Befriending Cassie Ch. 03

All standard disclaimers apply. This story is complete fiction. Any similarities to anyone living or dead is a coincidence. Both main characters are 18 years old at the time of the story. Any character's involved in any form of sexual activity are 18 years old at the time of said activity.

**Trigger Warning**

This story centers on a character that was the victim of long term sexual abuse. The author DOES NOT condone sexual assault or abuse in any way, shape, or form. Likewise, this story is not intended to glorify or promote sexual assault or abuse. The focus of the story is to follow our female antagonist as she learns to rebuild her life and relationships. Due to the nature of her backstory, there will be instances where her abuse will be described or discussed. If this bothers you, please do not continue.

My focus tends to be on the characters, their relationships, and the story. I don't write quick jerk-off stories. In fact, there may be no sex at all in some chapters. If all you are looking for is a quick way to get off, these stories are not for you.

I'm relatively new to writing and look forward to positive feed back.

Thanks for reading.

The doctor had put me on restriction for a full week. Coach had basically ordered me not to come to practice. "Stay home, rest, and get healthy." he had said. I hated it because I felt like I was abandoning the team. The guys were super cool about it. Like coach, they all just wanted me to heal up. This also meant that I was stuck riding the bus to AND from school every day that week. The stares I received on the first day getting on the bus were beyond embarrassing. Here I was, 18, a senior, and big shot ball player, riding the bus like a freshman. Cassie had been one of those who stared in shock the first morning. I still hadn't spoken to her since the night in her back yard. I started to make my way to the empty seat next to her, but her look had become icy and hateful as she had tossed her backpack into the seat.

"Oookkk. Message received." I thought to myself. I moved past her and crammed myself into a seat a few rows behind. I was still racked with guilt about my outburst, and I wanted desperately to apologize but the bus wasn't the place and she was not to be found in her normal spot at lunchtime.

As I boarded the bus for home on Wednesday, I noticed commotion near the back. There, standing in the aisle, was Toby Keller. He was towering menacingly over Cassie who had retreated as far back in her seat as she could.

Toby was a freshman and was a lineman on the JV football team. He WAS the definition of the typical jock attitude. He was rude, arrogant, and a bully. To make matters worse, he had been a big shot in middle school but now in high school he was a small fish in a big pond. This caused him to be even more abusive to anyone he felt he could intimidate. I couldn't hear the whole conversation, but the words "freak" and "lesbian" were loud enough that I was pretty sure it wasn't friendly. The look in Cassie's eyes was pure terror, and it set off something inside me I'd not felt before.

I rushed up the aisle and made it to him just as he raised his hand. I caught the hand quickly pulling it up behind his back in a chicken wing hold.

"Hey there Toby." I said forcefully. "I see you've met my friend Cassie."

"Who the hell," Toby started struggling to get free. The second he saw it was me, his face went pale.

"Umm, oh, hi Cody. Um yea, we just met."

"Goood. And I'm sure you were just welcoming her to our school, weren't you? Afterall, I'm sure Coach Williams would hate to hear that one of his players was bullying the new kid." I gave it a second for my words to sink in. If there was one thing our coaches didn't tolerate, it was bullying. It was the one thing that could get you an express ticket off the team and every single player knew it from day one.

"Um, yea, sure Cody, that's what I was doing." he stammered.

"Well, isn't that nice of you. I must have interrupted, so why don't you go ahead and finish." Toby hesitated causing me to put more pressure on his arm.

"OW DAMM, ok ok.... welcome to Washington High." he said weekly.

"No, see, I don't believe you're being sincere. Now, try again, with feeling. And her name is Cassie"

"Ughh, ok. Welcome to Washington High. We're glad you're here." he said

"Cassie, we are glad you're here Cassie!" I said emphasizing her name.

"Shit. Ok ok, we are glad you're here CASSIE." he said in pain.

"There ya go. Hell, that's real neighborly of you." I sneered. "Now, why don't you pay Cassie a compliment. You know, that way you two get off on the right foot."

Cassie stared at me in astonishment completely in shock at the whole situation.

"What?" Toby said incredulously

"You heard me!" I forced his arm up even more causing him to wince in pain.

"Ow fuck! Ok dam man. I like your..." he stuttered.

"Your what? I swear I'll pop this arm right out of the fucking socket you little shit." I hissed in his ear.

"Jesus, ok man. Your hair, I like your hair."

"See, was that so hard? Now, Cassie, do you feel like Mr. Keller here is being sincere?" I asked

She said nothing, just nodded, eyes wide and jaw slack.

"Well. Ok then. Glad this is all settled." I leaned forward whispering in Toby's ear.

"If I catch you fucking with my friends again, you will deal with me personally. Is that understood?" I said, my voice dripping with venom.

"Yes, ok." he replied defeated.

"Is there a problem Mr. Brannen?" I heard the bus driver call from the front of the bus.

"No sir. Just showing my buddy here some new wrestling moves." I said cheerfully.

"Well save it for the gym and take a seat." he replied.

I turned Toby loose and he quickly moved away to another seat.

"Is this seat taken?" I asked Cassie, smiling.

She said nothing, just continued to stare at me. She did reach over and move her backpack which I took as an invitation. She straightened up in her seat as I sat down next to her. We rode the entire trip home in silence. Toby got off two stops before us, and I couldn't help having a little fun. As he made his way down the aisle, I stuck my arm across it.

"Say goodbye." I ordered.

"Goodbye." he said in a huff

Goodbye CASSIE." I corrected.

"Goodbye Cassie!" he said before pushing through my arm.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Cassie's face, and the grin she was wearing.

Cassie and I were the only two to get off at our stop. It was about a two block walk home and I hoped to use the time to apologize. I was trying to pick my words when Cassie spoke.

"Thank you for, you know, what you did." she said softly, eyes staring at the ground as we walked.

"No worries. Toby is a jerk and needed to be put in his place. Besides, no one threatens my friends." I said looking at her.

She looked up at me clearly confused that anyone would call her a friend. Especially after her behavior. There was a small park on the way home and there was a bench under a tree near the sidewalk.

"Listen," I said pointing towards the bench. "Can we talk? Just for a second. I swear if you still don't want me around after we're done, I will never bug you again." She thought for a second before nodding and walking to the bench.

As we sat down, I looked Cassie in the eyes.

"Look, I'm really sorry about the other night."

"It's fine," she started to say, but I stopped her.

"No, please, I need to say this."

"I was completely out of line. I had a really shitty day, and I took it out on you. I wasn't even mad at you, just, well, anyway. I feel like a real jerk. I didn't mean what I said. I still would really like to be your friend. Can you forgive me?"

Cassie looked at me dumbfounded. Those amazing blue eyes stared into mine like she was trying to read my soul. I was worried to the point of being nauseous.

"Why?" she finally asked, an accusing tone in her voice. "Why are you so hung up on being friends with a freak like me?

"I don't think you're a freak."

Her eyebrow shot up giving me the "yea right" look.

"No, seriously," I said. "I mean, sure, you're different, but that doesn't mean you're a freak. Honestly, I think it's kinda cool. I mean, it takes a lot of confidence to be willing to be yourself and not be what everyone else thinks you should be. I really respect that. It's one of the things I really like about you."

"One of the things?" she asked.

"Ok, well, THE one thing. But hey, there's probably a lot more I'd like about you if you'd just stop yelling at me all the time." I said smiling. I had hoped my attempt at levity would lighten the mood. It didn't. Instead, Cassie looked away with an almost shamed look on her face.

"Look, I know you're going through a lot right now,"

Her head snapped around looking me in the eyes.

"Shit, almost blew it." I thought to myself. I quickly tried to cover.

"I mean, parents divorced, new town, new school. It's a lot for anyone to take on by themselves. Everyone needs a friend. Nobody can go through life alone. I just want to be that friend for you."

Cassie stared quietly at the ground trying to process the things she had just heard.

"I'm way too fucked up to be anyone's friend. Besides, you can't trust people. They'll just hurt you in the end." she said solemnly.

"You can trust me. I promise. And nobody is too fucked up to have friends. We all have our issues." I said softly trying to sound reassuring.

"Oh yea," she said still staring at the ground. "Ever spent time in a psych ward for trying to kill yourself?"

I could see the immediate regret on her face for admitting what she just had. It broke my heart knowing that things had gotten that bad. I tried to hide my emotions and attempted to ease her anxiety a little.

"No, but I do have a pair of jeans that don't fit quite right." I said with a grin.

She looked up at me, an incredulous look on her face.

"Are you for real? I tell you I tried to kill myself and you compare that to clothes not fitting right?" she shot back at me.

"Hey! It's a big deal. They make my ass look fat. Really fucks with my ego and as we all know, the male ego is a fragile thing." I said smiling. God, I hope this works.

Cassie looked at me for a minute, then started laughing. It was a beautiful sound.

"You may be more fucked up than me." she said as her laughing subsided.

"Well, if you think that's bad I'll have to tell you about the time I showed up to the school dance in an outfit that clashed." I said putting on my best over the top fashion designer accent.

She just smiled. "Ok."

"Ok what?" I asked.

"You're forgiven. And, well, I guess if you're really such a glutton for punishment, you can be my friend. But don't say I didn't warn you."

I felt like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. "I'll keep your warning in mind." I said. "Seriously though, I mean it. If you need anything. Ever need to talk or whatever, day or night, I'm here for you."

"We'll see." she said doubt in her voice. "I need to get going, Mom will worry if I'm late."

We stood up and started towards home.

"So, what happened the other day." Cassie asked as we walked.

"Oh, nothing. You don't want to hear my problems." I replied.

"Well, if you're so insistent on being my friend I guess the least I can do is try to return the favor. So, what happened."

She had me there. I told her the whole story. When I got to the part about being knocked out and the concussion, she looked up at me with real concern in her eyes.

"Oh my God, are you going to be ok?" she asked

"Yea. No biggie. Fortunately, there's not much of a brain up there to damage." I said with a grin.

"Whatever." she said glaring at me.

Before long we made it to the walkway in front of Cassie's house.

"Let me see your phone." she said.

"My phone?" I asked

"Yea, you know that thing you use to get on Pornhub. Give it to me you dumb jock." she said.

I handed my phone to her. She unlocked it. When she was done, she handed it back to me.

"Here. Here's my number. I mean you probably don't want it, but just in case,"

I saved it then sent her a text.

"There, now you have mine. You know, in case you want it." I said smiling.

"Thanks again for today."

"No problem."

Then it happened. Without warning, Cassie reached out and hugged me. I was in shock and for a minute and just stood there before hugging her back. She pulled away from me and turned walking quickly up the front walk to her house.

Ms. Davis was standing on the front porch watching us with a look of pure astonishment on her face.

"Hey Mama" Cassie said before giving her mom a quick peck on the cheek as she walked past.

Ms. Davis looked at me as if to ask what the hell happened. I just grinned and shrugged my shoulders before heading home.

That night my phone went off. It was Cassie. The message was simple.

"Good night." was all it said.

"Good night beautiful." I sent back. I held my breath waiting to see her reaction.

"Whatever." the response came back followed quickly by an eyeroll emoji and then a smile emoji.

I smiled before putting my phone on the charger and going to sleep.