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 Posted: Wed Oct 09, 2024 5:01 pm
Takes place the weekend before the start of the new school year. It wasn’t that he wanted to cry! He’d tried getting himself prepared to not cry ever since Cassidy said he would be stopping by to visit. Atticus felt like he hadn’t seen him in ages. Not since he moved away. And facetime and chatting on the internet or over the phone just wasn’t the same!
Atticus had only just started really getting to Cassidy when he’d had his horrible accident. He wanted so badly to take him to Sessrumnir or at least use his Moon Knight magic on him, but it was so complicated with how many people were always around. There just wasn’t any way for them to get Cassidy somewhere that they could power up. Because of course Elliot supported trying to figure something out for his friend as well.
So when Cassidy said he was back in town and wanted to stop by, Atticus did his best to make sure he had everything ready for Cassidy’s visit.
He only dropped one container of juice in his attempt at getting everything organized. He’d apologized profusely to Lucien, who was there to help clean up, and ended up getting his paws all sticky as a result.
He’d insisted to his dads that he was okay and would be able to handle things on his own. Besides, they only had a few days left until school started, so them spending a weekend on Alastor or Sessrumnir was perfectly normal and encouraged! They sent him frequent notes, so it wasn’t like he was worried about them! He just missed them. But that was also okay because he had Elliot and his dads!
Atticus wasn’t sure what Cassidy would like best, so he pulled out everything they had that he could find. He wasn’t sure if he wanted popcorn but he made some anyway. Anything he didn’t eat, Elliot and Lucien would!
He’d done pretty well about not crying, even if he sniffled a bit as he tried to shake off his nerves. He wasn’t even nervous! He was just… anxious. With anticipation.
Of course, every attempt he’d made to stay calm and collected and greet Cassidy with a bright, welcoming smile--
Went out the window as soon as he saw him.
He’d opened the front door with a smile, of course. But it immediately faltered. His lips trembled until they were forced into something of a pathetic looking pout-frown, and tears filled his eyes.
“Come in! Oh my gosh, it’s so good to see you, Cassidy!”
His voice cracked on every word until he was just blubbering them at the end. He at least managed to shut the door once Cassidy was inside, before reaching out to wrap his arms around his waist and sob against his chest.
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Posted: Wed Oct 09, 2024 6:02 pm
“A~tti~cus! You’re the first person who’s happy to see me! I mean, I hope these are happy tears,” Cassidy said. He was a few inches taller than Atticus and wrapped his arms around him to return the hug. Just to show off, he squeezed Atticus and lifted him off the ground.
Was it at the expense of a sharp pain down his spine? Yes. Was it worth it? Yes!
“I ran into Riker and he looked like he saw a ghost! He was school shopping so we stuck together. He was with a new guy, Julian? He seemed nice.”
Cassidy rubbed Atticus’ back as he peered over his shoulder. The house looked mostly the same, nothing seemed dramatically out of place. Always so weird to know that Mr. Gallo lived here. He wasn’t around today, Atticus had texted that his dads were out on a date or something. Elliot was over, or was going to come over; he wasn’t really sure but he knew Elliot lived like a house a way so he could come and go whenever he pleased.
It was a breezy day so Cassidy had tied his hair up and pulled the ponytail through the back of his baseball cap. He was wearing knee-length shorts today, only because he’d bothered Elliot to see if he could bug his parents about a recipe he wanted to make. He’d dressed in appropriate kitchenware just in case. He’d emailed Mr. Reid earlier and he was told to stop by while he was visiting Atticus, so he had ingredients in his bag and assumed they were all just going to migrate over there after a while.
“Do you mind if I throw a lunchbox in your fridge? It’s for the recipe I’m going to make later but I need the Reids to help me. I have to impress a boy. And maybe his friends. Atticus, did you get taller? You got some sun over the summer, you look good. I like what you did with your hair.”
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Posted: Wed Oct 09, 2024 6:03 pm
Atticus squeaked when he was lifted, but laughed through his sobs. He didn’t want to get his tears all over Cassidy, so he pulled back enough to at least hide his face against his hand. At least until he mentioned their friends.
“You met Julian? Oh, yes, he’s very nice,” Atticus blubbered some more, but his tears were absolutely happy tears. He was surprised Riker agreed to go shopping with him, especially after how averse Riker seemed to Cassidy. But then again… a lot of things had changed since they last saw each other.
“Oh, but you can put your lunchbox in the fridge, yeah,” he sniffled, and then laughed and shook his head at Cassidy’s question about his height.
“No, still the same. But thank you,” he smiled again, reaching up to fuss a little with his waves and curls. He was wearing a headband with a bow on top, but he’d spent a while in the bathroom making sure to dry his hair properly so it curled instead of just falling flat.
The rest of his outfit was simple. He had a light-weight but oversized dusk pink knit sweater with a cat playing with a ball of yarn. He was wearing shorts, but the sweater was long enough to cover most of them.
There was so much he wanted to talk to Cassidy about but he didn’t know where to start, so he took a step back and shuffled his way towards the kitchen to help Cassidy get his lunchbox put away.
“You’re trying to impress a boy?” he chirped curiously, gesturing to the fridge and holding out his hands in case he could help with anything. “Is it anyone Elliot or I know?” He was curious! He just wanted to make sure Cassidy would be treated well! He deserved so much kindness.
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Posted: Wed Oct 09, 2024 6:04 pm
“Elliot?” Cassidy scoffed. “No, he’s not my type. Anyway, I’m not delusional enough to think I could get his attention when he’s got you! And even if I could, I wouldn’t hurt you like that. I like him though, I want to cook for both of you. I just need to make sure I can do my grandmother’s recipe right. She wants me to send pictures, she’s excited. She sent me like thirty other recipes ‘to try’.”
Cassidy shrugged off his backpack and pulled his lunchbox from inside. It was a little squished but it got the job done. He passed it over and leaned against the counter. “Anyway, I ran into this guy on my way home the other night. He was cute. But you know me, I’m just going to use him to test my food so I can make it for Riker! He’s warming up to me, I can feel it.”
He laughed good naturedly, so it really was impossible to tell if he was being serious or just teasing Riker while he wasn’t here.
“I’m sure Elliot’s told you but you look really cute in that. He’s lucky. Where is he? He’s not hiding from me, is he?”
No, that wasn’t like Elliot. He was probably helping the neighbor bring up their trash or something.
“I left my bike by your front door, I hope that’s okay? I didn’t think I had to worry about anyone stealing it, your neighborhood is so nice.
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Posted: Wed Oct 09, 2024 6:10 pm
“Yeah you can leave your bike at the front door. And papa has cameras everywhere, so it’s not like someone could just steal it and not be caught,” he shared as he carefully put the lunchbox in the fridge, and then grabbed a tissue from the counter. He was still sniffling a little, but the tears had mostly subsided. It helped that Cassidy could keep him distracted with other things.
“Elliot will be over soon. He’s definitely not hiding from you. He’s excited to see you, too!” he explained as he shuffled over to the table where he’d set out some snacks, unsure of what Cassidy might like. There was popcorn and chips and cut up veggies and some fruit.
Atticus wiggled awkwardly and hung his head a bit. “I might have overdone it with the snacks. But, um, we’ve got juice and soda and water and… well, a lot of stuff if you wanted to look. Oh, and if you’d rather go over to the Reids so you can start working on your recipe, I can bring some of this over,” he offered.
It was interesting, though. Cassidy liked to talk about Riker, and tease him, too. And while Atticus had gotten to know Riker more -- especially as Reims -- he was still a lot to handle.
“Do you really like Riker? I mean… well, he’s not very nice to you,” he mumbled, still dabbing at his eyes a bit, but he’d smiled at the compliment that he looked really cute.
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Posted: Wed Oct 09, 2024 6:18 pm
Atticus was so cute, so polite. He didn’t even try to correct Cassidy for not exactly answering his question.
“Oh, please. Like ‘papa’ wouldn’t just save everyone the trouble and buy me a new bike,” he laughed. “You didn’t overdo the snacks! I’m starving. I have to make up for lost time. Elliot’s grown like four inches since I last saw him. And Riker, too! Everyone’s had such busy summers, I need to make up my mass.”
He didn’t mention that laying in bed while he wasted away was horrible because Atticus looked like the tears were already subsiding. That had to be record time!
Cassidy walked over to the table and immediately popped a grape into his mouth. “I’m not in any rush to head over there, I wanted to visit with you first. Let me get another hug, that one wasn’t long enough.” He opened his arms again. “And you can tell me why my sweet, darling Atticus is asking if I really like Riker. Of course I do! He’s fun. What, do you think I have bad taste in men?”
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Posted: Wed Oct 09, 2024 6:19 pm
Oh, there was no way Atticus would ever deny a hug! He quickly moved closer to Cassidy and wrapped his arms around him again. He didn’t start crying again, either! Well, maybe a few sniffles, but he was okay! Really!
And he was very careful with where he knew Cassidy had been injured. He’d visited him in the hospital until his parents made him leave the city. He wouldn’t tell Cassidy that he cried almost a whole week, even though he knew he could just facetime him. He was upset that he didn’t have a chance to secretly use his magic on him.
“No! I don’t think that,” he frowned (or pouted, really), and looked up at Cassidy with still bright eyes from the previous tears. “He’s just… I mean, he’s not bad, I don’t think. And I think he’s trying to make up for a lot of things he’s done. But he wasn’t really nice to you before. Sorry! It’s okay if you like him. I just don’t want you to get hurt.”
Atticus knew that Riker was going through a lot. But he was still rough around the edges and doing his best to figure things out. It was different, knowing him as a Knight where he could be more himself. And Julian seemed to be good friends with him, so Atticus knew he couldn’t be that bad.
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Posted: Wed Oct 09, 2024 6:19 pm
Cassidy’s expression softened and he swayed on his feet a bit as he held Atticus in the hug.
“Oh, you’re so sweet, Atticus. You worry about me so much more than my other friends.” Most of his other friends were on the baseball team and they were used to roughhousing or giving each other a hard time. Not everyone was Mr-Goodygoody-Friend-to-All-Elliot, but even he liked to tease and goof around.
No one could ever say that Elliot ever went too far, though.
“If he comes around, tell Elliot to find a way to make up for what he’s done to me! I missed him in the hospital, he didn’t even come by! And he and I aren’t friends on any social media, I think he’s hiding from me.”
Cassidy was clearly teasing and rocked Atticus with him as he moved. “I’m kidding. I like Riker, he’s a diamond in the rough. He’d hit me if I compared him to a flower that hasn’t bloomed yet! But I can see it. He’s just shy.” Cassidy shrugged. “Anyway, I think there’s a lot more to him than he lets on. I think he’s got a heart of gold under all that sass. What’s he been doing, ‘trying to make up for things he’s done’? I haven't heard about that.”
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Posted: Wed Oct 09, 2024 6:20 pm
Oh… maybe he shouldn’t gossip with Cassidy about someone who wasn’t even there. But it wasn’t like Atticus was saying bad things! And it might be a good idea to let Cassidy know that Riker was trying.
He swayed with Cassidy, of course. He was happy to be in his arms, especially since he knew Cassidy was as protective of his friends as Elliot was of him. And even if they’d had a rough start, Cassidy quickly realized that Atticus needed to be treated a little more delicately than others. He just had a lot of emotions.
“Well, um… he apologized to us for being mean. It was pretty awkward. We were all on a ferris wheel that we convinced him and his friend to join with us. Oh, us being me, Elliot, Julian, and Énna. And Riker’s friend, Dawn. But I know he’d been pretty mean to Énna before, and I don’t think he’s willing to forgive Riker yet. Which is understandable. Riker said he was trying to make it up to him. I bet he’d do the same with you once he figures things out. I think you’re right about him, though.”
Atticus thought it was sad that he worried about Cassidy more than his other friends. He hoped he had good friends to be with him, and-- oh no, he was trying to fight back tears from remembering that he hadn’t been with him the whole time Cassidy was recovering to try and help him.
He hid his face against Cassidy’s shoulder, just in case.
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Posted: Wed Oct 09, 2024 6:20 pm
Cassidy has a face for most of those names so he nodded along as Atticus spoke.
“Oh, poor Énna. He doesn’t have to forgive Riker, more for me. I’m teasing, Énna’s cool. I haven’t seen him since I got back but I’ll say hi when school starts. I don’t think I can just show up to his place and start bothering him. I’m glad you invited me over or I was going to have to just show up on Elliot’s doorstep, but I’ve known him and his parents forever.”
Atticus pressed his face into Cassidy’s shoulder and he immediately assumed it wasn’t for warmth or comfort.
“Are your eyes watering again, Atticus? What are you thinking about?”
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Posted: Wed Oct 09, 2024 6:21 pm
“Sorry!” Atticus quickly blubbered, removing an arm from around Cassidy so he could further hide his face against his hand. And not get tears on Cassidy’s shirt.
“I’m okay! I just… I didn’t want you to be alone. Elliot and I had been planning to see you and we got there and you’d been moved or-- I mean you were probably discharged, I don’t know, I didn’t-- get the details I was too-- upset, but Elliot promised-- promised me that you were okay and that he’d texted you. And it wasn’t y-your fault! I know it was probably s-sudden and you-- would have let us know if you could. Oh, but I’m n-not upset about-- that. I just wish I could have been with you. And I know-- Elliot felt the s-same way.”
Oh… okay maybe he needed to cry more than he realized. He was already practically sobbing again, and the more he talked to try and convince himself that it was okay, the more emotional he became.
“S-sorry!! I’m-- sorry,” he choked on his words, embarrassed by reacting that way to something that happened almost six months ago.
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Posted: Wed Oct 09, 2024 6:21 pm
“Atticus!” Cassidy said softly, and he laughed but it was gentle. “You don’t have to apologize. You’re so silly. You and Elliot visited me probably more than anyone else! Come here, you don’t have to pull away. Are you afraid about getting tears on me? It’s only water. Let me hold you!”
He wrapped his arms around him a little tighter and stopped moving.
“It’s okay. I’m okay! Those hospital beds were so uncomfortable, I was really happy to get to go lay down in my room. I got so tired of the smell of alcohol and all the white walls and the beeping and having to have nurses poke and prod me all the time. I was so ready to go rest in bed. Except I hadn’t even finished unpacking so I went to a room full of boxes! Good thing that I didn’t unpack much, though. It made moving back to Destiny City much easier. I missed you guys, going home was so boring. I thought I’d be happier to be home and rest but it turns out that sucked even worse. Thank goodness for social media, right? I’d have gone crazy without it.”
He’d definitely always been active, but after the accident it felt like he was constantly online. And with no schedule to keep and parents who were suddenly very keen on giving him everything he wanted–both out of guilt for the accident and because they were trying to make sure they were the favorite parent after the divorce, he really hadn't had to keep to any schedules. He could be on all day or up all night, and just nap whenever he felt like it.
It had been a difficult habit to break and he was already dreading having to wake up early for school. But, it might be nice to have a schedule, and it was definitely nice to get to see his friends again. In person.
“I loved hearing from you, by the way. You were always giving great updates. I’m sorry I left without saying goodbye. They kind of sprung it on me. My parents got into a fight so I didn’t really get to hear. Otherwise I would have thrown a goodbye party for myself in the hospital. All the cafeteria pudding you want, on me.”
He chuckled, if only to try and lighten things up for Atticus. “I’m glad to be back, though. I missed you guys a lot. I’m really glad we get to hang out again. Really glad my parents decided to move back to Destiny City.”
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