chapter eight! I'm always drunk on my own tears ☆

Saturday came much quicker than Cassandra would have wanted. The week had flown by, most of her hours taken up by studying and sitting around school. Now, she was stood a few streets away from her house, tightly clutching her jacket around her, waiting for Pippa's car to pull up. 

She was immediately regretting her decision of wearing a skirt, as the tights she paired with it were not doing their job of keeping her legs warm, the fabric being a few inches shorter than her knee. She was thankful, however, that she at least wore a jumper and jacket overtop. It was dark out and she was a victim of the cold, evening breeze. 

Finally, headlights came into view and the blonde instantly relaxed at the sight. She quickly climbed into the car and whispered her "hello's" to everyone, the goosebumps on her skin instantly vanishing from the heat of Pip's car.

"So, do you actually know where we're going? It's kind of creepy out here?" the Bell questioned as the four girls walked down a path in the forest. Cassie's phone torch was their only source of light and the group of girls walked closely together.

"This way." Pip spoke as she looked down at the map on her own phone. They turned and a lit-up cave appeared, looking more intimidating than she could have imagined.

Lauren was the first to comment; "This is unreal."

"Maybe we should turn back?" Cara suggested and Cassie couldn't help but hum in agreement.

Pip was quick to turn the idea down, "You'll be fine once we go in." but Cassie could hear the hesitation in her voice as she gulped.

The three friends walked in and Cassie followed staying a few steps behind them. "Great, this is really fucking dodge."

It was just as Cassie envisioned, the loud, pulsing beat of the music immediately echoing in her ears the second she walked in, and the strobe lights flashed in bright colours before her eyes, cutting through the fog that surrounded the room. It was crowded with people, warm and thick with the scent of sweat and alcohol.

Lauren had slipped away for about a minute, before coming back balancing three blue solo cups in her hands. "I tried to do a Sex On The Beach, but they only had vodka and orange so it's mainly just... beach." She exclaimed over the music, smiling. She handed one of the three cups to Cara and the other to Cassie who gave each other a small amused glance before taking the drinks.

Cassie couldn't help but chuckle as she gladly accepted the drink, clinking it together with the other two girls who gave each other a curt nod before taking a small sip. Cass held back at first, still needing to figure out what the purpose of attending the calamity was and what she was supposed to do.

As Cara and Lauren began wandering away and further into the crowd, Cassandra took the opportunity and grabbed Pippa's upper arm, pulling her to the side but not so they were directly out of people's eyeline. "So, who or what are we looking for?" She questioned but to no response from the brunette, Cassie's eyes started darting around her face for any clues, only to be met by a look of hesitation.

"Hm?", she murmured, getting slightly distracted from the atmosphere around them.

Cassie just assumed she didn't hear her over the yells and singing of everyone else. "Oh, I said who or what are we looking for?" She shouted a little louder in an attempt to not get drowned out.

"We're looking for anyone who seems to be selling drugs."

Cassie's eyes widened in disbelief. "What? Why?"

This was news to her, nobody had mentioned anything about drugs beforehand, and the blonde wondered what it had to do with the case investigation. She thought tonight was mainly to get information from people believed to be involved, it would be easier if they were drunk or high. Her voice shook with curiosity, there was too much unknown and the mention of drugs made this night feel darker.

"Pip?" she whispered, "What has any of this got to do with Andie?" her voice was filled with suspicion and her frustration grew with each passing second Pippa didn't answer.

The Fitz-Amobi's eyes darted around the room in a calculated focus. "I'm thinking someone here could have been Andie's dealer and if anyone were to recognise who it could be, it would be you." She whispered back.

"Dealer? What are you talking about?"

"Andie's dealer..." Pippa stated but it sounded more like she was asking a question, voice laced with uncertainty. Cassie saw panic wash over her face as though she had said something wrong trying to confirm something she wasn't sure she should be saying.

In that moment, Cassandra wanted nothing more but to yell, to tell Pippa that she was wrong, that Andie hadn't been involved in anything dangerous. She attempted to keep her expression neutral although inside, her mind was a chaos. Pip began speaking again although it sounded like muffled static in the blonde's ears.

How couldn't she have noticed? Did Becca know?

Cassie exhaled slowly, eyes pleading for Pippa to stop and take back what she said. Pip's gaze remained on the floor, clearly regretting her slip-up.

"I'm sorry, but I really can't help you with this." 

☆

It had been about an hour and Cassandra couldn't even begin to count on her fingers how many drinks of alcohol she'd had. It was all an attempt to drown out the noise in her head and the questions that kept forming.

The night had blurred together, and her head started to feel fuzzy several drinks before the one she was currently holding. It wasn't the kind of fuzzy she had been hoping for, like she usually felt after drinking for fun, it was more like a haze that made everyone and everything feel distant and unfocused.

She had danced for a few songs, the rhythm of the music thudding throughout her. At this point she would do anything to forget the conversation with Pippa that had been gnawing at her since. A random girl, redhead with a smirk had joined her during one song, laughing.

Cassandra couldn't even remember what the girl was talking about, probably some nonsense that she didn't care about. She hadn't even bothered to learn her name but for an extra few minutes, she let herself be distracted by the attention.

It wasn't long after that that an anxious Lauren and Cara found her, alone, back pressed against one of the walls with another solo cup firmly in her grip. "Hey, have you seen Pip?" Lauren questioned, the string of words coming out frantically.

Cassie just shook her head. "No."

Upon seeing the two girls' worried expressions, the blonde's posture straightened but her head remained cloudy, "Why, what's happened?"

Lauren sighed, "We can't find her, think she's gone home. I'm gonna go find the boys and go as well. She'll call us in the morning."

"Yeah, me too." Cara agreed, waving Lauren off as she walked back into the crowd.

She turned to Cassie next, who had already slumped back against the wall, with a look of slight concern.

"How are you getting home?" she queried.

Cassie didn't respond, she didn't feel like it. She instead stared at the empty blue cup in Cara's hand, wondering if it was the same one from the beginning of the party.

The blonde shrugged.

Cara's gaze softened even if it was barely noticeable, "Do you want me to call Becca or your dad?"

Cassandra got up immediately, stumbling a little as she did. "No, I can't. Jason would kill me if he knew where I was. Like serial killer kind of murder." She giggled although her tone was serious and fragile, the tiniest bit slurred.

The curly haired girl didn't laugh though, her brows furrowed instead after noticing Cassie begin to panic. She could sense the fear that came from the idea of facing her family so Cara blurted out the first solution that came to mind.

"Stay at mine tonight. I'll get someone to pick us up."

Cassie hesitated at the unexpected suggestion. She wouldn't even consider them friends, just two girls who knew each other through mutual connection, but the thought of going back to the Bell house in her current state terrified her.

"Okay," she whispered.

bit of a long one this one but cara and cassie are cuties so it's okay!

love yall.