Dark's Descent (9 page)

Ithaca Space Place

      That was at 5:30, and they got back to Ithaca at eleven. Since the rest of the class was already at the Space Place, that's where Mr. Braddock drove. Regardless of how filthy they were, they were already short on chaperones and needed them back as soon as possible.

      When Mrs. Spencer saw the students, she was so relieved that she hugged the messy Cassie. No one will find out.

      Then, Mrs. Spencer realized something awful: she never told Susan they found Cassie! She immediately whipped out her cell phone and called Cassie's mom and told her the news. “Aw, good,” Susan sighed.

      While, Cassie and Will went off on their own to check out the exhibits in the museum wing of the Space Place, Charlie and Sky went to the seminar about 'Man on Mars'.

      Stella ran off to the gift shop. She loved wasting money on useless objects. Since her Magic Mirror Mini got destroyed by Skyler, she bought a cheap compact mirror so she could still check her face in case of emergencies.

      In the museum wing, Cassie and Will were geeking-out. They saw the moon exhibit and the sun exhibit. They even saw the other seven planet exhibits! Cassie was so excited! She had her learnin’, and her boo!

      Will watched the excitement on Cassie's face and it made him happy. Her green eyes sparkled with interest in each of the rooms.

      Charlie studied Sky. She was beautiful. He loved her, he loved her, he loved her! Charlie kept repeating that thought in his head in order to keep Chyler alive. Long live Chyler!

      At noon, everyone met in the yard for lunch. They had PB & J's with juice boxes in brown paper bags. They then spent the rest of their time at the Space Place in a presentation about space science.

Hotel Room Chaos

      Tonight was Cassie's first and final night in the hotel room. It was the same for Will, Sky, Charlie, and Stella. Since each room only had two beds, they had to share.

      In room 834, Cassie's room, everyone got into their pajamas and got into bed. Alice soon came around to do bed-check. “Everyone here?” she asked hopefully. When they all nodded, Alice sighed in relief.

      Room 842 had the same routine. They got in their pajamas and got in bed to pose for bed check. When Mr. Braddock saw everyone was there, he relaxed.

      Will's phone vibrated. It was Cassie. The text said, 'Ugh, it's so boring!'. Will grinned and texted her back. 'I have an idea'. The naughty prince nudged Charlie. “Wanna sneak over to Cassie's room?” Will whispered.

      Charlie was surprised. Of course he wanted to go to Cassie's hotel room! He would get to bond with Sky, see Stella, and hang with Cassie! But they were supposed to stay in their own rooms! He was so conflicted! As Cassie always said, though, you only live once!

      Charlie nodded, “Yes, let's go!” Henry snored. Will grabbed his shirt and put it on as he headed to the door. Charlie rolled out of bed and followed. Will stuck his head out the door. “The coast is clear!” he hissed. Will ran out, and Charlie grabbed a room key before following him out the door.

      On the way, Will texted Cassie 'Me and Charlie are coming over'.

      Cassie saw her phone light up with a message. She reached over to get it, and fell out of bed. Stella turned on the light. “What are you doing?” she asked. “Checking my phone, Will and Charlie are coming. Both Sky and Stella sat up and yipped, “Charlie!?” 'And the excitement begins' Cassie thought with a smile.

      Will knocked on the door, and a giggly Cassie let him and Charlie in. Sky ran up to Charlie and kissed him on the cheek, while Stella sat on the bed and growled. Cassie led Will to the bed and they sat down. “What's your idea?” Cassie giggled. Will thought for a moment and the idea came to him! “Truth or dare! One of the most exciting and risky hotel room games ever!” Cassie smiled and fell on the floor with glee. “Who wants to join us?” Will asked. Everyone, including Riley, raised their hands. Will grinned from ear to ear.

      “I'll go first,” Will volunteered, “Cassie, truth or dare?” Cassie smiled and picked truth. “Is it true that you think I am a good kisser?” Sky giggled at Will's questions. “No,” Cassie started, “I think you are a great kisser!” Will blushed and smiled. “Now it's Cassie's turn.” Will dictated.

      Cassie thought for a moment. Now was a perfect time to get back at Stella! She had the perfect dare! “Truth or dare,” Cassie began, “Charlie!” She was saving Stella for later.

      Charlie wanted to prove he was risky, so he chose to do a dare. Cassie smirked, “I dare you to sell your shirt to Stella!” “What kind of -” Charlie was interrupted by Stella. “$50!” she squealed. Charlie sighed and traded his shirt to Stella for the fifty.

      Cassie boggled. Since when did Charlie have such defined muscles? She snapped herself out of it. Boyfriend. She repeated the word in her head.

      Sky was so lucky! She looked at her boyfriend's abs. They gave her chills.

      For the first time, Stella actually didn't hate Cassie! Thanks to her dare, Stella now owned Charlie's shirt, and had a great view!

      Charlie was cold. Charlie wanted his shirt back. Looking at Sky, Charlie said, “Truth or dare, Riley?”

      Riley Alicia gaped. He knew her name! Truth or dare, she thought. She was nowhere near popular, so maybe if she did a dare, people would think she was brave! “Dare” she said with confidence.

      No one expected that. Charlie had no idea what to do! He grabbed his phone and searched for dares on the Internet, and he found the perfect one!

      Charlie looked at Riley and dared her to swap clothes with the person on her left. He didn't realize who was on her left, but Cassie did.

      She rolled over her boyfriend to save him from having to wear Riley's pajamas! Riley stood up and took Cassie to switch. “I take it she accepted.” Will joked, relieved he didn't have to wear girls’ pajamas.

      Cassie came out wearing Riley's pink nightgown, and Riley was wearing Cassie's grey tank top and sweatpants.

      In retrospect, it wasn't the best dare, but oh well, they did it.

      It was Riley's turn, and she targeted Stella. “Truth or dare, Stella?” she tested.

      Stella thought about it. If she did a dare, she might impress Charlie. “Dare me!” she sassed.

      “I dare you to lick the floor!” Riley teased.

      Stella's face scrunched up. Lick the floor? She was repulsed! How many people have walked on this floor? Do it for Char-Char, Stella!

      Stella got on the floor, and got a big mouth full of carpet fuzz. Yuck!

      Everyone laughed, and then Cassie shushed them. “Lights out was an hour ago!” Cassie warned, “If we get caught, we'll be in so much trouble!”

      “Well, it's my turn now,” Stella announced, “Truth, or Dare, Cassie, pick dare!”

      Cassie knew if she picked dare, Stella would slam her. She held her breath and breathed, “Dare.”

      Stella grinned, “I dare you to do a headstand!”

      A head-stand? That was so easy! Then, Cassie remembered that she was in Riley's nightgown. “I can do that,” she said, “Will, can you help me, Stella didn't say no one could help me.” Cassie smiled as Will stood up. She bent down to touch the ground as Will held her ankles, and nightgown. Before they knew it, Cassie was doing a headstand in a nightgown!

      Show-off! Stella had to do a better one next time.

      Back to Cassie, she thought about who to go at next. Looking at Will, she decided to get closer to her boo.

      “Truth or dare, Will?” Cassie asked, hoping for a dare. Thinking Cassie was up to something, Will decided to pick a dare anyways.

      Cassie smiled and began, “I dare you to kiss me while wearing your shirt.” Will was confused. “Wait, who's wearing my shirt?” Will questioned. “Both of us.” Cassie teased. Will jumped up and pulled Cassie in his shirt.

      Cassie smiled big. Her boy had a six-pack already! She knew this because her arm rubbed against it on the way in.

      With Cassie close, Will kissed her on the lips, for a while. Will pulled away, causing Cassie to lose her balance and make them both fall on the ground. Uh oh, they were stuck.

      “Help?” Cassie asked. “Nah,” Sky said, holding Charlie, “You two look fine down there, anyways, it's Will's turn.”

      Cassie was so happy inside. She was enjoying being stuck to Will, as did he like being stuck to her.

      “Truth or dare, Skyler?” Will mused. “Of course I'll take a dare!” she teased. Will dared her to pants herself as revenge for leaving them on the floor. Skyler shrugged and dropped her pajama bottoms for a split second, before rolling back into Charlie's lap.

      Charlie was scared. This was getting crazy. Pretty soon someone would dare someone else to run naked through the hotel! It was already 1:30 in the morning!

      Just then, Will's shirt ripped, freeing Cassie and exposing his abs. Cassie stood and smiled, helping Will up as well. She took her phone and Will to the window, where she took a selfie with him. Seeing the time, Cassie gave Will a kiss on the cheek. “You better sneak back and get some rest.” Cassie whispered. Will agreed, he was tired. “On one condition,” Will ordered, “send me that selfie!” Cassie obeyed and pushed the boys out the door, keeping their shirts.

      Once they were gone, Cassie turned and said, “How fun was that!?”

      In the hallway, Will laughed. They had visited with their friends and lost both of their shirts. Charlie wanted to get back inside. He enjoyed the fun, until Will and Cassie shared a shirt. Would anyone notice if Will mysteriously disappeared? Eh, probably.

      They got to their room and snuck back in. “It looks like you two had some fun.” Andrew accused. Henry snored. Will nodded, “True.” He jumped in bed with Charlie and covered up. That was the wildest thing he's ever done! And he got no consequences!

      Will's arm fell on Charlie after he nodded off. Was he made of concrete?! Charlie tried shaking it off to no avail, so he just concentrated on falling to sleep. Soon he did, only to be woken up two hours later by the alarm.

Heading Home

      The next morning, everyone packed their stuff before reporting to the complimentary breakfast.

      “Pancakes!” Cassie squealed rushing to fill her plate. She grew out of a lot of things, but pancakes weren't one of them. Cassie poured syrup over the stack. She then took those adorable balls of butter that certain places have, and rolled a few on top. Giddy with happiness, she sat down. Will brought her some milk to go with her food. Cassie never noticed how much of a gentleman he was until they started dating.

      Though Will hadn't told him yet, he was pretty sure that his guardian was catching on, not that Will cared. He was Prince of the Great Realm of Everlanon, and he didn't care what a puny knight thought!

      Will gave Cassie a kiss on the cheek and sat down. Cassie took a selfie with her big stack of pancakes. The royal couple ate in peace until Charlie sat down. As soon as he sat down, the royal table was opened to commoners, and therefore lost its significance.

      Will loved Cassie. He hadn't said it yet, since they just started dating, but he dreamed of taking her back to Everlanon with him to be his queen.

      Cassie finished eating and took Will up to the eighth floor so they could get their stuff. Up there, Will couldn't wait any longer. He looked around and blurted out, “I love you!”

      Cassie stared at him. He was so hot, and so nice, and Cassie loved him too. She pulled him close and touched his soft lips with hers, pushing him up against the wall. She smelled his ocean breeze cologne and imagined they were on the beach with the sun slowly setting behind them. Was this usual? Did kids always kiss this much? Cassie didn't know, but more importantly, she didn't care.

      Will held her close, and they accidentally bumped noses, as he ran his fingers throughout Cassie's soft, blonde hair. Were they moving too fast? No, love has no speed limit. Whether fast or slow, love is love, and this was it.

      As Cassie slowly pulled away, she opened her eyes, seeing Will's handsome face up close. That was the most passionate kiss she's ever had, and she wanted more. Cassie was going to marry him; she just knew it.

      Charlie talked to Sky on their way up in the elevator. “Do you think it's going to last?” Charlie blurted. “What?” Sky asked nervously. “Do you think Cassie's and Will's relationship is going to last?” he stammered, “I mean, they're moving kind of fast.”

      Sky looked into Charlie's worried eyes. “Perhaps if there is the connection between them that I saw with their first kiss,” Sky confessed, “They could make it work.”

      The elevator stopped on floor seven and an elderly lady held the door open. “Is this thing going down?” she asked. Charlie shook his head, “No, we're going up.” The lady frowned. “Of course you are growing up, everyone does!” she said, still holding the door, “I want to know if this elevator is going down or not!” Charlie looked at Sky. They were going to be here a while.

      Cassie looked around. No one still. She took a breath and felt the warm touch of Will's lips once more. Side to side, they flowed like two birds dancing. Cassie soon found herself leaning on the elevator doors. She took another breath.

      “Oh, so you're going up?” the lady repeated. Sky nodded and screamed, “Yes!” The lady backed up and smiled as the doors closed. “What's next?” Charlie sighed as they reached floor eight.

      Cassie heard the elevator ding, but it was too late. The doors open and in they fell, practically on Charlie and Sky. Sky laughed and said “To answer your question, yes I think it's going to last!”

      Neither Cassie nor Will knew what they were talking about. Will stood up first and held out his hand to Cassie. She grabbed on and Will lifted her up off the floor. She smiled to her friends as they got off the elevator. “Come on, Sky!” Cassie beckoned, “Let's get our luggage! We'll meet you two downstairs.” Will shot Cassie a smile and said, “Can't wait to see you!”

      “So...” Sky put in while picking up her suitcase, “You and Will have fun?” The two laughed. “He said he loved me,” Cassie began, “and I just couldn't stop myself. And that was before the break.” Sky dropped the bag, “There was a break?!” Cassie admitted, “It was brief before I went in again, and I'm pretty sure I love him too, and I want to be with him forever.” Sky ran in place with glee, as if she was an excited fan girl meeting her favorite celebrity for the first time. “I'm so happy for you!” she squealed.

      Charlie eyed Will. There was something about him that he didn't like. Never noticing it before, Charlie just couldn't put his finger on it!

      The two went down to the lobby, where their baggage was loaded for the trip home. Finally, Cassie and Sky came out, and followed suit. The two couples got on the bus in the very back. “Are you all excited to go home?” Sky inquired. They all nodded. Everyone had their own reasons for wanting to go home. For example, Cassie was plotting how she was going to break the news to her parents about her boyfriend, leaving out the kissing, of course.

      Stella couldn't wait to get back to her Magic Mirror, and have her Daddy get her a new Magic Mirror Mini. She had so many questions. Ever since the Philadelphia incident, Stella has been subconsciously questioning herself. She didn't realize that the doubts she has are from her own questions.

      The busses pulled out of the hotel parking lot. They would be heading straight back to the school with a maximum of two stops.

      Cassie looked down at her hand, with her fingers interlocked with Will's. She was as happy as could be!

      On the way home, Cassie and Will talked about everything and anything. They talked about their favorite colors, their favorite books, and their favorite foods. They laughed and smiled, they made jokes and stories. By the time the busses returned to EJMS, they were both fast asleep. Cassie laid peacefully on Will's shoulder, as Will rested his head on Cassie's and had his arm around her.