"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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DR. CASSIE
Jasper's moans fill the drop ship once again, echoing into the lower levels of the ship and into the outside world. Cassie mimicked his sound, her teeth grinding every time the noise hit her ears. Jay supported the wood she was placing in the ground, looking over his shoulder each time Jasper's pained voice went throughout the camp.
"I can't imagine how painful that must be. Getting speared, and then strung up for god knows how long?" Jay shuddered, his grip on the bark loosening slightly. It began to tilt and Cassie swore under her breath, quick to dodge out of the way as it plummeted to the ground. He cringed. "Oops, I think that was my fault."
Cassie bit back whatever sarcastic reply she had, already tensing her muscles more to lift up the heavy wood. She stayed silent. She couldn't explain it, but the smile he wore when he was with Octavia stuck in her mind. He'd never smiled like that around her. She shouldn't care - she dismissed him when she referred to them being 'allies' - yet she found her fists clenching whenever she thought of it.
Jay sighed, rubbing a hand through his short hair. "You can ignore me all you want, but I'm sticking around. We need each other."
Hot fury coursed through Cassie, it fuelling the words that spat out. "You need Octavia too, you two sure seemed chummy together."
"Are you serious-" he paused, his normally fast speech halting. His face went slack in realisation and he pointed a finger at Cassie. A hint of a smile lay on his face. "Callous Cassie is jealous. You really do keep surprising me, don't you? I knew you were so much more than everyone said you were."
Cassie rolled her eyes, feeling as though they were knocking against her brain on the way round. Of all things he could say, he said that. The fire within her had been calmed slightly - the flames were still roaring. She kept quiet, figuring that Jay would speak up again as he always does. He can't handle the silence. Cassie busied herself with readjusting the log as he gaped at her.
"Why are you jealous?" Jay made no attempt to help her with the log, eager for an answer. "Is it because we've upgraded from 'allies'?" He wiggled his eyebrows, a knowing smile on his face. Cassie shook her head, hoping it would hide the slight lift of her lips.
She grunted, "Help me with this you prick."
He jolted, as though he'd just remembered that he was meant to be helping. Immediately he rushed to her side, both of them holding their breath as they pushed it upwards, their arms trembling with effort. When Cassie believed that her arms would collapse, the log fit into place. She tried to not to breathe too big of a sigh of relief.
"You know," Jay piped up, moving into her line of vision. She released a groan. "It's not a bad thing to let people in, it's okay to have peo-" Jay was cut off by another earthquake-inducing cry of agony from Jasper. Cassie felt her fists clench involuntarily.
