"How can you lose when you never stop fighting?"
Cassiopeia Walker-Simmons looked at her star from a tiny window in space her whole life. She never imagined that it'd be even more beautiful from the ground. Yet every time she gazed upon the dazzlin...
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ACTING BY SECOND NATURE
Moonshine was clasped in Cassie's hands, her staring down at the liquid. She hadn't touched a drop of it, the expectant, heavy gaze of her peers weighing down on her. She still hadn't taken even a sip. Even Jay had some - and spat it out right away, coughing and turning red in the face.
It was one of the few times she found herself laughing with people. She liked the feeling.
Her hand shook as she raised it to her lips, the cool metal caressing her lips. Cassie tilted it back slightly, bringing it back down before any of it escaped. She gulped.
They'd bought it.
She sighed in relief, leaning back against the wall, her limbs loosening. Monty, who was sat beside her, took the moonshine from her offering hand and drank it heavily. "You okay Monty?"
He only nodded, taking another big gulp. She understood in a way - his best friend, the closest thing he had to family, was possibly dying not even five meters from them and their fellow criminals didn't want to help.
Silence fell. Cassie bit her lip, looking at Jay sleeping on her left. Drool was dangling from the corner of his mouth and he kept twitching, yet he carried on smiling. Even when he was asleep he created a warm bubble of hope.
"Do you guys miss the Ark?" Cassie whispered, careful not to wake Jay. She didn't wait for an answer. "I do. They were dicks but at least it was familiar, you know?"
Octavia scoffed, waving the moonshine away. Monty shrugged and offered it to Cassie. She pretended not to notice. "Yeah because nothing screams freedom like being locked up for being born."
Hot, ferocious anger surged within Cassie. The words slipped past her lips before she could control them, flames erupting. "At least you remember your parents."
It was like time had frozen. Cassie found that she could barley breathe, halting on her breath. Octavia's frown dissolved slightly, and Monty looked on at her with interest. She wanted to keep it from them, she really did; she knew the curiosity would cause a rift. She wanted to survive, and to survive you need people to trust you. To earn trust you must spill your secrets.
Cassie wished it wasn't like that.
She sighed, and snatching up the moonshine she took a quick swig. It burned her throat on it's journey down, leaving a tingling, warm sensation behind. "They killed themselves when I was six."
Swig. Cassie downed another mouthful, despite the bitter, lingering taste. All that could be heard was the smack of her lips against the cap of the bottle, and occasionally a painful groan from Jasper.
"See this is why I don't open up. People get awkward."
The awkward silence continued. Cassie played with the lid of the bottle, flipping it on and back off the bottle, praying that it hid her shaking hands. She wasn't sure why it had such an effect on her to tell someone, it was something she'd to dealt with for eleven years and become accustomed with. Maybe it was the fact that it made people think she was weak, maybe it was because it brought back feelings she had buried deep within for years. She knew the real reason as to why it made her heart race so much - these people knew something about her. It was one step closer to breaking the barrier between her and others, and just the mere thought of that made her palms sweat.
