The Heart Of A Fighter

Chapter Three

During the week, Cade and Cass were walking down the hall. Cass seemed distracted and dropped some books on the floor. Right around the corner from where they were, a couple of girls were gossiping about a certain transfer student.

"I heard she got thrown out of her last school because she was caught smoking in the girls' washroom," one of them said.

"Great, it's hard enough keeping our school decent, now we have trash like that coming here. I don't know who decided to let her come here if she has that kind of record," the other one said.

Cass stood up and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. Cade examined her expression carefully, but she showed no signs of being bothered by it. He didn't care though, he was bothered by it, and he was determined to show those girls who the trash really was.

"Let's go this way, Rourke," he said as he grabbed her arm.

Cass glanced over at the girls, "I would, but unless you can guarantee that this way is quicker to get to class than that way, I won't."

Cade smirked, "don't worry, I'll get you to class on time."

"Okay..." Cass knew he was up to something.

"So tell me Rourke, what did you do to end up at this school?" Cade said it loud enough so they could hear.

"I was expelled, for one thing, but the reason we moved here is a completely different reason," Cass wasn't going to say why.

"Not for smoking or drinking on campus?" Cade pressed.

"No, nothing like that. There was an incident involving another person. They got expelled too." Cass glanced down at her watch impatiently.

He grabbed her by the hand and ran to get her to class on time.

"We really shouldn't be running!" Cass said as she held the hem of her skirt down.

He ushered her through the door in front of him, right before the tardy bell rang, "see, I told you I'd get you to class on time."

Mrs. Linton, the math teacher glared at Cade, "running in the hall again Mr. Bourne? I'd appreciate it if you didn't try to corrupt new students again." She wrote on a pink slip and handed it to Cade, "see you in detention."

Cade took the slip and shrugged, "I'll try my best not to."

Cass raised an eyebrow at him as they made their way to their seats, "again? What does she mean by that?"

"I'm a bad influence, according to her, apparently kids have been acting out more because of me, I think they're just looking for someone to blame, but whatever," Cade slouched at his desk and loosened his tie.

Cass looked around and saw some girls shyly avert their eyes when he looked up and caught them staring at him.

She giggled, "oh I see, so you're the bad boy at this school, how precious."

Cade winked at her and smiled, "someone has to be."

He knew his antics paled in comparison to the kind of rowdy boy shenanigans she was used to, but he was glad to make her laugh, for a girl who was so serious and intense all the time, she had her own unique features that made her cute.

Landon watched with dismay from the back of the classroom. But he supposed it only made sense for them to be drawn to each other. They both let off a powerful aura. He admitted he hadn't noticed it at first with Cass until the day she humiliated him and his friends. Without a doubt, she would be the only girl here to equal Cade.

They all had known Cade since elementary school days, he used to be pathetic and pitiful, then one day he became a completely different person, someone to be respected and admired. Many times, Landon had tried to get him to join their group, but he was still a loner, as if he preferred it that way. He didn't have friends, only admirers, he never trusted anyone enough. Then Cass showed up and people started to see another side of Cade, the happy, playful, protective side, the way he only was with Cass. That's when all the girls really started looking at him.

Cass felt like she was getting more dirty looks than usual that day. As Cade walked out the school gates with her, she saw more glares, then she looked over to see him closely standing next to her.

"Do you really have nothing better to do than following me around?" Cass sighed.

"It's not a matter of boredom, you're too reckless, you need supervision," Cade teased.

"Let me rephrase that, go find something better to do that doesn't include following me around," Cass snipped.

Cass ran away from him and hid herself. She was getting too used to him being around and she didn't like how it felt. She didn't need him around. Once she felt it was clear to continue home, she started walking again. She took her time, and was lost in thought.

Why didn't Cade realize what he was doing? It was awkward enough being the new girl at school, now she was detested and resented for being there at all. It made her more of a social outcast than she already was.

A cold wind rushed through her, she rubbed her arm for warmth. It was almost winter now. But strangely, that wasn't the reason she was feeling cold. She was lonely, and she missed her friends. When she walked in the door, her mother was there waiting for her.

"Cassandra, I like to think I'm a reasonable person, but when we moved here, I asked for one simple thing. You made me a promise," her mother's voice cracked and her eyes teared up.

"Mom, what are you talking about?" Cass was confused, and ashamed at the same time.

"You promised me you weren't going to fight, I got a call from 3 different parents saying you attacked their sons," her mother raised her voice in frustration.

Cass rolled her eyes, "mom, they were bullying a younger kid, I couldn't just stand by and let it happen, and it was the second time I caught them doing it. That first time, all I did was talk them down, but lost my bike because of it. I wasn't going to let them get away with it again!"

"Wait, what? Oh, never mind... You still made a promise to me, and broke it, if there's a problem, you need to get adults or the police or something like that, stop trying to be a hero!" Her mother cried.

"So you want me to be a coward? I'm sorry, I can't do that. If I see someone in trouble, I'm always going to step in," Cass pulled out the envelope full of her prize money from her bag and slammed it down on the table next to her mother. "Always... Either accept the way I am or keep bringing me down until I'm nothing but a hollow shell of nothing."

She picked up the envelope and looked inside, "Cassandra, where did you get all this money?"

"I won it in a contest," Cass answered vaguely.

Her mother became alarmed, "what contest? I hope you're not doing anything illegal."

"Why do you always assume I'm doing something illegal?"

"You're avoiding the question Cassandra, what did you do to get this money?" Her mother demanded.

Cass was prepared to answer and face her mother's wrath, and she would have if the phone hadn't started ringing. Flustered, her mother answered the phone.

She hung up after a few minutes and sighed, "I have to go back to work, but make no mistake, this conversation isn't over young lady. When I come home, I expect a full explanation, the absolute truth, do you understand me?"

"Yes mom," she said as she stared at the floor.

After her mother left, Cass called Clarissa's cell from their house phone, "this is probably it for me, she'll probably never let me leave the house again."

Clarissa giggled, "since when has that ever stopped you before. Don't you remember what happened last time she found out you were fighting competitively?"

"Yeah, she cried and screamed at me for hours, and it really hurt me to see her like that. But it's the quickest way for me to make money, and I wish she could understand that I'm doing it to help her," Cass lounged in an old armchair and rested her feet on the hallway table.

"Sometimes, parents don't realize the pressure we feel for the need to help them. Is she at work right now?" Clarissa asked.

"Yeah, they called her in. They overwork her for such small wages, it makes me angry," Cass rubbed her forehead in exhaustion.

"Hey, you should come out this Saturday. Maybe you could bring Cade?" Clarissa teased suggestively.

"That i***t? I don't think so. He's nothing but a nuisance, I really hope that was a joke," Cass remembered the look of fear on his face and the way he froze that night in the alley way.

Clarissa laughed, "yeah... Totally joking." Then she got serious, "actually Cass, we think Cade has a lot of potential, we all saw how you two teamed up without a second thought, and it was like poetry in motion."

Cass rolled her eyes, "you know how I am Clare, and it's only human nature to get caught up in the adrenaline and miraculously adapt to stressful situations, so don't read too much into it."

"Okay, if you say so. I've got to go now, I'm meeting up with the crew to do a little patrolling, but I don't think we'll see Geo and his buddies for a while, thanks to you," Clarissa said proudly. "We really miss having you around Cass."

"I know, I miss being there. I cannot describe to you how boring it is over here, it's ridiculous. Talk to you later," Cass hung up and sighed.

She went out to the old barn again to practice. It was getting colder at night, but she was so focused on what she was doing she hadn't noticed it. For a fleeting second, a helpless, frightened Cade popped into her head, she became annoyed and punched her dummy's head off.

"...honestly" she huffed and reattached the head. "If he's so great, why does he need help?"

She got up for school the next morning, her mother hadn't returned from work yet. She breathed a sigh of relief and made herself a lunch, then grabbed an apple for breakfast. She saw Cade on the other side of the street a few blocks away from school, making her wonder what kind of place he lived in. She shook it from her mind and continued walking. For a few days it went on like that, every time her mother tried to talk to her about the money, something always seemed to come up. It was happening so often, she started finding it odd, perhaps she was actually afraid to find out what Cass had been doing.