cassie knew they were talking, but nothing really registered in her mind. she was too busy drawing in her sketchbook while alex and vanessa talked.

she smiled up and them occasionally to show she was still there, and she listened for a second, but then it just slipped out of her ears again. alex chewed on her apple and averted her eyes to their absent friend, raising her eyebrows.

"cassie?" she mumbled. when the brunette didn't look up, she snapped her fingers in front of her face.

"what?" cassie asked and shrugged questioningly.

"you're hopeless." vanessa laughed and leaned back in the chair.

she liked vanessa equally as much as she liked alex. but since she shares a room with alex, they're automatically a bit closer. vanessa shared room with a childhood friend, who the other two didn't mind, but that friend fit better with some other people.

vanessa was the necessary friend who carried chirpiness like a dress. she was kind, down to earth, a bit "cocky" as many would say, but she was realistic. she doesn't sugar coat or lie. she's the kind of person who'd try to be nice by saying i'm not gonna' say i told you so, and then add a but i did tell you... so. by appearance, she was blonde — unlike alex and cassie — and blue eyed, unlike cassie.

when thinking about it, cassie actually loved those two a lot.

cassie sighed and closed the sketchbook, put it beside her on the couch and folded her arms together. she glanced around them in the cafeteria and then smiled at her friends.

"sorry. what were you talking about?"

"this weekend. are we going to the movies, to study or attend the party everyone's talking about?" alex asked and looked between the two.

"that depends entirely on whose party it is." cassie smiled and grabbed her own apple, taking a bite from it.

"it's jason's." alex smiled while wiggling her eyebrows. vanessa sat up straight and nodded happily, clasping her hands together.

"i love his house! he's got a big backyard and a huge living room, and then many bedrooms..."

"okay, van, we get it." cassie laughed and looked over her shoulder. "speaking of the devil."

"hello girls." jason joined them as he sat down next to cassie. she sent him a friendly smile and took another bite. "i just wanted to let you know that–"

"–you're having a party in the weekend." vanessa finished for him and tilted her head to the side. "and we're probably coming."

"we haven't actually gotten an answer from cassie." alex butted in and looked at her.

cassie pursed her lips and gazed down at her lap, suppressing a smile. she then made her thinking expression and swallowed the chewed apple bite. she didn't have anything to do on friday, and as she told matt, she liked to party.

"i'm in." she finally said with a headnod and looked between all three of them.

"great." jason smiled and licked his lips quickly. "and cassie?"

"hm?" she mumbled and turned her head to him, and he carefully leaned in to say something quietly.

"looks like you've got an admirer." he proclaimed, stood up again and left.

with a frown, cassie put one arm against the table, the elbow of her other one as support, and her cheek against her palm.

she discreetly gazed to her left, locking eyes with matt who stood a bit away. she inhaled while smiling unconsciously. when he returned the smile, she quickly looked away and mentally cursed at herself.

alex and vanessa shared a quick look, and alex frowned with a confused smile. matt looked down and refrained from grinning like an idiot, but it cracked after a while.

"what's going on...?" alex asked slowly.

"what?" cassie mumbled and averted her eyes back to them. "nothing's going on?"

"you just smiled at my brother."

"no, i didn't." she denied and leaned back in the couch again. her friends gave her a skeptical expression, causing her to sigh in defeat. "fine, i did."

"he did mention something about a coffee shop." alex smirked and raised her eyebrows. "mind to enlighten us?"

"there's not much to say, we just talked for a while." cassie shrugged and tucked some hair behind her ear.

"cassie." they both said in unison.

"he sat down by my table and started talking. really, we just talked for a while."

"about what exactly?" vanessa asked and chewed on her bottom lip.

"actually, i talked the most while he asked the questions. he just wants to get to know me." cassie mumbled and brought the apple to her lips.

"oh god." alex sighed and rubbed her face with her hands.

"what?" cassie frowned. "what are you sighing for?"

"did you give him one of your conditions?" alex questioned, tilting her head to the side.

"she probably did." vanessa laughed as she nodded.

"hello, don't assume things. i don't do that often." cassie exclaimed and laughed quietly.

"remember that guy in high school, theo was it?" alex asked vanessa and pointed at her.

"oh right, and jamal in freshman year? he was so whipped she made him–"

"okay, i get it."

"... and thomas last year, god that was such an embarrassing thing he did."

"i hate you two." cassie stated and pouted jokingly.

the other two smirked to each other before looking back at their pouty friend. cassie rolled her eyes when she saw their faces and glanced back at matt — who now was talking with his friends.

"so, what requirement did you give to my brother?" alex asked seriously and folded her arms together against the table.

"i just... told him that he has to break his own personal record about how many goals he can score in one game." cassie answered quietly and fiddled with her fingernails.

"cassie! that's going to give him so much pressure during the game!" alex vocally disliked the idea and shook her head a bit.

"no, it's not!" cassie objected and sat straight, pointing her finger at her. "it's a good condition, really, because that's every players goal during a game. he won't even think about it while playing, and if he breaks the record, he's going to be so happy when he realizes it. so it's a great condition." she finished, a proud smile on her face.

"i hate to say this, but she's got a point. it's actually a good one." vanessa admitted and frowned with her lips.

"fine, okay, it's not that bad." alex muttered and then smiled. "why do you do this?"

"my conditions? i do it because it makes them prove something. i mean, it showes that they're willing to make an effort, and i like that. if they just say 'screw it' and aren't willing to do the smallest thing, then there's no need to even bother. it just makes me feel good." cassie explained before finishing her apple.

"oh." the other two nodded slowly at the same time, and cassie smiled stupidly over their faces.

"yeah, oh. and i have class in a few minutes so i'll see you later." she uttered while standing up and grabbing her sketchbook.

"see ya."

cassie waved quickly before walking away from the cafeteria and towards her dorm, with the intention to gather her books and leaving the sketch one.

since her arms were hanging loose, she held the sketchbook against her thigh, and thank god for that. with her eyes on the floor, she bumped into someone who held a cup that consisted of something hot.

"you've got to be kidding with me." she exclaimed and looked down at her now wet shirt.

"i am so sorry, my friend pushed me." matt apologized and nervously bit on his lip. she gazed up at him and sighed heavily.

"you're lucky you didn't ruin my sketchbook." she stated and continued walking to her dorm, with matt catching up with her.

"shit, you're mad, aren't you? i'm really, really sorry."

"i'm mad that it's coffee." she laughed and scrunched up her nose.

cassie glanced back at his friend, who she assumed had pushed him, and then opened the door. matt waited awkwardly by the door frame and fiddled with his fingers.

"so you're not mad?" he asked.

"our classes starts again in, like, two minutes, and that's why i'm a bit stressed. not mad. unfortunately, it's not the first time it's happened." she told him, grabbing a big t-shirt from her drawer.

"so you're used to people spilling coffee on you?" he chuckled and looked away when she pulled off her current top — even though she was standing with her back facing him.

"not coffee. students usually drink soda, not a morning-energy drink." she smirked and pulled the shirt over her head. "and why are you waiting? don't you have–"

"astronomy with you? yes, yes i do." he cut her off, causing her to purs her lips in almost embarrassment.

"right, that's a class we have together. still though, candice always waits for me down the hallway." she ruffled her own hair briefly and took a hold of her books.

"what harm does it if we go together?" he tilted his head to the side and gave her a look.

"none, so let's go." she smiled and walked out of there with him, and then to the room they were supposed to be in. "when's your next game?"

"the week after this one." he answered with his hands down his pockets. "shouldn't you know that?"

"i should probably know that, yes." she sheepishly smiled and cocked her head to the side. "honestly, there's a lot of things i don't know that i should know."

"oddly, that doesn't surprise me." he teased, earning a weak arm nudge from her.

cassie exhaled in relief when the door was still open and the teacher's voice wasn't lecturing. she walked inside, matt walking behind her, and sat down as far up as possible. she wasn't exactly surprised when the football player placed himself beside her.

"now, this is weird." she whispered to him and raised her eyebrows. he looked down at her, noticing he's never been this close to her before, and nodded slowly.

"yeah, a little maybe to us. but aren't you the cheerleader captain?" he asked. she gave him a look, since she knew that he was well aware of that.

"yes, matthew. why?"

"then i don't think it's very odd that the cheerleader and football captain are sitting next to each other."

"what a nice stereotype." she rolled her eyes and held a pen between her fingers.

"just saying." he shrugged and sunk down in the chair, just when their teacher began talking.

about half an hour into the lesson, cassie was resting her head against her palm and listening with focus, noting down things she figured would be important.

matt fiddled with a pen and puckered with his lips. he liked astronomy a lot, but his mind just didn't want to be in school at the moment. she noticed candice a few seats from her, raising her eyebrows questioningly. cassie just sloppily shrugged and motioned to her shirt by nodding downwards.

"are you going to the party this weekend?" he asked in a whisper and glanced at her.

"mhm." she hummed quietly and scribbled in her notepad. "you?"

"yeah, but mostly because everyone else is going. i'd rather much sit in my dorm and watch the new episode of arrow."

"right." she said slowly, unconvinced.

"marinov, daddario!" their teacher suddenly exclaimed, crossing his arms together — not annoyed, but not amused either. "anything you'd like to share with the rest of the class?"

"sorry, mr. martin. we were just discussing the extremely mindblowing fact that there are more stars in the universe than there are grains of sand on earth." matt quickly saved them, leaving cassie in a bit of awe. but she spoke up too.

"then he mentioned the event of the possible meteor that striked against venus — i believe — presumingly wiping out an entire civilization." she added, trying to keep a straight face.

"right... just focus on this now, and then you can discuss that, please." mr. martin said, and returned to lecturing.

matt and cassie shared a quick look before listening again. they remained silent until the class was dismissed, and then left the way the had arrived.

"really? the whole theory about that planet and the meteor?" matt laughed once they were outside, and folded his arms together.

"i saw it on tv the other day, okay. but i have no idea which planet it was, can't remember... it just feels like venus." she shrugged and hugged her books.

"remind me to never let you be my alibi." he joked, and she responded with her sassy head tilt.

"right, because i'll always be by your side." she said sarcastically and walked past him.

"well, that depends on my up-coming game, doesn't it?" he smirked while turning around to look at her.

"basically. i'm actually excited for the game, and i don't like football very much." she cocked her head to the side and smiled a bit.

"you don't like football?" he asked surprised and put a hand against his chest. "i'm hurt."

"you love football that much it actually offended you?" she grinned and shook her head weakly.

"absolutely." he snickered. "just kidding. but how can you stand being a cheerleader then? must be bloody boring."

"it gets a bit boring to watch, yes, but i love cheerleading." she smiled softly and shifted her body weight to the other foot.

"i'll make sure to put on a show for you." he said with a cheesy expression. she tried really heard, but a giggle escaped her lips and she hated it. "cute. you should giggle more." he winked before walking away.

cassie stared at his back until he was no longer in sight and then shook her head back to reality. she slowly turned around and moved to her dorm again.

she found alex there, also gathering her books for their last lesson for the day. cassie had a stupid smile on her face, and it was impossible for alex not to notice.

"i can't find my french book." alex mumbled and rummaged through her drawers.

cassie looked up at her and then scanned the room with her eyes. they soon landed on the floor under the bed, a hopeless expression on her face.

"it's under the bed, love."

"what the hell..." alex laughed and seized her book. cassie stepped outside and waited for her roommate before walking down the hallway.

"your brother's nice." cassie suddenly uttered, surprising them both.

"wait, what?"

"i'm not gonna' repeat that."

"three years and you only just now realize that?" alex smirked and looked at her.

"i guess."

"i have to turn here, see you later."

cassie watched her briefly and then continued walking to her own lesson. she chewed on her bottom lip, thinking about what she said.

he was nice. she just needed to get it off  of her chest, and who else would be better to confess that to than his sister, and her best friend?

-

a/n

oh my gOd this sucks, but i really don't have more to add for "this" day, so enjoy lovely readers

(im trying to get better at making gif manips, with both of them beside each other, but bear with me for now)