nightrunners

xii.

Cassiopeia awakened to the bright sunlight beaming in her face. A droplet of sweat rolled down her temple and she faintly groaned. She looked down at her hands and realized her fists were clenched. Based off of the dried blood on her palms, they had been balled up for quite some time. She reached up to touch her face and ran a finger delicately over her lips, remembering the pair that had touched hers a mere twelve hours before. Her body shivered at her own graze, recalling how it felt to be kissed, a gesture she hadn't felt in a few years.

The boy who had insulted, thrown, and choked her sealed it all with a deadly kiss, and not a delicate one either.

Her eyes had studied his expression which remain the stone cold, however a sense of urgency had crossed over him and her mouth instantly collided with his. There was a difference between being kissed and being kissed by the enemy. Especially when the enemy threatened to kill her after. She huffed and rolled over on her side, her eyes meeting the cover of 'American Psycho.' She extended her arm out and grasped the book with her bloody hand. She flipped to a page and scrolled her finger down the parchment, just as she had done before.

Her nail rested on a spot and she read the line;

"I guess you could say I'm a pretty sick guy!"

'How fitting,' she mumbled to herself and swung her legs off of her bed. She stumbled towards her closet and reached for a t-shirt. Definitely not trying to impress anyone. Cassiopeia pulled the garment over her head and let out a sigh. She stood in front of the mirror and ran her hand down her stomach. Her fingers danced over the reddish marks and she frowned in disapproval. She felt a familiar sickening feeling wash over and reached down to pick up some shorts. Cassiopeia pulled the t-shirt down to where she couldn't look at her bare stomach anymore and ran an exhausted hand through her short brown hair.

She thought that perhaps today would be dedicated all to herself, so she could clear her head and process the past whirlwind of a week. With that in mind, she packed her tote bag full of screen, a towel, and some water and bounced down her stairs.

It wasn't until she saw a note on the countertop that made her stomach sink. Her hands glided across the counter and landed on the dirty piece of paper with John B's writing scrawled across:

"Emergency Pogue Meeting @ 11."

Her eyes shot up towards the clock, the hands reading 10:48. She groaned and placed her tote bag down, looks like she wouldn't be alone today.

--

Cassiopeia biked to JJ's in a hurry, even though her stomach was doing flips the entire ride. She wondered what Kiara and Sarah would even say to her knowing she lied about being with them. Would they deem her untrustworthy, look at her differently, or even call her out? Would Sarah be fuming knowing that she had been with Rafe? Would JJ automatically assume that Rafe and her kissed?

So many thoughts swarmed her mind and as she pulled up to JJ's house. It was only when she got off her bike that she noticed everyone was sitting on the porch, and they were staring at her. She gulped and made her way up the stairs to the porch. The air was awkward and uneasy, and she didn't bother to look at JJ knowing that he eyes were burning into her forehead. She sat down in one of the wicker chairs as John B cleared his throat.

"Now that everyone is here," His eyes wandered over to Cassiopeia's and she looked down in embarrassment, "Let's get this meeting started."

"As of last night, we now can confirm that Rafe is local," he continued on, eyes roaming over Cassiopeia again, "And since we can somewhat confirm his exact location, I believe this is a good opportunity to officially begin our plan."