#cassia&joseph: 002

[maryjanewatsonparkers]

Cassia did her best to ignore the fact that the two of them nearly kissed a week back and that she had revealed her feelings to him. Not only was it not fair to Matt, but they weren't in college anymore. They both moved on and she now happily dating someone who actually wasn't afraid to be with her. Now that he was back in her life and someone that Matt worked with, the least she could do was try to maintain a friendship with him. After all, they were two people who knew what it was like growing up in a small town like Rye and now living in such a big city. Furrowing her brows when he talked about how it was a casual thing with the girl he was seeing and how often he repeated that it was casual despite seeing her for months now, Cassia felt some ways about it. A part of her felt relieved? Which she really shouldn't and then a part of her felt insulted for the other woman. How do you just continue to casually see someone and insist it was casual even though you have been seeing her for months? Wasn't there any feelings developing? Was this how he acted when they were 'casually' fucking in college? Was what he said at the party even real? Cassia had so many questions, but she knew that she couldn't voice it. Why would it matter when she was already with someone else and happy in a relationship. "I see..." she trailed off before forcing a smile and nodding her head. "I mean you seem happy so I guess that's all that matter's right? Is she a nice person?" Cassia wondered, sipping on her coffee. Pausing half way when she was about to grab a piece of bread when Joe admitted he was glad he hadn't move, she couldn't help but feel her heart skip a beat. Was he glad because of her? Because he saw her again? Grabbing her bread, Cassia gave him a sincere smile. "I'm glad that you decided to stay. It would be nice having a friend from Rye in London. It can be such an overwhelming place. I'm here if you ever need a friend to hangout with." When he thanked her, Cassia paused for a moment before smiling and nodding her head. As much as he hurt her with his actions in the past, whenever he was genuine and like this, Cassia felt like she couldn't hate on him forever. "I'm glad you're here and you agreed. I know things were weird between us, but I am glad you're here. It's... nice having someone familiar here in London." Cassia decided to ignore the fact that he said he missed her. Going down that rabbit hole was going to be a lot for her. "Have you been back home yet?"

maryjanewatsonparkers​:

Sipping on her coffee, Cassia nodded her head as he talked about enjoying how he didn’t mind his work. For Cassia, she never thought he would work for some company as a graphic designer. To be honest, Cassia was expecting him to be some kind of a freelance artist. Joe being stuck in some corporate job was not what she imagined for him if she were being honest with herself. “It’s kind of crazy that you found yourself working with Matt of all people. My Matt. What are the odds?” she couldn’t help but ask before chuckling and shaking her head. It was as if someone was fucking with her or something because she left him for a reason. Being around him was so painful. She was so damn in love with him and he wasn’t interested in her, so it was painful knowing she was never going to be anything more than some fuck buddy to him. When he asked someone else as his date, it absolutely broke her heart and Cassia wasn’t thinking straight. It was why she left, she needed to be away from him and now here he was in front of her working with her fiancee of all people. With how big London was, it was ironic he was here in front of her. Smiling as he continued to gush about how smart he was, Cassia shyly tucked some hair behind her ear and chewed on her bottom lip. “Thanks. It was a long and hard road. I’m pretty sure I broke down at least ten times a day during my law school years,” Cassia joked and cleared her throat. Her eyes widened when he informed her that she had asked already, her cheeks blushing even more. She completely forgot and now she looked like someone who was more than interested in his personal life. She felt like she looked like she was someone who still wasn’t over him. “Sorry, I forgot,” she mumbled. The shock of seeing him again caused her to block everything else out, it seemed. “How long have you been seeing her?” she asked. He then asked the inevitable and Cassia sighed. The last thing she wanted to talk about was Matt. It felt weird. It felt weird talking to someone she used to have sex with about her fiancee, but they were trying to be friends right? That was why she called him in the first place and asked him to meet her. “We… met a few years back. We, um, had mutual friends,” Cassia explained. “My friend was dating his best friend and it was at their housewarming party that we met. We’ve been together since. Where in London do you live? How long have you been here?”

There was a kick in his stomach when he heard Cassia call Matt, her Matt. It made sense, obviously, that she would say something like that, but that didn’t make it sting any less. She had someone else just as she was someone else’s. So Joe really had no reason to feel the way that he was feeling right now. Even though he really really did feel it a lot. He glanced away briefly, pressing his lips into a tight thin line as he nodded his head. “Yeah… What are the chances…” He said, asking himself why the universe seemed to hate him for doing that. Scratching his jaw and clearing his throat, he brought his gaze back to Cassia, which made him have to catch his breath for a second. A part of him still couldn’t believe that she was there. He didn’t think he’d ever see her again. When she apologized for asking him about his love life again, Joe shook his head. A lot had happened that night, so he understood if it was something she forgot. Maybe, just like him, all she could think about was the almost kiss they shared. It certainly was all he could think about since it happened. “It’s okay. Overwhelming night, for sure. Uh, but yeah. It’s nothing serious, but it’s been a thing for a few months. Went out for some drinks one night and I met her there. We exchanged numbers and… Well, it’s been a casual thing since.” Joe wasn’t sure why he kept bringing up that it wasn’t anything serious as if that mattered. Nothing was going to happen. Even if Cassia wasn’t with someone currently in a very serious relationship, she was the one who left. She was the one who cut him out of her life. For the longest time, Joe was so sure she wanted nothing to do with him. So why would he be delusional enough to think she wanted him now? Even after what she had said back at her place. “I moved over by Wembley Park about a year ago now. Almost didn’t, if I’m honest. A part of me wanted to move somewhere quite. Even farther away from home than here. There was even a moment I considered moving to the States, but… I don’t know. I’m beginning to be glad that I ended up coming here.” Joe held Cassia’s gaze. It was only for a few seconds, but in those few seconds, it felt much much longer. “Um, I wanted to thank you for asking me to some coffee. I really meant it when I said I’d like us to be friends. I really did miss you.”

[maryjanewatsonparkers]

This was their attempt at being friends. It was weird and awkward and Cassia knew that they were never really friends, even when they started fucking in secret. They were always something something between them that she couldn’t quite place. It was even more awkward now that they have confessed they had feelings for each other back then and it was nothing more than a misunderstanding. She was also sure he knew she had feelings for him still but that they couldn’t be together because she was engaged to be married. Though a big part of her wished she could just leave Matt and see where this thing with Joe would go, but Matt was safe. Matt wanted to be with her. How long until Joe felt embarrassed to be seen with her because she was weird and awkward? Sipping on her coffee, she looked at Joe and gave him a soft smile. “So, after college, what did you do? What made you want to move to London?”