The Heart Of A Fighter

Chapter Seven

Cass hadn't changed her attitude much towards Cade, she treated him the same as ever, but a little less harshly. Cade noticed she was appearing more approachable little by little, other people started talking to her.

Lily loved her even though she didn't know much about her, but he could tell she loved working with Cass. The more people talked to her, the more jealous and lonely he felt. He went home to an empty house everyday, his mother at work, and his grandparents constantly at the pet clinic. He took comfort in the kittens that depended on him.

A few weeks had passed that way, then the kittens wanted to explore everything and venture outside. They didn't really need Cade anymore. He kept to himself and went back to the way he was before. Withdrawn, quiet, only observing from afar.

Lily had noticed the change almost instantly, at rehearsal, between scenes, she pulled Cass to the side, "did something happen between you two?"

Cass looked at her with a confused expression, "no, nothing has changed."

A look of realization crossed her face, "oh, that must be it then. He must be giving up on you."

"What?" Cass stared blankly at her.

Lily smiled, "nothing, never mind."

Lily shook her head and walked away to change her wardrobe. Cass really was clueless or she was playing dumb for some unknown reason. Cass wouldn't admit to it, but she had noticed the change in Cade, she just didn't want to know the reason, even though she had a feeling it was because of her.

Later that evening, she called Clarissa and talked to her about it, "do you think I'm wrong? I did warn him to stay away from me. Knowing full well that I would hurt him."

Clarissa sighed, "as much as I enjoy your complicated romance drama, I hate to admit that you're being ridiculous. It's been months now, and nothing has happened. Would it really be so horrible for you to try being a normal teenage girl?"

"Yes it would. I don't know the first thing about being a normal teenage girl, besides, I know if I let my guard down, that's probably when something will happen, and I hate the idea of being unprepared," Cass felt a headache coming on. "That's one thing I cannot afford."

Clarissa was the only person who knew about the debt, and the sketchy person to whom it was owed. She couldn't blame Cass for the way she felt, but at the same time, she wanted her best friend to enjoy her life without having to constantly look over her shoulder.

One afternoon, they were about to rehearse a sword fighting scene. It was their first official dress rehearsal. Lily had completely redone Cass's costume to better suit her personality and figure. Cade walked in late.

Jayden gave him a stern look, "look who finally decided to show up. Where have you been? Lily has your costume ready. Go get changed please, we're already behind."

Cade walked backstage to the wardrobe area and saw Cass standing up on a stool as Lily was sewing up the hem of her costume.

"Lily, I came for my costume fit-" he stopped mid-sentence as he laid eyes on Cass.

There was nothing particularly unique about the costume itself, it was just the way Cass wore it. She was the heroine of their play, as a daring and bold, sword-wielding, armor-wearing maiden. It suited her well. Jayden came back with papers in hand.

"I'd like to make some suggestions on rewriting some scenes, everyone gather around please," Jayden said loudly as he stood up on a stepladder.

Cass stepped down from her stool and walked up to him, "which scenes?"

Jayden almost didn't recognize Cass in her costume, "Lily, when did you decide to change the costume design?"

"Well I did a little research and this style seems to more closely resemble the style we want to achieve. Do you dislike it?" Lily asked meekly.

He looked over Cass again, "I guess not, but next time, please let me know if you're wanting to make anymore costume redesigns. Alright, back to the task at hand. I really feel like this script is missing something."

Lily was confused, "like what? We have action, intrigue, even some singing. What else is there?"

"Romance. We need a love interest between characters," Jayden waved the script over his head.

They all started murmuring and muttering amongst themselves. Cass became annoyed, "we don't have time for this. Opening night is only a few days away."

"Any good actor could do it," Jayden said snidely.

Cass felt like Jayden was paying her back for putting down the play he wanted to do before.

"Look, I'm sorry if it feels like I came in here and took over your club. If you have a problem with me, then say so, to my face, but don't take it out on everyone else," Cass said as she folded her arms sternly.

Lily covered her mouth in surprise. No one had ever stood up to Jayden like that. Cade hadn't even noticed it until that moment when he saw the stunned expressions on everyone's faces. Cade came and stood behind her.

"Yeah man, what is really the point behind all this?" Cade chimed in.

Cass felt the heat rise in her face. Jayden turned red as he gazed up at Cade's towering figure, and swallowed hard, "I feel like I'm the only one taking things seriously here. If we put on a great show, we get more donations, plain and simple."

"No one takes things more seriously than Cass. Besides, aren't you charging admission? Why do you need donations?" Cade demanded.

Cass was alarmed at the sound of Cade using her name that way. It caught her off guard.

Jayden sighed, "okay, I didn't want to have to tell you all this, but I was called into the principal's office this morning. If we don't make enough money for drama club soon, we'll be forced to disband it."

Everyone started murmuring again. Jayden hung his head despairingly. Cade apologized for being so gruff with him.

Cass looked at everyone's faces and clenched her fists, then she placed a hand on Jayden's shoulder, "then I'll do my best to make sure that doesn't happen. What would you like me to do president?"

Jayden's face lit up, "really?"

Cass smiled reassuringly, "yes, you've been doing this for a while, right? You know what to do."

Jayden pumped his fist in determination, "alright, let's do this."

Everyone cheered and worked harder than ever on getting the play together. Jayden worked tirelessly on revising the script. The next day, at rehearsal, he sat down with Cade and Cass to show it to them.

Cass read it and bit her lip nervously, "you want me in a kissing scene?"

Jayden looked at her skeptically, "yes, you can do a little kiss, can't you?"

"I said I'd do it, I'm just wondering if you're sure you still want me to play this part," Cass tried her hardest to hide a blush.

"I revised it with you in mind, of course I want you to play this part. A knightly female bodyguard and a handsome prince, what could be more romantic? You think you can memorize this new scene by opening night?" Jayden thought nothing of it, if one wanted to act, romantic scenes were to be expected.

Cass felt herself crumbling inside, "sure, no problem. I gave you my word, I intend to follow through with it."

"Wonderful, I better start passing out these other scripts," Jayden got up and left.

Cass exhaled sharply, "what have I gotten myself into? And you, you've been ignoring me all this time until yesterday, what were you thinking stepping in like that? You should've known what he had in mind, why didn't you stop me?"

Cade chuckled, "I'm sorry, I thought I wasn't responsible for you. Besides, I didn't think you cared enough to notice."

Cass rubbed her face in agitation, "I don't care, I just can't believe I'm doing this. I'm not an actor, there's no way I can convincingly play this part with feelings I don't have."

Cade was hurt by it, but didn't show it, instead, he just smiled kindly, "I can help you, if you want me to. I did play Romeo in middle school."

"I know, Lily told me, but that's not the problem here. I'm not an affectionate person, how can I pull this off?" Cass glared at the words on the paper as if they were evil.

Cade couldn't help but find it funny and laughed, "I swear, I'm not making fun, I've just never seen you get worked up like this, you're usually pretty good at keeping your cool. But if I may point out, your character isn't affectionate either, if you read the scene, you'll see the prince is the one who initiates it, so you only have to follow my lead. It'll be fine. A kiss is a minor thing compared to the new lines we have to learn."

Cade couldn't tell Cass he was nervous too. It was one thing to do a kissing scene, but to do a kissing scene with Cass was something completely different. They practiced their lines that evening, but every time they got to the kissing part, Cass would blush and turn away, she couldn't bring herself to do it.

Cade smiled in amusement, "Rourke, you really need to relax."

"I'm trying, but every time I start to, I think about all the people that'll be watching and I freak out," Cass paced the ground and clenched her fists in frustration.

"It would seem even the great Scarlet gets stage fright," he teased.

Cass leaned against a tree and sank to the grass, "why can't I do it? Sure, I can take hits like an i***t, but a stupid little kiss? What's wrong with me?"

Cade knelt in front of her, "maybe you should trust me more. I think that's your issue, I haven't proven myself to you yet."

"What do you mean?" Cass felt goosebumps all over as she stared into his face.

"With acting, the actors need to trust each other or the whole thing would fall apart. Usually with new people, the drama club does trust exercises, I'm not sure why they didn't do it when you joined, but we can do some now if you're willing to," Cade said, attempting to calm her nerves. "Come on, here's an easy one. Stand up, then all you have to do is fall backwards and trust me to catch you."

Cass hesitated, but worked up the nerve to try it out. She wasn't sure if she could put that kind of trust in anyone. She took a deep breath and let herself fall, almost expecting to hit the ground and pull Cade down with her. He caught her and stood firmly in place. They did it a few more times until Cass felt like she could trust him enough.

They never got around to practicing the kissing scene. It got late and Cass had to go home. Cade realized he would never be able to completely ignore or avoid her when she was always on his mind.

It was finally opening night in the school auditorium. Cass peeked from backstage, and was in disbelief at how many people actually showed up to see it. She figured it was because Jayden had waived the admission fee. He had talked to everyone and they all thought it would be better if they had ushers go around with a donation box. He picked the two most charming people in the club to go around before and after the show with it. Which, apparently, was Cade and Lily.

Cass was pacing again and using the breathing exercises Lily had taught her. Lily was going to play the role of the Queen, and Cass was playing a lady knight who protected the royal family. She was confident the play would get good reviews after Jayden had so beautifully written it. She was still nervous about the kissing scene, but she wasn't about to let everyone down over it.

Cade and Lily had finished going around and returned backstage to quickly change into their costumes. As they started to set up, Cade turned to Cass, "are you ready Rourke?"

"As ready as I'll ever be" Cass's face was pale.

Lily came up to her, "you look like you need a quick touch up."

She grabbed a powder puff and patted it vigorously over Cass's face. It stunned her and she started coughing, engulfed in a cloud of powder.

"Oops, sorry Cassie, I didn't know these things could hold that much powder," Lily blushed.

Cade laughed and took a damp washcloth to her cheek, "are you okay?"

Cass got goosebumps from his touch, her legs wobbled and she grabbed onto the closest thing to her, "I don't know if I can do this."

She hadn't realized she had grabbed onto Cade. He noticed she was starting to dip down and grabbed hold of her.

"Rourke! Are you sure you're okay?" His eyes were fearful.

Cass withdrew from him and took a deep breath, reaching for Lily, "I'll be fine, my throat is feeling dry, could you please get me some water?"

"Of course, I'll be right back," Lily lifted the skirts of her costume and ran as quickly as she could.

Cade had her sit down and kneeled in front of her, "you really are nervous. Is there anything I can do to help?"

Cass rubbed her temples and avoided his gaze, "yes, you can back off and let me deal with this."

Cade's face fell and he stepped away. Lily returned with a bottle of water and Cass thanked her. He didn't understand why she wouldn't let him help her. Cass was being too proud, and she thought if she ignored her feelings, they would disappear.

She was able to pull herself together in time for her queue, she stepped out on stage, "your royal highnesses, our enemies are so full of anger and hate, but as long as I'm here you'll never be harmed."

Her mother had snuck in quietly and sat off to the side near the front row, and coincidentally, had sat next to Cade's mother and grandparents.

Alma Bourne smiled at her and whispered, "hello Greta, which one is yours?"

Greta smiled and pointed out Cass, whose character exchanged witty banter with Cade's character, "I'm guessing that's your son up there, I've seen him around town. He's very handsome."

"Thank you, he really enjoys acting, but I'm not sure why he stopped before, did you know these kids wrote this play themselves?" Alma beamed. "Oh these are my parents, Gerard and Stella Hawkins."

Greta introduced herself and shook hands with them, then they returned their attention back to the play. They turned out the lights briefly to change the set and were on to the next scene and performed a musical number.

Cade could see Cass's determination shining through, she had messed up her lines by forgetting what to say, but improvised and followed her instincts. The spontaneous script even seemed to sound better than the actual one. He was impressed by her quick-thinking, she was really good at it.

As Cass acted out the sword-fighting scene, it was obvious she had prior fighting skills, which enhanced the scene and had everyone on the edge of their seats. Lily stood off to the side with him and joined him in admiring Cass, "she's amazing, isn't she? And she told me she has never acted before. She plays her character so well, it's hard to believe."

Cade remained silent. He could only nod his head in agreement as he watched Cass do flips and turns, that she had choreographed with the other actors, completely dominating the fight scene. As the scene ended, the audience cheered and applauded. He had a feeling this night would change everything for her.

Cass was breathless as she sat down and sipped water. Caroline was in charge of make-up and was transforming Cass's appearance to look battle-wounded and beaten. The next scene was another musical number and a monologue. Cade's and Cass's characters were starting to fall in love.

A few more action scenes and an epic getaway led up to the big romantic scene.

"Prince Tauren, I think we've lost them. We'll camp here for the night" Cass built a fake campfire and sat on a fake boulder.

Cade slouched under a fake tree, acting ragged and worn out, "do you think my mother made it out?"

"Her highness is a very resourceful Queen, I'm sure she's fine," Cass had stood up and looked down at Cade, then acted like she was looking at the sky, "it's strange that all the war and chaos would bring us here, to a place so beautiful and peaceful."

Cade got up and stood behind her closely, looking in the same direction as her, "the sky is so clear tonight, you look lovely in the moonlight."

Cade leaned in for a kiss, Cass put her hands on his chest and gently pushed him back, "no, we mustn't... You're the prince and I'm sworn to protect you. My life is yours, but to give you my heart would surely be my demise, I would be banished and unable to continue protecting you."

"Who would banish you? It's just us here, and I could never do that to you," Cade put his hand against her cheek, "I'd sooner die then have you taken away from me."

"I won't let you. In order to do my duty, we cannot let this go any further!" Cass turned away dramatically.

"To the gallows with duty, Vera, I've loved you from the start, I cannot hold it back any longer," Cade grabbed Cass by the hand and pulled her to his chest.

Cass felt her heart racing, this was it. Cade entwined his hands in her hair and leaned in, then he kissed her. They both felt a static shock course through their veins, and it almost brought him to his knees. Cass felt Cade starting to fall back. It wasn't in the script, so she acted quickly and pulled him close so he could lean on her.

"I hear our enemies approaching!" Cass had ended the scene early as she made the signal for the other actors to enter. The next scene, she put Cade in a fake cave.

"You're hurt sire, please rest," Cass had a tear-away cloak as part of her costume and pulled a strip off, having to wrap it around Cade's head.

She had to sing a song, then the lights went off to end the scene and change sets again. There wasn't time for Cass to question Cade's sudden weakness. It was time for the last epic boss battle, the queen's death, and Prince Tauren's coronation. Then came the last scene where newly crowned King Tauren decreed he would marry whoever he wished and proposed to Vera.

At last, the play ended, they did a curtain call, then the cast had a dinner at Jayden's family's restaurant, then soon after had gone their separate ways towards home. Lily walked out with Cade and Cass, while she waited for her ride. After she left, Cade walked with Cass.

Cass's cheeks hadn't stopped blushing since the kissing scene and she had to tell people it was an allergic reaction to the makeup.

She broke the awkward silence between them, "so, are you feeling alright?"

Cade swallowed hard, embarrassed by what had happened, "uh, yeah. It was probably just the heat from the stage lights or something like that. Jayden said we got a lot of donations tonight thanks to you, he doesn't know what they would've done without you."

He purposely left himself out of it, too ashamed by the way he had made a fool of himself.

"Then I've kept my word, but it wasn't just me, it was everyone that made it a great play," Cass went quiet after that.

She had a feeling someone was watching her and glanced around. Something didn't feel right. Cade looked around too, when he saw the anxious look on her face.

"What's going on?" He said quietly.

"I felt like someone or something was watching me," Cass stood still when she heard what sounded like someone kicking a stone.

She peered out of the corner of her eye and thought she saw a dark figure lurking by a wall. She turned around sharply only to find nothing. Cade became concerned, "I guess I'll see you around then."

He slinked off and lingered behind a tree as Cass kept walking. Cade didn't see anyone either, but he was starting to feel the way Cass felt. Cass stayed home that weekend, constantly peering out her windows. She still felt like something wasn't right