"I don't know... I like the idea of saving someone" - Liam Payne
The cool air felt nice on her damaged skin.
Sunlight drifted lazily down from between the branches of the giant trees growing in the hospital courtyard. The fresh air and slight scent of flowers were a nice change from the disinfectant Cass had been practically breathing for the past few days... and although the frequent trips outside had relieved some of her stress, Cass was still much more excited to finally be checked out for real, and go home. Fumbling with her new crutches, she managed to make it to a bench in the sunlight and sat, waiting for her best friend to come and rescue her.
James "Gloves" Glover had been her closest friend since ninth grade. He had come from a very large family, and Cass, being an only child, had loved the busy and noisy environment his house had proved to be. Moving in together after high school had been a no-brainer for the two; Gloves had wanted desperately to escape his many siblings, and Cass had only ever wanted one of her own. For, if Gloves were anything to her- it was a brother. There was no doubt; any romantic notion the two had ever harboured for eachother had been squashed early in ninth grade by one brief and awkward date. Cass laughed to herself as the memory resurfaced, but was quickly pulled from her thoughts by a familiar, always-slightly-too-loud voice behind her saying, "I don't know how you can be cheerful in a place like this!"
Cass grinned and turned in her seat, waving to Gloves and patting the seat next to her. "Took you long enough."
"Well excuuuuse me. I had to go out of my way to get you these!" Gloves said, and pulled out a newspaper and a brown paper bag. She could recognise it anywhere- it was a cinnamon roll from her favourite café.
"You're a lifesaver!" She cried, and grabbed at the snack vigorously. Pulling it out of the bag and placing it neatly on top, she broke off the outer ring with one hand while unfolding the newspaper with the other. The front page revealed a big picture of the burning building that used to be her workplace; although she'd already seen a few pictures, it saddened her every time. In front of the building, slightly blurry from the movement, was the boy she had met that day. He was pictured carrying Cass over one shoulder while supporting a limping blonde boy with his other arm. He almost looked like James Bond in his fancy clothing, and Cass couldn't surpress a small smile. CENTURY-OLD THEATRE DESTROYED was the headline, and beneath it, 19-year-old Liam Payne declared hero after saving the lives of friends and strangers alike. Cass' eyes wandered back to the picture as her fingers traced the flames.
"Do you know him?" Gloves asked, and his loud voice once again broke Cass out of her reverie. She looked at her friend, his bright blue eyes contrasting under his dark brown hair, and said,
"Yeah. I mean, no, not really. We'd just met that night... He seemed nice. I wish I could thank him..."
"It's never too late. I'm sure you could find him through Facebook or something. Anyway, Cassie Reed, I think it's time we checked you out of here. The dishes haven't been done for ages!"
*
Cass had been putting this moment off forever, but when she carefully stepped out of the shower that night, she knew it had to be done; she had to see the scar. She limped slowly towards her full-body mirror, holding her breath, trying to slow her nervous heart- but she wasn't prepared for what she saw.
Cass found it the ugliest thing in the world. The burn was an angry red colour, starting on her left shin and reaching to cover most of the left side of her torso. It didn't stop there, though; the scar continued to climb higher up her left shoulder and onto her neck, finally dying out along her left cheekbone. The scar was huge, and although the colour would someday fade... it was permanent. Cass' eyes began welling up as she realized she would never look normal again. She had once thought she looked quite nice naked; she'd played competitive rugby for seven years, and had always had a slim, athletic build; but this was something else entirely. Cass made a decision that night:
No one will ever see this. I'm never going to let anyone see this scar.
She had a nightmare that night.
*
Cass had first taken a course in the University of Westley's auditorium when she had got her job with Corny. She had needed to learn how to work the lighting and sound boards, and although she had long since surpassed any skill they could teach, stepping into the auditorium brought back fond memories. That course had been one of her favourites of any she'd taken at that school, but the pressure from her parents had switched her from her passion to maths and history. She didn't complain, though; Cass had been brought up knowing she would one day have to get a high-paying job to impress her father: the university professor, and her mother: the doctor.
Struggling in now on her crutches, Cass looked down the stairs of the aisles in the audience and sighed, realizing that her newest enemies were any staircase that happened to be in her way. This is my life now... She thought, and was about to start her journey down the stairs when her thickest textbook decided it wanted to go on an adventure, and slid out of her hands. The textbook fell noisily down every stair, creating a bang with each step it passed. As if this embarrasment was not enough, the book finally reached the bottom of the staircase and crashed right into the back of someone's leg. He turned, looked down at the book, and then up at Cass. Then, he grinned.
It was Liam.
"Sorry!" Cass shouted to all of the heads that had turned, and she hobbled as fast as she could down the steps. Cass paused at the bottom step and leaned on a crutch to catch her breath. She looked up at Liam, and laughed when she saw how amused he looked. "Hello."
"We just aren't very good at first impressions, are we?"
"I suppose not. I hardly recognise you without your tie."
"I hardly recognise you conscious."
Cass blushed, then took a second to get a better look at him. He really did look different in casual clothing as opposed to the garb he'd been in on the night of the fire, although she wasn't sure which made him look more handsome. Today, he was in light grey sweatpants and a purple T-shirt that stretched tightly around his chest and arms and made him look quite fit. She also noticed for the the first time that he had tattoos on his arms.
"I'm joking." Liam said kindly, when she didn't answer. "It's nice to see that you're alright."
"And you. Seems you came out of it with a nice battle scar, anyway," Cass said, gesturing to Liam's right cheek, which sported a long, newly-stitched cut.
He turned his head to give her a better look, and said happily, "It's pretty cool, isn't it?"
Cass smiled, but was suddenly very aware of her own scar. Luckily, Cass had chosen to wear a long-sleeved cardigan and jeans, so only the top of the scar was visible. "At least one of us is happy with their scars," She tried to say lightly, but it just sounded kind of sad.
Liam grew serious as he evaluated her cheek. He'd be disgusted if he knew how big it really was, Cass thought, but shook her head to clear the negative thinking and said hastily, "Anyway, I was meaning to thank you. For... you know. Everything. I kind of owe you my life."
He waved his hand dismissively, and gave her a humble smile. "It's nothing. I'm just glad you and Niall weren't hurt too seriously. Here, let me take those." He took the rest of her textbooks and bent down to collect the naughty one that had practically jumped out of her hand. Cass felt her anxiety over her scar slipping away as she stretched out her sore arms and watched Liam pile the books largest to smallest.
"Speaking of Niall..." Liam started, looking up, "You never actually had a chance to hear us play, did you? And that's just not right... So, I am formally extending to you an invitation to our band practice tomorrow. It's really just Nialler and I playing around on the instruments, but it's always good craic."
Politely declining was Cass' first thought; she almost never hung out with people she didn't know, mostly feeling uncomfortable or like there was something better she could be doing with her time... like studying! But something stopped her as she looked up into Liam's warm, friendly eyes. Her polite declination stuck in her throat, and she found herself wanting desperately to do whatever Liam wanted her to. She reasoned with herself that she just felt like she owed him, but... she wasn't entirely sure that was it. "Sure, yeah. I'll go."
Liam grinned from ear to ear and pulled out a pen and notebook to write down the address. Waiting, Cass' eyes began to wander, and she noticed a small blonde girl standing near the exit, staring at them. When Cass met her eyes, the girl's face turned red and she turned, letting her hair cover her face.
"Here," Liam said, ripping the paper out of his notebook and folding it for her, "See you then."
Cass nodded, putting her right crutch into her left hand. In a gesture that was quite unlike her, she reached her free arm around Liam's neck and gave him a hug. "Thanks again."
Cass couldn't see, but a happy grin broke out on Liam's face as he said, "Any time."
*
HOPE YOU GUYS LIKE IT!! Please leave a comment to let me know what you thought- I want to know if people are enjoying it :3
The next chapter is going to be pretty cute, AND Cass is FINALLY going to meet Niall, so stay tuned! Thanks guys!! <3
Jamie
