The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face

[aejdude]

It's really good.

[Jess]

OK guys, here's the next part. I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update, anyway hope you like. And please remember to read and review por moi!

“Seriously? Oh the poor thing, no wonder she’s been so quiet tonight. Yeah, she’s barely spoken a word to me since I’ve got in. She’s just been hiding out in her room. How’s Maddie taken it? Yeah, I should imagine so. That’d be really nice Beth, I’m sure she’d love that. I don’t think I’m much use in these situations. Well, I can’t really say that I’ve ever had first hand experience. Anyway, I’m going to go now ‘cos Pippa’s crying and I really do need to go and see Cassie, I feel bad enough for leaving her this long, the poor thing. Speak to you soon. Bye.” Sally put the telephone down and headed upstairs.

“Cassie, can I come in? Cassie tried to look awake upon hearing Sally’s voice at the door.

“Sure Sal” Cassie replied. Her eyes were red and puffy, but she didn’t want to arouse Sally’s suspicions by saying no.

“I’ve just come up with some washing for you. Are you OK?” Sal asks, seeing Cassie’s face.

“Yeah, I’m fine, I must’ve slept on my face funny” Cassie lied. “I thought sleep was meant to make you more beautiful” she joked.

“You’re beautiful enough already.”

“Thanks Sal, I don’t think you’d say that if you saw me first thing in the morning though!” Cass joked.

“Are you really OK? You can tell me anything, you know that don’t you?” Sally didn’t want to pry, for fear of making the, already delicate, situation worse, but she was also desperate to comfort Cassie.

“Yeah, I’m fine Sal, honest.” Cassie gave Sally her best smile.

“Well, Beth ‘phoned earlier. She was wondering if you wanted to go ‘round to keep Maddie company. Apparently she’s mopey.”

Sally must know. There’s no way she’d tell me to go around to Maddie’s house otherwise. But she’s so sweet, feigning ignorance so as not to upset me. I just don’t really know if I’m ready to tell her yet. I don’t really know if I’ll ever feel comfortable spilling to anyone about how my boyfriend went off with my best friend’s guy. I guess that’s the bright side, at least I have Maddie to share my problems with

“Yeah, I’ll put this washing away and then go around and keep Maddie company, if that’s OK?”

“That’s fine with me” replied Sal. A few minutes later, after having put all her clothes away, Cassie came down the stairs and into the kitchen.

“Is it OK if I go now Sal?”

“Yeah, that’s fine. Oh Cassie, have you seen Ric? I haven’t seen him for a while” said Sal, hoping to get some details off Cassie.

“No” said Cassie quickly. “Anyway, I’ll see you later. Bye Pippa” she cooed as she went out of the door.

“Hey Cassie” Maddie said as she let her in through the front door. “I’m so glad you’re here, Mum’s been interrogating me all day, I’m desperate for peace!”

“It’s OK hun. I think Sally knows what’s going on, but she feigned innocence, so I didn’t push it.”

“Do you wanna watch a chick flick? There’s loadsa chocolate in the fridge.”

“Yeah” Cassie accepted gratefully, glad of the distraction. So the two girls sat on the sofa, swooning over Patrick Swayze in ‘Dirty Dancing’ with as much chocolate as both girls could ever possibly want. Absorbed in the film, they had forgotten about their troubles. Almost. Until the ‘phone rang.

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Neither knew how long they had been sitting there. After leaving the Diner, Ric and Luc had just walked to the beach in a stunned silence. Ric was the one who spoke up first.

“What the hell are we gonna do?” he mused quietly.

“Well, I guess the secret’s out” Luc laughed bitterly.

“You have no idea how much I’d love things to carry on the way they are”

“I do, and why can’t they? Cass and Maddie know the truth, there’s no way they’re gonna take either of us back, so why can’t we be together?” Luc asked, the last part rather accusatory.

“I know they know, but if we carry on it will just hurt them more”

“More? I think, no, I know, we’ve hurt them so much, I don’t think it’s possible to hurt them more.”

“Luc, I don’t think I can do this, the whole Bay knows. I think it’s better if we just stop this madness now”

“What? Tell the Bay that we love each other and they can love it or leave it?”

“You know I that I love you, right? And you love me too…”

“What? Do you think we should elope?”

“No mate. I think that it would be better for the both of us, and the girls, if we went our separate ways” Ric finished quietly.

“Couldn’t you feel the connection between us? So is that why you don’t want this to carry on?”

“No, of course I could. I felt a connection and that’s what makes this decision even harder to make.”

“So that’s it then?”

“Betweeen us, but there’s no reason we can’t be friends”

“Friends? Are you crazy? Our ex girlfriends hate us, for us to stay friends would be worse than us going out together. You can’t have it both ways.”

“I love you Luc” said Ric, gently kissing him on the lips. With that, the boys began to slowly walk back along the beach in solitary silence.

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[Oxidizer]

That's really awesome! Poor Mattie and Cass, and Ric & Luc - can't wait 'til the next installment!

[tasha7905]

Brilliant I hope Ric and Luc do stay together! Cant wait for the next update.

[Jackieleanne]

Great writing Jess, poor Cassie and Mattie and Ric and Lucas. Can't wait to see what happens.

[Jess]

OK guys here's the next update (woo! My updates are getting faster *feels proud& ) Sorry it's short, but I just needed to get this bit out of the way and the scene set. Hope you like. Please R&R - it makes me write faster!

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”You! Pretty boys!” The voice carried along the beach and it awoke the two boys from their reverie. “What have those two girls done to deserve this?” Colleen said, rather loudly. The boys broke into a sprint across the beach to try and appease Colleen as quickly as possible. “Did you have fun together? In your little sordid trysts? You’re the scum of Summer Bay, I don’t know how you have the nerve to show your faces in this town after what you’ve done. You two dirty little whores” Colleen spat venomously. “And to think I quite liked you too, you’ve always seemed to be nice, well-mannered boys. Wait until word of this gets around, Summer Bay will be tainted forever, oh the scandal of it all.” And with that Colleen scampered back off along the beach.

“I was going to tell her we’re over, if she’d let me get a word in edgeways” Ric mused sadly.

“Cassie, Sally’s on the ‘phone for you” Beth called as the two girls sat watching the film.

“What does she want?” Cassie asked cautiously.

“I don’t know, she’d just like a word.”

“I’ll pause the film while you go speak to her hun” Maddie said.

“Thanks so much Beth, I really appreciate it” Cassie said a few minutes later after she had got off the ‘phone.

“That’s OK hun, you know you’re welcome here and I think a few days would do everyone good until all the furore has died down.”

“Care to enlighten me?” Maddie asked from the corner.

“Your Mum and Sally have decided that it’s OK for me to stay here for a few days until things are sorted again. The boys arrived home earlier” Cassie choked, trying to hold back the tears.

“It’s OK Cass” said Beth, pulling her into a tight hug. “The boys came back earlier and apparently it’s ‘over’ between them, apparently Colleen gave them quite a hard time –

“My heart bleeds for them” Matilda retorted sarcastically.

“Anyway, obviously, Cassie doesn’t feel comfortable staying at the Beach House with Ric, so it has been decided that Cassie will stay here with you, but that Luc will come home as well.

“Mum! No, how do you expect me to live in the same house as him?”

“Sweetie, I know you’re upset, but he is Tony’s son, I can’t just throw him out onto the street. Besides, you’ll have Cassie.”

“OK” Matilda relented. “Come on hun” she said, beckoning to Cassie. “Let’s watch the rest of the film, don’t let the boys ruin that for us too.”

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[Jackieleanne]

Awww that was sweet, I loved the Beth, Matilda and Cassie scene good to see that Cassie and Matilda are going to be there for each other. Can't wait to see what happens.

[tasha7905]

I dont want them to break up. Glad that Cassie and Matilda are helping each other although I think Lucas maybe in for some trouble having to live with both of them. Great update, cant wait for more.

[Pierced Musie]

Ric & Lucas fic is like crack. You know you shouldn't test it because it's addictive, but you just have to have one... little... taste.

[Jess]

Here's the next part, I hope I'm starting to build up to the drama, although I just read this and realised that not much happens, but I thought I'd post anyway.

Guys, I’m sorry. I’ve just been reading through the rest of the Fic, and I’ve realised that I’ve kinda swapped tenses all the way through. Sorry!

Luc/Ric

“Wish me luck mate” Ric said to me as we came to a stop outside the house.

“We’d better make this quick, I don’t want any extra trouble to be caused. I just want to tell you that I’ll love you always and that things would’ve been different had we been living under different circumstances.”

“Yeah, I think they would’ve been” I reply quietly.

After Ric had headed back home to Sally, I take a deep breath and let myself into the house.

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“Sal? You there?” I call into the house.

“I’m here, but where the hell have you been?” came the reply.

“I just needed to get some thinking time, to sort things out in my head.”

“Your head? Have you any thought what we’ve all been going through? Beth and I have been worried sick since your little ‘disappearance’ whilst trying to comfort the girls. How could you do this Ric? Why?”

“Sal, it doesn’t matter. I’ll deal with it in my own way. I don’t want to burden you any more, you have enough on your plate as it is.”

“Ric, how can you ‘deal with this in your own way’? This is something that, majorly, affects both our families. And don’t you dare bring Flynn into this now. Did you not bother to think what he would think of you, how you should act as Flynn’s son? Flynn wouldn’t want you to break your girlfriend’s heart in such a way, I thought he had demonstrated this to you through how much he loved me?”

“I’m sorry Sal. I know I shouldn’t have insulted Flynn’s memory like this, you have no idea how much I want to repair the fractures.”

“It’s too late Ric, the family has been splintered beyond repair” Sally said, dissolving into sobs.

“What do you mean, ‘fractured beyond all repair’?”

“You’ve managed to drive Cassie out, happy now?”

“Wha-what? Cassie?”

“Yes” Sally said through the sobs. “She’s gone to live with Matilda.”

“Don’t get upset Sal. I’m sure it’ll only be a temporary arrangement, until all this mess has blown over.”

“That’s my point Ric, I don’t think it ever will blow over.”

“Mattie, I’m so sorry” I state simply to the crumpled figure in the doorway. I’m met with silence by the pair, so I go upstairs out of the way.