Cassie was sprawled across Adam's coach, a finished pizza box was wide open on the coffee box. For the to first time in months she was free of worries, besides the pleasant flutter in her stomach when she wondered where this night with Adam will go.

She today officially moved in with him, less then a half a week after it was all over her mother announced that her grandma's house needed serious renovations, and until those were over cassie should move in with one of her friends. Adam was not who her mother had in mind, but he was her only option, as Diane had Max over for most of the nights, with the rest of the girls cassie felt uncomfortable to ask to move in for a month or two, and who else was there? Doug and Chris were NOT an option and Nick, her heart ached when she thought of him. It has only been three days since it was all over, and she hasn't spoken or see him since. She picked up the phone so many times to call him, but didn't because she she would just add to his anguish. So that's how she ended up with a doffel bag of clothes on Adam and his grandmother's front door. She didn't even manage to set the bags down before she was dragged by Adam into his room for a 'welcome home' make-out session. They ordered pizza for supper, and were now watching some cheesy romantic comedy video, well they were kissing more than they were watching, so it didn't really matter. Cassie untangeled herself from Adam so that she can clean up the mess they made.

"Hey, come back here", Adam protested.

"I'll just clean up a bit here, when was the last time you've cleaned up your room anyways?" She asked as she picked up dirty clothes from the floor and tossed them in the hamper.

"About a month ago..." He trailed off guiltly.

"You mean when my sister was here?" She was not giving him the easy way out on this on.

"Yeah, about that", he paused like he didn't know how to continue, "Cassie, I can't tell you how sorry I am for that".

She didn't see why he needed to apologize repeatedly, what happened was in the past, and there was no need to talk about it unless there was something she needed to know, and Adam assured her that there wasn't.

The awkward silence dragged on and she tried to clean up as fast as possible so they can pick up from they stopped on the coach.

She went to toss the garbage in the room's bin when something in it cought her eye. She has never actually seen a real one, was that condom's raper? And what was it doing in Adam's bin? She wasn't so sure she wanted to know the answers to those questions.

"Adam, what on earth are used condoms doing in your bin?" Her voice came out more shrill than she Intendned,but she didn't feel sorry when she saw Adam's guilty face.

It was suddenly so clear. There was only one bed in Adam's room, and they they looked close just weeks ago, Adam's constant apologys. She was shocked, but deep down she feared this all along.

Like in a haze, she went to get her duffel bag, she couldn't even look at Adam.

She headed to the entrance, and Adam came and blocked her way.

"Don't go Cassie" he said softly.

"Why so you can do both sisters? Please get out of my way", she was angry and disgusted from him.

He reluctantly let her leave.

A small part of her heart told her to stay, but she was beyond forgiving him for anything.

She was alone in the cold, dark night, and she didn't have where to go. She didn't want to wake up and worry her mother, and she thought of the only other person she can go to. She walked toward Nick's garages apartment that was separated from the house.

She didn't want to knock on his door and wake him up so she texted him: its cassie, please open the door.

She heard shuffling from inside and then a key turning in the key hold. A tired, disheveled looking nick beckoned her to come in. She did. He turned toward her, his face warry and slightly angry. She burst into tears, and he ameadiatly wrapped his arms around her.

"What happened?" He asked in a soft tone. That made her cry harder, she missed his sensitivity so much. She buried her face in his pajama T-shirt, getting a big whiff of his smell, clean soap and spicy cologne.

"Is it Adam? If he did anything to hurt you I'll kill him". She nodded into his shoulder and heard him mumble "bastard".

She collected herself and dried her tears, he was reluctant to let go of her but did, when he got her a wadd of tissues.

She smiled at him and dried off her tears with the tissues.

Now that she wasn't crying anymore she looked around her. She wasn't in Nick's apartment, and he made a few changes in it, but like anything nick owned, everything was spotless and tidy.

"Nice", she commented on the new extended wall of car eingeneering supplies.

He smiled at her, and she could tell he was tired. He was in pajamas, a wrinckeled T-shirt and shorts, and it suddenly accrued to her that she might have woken him up.

"Sorry I woke you up", she said sheepishly realizing it was nearly two in the morning.

"Yeah, Cassie, what the heck is going on?", he asked eying my duffel bag.

She was suddenly at a loss for words, how does she explain the situation to Nick?

"Umm, my mom is renovating the house, and she asked me to move in with a friend, and I decided to move in with Adam", a muscle in his neck jumped, she went on, "and we I was cleaning up, and I found, uh, I found out that he slept with my sister, and didn't tell me about it, and I got mad and walked out on him, and I don't want to wake up my mother and have to face her questions, so..."

"You woke me up instead.", he completed the sentence for her.

"Sorry about that, I wasn't really thinking".

"Well, how about you spend here the night, and we'll sort everything out in the morning?".

She eyed the single queen size bed, and blushed.

"I'll take the couch", he answered her silent question, "you can change in the bathroom, and brush your teeth, or whatever, and I can change the sheets for you while your busy".

A pang of warmth filled her,here she was invading his space in middle of the night, and he was offering to change his sheets for her.

"that's totally fine, you don't have to change anything, I don't mind what I sleep on, I'm exsuasted, but I don't have pajamas", she didn't think she'll need any... "I'll just sleep in my clothes". She didn't want to wrinckle her vintage T-shirt, but she didn't have much choice.

"I can go upstairs and find you something from Deborah, or I can lend you some of my pajamas, but they will be big on you", a hint of a grin appeared on his lips.

"I don't want you to wake up Deborah just for me, and I don't mind big pajamas", she smiled at him.

He opened a drawer, and tossed her a white sleavless T-shirt, and a pair of red shorts. She caught them and suddenly felt strange, what kind of a girlfriend was she to sleep in another guy's apartment, wearing his clothes, was she even still Adam's girlfriend? Was she brave enough to break up with him for good?

She was too tired to think of that now and she just took the clothes to the bathroom so she can change.

In the bathroom she brushed her teeth first, and then got undressed. She didn't hesitate again before putting on Nick's clothes. They had distinctly Nick's smell which was overiden by a lavender softener. She felt oddly calm, a feeling she hasn't experienced in weeks. She closed the light in the bathroom and closed the door behind her. Nick was with his back to her, setting up the couch with on of the many pillows from the bed, and with a thin blanket, leaving her with his thicker, warmer blanket on twar his. She felt a rush of gratitude and shame, all she has ever done for him, was break his heart, and here he was being so selfless and caring towards her. She crawled into the bed that was around the corner, and she could make out Nick walking over to the kitchenette pouring himself a drink, he clearly hasn't realized that she was in the room. She took a minute to observe him,the tension in his shoulders, the stiffness of his neck, his bent head, like it was to much of an effort to keep it high. She wished she could relieve his sorrows. did her coming here mean more than she originally thought? Nick was her friend, its natural to reach out to a friend when in red,but was there more to it? Nick finished his drink and was about to turn around, but she didn't want it to get awkward, so she blurted out, quick, before he can turn around,

"Thank you so much for everything, you have no idea how much it means to me".

He turned around quickly, with grace that only he possessed, and leans against the counter, even from far she can tell he was fighting back a grin.

"Well, I'm happy that you came to me for help, and I just want you to know that you always have me for the rescue", he now fully grinned, "how is it the my pajamas look so much better on you then on me?", he wondered out loud.

Embarrassed, she said, "we should probably go to bed, its almost three o'clock".

"Yeah, I wasn't the one waking people up at two in the morning, but you're probablly right, good night". He crossed to the couch in three long strides, and now he was out of her sight, around the corner.

She made herself comfortable in the bed and rapped herself in the thick blanket.

She was asleep before she could start thinking of the events of the day.

OOOOO

She was awakened by someone calling her name softly.

"I really don't want to pour on you water, but if you don't get up I just might".

Wait, her sleepy brain was waking up, that's not Adam's voice, and in who's soft bed is she. She opened her eyes to a fully clothed Nick, and her brain snapped into focus.

"What time is it, and why did you wake me up?", she grumbled, a throbbing headache tacking hold of her brain caused by the lack of sleep.

"Its a quarter to eight, and we do have something called school, remember?",he sighed, "I know you probablly don't want to go, but our attendance record sucks, and there's only three more weeks untillvthe summer vacation".

FILL IN PLOT THAT LEADS UP TO HERE.

"Nick", he was with his back to her, making a coffee.

"Can we talk about this?" She wanted to apologize for what she said, she felt so bad when it slipped her tounge.

"What's there to talk about Cassie? That you will always love Adam, and that no matter how much I love you, or what I do for you, you'll never love me back?", he was now face-to-face with her, and he was clearly upset.

"Don't say that", she said softly.

"Why not, its the truth, admit it", he was getting more and more upset, and she understood that she had to tell him the truth, explain to him what Diana explained to her.

"Nick, listen to me, Diana explained something to me, its a little complicated, but its the truth", she saw him relax, but brace himself for what she had to say, so she continued, "if a cord is connecting two people to one person, as you once said, they 'get to choose who to love', but once they marry one if them, so it says in the of magic books, or in modern translation, they sleep with one of the ones attached to them, the cord to the second person gets torn, and the bond between the two 'married' ones, is permanent", realization was downing on his face, but she wasn't done, "so once Adam slept with my sister, the cord that was connecting us is torn, I don't know if he did it when the demon possessed him, or out of love, and I don't want to know, because I'm no longer connected to him in any way and I get to choose who l love, and I think I fell in love with you, this time for real, I just didn't trust my feelings, because I thought the cord controlled them". She finished her speech and suddenly she realized what she added, the part she didn't repeat in her head a million times, the part about falling for him, and that's how she knew it was true and real, she couldn't deny her dealings for him any longer.

He looked taken aback, confused. But she saw the flicker of hope in his eyes, and thats when she knew, that all along, it was meant to be. She closed the distance between them until her body was lined with his. She lifted her face to him, and was shocked by the power of the passion in his face. Their expectant breaths mingeled a moment, and then he lowered his face to hers.

His lips touched hers, and an electric current passed through her, all her forbidden feelings for him were suddenly unleashed. He kissed her softly, inocently. She kissed him back like she never had before, with all her heart, trusting him not to break it.

His hands slipped around her waist, keeping her as close to him as humanly possible. She felt safe in his armed, and unconditionally loved. Her fingers explored the journey from his elbows to his neck, stopping there to bury themselves in his hair.

She initiated the next kiss, this one not so gentle or innocent. She had dreamt of kissing him like this for ages, but reality was so much better that a fantasy.

His hands moved from her waist to her hips, her breath catching in her throat when he lifted her of her feet, span her around, and unceremoniously dropped her carefully on the counter, knocking the coffee milk aside.

She wrapped her legs around his waist, bringing him closer.

He kissed her like it was their first kiss, trusting her with his heart, like she trusted him with hers. She was suddenly brave, fearless. She broke the kiss and looked into his eyes determined.

"Nick, take me to your bed".

He looked surprise, "Cassie, you've never done this before, you shouldn't do this on the spur of the moment, I can wait", he said in a controlled voice.

"I always wanted my first to be special, and that's what you are to me", she didn't hesitate, she knew what she wanted.

"Well, I'm honoured that I'm you first, and that your mine", he smiled shyly at her.

She was surprised, she thought he was experienced, that he was the one-night-stand type. The longer she was with him the more she discovered about him, and she loved what she found.

She tightened her legs girl around him, and he needed no further invitation.

FILL IN PLOT

Cassie spotted him sitting close to the water. He was throwing stones into the waves, ones he collected from around him into his lap.

She looked at him, he wanted to be left alone, it was evident from each of his movements. She walked quietly towards him. He must have heard her approaching, but he didn't turn around.

"Please leave me alone" he said in a tight voice.

Tears clouded her eyes, she knew she doused his pain, but she also knew she was the only one who can make it go away.

She made her at to where he sat and stopped right next to him. She crouched so that he was eye level with her, if he would just look her way.

He turned his eyes on her, the icy anger in them making her shiver.

"Nick, he put on me a spell, I didn't want to kiss him".

Disbelief and relief played tag and pull over his features, she had to convince him to believe her, or she would lose him forever.

"Faye helped him, she's jealous, she drwed the fire of passion to help, you know I can't fight the elements".

"Your lying", how couldn't he believe her, did it really look like she enjoyed the kiss?

"I'm not, and I can prove I'm right", without hesitation she crashed her mouth to his, shocking him into not resisting.

She used all her strength she had and she delivered a message to his brain.

I love you.

His eyes flew open, "I'm convinced. Love you more".

She didn't argue, just leaned in for another kiss.

He teased her lips open, and deepened the kiss, she wanted to sink into him.

She swung her leg over to his other side and seated herself in his lap without breaking the kis.