Jake's POV

"Cassie!" My mom beams when she gets upstairs. I can hear my dad hanging up the keys before joining the three of us. My parents both work at a high school a few towns over; she as an English teacher, him as the PE teacher and basketball coach. Nick went into his room to make a call, but said he'd see us at dinner. Great, the whole fam plus Cas; nothing better.

"Hi, Avery," Cas replies. My mom pulls her into a hug, which she returns, jerking my hand as she moves. I sigh and roll my eyes.

"You just saw her the other night, Angel," my dad says. His "pet name" for her makes me groan, but he just winks at my discomfort.

"Oh, hush, Ryder!" My mom finally frees Cas, and takes the time to playfully slap my dad's chest. So. Gross.

"Alright, well hasn't this been fun? Yeah, so we're going to do some homework now and yeah. So nice of you to drop by, and we'll see you for dinner." I usher my parents out of the door before they can protest.

"Why didn't I know you have a brother?" Cas asks when the door clicks behind them.

"I don't."

"But Nick-"

"He's not."

"But he said-"

"He's my cousin."

"But he said-"

"I know what he said, he's just an idiot."

"Then why is he here?" I figured I'd need to address this at some point, I guess I just thought - hoped - that maybe she overheard the conversations our parents had. That way I wouldn't need to.

"After my parents got married, my dad's father reconnected with an ex. They married a few years later. Her son, Jeremy, had a son of his own with his partner. Well, it was Jeremy's, you know, with a surrogate mother. That was Nick." I fight the shake in my voice and continue. "A few years back, when Nick was sixteen and we were fourteen, Jeremy and his partner got in a car accident. They didn't make it. My parents were his legal guardian, so he moved in with us then."

"God. How didn't I know? That was three years ago..."

"He...kept to himself for a while; didn't leave his room much aside from school. He goes to the University of Connecticut now, but stops by every once in a while. It's opened him up more. He's happy again."

"Still, I should have known. I'm sorry about your uncles." She tentatively takes my hand, and I squeeze it lightly to show her it's okay.

"Listen, Cas-Cassie - " I start, knowing I need to address my lash-out at her earlier. I let go of her hand and continue. "I...just...I was really out of line; saying that stuff before. It's just that Melissa's a friend, and I don't like people bashing her out."

Truth is, Melissa, my "booty call", is going through some things at home, so we get together sometimes and talk. Honestly, we just talk. Obviously, though, I couldn't let Cas know that; it's Melissa's story to tell, not mine. Because of this, I handled the phone call as if she was asking for a hookup, though we both know that's not at all true. Melissa and I decided before that that's probably the best way to handle things if somebody else was in the room (aside from parents, of course). It's weird, but works well enough. Really, Melissa's a virgin like me, she just protects herself by acting otherwise. She says it's her way to keep control of some part of her life. It's really sad, and that's why it really hurt hearing Cas saying those things about her. I stuck up for Melissa, lashed out at Cas, and just got way too out of hand.

"But," I continue. "That is no excuse for me being a dick to you. You're not a bitch; I'm just the asshole. I also know for a fact that you have kissed a guy-you were going out with Joey for a bit-"

"He was gay."

"Yeah, well, he still kissed you everyday at lunch."

"Wow, stalk much?" I see her mouth quirk at the side, though, and I let out a breath of relief. "Besides, maybe it was because of me that he turned gay." I lift her head up, and our eyes meet.

"You know that's not how it works. Anyways, nobody made him kiss you. Now," I pause, and release her head from my light grip. "What can I do to make it up to you?"

"Nu-uh, it's not that easy," but again her smile reassures me. The mischief in her eyes, however, tells a different story. "For the next few days, I expect you to be a complete gentleman: holding the doors open for me, carrying my backpack, buying me lunch, not to mention making it visible how sorry you are and doing what you can to make it right. Deal?"

"Fine, deal. Now let's just work on homework so we'll have enough time for that movie with Nick, alright?"

"Oh my gosh, is Jake Satak actually asking that we work on homework? It's a miracle!" She pretends to swoon, and I roll my eyes. I pick up my backpack and start towards the bed, but her "ehem" cough stops me.

"What?" I ask. She merely glances down at her own backpack still on the floor. I suppress the urge to roll my eyes again, and get her backpack for her. What have I gotten myself into?

~•~

"Dinner!" My dad calls up the stairs. It's perfect timing, as Cas and I just finished our homework for tonight. Within a few minutes, the five of us are seated around the table, and my dad's famous spaghetti is steaming in the center. I start to reach for my plate, but stop myself with a mental groan. I turn to the girl smiling innocently at my left.

"How much would you like, Cassie?" Her smile broadens as my family goes still.

"Oh that is so sweet of you to offer! I'll tell you when." I stiffly nod, and try to ignore the stares as I serve her. I then proceed to serve myself, but the silence is piercing.

"Nothing to see here," I grumble. My dad clears his throat and they seem to snap out of their trance. The clanging of silverware commences again.

"So, how have things been, given the current...situation?" Mom asks, causing Nick to snort loudly. I shoot him a glare, but his grin is large.

"Yes, Jake, how has it been?" The glint in his eyes isn't reassuring. "I mean, I know I would be quite happy being handcuffed to the girl - "

"- your parents want you to get along with? Oh yeah, it's real great." I interrupt. My glare does nothing to dim his smile, but my dad saves me once more.

"Nick, how has school been going? I know you weren't too excited about this semester when you started out." Nick goes to the University of Connecticut, but we live close enough that he pops by every once in a while when his roommate's girlfriend spends the night if you know what I mean.

"Eh, it's alright. Nothing special. How's work treating you oldies?"

"'Nothing special,'" my mom teases.

"Yeah," Dad chides in. "Didn't even get sent to the principal's office today!"

~•~

"I can't believe it; my mom brought a bag of clothes to last me until these handcuffs are off, but she forgot a bathing suit! I specifically told her..." I chuckle at Cas. We're in my bedroom again, trying to figure out how this shower thing is going to work out. I pull out my swimming trunks while she's ranting.

"I'm sure my mom will let you borrow one of hers. Unless, of course, you'd rather go commando. I mean, hey, I'm cool with that!" I laugh when she slaps my chest and holler for my mom to bring in a bathing suit for Cas. We finished dinner around seven, and are going to shower as quickly as we can before watching the movie. We - meaning I - pack up our backpacks while waiting for my mom. She knocks on my door as I'm putting the last notebook in mine.

"Here you go, Cassie," my mom says when she opens the door. "I got you a halter-top suit so you don't need to worry about the sleeves." Cas takes the suit from her with a "thank you", but my mom doesn't move; she just stands there fiddling her hands in front of her. Her eyebrows are scrunched slightly, but this just annoys me.

"Don't do that, Mom. You, Dad, Holly, and Chris are the ones who made us do this. You aren't allowed to act all concerned now that we need to shower. We've already done the other stuff." Her eyes just about pop at this, and it takes me a second to realize why. "God, Mom, not like that! I mean we've already changed, gone to the bathroom, and slept together is all. Not like that!"

"Alright, Jake. We just," she sighs and places a hand on my shoulder. "We just want you two to get along better. Who knows, you could even end up being good friends. You know, your father and I used to argue quite a lot, too. But then that trip to France really-"

"Okay, that's enough of that conversation!" I shake her hand off of my shoulder and take a step back. I can hear Cas laughing as I shoo my mom from the room.

"Just be safe!" She calls from through the door. I groan but Cas only laughs harder.

"Let's just get changed," I mumble.

~•~

"Okay I'm good, just don't stare. Promise?"

"Cas, you slept in a bra last night, it's basically the same thing."

"Do you promise or not?" She repeats. We've both changed into our suits, after much struggle, and are now getting ready for the shower itself.

"Let's make a deal: I promise not to check out your boobs if you promise not to check out my six-pack. How's that?" I say through a smile. I can practically feel her roll her eyes.

"Fine, but I'm showering first."

"Fine." With that, I turn around, eager (though I'd never let her know that). Immediately, we both break our promises. I don't think anybody could look more beautiful in a bathing suit. The navy blue of it makes her eyes pop, and she fills it in nicely. The top is not quite large enough, but I'm not complaining. She's not a stick like you see on television, but she has curves in all the right places. I just want to run my hands down her sides and . . .

"I call first shower!" She says, and speed walks to my en suite. I shake my head to focus, and pick up two towels while she turns on the water.

"I'll stand outside while you shower, and then we can switch." I offer. "I'll keep my hand limp so you can use both of yours. It's okay if my hand happens to touch something, though. It would only be fair after the bathroom incident, right?" She can hear the teasing in my voice, and my hand is plummeted into the warm water as she steps under it.

"In your dreams, Butthead."

You have no idea.

~•~

"How about this one?" Nick asks, holding up the movie.

"Up to Cas," I say as we settle down on the couch.

"Sounds good with me," she responds. When Nick is putting it in the player, she turns to me. "Why do you call me that?" This catches me off guard. Honestly, I hadn't notice I had called her "Cas" out loud until she said so.

"'Cassie' is too long." I shrug nonchalantly, but my jaw sets. I look straight ahead at the TV, but her look doesn't waiver from my face.

"It's two syllables-"

"Movie's ready!" Nick cuts in. I mentally thank him as he goes to turn off the lights.

I could never tell Cas the real reason I've decided to call her that from now on. I guess it's kind of cool knowing I can call her something nobody else will. I briefly wonder if that's how Dad feels about calling Mom "Angel", but I stop that thought. It's not the same. Truth be told, I used to have a bit of a thing for Cas. In ninth grade, especially, I really liked her. I was actually going to ask her out one day at lunch, but Joey Castone beat me to it. Instead, I walked to the table behind hers and asked Alicia Anderson out right then and there. I was hoping to get a reaction out of Cas, but she didn't even flinch. Alicia and I went out for three months, but she dumped me because I wouldn't go all the way. Cas and Joey broke it off when he came out of the closet and started dating some kid he worked with. I guess you could say I act like a jerk around Cas for two reasons: I'm still mortified some gay guy asked her out before I did all those years ago, and she's really hot when she's pissed.

///

A/N

An extra-long chapter for the new year! If you read RFAW, you may remember Jeremy and his mother, Amanda, being mentioned. And Avery and Ryder are back, spark still strong! RFAW readers; what did you think about Mr. Satak marrying Amanda?

Question of the chapter: What do you think of the agreement Cassie and Jake made about him being a gentleman? Did she forgive him too fast?

Happy happy New Years!

Xx Niki