Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Cassidy Price lounged on the faded bean bag chair in Larry’s room, the scent of smoke thick in the air. He let the haze swirl around him as he absentmindedly fiddled with the lighter in his hand. With a slow exhale of smoke, he glanced up at Larry, who was hunched over the old radio he had, flipping through CDs with a look of deep concentration.
The room was as messy as usual: papers scattered across the floor, half-empty cups piled in one corner, a few band posters curling at the edges from age. It felt like a place frozen in time, but Cassidy didn’t mind how his friend's room looked. It was his safe spot. A bit of normalcy in a world that had slowly been sliding off its axis.
Larry muttered something to himself that Cassidy couldn't hear as he finally picked a CD.
Just as the opening notes of a new song began to play, a sharp knock on the door echoed through the room.
“Yeah?” Larry yelled for the mysterious stranger on the other side to hear.

“Hey uh Larry, your mom said I should say hi. I just moved into 402.” an unfamiliar voice replied, Larry looked to Cassidy who only shrugged.

“Oh hey come on in. Doors open” Larry finally told him as the wooden door soon creaked open. Larry paused the music system as the stranger entered the room; Cassidy noticed his vibrant blue hair, while at the same time Larry seemed to notice something else. “Whoa. Nice mask.”

“It’s a prosthetic.” The blue haired stranger replied with a flat tone.

“Oh shit. Sorry man.” Larry apologized.

“It’s cool. I'm used to much worse by now. So I'm glad you like it.”

“So do you like, have no face under there? What happened?” Larry pried a bit more.

“I'd rather not talk about that.”

“Okay, change of subject. I'm Larry, I live down here with my mom, and this is Cassidy, he lives in apartment 304.” Larry soon introduced as Cassidy was lighting up the rest of the bowl in the bong he held.

“I’m Sal, my friends call me Sally Face. I just moved here from New Jersey.” the stranger replied as Cassidy began to blow smoke out into the hazy air once more, this time to speak.

“Well nice to meet you Sally face,” Cass said with a smile to the new tenant.

“You too Cassidy.”

“Cass or Cassy is fine, no need to full name me.” Cass told him with a chuckle.

“Alright Cass. So, Larry, can I ask why you and your mom live down here in the basement?” Sally asked as Cassidy put his focus back on the glass bong he held.

“Well my mom says we need to guard the place from rats, but I think she just gets the place free with her job,” Larry chuckled a bit.

“Why hang down here instead of in Cassy’s apartment?” Sally asked.

“His grandma is sensitive to smoke, so it’s just easier to be down here,” Larry admitted with a shrug of his shoulders. That’s when Sally asked something that caught both of the boys attention.

“What happened in 403?”

“SHHH!! Not so loud! The killer is still in this building,” Larry hushed him in a whisper.

“Here we go again,” Cassy mumbled with a roll of his eyes.

“What?” Sally asked.

“He thinks-”

“I know! I know who killed Mrs Sanderson,” Larry announced.

“Who?” Sally asked, this time more hushed.

“Charley, the big guy upstairs. I saw him! I was helping her unclog her toilet when he barged in screaming and attacked her! “I know what you've done! Herman told me everything you stupid bitch!” It happened so fast I was frozen by fear.” Larry explained, though Cassidy had heard the story before.

“And you dont believe him, Cass?” Sally asked.

“That isnt it at all! I mean, it could have happened, I just don't see a motive. No motive for a lazy dumbass means he can't do it.” Cassidy explained as he sat the bong on the ground by his foot.

“He could have though, that guy gave me the creeps.” Sally told them, showing he was on Larry’s side.

“Well until you guys have proof you should drop it,” Cass told them a bit more sternly than he normally spoke.

“Fine, were you two busy before I came?” Sally asked, changing the subject for now.

“Not too busy, I was putting on a new CD,” Larry told him, “The newest Sanity Falls Single, have you heard of them?”

“No, are they good?”

“Hear for yourself,” Larry restarted the song and hit play. The guitar chords were strung and Cassidy pulled a grinder from his pocket. While the group silently listened to the new single, Cass packed another bowl in the bong to share with his friend. He lit half of it and took a deep inhale to fill his lungs with the harsh smoke, before holding it out to Larry.

The taller teen took the bong and did the same as Cassidy, lighting the bowl and taking a deep breath of the drug. As he was letting the smoke out the song picked up speed and he sat the bong down to begin headbanging, pushing the smoke around him and his long hair. As the music got rougher all three of them began to head bang to the song. It seemed to come to an end too soon though, as the song faded away.

“What did you think?” Larry asked.

“They sound great, new favorite for sure.” Sally told him as he was looking around. “What's this thing?” he asked, going to a scanner on the dresser.

“It's a local police scanner,” Larry grinned triumphantly.

“How did you even get this thing?” Sally asked with a chuckle.

“That's a story for another day. But hey you just gave me a great idea! If I make a fake call I can distract the cops long enough for you to sneak into 403.” Larry told them and Cassidy groaned.

“Oh boy,”

“Hey, I wanted to peek in that room anyways, I'm totally up for this!” Sally replied.

“Well I am not. So you two have fun.” Cassidy told them as he grabbed the forearm crutches he had leaned up on the wall by him. He used the handles to pull himself up to his feet as he stabilized and noticed Sally facing his direction.

“You get hurt?” he asked.

“I would assume someone with a prosthetic would know better than to ask that.” Cass pointed out.

“Oh, I'm sorry, I should’ve-” Sally began but Cassidy cut him off with a faint chuckle.

“It’s okay. I have Ehlers Danlos and I often dislocate my joints, especially my hips. It’s easier to walk with these really,” Cassy explained.

“Well I like the stickers on them.” Sally complimented. Cass had spent many years collecting cool stickers for the crutches.

“Thank you, you two have fun with your murder mystery,” he chuckled as he began to head to the door and soon left the basement apartment. He took the elevator up to his floor alone, and it was quiet in the halls as he made his way to his own apartment.

Once inside he locked the door behind him and saw his grandmother, Nancy, sitting on the couch. She stared at the TV like always, but this time it was on a show he didnt recognize. He wasnt sure if she even knew what she was watching.

“Grandma, I’m home!” he said loudly for her to hear but she made no sign of acknowledging him. He sighed to himself as he went to the kitchen to scour for some food. In the cabinets he found some pasta noodles and alfredo sauce to make on the stove.

Quietly and in his own world he made dinner, boiled the noodles and cooked the sauce. He even found some canned chicken to add to the sauce for protein. The small dining table in the kitchen was under a broken light fixture, so he ate in the dim room.

After his dinner he did the dishes and even made a small jelly sandwich for his grandma, which he sat on the coffee table in front of her. She often came in and out of her dazes, so Cassidy didnt worry too much about her current state. Instead he went to his own bedroom to relax for the night.

In his room he put his crutches against the wall and sat on a small office chair he had at a desk in the room. He often used the chair to roll around in his room, which was a good reason to keep the room clean. He rolled the chair over to his closet to change his clothes out of his smoke covered outfit and into some pajamas. Then he went over to the window he kept his altar in front of. Though before he could pray or light any kind of candle, he noticed something out the window.

Outside the building he could see the cops escorting someone out to a cop car, and as Cassy looked closer he could see that it was Charley in handcuffs. He must have actually done it, meaning they actually found evidence.

“Well I’ll be damned.”

Chapter Text

(Imgur link to Cassy’s bedroom made in Sims)
(Imgur link to Cassy’s train track hangout made in Sims)

The wall clock above Cassidy’s bed ticked as the hands pointed to the numbers revealing it was about 3 am. The raven haired male sat up as his pink strips in the front fell over his eyes. It was going on night three of no sleep, something Cassidy had gotten used to happening every few months or so..

With a deep sigh he got up and moved to his rolling office chair to scoot to his desk. Inside the drawer of his desk was his journal that often moved around the room with him. He opened it up with a pen nearby and began to write erratically and fast into the journal.

‘June [X] 1993. Journal. Hey, it’s me, Cassy, who else would it be??. Anyways it is going on night three of not being able to sleep. Normally night one is fine and goes by fast, then two is all about worrying and thinking, now it’s three and I just feel so… Wired! I feel like I drank multiple coffees and can do anything but also nothing since there is nothing to do right now! It’s like almost 1 am!!!! I need to get a computer like Todd’s soon to have entertainment! Or a room tv maybe? Maybe an instrument?? Even weed isnt doing the calming job it often does so I feel like Im screwed! Maybe something is just wrong with me.. Probably… When I get into these sleepless fits, I lose myself. I lose everything.’

As Cassidy wrote his handwriting got worse until it was almost illegible and he had to stop and put the pen down. He put the journal in his lap and began to move the chair across the floor to a record player nearby. He put on a random record at the top, a Dio album. He let the music fill the still and almost quiet room, besides the clocks tick that kept the beat. He made sure to keep the player volume low so no neighbors would complain.

In a swift motion he moved to shove the journal under his pillow and then wheeled his way to the altar by the window. The bright moon was shining through the slit in his curtains so he drew them open to let the moonlight beam into the room and on his altar. He loved letting the moon charge his crystals and heal his spirit.

With only the faint sound of music Cass shut his eyes to clear his mind and try to let it calm down. Although, it was not working as his brain went too fast to stop. The thoughts raced and made no sense. So he moved on to something else that could help ease him.

He lit a black candle for protection and lit a small incense cone to cleanse his tarot cards. Once cleansed he began to shuffle, shutting his eyes once more and letting the moonlight shine on him and the cards. Soon he was laying three cards face down in front of him, the past, present, and future. Cassidy then flipped each card slowly to take in their possible meaning and message from the universe.

“Past,” he narrated, “The Devil… Probably about my addictions… My self loathing and fears… Hmm.. But present, is…” he flipped the card. “The Lovers… huh.. That one is…. new. I wonder if I will actually… No, that’s stupid, moving on. My future.” With a glimmer of hope in his eye he flipped the card and his face dropped. “Death…. Yeah right, must be about change or some shit, death rarely means death.” In a quick movement of his hand he scooped up the cards and began to shuffle them back into the deck. “So I'm addicted, gonna find love, then die? Isn't that just life for everyone?” he mumbled with a hint of annoyance in his tone.

After putting away the cards and snuffing out his flame he then moved to grab his sketchbook and pencils. He did have a small couch in the room by one wall for when he wanted to lounge in a spot that wasnt his bed, like to draw. So he transferred himself onto the couch and began to lay on his stomach.

Hours of drawing went by when Cassidy snapped back to reality and noticed that the darkness outside his window was slowly changing colors as the sun was getting ready to rise. It was a lovely time of day; the only good part of being awake at this hour.

He skimmed the sketchbook only to realize all this time, he was drawing someone. He may not know what Sally looked like under the prosthetic but his pigtails and prosthetic were etched into Cassy’s brain. He admired his friend, but he wasnt ready to admit that to himself as he shut the sketchbook and hid it under his pillow with the journal. Why draw the male when he could visit him? Maybe even hang out??

So Cassidy got to his feet and took his crutches to help him as he left the bedroom to sneak through the quiet and empty living room. His grandma must still be asleep, meaning his escape was easy and he would probably go unnoticed.

The trip to Sally’s door didnt take him long even with his delayment in walking. So with a nervous and deep inhale he knocked gently on the door, but not so gently no one could hear it. He wondered if anyone would be awake or if he would have to chalk this up as a lost cause.

That was when the door opened and Sally appeared while hooking his prosthetic up in the back to secure it to his face.

“Hope I didn't wake you,” Cassidy commented.

“Not at all, I was up early watching TV. But what are you doing here?” He asked with a tired voice.

“I just wanna go out. I would say anywhere but I got a place in mind. Wanna come? I’d love to show you.”

“Sure, let me change though,” Sally told him as he left to change in his room, leaving the front door open for Cassidy to slightly peek into the apartment Sal shared with his father Henry. He had been inside before of course, eaten meals with them and hung out in Sally's room. But he still liked being a bit nosey as he wondered if anything had been moved.

While being his snooping self Sal soon returned in his average red pants and black shirt, this time a t-shirt for how warm of a summer it had been. Cassy wore his own homemade patch pants, a tank top, and a jean vest with some patches on it. He had planned on where to go today, so he avoided platform boots for once.

“Where are we going anyways?” Sally asked as if he read Cassidy’s mind about the secret hang out spot he had.

“You’ll see~” Cassy teased a bit as he led the way from the apartment building towards some train tracks. Though once Sal could see they were tracks he slowed down, clearly uncertain.

“Train tracks? What if a train comes by?” he asked.

“There hasnt been a train in years, pretty sure it was abandoned in like the 70s. I walk here all the time and thousands of times, just trust me,” Cassidy reassured Sal and it seemed to work as he walked closer to follow the slightly taller male.

Cassy never measured how long it took to get here but soon enough the two could see a small radio dispatch station made of cement and brick for the old trains that went by. As they approached they could see the old doorway was now covered with a blue tapestry that Cass had put up as a door.

“Whoa what is this?” Sally asked as Cassidy led him inside past the tapestry.

“I think it used to hold radios or communication devices for a worker to talk to conductors.. Or something like that I guess,” Cassy explained as he inspected around inside to be sure no one had found his spot or messed with it. Against one wall with the only window was a built-in desk Cassy kept most things on.

“This is actually really cool,” Sally told him as Cassidy moved the fabric folding chair over.

“I agree, but I only have one real chair since I come here alone mostly,” he admitted.

“That’s okay I can sit on a milk crate,” Sally reasoned as he moved an empty crate to sit on. Cassidy only chuckled as he sat in his chair by the desk. The desk had a CD player on it and some smoking stuff he left out here. “How did you even find this place?”

“Just wandering, following the train tracks like we did. Seemed no one had been here in a long time so I took over and kept it my secret place.”

“Dont worry, I wont tell anyone.. But, what about Larry?”

“He could come one day, I just never thought to bring him since he loves his treehouse and his home.”

“Do you not like the treehouse? Or the apartments?”

“I dont mind the treehouse, but the climb hurts a bit. Can't smoke too much in my room cause of my grandma, and I dont want to be bugging Larry too often now that we got you and Todd. I mean, I doubt Larry minded how much I hung around him since moving in, but everyone probably needs a break at some point. I’d take a break from me,” Cassy explained with a soft chuckle.

“Well I like being around you, even if it is only dawn still.”

“Yeah.. Sorry for waking you up.”

“Dont worry about it, this is a cool place. Worth the early walk. Besides, I was already awake..”

“Want to smoke with me?”

“I never really have, I mean I know you and Larry do it a lot, but I dont know how to smoke through my prosthetic yet. Doesnt seem worth it really.”

“Well I could roll you a joint that you hold under, but I won't make you, as long as you dont mind me smoking.”

“Of course not, go ahead!”

“Awesome, and the coolest thing about this place is that it still has one outlet connected to some underground power source I cant find. So my CD player actually works, pick any CD. I keep my records at home and CDs here,” Cassidy explained.

“Two music players? Lucky,” Sally teased.

“Yeah I know, the record player was my grandmas and moms that they shared; CD player was a gift I got from my mom before she… Anyways, pick some music.” Cassidy told him with his attention on the bowl and weed he was packing into it. Soon he had the bong to his lips once more to light up while Sal read different CD artists and album names.

“Hmm Meatloaf Bat Out Of Hell, or, this one's cover is cool… Uhh, I. C. P? Carnival of Carnage?”

“Hmmm Meatloaf then ICP?” Cassy suggested.

“Works for me,” Sally agreed as he popped the first disk into the music player.

While listening to music in a smoke-filled box, the sun began to rise and it sent rays of light to hit the old american flag hanging over the window at the desk. The red and blue beams made the small hang out spot look lively with color.

After almost two hours of music the second CD ended and Sally turned the player off.

“Ready to head back? I'm getting hungry and I don't want my dad to realize I left without asking him.” Sally asked.

“Yeah, let me clean up and we can go,” Cassidy told him as he started to clean up his weed and moved it all back to the built in table. When he got up he moved his chair and grabbed a hold of his crutches to help him get back easily with Sal, who was already up and waiting to leave.

The two followed the same path they took to get here, a path Cassidy had memorized since he found the hiding spot years ago.

Sure Cassidy was a slower walker than most with his crutches, none of his friends had complained about it yet. Sally even kept pace close to him, although he was shorter than most teens their age so maybe Sally was a sow walker too. Cassy wasnt going to ask, especially since they were approaching the apartments already.

On the walk the two chatted and agreed to eating at Cassidy’s first before Sally would go home. He even opened up a bit that Henry didnt seem to pay him much attention the last few years, so he doubted his father would even notice he was gone.

At the apartment they got quieter as they entered the dark living area. The apartment had three bedrooms, when you entered if you went left into the living room and past the couch you could find Cassy’s room, next to that was his grandmas. Then there was the room by the kitchen they didnt go in anymore, the room that when the two were passing it to head to the kitchen, something caused Sally’s device to start beeping.

“Is that the ghost detector you were using? You still carry it?” Cassy asked while Sally was pulling out an old Gearboy that was modified.

“Well yeah, never know when we will find more information about this strange town. Is this your grandma's room?” he asked.

“No… It was my mom’s, we dont go in since she….” Cassy trailed off, he hadnt talked about his mom too much yet.

“I.. get it.. But, maybe she is trying to make contact with us.”

“Well.. Maybe… I guess.”

“Great, come on,” Sally nodded as he held the device with one hand and opened the door with the other. Inside the two walked closer to the old bed.

Everything was exactly how she left it since Cassy couldnt come in and Nancy wasnt aware enough to anymore. The Super Gearboy began to get louder as they walked in and soon something began to form. A misty silhouette soon appeared and began to turn into an apparition of Emily Price, Cassidy’s mom. Her blonde hair was still in a ponytail like normal, her glasses on her face, and a noose around her neck. A sick reminder of what she did and could never escape from. Cassy shifted on his heels feeling uncertain about this since he hadnt really seen any spirits with his friends before, he always seemed to just miss it.

“Hello Ms. Price, Im Sal,” Sally started to speak while Cass was still stunned.

“I know hun, just cause you two havent seen me doesnt mean I havent been able to watch you some times..” she told them with a small smile. Her eyes landed on her son. “Cass, My boy..”

“M-Mom…? It… It cant really be you.” Cassidy took a step back as his mind couldnt comprehend what he was seeing. He was always a skeptic and didnt believe much of what Sally, Todd, and Larry said. Until now.

“It is Cassy, thanks to Sally’s fancy.. Thing.”

“It’s a Super Gearboy, it helps us talk to ghosts like you,” Sally explained.

“Huh, well, no time to talk about that. Cassy, I.. I’m sorry for what I did. I shouldn't have, and watching you grow up without me.. Through a door peep hole.. It.. It made me realize that,” she began but Cassidy shook his head at her.

“Mom… I.. I dont think I can do this.. It’s too much right now,” he admitted.

“But you have to know… why you act like me and what is wrong with us.”

“No I dont! I dont need anything from you when you left us!!” Cassidy argued before running the best he could with his crutches to the door. As he got out of the room and the door shut behind him he finally lost his balance falling to his knees. His crutches fell when he let them go to brace himself with his hands on the ground. While slouched over on his knees he felt the tears forming in his eyes that soon fell to the ground while he blinked them out.

Cass didnt move even when he heard the door open and close once more. While staring at the floor below him he could feel a hand touch his back, so he glanced over at Sally who was kneeling next to him.

“I.. Im sorry Cass, I didnt know,” Sally finally spoke.

“It’s okay, how could you? I never explained… But mom.. Mom didnt die by accident, she chose this. She chose to not be in my life, and that device doesnt erase that.” Cassy finally moved to sit up straight on his knees and look over at Sally better.

“Why dont we get you to bed?” Sally reasoned.

“No!!” Cass hissed, “I dont want to go to bed! I just.. I want out of this apartment.”

“We already were out, we need food, and you look like you havent slept.”

“I havent in like, three days, but that’s normal for me.”

“I dont think that's normal, why dont we get you some food and a nap.”

“It doesnt work that way, I just ride this out until I crash one day. But fine, I’ll cook you some french toast and bacon, I do enjoy cooking.” Cass finally agreed as he used one of his crutches to pull himself to his feet. Sally stood up and grabbed the other crutch before holding it out to Cassy. With a faint and thankful smile he took it before moving past him to the kitchen quietly.

“Are you sure?” Sally asked while following him. “You seem a bit…”

“A bit what? Unhinged? Weird? Crazy??”

“I was gonna say.. Erratic.”

“Well, get used to it. Now sit while I cook.”

“Have you ever thought to… see a doctor?”

“Why? So they can say I'm crazy and lock me away? Hell no. I'm not leaving grandma all alone. These phases pass, that’s life. Now, how do you like your bacon?” Cassy was speaking fast while gathering his ingredients from cabinets and the fridge.

“Not too soft but not too crispy,” Sally told him, a bit defeated on the topic.

“Me too! Great!” Once everything was gathered, Cass moved a stool to sit on when cooking. While humming random tunes, Cassy cooked the french toast and bacon on the stove for the two. Sally stayed silent; however, even with a prosthetic Cass could feel his eyes on him.

When the food was cooked and ready, Cassy plated up two plates for them and brought it to the table Sally was already sitting at. Cass sat across from him with his own plate and gave a smile to his friend.

“What if..” Sally broke the silence as Cass ate and he looked at the food. “Your mom wants you to see a doctor?”

“Then she should have stuck around to make me, easy as that.”

“Cassy…. you can't hate her for a mistake. I mean, havent you thought of…”

“I may get depressed, and I have bad thoughts of harm that I can't control… But I know better than to end everything over a feeling like she did, now eat.”

“Cassidy I just want you safe.”

“I am safe!! The meds they would give me aren't though, or the place they would lock me into!”

“Fine. Fine. But one day, we will find a doctor willing to help without taking you away. I mean, they are getting more advanced with medical research every day.”

“Can we please drop it?” Cassy had an actual plea in his voice this time.

“Fine, but your mom-” The sadness quickly shifted to anger this time as Cassy cut him off.

“Stop talking about her! Im done thinking of her,” he then got up from the table to walk a bit unsteady without help, over to a picture of him and his mom on a wall. She looked the same as the day she died but he was only 10 in the photo. His hair was brown back then, but this picture was just a painful reminder. He wanted it down long ago, but now seemed to be the right time as he moved it to a drawer under the tv. “Shes gone, we all need to move on.”

“But she isnt, people who die here stay here,” Sally tried to explain.

“I dont care, she would have done that anywhere and then what? Then she'd be gone for good, and she has been for years until you showed up. So I'm over it. You need to be too.” Cassy told him but the tears stinging his eyes showed his anger was fading again. Sally walked over to him before reaching out his arms to take him into a hug. Cassy almost pushed away but soon let himself lean into the other's body.

“It’s just.. If my mom was just on the other side of a door, I’d be ecstatic,” Sally expressed while holding him.

“But it’s me… not you.”

“Please, let me talk to Lisa about her doctor and if they can see you. For me?”

“I… I dont know. Ask her or dont, but it doesnt mean I will go…. Can we please eat?”

“Yeah, I'm sorry.”

“It’s okay Sally, I'm used to my emotions being high, it isn't your fault.” Cassy moved away from the hug first, but it didnt stop the pounding in his chest. Quietly they went back to the table to eat, Sally moving food carefully under his prosthetic to not take it off. Cassy pretended to not notice, he didnt feel like it was time to talk about the prosthetic, instead they needed to eat.

The next day, Cassy still had yet to sleep. But for now it was the middle of the afternoon and he was watching shows with his grandma. Since he didnt have a TV or computer in his room he had to sit out here for anything on TV. He didnt know what the show was, some older show that brought his grandma comfort, and it was funny at times. That was when he heard a knock at their front door.

“Come in, it’s open!” he hollered assuming it would be one of his friends. So when Sally Face came into the room he was happy to be correct.

“Sally, sweetie, nice to see you dear, are you here for Cass?” Nancy asked, looking at him for a moment.

“Yeah, nice to see you too ms. Price, hope I'm not interrupting.” As Sally spoke, Nancy turned back to the TV to stare at it blankly and in silence. She didnt have a response for Sally who was waiting for one.

“You’re not, she has her show so we can talk in my room. Come on.” Cassidy got up from the couch with only one crutch helping him today. He knew it was probably the lack of sleep but he felt like his hips werent hurting as much today. He led Sally to his room and when they were inside Sal shut the door behind him.

“Have you slept at all?” Sally asked.

“No, but that isnt why you’re here is it?”

“No, I talked to Lisa. She said her doctor is really nice and treats many patients without judgement and without just giving them too many meds. He’s taking new patients too.”

“Great,” Cassy replied with an eye roll before staring at his altar instead of Sal.

“Cass, you need to sleep or get help, you cant keep ignoring this.”

“Is that all?”

“I guess yeah…”

“Well if you cant handle me you don't have to be my friend, just go on and get out.”

“I can, I just worry about you,”

“Why?”

“Because you’re my friend! And your mom said-” Cassy cut Sally off quickly.

“No, I dont want to know. Just go and let me calm down.” Cassy held back tears once again as Sally sighed in defeat.

“Okay, but I’m still here for you,” he told him as he left the bedroom and shut the door again behind him, leaving Cass alone in the quiet room.

After a moment of racing thoughts and tears welling up Cassy threw himself on the bed and screamed into the pillow as loud as he could while still being muffled. With an overwhelming feeling of anger and sadness he began to move around on the bed and flail trying to get the energy out of him. Soon he sat up and wiped his tears from his face before yelling again, this time he began to hit at his thigh with his palm. Then he slid off the bed and onto the floor before curling up into a ball and shutting his eyes.

Next thing he knew he was leaving the apartment and outside in the parking lot. He looked at the cars there and began to jiggle each one's door handle. Locked. Locked. Locked. Locked. Locked.

Unlocked?

The car opened and Cassidy sat in the driver seat before looking around for a spare key. But who would leave a car unlocked with a key in it? Apparently this person would since he found a spare and started up the car.

Without thinking of where to go or what he was doing he was driving the car. For a while the road was clear, and the rush was exciting and just felt right. But then it happened, an animal of some kind ran into the road, or something animal like? It was so fast that he didnt know what he saw but it made him swerve. The last thing he saw was a tree before it went dark.

He woke up in a hospital bed, an oxygen tube to his nose and an IV needle in his arm. He had wires monitoring his heart rate as well stuck to him and a machine. His head hurt a bit and his body hurt more than normal too, but he didnt fully remember what happened. Last thing he was certain of was yelling at Sally.

As he thought of Sally he looked around and soon saw the blue hair he knew so well. It was currently down instead of in pigtails though, and Cassy cocked his head confused about it when Sally seemed to notice he was awake.

“You’re up.”

“I’m… up?” Cassy still felt a bit dazed.

“You were asleep for about two days, after you stole a car and crashed it. Do you remember that?”

“I… Kind of? Not really,” Cassy admitted.

“That isnt a surprise… You’re Bipolar and this is your one warning they said. The guy isnt pressing charges for the car, he said his daughter is mentally ill so he understands. When you feel ready you can go home,” Sally explained in short for now since Cassidy wasnt fully aware yet.

“I dont want to be here, let’s go,” Cassy told him and Sally sighed.

“Okay, hold on, let me call a nurse to release you,” Sally told him as he pressed the nurse button.

It didnt take long to fill out all the paperwork and get the pills he was now prescribed. They made him schedule a follow up with the doctor Lisa recommended who saw him and talked to Sal while Cassidy was asleep. Sally had to sign things as Cassidy’s grandma since she wasnt aware enough to come out and help, thankfully the doctors all looked a blind eye when Sally signed. Cass was finally released and the two were walking home in silence while Cass thought about the meds he didnt want to take.

“You couldve died you know,” Sally finally spoke up.

“What happened exactly?” Cassy asked, still a bit confused.

“You stole a car during what they first called a nervous breakdown. When a passer by found you at a tree crashed they called 911 who came to help. They claimed you were slightly conscious and just said Sally a few times. They went in your phone and found my number and called me in. They also found the car owner to come in. When I got there I requested Lisa’s doctor so you could get the proper help, and I explained the things that had been happening so that he could give you the right diagnosis.”

“Did they explain this ‘diagnosis’ to you?” Cassy asked softly.

“Yes… Bipolar is a mood disorder of high highs called Mania and low lows called Depressive episodes. You can live normal with meds and be neutral, or you can risk things like this happening again. Your mom had it too.”

“What?”

“That is what I have been trying to tell you since we saw her. She wanted you diagnosed and to get help. Start with the meds. When you get manic the meds bring you down, or that is the hope I guess. They dont have much information yet, and you werent awake to explain anything personal. But you need to take them always, especially when you feel this way.”

“Whatever… My head hurts and Im tired… I want to lay down.”

“Good, then you are coming down after being knocked out for a few days.” Sally chuckled as he held the doors for Cassy at the apartment building. They took the elevator up to his floor and Sally even helped him to his own room and into bed. It had been awhile since someone treated Cass so well that he wasnt sure how to react to this.

“Sally…” he whispered, “Im sorry.”

“Me too Cassy.. It isnt that I cant handle a friend like you, I just was worried. I mean, if your mom had it, what if you…?” Sally started to go quiet but Cass knew what he was worried about.

“I wont… Im gonna keep living, even when it is hard.” He reassured him.

“Thanks Cass. Now rest well.”

“Thanks Sally Face.”

Chapter Text

When the final bell of the year rang Cassidy was ecstatic to leave the hell of highschool and start his summer. Especially after the secrets the group of friends had found about the lunch meat and the town's secret cult. Yet people call Cass a satan worshiper for being pagan and connecting to nature?? Yeah, he’s the scary one sure.

Still, no one would ever believe them so they had to keep everything a secret and just move on from it. Now it was time to start summer again, and Cassy was actually excited!

He used his crutches to help him stand up to leave the classroom. Even though his desk was right by the door he waited for most students to leave since he knew he was just an obstacle to others here.

Because of his slow walking and crutches, his group of friends had all made it to their lockers and then gathered around Sally and Larry's lockers. Thankfully Cassy’s locker was next to Sally’s too so three out of five were near each other making it easiest to hang out here often.

As he approached and began to open his locker he could hear they were talking about summer plans.

“I’m actually going out of town, my parents are getting me from school to go on vacation today,” Ashley told them. She seemed less thrilled than most people going on a vacation, unlike Todd who was grinning wide.

“I’m going with Neil and his family on a trip to visit his grandparents! I’m so glad they’re willing to take me, it’s exciting,” Todd told them. “Although I still have not fully got my parents on board, that shouldnt be too hard.”

“Well, my mom is still not feeling well, but we dont do vacations anyways. Besides I got Cass and Sally to help me if I need,” Larry chuckled a bit.

“Of course, we got you,” Cassy told him as he was putting his backpack away and moving things to his daily satchel. That was when a sound came from Larry’s pocket, and he pulled out his new cellphone, he got his last out of everyone in the group.

“I also got a phone to help mom better. She texted me, please get juice after school, guess I wont be walking home with you guys.” Larry read out loud before chuckling.

“I actually gotta get going too, have a good summer guys, see you when Im back,” Ash told them as she was checking her cell for her parents text. She smiled as she walked away waving to the group.

“I also gotta go, see you guys,” Todd added before following to leave.

“See you guys later tonight?” Larry asked with another chuckle, this time at everyone leaving.

“Yeah, but help your mom first,” Sally told him and he nodded.

“Of course, hasta la vista,” Larry saluted them before leaving as well. As Cassidy was finishing up in his locker Sally leaned on one next to it and watched him.

“You dont have to wait for me,” Cass told him.

“Actually, I wanted to go to that hideout by the tracks with you, so things seemed to have fallen perfectly.”

“Of course we can, I'm almost ready.”

“Take your time.”

Once he was ready and had his satchel over his shoulder he shut the locker and locked it up. Sally pushed off the lockers to stand straight before they both began to leave the school like the rest of the students.

“Do you even want to go home first?” Cassy asked.

“Nah, let’s just go to the hideout,” Sally told him with a shrug of his shoulders.

“Sure, I know how to get to the train tracks from here, just a little bit longer of a walk,” Cassy told him.

The sun was out, but just like most Nockfell days it was cloudy and gray anyways. Even in summer it was often dull and still, yet very warm at the same time. The two made it to the train tracks and began following them when Sally spoke up.

“How have you been feeling? Sleeping well?” he asked.

“For the most part, I don't think I have been manic if that is what you’re asking,” Cassy replied.

“I did some research on it with Todd and some people only have a few episodes in their life, others can be sporadic often,” he admitted.

“I mean, if it’s random why bother looking into it?” Cass asked.

“It’s good to know the signs so we can make sure you dont end up hurt or in jail.”

“I guess… Can we drop this for a while? Summer just started, we need to have fun,” Cassy urged as they approached the cement hideout again.

“Fine, only because I actually brought you out here for a reason.”

“Oh yeah? Gonna kill me and hide the body?” Cassy asked and they both chuckled.

“No, not yet,” Sal joked. “I actually wanted to tell you I finally feel ready to try and smoke, I just dont know how to do it. I dont think I can with my prosthetic .”

“Well if I had any joints you could maybe hold it under but you didnt warn me so I only have the bong I keep out here, which you would need to remove the prosthetic fully.”

“That’s what I was thinking too… So I thought this private hideout would be the best place to do it.”

“Yeah man, I wont stop you. I can pack the bong and get it ready, or do you want to learn how?”

“You can, I’m just gonna sit and get ready,” Sally told him as he sat on a chair the two brought out some time last summer. He then began unhooking the back of his prosthetic with one hand. He held it to his face with the other, showing clear hesitation about taking it off. But Cassy tried to be nonchalant as he packed a bowl for his friend, not wanting to make too big of a deal out of this bonding moment.

“Alright, it’s packed,” Cassy told him as he moved his own seat close to Sal then sat in it. “You hold the bong with one hand, light the weed with the other, and inhale the smoke. Not too hard to suck up water, it isnt a straw. But dont be so soft you get no smoke of course,” he explained.

“Okay,” Sally said softly before finally moving the prosthetic and placing it on the desk near them. Cass had never seen this many scars on someone, his nose was gone and over half of his face was scarred and wounded. He never asked what happened and knew now wasnt the time either. Cass didnt look away though, instead he studied how he looked before holding out the bong to his friend. He had never fully noticed before that one of Sal’s eyes seemed to also be a prosthetic.

“It isn't as hard as it sounds,” Cassy told him as Sal took the bong and lighter from him. His eyes shifted from Cass down to the bong before he brought it close to his scarred and damaged mouth. Sally flicked the lighter's flame out before holding it to the green in the bowl piece. He took in a breath of smoke and soon pulled his face from the bong to let out a cough. Quickly Cass took action and grabbed the bong and lighter from him to put them on the desk. Sally moved his arm to cough into his inner elbow as smoke filled the air around him.

“Fuck,” Sal cursed between coughs. As he was recovering from his first hit Cassy pulled a water bottle from his satchel.

“It isnt cold but it’s water,” he told Sal as he held the water to him, which the coughing male took to take a drink from.

“Thanks,” he said softly after using the water to calm down. “I’ve never smoked anything, not even a cigarette, never saw a reason to.”

“What changed your mind? I hope Larry and I didnt pressure you.”

“Not at all, I just realized I wanted to relax a bit, nothing specific triggered this, I just felt it was time, I mean I turn 18 this december and I never smoked when my two best friends are stoners. Just seemed silly to not give it a try,” he admitted.

“Well one inhale probably wont get you high, but you also shouldnt push your lungs past what they can handle,” Cassy told him.

“I’m good, I want to try hitting it once more,” Sally said as he grabbed the bong himself. With the same position as last time he lit the bong and began to smoke like a pro this time, taking a deep inhale and releasing it into the air. He began to smile triumphantly when the coughing hit and took over, making him hunch over once again. With a chuckle Cassy took the bong again, this time lighting the last bit of weed and ash in it to clear it out himself. As he released the rest of the smoke from his lungs he spoke with a smile.

“Hopefully that hits you, you almost looked like a real stoner, and hey even real stoners cough at times,” Cassy complimented as he watched Sally’s smile grow. He had never seen his real smile before, his prosthetic was nice but it always looked so blank, no expression at all. It wasnt Cassy’s forte to read expressions anyways, but he still was happy to see his friend's face for the first time. In fact, he felt a leap in his chest as he thought about the trust Sally was showing him without words. Could this feeling be something more… romantic?

“Think we’ll ever stop this cult?” Sally suddenly asked, his words bringing Cass back to reality.

“Who knows, I mean, I would like to hope we do but can we really expect to unravel years of mysteries and weird phenomenons?” Cassy shrugged a bit.

“I guess you’re right, but I just hope we can stop more people from dying.”

“That’s a nice hope to have, but I tend to just take things day by day, not wanting to think too much on stuff like the cult or Mrs Packerton and what she was doing.”

“I guess, what about the ghosts? Still dont want to see your mom?”

“Of course not, besides I wont live in that apartment forever so why get used to her presence?” Cassy pointed out. It seemed to be enough to quiet Sal for a bit, letting the two rest in silence other than the sounds of animals and wind outside the hideout.

They didnt keep track of time before heading back to the apartments when the sun was starting to set. They didnt really want to walk home in the dark, not that either of their guardians paid attention to where they went anymore.

Once at the apartments and on the elevator Cassy got off on his floor giving a wave to his masked friend who was heading up to his own floor. In the apartment his grandma was watching TV that was on a random car commercial. Not something Cass felt he needed to pay attention to as he was walking towards his room. That was until the commercial said something that triggered a thought for Nancy.

“What a nice new car you got there Emily!” the actor in the commercial said and it was like a light turned on in her brain. She looked aware and conscious as she looked over to Cass.

“Cass! New Car, Emily,” she said softly as she was piecing things together. “Here!” she grinned as she grabbed her purse and pulled out a pair of keys. She held them out to Cass who looked at the keys confused.

“What is this grandma?” he asked.

“Your mom had a van from her teen years she kept in storage for you, I have the key still,” she explained. “One key is for the van, the other opens the storage unit in town.”

“What? You and mom never mentioned a van.”

“Van? What van?” she asked as Cassy realized she was slipping again. So he took the keys from her and nodded.

“Nothing grandma,” he said as she turned back to the TV to watch whatever was on it. He shoved the keys in his pocket and decided to not waste time and just walk to the storage unit. With Lisa and Larry’s help he did have a license for emergencies, but he never had his own vehicle.

When he made it to the storage unit he showed the worker the key that had the unit number on it and she took him to the unit to find an amazing purple Volkswagen transporter Van. Cassidy’s eyes widened as he looked at it while the worker held out a clipboard of paperwork.

“Ms. Emily Price set up years of payments but you are in luck, the unit was supposed to expire this year in September,” she told him.

“I turn 18 in September, she probably hoped I would have the van by then. Man I’m glad grandma remembered today,” he chuckled a bit. “We don't need the unit after today,” he added.

“Sure, just sign here and here and initial here,” she said, giving him the clipboard and a pen, so he did as told. “Also here, this envelope is all important documents that your mom left with it. We told her we dont hold paperwork but she begged and my boss was too kind to tell a dying woman no.”

“Dying woman?” Cassy asked.

“Yeah, she said she had a terminal illness and knew her son would need all of this one day but no one could be trusted,” the woman explained. “I actually had only worked here a few months so I had to get my boss to make the call.”

“My mom killed herself. As far as I know the only illness she had was mental,” Cassy told her honestly.

“Huh.. Well the van and paperwork is yours now so I guess legally it doesnt matter how she died… But, I am sorry for your loss.”

“Yeah.. Thanks,” Cass said softly as the woman then walked away. He stepped closer to the van to inspect it, he opened up the driver's door and sat down. It had an old air freshener with no smell shaped like a flower hanging on the mirror. There was also a CD player in the radio system that seemed like it was probably new when she put the van in storage almost 6 years ago. He looked in the consoles to find some CD’s and a few old pictures from his childhood of him and his mom.

As he looked at everything in the car he began to tear up, did she know this would happen? That he would get the van one day and see how much effort she put into her own death? That she must have been planning this longer than just a few hours like he always believed.

Chapter Text

The school year was nearing its end and summer was coming up, something the group always looked forward to. But for once, something more exciting was happening during the end of the school year.

Prom.

Now this wasnt some party for the group to drink and hook up at, no this was a big opportunity for their little group. Why? Well over the school year the group tried to find a way to cope with some of the things they had seen.

One day Cassy decided to buy a drum set to help with his emotions and found comfort in the music. That led to Sally playing guitar with him often since he was also already using music to cope. When they showed the others of the group Ash informed them she knew piano and loved to sing, then Larry spoke of the bass guitar his dad left him that he knew a bit of. Todd and Neil were not as interested in being part of the band, but Todd did take it upon himself to book their one and only gig.

Prom.

The group auditioned with many other bands, and normally they were more on the edgy side, they did learn some popular music for the dance. Of course the judging committee took their time to pick a band but when it was time, Todd got the call that they were picked as the band for Prom.

They were given a list of songs they had to learn along with rules to follow for any songs they wanted to play not on the list such as no cursing or songs about death.

Every day that the prom got closer the group hung out in Ashley’s garage to practice. Her mom and dad didnt mind the noise and even liked that they were playing Prom. On top of that Ashley’s little brother Ben was one of their biggest fans, always sitting in the garage to watch them play.

Besides the fun of making music as a group, Cassy had found his mind being distracted more and more once again. Ever since last summer, seeing Sally without his prosthetic, they had been closer than ever. They smoked together often and Sal was even getting more comfortable being maskless for no reason if he wanted a break.

Of course Cassidy argued with himself over this often, he was not ready to admit to himself he had a crush on his best friend. Then again Todd and Neil were going strong and Larry had admitted to his two friends about his crush on Ash, so it seemed like everyone was starting to date or get crushes. They were all juniors about to go onto their senior year after the coming up summer so maybe it was time to grow up a bit. Maybe if they were going to Prom normally instead of playing the dance, he could have planned to confess feelings to Sal.

But they werent going as guests, they had to focus on the music and learn every song that was popular enough to be wanted. It was a long list of songs but thankfully he had a stool at his drumset and was glad to have the one instrument that took no standing.

“Alright, let’s run through I wanna know what love is again, that is the big opener of the night, it needs to be perfect,” Sal told them as he stood with his red guitar. Ash was their lead singer but when they needed a male voice Cass was the other singer. Sal was too insecure and Larry hated singing which only left him, good thing he liked to sing.

“Okay,” Cassy agreed looking at Ash who gave a nod of being ready. He hit his drum sticks together to make a beat as he counted. “One, two, three,” he then began to play the drums as Ash started with her electric piano. Soon enough he was singing and playing while the other two members joined in with their instruments.

Sitting on a couch in the garage was their small personal audience of Todd, Neil, and Ben. Thankfully Cass didnt get stage fright, if they couldnt play for three people how would the group play in front of most of their class?

“I wanna know what love is… I want you to show me,” Cassy sang as his eyes moved from the drums over to Sally. He barely even noticed he was leering at him while singing. “I wanna feel what love is… I know you can show me.”

When the song was over they all stopped playing naturally and heard the clapping of their little audience, it brought a small smile to Cassidy’s face as he looked over at the couch of cheering fans.

“You guys got this, I wish I could go to your prom,” Ben complimented with a wide smile.

“Dont worry, I already got confirmation we can set up a camera to record this and remember forever, you can watch it when we have the tape Ben,” Todd told him.

“I guess, but you two will get to see them live,” Ben replied.

“Speaking of, do you all have outfits for the prom? I mean just because you wont be dancing doesnt mean you cant look good,” Todd added.

“I have my dads old suit he got married in, mom is searching for it, said it’s perfect,” Larry told them.

“I was gonna wear this purple dress I got for a wedding for my aunt,” Ash added.

“Ooo the purple one with the glitter and lace?” Ben asked, clearly he had seen the dress before.

“That’s the one,” Ash agreed.

“I have always wanted to wear a nice dress for something like this,” Sally admitted.

“I think we’re around the same size, wanna see some of my dresses?” Ash asked.

“Yeah, I would love that, save me some money,” Sally agreed.

“And you Cass? Neil and I got our suits weeks ago,” Todd chimed in.

“I uh… I am not sure… I mean, I dont have anything formal so I could always buy a simple suit,” he shrugged his shoulders.

“My dad is a tailor and made our suits,” Neil began, “I could ask him to make you one too.”

“I would hate to impose,” Cassy started to argue.

“I insist! You can come over and he can measure you,” Neil told him and Cassy only shrugged.

“Sure, it’s easier than shopping. Now can we get back to the actual music instead of dress up?” he asked with a soft laugh.

“Alright, let’s do The time of my life, that and when I come around are the two we are struggling with the most,” Sally said.

“I almost got it I promise,” Larry told him as they got into position with their instruments.

“One, two, three,” Cassy counted in once again.

The night of prom Cassidy could feel his heart racing fast. He was in his bedroom in front of his mirror looking at the simple black suit Neil’s father made for him. The bow tie he wore was pink like some of his hair to have a pop of color. He had yet to see any of his friends' outfits but he was supposed to drive Larry and Sal to the dance in his van. Thankfully they already set up their instruments that morning so they wouldnt have to lug anything with them.

When he left his room he had a cane in hand, this one was more old school and fancy to fit the formal look, but it didnt help his pain as much as his crutches did. At least he would be sitting at his drums all night.

“Ohh Cassy, your first dance, you look so cute. Are you going with your girlfriend?” Nancy asked from the couch as he walked to the door to leave. But then he stopped with a look of confusion on his face.

“What girlfriend grandma?” he asked since she had never said that word to him before.

“Sally, she’s over all the time,” she giggled like it was obvious. He was unsure if he should correct her or be honest.

“We’re all going as a group of friends, and we’re playing the music,” he told her again, even though he had explained this before.

“Well have fun, dont do anything I wouldnt,” she told him before picking up the remote to flip through channels. Her eyes got more glossy and blank each day, like a doll with no thoughts. The blue of her eyes had faded to be more gray as well, making him wonder how her vision was doing.

“Thank you grandma,” he said softly. He didnt want to think of her mental state tonight, tonight was about music. He was supposed to go up to Sally’s apartment to get him, then they’d get Larry and all go to his van, which he lovingly named Iris from shakespeare.

At Sally’s apartment he knocked on the door which opened to reveal Sally with his hair pulled back into a ponytail wearing a black dress that looked decently androgynous on him. It was plain, yet he was still lovely in it. Cass could feel his heart racing as he stared at his friend.

“Ready to rock this prom?” Sally asked and Cass nodded.

“Of course! It’s gonna be great,” he agreed as he pulled his eyes away from Sal to lead them back to the elevator.

“Neil’s dad made you a great suit,” Sally commented.

“Yeah Mr. Douglas did great, if I dont grow too much I could rewear it even,” Cassy agreed. When the elevator opened up at the basement Larry was already on the other side of the doors in a powder blue suit that did not fit his vibe.

“Woah Larry, very blue,” Sally pointed out as Larry got on the elevator and hit the button to go up.

“I know, it was my dad’s from when he married my mom. She says it was in style then, and maybe I would like it if it was on someone else,” Larry replied as he sighed.

“It doesnt look bad! I bet Ash will love it even,” Sal comforted.

“You think?” Larry asked with a hint of actual excitement.

“Yeah she loves unconventional styles, and every other guy will probably be in black,” Sally told him.

“Maybe, but maybe I will also just stick out.”

“We’ll be on a stage, we will all stick out,” Cassy reminded and it seemed to ease Larry a bit as the trio left the apartment building to the van in the parking lot.

It had almost been a full year since he found out about Iris, which meant he had the van exactly how he wanted it for now. He mainly added things like buttons and patches to the ceiling, along with cute curtains on the windows. He always claimed if he had the money he would remove the back seats to replace with a small bed, but that was not an easy thing to do. Plus he wasnt in a hurry to move out, he just wanted another place to smoke really.

The trio had an unspoken seating chart of Cass driving his own Van of course, Sally up front next to him, and Larry would chill in the back like he was in a personal limo. None of them ever thought that they'd afford a vehicle before graduation, so now that they had one Cass didnt mind being a driver. It did mean they could all go out more and further, especially since Ash didnt live in the apartments. Todd rode with them often too, but for Prom he spent the day getting ready at Neil’s with him.

Since Sally had shotgun, he was the music player as well. He would make sure CDs were ready and they didnt have a dull moment, though Cass and sometimes Larry supplied the CDs.

Because they were the band they had to be at the venue earlier than the actual dance started, however they did not have to pay to be here, in fact they were getting a small payment themselves for playing. Not a big one since it was a school prom, but the PTA board argued they had to be paid for their time. Unknown to the school the small band agreed they would have done this for free, but payment was always nice.

When Cassy got them to the venue it was at a fancy hotel that had a banquet hall big enough for the small schools top two grades to have a prom. The outside entrance had a big banner saying ‘1995 Nockfell High Prom!’

Once parked the trio got out of the van to see Ash sitting on the steps of the hotel waiting. When she spotted them she stood up and walked closer to them. Her hair was up in an interesting bun, leaving some pieces of hair sticking out like little spikes and having a few star clips added.

“Wow Ash, you look amazing,” Larry said quickly when he saw her, he rushed over to the stairs as Cassy and Sally took their time to catch up. They couldnt hear all of the conversation until they were actually at the stairs.

“Ready to go in? I didnt want to go alone,” Ash admitted.

“Yeah,” Sally agreed as Cassy leaned on the railing of the stairs.

“Maybe we can practice one last song before the prom is open for students,” Cassy added as the group began to ascend the stairs. Cassidy was struggling slightly at first, since he was not used to his cane. But soon he felt a hand on his free hand and he looked to see Sally had taken it.

“You okay? I got you,” he said softly as he helped Cass balance while climbing the stairs.

“Thanks,” Cassy said softly as he felt heat rise in his cheeks. Sure he was being friendly but they were holding hands in a way. However it did end when they made it to the top of the stairs.

“That sign says the prom is in that room,” Ash read as she pointed and the group followed her to the hall.

It was decorated for the theme of ‘A Night Under The Stars’ which was the most cliche theme to have. There were balloons and lights and many fake stars along with a snack table and a punch bowl. Something they would probably not bother with since they would be on stage all night. Which meant the next thing to do was check out the stage they had left their instruments on. Since they were here last the tech and sound team had hooked up mics and speakers for their instruments.

“Let’s practice Time of my life for the last time before the dance,” Ash suggests as Cassy put his cane on the ground behind the stool and sat at his drums. While he did that the other two agreed while getting their guitars.

“Alright, one, two, three,” Cassy counted in and they began the song for their last practice.

Prom went well, then again it would be hard to mess up when they had practiced every song multiple times a day for a few months now. They played their music and everyone seemed to like it, including clapping and cheering for them. At the end of the night they were starting to put their instruments back into cases when a girl came up to them before tapping Cassy on the shoulder specifically.

“Uhh yeah?” Cass asked, he kind of recognized her as the winner of prom queen tonight.

“You guys played amazing! We’re having an after party in a nice suite upstairs and we want all of you to come if you guys can, you can clean up of course first it is going to go as long as it can! Room 866,” she told them before winking. “Hope to see you,” she added before turning away and joining a group of popular students who were leaving the banquet hall.

“Were we just invited to a party?” Larry asked.

“Oh wow, that was Kathleen Duke, she is like the head cheerleader and most popular girl. She wants us at her after party?” Ash chimed in.

“Apparently,” Cass confirmed.

“We have to go!! We may never get invited to a real highschool party again,” Ash told them and they all kind of looked at each other.

“I'm in,” Larry told them, then again he would probably follow Ash anywhere.

“I’ll go if you do,” Cassy told Sally who shrugged.

“Fuck it, let’s go after we pack the instruments up in Iris,” Sally agreed.

It didn't take long for them to pack up and get their stuff put in the back of the van; they also ran into Todd and Neil who were staying in their own hotel room tonight. Todd complimented their show once again and had his video camera packed up and ready to be checked out tomorrow.

When they were ready to head up to the room Larry let Ash use his phone to tell her parents she was going home with some friends, which wasn't a complete lie. As a group they made their way back into the hotel and took the elevator up to the room they were invited to. Cassy felt a bit nervous, but he was pretty certain they all were.

The group of four found the suite with the same room number they were given, but at first no one knocked. Cassy and Sally were for sure not going to be the ones to knock and Larry seemed more calm than them, but still not as ready as Ash. She grinned with excitement as she looked at her nervous friends before knocking on the door.

“Yeah?” a voice questioned while the door opened to reveal a guy in a suit but still wearing his varsity coat over it, probably to show off his status in the school.

“Hey, Kathleen invited us, we’re the band,” Ashley told him and his face lit up.

“Aww sweet! The party’s already going, come in and have fun,” he told them as he moved to let them all walk into the large hotel suite. It was a bit surprising, Cassy always had nightmares that he would get tricked into going to a joke party where everyone stared at him or worse, they dump blood on him like Carrie. But as the group walked closer to the small kitchen area of the suite, no one was staring, no one even cared to look at them.

“We didnt get to dance at prom, Larry, dance with me?” Ash said as they were near the kitchen but still close to the dancing going on in the living area of the suite.

“Uh, sure, yeah,” Larry agreed as Ash took his hand to drag him over to the dancing students. That left Cassy and Sally near the table of drinks both alcoholic and not.

“Want a drink?” Cassy asked.

“Im not sure, I never had alcohol before and it isnt easy to drink with the prosthetic,” Sal replied as he stared at the drink table.

“Me neither… We could just have some punch?” Cassy suggested as he stepped closer and began filling a cup with the purplish punch in a bowl.

“I guess… I uh, I will admit I feel weird here,” Sal replied as he stepped closer to Cass who was scanning the table before finding a bag of straws.

“Me too, but hey, they got straws,” Cass told him as he put the straw in the cup and held it over to Sal. Sally took the cup and pushed the straw under his prosthetic to sip at the sweet drink.

“Thanks,” Sally said when he was done sipping at the punch before holding it out for Cass to take. “I’m just glad no one is staring at me,” Sal finally admitted softly.

“I think everyone is too focused on drinking or getting laid,” Cass tried to be reassuring, he doubted anyone even noticed they had joined the party.

The two moved around the room slowly over the night with their punch. Sometimes they watched others dance, sometimes they watched them play drinking games, they even played one round of cards for a normal game with some students they hadnt talked to before tonight. They also talked to Larry who said he wouldn't be riding home with them, he was going to stay here all night with Ash in one of the rooms. As it got later they didnt bother watching the clock, they were here to have fun.

The two were now on a couch that was moved near the dining table where people were playing another drinking game. Their cup was empty, but Cass wanted to sit for a moment with Sally who had yet to leave his side.

“Are you having fun?” Cassy finally asked him.

“Yeah.”

“You sure? You still seem quiet.”

“I just… dont want to leave your side, I mean, I dont want to be alone here,” Sally admitted. Cass told himself he was just nervous, but he also had a small hope that maybe Sal was feeling something too? Of course he felt way too unsure about it to bring it up, instead he smiled at his friend.

“I wont leave you alone, I’m here,” he confirmed as he put his hand on Sal’s gently. He didnt know if Sal would read this as platonic or not, but it was as much of a move as he could muster at this time. Maybe if he had drank like others? Then again he also wanted to be able to drive him and Sal home from this place.

“How late do you want to stay here?” Sally asked as if reading Cassidy’s mind.

“I dont care, I didnt drink so we can leave at any time really,” Cassy told him, slightly hoping to leave soon.

“Can we go now?” Sal asked, his face hidden of course but his voice sounding a bit embarrassed to ask.

“Yeah, let’s go,” Cassy agreed before standing up. When Sally did the same they began to walk towards the door when a voice yelled out.

“Where are you two going!? Dont you want to play spin the bottle?” the cheerleader who invited them giggled as she came over to grab both of their hands.

“No thank you, but we had fun,” Cass stated as he pulled his hand away and took Sal’s free hand to pull him towards the door. Kathleen seemed to pout but she didnt go after them as they left the suite and headed to the elevator. When they were in the van Cassy started it up when he noticed Sal was facing him.

“I’m hungry, are you?” Sally asked.

“I could eat,” Cass answered as he looked at the time, he only knew of one place that was open late since it was 24 hours. “Been out to Papa’s Burger Bar since moving here?”

“I havent been there but when we first moved dad brought their takeout home often. He doesnt anymore,” Sally admitted.

“Then let’s go, they’re 24 hours but often dead after midnight.” Cassy began to pull out of the hotel parking lot, it was a little after 3 in the morning so he hoped they were empty for Sal to feel comfortable eating.

“I dont know, I havent eaten in a restaurant in years.”

“I’ll be there with you, and it should only be the night worker, last time I was there this late there was only one worker and he was busy reading a book when not working.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course. Besides, we can take it to go if we really need to, but I love the calm diner after midnight.”

When they got to the small diner with a neon sign Cassy parked in the parking lot that had no other cars but there was a bike locked to the bike rack. Cassidy got out of the van and waited for Sal to do the same before he locked it up. Sure the diner was empty but he always had his van locked, better safe than sorry.

“I’m still unsure about this,” Sally mumbled as they walked to the doors together.

“Just trust me,” Cassy reasoned and it seemed to work. Cass opened the door that rang a bell and he held it open for Sally.

“Hey Cass, what brings you by so late?” The worker with a book behind the counter greeted them as they both walked up to him.

“Prom night, thought we’d get some food after,” Cass told him.

“Well nice to see you, and who is this? Your girlfriend?” he asked as he looked over at Sal.

“No no, just my friend,” Cassy told him as his face got a bit pink at the idea.

“Alright, well seat yourselves and I’ll come take your order in a moment,” the worker chuckled as he fixed his apron. Cassy led Sally to a booth table to sit at by a window.

“He seems nice,” Sally said softly.

“Yeah, he’s worked here for years, I think it was his first job and he just stayed,” Cass told him while looking at the menu at the table. “I think I already know what I want,” he admitted since he had been here a lot.

“Oh yeah? What?” Sal asked while reading his menu.

“A cheeseburger, a milkshake, and some chili fries, that’s what I normally get.”

“Sounds good, how is their chili? Chili is often hit or miss for me.”

“I like it, plus it’s made in house and not frozen, we could split the fries if you want.”

“Yeah sure, I think I’ll get a burger too.” As Sal was deciding for sure the worker came over with a notepad.

“Ready yet?” He asked.

“Yeah, I want a cheeseburger, no tomatoes or pickle, a strawberry milkshake, and a large side of chili fries,” Cassy ordered first.

“And I want a burger plain, like nothing on it, not even cheese,” Sally ordered while the worker was writing on his paper.

“Anything to drink?” he asked Sal.

“How about just water,” Sally added.

“Got it, I’ll get working on that and have it out soon,” the worker smiled before walking away to the kitchen.

“Plain huh?” Cassidy asked him.

“Yeah, I am a bit picky, I mean I always was but it got worse since The Bologna Incident last year,” he admitted.

“I get that, I can be seen as picky too, but not always. Plus I have been trying to expand my palate.”

“You were right that it’d be empty here, but what about the waiter? He wont mind if I take off my.. prosthetic?”

“Of course not, he’s cool, and you can wait until the food comes so he has no reason to come over.”

“And… you, dont mind?”

“What?? Of course not! Hell if you wanted to give up on wearing the prosthetic forever I would still be on your side.”

“I could never do that, people judge the prosthetic, but they judge my scars more….”

“Well I would never judge you. And I know our friends wouldnt either.” As Cass reached out to touch his hand comfortingly, he was stopped by the waiter coming back with a tray of plates and a cup. He placed the two burgers in front of them then the plate of fries then the shake.

“Enjoy, when you want to pay come see me,” he told them before walking away again as Cass moved a napkin to his lap. He glanced up at Sal who slowly reached behind his head to unlatch the prosthetic. Soon he was placing it on the table by him as his good eye shifted to meet Cassy’s gaze.

“Thanks, Cassy.” Sally mumbled as Cass sipped at his shake.

“No need to thank me.”

After eating, chatting, and paying for their meal, the two headed back to the apartments in the van. They walked together as well until Cass had to get off the elevator on his own floor. When he got to his apartment he used his key to open the door; the living room was empty and quiet. His grandma must have gone to bed which was a good thing, he hated when she stayed up too late by accident.

While Cass was shutting off all of the lights and the TV he heard a knock at his front door. He furrowed his eyebrows confused on who would be here this late, but still he went and opened the door to see Sally.

“Hey, forget something?” Cass asked.

“Yeah.. I uh, didnt get my house key and I think my dad is passed out. I knocked a bunch but no answer. I wasnt sure where else to go,” Sally admitted, staring down at the floor.

“Oh damn, well come in, you can stay the night in my room if you want,” Cassy offered as Sally entered the apartment. Cass shut and locked the door as Sally had his arms wrapped around himself. “Let’s go pick out some pajamas in my room.”

Cass led him to his room and they quietly went through his pajama drawer to pick out some pants and band shirts. Sally changed in the bathroom connected to the room while Cass changed in the bedroom. When he was ready Sally knocked on the bathroom door just in case.

“You decent?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Cassy confirmed as Sally came back into the room. He had removed his prosthetic and was holding it before he walked over to Cass and looked around the room. “Want the bed or the couch? I’ll admit the bed is comfier, and you get first pick.”

“Umm I’ll take the couch, I dont want to impose,” Sally told him as he walked over to the small couch and placed the prosthetic on a small night stand by it that held a lamp. “Thank you again for letting me stay here.”

“Any time Sally, now get some rest.”

Chapter Text

(I shall be making up ride names for the rides at the fair in this chapter!)

Graduation felt like the best thing to happen to the group of teens, on top of that Nockfell was having a fair this year for the summer. It was their first time doing this and no one knew where the idea or money came from besides the mayor, but signs and posters had been up since the start of May advertising the upcoming festival.

Summerween. June 1st-9th. Open every day from 10 am to midnight, fireworks each night at midnight to close the night.

The idea is that it is all spooky and Halloween themed, especially since even summer has a dark vibe to it in this town. There will be rides, haunted houses, fortune tellers, games, music, snacks and shops, and people are encouraged to dress up like it is Halloween.

Cassy didnt know how he felt about the festival, on one hand it would probably be fun and could be a nice tradition for the town, on the other it seemed like something that would only be fun for one or two days, not a little over a whole week. On top of that he was having troubles sleeping again even with his meds. Which did mean maybe having something to do until midnight every night could be distracting.

It was June 1st, a Saturday, around noon when Cassy pulled up to the parking area for the fair with a van full of friends. Up front with him was Sally like always, and in the back was Larry and Ash who had been together and inseparable since prom last year.

The group offered to drive Todd and Neil but Neil got a nice car for his birthday and wanted to drive them separately. Speaking of, Cass could see that the new car was parked semi close to them already. As the group got out they could see Todd and Neil getting out of their own ride.

“Todd! Neil!” Ash yelled as she waved to them with one hand, holding Larry’s hand with the other. They came over to greet them and so that the group could wait in the ticket line as all together.

“Hey guys, great timing, looks like the line isnt too terribly long,” Todd said, he was dressed as a vampire with Neil being a werewolf.

“Yeah, it is the first day so most people probably came to check it out,” Larry pointed out, he was dressed as Danny from Grease matching with Ash who was Sandy. Although Ash was more into the Johnny Depp movie Cry-Baby she felt Grease was more recognizable for a costume festival.

“A line wont kill us,” Sally told them, he was dressed as Jason from Friday the 13th with a mask he got just for this.

“Well let’s go then,” Cassy agreed as he locked up the van and adjusted his crutches to lead his friends to the ticket line. Cass dressed as the phantom of the opera, which meant for once Sal wasnt the only masked member of the group.

The group bought day pass wristbands that let them ride any ride as much as they wanted and go anywhere on the fairgrounds for one flat rate price. The only other things that needed money now were food and games. Inside the fenced in grounds they looked around at the many rides that looked dangerous yet thrilling.

“Man what do we even want to start with?” Todd asked.

“I want to play some games!” Ash told them.

“I want to get a snack before I do anything, we didnt eat yet,” Neil added.

“What if we ate, then played games to let our stomachs settle, then we check out the rides? We have all day after all,” Cassidy suggested. Sure they could also all split up into couples leaving Cassy with Sally, and he would not complain about that, but they also all came here to have fun as a group.

“That works for me,” Sally replied.

“Me too,” Ash agreed.

“And us,” Todd said for both him and Neil..

“I’m down to do anything, just glad we’re here,” Larry agreed too and it was decided.

So as a group of six they wandered to the concession area with food stalls lined up of all kinds. There were so many options to choose from: burgers, hot dogs, fries, pizza, tacos, soup in bread bowls, pulled pork, and even ramen, and that was just the savory food! The amount of sweets from their own stalls or being a side thing at the other food stalls meant that any one with a sugar crave would be happy here.

The group split up into couples once more since Larry and Ash wanted pizza, Todd and Neil wanted ramen, and Cass and Sally each had a sweet tooth to satisfy so they stood in line together for the dessert stall with the most choices.

When they all met up at a picnic table with a purple umbrella Larry and Ash had their shared pizza, Todd and Neil had their own separate bowls of food, Sally had some funnel cake, and Cassy had a piece of apple pie with ice cream and caramel sauce.

“No real food? Just sweets?” Todd asked the two with dessert.

“This seemed like the easiest thing to eat with the mask,” Sally admitted.

“And I wanted pie and ice cream, it is a special after graduation celebration after all!” Cassy chuckled a bit.

“Fair points from both of you,” Todd chuckled back with defeat as everyone began to dig into their food.

Cassy’s mask didnt cover his mouth to mess with eating at all, but Sally seemed to eat by shoving food up and under the mask again. They were in public afterall and Sally never took his prosthetic off in a public setting, so why would he take the costume mask off?

The group idly chatted as they ate, mainly about graduation and their plans for after school. Ash wanted to go to college for art, but she also wanted to sort some personal things out first; Larry would go anywhere Ash went and wanted to go to college himself too. Todd already applied to some and was awaiting acceptance from anywhere while Neil was given scholarship offers for many places, so he was waiting to see where Todd went like Larry was with Ash. Sally wanted to take a break for a while, just feel life out. Ever since Cass got diagnosed with bipolar Sally was seeing a doctor too about his PTSD and he found out he also had depression himself, something he only shared with his friend group, not even his father yet.

That left Cassidy, who had high hopes of going to college one day, maybe for art or music or even something where he could teach or help others, he didnt have his mind made up which was why he hadnt applied anywhere. All he knew was he wanted to do something with his life one day, they all wanted to do something it seemed. Even if that something was to just get better and keep going.

When all the food was eaten and all the future plans were discussed, the group moved on to throwing everything away and cleaning up the table they had occupied.

They moved on to the game area, which had tents for the games such as dart balloons, ring toss, a water gun game, bowling, basketball, fake shooting, and more. First they all played some competitive games like the water gun race, basketball, the strong man bell and hammer, and a bobbing for apples that Sally and Cass did not join in, one for mask reasons the latter for sanitary worries.

However the group soon approached a booth that Larry pointed out to them. As he did some people were playing at it, shooting realistic fake guns that made a loud sound as they did.

“Dude look! A shooting game! It’s like using a real hunting gun,” he exclaimed as he rushed over with Ash in hand. Todd and Neil joined them and Cassy began to follow when he noticed Sal standing still facing the booth. He went to say something to Sal when he noticed his eye under the mask wider than average.

“Hey, you okay?” Cassy asked softly as he got closer to his friend. Sal stayed silent before his head slightly shook a no. “What is it?”

“I… I cant play this game,” Sally mumbled as he took a small step backwards. The group of four already paid and were looking at the realistic fake shotguns, each one inspecting how they were carved and how they felt in their hands.

“You guys coming?” Larry finally asked as he looked over to the two.

“I actually need to use the restroom and Sal is gonna help me find it, you guys play, meet us by the ferris wheel next okay?” Cassy told them, taking the initiative to remove Sal from whatever seemed to be causing him to freeze.

“Alright, see you guys,” Larry replied as the group all lined up their guns and the man began to count down.

“Let’s go,” Cass whispered to Sal as he began to walk away. Sally was frozen for another moment before he turned to follow Cassy, but soon they both heard the shots from the fake yet realistic guns.

“Ahh!” Sally whimpered out a fearful yell as he ducked down and covered his face. But he didnt fall, instead he kept moving forward with Cass as they quickly left the gaming area as a whole.

When they were at the nearest bench Cassy motioned to it for him and Sally. “Let’s sit, come on,” he urged and Sally did as told quickly. He seemed to be trembling slightly still as Cassy sat next to him. Cassy was silent as Sal breathed heavier than normal and faced down at the ground. Cass soon gently placed his hand on the other’s hand that rested on the bench. Sal turned and looked at Cass before letting out a deep sigh like exhale.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered.

“Dont be, are you okay though?” Cass asked and Sal nodded at first.

“I am now,” he reassured.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Cassy asked.

“Not really, I’m sorry. I’m still working this out with my new psychiatrist but I have PTSD with certain sounds, and guns are one of them…”

“You dont have to explain if you dont want to, guns are scary, end of story,” Cass reassured as his thumb gently rubbed across Sal’s knuckles absentmindedly.

“Did you want to play though? You shouldnt have had to leave for me.”

“And be the 5th wheel when I could be with you? I dont think so,” Cass told him with a smile.

Sal stayed quiet as he looked into Cassy’s eyes. He moved his hand to gently let their hands connect better for a moment. Their hands lingered together, as they let the moment speak for them. However, it must have worried Sal since he soon pulled away and stood up from the bench.

“We should meet them at the ferris wheel,” he said softly.

“Right,” Cass agreed as he stood up with his crutches.

At the ferris wheel the two friends were the first ones to arrive. They moved to a seat near the line entrance to wait for their friends, it was quiet between them as Cassidy’s mind raced and heart pounded.

“Hey, earlier when you-” Cass began before they heard Ashley’s voice.

“There you guys are! The rides here look horrifyingly cool dont they?” she yelled as they all approached them. Sally stood up fast from the bench this time and Cass once again was left unsure of how to read any of these situations.

“Some of them look like they will break instantly,” Larry chuckled a bit.

“Statistically some of them could break, but most shouldnt at the same time,” Todd told them.

“Not sure if the fear makes it worse or better,” Larry replied.

“Some of them look too fast for my mask straps, I worry I will lose my costume,” Sally finally admitted. “But I want to try the ferris wheel,” he added.

“Yeah but the wheel would be best when it is just a bit darker, then it’ll be all lit up!” Ash argued at first, “but you dont have to ride anything you dont want to, dont want you losing your mask, but maybe you could hold it on?”

“Maybe,” Sal finally agreed and Ash excitedly clapped.

“Alright, what to ride first?” Ash thought out loud.

“I want to try the spin bowl,” Neil told them first.

“I like the look of the octopus next to it,” Todd added.

“Let’s try those two first then!” Larry said and soon the two sets of couples were off to the two rides they saw, Neil leading the way. Cassy got up from the bench and began to slowly follow as he noticed Sally waiting and watching him.

“You okay?” Cass asked.

“Just waiting, come on, this will maybe be fun… or a disaster,” Sally said softly as the two began to catch up to their friends who were all walking backwards to watch them besides Neil.

The spin bowl was a standing ride that spun letting the force press the person on the wall, so they were able to get Sally in line with the promise he could hold the mask and it shouldnt fall off anyways if he looks forward.

On the ride they stood in the order Neil, Todd, Larry, Ash, Sally, Cassidy, then the rest of the ride had strangers packing the place from older people to others they had seen at the school before. Sally quickly put his hand on the Jason mask on his face as the lights began to count down to tell them when the ride would start. When the last light lit up green the ride began to spin, picking up speed faster than any of them expected.

Cassy had to leave his crutches with the ride attendant at the gate sadly, but that meant his hand was free next to him when he felt Sal’s grip onto his tightly. He looked over at Sally but he was looking forward holding his mask still like he was told to. Cassy began to smile as he moved his hand to hold onto Sally’s with a comforting squeeze. They remained like that for the whole ride when it soon came to an end and began to slow down. Sal pulled his hand away once again, and Cass chose to ignore it for now.

The hexad migrated over to the next line for the ride next to it. Now it was time for Larry and Ash to pick rides while they all waited in line behind the strangers for a ride that spun in circles on octopus tentacle tips that also spun and moved around.

“I think I want to try the loop coaster over there, fireball,” Larry said pointing to a tiny roller coaster that went around in one big loop track over and over going upside down multiple times.

“I really dont think the mask can survive that,” Sally spoke up again.

“Well you dont have to ride anything you dont want to bud,” Larry told him honestly.

“Yeah I might sit that one out, this one too,” Sally admitted, so he stepped out of line.

After riding the octopus and the fireball, they got to Ash’s pick which was a tunnel of love boat ride.

“I know it’s cheesy but I have always wanted to try one,” she told them and Todd and Neil agreed quickly as well.

“I can sit this one out too,” Sally said honestly.

“I think I will too, not something you ride alone or third wheel on, but you guys have fun. Now that it’s dark we could all meet at the ferris wheel to end the night of rides,” Cassy told them, he was getting tired from all of the walking and standing they had done so far. So the group of love birds went on their ride while Cass and Sally went to another snack stall to get lemonade and cotton candy to share.

As they sat together sharing a drink and sweet treat Cassy couldnt stop thinking about his growing crush, but he decided now was not the time to bring it up. Although never felt like the time, he really didnt think it was something worth saying. Besides, he was sure Sal wouldnt be into him at all, would he?

When their friends returned Larry had some lipstick smudged on his lips still and it brought a soft chuckle to both Sal and Cassidy as they stood up together.

The group moved on to the ferris wheel line that was pretty short compared to the other rides they had all ridden so far. They were then split up into groups of two to get on the tiny bench seats for the ferris wheel. By process of elimination it left Sal and Cassy to sit together next to each other on a seat. As they rode up higher and higher they could see the whole festival grounds and all of the lovely lights illuminating the place.

“This is really pretty,” Cassy said softly, looking out at the lights.

“Yeah…” Sal said softly. When Cassy looked over at him he turned his head quickly, was he looking at Cass? Usually Cass does the starring around here!

The ride came to an end too soon and everyone met at the exit. None of them wanted to stay until midnight to see the fireworks, so they agreed they should probably all head home. Ash was going to come over to Larry’s like usual meaning they were still taking the van with Sally and Cassy back to the apartments. Todd and Neil were going back to Neils like they often did as well. So they said bye to the couple who drove separately and piled into the van to head back.

The group split up at the apartments, letting Cass end the night the same as others. He saw his grandma wasnt on the couch so she must be sleeping. In his room he showered and changed into pajamas, then prayed and journaled about the day. Finally when his mind was cleared and the high of the festival was going away, he laid in his bed to let sleep take him.

Chapter Text

A funeral is never a nice way to start a year, but attending his last family member's funeral broke something in Cassidy. She had spent the last month of her life in ICU, so it was no surprise when she went, but it still hurt.

He rewore his prom suit with no tie to the funeral. The Price’s had no family left, but Cass did have his friends to attend the small ceremony. After that, life was still. It felt halted. It felt empty. It felt lonely.

Cold.

Sure it was January which made it literally cold, but his life felt cold now too.

Cassidy had his friends for sure, but he also didnt want to bother them. Larry and Ash had each other, and so did Todd and Neil. So it felt like Sal was left to just deal with him, but Cass didnt want that anymore. He didnt want anyone to deal with him or be stuck with him.

Which meant 3 days after the funeral Cassidy was still in his bed, he had barely moved. He had some snacks nearby and a water bottle, but he didnt have a real meal once since the funeral. He also stopped taking his medicine, he just didnt feel whole right now.

Then he heard a knock at his bedroom door. Normally he would be confused on who it would be, or even call them in, but he stayed silent in bed. He hadnt bothered locking the apartment front door when he got home so whoever it was must have let themselves in anyways. After another knock the doorknob began to twist and open. Cassidy let his eyes drift to the door as a familiar blue haired friend came into his room.

“Cassy?” he said softly, but Cass had no reply as he rolled over onto his side to stare at the wall. “Cass? You okay?” he asked while stepping closer to the bed but not too close. He was more in the middle of the room now, standing with uncertainty.

“No,” Cass mumbled out a small answer.

“Anyway I can help?” Sally asked but once again Cass stayed silent, unable to push the words he felt and thought out. He felt trapped, but this time was different from his usual sleepless trapped mania. He had never been this low or depressed before. “Hey, is that new?” Sally asked and Cassy moved his gaze to follow him to a knitted rainbow tapestry on the wall above his record player.

“Yeah, grandma had just finished it a few days ago, she didnt know what it meant just that I asked for it when she was knitting once. I didnt think she would remember or make it really,” Cassy told him, letting out the most words he had spoken since her funeral.

“I'm sorry she's gone… Really, but.. We all miss you, and hiding away isnt healthy.”

“What does healthy matter?”

“Come on Cass, you need to get up. Have you had your meds? Food?” Sally asked as he got closer and sat at the foot of the bed. “Cassy, I’m not leaving this room until we do something.”

“Like what?” Cassy asked as he stared at his lava lamp on his nightstand.

“Let’s get food, or go smoke somewhere,” Sal suggested.

“I dont have to leave to smoke anymore, no one else lives here,” Cass reminded him.

“Then why dont we cook and smoke together in the kitchen?”

“I guess…” Cass finally agreed as Sal stood up and held out a hand to help him. Cass stared at it for a moment before shifting to get up and take it. Once standing Cass could see himself in the mirror and noticed his faded pink bits of hair; it needed to be redyed in some way. Then Sally turned and looked in the mirror at them standing hand in hand still.

“Want to change out of your pajamas?” Sally asked as he turned his head back to face Cass.

“Nah, at least not yet, we can just go to the kitchen,” Cass shrugged a bit as he finally pulled his hand away from Sally’s just to go to the door and open it up for them. In the kitchen Cassy sat on his cooking stool and looked back at Sally.

“I havent shopped for food, so whatever you find that you want to eat we can cook,” Cassidy told Sal who went to the fridge and began looking inside. He hummed softly as he did, it was a small thing but it made Cass begin to smile while watching him. He was like a nice light in this dark tunnel of depression.

“I think you have nothing to make a real meal, so we should go out to the diner,” Sal finally decided.

“Are you sure? What time is it?”

“Well I guess we could wait a bit until they are more empty, it’s almost nine so they should be emptying out soon. In the meantime we could clean up a bit,” Sally suggested causing Cass to roll his eyes but nod.

“Fine, we can clean, I also need to dye my hair and shower before we go out in public.”

“Need any help with dying your hair?”

“Need is a strong word but I would enjoy company,” Cassidy chuckled a bit.

The two tidied up some of the stuff in the kitchen and living area that was mostly left by Nancy before she went to the hospital. Cass hadnt had the energy to clean any of it but he also didnt make it worse, instead his room was the mess he lived in.

In his room he gathered some clothing out of drawers while Sal seemed to tidy up some of the snacks and garbage laying around. Cass then went into the bathroom connected to his room, Sally silently followed behind until they were in the bathroom together.

“So I think I just want to dye it all black, no colors for awhile,” Cass told him as he began to take out some black dye from a cabinet.

“Do as you please,” Sal told him as he stood in the doorway to watch Cass as he looked in the mirror at his brown roots. Then Cassy’s eyes shifted to look at Sal in the mirror.

“Why dont you sit on the counter near me?” Cassy offered and Sal came over to do just that. The counter by the sink and mirror was long enough for him to leap up slightly and sit there with his feet hanging over.

Cassidy then opened up the tube of black dye he had, he often bought dye in bulk in the past of black and pink and bleach. He began to squeeze the dye in a bowl before dipping in a hair coloring brush. His shirt was already black and his pajama pants were nirvana themed so he didnt mind if he spilled a tiny bit here and there, although he was pretty good at not spilling.

He began to paint his roots with the black dye before moving on to the front faded pink areas. On the rest of his hair he slowly added the black more and more until it was fully saturated and covered in dye.

“While this sets we could watch tv in the living room, smoke there for the first time even,” Cassy suggested as he inspected his dye job in the mirror. He then turned on the hot water and cleaned the bowl, brush, and his hands.

“You havent smoked in the living room yet?” Sally asked.

“Nope, havent really left my bed for much of anything,” Cassy admitted.

“Then it’s good I came over, we’re gonna smoke up and watch whatever you want,” Sally encouraged as he hopped off the counter and to his feet by Cass. He watched his blue haired friend as a small smile pulled at his lips.

“Alright, let’s go see what’s on cable then,” Cassy agreed.

So the two left the bathroom to gather some weed and smoking essentials from the bedroom to take in the living room. Out there they set up the rolling tray he had on a stand by the couch. Sal began to flip channels on the tv with the remote as Cass was focused on rolling perfect joints for the two to share.

“What do you want to watch?” Sally asked while Cass was still rolling.

“I dont really care, put on whatever looks interesting I guess.”

“Got it.” Sal flipped the channels for a while until a movie was just starting on a channel. So he stopped to let it start even if they didnt know what movie it was.

“Alright, I got us some joints, want to share or each have our own?” Cassy asked.

“I like sharing more, passing it back and forth is part of the fun,” Sal told him as he reached back to unhook his prosthetic from his face. He slid it off slowly before placing it on the table by them and glancing over at Cass, who was lighting the joint he held between his lips. He didnt watch as Sal removed his mask, he knew staring was one of his worst fears. But that also meant he had no idea the scarred male was watching him light the joint still.

As he let the smoke out into the air from his mouth, he finally turned his head to his friend while holding out the joint for him. Their eyes met for a moment, before their fingers touched as Sally took the joint from him. A spark shot through Cassy’s body from his hands to his heart, something he was used to by now when they touched.

Instead he moved on as if nothing happened and turned his attention back to the TV. They silently passed the joint back and forth until it was just a roach and the dye was set in his hair. The movie wasnt over but it also was not that interesting either, just something to watch.

“I think the dye is ready to be rinsed, I’ll be back,” Cass told Sal who nodded with a smile on his face, another thing Cassy didnt get to see often. Since Sal’s face was always hidden, it seemed he didnt put attention into his expressions, but that just meant every smile Cass did see was real.

“I’ll tell you if anything interesting happens,” Sally told him about the movie as Cass pulled his gaze away from his scarred mouth that showed his teeth. He didnt want to seem like he was staring or judging when he was in fact leering.

Cassidy wasted no time getting to the bathroom to take a quick shower both to rinse the dye and clean his body up from rotting away the last few days. He then shut off the water and got out before drying off with a towel then blow drying his hair. Since the two were gonna go to the diner he put on a hoodie and some jeans this time. He also grabbed his crutches before returning to the living room where Sal was watching the movie still.

“This movie is confusing, there are already like five plot holes. I dont think I care about the ending,” Sally admitted with a chuckle as he began to put his prosthetic back onto his face.

“So want to just hit up the diner now?” Cass asked even though he was pretty sure of the answer.

“Yeah let’s go,” Sally replied as he got up from the couch and shut off the TV with the remote.

The two took Iris to the diner they had been to a few times now. They always went really late, when no one or close to no one was there. Although it was often easier to just get the food to go and take it back home.

At first they planned to eat there, it was late after all so it should be empty. That was until they went inside and found out some teens were having some kind of sport after party here with their letter jackets and cheerleaders taking up every seat. It had been around a year since the two had graduated so they werent sure about hanging out in a diner of students yelling and eating. Therefore after ordering to go, the two almost twenty year olds left the teen filled diner.

“Well that sucked, I didnt know they had a game tonight,” Sally admitted when the two were safe in the van with a bag of food and two drinks to take back home.

“Shit happens,” Cass reassured him as he started up Iris and began to drive back to the apartments. Even though the trip was short, Sal played a CD he found for them to kill the silent air.

At the apartments they went up to the apartment Cass now lived in alone, and that was when they saw something taped to the door that wasnt there when they left. Cassidy’s eyebrows furrowed with confusion and curiosity as he grabbed the envelope that had his first and last name on it and a ‘sorry we missed you’ sticker.

“I dont think this was here when we left,” Cass commented as Sally opened up the door to take the food inside. Cass followed while staring at the envelope before the two sat on the couch with the take out on the coffee table.

“Well you gonna open it or wait?” Sal finally broke the silence with a question.

“I guess… It looks official though.. What if Im being evicted?” Cass worried out loud staring at the envelope.

“Then I guess you'll have to move in with one of us, your friends, we have your back,” Sal reassured him. A faint smile pulled at Cassidy’s lips at the kind words, but he still had to open the envelope. As he ripped the paper packaging he soon pulled out a few papers folded up.

Once unfolded he read with a faint mumble of the words as he was processing each thing. It wasnt loud enough for Sally to actually hear though. Soon he was lowering the papers and looked to Sal.

“Well? Are you evicted?”

“No… It’s her will, she left everything to me and paid off the apartment until the beginning of the lease in 99… So I have some time to get a job and try to get my own lease. She may have not been very aware but she apparently knew I needed to be okay, she even wrote me a note they included,” Cass said softly looking at all the papers.

On one hand, he didnt have to worry about rent like he thought he would, but on the other, having the will just made it all so real. Sure seeing the casket was real, and being alone for days in the apartment was real, but this envelope of last wishes and thoughts, it cemented everything about her being gone.

“Why dont we eat to the good news of you staying nearby,” Sal finally spoke up to change the topic and try to cheer up the mood. Cass looked at the bag of food and nodded as he grabbed his soda to sip at.

“Yeah we cant let it get cold, it’s too good for that,” Cass agreed with a hint of sorrow still in his tone.

As Sally took out the fries and burgers, Cassidy turned on the TV and flipped through channels until a show they knew came on. It was a rerun episode but they didnt really care, the two just wanted to watch it while eating. The dinner was tasty like always, but the air felt heavy with the weight of everything going on. Cass didnt know what to say, and he got the feeling Sal didnt either. He couldnt help but worry he was ruining their time together, bringing down the mood even by just being depressed. Then again Sally could have gone home any time if he wanted to, at least that was what Cass kept telling himself.

“Your hair came out nice,” Sal complimented when the two were cleaning up the garbage.

“What?” Cass asked.

“The dye, I know it’s just black but it looks good on you. I feel like you've had some kind of pink in it since we met.”

“Oh, thanks, it’s not hard to do really.”

“I’ve never done it,” Sal pointed out with a chuckle.

“But I bet you could,” Cass added as the two started to put the wrappers and packages in the bin.

“Maybe, what color should I go?”

“Any color would look good on you Sally,” Cass told him honestly, not thinking about the flirty undertones it had. Sally still had his prosthetic off for once and as Cass looked over to him it was the first time he saw red blush across his pale face, was he blushing? Did he do that? He always seemed to calm and suave to be someone who would blush at anything. As their eyes looked at each other soon Sally turned away and looked at the prosthetic on the table.

“I dont think I would ever actually dye it, too much work, and it would fade at some point,” Sal expressed not wanting to dye his hair as he grabbed his prosthetic and put it on his face. For a moment Cass worried he stared too much or made him feel uncomfortable, but he also didnt want to mention it in case he didnt and Sally just wanted his prosthetic on.

“Your hair, your life,” Cass told him with a shrug before smiling a bit more. “It’s getting late anyways, when did you want to head home?”

“Actually I was wondering if I could stay here tonight, the couch out here or in your room Im not picky, I just think it’d be nice to sleep out of my house,” Sal told him. Cass had no way of knowing if he was lying or not, but his home was always open to his friends, especially Sally.

“Of course, sleep wherever you want, you can pick the music if you wanna stay in my room.”

“That’d be nice, it’s about time to sleep anyways.” With that comment from Sally the two went to the dimly lit room from the moonlight at the window.

Just like every other time Sal had stayed without warning, Cass got him the pajamas he always wore here that were more his than Cassy’s anymore. Then he got his own pajamas and changed in the bathroom alone before knocking to be sure Sal was ready and coming back to the bedroom. Cass hadnt been praying lately and he wasnt going to tonight, he knew it was okay to take a break when he had so much else to deal with.

Sally put on a record that was soft and calming while Cassidy grabbed the extra bedding from the closet for Sally on the couch. Once the bed was made up for him Cass got in his own bed and laid down to sleep, trying to calm his racing mind.

Though the darkness of sleep didnt last long before Cassidy was waking up to the dark room with faint music in the air, the only other sound was him gasping for a breath. His mind felt overrun with thoughts and visions of his family, but he didnt even remember whatever kind of dream snapped him awake in such a panic. While trying to calm his breathing down his eyes scanned the room to assess where he was and what was reality and what was not. That was when he heard Sally’s voice forgetting he had stayed on the couch.

“Hey hey, Cass?” he said softly while moving to the bed from the couch. His hand reached out and touched Cassidy’s back while he swallowed the lump in his throat roughly. “Bad dream?”

“I… I dont know, I dont remember,” Cass finally managed to get some raspy words out as his body trembled under Sal’s touch. The other male soon began to rub circles on his back with his hand.

“Im here, it’ll be okay,” he reassured softly as he gently climbed onto the bed to be closer. Cass wasnt able to focus on the kind gesture as the tears were stinging his eyes. He hated these kinds of nights, not knowing what even triggered it made it worse. But as Sal got closer his arms moved more around Cassidy, pulling him close to his body where he could hear his heart through his chest.

It was actually soothing, it was actually working.

“Im sorry Sal,” Cass whimpered softly as he was finally calming down enough to realize he woke him up on accident.

“”No no, dont be,” Sal reassured again in a soothing tone, yet something about the comfort brought another wave of emotions Cass couldnt process in anyway besides tearing up once again.

“But I woke you up,” he argued slightly.

“Hey I stayed here didnt I? Do you think I didnt know this could happen? Cassy you have lost everyone in your family and you have mental illness. I knew why I was staying the night,” Sal finally admitted. Cass pressed himself closer to Sal in the bed, they were practically cuddled up at this point as he thought on what to say.

“Thank you for being here,” he whispered as he shut his eyes.

“Any time,” Sally added with a smile as Cass let out a deep sigh now that he was finally calmed down enough.

He knew he should tell Sally he was mostly okay now, that he didnt need to stay in the bed holding him. But what if he never had this chance again? He had to let the moment last, and as he did he found himself soon falling asleep with his friend in his arms.

Chapter Text

Life had a way of blurring together at times, sometimes that was good, other times it meant things were going by too fast. June was when Cass had his birthday, the 8th to be exact so he had turned 21 recently. Ash had also officially moved to the city in April, Larry wanted to go with but he was staying with his mom still for now. Although that also brought up how Lisa and Henry had begun dating which seemed to brighten Henry’s mood and slow his drinking down. Sally was connecting with his father more as well, though he did spend more nights in Cassidy’s room than ever before lately too.

However Todd and Neil finally got a home together that had an extra room that Sally had agreed to taking up some time. He did pitch the idea that if Cass couldn't find something when the lease was up he could come stay there too, but Cass didnt know if there was enough room in the home for him to join them.

But none of that mattered tonight, as the group had been planning a trip to an underground punk show at an abandoned old mill. The mill was a town over in Duskmoore Bay which meant they would have to leave town and take the highway to a new town.

Todd and Neil did not want to go since they had moving in to do that they were more focused on. But Ash came up to stay with Larry and go to the show, and Sally had agreed to go as well.

Cass was happy that Ash was coming up because he didnt know if Larry would have gone without her, then again he probably would have. But ever since he had accepted his own crush on Sal, he was nervous about somehow blowing his cover and losing his closest friend whenever they were alone. Besides, what were the chances that the entire friend group would become couples? On top of that the chance of two gay couples was even less likely right? Sal never seemed to have dated since moving here, and Cass never heard him talk about crushes either. It made him wonder what was going on in Sal’s head often.

While thinking about tonight's big plans, Cassidy was getting ready in his room by the mirror. He wore a fishnet shirt under a band t-shirt that was a bit big on him. He added some baggy patchwork pants and some accessories like necklaces and bracelets. He had recently redyed some pink in the front of his hair that he was trying to grow out a bit, it was about to his chin now. While inspecting himself more he got a text on his cell phone from Larry letting him know he and Ash were ready in the basement waiting on them. So he shot Sally a simple text to see if he was ready yet.

‘Larry and Ash are ready, you? We could meet them in the basement or the van,’ Cassidy typed before hitting send to Sal.

‘Im almost ready, I’ll meet you all at the van,’ was the text he soon received from Sally before relaying the information to Larry and putting the phone away. He grabbed his crutches and put on some shoes before leaving the quiet apartment.

At Iris, Ash and Larry were already waiting since they were always a bit faster than Cass, but Sal was not spotted yet. Cass did notice Larry and Ash wore matching shirts, something cute for couples to do.

“Sal isnt with you?” Ash asked as Cassidy approached them, they were leaning together on the back of the van with Larry’s arm around Ash. They really were an adorable couple.

“He told me he would meet us here,” Cass replied as Ash looked around at the parking lot full of vehicles but no other people.

“You think you’ll admit to him any time soon?” Ash asked a new question that took Cassidy by surprise.

“Wh-What??” he questioned back.

“Come on, me and Larry know. We can see it on your face, knew since Prom,” she told him like it was obvious. “But you’re always with him so I couldnt just ask about it.”

“He’s just my friend Ash, that’s all he will ever be,” Cass replied with a defeated tone.

“I thought that about Ash, you never know,” Larry chimed in. For a moment Cass wondered if he was just being kind or if he knew something, being Sally’s other closest friend. Could he have mentioned something? But as Cass went to ask something Ash cut him off.

“Over here Sal!” she yelled out to their friend who was leaving the building's doors. Cass felt she was actually just shutting down the conversation to not get caught.

“Hey guys, hope you werent waiting long,” Sal greeted as he got to the van. He wore a shirt that he and Cass had put patches on over time along with his signature red pants he enjoyed wearing. It was nice to see a different top on him, but he did wear some gloves on his hand, fingerless leather ones that he had gotten recently for the look of them. Cass also remembered him buying the gloves when the group had gone out on a mall trip.

“Of course not,” Ash told Sal before pointing to his pigtails that were more styled and teased to be messy. “New look?” she asked.

“Yeah I wanted to fit in more at this place,” Sal admitted, though none of them had gone to Duskmoore Bay before or a show like this so they werent fully sure how to dress. Ash also had her hair up but instead in a ponytail, but Larry didnt seem to let her put his up. While Cassidy was admiring everyones new look for the night, Ash spoke up again.

“Longer drive than normal ahead, right?” she asked and Cassidy turned back to her to nod as he pulled his keys from his pocket.

“Yeah we probably want to go now,” Cass admitted as he moved to the drivers door to get into the van. He had yet to do many changes to the van but he did add some bedding when he found out the back bench seats lay flat into a bed like area. He had also added some window curtains and patches to the ceiling along with hanging fake flowers here and there.

For safety reasons Ash and Larry fixed the seat back into a bench seat so they would have seatbelts. They had done it before so they knew how without needing Cass to guide them. He was busy getting his map and instructions Todd printed for them taped to the dashboard. Sal got into the passenger side and began finding cds to play to last them the whole trip.

When everyone was buckled up, the map was set, and the music was picked, Cassy turned the key in the van's ignition and Iris started up like normal. As he began to pull out of the parking area Sally put on the cd he had picked first.

The trip there wasnt too hard to do and with the accompany of music it was actually a fun drive. They had to go on a few highways and exits but it wasnt too confusing for Cassidy. He wasa pretty good with directions and the music kept him focused while the other three chatted about what they planned to do or hoped would happen. To Cassy’s surprise all three of them admitted to wanting to drink tonight, so he made a note of not drinking. Maybe he would smoke but he would be closer to sober to be the driver still.

As they entered the town of Duskmore Bay it was grey and dark but not wet and rainy like their own town often was. It just was a bit foggy with a glow of the sunset near the lighthouse that turned on as they passed it on a bridge. The town was near a big lake, or maybe it was a river? Cass didnt know the difference in water types, perhaps it was a bay like the town name would suggest even. Soon Sally was pointing out the directions as he read the papers on the dashboard. Although Todd could only get them to a diner close to the old mill since it had been abandoned many years ago, the only address they had was on a flyer and it didnt show up on the internet.

“Should we stop for food since we are ahead of schedule?” Cassidy finally asked as the group approached the diner. The flyer only said things started after sunset which was happening now.

“We could also ask for directions,” Larry chimed in. Once they all agreed to get food they began to pull into the parking lot of the small diner. It didnt look too different from their own town diner besides the different colors it donned.

When Iris was parked the clicks of all the seatbelts was the only sound after the van was shut off and the music stopped. The little group walked together up to the entrance of the pink and orange themed diner, with Larry being the fastest and opening the door for the other three. As they entered they noticed it was a lot busier than the parking lot would imply. Most tables were occupied including the small counter top bar like area by the register.

While standing in the doorway the sound of chatter died down as the locals all turned to see who entered their little building. Soon the only sound was the jukebox as people began to stare at the four, especially the two abnormal ones. Cass wondered if they were staring at Sally’s prosthetic or his crutches, maybe even both?

“Welcome to By The Bay, our towns little diner. Cant say I have seen you four before,” a waitress that seemed like a middle aged woman greeted them.

“We’re not from around here,” Ash told her with a kind smile. “Is there any room to seat us?” she asked.

“I got a few tables, well, two open. Booth okay?” she asked. That was when Sal leaned close to Cass and whispered to him.

“I dont want to take my face off here,” he informed him and Cass gave a nod of understanding. But soon the waitress was leading the group to a booth after Ash had continued answering her. When they sat she gave them menus and told them to take their time before she scurried off to do her job.

“Think we could take this to go? Eat in the van?” Cass finally asked the group as he was noticing more people glancing and staring at them still.

“You dont wanna eat here?” Larry asked and Cassy only shrugged at first.

“Just dont like the vibes, and it is cramped with people staring,” Cass admitted. That was when Larry looked around to notice a few eyes on them still. He pouted a bit but seemed to understand as he looked over the menu.

“Yeah, I see what you mean. I dont mind eating in the van, we just shouldnt get anything with chili or anything messy,” he chuckled a bit and it caused the group to laugh a little and lighten up for a moment.

“I would appreciate that,” Cass told him as they all began to really read the menus.

When ready they all ordered burgers and fries since it was easiest, along with to go sodas in closed cups. Larry paid for him and Ash while Cass and Sal each paid separately. They chatted about the night to come along with all of Ashley’s life that she needed to update them on since moving and vice versa. Once they had the food they migrated to the van they knew well without even a bye from the workers. But they did seem over worked so none of them took it to heart.

After eating they were ready to find this abandoned mill, that was when they realized no one asked about it. So Ash ran inside to ask while Cass got the van running with some music to wait for her. When she returned she had a napkin with some directions written on it.

“Our waitress didnt know but a cook did, he told it to me and I wrote it on this napkin,” Ash told them as she handed the napkin to Cass who looked it over before giving it to Sally for navigation.

Then they were back on the road, but this time they had to take some back roads and personal home streets to get to where they wanted to be. After a while they were driving on a dirt path in the woods near an abandoned train track that was supposed to meet near the mill.

Thankfully the cook hadnt lied as they soon could see a building that had different vehicles parked around it at a distance. Cassidy parked close to some other cars and they could see a bonfire outside the building near other vehicles like an rv and some motorcycles.

“This looks like the place,” Cass spoke up as the van shut down.

“This is so cool already,” Larry mentioned, he was probably the most excited for this. Todd technically found the info on this for Cassy’s birthday and he wanted everyone to go with him. But Todd and Neil changed their minds last minute and promised to do a hang out for his birthday some other time.

“All you see is fire and peoples parked shit,” Ash pointed out playfully as everyone began to pile out of the van that soon was locked up.

Cass stuffed the keys in his pocket before he gripped his crutches with each hand. Sally walked around the van to his side and soon the little group of four was moving to check out the mill. They could already hear music muffled from inside as they walked closer to the bonfire that only had a few people sitting by it.

There was a person standing near the slightly crooked and falling off door, near him were some old train cars and other equipment left behind years ago. As the four walked up to the door he shifted to look at them with his arms crossed. He was tall and buff with long hair and many piercings and tattoos. But he didnt give off a scary aura, more of a big brother vibe.

“Can I help you kids?” he asked them as all four began to reach for their wallets to bring out their ID’s.

“We’re all between 20 and 21 actually,” Ash shot back first before the others could speak.

“Yeah? Prove it,” the man shrugged and soon each of them presented an ID. He read them over with a hum. “I believe Larry here, but the rest of you dont look old enough. Plus, masks arent allowed, safety reasons.”

“It’s a prosthetic, not just a mask,” Sally told him sternly.

“What does that mean?” the man asked.

Sally must have been fed up for once because the quickly unsnapped the buckles of his prosthetic and pulled it off to reveal his wounded face, glass eye, open nose wound, missing lip parts, everything. He normally didnt show this to a stranger, and the friend group had all only seen him a handful of times besides Cass, but he wanted to make a point. The bouncer man's eyes got a little wide before he looked back at Sal’s ID.

“I.. Im sorry, you all can go in. I was just being cautious but I didnt mean to offend,” he apologized and he actually sounded sincere as he handed back each ID. Sally put his prosthetic back on quickly and Cass thought he saw tears pooling in the others eye, but the prosthetic blocked it.

“Thank you,” Ash smirked a bit with some sass as they all put away their ID’s in their wallets then pockets and the man moved to let them into the building.

When they entered The music was clearer and louder, but the live band was not in that room. It was a big open area with a deteriorated second floor loft type area. There was a makeshift bar from some crates and shelving that had a guy behind the counter with a beanie and long hair who looked stoned out of his mind. There was also a merch table of the 3 local bands playing at this gig. There were couches and other seating and tables that seemed to be donated from peoples old homes, and a lot of people were chilling here instead of in the area with the stage. The group could see the larger doorway that lead to the other room. Lights flashed in there and peaked out to the main area and the people even flooded out to the doorway. Cass began to wonder if they would even be able to get in there.

“Should we get some drinks?” Larry asked as he pointed to the bar area Cass had already noticed.

“Im driving so I wont drink, but do what you guys want, I’ll ask for something else,” Cass told them as they all migrated to the bar to see the guy who was leaning on it stand up straight.

“What can I get you folks?” he asked.

“Beer for me,” Larry ordered.

“A vodka and soda please,” Ashley added.

“I guess I’ll try what she’s having,” Sally said a bit softer but the man seemed to hear him fine.

“And you, Pinky?” the bartender asked Cass, the only one with pink in their hair.

“Uhh do you have energy drinks?” Cassy asked.

“I got the new one, redbull, just hit U S markets this year,” he pitched and Cassy only shrugged.

“I guess, why not, no alcohol right? I'm driving,” he added.

“No alcohol, I’ll get those drinks right away,” the guy said before he began to work. Opening a glass beer bottle first on the counter and giving it to larry, then he poured some vodka and sprite in two plastic glasses for Ash and Sal. Finally he got a can and opened it up for Cassy.

“Can you hold my drink for me?” Cassy asked Sal in a whisper and he nodded his head.

“Of course,” he agreed and everyone took their drinks before going to sit on a couch that had just become empty.

They sat in a row with Sal and Larry on the outsides and Ash and Cass next to each other. Sally gave Cass his drink and they all quietly enjoyed them while they could hear the music in the other room.

“So what bands are playing again? Candy something and Makeup?” Larry asked.

“Grave Candy, Velvet Makeup, and Eat The System,” Cass listed the local bands names he memorized.

“Is that in order they are performing too?” Ashley asked and Cass nodded as he sipped his new drink.

“Should be,” he spoke again after swallowing.

“Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s get in there?” Larry said as he stood up and took Ash by the hand to help her up. Cass was unsure if he wanted to push through the crowd but he also came here for a reason so he should go see the band. Sally got up and reached out to take Cassy’s can before Cass got up too and used his crutches to balance.

“You think we’ll be able to push on in?” Cass asked.

“I know I can, so if you all stick with me we’ll be fine,” Larry chuckled a bit as he led the way for them.

As they got to the doorway it was getting crowded with people dancing and flailing and kicking around. On his first attempt to break into the crowd someone bumped into him spilling a bit of his beer on his shirt. The girl gave Larry a death glare before she retreated into the crowd. Larry sighed but chugged the rest of his beer before tossing the empty bottle on the ground in a corner where he had seen others already piled up.

“We dont have to go in,” Ash told him but he shook his head.

“We are though,” he told her before he took her hand and pushed his way through with some dance moves. It began to work and a few people moved a bit as he wiggled through the crowd with the others following close behind.

They didnt make it to the stage fully but they were pretty close and could see the band on stage already. Cass and Sal had not been to a real show yet, both being too nervous to ever go with Larry and Ash. However they were dancing with the group and already enjoying being out here. Over time each one finished their drink and left the empty cup or can on the ground like everyone else did.

The first band was a goth type group called Grave Candy, the second band Velvet Makeup was an all girl band with a lot of color, and finally was the punk anarchy group called Eat The System. The quartet in the crowd stayed for the whole set to listen to each band, even when Cass was getting tired and wanted to sit he stayed longer than his body wanted him to. Soon though he felt his legs wanting to give out and he finally nudged Sally to talk to his ear over the loud music.

“I need to go sit,” he told him.

“Want me to come with you?” Sally asked.

“Only if you want to, I don't want to take you from this,” Cass admitted and Sally put a hand on his shoulder.

“I don't want you alone, let’s go,” he said before he began to lead his way through the crowd this time with just the two of them.

When they did make it out of the stage area to the main area they saw that every seat was taken. At first Cass thought of giving up but Sally made a suggestion soon from his memory.

“Didnt that bonfire have seats around it?” he asked Cass and Cass only shrugged.

“I didnt take note really,” Cassy admitted.

“I think there was, let’s go look,” he suggested and Cass simply followed him out. Outside was really dark as it was getting later in the night, if not for the bonfire and lighting bugs they probably wouldnt even be able to see anything.

By the bonfire was an empty bench and other seats while no one seemed to be outside at this time. On one hand that was nice for them to be alone on the other, who was watching the fire? Were they not worried it would get out of hand?? It was quiet as they sat down with just the sound of insects and fire crackling.

“Hey, do you uh, got anything to smoke?” Sally asked, breaking the semi silent air.

“Of course, did you want some?” Cassy replied. “I got joints on me in a case.”

“I would love one,” Sally admitted before he seemed to look around at the empty area. He then slowly took his prosthetic off again and looked at Cass with a small smile. “We got lucky no one was out here.”

“Even if they were you are allowed to smoke and have your prosthetic off. I know you dont like to but others can screw off and deal with it if you want to not wear it,” Cassy told him and even noticed Sal’s face get a little red like a blush at that.

“Im just not ready for that yet. This will always be my face, and it feels like I'm naked without it. But then again it has its own problems like the bouncer,” he said softly as Cass took out his joint case and lighter.

“I get that, but I’ll always back you up, wear it or not, I’ll support you,” he smiled back as he put the joint to his lips and lit up. “Wanna share or want your own?” he asked with the joint still in between his lips.

“I like sharing still,” he smiled a bit more. Cassy nodded as he took his puffs before handing it over to Sally.

“I wont smoke too much since I gotta drive, but this is something I can control better than drinking. Speaking of how do you feel?”

“I think I got tipsy, but I dont feel like drinking more really,” Sally explained as he was inhaling his hits from the home rolled joint. He had gotten better at not coughing lately as he smiled and handed back the joint to Cassy.

The two passed it back and forth until it got really low, chatting about random things. They spent a lot of time together so it wasnt like they really had catching up to do, but they also got along well and often could find something to talk about.

As the fire illuminated their faces the stars and moon were the only other source of light shining down on them, but with the bit of fog in the town it wasnt as bright as one would hope. Soon Sally leaned his head on Cassidy’s shoulder, causing the other to smile and blush as he stared into the fire to act like nothing had happened.

“Cass…?”

“Yes?”

“Do you think there is someone out there for everyone?”

“I like to hope so.”

“Even me?”

“Especially you Sally. You’re great,” Cass reassured him but didnt look at him as his head was still resting on him.

“But you see how people react to how I look, with and without the prosthetic. How could someone…” he trailed off and sighed. Cass felt his heart pound and also ache for him at the same time. He imagined a moment where he told him how he felt and it all worked out, but then he thought of how Sally could just be emotional and not want to be hit on.

“We dont look at you bad, Larry, Ash, Todd, Neil, and I.. We all love you the way you are.”

“But.. I mean, really love me. Not as a friend.. You know Todd and Neil have each other and Ash and Larry, but what about you and I? Are we too… Different?” Sal finally sat up taking his head off of Cassy.

“Maybe… We just need to get out of this town, I mean there is a whole world out there so maybe who we need is just not nearby,” Cass tried to think of how to reassure him without being honest about his crush.

“I guess… Does that mean you dont like anyone?? Anyone at all?” Sal asked and now Cass was starting to read into it more. Was he trying to actually hint something?? Was he trying to open up the door for Cass to admit his own feelings?? Or was it a trap?

“I mean… Who would I like? I only know you guys,” Cass said before looking over at Sal finally to see his face looked sad and his eye was tearing up again.

“Oh,” he whispered very softly before looking down at his prosthetic in his hand.

“Fuck Sally, are you really gonna make me say it?” Cass finally said with a deep blush. Sal looked back up to his face a bit confused in his expression.

“Say what?”

“That I… I like you Sal, if I liked anyone of course it would be you, and it is.”

“Wh-What?? Really?” Sally confirmed as his face began to light up from the information. Something Cass had never really seen too much.

“Yes really you dork, but do you know how hard it is to say that?”

“I think so, since I could never say it myself,” Sally admitted.

“What does that mean?” Cass asked, even though he was pretty sure he knew.

“It means I like you too but couldnt say it without knowing you felt the same,” Sally told him as his smile grew.

“And you promise to being clear minded enough for this??” Cass asked.

“Of course,” Sally nodded as he put his empty hand on Cassy’s knee. “Im intoxicated just enough to not be scared to be honest.”

“Then you’re more intoxicated than me cause I feel fucking terrified,” Cass admitted with a soft chuckle.

“Why? I said I like you too.”

“Yeah but.. Do you really or do you just worry you have no other choice?”

“Cassy… That isnt it at all,” Sally reassured before leaning close and placing a gentle kiss on Cassy’s cheek with his scarred and mangled mouth. It made Cass blush more as a smile began to form. “I honestly liked you for a while now.”

“Really? How long?”

“If I had to guess, maybe since Prom? Around then at least. What about you?” Sally asked.
“I have no idea, I guess since before I got diagnosed and such, around that time I really started to like you as you helped me and cared.”

“Of course I care Cassy.”

“Can I.. Kiss you?” Cass finally asked.

“I.. I have never kissed someone, but I want to try,” he agreed.

“If anything feels wrong or hurts tell me, I’ll stop.” Cassy told him and he nodded before leaning closer. Cass did the same and soon placed his pucker lips on Sally’s scarred mouth to kiss him for the first time. He could feel Sally kiss back to the best of his ability, and it was perfect.

When he pulled away after a moment both had smiles on their face before their eyes met.

“Wow,” Sally mumbled and Cassy ran a hand into his own hair to move it from his face.

“Wow?” Cass asked and Sally nodded.

“That was better than I ever imagined, it made me feel so much in my chest, is that normal??” Sally asked.

“Im not sure but I feel it too,” Cassy told him as he took his hand and squeezed it. “Does this mean we are…”

“Dating?” Sally finished.

“Yeah.”

“I want to.. Will you be my boyfriend?” Sally asked.

“Of course Sally,” Cassy agreed with a faint chuckle before placing another kiss to his lips, a soft but shorter one before pulling back.

“Holy fuck knuckles! You guys are really together finally?” Larry exclaimed from the building entrance. He was with Ash of course as they stared at them both smiling.

“Oh I am so glad, I knew one day youd be together,” Ash giggled as she rushed over pulling Larry with her.

“How long were you two there?” Sally asked.

“Not long, just enough to see a kiss! So what does it mean, are you two a thing??” Ash reapplied.

“Yes, we are dating,” Cass told her with a smile before she squealed excitedly and took his hands.

“You did it!! How happy are you??” she said and Cass blushed as he nodded.

“Very, but we dont have to make it a big thing, why dont we get our merch then head home,” Cassy replied.

“That sounds good, the bands stopped and now they are just playing a dj with records and such,” Larry told them.

“I want some cds and maybe a shirt,” Cass told them as he got up with his crutches.

“I want a shirt too,” Sally chimed in as he put on his prosthetic. the group began to go back inside after the two were ready.

At the merch table they all got shirts and some things like buttons and magnets and stickers along with cds from all 3 bands. They chatted a bit with the workers as well, finding out shows like this happen often but this was the first one they posted about online. Turns out a good amount of people came from that, including them. After paying and getting their goodies the group piled into the van to head on home as a set of couples.

Chapter Text

The year that passed was the best year of Cassidy’s life, a life that was coming to an end without anyone knowing. A life that was being haunted every night. But Cass still searched for the light in his world, and that light had a name.

Sal Fisher.

Ever since the show they went to for Cassy’s 21st birthday, Sal and Cass had been dating. Sally did move in with his friends and Cass had a lot of stuff at his place still but Sal also had stuff still at Cassy's apartment. The two often switched up who’s home they stayed at on different nights but they did spend almost every night together.

They were happily still in a honeymoon phase, being lovey dovey and going everywhere together when they could. It was nice to finally be open together and honest about who they are. The two spent enough time together to now pretty much everything about the other, and not just from their year of dating but also from their years of friendship before that.

It was mid July, a few months after Lisa and Henry tied the knot, and Lisa moved into Henry's apartment. Larry still lived in the basement but was planning to move in with Ash as soon as he could. Cass even got a new pair of crutches that enclosed around his arms better for more movement.

Currently Cass and Sally had chosen to stay in Cassy’s room this night in his big bed and silk bedding. They were curled up and cuddling underneath the blankets while the ceiling fan was on to keep them cool in the summer.

The last many nights Cass was having recurring nightmares, but he always woke up dazed and lost, confused on what was even happening and he would forget what the dreams were about each time.

But this night was different. He dreamt of dark purple and blue fires, and a forest with a big pit in it. He dreamt of a voice telling him to go to it, to find it.

Soon whatever was happening in the dream had woken him up quickly and full of fear like every other time. He sat up straight as he gasped for air and felt the tears streaming down his face. He glanced at a clock to see it was around 3 am. He looked over and saw Sally shift and sit up a bit as his eyes fluttered open.

“You okay dear? Another nightmare?” he asked as he yawned softly.

“Yeah but.. It.. it was so clear this time,” he explained.

“Want to talk about it?”

“No.. I want to go. It was the words near the train tracks I think, you know the ones we never explored?”

“Honey it’s 3 in the morning ,we cant just go to the woods.”

“Why not? We’re adults, and I wont be able to sleep if I dont go,” he explained.

“Fine,” Sal agreed with a yawn as he sat up more. The two slept in matching pajama pants and shirts from the band they went to last year. “Do you want to get dressed?” he asked while getting up and grabbing Cassy’s crutches for him.

“I dont really care,” Cass replied as he got up from the bed and took the crutches from him to balance a bit better. He felt Sally place a kiss on his cheek and it started to bring him back to reality.

“Hey, are you sure you are okay?” Sal asked.

“I just, I need to go explore the woods, are you joining me or not?”

“Of course I am, I just dont understand,” Sal admitted.

“And I cant explain, I just need to go there.”

“Okay, let’s get shoes and go then,” Sal agreed as he grabbed a flashlight from a box. Sal knew where most things were in Cassy’s room and vice versa over the year they had been dating.

“Grab my bag,” Cass tasked him and he grabbed a satchel to hand to Cassy who put it on his shoulder.

Soon the two were at the door to the apartment putting on their tennis shoes before they were out the door. Cass was focused on not forgetting what he saw and it made him quiet as they walked together. The apartment building was still and quiet as they took the elevator to the main floor to leave.

For a bit the two walked in the dark with Sal holding the flashlight while they made their way to the train tracks that would lead towards the woods. They had never really explored them too much due to the terrain and already having spots to hang out.

They followed the train tracks for a while, Cass in the lead as Sally matched his pace and held the light. As they were walking in the silence Sally finally broke it with a question.

“Did you bring any joints?”

“Huh? Oh yeah, always,” he answered as he stopped on the empty tracks to dig into his satchel. Sally moved the light to help him and soon he brought out his case of joints and a lighter.

Cassy slipped the joint out of the case before shutting it with one hand and putting it away. Then he lit up the joint perched between his lips while looking at Sally. As he was lighting it up Sally unlatched his prosthetic and gently put it into the satchel. Cassy didnt say anything as he did it since it was something he had done before. Instead he simply inhaled from the joint before passing the stick to his boyfriend and exhaling the smoke from his lungs. They then went back on their journey, Sally mostly smoking alone but he did hold it to Cassy’s lips for him as they walked.

After what felt like hours and after the joint was gone they were still walking, now deep into the woods on the train tracks still. That was when Cassy stopped in his tracks and looked to his side deep into the tree filled woods.

“This way, we’re close.” He then began to step down the small hill the tracks were atop of while balancing with his crutches more.

“Close to what?” Sally asked.

“I.. Im not sure,” he admitted as he kept going deeper into the woods. Sally made an expression that Cass noticed that seemed to say he was unsure of this and what Cass was feeling. But he kept quiet and followed his partner more into the woods while shining his light on trees and animals. They had never been this far away from home without a vehicle or this deep in the woods. They had no idea what to expect but Cass followed his gut on what way to go.

Cass began to pick up speed, even with his crutches he was moving faster than he ever had before while Sally began to follow close to not lose him. That was when Cassidy stumbled to an edge and began to fall forward before Sally grabbed him and pulled him close into his arms.

“Woah,” Sally mumbled as he held him close and they both gazed over to what they had stumbled upon.

A deep hole, an abyss like hole of darkness was before them. Sally had a look of confusion before he looked to Cass who had wide eyes staring into the abyss. His eyes went from blue to purple as they dilated. The abyss began to glow purple as well, almost like a flame of a different color.

“We should go,” Sally finally urged as Cassy stared. He tugged at him and tried to walk backwards before Cassy let go of him. “Cass?” his voice trembled a bit as Cassy began to walk to the edge more leaning over it to stare deep into the hole. Everything in him was screaming to jump, it was an overwhelming urge he couldnt fight as he was as close as he could be. That was when Sally grabbed his hand again and pulled him to face him. “Cass! Snap out of this!”

“Huh what?” Cassy's eyes went back to normal as he looked at Sally again who leaned in and placed a kiss to his lips. As he came back to reality Cass began to kiss back and let the moment last for them.

“Better?” Sally asked after he finally pulled back a few inches from his face.

“Yeah.”

“What is this? Why are we here?” Sally urged.

“I… don't know, but it was in my dreams, it calls to me.”

“Then we need to go before something bad happens.”

“Okay,” Cassy agreed as they intertwined their fingers together.

However before the two could begin to walk away the ground began to shake and rumble. They wobbled unevenly as the movement startled them. That was when the ground below Cassy crumbled apart beneath his feet. As he started to fall with the dirt into the abyss he felt his hand be caught by Sally who was now leaning over the pit and holding him tightly with both hands. He struggled to hold him up but he tried to pull anyways as Cassy flailed his legs to try and climb the slippery side of the abyss.

“Sally!” Cass whimpered.

“I got you! I got you, dont worry,” Sally replied with a panicked tone.

Soon a deep blue and purple fire began to form beneath him in the abyss of darkness. It spread up higher and higher. Cass could feel the heat at his feet as he began to wince from the pain going up his legs.

“Sally! Im sorry, I.. I love you..” Cassy whimpered as he looked up into the eyes of the only person he ever loved. He then reached up to Sallys hands and pried his fingers open, forcing him to let go of Cass who fell deep into the fiery pit. Sally could hear his scream one last time before it lingered in the air as the abyss went black again before closing up in front of Sal.

Sally was sat in the dirt, trees and darkness surrounding him as his hands dug at the dirt below. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he tried to dig a new pit.

“I.. I love you too….”

Chapter Text

“And that’s how it happened, Dr Enon. How I met, fell for, and lost Cassidy,” Sally explained to his therapist in the prison he had been in since 1999.

It had been two years since he lost Cassidy, and shortly after that everything went down hill for the friend group with the cult. Sometimes he wondered if Cassy could have helped prevent things, or worse, he would have killed Cassy himself.

“Sal, more ghost stories and this time a mysterious abyss of fire that can no longer be located? I know you like to spin tales but-” he was cut off by Sal.

“It isnt a tale. It’s the truth, but what does it matter…” Sally looked down at the table in front of him where his prosthetic sat. It was weird not wearing it around someone who wasnt in his immediate group of friends. “No one will believe me anymore.”

“Well you see Sally, I tried to look into this ‘Cassidy’ and there is no record of him. He didnt go to your school, didnt live in your apartment, in fact no one with the last name Price has ever lived in this town. No Nancy, no Emily, no Cassidy,” Dr. Enon explained with a cross of his arms.

“Wh-What? But…” Sal began before he trailed off with confusion.

“Rather convenient wouldnt you say?”

“Now wait-” he began to argue but was cut off.

“Stop Sal, your trial is coming up and you havent been honest with me even once,” he argued. “I hope next session you tell me the truth and open up. I cant help you unless you let me.”

“I have told the truth.”

“Come on Sal, it’s time to go.”

The guards came over to Sally who wore an orange jumpsuit with his inmate number on it. He picked up his prosthetic and slipped it over his let down blue hair and scarred face. He had given up fighting while here, so he let the guards grip his arms to start leading him away from the therapist and to the door.

“I guess if they execute me… I'll be with Cassy again.”