Not all storms are about the weather

The storm turned worse than Cassidy expected, her worry about Isabelle growing faster as the news covered how the downpour was damaging different states withing the country.

After trying ten times to reach her, Isabelle finally picked up. She apologized for not answering back, as she was talking with her parents, and because Cassidy almost had a heart attack.

Right before hanging the phone —and teasing her best friend about staying at her boyfriend's— the thought of texting the blonde flirt popped out. He left her at her place a couple of hours ago, and the rain had only gotten worse.

After playing nervously with her phone a few time, she decided to text him.

C: Hi! I just wanted to be sure you got home OK?

She waited for around half an hour when her phone buzzed.

K: Just got out of the shower. Thanks for worrying ;)

C: Haha, funny.

Seriously tho

I'd feel bad if your car broke or something in the middle of this mess.

K: I'm surprised you still don't know when I'm messing you lol.

I'm fine! So don't worry.

Cassidy smiled a little, glancing at the bag of candies she left on her desk. She got up and opened it, grabbing a bunch to take them to bed with her.

She recognized the smell as the one Kyle always has whenever he gets close enough to her. She breathed the sweet scent in, and smiled again. They were pretty good, no wonder he was always munching on them.

The following day, Cassidy met with Isabelle late in the afternoon.

They had planned on a sleepover just to talk about her date with Allen without worrying about the time. To Cassidy's surprise, the prolonged date didn't go as smoothly as she thought.

At first, the conversation revolved around Isabelle's worry about Allen's possible lack of interest. She found it funny, how Isabelle's main 'problem' was that Allen didn't try to get laid. Cassidy even teased her about how thirsty she was about for the man.

But after talking for a while, she could tell the other 'gossip' Isabelle told her was also bugging her.

When Isabelle confessed what happened with Allen's father, she couldn't believe a person could be that mean and disrespectful. Being Allen's dad didn't give him the right to disrespect Isabelle and, as a rebound, disrespecting his own son.

It must have been humiliating for both Isabelle and Allen, but she could bet her whole monthly allowance, that the one with more issues was Allen. Isabelle told her Allen was pissed about it, or even embarrassed, so he was definitely having it rougher.

So far, the conversation flowed without a problem.

Until Isabelle started crying uncontrollably.

Cassidy's hands rushed to her best friend, patting her back and letting her release all she had inside. And everything that she told her, only confirmed one thing.

Isabelle was deeply in love with him.

Hearing her cry about how it hurt her seeing Allen go through something like that, how picturing living like that since he was a kid felt like a stab in her heart. Isabelle was not crying for her, but for him.

Cassidy didn't know it was love, so far. Yes, it was obvious she was attracted to him and, maybe, liked him. But Isabelle grew deep feelings for him, more than Cassidy suspected.

As she let her best friend cry, her mind couldn't but feel concerned.

This seemed like a complicated matter, and as she told Kyle a week back, Isabelle was not there to mend Allen. She deserves to live a happy relationship, not one that only brings her nights like this.

Maybe she was overreacting, but when it comes to Isabelle, she couldn't help but draw her claws out.

This was not the time for her to tell Isabelle about the red flags on their relationship, so she kept her thoughts to herself. Instead, she offered solace and a steady shoulder to rely on.

Her heart ached for her friend, but her mind drifted for a second to bring Kyle's face.

The last time they talked about Isabelle and Allen's relationship, they almost had a fight. And even the first time they met after that, the tension was obvious. If this kept going, having a second fight was meant to happen.

Her belly tightening was a clear sign of how much she hated that idea. But if she had to chose, there was no choice to make to begin with. The answer was already obvious to her.

Cassidy let the image of Kyle's nonchalant expression slip to the back of her mind, not wanting to think about that.

Not just yet.

The following day they arrived to school together, happily talking about the books they were reading lately, meeting with the guys for lunch as it they did the past week.

Cassidy watched Isabelle and Allen act as if nothing happened, still on top of the other, letting the gossips drown as it was obvious they were, indeed, in a relationship. Even though they haven't said the words just yet.

Kyle looked at her from the corner of his eyes, knowing exactly what was going on inside her head. Since Allen and Isabelle were on their own world, he took the chance to talk to her.

"I bet Iry told you. It was messed up." He said in a low voice, so they wouldn't hear him.

Cassidy nodded, looking around her. With a swift move, she sat closer to him.

"Yeah. What the fuck with the dude." She said, angrily.

"He's always been a dick to him. I just didn't know he lacked manners." He admitted. "I'm sorry she had to see something like that. Allen wanted to avoid that at all costs."

"I can see why." Cassidy snorted.

The images of Iry's puffy eyes popped in her head, but she bit her tongue. For a reason, her concerned words couldn't leave her mouth, as if something within her was stopping her from messing things up.

That was it. She thought she was going to mess things up, and she preferred to avoid the topic.

Her eyes lifted to see Kyle's face. His jawline pointed towards the couple in front of them, his thick light eyelashes hovering over his beautiful green eyes.

Like if she had just said his name, his gaze landed on hers. She was amazed by how seriously gorgeous his eyes were. They felt vivid, ready to see all the good things in life. Maybe it was because of his easy going and positive personality, but she could swear she felt like floating whenever she watched them.

Kyle smiles softly.

"What? You've been staring for a while."

"Have anyone told you your eyes are gorgeous?" She asked with all honesty, her expression totally serious.

He blinked a couple of times, before laughing. "Yeah. People tell me that very often. Even the old lady from the cafeteria."

Cassidy nodded. "I supposed as much. It was impossible no one has told you that before."

"Why? Wanna be my first?" He said with a flirty tone.

She shook her head. "Nah. Given your record, it's practically impossible to be your first at anything." She mocked.

Kyle frowned. "For what it's worth, you're the first one to tell me that, and actually made me wonder if I heard it right."

"Is that supposed to be a compliment?" She smiled widely.

He narrowed his eyes. "Yeah. You're just too random to know what you're thinking."

Cassidy laughed, looking down at her hands.

Sometimes, she couldn't believe how sensitive he was about that topic and, sometimes, she couldn't believe how teasing him actually lightened her mood.