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Sterling smirked at her and set a small container of it in front of her. “I did, actually.”
𝓟𝓻𝓲𝓿𝓪𝓽𝓮 𝓡𝓟 𝓦𝓲𝓽𝓱 𝓙𝓪𝓬𝓴𝓼!
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"Awww, how sweet of you." She cut her roll and buttered it, now a bit happier when she bit into it. "Thanks love."
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“Anytime, Cass,” Sterling chuckled before starting in on his own food.
When she finished her roll, she started on her apple, just watching him out of the corner of her eye.
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Sterling had gotten a spicy chili and another roll for himself, as well as a bottle of Gatorade to drink. He dipped his roll into the chili, then pulled it out once he was satisfied that it was soaked and bit into it.
"Wait you do that too?? I thought I was just crazy!" She laughed.
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Sterling glanced up at her with wide eyes, mid-bite. He blinked before finishing his mouthful and swallowing. “Is— Is this not normal for most people?”
"Apparently not! The girls back home all make fun of me for it. I thought I was just weird."
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“Oh. Huh. I guess that would explain al the weird looks I’ve gotten when I do this in restaurants…”
"Hey, we can be weird together." She chuckled, nudging him playfully.
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“Definitely,” Sterling chuckled. “We’ll just be a couple of weirdos.”
A light tapping came from the window next to her. When she turned, she was greeted with an oh so familiar pair of green eyes. Niall. Niall was her partner in crime, literally. He wore his typical sly smirk that made it look like he had a secret and motioned for her to come outside.
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Sterling glanced in the direction Cassandra had, his eyebrows furrowing slightly in confusion. Who was that? And why was he trying to get her to go outside?
When Niall noticed Sterling, he frowned at Cassie. "I'll be right back, give me a minute, okay?" She smiled at Sterling and slipped outside. Niall was not happy when she turned around the corner. "Who the hell is that?" He hissed. "My partner for this thing. Why?" "Why was he staring at you like that?" "Like what?" "Don't play games with me, Cass, you know exactly what I'm talking about!" "I really don't!" Niall sighed, running his hands through his wavy brown hair. "Like you're his girlfriend!" "Ohhhh, that. Yeah um…" She blushed, looking down. "Cassandra don't tell me…" She simply nodded quietly. Niall cursed. "Are you kidding me?! A crush?!" "I'm sorry okay! I can't help it!" "Cass, he could be a spy that's just trying to earn your trust so he can betray you!" "Sterling's not like that!" "Oh yeah? What makes you say so?" She froze. She didn't really have an answer. She fell silent. "Exactly. Remember your rules." "The more someone knows about you, the more ways they can hurt you." She recited under her breath. "There's the assassin I know and love." Niall lightly grabbed her chin, tilting her face up with a soft smile. "I just don't want to see you hurt."
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Sterling was at a complete loss for words. She’d just up and left, without telling him what she was doing. Not that she needs to. She was an adult, and an assassin on top of that. He had no doubt that she could handle herself if something happened, but he was certain that the headmaster would be giving them their mystery and the first clue soon…
She glanced at the window into the room she'd just left out of the corner of her eye. And the person. Just looking at him made her heart beat a little faster. "I know Niall. That doesn't mean I can't take care of myself." His look turned sad and upset. "I just want to make sure you're okay, is that so wrong?" "I'm 18! I'll be fine." "And now just because you're an adult means that you don't need help?" He wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her close, now at the same proximity that her and Sterling had been at just an hour or two earlier except a lot less enchanting. "I don't need your help here Niall. If we get caught, I could get thrown out of the event." "That doesn't mean I won't try." His sly smirk reappeared.
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Where was she? And what were they doing out there?
Sterling glanced out the window again, tempted to just go outside and check on her. But, no. He shouldn’t. She could handle herself, and he knew it.
She pushed him off her. "I don't need you here." He grabbed her wrist and pulled her back, slamming her into the wall and pinning her to it by her wrists. "You said that last time and you nearly died. I'm not letting it happen again." "Leave me alone!" "Goddammit, why won't you just let me take care of you?" He cut off whatever answer she was going to give by pressing his lips to hers. Seeing as she was pinned and Niall was much stronger than her, she couldn't fight against it.
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Sterling had a really bad feeling in his gut, and it wasn’t from the food. Chewing on his lip, he glanced around the room before slipping outside.
“Cassie? Hey, Cass, where are—“ the rest of his question was cut off when he saw the guy kissing her. His eyes narrowed as he walked closer. “Hey! Back off, dude!”
He pulled back sharply, his attention shifting to Sterling. "Shouldn't I be telling you to do that?" "Niall don't-" "Don't even Cass. You know the rules, you shouldn't be trying to defend him." His tone was sharp but still soft when he spoke to her, yet gained a defensive edge when he addressed Sterling.
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“I wasn’t the one kissing the girl against her will,” Sterling said, his gaze flicking between Cassandra and the guy who’d been trying to kiss her. “So I’d say that, no, you don’t have to tell me that.”
He let her go and stepped closer to Sterling. "Who do you think you are that you believe you can tell me what I can and can't do to my own partner to make her understand she's making a mistake falling for a new guy like you?" His voice was dangerously low, intimidating.
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“Well to you, I’m nobody. So I really shouldn’t be a threat, now should I? Because she’s known you a lot longer than she’s known me, hasn’t she?” Sterling asked, crossing his arms. He wasn’t intimidated by this guy; he’d dealt with worse things before.
"There are lots of people you could be and all of them are threats to her safety." "Niall please if you'd just listen–" "I said stay out of this, Cassandra." He snapped, making her shrink back.
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“You seriously think I want to hurt her? Wow. You’re scared of a college freshman who’s major is literally Pre-Law,” Sterling sighed rolling his eyes. “If you really think I’m pretending to be someone, look me up. My name is Sterling Ainsley. My father is James Ainsley; lawyer and business tycoon.”
"I'm not scared. I'm protecting her from herself." He stepped closer, looking like he was ready to strangle Sterling. "From the fact that she can't seem to remember that everyone is a threat until proven otherwise. People like us have enemies everywhere and they'll do anything to learn a weakness or expose a soft side. As an assassin, that's simply unacceptable."
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“If I really wanted to take her out, I would have done so earlier. When we were alone. And in the woods near a lake. Don’t you think that would have been a better opportunity?” Sterling questioned him, his gaze hard.
"Goddammit, both of you stop this!" Cass stepped in front of them, pretty tired of this. "Niall, I don't need your help here." "Cass, baby, wait–" "No! I'm old enough to deal with this on my own. If he was really a spy from an enemy, it would've been obvious by now." "Hold on a second, let's think this through." He took her hand lovingly, which she yanked away. "Leave Niall."
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Sterling took a step back, looking away from Niall. He hadn’t meant to upset Cassandra, he was just trying to defend himself.
He sighed. "Alright. You win. But when you get your heart broken, don't come crying to me. But I'll be waiting, my princess." She rolled her eyes as he kissed her cheek and disappeared into the trees. "I'm really sorry about him, he's not usually like that." She mumbled, staring down at her shoes.