in on a photo, showing it to the other girl, “I just saw the meme Rue sent to the group chat.”
“It’s a screenshot of Lexi.” She adds, still laughing at it as she turns the phone back to her. Locking it and putting it back in her pocket. Maddy rolls her eyes, “Cut your sister some slack.”
“It’s funny!” Her laugh echoed around the room and suddenly, everything felt fine again. Yeah, Maddy really shouldn’t be scared of what Cassie might be doing. She’s not Nate. She’s not in highschool anymore and they’ve been together for five years. She’s just overreacting.
Cassie notices the change in Maddy’s expression though, and she plans on changing it, walking towards her with a small smile, “Hey, since you’re not tired yet, do you want to go out?”
Maddy stares at the clock on the wall, putting a hand on her hips, “Babe, it’s nearly midnight.”
“Isn’t this the city that never sleeps?” The blonde grins, and honestly, how could you say no to her when she looks adorable? Standing in the middle of the room in biker shorts and a Mickey Mouse shirt that she knew belonged to Rue.
“You make a compelling case.” She points out, and Cassie finds herself nodding, jumping excitedly as she begins to back out of the kitchen, “Can you grab my sneakers? What hoodie do you want to use?”
“Anything that’s yours, really.” Maddy calls out, and the older Howard sister chuckles, “Noted.”
“And grab me sweatpants!”
“I know, princess!”
In a record time of seven minutes, both were out the door, in hoodies and sweats as they both decided to go on the roof. Maybe become hecklers to the assholes below their building. Whatever seemed fun.
For some reason, though, Cassie’s right hand never left the pocket of her hoodie, and she’s become nervous. Stumbling over her words and staring blankly at the stairs at some point until Maddy has to coax her out of it.
“Are you okay?” She asks, a few feet away from the door of the roof, Cassie blinks, “Why? Do I not look fine?”
“No—we can go back.” Maddy says worriedly and the blonde shakes her head frantically, “No! I mean… I don’t want to go back down.”
“Cass, let’s just go back.” She insisted, but the other girl was having none of it, gently grabbing her wrist to stop her from walking back down, “No, Mads, I’m fine.”
She didn’t really trust her, or like, believed her, but she nodded nonetheless, “Okay…”
The taller of the two nudges the door open, but Maddy’s eyes never leaves hers, still staring at her as they both walked out, “Cassie if you don’t want to—what the fuck?”
Finally shifting her gaze from the girl, she realizes that there were fairy lights hanging around. And, okay, that isn’t like, sketchy or anything until you see that photos of them through the years were clipped in between the lights.
“What the fuck?” She repeats, laughing nervously as Cassie grins, walking further, “Damn, who in their right mind would set this up?”
“Did you do this?” She asks, stroking the photos as they got further in the roof, now realizing that rose petals were also on the floor. The blonde scratches the back of her neck sheepishly, “Nope.”
“Then who the fuck did?” Maddy laughs, and a new voice joins in, “We did.”
“We? You meant me?” Another one says. And realization hits the brunette’s face quicker than the speed of light. She turns around, seeing four familiar figures emerge from the shadows.
“Oh my god—what are you guys doing here?!” She all but squeals, running into their arms and Kat was quick to catch her, hugging her tight, “You know, you kinda scared us when you pointed out that we weren’t home.”
That came from Rue, and Maddy laughed as Cassie approached them, “And we’re here because Cassie asked us to.” Jules answers. The brunette gasps, looking back at her girlfriend who was now standing awkwardly in the middle.
“You flew them in?” She asks incredulously, already computing the expenses when Cassie interrupts her thoughts, shrugging, “I paid for their hotel.”
“Why are they here?” Maddy asks again and the hand finally leaves Cassie’s pocket, but she hides it behind her, “Because I wanted them to be here when I did this.”
Confused, Maddy raises an eyebrow, suddenly nervous, “Did what?”
And then it happened.
Cassie Howard went on one knee in front of her, a nervous yet determined smile on her face as their friends took a step back, one of them playing the music while the other two fixed the lights. The other? Recording it all.
“Now you know why I was so adamant on us going on the roof, huh?” She chuckles, taking a deep breath, “Okay, I had a whole speech written out in my notes app and that’s what I was looking at earlier, but then you followed me and everything just went out of my head so I think I’m gonna improvise this.”
She looks at Lexi for support and Maddy was on the brink of tears as she stared at the girl in front of her. It was all so surreal to her.
Am I dreaming? This isn't really happening, right? Cassie isn’t about to propose to me… or is she?
“Maddy, a lot of words can and are used to describe you. But none of them can ever really tell how I see you. You’re beautiful, you’re kind, you’re smart and every flaw you have, I love it all. I love you.” She begins, and her knee hurts but it doesn't matter.
“I remember when we were kids, you’ll always be the princess, and I’ll always be your knight in shining armor. That’s when I realized I loved you. And that I’ll save you from every single thing life throws at you.”
Lexi tries not to swoon and cry, reminiscing about the moments her sister was talking about. Rue chuckles, shaking her head and wrapping an arm around her shoulder, pressing a kiss against the side of her head.
“We were in tenth grade when I realized I was in love with you. And how thinking about you would always give me butterflies in my stomach. Or how I see us as this rom-com where the best friend falls in love with the main character. That’s how I found out what love was. What true love was. The one that had me up at night, the one that had me smiling because of texts. The one that makes my head spin with a simple smile from you. You were a drug and I was intoxicated. I was hooked. And I still am.” This was the first time Cassie had ever admitted this out loud, and Maddy laughs, that year of her life suddenly flashing before her eyes and realizing that Cassie wasn’t exactly subtle about her feelings. How oblivious they both were when they were young.
“I thought that’s all I could ever be, your best friend, and that’s why I tried my best to pretend all these other guys were the one for me when you truly were the one I’ve been yearning for all these years. When you told me you loved me back, I had to pinch myself for a week straight before realizing it was real. Every second, every minute, every hour and every single day I have spent with you has been the best of my life and I don’t think I can handle it if I lost you. That’s why I’m kinda making sure I don’t.”
Another laugh escapes Cassie’s lips, but her voice doesn’t falter anymore. It wasn’t shaky, it was stable, showing Maddy that she had meant every word she had said.
“I know I can’t really make a promise right now, but if you let me, I promise I’ll make you the happiest person in the world. I mean, maybe I can’t, but I’ll try. And I’ll try my hardest for you.”
Everyone held their breath as she finally showed the black velvet box, her hands not exactly as stable as you’d expect a mechanic’s to be. She opens it and the diamonds from the ring shine beneath the moonlight.
Maddy felt like her breath was knocked out of her. This made it all feel real.
“So, Madeleine Perez, my best friend, my soulmate, my enemy, the love of my life. Will you marry me?”
The air had gone thick and everything else blurred for Maddy.
She stared at Cassie, how she knelt there with that nervous smile in her pink hoodie. How she was obviously scared and how you could hear her thoughts as the brunette took her time from responding.
Honestly, she didn’t know how she did it, but she eventually said it.
“Yes.” Maddy answers breathlessly, nodding her head frantically as Jules jumped terrifyingly high from her spot. Cassie lets out a teary laugh as she stands up, slipping the ring on her finger as Maddy pulls the front of her hoodie, pulling her in for a searing kiss that leaves her dizzy.
“You said yes.” She smiles, leaning her head against the shorter girl’s, both still in disbelief as Maddy holds on to the ring, “I had no reason to say otherwise.”
“I love you, Mads. To heaven and back.” Cassie whispers, and Maddy feels like she is floating. “I love you too, dork.”
They could hear the four rushing to them, mostly Lexi who had to be held up by Kat and Rue as she sobbed for her sister.
Before they could even approach, though, a loud ‘bong’ echoed around the place. And Cassie grins, “Happy Anniversary, princess.”
Cassie and Maddy would eventually get married a year later, in Maddy’s backyard at their hometown with everyone close to them in attendance.
Later that week, Maddy would be stolen from Cassie by their friends, and she’d end up in the treehouse they all built when they were kids, wearing a pink dress and a tiara as Cassie waited at the bottom, a cape billowing behind her, and a plastic sword in her hand.
It didn’t matter if they grew out of it.
No matter how long, no matter where they were, Cassandra Howard would always fight dragons for Madeleine Perez.
Oh, shit, my bad.
It’s Madeleine Howard now.