Chapter Text
(AKA That One Date)
Cute new summer dress? Check.
Awesome pair of bright flats? Check and double check.
Wicked new makeup look? En pointe, thanks to Kate.
Cassie gave an experimental twirl in front of her mirrored closet, watching the floral skirt billow out around her. She was pleased to see the folds settle back in an agreeable position, not stick out at awkward angles, and she gave the hem a quick pat before snagging her purse from the bed. Her summer had been relatively uneventful in terms of her love life--she’d broken it off with the high school boyfriend (he had been a dick nearly 80% of the time anyway), and though she’d had a few beach-side crushes that went unmentioned to anyone but her bestie, Cassie had wound up going through her first few classes of the semester as a single woman.
Not that she minded, but it would have been nice to spend her weekends doing a little more than studying and the occasional club outing when Kate wasn’t too busy with training for work. After all, her parents had rarely let her out on what would be considered a ‘date,’ and with a ten o’clock curfew she had limited options.
Then she ran into Eli.
Literally, ran into him--while tearing full blast through the halls in an attempt to make it across campus in less than the ten minutes allotted to break. She had taken her eyes from the hallway full of students in order to check her watch, and by the time she looked up again, she was half a step from making contact with another body. The only thing she managed to note before tumbling towards the floor was that the person she slammed into had been too busy with his nose in a book to heed his surroundings. (Not that it was his fault, mind you, but she felt a little better knowing she wasn’t the only one not paying attention.)
Cassie had closed her eyes, prepared for the impact of the cement floor, and found herself pleasantly surprised that it never came. The young man she had barrelled into had enough sense to drop his book and sweep an arm behind her shoulders, keeping her relatively upright (if somewhat tilted) instead of sprawled on the floor among their collective things.
Oh yeah, he won some big points right off the bat.
“Hey, are you alright? Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention,” he replied quickly as he helped her to a proper standing position before gathering up their belongings that had scattered through the hallway.
“Oh, no. I mean, yes. I’m fine. But no, not your fault. I was rushing to class and… Class!” she yelped, becoming a tiny blonde tornado as she quickly gathered her things and jammed them haphazardly into her bag. “I have to go! Sorry, going to be late!” Cassie was already halfway down the hall before the other even had a chance to reply with more than a raised brow.
But wouldn’t you know it, he was waiting outside her classroom when it let out, the flood of students streaming into the hallway almost obscuring his muscled body leaning against the outer wall. Cassie was digging in her bag again and barely noticed him until he spoke.
“You really need to keep an eye on where you’re going, with your track record and all.” His tone wasn’t mean, though the words almost were, but his voice had a teasing hint behind it and there was the edge of a grin at the corner of his mouth.
“Oh! Sorry, I was just looking for my… Are you stalking me?” she asked, jutting her lower lip out in a frown and settling her hands on her hips. “Because I know karate and stuff.”
He laughed then, and any concerns she might have had fluttered away. Okay, so he had a really nice laugh. And that crooked little smile wasn’t half bad either.
“No, not stalking you. But you’re probably looking for this,” he offered, handing over a phone that was way too neon and bedazzled to belong to him.
“Oh! Um, thanks I probably dropped it and… Did you want to catch a movie or something at some point?” Cassie babbled before she could stop herself, retrieving her phone and stuffing it somewhere into the confines of her bag.
To his credit, Eli didn’t startle or blurt out a negative answer. He just raised a brow suspiciously and Cassie saw the edge of that grin sneak back onto his features. “How do you know I’m not a serial killer?”
“Well, you already said you’re not a stalker, and you returned my phone… But I guess you have a point!” she insisted, folding her arms with a huff. “Tell you what, there’s an event going on at Tompkins Square Park this Saturday. How about you meet me by the basketball courts around ten and we’ll stay in nice, public, open areas?”
“Sounds like a safer bet,” he replied, pulling out his own phone (sleek and grey with absolutely no personal touches--a man of mystery). “Can I get your number just in case I’m running behind or something?”
“If you’re a creepy stalker, shouldn’t you already have it?” she quipped, rambling off the digits of her number and quickly receiving the standard ‘hi’ text from him in response.
“I just want to see if you’ll give me the real one when I ask,” he teased right back, quick to rise to the banter.
“Cassie, by the way.”
“Eli.”
That had been four days ago, and it was only now that Cassie was beginning to feel the twist of nerves in her stomach. She had received just a single text the day before their arranged meeting (verifying the time and place of their date) since exchanging numbers with tall, dark, and handsome.
Okay, Cassie. You’re going to be friendly but not obnoxious. Sweet but not simpering. And if all else fails, Kate will totally come bail you out.
She stared down her reflection in the mirror one last time, giving herself a quick look that was meant to be encouraging but kind of just looked silly, and headed to the park.
“This might have been a bad idea,” Cassie whispered, shielding her eyes from the sun with her hand, trying to peer her way through the crowds milling about for the familiarity of an almost-stranger. She wiped the sticky sweat of her palms among the flowers on her skirt, looking up at the same moment he approached with a wave and subtle smile.
Cassie ran over to him, putting on her best grin even though it was warmer than she had planned for and she felt nervous about over-sweating.
Did I put on deodorant?
“Hey,” Eli offered calmly, looking as though he were used to the three-digit weather in jeans and a tee shirt that was smattered with quotes. “You look cute.”
“T-thank you!” she chirped, not expecting that and feeling her already heat-pink cheeks flare up further. “Let’s grab something to cool down and then head to the event, I think it starts at eleven or so.”
“Sure. I passed an ice cream cart on my way here, if you’re into that.”
“Definitely! I feel like I might melt in this heat!”
Eli was a gentleman and bought her ice cream for her, getting some kind of ice bar for himself.
“Don’t like ice cream?” she asked, already devouring hers with fervor, cautious not to get any where it had no business being.
“Lactose intolerant,” he admitted with a quirk of his lips. “But don’t hold back on my account.”
“Ooo, strike one,” she teased, pointing the cone at him before bringing it back to her lips and inhaling the rest.
Means he won’t sneak my treats! Score!
“So, Eli,” she started, after they had remained in relative silence for longer than she found bearable. “Tell me about yourself.”
He lifted a brow at that, giving her a questioning look. “That’s kind of vague. What do you want to know?”
“Hm… Let’s start with an easy one… What’s your major?”
That got the reaction she wanted, a quick huff that might have been a chuckle or might have been irritation, but she could see the amusement in his eyes. Ever since she started attending University, that had been one of the first questions everyone always seemed to ask. After the third or fourth time, it got grating even for the most excited of students.
“Double major, poly sci with sociology, mostly focusing on crime and community. You?”
“Undeclared!” she boasted, reveling in the shock that passed over Eli’s face. “Just kidding, Bachelor of Science with hopes to get into molecular biology.”
Eli whistled, looking impressed and Cassie couldn’t help but feel a swell of pride. “Not bad… Any particular reason you’re going that route? It’s no cake walk, that’s for sure.”
She went quiet for a moment, blonde hair slipping over her shoulder as she twisted the ice cream wrapper in her hands. “My dad, mostly. He would have been so excited for me.”
Cassie could almost feel Eli flinch beside her. This was where a lot of guys would decide she had too many ‘daddy issues’ for their fleeting desires and bail.
Eli didn’t bail.
Instead, she felt the comforting warmth of a hand on her shoulder, and a reassuring squeeze. “I’m sorry. I’d like to say I know what that’s like but…”
“It’s okay,” she insisted, brightening and turning to look at his expression, somewhere between sympathy and a personal pain, not a hint of pity. “What about you? What’s your family like?”
Eli grunted a response and Cassie watched his face turn to stone. “It’s… complicated. I live with my Gran and Grandfather. Is it okay if we leave it at that?”
She could see the hint of pleading in his eyes, though his face remained still, and she offered the biggest grin she could manage. “You bet! No sense in dwelling on the past anyway. Now, let’s go pet some puppies!”
“What?” he asked, looking both confused and concerned at the same time.
“Come on!”
Before he could get a work in edgewise, Cassie was dragging him up and off the park bench towards the center of the greenspace they were facing.
That’s when everything just sort of… unraveled.
“I am so sorry!” Cassie was hovering nearby while Eli swallowed a second dose of allergy medication, the puffiness in his eyes finally dulling to just a red smear beneath them.
“It’s okay,” he insisted again, though his throat was raspy from the earlier swelling. “Really, it’s fine.”
“You should have told me you were allergic!”
“I tried. Plus, it’s not like you told me where we were going today.”
“You make a terrible stalker.”
Eli was looking at her then, and she wasn’t sure if she saw anger behind the water in his eyes, but before she could say anything to dissuade him, he had tilted back his head and burst into laughter.
Cassie was shocked, though she found the sound infectious and soon was giggling alongside him. By the time they caught their breath, they were both wheezing and Cassie felt as though her ribs were on fire.
“Cassie,” Eli spoke, when he finally could, his voice light. “You’re a lot of fun, even if you’re a bit…”
“A bit what?” She asked, puffing out her cheeks until he reached out a finger to prod them.
“Crazy,” he replied, that tiny half smile back on his lips.
Something odd happened then, something Cassie hadn’t expected--if this had been a regular date, this would be the moment that sparks would fly, she would feel that flutter in her chest and a rushing swell of emotions and urgency. But nothing happened. No magic moment, no romantic lines, no tentative first kiss. There was only a soft warmth in her chest, like she and Eli had known each other for far longer than a week, and things were just fine, just like this.
“Eli, can I ask something crazy?”
His smile faltered a little, and his expression waned on the side of wary. “Yeah?”
“Can we just be friends? Just keep this… whatever it is without the complications?” The question made her more nervous than if she had asked him to throw himself at her, or completely broken it off altogether.
Eli was quiet, and she couldn’t bring herself to look at him.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
He was smiling when she did finally convince herself to look up and any anxiety about her question dissipated into the warm air. It was shortly after their date at the park that Cassie found out Eli was the biggest book nerd on the planet, worked at a library, and was constantly crushing movie-versions of books in an online blog.
Yeah, it probably wouldn’t have worked out anyway.
End.