summary: cassie can’t keep it in anymore, and tells y/n — her best friend — about nate. her reaction is certianly something.
WARNINGS: mentions of sex, mentions of alcohol, strong language, shouting, a shit-ton of betrayal, fem!reader, angst.
Y/N OPENS THE DOOR, TO COME FACE TO FACE WITH A SOBBING CASSIE. she looked heartbroken. “oh, shit,” her brows furrow, as she quickly steps forward, wrapping her friend in a warm, loving hug. y/n ushers her inside, closing the door behind her. “honey — what happened?”
cassie only sobs more, burying her face in y/n’s neck. “i did something really stupid.”
as y/n sits cassie on her bed after having to force her to walk up the stairs, she sits facing cassie, y/n’s hand in hers. “honey,” she tucks a strand of hair behind cassie’s ear. “i need you to tell me what happened. or else i can’t help you — and there’s no fucking way i’m going to sit here and watch you cry like i’m a fucking ornament in the corner.”
cassie laughs at that. “i have to tell you something.” she brushes her hair behind her ears, tears welling in her eyes as she realises that what she’s about to say might ruin her fucking life. it might take you away — same thing. “but i need you to promise you won’t hate me.”
y/n swallows, nodding. “i promise.”
“i-” a salty dear falls down cassie’s cheek. “fuck. okay — i know this is really fucking shit and i hate everything because of it and i-”
y/n interrupts her. “cassie, spit it out.”
“i fucked nate jacobs.” cassie doesn’t dare look up at her best friend, keeping her eyes trained on the pretty bed sheets.
y/n completely stills. she doesn’t move a fucking muscle for a few minutes — cassie began to worry that she wasn’t breathing. but she was. “what?”
cassie gulps, looking up at her friend with glassy eyes. “don’t make me say it again.”
“what the fuck.” y/n doesn’t tear her eyes away from cassie’s. the blonde sniffles, wiping a tear away from her eye. “you’re fucking nate jacobs? as-in maddy’s ex-boyfriend nate jacobs?”
“please don’t be mad at me.” cassie’s starting to cry again. “i didn’t mean to. it wasn’t supposed to happen i swear. i was drunk — i was really fucking drunk. and he was just there and… and i wanted something. i wanted someone just to make me feel noticed that night and someone to make me feel fucking loved and — he was there.”
y/n’s grip on her bed sheet became much tighter. “when was this?”
cassie gulps, realising she was about to fucking really ruin her life. y/n wouldn’t be very fucking happy about her answer. so she tried to get out of it. “i don’t know, i— it doesn’t even matter-”
“when was this?” y/n repeats herself, her gaze piercing into cassie’s soul.
cassie takes a deep breath. “new year’s eve.”
y/n immediately scoffs, standing up, spacing around the room — her hand is at the back of her neck, fiddling with the tag of her shirt. “you needed someone to loveyou?”
she turns to face cassie once more. the girl stares up at her friend guiltily, both of their eyes glazed with tears. “y/n, i wasn’t-”
“you wanted— you needed someone to love you, hm? because there was no-one fucking there. is that right? no one?” y/n speaks fast, stray tears slipping down her rosy cheeks — she remembers the night before new year’s eve vividly.
she had told cassie she loved her. romantically. y/n wouldn’t be as angry if cassie had kindly told her she didn’t return her feelings, but this was so much worse. cassie had said those three haunting words back to her. they had a beautiful fucking night — they talked for hours, they laughed, they cried, they told each other how much they loved one another.
and now cassie seems to believe that no-one fucking loves her.
“y/n, that’s not what i meant.” cassie’s really starting to cry now.
y/n wipes another tear from her cheek. “you know how much i fucking love you.” she pauses, swallowing a sob. her eyes are glassy, her cheeks are rosy, her breathing is quick, and she looks like she’s about to fucking faint. “you knew then, and you knew now. you knew before i told you — before i fucking confessed. you know i’d do anything for you, and i’d fall at your fucking feet if you asked me to. and do you know why?”
cassie cries again, rubbing her eyes. she shakes her head. looking down. “it’s because i fucking love you. it’s because i’m in love with you, cass. and you know that. but, nate fucking jacobs is much better, isn’t he.”
“listen to me, y/n.” cassie looks up at her best friend, taking her hand in her own. “it only happened a couple times. and- and a couple hours ago when i was on his bed and i felt so out of place all i thought about was you. and-”
“a couple hours ago?” y/n interrupts her, she doesn’t look angry now. she seems pretty fucking sad. “after you left last night, after you fucking kissed me… you went to him?”
cassie’s eyes are wide, and the skin around them is puffy — her cheeks are red, and her lip is quivering. “well, cassie. you’ve done it now. now you’ve got two people fucking loving you at once!”
“i’m ending it, y/n, i love you-” cassie stands up, cupping her hands around y/n’s face.
y/n steps back, her skin wet and warm, covered in tears. “don’t you fucking dare say that to me. i don’t want to hear it.” she steps towards the door, looking back at her friend. “you can tell that to nate.”
cassie’s about to step forward, but stops as y/n makes her way out of the room. “you can show yourself out.”
“You’re going to embarrass yourself. Lexi was born for this, you’ll never be half as talented as she is.”
Those were the nagging thoughts that lingered in the back of Cassie’s mind as she stared at the keyboard with little to no motivation to carry on playing.
Piano wasn’t the only thing Lexi was excelling at. She was a bright student, got amazing grades in every class, she had a stable group of friends and was admired by everyone around her. The brunette was everything Cassie wished to be.
And this piano, which had once brought her so much joy, was now a source of frustration and anguish.
Sucking in a breath, Cassie tried to push those thoughts aside and concentrate again. She had to be ready for this talent show. She had to prove everyone that she was in fact equally as talented and worthy as her sister.
And so her fingers rose again to hover over the black and white keys, her foot readying itself at the pedal simultaneously.
Her fingers began to move gracefully over the keyboard while she followed the music sheet that was pinned in front of her. Cassie started slow, her fingers lazily hitting each key, letting them get accustomed to the movement. She cringed as she hit a wrong note but continued on regardless, her brows furrowing in concentration.
But the pace quickly became too fast, hard to keep up with. Cassie didn’t have the hang of it yet. Her fingers fumbled, which caused her to play a combination of the wrong keys.
She stopped to rub her sweaty hands on her jeans. She was growing more and more frustrated by the second, her heartbeat speeding up, throat tightening.
After taking a moment to gather her emotions, Cassie placed her hands on the keyboard again. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes before starting over from the beginning, the opening notes of Mozart’s Sonata Number Sixteen filling the room once more.
She was doing just fine, until came another wrong note. And that was all it took for her to break, her eyes suddenly filling with tears and blurring her vision.
“Fuck!” she yelled, slamming her hands down on the piano keys and weeping.
You’ll never be ready. They’ll laugh at you.
She wanted to give up. Close the lid and phone the school to let them know she wouldn’t be able to perform. She’d call in sick, or say there’s a family emergency. But she didn’t want to do this anymore. The phone was so close, she just had to reach out and grab it and then all her problems would be solved. She stared at it.
Just then, her attention was caught by the sound of the door opening, your voice breaking the silence.
“Hi Cass.” you said, peeking cautiously into the room. Cassie turned around to face you, her eyes puffy. You gave her a sympathetic smile as she repeated the simple greeting, wiping her cheeks and forcing a smile.
“I heard a scream. What’s wrong?” you cooed, stepping closer to your visibly upset girlfriend. You cupped her shoulders with your hands and began to rub your thumbs along the area between her shoulder blades. Cassie dropped her head a little, enjoying the massage.
“I’ll never be ready for the talent show.” she sniffled. “I keep messing up at the same bit. I can’t do anything right.”
“You’re still learning, Cassie. There’s nothing wrong with messing up.” you leaned forward to peck her cheek.
“But Lexi has already mastered her part, I need to—”
“Stop comparing yourself to your sister. The only reason Lexi has already mastered her part is because she’s had an extra week to practice. That doesn’t mean anything, and it doesn’t make you any less talented.” you continued to massage her shoulders. “Come on. Play something for me.” you seated yourself next to her and placed a comforting hand on her lower back, rubbing it with your thumb.
“I- I don't—”
“Please?” you pouted, giving her your best puppy eyes.
Cassie wiped her cheeks with her sleeves and eventually nodded, her shaky hands moving to the keys once more. She began to play the first notes, which you immediately recognized as Mozart.
“No.” you interrupted, placing a hand over hers. “Not this. Play something different. Something that you love.” Cassie thought for a moment before deciding on a song.
“Okay.” she whispered to herself, nodding.
Once more she began to play, her shoulders and back shifting as her fingers pressed each key, missing no note this time. She looked much more at ease already. She quickly began to relax and closed her eyes, letting her fingers do the work while you leaned your head on her shoulder, smiling fondly as you watched.
After a couple minutes the melody came to an end and Cassie slowly shut the lid of the piano, a sweet smile on her lips.
“You make playing this thing seem so easy,” you told her, hooking a finger under her chin and leaning in to kiss her. Cassie giggled, shying away from you.
“See?” you said. “All you needed was a break from Mozart.” you whispered, kissing her lips once more. Then your expression turned serious. “You’re more than ready for this talent show, Cassie. You’re going to own the stage and impress everyone in that room like you always do.”
