Anna O’Sullivan was in the kitchen when the doorbell rang. Unsure who to expect, she asked who was there.
“It’s just me.” Ben said.
Anna instantly recognized the young Twist’s voice, and opened the door. Cassie’s pack mate was carrying a backpack, and appeared to be in a very good mood.
‘It’s nice to see you Ben. How are you?” Anna asked.
“All things considered, pretty good. Is Cassie around?” Ben asked.
“I’ll go get her.” Anna said.
Ben sat down in one of the dining room chairs while Anna went upstairs to wake her daughter.
Cassie was curled into a ball on her bed, contently dreaming. About what, she couldn’t say once she woke up. But she knew it was a good dream. She felt flushed, and her hair was clinging to her sweaty forehead. Thankfully there wasn’t a mess in her pants.
“Ben’s downstairs.” Anna said once Cassie was conscious enough to comprehend her words.
“Ok. I’ll be down in a second.” Cassie said. After her mother had gone, Cassie dashed into the bathroom to change and clean herself up. She tried to calm herself down, and all but dunked her head into a sink filled with cold water.
“What’s wrong with me?” she kept thinking. She felt like she’d had one too many energy drinks.
Downstairs, Ben and Anna were engaging in small talk. Mostly about last night’s events, which were the only thing anyone from the pack could talk about.
“Ya, it was pretty tense.” Ben remarked.
“I hope the Stovall girl can get herself back together. She should probably apologize to Eric the first chance she gets.” Anna said. She didn’t know much about the Andersons, other than that the family had been through the wringer since they moved to town. And now Julie Stovall was making a mess of the youngest Anderson’s life.
Ben just nodded, deciding not to tell Anna about Julie’s apparent “mental breakdown”. He did plan on telling Cassie though. Still playing matchmaker, he knew she was worried, more so than the others probably thought.
“Hey.” Cassie said as she descended the staircase, a backpack of her own slung over her shoulder.
“Hey yourself,” Ben said, standing up.
“Where are you kids off to?” Anna asked, having returned to the kitchen.
“My place. I’m helping Cassie with some of her math homework.” Ben said. And that was partially the truth. The two usually met up for study sessions. But in this case, the ulterior motive was to go visit Eric, who conveniently lived right next door.
“When will you be back?”
“Don’t worry, I’ll have her back before dinner time.” Ben said. Cassie rolled her eyes at Ben’s theatrics, and said goodbye to her mother.
“So, have a good morning?” Ben asked, once they were alone in his car. Cassie shrugged, and said it was nothing worth telling him about. She asked how things went at the hospital.
“Now there’s something interesting,” Ben said. He recounted all he knew about the situation between Eric and Julie. Which was just that Julie had pretty much lost her marbles, and Eric was feeling pretty guilty about the whole thing.
“Could probably use some morale support.” Ben said after he finished explaining things.
“Could probably use a time machine.” Cassie thought.
“Cassie?” Ben glanced over at her when she didn’t say anything. She was staring out the window, not paying much attention to Ben until he said her name.
“Oh, sorry. I just spaced out a bit.” she said.
“That’s cool. But… you’re not still mad because I set you up with Eric are you?” Ben asked.
“What? No. I was never mad at you for that. Okay a little surprised, but not mad.” Cassie said quickly.
“Just had to check. Guy does come with a lot of baggage.” Ben said.
“I guess. But then so do I. And on that note, did you tell him about us?” Cassie asked nervously. The two had briefly dated a year ago. They only had a handful of actual dates. Most of their relationship was just recreational fun, werewolf style.
“That’s a conversation for you two, if you ever get past the friend stage.” Ben said.
“What makes you think we will?”
“Call it a hunch. I’m the son of a therapist, I read the room.” Ben said, winking at Cassie. In other words, he’d seen the way the two were looking at each other last night, and this morning.
“We’re just friends.” Cassie muttered, blushing.
“Again, call it a hunch. But seeing how things with Julie are going south, I think Eric might be looking for someone to fill the void.” Ben said.
He stopped the car, and Cassie realized that they were already at the Anderson’s house. Suddenly she felt like someone dropped an elephant on her chest. The two exited the car and walked up to the front door. It was open, but Ben knocked anyway.
“Come in!” Francis called from the kitchen. She knew it was probably Ben, who else would be there?
She wasn’t expecting to see Cassie with him though. Neither were Samantha or Martha. The three women were still in the kitchen, though not in a cuddling position anymore. Nate and Eric were still upstairs, just finishing their “talk”.
“Hey.” Ben waved to Martha, while Cassie once again hid behind him. She said a quick hello, and introduced herself to Eric’s mother. That elephant on her chest was getting heavier and heavier.
Based on Cassie’s shy demeanor, and the way she kept looking anywhere BUT at Martha, it was safe for Martha to assume this was the girl who Eric spent the night with. The two briefly encountered each other last night, but Cassie had been in wolf form then.
Martha had spent a bit of time wondering what she looked like out of her fursona. The slight, awkward girl in front of her was NOT was she pictured. But in a way she was glad. Martha had been worried the person Eric ended up with would be too much for him to handle, so to speak.
“At least I know those two are evenly matched in that regard.” Martha thought, guessing Cassie was the same size as Eric.
“It’s nice to meet you Cassie. I’d like to thank you for taking such good care of Eric last night, despite all the craziness.” Martha said. Cassie’s face turned about as red as a fire truck, and she thanked Martha for the compliment. Everyone felt the room getting tense, and Nate and Eric’s arrival lightened the mood substantially.
“Hey, thought I heard your voice down here Ben. Hey Cassie!” Nate said. Eric came down second, and paused when he saw Cassie standing in his kitchen.
“Hi, I didn’t think I’d get to see you again so soon.” Eric said.
“Ben and I get together to study sometimes. You’re welcome to join us.” Cassie said just as awkwardly.
Nate and Ben both exchanged a look, and suggested they go to Ben’s place.
“I could do with a study session. I’m terrible at math in general, but algebra is just a nightmare.” Nate said.
“Not so bad once you get the hang of it.” Ben shrugged.
“Smarty-pants. I’ll go grab m backpack, want me to get yours Eric?” Nate asked. Eric nodded, and Nate flew back up the staircase to their bedrooms.
“Who’s making goo-goo eyes now.” Nate laughed to himself. He wasn’t the only one who noticed intense stares the two teenagers were giving each other.