A/N: This fic takes place after "And the Rule of Three."

Enjoy!

angellwings

Thanks to Us

by angellwings

"Who were you in high school?" Cassandra asked Jake once the STEM fair was over and they were safely back in The Annex.

He grinned at her with what he knew was a twinge of bitterness and said, "Fake."

She bit her bottom lip and nodded. "Artful jock isn't a role they have in high school, is it?"

"How did you know that I—"

She shrugged. "You seem like the hometown hero type. It would be a natural cover for you."

He nodded and smirked. "Is that a compliment?"

She smiled at him but said nothing.

"What about you?" He asked. "Teen-genius? Valedictorian? As intelligent as you are, you had to be."

"Maybe I would have been," she said sadly.

"What does that mean?" Jake asked with a furrowed brow.

"We found out about the tumor when I was 15," she answered. By 'we' he assumed she meant her family. Though, he didn't stop her to ask. "Apparently, freakish hallucinating girl isn't a role they have in high school either."

"You dropped out," he stated.

"I tutored myself and took the test that home school students take when they finish their courses. So, I still got a diploma," she said with yet another shrug. He was starting to wonder if she shrugged when things were more uncomfortable than she wanted them to be.

"So, all those science fairs were before you started—"

"Hallucinating and rambling and losing myself in my own mind? Yes," she answered simply with a small sad smile. "But I guess—I mean, sometimes, I'm glad I stopped competing. It forced me to discover who else I could be and what I was capable of beyond, you know…"

"Beyond that one singular definition?" Jake asked in understanding.

"Exactly!" Cassandra said with an excited nod. "I wish other people understood it back then like you seem to understand it now."

He smiled warmly at her. "Yeah, me too. But at least those kids from today will get it right."

Cassandra smirked at him and playfully nudged his shoulder. "Thanks to us."

She turned on her heel and walked away toward the stacks. He watched her walk away with an affectionate gaze as he spoke under his breath, "Yeah, thanks to us."

He imagined she was off to find a good book and curl up in one of the far corners of the Annex. She tended to that when she needed to relax. Yes, he paid attention. Sometimes, he was afraid he paid a little too much attention.