A/N: This is a fic based off of an RP my girlfriend and I have been doing since the beginning of July. I took some creative liberties with it, but I definitely give most of Harry's actions credit to my babe. She plays him so well. I'm shook! Anyway...I hope you guys enjoy.

P.S. The beginning of this is slightly different from the show, because instead of Gordie finding Cassandra at the pharmacy looking for her heart meds, it'll be Harry who sees her. ;)

The kids of West Ham seemed to roam rampantly through the streets of what they thought was their hometown, searching through grocery stores, hoping to stock up on food and essentials just in case this were in fact an Apocalyptic world they were suddenly living in. Cassandra Pressman, Student Council President and seemingly the only responsible teen around, only had one thing on her mind in that moment. Ignoring the other kids who ran passed her on the streets, she found herself stumbling through the doors of the nearest pharmacy. Her breathing grew heavier and irregular as her body shook through the cold sweat that began to cover her.

Using the counter directly in front of the entrance as a crutch, she made her way to the locked barrier that blocked her from getting to the shelves of prescription pills. She tugged and tugged on the lock as if her life depended on it. Well….It did.

Cassandra was so focused on getting that lock and chain off the barrier doors that she barely heard the chime of the pharmacy door opening.

Harry Bingham, the school's It-Guy, was so focused on what he himself was doing, that he didn't even pay attention to the girl that was already present as his eyes stayed fixated on the drugs through the gates. He made his way to the sliding caged doors, immediately attempting to open them as if Cassandra, his long time childhood rival, were just a ghost beside him.

When Cass saw him, she took a step to the side and watched him struggle to open them as well before she finally cleared her throat. Harry looked at her briefly before rolling his eyes, annoyed that of all people, she was the one witnessing this. He pulled at the gate again and it loosened a bit where it connected to the floor.

Cassandra looked down, noticing as well as he had and she stepped back to where she was before, grabbing ahold of the door on her side. "Together on three?" Harry just nodded, refusing to look directly at her. "One, two, three!" Cassandra said and they both pulled.

It began to wiggle a bit more, but it still needed one or two more pulls. Harry looked up and down the barrier doors, studying it to see if they should even try again. When he saw how weak it had become, he spoke. "One more time." He turned his head to look at the blonde beside him, intending on only looking for a second or two. That plan changed when he noticed her struggling to breathe and he examined her face. "Why are your lips blue?" He didn't mean to make it sound so rude when it came out...but that happened often when he was waiting for his next high.

Cass ignored him, tightening her grip on the door as best as she could. "One...two...three!"

They both pulled with all their might and the cage doors opened, the metal screeching against the floor as the lock snapped and fell to the ground. Harry went inside immediately, searching through the shelves, ignoring all the bottles of pills he had knocked over. Cassandra stayed where she was, almost out of breath from all the pulling and she leaned against the nearest wall, placing a hand on her chest.

"What are you looking for?" Harry asked, still going through all the drugs.

"J-Just a second." Cass said, her voice frail and weak.

Harry heard the strain in it and turned to look at her. "Oh, shit. Are you okay?"

Cass put a hand up and weakly nodded. "Yeah, yeah. Just...Just worked myself too hard." She forced out a chuckle, rubbing her chest as the fabric of her button down shirt opened a bit, revealing the deep, pink scar down the center of her chest. Harry glanced at it for a moment before telling himself it didn't matter and he looked back at the shelf, picking up bottles and reading the labels before putting them back. "Wh-" Cass began to speak, losing her breath and she gulped, pulling herself together long enough to finish what she was going to say. "What are you looking for?"

"Something to get high on."

Cassandra couldn't help but roll her eyes at him before she took a deep breath and finally managed to move away from the wall. She slowly made her way into an aisle of the pharmacy, going by the alphabetical order of medications.

"What are you looking for?" Harry asked with a hint of his usual attitude.

"Don't-" The girl stopped speaking, losing her breath again as her body shook even more. She took another deep breath in order to speak. "Don't worry about it." She used the shelves as a crutch, making her way to the correct aisle as her breathing worsened.

Harry couldn't seem to find exactly what he needed so he searched several aisles before making it to the one she was in and she was barely standing on her own. Leaning against a shelf, she attempted to catch her breath so she could walk again. "You don't look so good." Harry pointed out. "Maybe I should help you loo-"

"I-I'm alright." Cassandra interrupted him, though she was shocked to hear Harry Bingham offering her his help.

"You really don't look alright, Cassandra." Harry said, already annoyed as shit at her constant need to seem perfect to everyone around her.

"I am." She argued.

"Cass." He sighed and watched her lean even more against the shelf, her breaths short and shallow. He'd never seen her like this and it was actually beginning to frighten him. "Tell me what you're looking for….Now."

She took a couple more deep breaths before speaking, though it almost came out as a whisper. "W-Warfarin."

Harry nodded and immediately went to the W's, quickly finding her medicine and bringing it to her, placing the bottle in her shaking hands. Cassandra thanked him as she poured two of the pills into her palm and placed them into her mouth. Harry watched her throw her head back, swallowing the pills without water. He gulped as he watched her, his own heart suddenly pounding, afraid of seeing her like that. His thoughts began to drift off, seeing her in such a state causing his need to get high to worsen and he quickly went back to raiding the shelves for himself.

After a bit, his mind couldn't take being filled with so many questions anymore and he asked, "What's Warfarin for?"

"I have a heart defect, okay?" Cassandra didn't mean to sound so irritated, but she was sure he would go off and tell all of his jock friends, just waiting for them to make a joke out of it. To make a joke out of her….again. Like they always did.

Harry was silent, continuing to look, the tone in her voice only making him feel worse and he looked more frantically. "Come on, come on." He mumbled to himself as any true addict would.

"What are you trying to run away from, Harry?" Cassandra asked him, finally able to move away from the shelf a little. The medicine took some time to help her improve completely, but she was grateful she was able to stand on her own again.

"Does it fucking matter? I just need to feel numb. Do I need a reason?"

She slightly shook her head with a scoff. "You're ridiculous, you know that?"

"Fuck off, Cassandra!" He squatted down to look at the shelves near the floor.

"You were given a healthy body and you decide to treat it this way? It's not fair. It's insensitive and incredibly selfish."

"Why is it suddenly my fault that you have a heart condition?"

"No, no. That's not-" She lost her breath again, slightly gasping for air as she rubbed her chest. "That's not what I'm saying." Her voice was weaker.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Just take your meds and leave me alone, Cassandra." He soon found exactly what he was searching for. "Yes!" He whispered to himself and grabbed as many bottles as he could hold.

Cass gulped, soon feeling strong enough to take a couple steps, heading toward the exit. But soon, she lost her balance and tripped, falling to the floor. Harry heard her fall, looking over to see her on the ground and he waited for her to stand.

She managed to get up on all fours but she couldn't gather the strength to get up on her feet yet and she just waited, resting back on her knees. When she took too long to stand, Harry looked around, making sure he really was the only there who could help her and he sighed, setting the pill bottles down and going over to stand beside her, though he never looked down at her. He sighed again and offered her his hand.

Cassandra looked at his hand briefly and shook her head no, moving onto all fours again, attempting to push herself up off the floor. "I'm okay." She said as she stared down at her hands on the floor.

"Just take my fucking hand, Cassandra."

Closing her eyes, she took his hand and started to stand with his help. Harry grabbed her other hand, pulling her up easier and he held them for a while even after she stood, not wanting to let go until he knew she was strong enough.

Cassandra kept her eyes down as they still held hands. "Are you scared too?"

"Sc-scared of what?" He asked.

"We're all alone." She said, referencing the disappearance of their parents. Harry shrugged, finally realizing he was still holding her hands and he let go. "I'm scared. I know everyone thinks I'm not supposed to be...but I am." Cass admitted.

He shrugged again and went back to pick up all his pill bottles. "We're all gonna die eventually anyway. So why be scared?"

Cass chuckled a little. "Trust me. I'm not afraid of dying. I think about it all the time. That's not what I'm afraid of."

Harry made his way back over to her toward the door. "What are you afraid of then? Not being Student Council President anymore? Not having mommy and daddy tuck you in at night?"

She interrupted. "Not dying peacefully….Chaos….Everyone here turning on each other."

"Hmm...I'm not afraid of chaos." Harry admitted.

Cassandra looked out the windows of the store, seeing all the kids in a bit of a panic. "I wish I wasn't."

He looked at her, letting out a wry chuckle. "Everything always has to be so organised for 'Your Majesty,' doesn't it? He shook his head, looking away. "And you tell me I'm the ridiculous one."

She sighed heavily. "Whatever, Harry. I try having a nice, civil conversation with you and you always do what you do best...You ruin it. Just like you ruin everything."

"Fuck you, Cassandra!" He said, though his voice broke a little while he said it.

"You know, you say that a lot." She said, her legs feeling a bit stronger and she stood up straighter. "But I never actually believe you when you say it." She turned around and headed for the door.

"Oh yeah? What about now? Fuck you. Huh? Did you believe that? Fuck….you!"

Cass made it to the door, stopping for a moment as she placed her hand on the handle, looking at the floor and she mumbled. "You'd like that, wouldn't you?" She immediately hated herself for saying that and she left, slowly heading home.

The moment she said that, Harry's hands balled into fists and he clenched his jaw. A part of him screaming to chase after her, but he would never let himself do that. Instead, all that tension, all the hurt and anger built up inside of him and he turned, kicking the counter nearby with a yell of frustration and he hated himself even more, opening one of the pill bottles and taking several of them. He closed his eyes, hoping that his high could make him forget. Forget his parents, forget his crumbling relationship with Kelly, forget how unsure of the future he was. Forget everything. But most of all, as always….he wanted to forget what he felt for Cassandra and how he believed she hated him when he never truly hated her.