When We Write the Stars

Chapter 6: Hayden

"Bogus. Heinous. Most non-triumphant" – Bill and Ted'sExcellent Adventure

     I couldn't believe I'd done this. I'd invited Cassie over to my apartment, to watch some romance movie. Everything about that sentence seemed so wrong, but at the time it'd seemed like the best course of action to get this project done. I didn't want to put up with her accusing me of not watching the movies for the next few weeks, and this way she could pull most of the weight without getting fussy about me not doing anything.

     I'd practically run back to our apartment after practice to make sure it was clean and that I smelled okay. I knew for a fact that she'd have a judgmental comment about everything, so I was doing my best to limit things she could judge. The pile of dishes that lived in our sink, gone. The trash that hadn't been taken out in a week because Payne was a lazy fuck, gone.

     By eight o'clock, when she texted me she was here, I'd had time to shower, put on clothes I knew were clean, I'd vacuumed for the first time in a while, made sure all of our hockey gear was at least somewhat contained, and sprayed Febreze around the living room. For the most part, the guys and I were pretty clean, but a guy's definition of clean was almost always different than a girl's, and Cassie was more intense than most girls. She seemed like the type of person to iron her sheets.

     I'd told the guys what was happening, and they'd been torn between laughing at my pain, and betting how long it'd take for us to hook up, something I'd told them was never going to happen. That being said, nothing I did would make them go away, they were all curious about who the girl I'd been complaining about nonstop since the quarter started was. It was embarrassing, but something about her just go to me to the point where I'd been talking, or well complaining about her enough to spark their attention.

      This is how I ended up walking into our apartment, with Cassie in tow to see all three of them sprawled out on the couch as if they'd been there all night, not a single one of them had been there when I'd left all but five minutes ago. 

     "Cassie," I turned towards her, "these are my roommates. Thomas Gibbs, Teddy Coleman, and Brandon Payne."

     "So you're the one that's been giving West trouble," Coleman asked, standing up to greet her, "it's an honor, please teach us your ways."

     She smiled and let out a small giggle. It was the first time I'd ever seen her look something other than annoyed. It was incredibly weird, Cassie Bennet wasn't supposed to be the kind of person who smiled or laughed. She was just pure evil all the time.

     "I think you've heard wrong," she responds, "he's the one giving me trouble. Like not watching the movie this weekend like he was supposed to."

     There was the Cassie I knew and despised.

     The guys all shook their heads like they fucking agreed with her. Fuck this, "Don't you guys have stuff to do. In your rooms," I ask giving them the same look I gave a freshman at practice today who'd complained the drills were too hard. They all scrambled, and while they did Cassie slipped out of shoes and coat and somewhat awkwardly looked around while she waited for me to do something.

     "We can watch the movie in here," I said, leading her out of the entryway/kitchen and towards the couch that was no longer occupied by my roommates. They were only out there for a few minutes, surly they couldn't have made it smell that fast.

     "I was thinking since I watched the Notebook this weekend, we could go ahead and watch the next movie on the list so we stay on pace."

     "The list," I ask her.