The Pogues

A Midsummer Party

Cassie was not the greatest person at mingling and pretending like she cared, but tonight she seemed to hold her fake smile at all the random kooks who liked to come up to her and tell her how much she'd grown and what not.

After she pretended to like Topper and his mom, she excused herself to run over to Kie, who shrieked in happiness, "You look stunning, Cass!" 

"Oh my gosh, don't even get me started. This dress is beautiful on you," she smiled at Kie who was standing near Pope. "How's the kook party going for you?"

He sighed, "Very kook like." Which made them share a laugh and look out on the crowd, which was kissed by the beautiful golden light, praising every crevice with pure gold. Pope went to open his mouth when the crowd started to clap, forcing the teenage Pogues to clap along too. Sarah Cameron and her family walked through the door, earning a small scoff from Cassie. She had never liked them.

Rafe wore a baby blue suite while Sarah's dress was plain white. Their younger sister was in a blue, flowery dress contrasting to Ward, who had a plain suit and their mom was in a hot pink dress, topped with a spiked crown. Cassie cringed.

Kie narrowed her eyes, "Here come Lord Capital and the Exploiters." "She's gonna poke somebody's eye out with that," Pope commented. Cassie let out a laugh, "She sure is."

Cassie walked from her Pogues as she couldn't help but walk over to the beach. She wanted more than anything to pull off her shoes and stick her toes in the warm sand, hooking her arm with an imaginary JJ to wade into the water. But she couldn't.

She internally groaned as she walked back to the party, which was picking up speed. She found herself wound in a conversation with Sarah Cameron's father, Ward. "Cassie, I hear you father is out of town on real estate. I was interested in what he was investigating..."

She gave a curt smile, "I actually don't know, it would be nice if he would even tell me." They laughed it off as they thought of her statement as a joke even though it was true. Ward's wife, Rose, tried making conversation with the beautiful girl as she couldn't help but envy her beauty. "Wow, if I looked like you when I was younger, I wouldn't even know what to do with myself!"

Rafe walked over, "Yeah, she's a stunning girl, isn't she Rose?" His eyes locked with hers, almost daring Cassie to be the one to break the trance. She tried to hold her solid front.

"Oh wow, thank you! So sweet," She responded politely as Kie thankfully pulled her away, leaving Rose to follow the girl's body, trying to reminisce in her teenage years and Rafe to follow her curves until it was out of view.

Cassie and Kiara were classy and elegant, even in their opposite element. They danced together on the wooden porch, trying to block out the world and have some girl time in the midst of everything. The sun soon set as the pair stuck together, mingling and talking, mostly smiling to the other adults in the room. They steered clear of Sarah Cameron.

Finally, when the darkness surrounded the party, she spotted JJ and Pope by one of the grills. She couldn't hold herself back as she ran over to the love of her life and tackled him in a hug, roping her hands in his hair and his arms wrapping around her waist instinctively. She held him as close as she could and closed her eyes, feeling complete bliss in his arms.

She wanted to cry, to just let out all of the sadness she had for him around his father, the brutality he was able to endure. She pulled him away, just enough so she could put her hands on his cheeks, gingerly touching his wounds, "Oh, baby."

He gave her a smile, "I'm okay, good now that I've seen you. You look absolutely breathtaking if you don't mind me saying, my lady." He took her hands and kissed them, bowing. She giggled at the gesture and pulled him into another hug, kissing the side of his head. "What you did for Pope was pure goodness."