The Intangible Starslip Chapter 10

I'm not exactly sure when it was that I went to sleep Friday night, or how I eventually found myself in my pajamas. All I know is that I woke up Saturday morning with my face aimed at my window, and had to block out the sight of it with my hand. My eyes and throat felt a little sore, and I was feeling a bit depressed. I could also feel that my stomach was kinda empty, which is probably why I woke up to begin with. So, I turned over to get out of bed...and there, sitting in my chair, watching over me, was my dad.

"D-Dad!" I exclaimed, suddenly phasing out of bed and falling into the basement before floating back up into my room.

Dad just grinned like an idiot at this. "Someday, I'm gonna record you doing that, so that you can appreciate the hilarity of it."

"You're home!" I yelled, ignoring his statement and grabbing him in a big hug. "The doctors let you out?!"

"...No, I made a daring escape," Dad joked. "They said I was fine to come home, as long as I didn't try doing anything too physical for awhile."

I smiled, clinging to my father. "I'm just glad you're home."

"Me too, babygirl," Dad said, softly kissing my forehead. "I heard you had a rough time while I was in the hospital."

I sighed hard, shoulders slumping. "Last night was a disaster. I ended up catching Charlotte's family in a fight, and-" Before I could finish explaining, though, I was interrupted by the sound of my stomach gurgling, much to my immense embarrassment.

Dad just kept grinning. "Yeah, Olette mentioned you might be hungry. She's in the kitchen making breakfast with...what was his name? Sammy?"

"...Scotty's here?" I asked, baffled. "And Olette stayed overnight?" Believe it or not, that actually surprised me more than Scotty being there. Not that I was surprised that she would want to, of course, but that, after all we talked about how her parents would never let her, Olette got to spend the night here.

"They were worried about you," my dad explained, his face getting a little more serious as he eased us both onto the edge of my bed. "And yeah, Olette told me about Charlotte. Or, rather, what you were able to get out about it."

I nodded, looking down at the floor. "...I was flying to Fonzie's hideout, and then I saw Charlotte come out of her house all upset. Her and her step-dad got into a fight, and then he hit her, and the next thing I knew, I was standing over him, making threats." Dad didn't say anything, just taking in the information. "Dad...Charlotte's mom said that Charlotte's dad was gay? That he left them?"

It was Dad's turn to sigh now. "I'd overheard Claire, Charlotte's mother, say something once at a parent-teacher gathering about her ex-husband. Said he'd had an affair of some kind. Didn't really get into the details much."

I recalled Claire mentioning to Charlotte about how Charlotte's dad had 'run out on them', and that something had happened between himself and his accountant. "Do you think that's why Charlotte-"

"Ah, who knows?" Dad replied, resting a hand on my shoulder. "Maybe that's the reason, maybe there's more to it. People are complicated."

"I just wish I hadn't done that," I admitted. "It was stupid eavesdropping on her and her family, and...and I wasn't being a hero at all when I got involved."

"...Honey, I want you to understand something, because it's really important," my dad started to explain, gently tilting my head so that our eyes met. "What you did last night, intervening in that situation, you probably did the right thing. I think I would've done the same. And, based on what I heard, Dan probably deserved what happened to him. But the way you did it, the manner in which you chose to involve yourself, and the words you used were all wrong. And I don't blame you for flying off the handle like that, either, but Cassie, you're in a position right now where every action or inaction you take is going to reflect on you and how people perceive you."

"And the worst part is, I had to dress like Sailor V," I muttered. And while part of me kind of meant it, it still managed to get a laugh out of me and Dad.

"Yeah, I hope the costume that this Scotty fellow is making for you is a bit more dignified," Dad admitted, chuckling.

With that conversation out of the way, Dad gave me the privacy to get changed. I didn't NEED to, mind you, but...well, I just didn't want to meet Olette and Scotty in my PJs. So, I got changed into a yellow tank-top and purple jeans. Once that was done, I headed out to the kitchen, and the second I turned the corner into it, I was immediately tackle-hugged into the wall by Olette.

"Cassie!" O cheered, hugging me tight and causing me to blush as her chest was ground up against mine. "Are you feeling any better?"

"Uh-huh," I murmured, my face red like a shiny apple. "Kinda hungry, though."

"I hope you like grilled cheese sandwiches, then," Scotty declared from the stove, having switched out the apron he used while working on costumes for a white chef's apron. "I, uh...I-I don't really know how to make anything else for breakfast. If not for my mom, I'd probably eat the exact same breakfast every day for all eternity."

"Well, it could be a lot worse than having to eat grilled cheese every morning," Dad pointed out as Olette finally released me, the three of us taking seats at the table. A few moments later, Scotty began serving up the sandwiches before taking a seat himself. "...Well, it looks good, anyway."

"Thank you, Mr. Doyle," Scotty replied as we dug in. "Anyway, I brought the costume with me. It's almost done. I just need to finish stitching the cape along the back, which I can do here."

"Great," I said with a smile. And I meant it, for the record. After talking with my dad, I was feeling a little better about myself and what I was doing. Still, before I could feel GREAT about myself, there was something I needed to do, and someone I needed to see.

After breakfast, I excused myself, saying there was something I needed to take care of. I think they all at least had a general understanding of what I might have meant. I decided to stay mostly underground, using my phone's GPS to lead me to where I wanted to go, since I wasn't in costume. Anyway, it didn't take me long to get close to where I was going, so I came up out of the ground in an alley before walking the rest of the way. Within a few minutes, I was in front of my destination, walking up to the front door of the house. I gave the doorbell a ring, and after a couple of minutes, the front door opened, revealing a somewhat annoyed-looking redhead standing there on crutches.

"...Hey," I said, more than a bit nervous.

Charlotte's eyes narrowed. "Hello, blondie. Here for Round 2? You might've broken my leg before, but I could still tear your hair out."

"I just wanna talk," I replied, rubbing my arm. "...Please?"

Charlotte just stared at me, as if she couldn't believe what she'd just heard. Not like she was in shock or surprise, mind you, but like I'd said something so stupid and predictable that she couldn't understand why I'd say it. I was pretty sure she was about ready to slam the door in my face after a while. Instead, she just hobbled over to the side of the doorway, gesturing for me to come in.

"My folks aren't home," Charlotte said as I walked in. "They're...out. Getting groceries."

I blinked, confused. "...On a Saturday?"

"It's a thing," Charlotte explained rather lamely as she closed the door, and I could tell she was lying through her teeth. "So, what do you want to talk about? My recovery? How I got to be so popular? Or maybe you're tired of Olette and decided to come down here to seduce me."

I turned to face Charlotte, unamused, but opted not to take the bait she was setting up for me to grab hold of. "I wanna ask about your dad. Your REAL dad."

Charlotte scowled hard. "...So, how'd you find out? Did someone stooge the information to you? Is my standing in the student body THAT damaged now?"

I fidgeted slightly. There was something in Charlotte's eyes that told me she was still playing games. At that point, it occurred to me that, between what had happened a few days ago, what had happened yesterday, and the possible rumours going around, she'd put it all together in her head that I was Star Lake's masked vigilante. However, even if she had, it didn't look like she was going to say anything one way or the other. And, sure enough, she didn't leave me much time to ponder it.

"Whatever, I guess it doesn't matter," Charlotte muttered. "You wanna know the truth? Here it is: My mom and dad married young. I don't know WHEN he figured out he really didn't like women, but one day, my mom found out that he was having an affair with his accountant. He was gone after that. She wouldn't let him back in the house, and then she went ahead and filed for divorce. And THEN, after that, just to put more distance between us, she decided to move us all to this shit-hole to be with a guy she'd met."

"You mean your step-dad," I acknowledged. "Where'd she meet him?"

"Believe it or not, Alcoholics Anonymous," Charlotte answered, and I had to fight back the urge to point out that AA clearly didn't help him much. "He was actually from out of town, but sat in on our town's AA meeting while visiting a friend. Anyway, point is, she uprooted me and my brother and moved us down here, just to get away from Dad, and then got hitched to Dan within a year."

"So that's what happened," I said as I took a seat in a comfy chair in the living room, Charlotte likewise laying back on the couch. "...I'm sorry."

"Oh, do NOT do that," Charlotte snarled. "Do NOT pity me. I've been through enough in life without having to add Cassie Doyle pitying me."

"Well, I just, I wish you didn't have to go through that is all," I explained. "I'm sorry that your family was split up, and that you had to move. But...you know that, just because your dad turned out to be gay, that doesn't mean you have to be so-"

To my surprise, Charlotte actually laughed as I said that. "Oh please! You think THAT'S why I've come at you so often?! Newsflash: There are PLENTY of gay folks in our school, some of which are in my circle! They just aren't as out there with that as you are!"

I was completely baffled by this statement. "Then...why?!"

"You really wanna know so bad?!" Charlotte demanded, forcing herself to sit up as she glared into my eyes. "Okay, here's the truth: The reason I single you out is because I hate your freaking guts! Because you've got it too damned good in life!"

It was my turn to scowl at that. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me!" Charlotte yelled. "And don't give me that crap about 'Oh, my mother left when I was so young', or 'I don't even know if it'll still be legal for me and Olette to get married when we're out of school'! You have it too good because you could literally be anything you want, as big a screw-up as humanly possible, and guess what?! Your father would still love you! You don't have a dad who thinks B actually DOES stand for 'Bad', or who treats one answer wrong on a test like you did it on purpose, just to spite them!"

My mouth hung open, and I was about ready to retort, but Charlotte wouldn't let me. "And you know what makes it 1000 times worse?! You can't even be content with that! Everything has to be all 'Oh, poor me! Everyone feel bad for me!' Well I DON'T feel bad for you, Cassie! I HATE you, and I wish you'd never come into my life!"

There was silence after that. Neither of us were really sure what to say to the other. I could tell even Charlotte was feeling more than a little bit awkward at that point, like even she understood she might've gone a little too far in her explosion. As for me, I just kept contemplating what she'd said in my head over and over, until finally, the question I REALLY wanted to ask next presented itself.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked, earning a legitimately surprised look from Charlotte this time. "In all the time you've made my life miserable, why didn't you just tell me how you really felt?"

Charlotte rolled her eyes and scoffed. "What would it have changed? I mean, REALLY? You can't honestly tell me you would've changed for me. People don't change for others, they only change for themselves. What possible reason would me telling you all of this give you to change your ways?"

Hearing that, I just giggled, which again surprised Charlotte. "See, that's where you're wrong. People change all the time, whether they want to or not. All they need is the right kick in the ass."

"What the hell is THAT supposed to mean?" Charlotte asked, right before she was surprised yet again by me leaning over and giving her a big hug. "Hey, what the-...Have you gone crazy or something?!"

"Nope," I replied, letting her go and getting up to leave. "I just wanted to say thank you...for giving me the kick in the ass I needed."

And, with that, I just left her there, baffled as all hell. I left, I headed to the closest alley I could find, and then I flew back home, grinning all the way. For me, the biggest struggle I'd been going through was finally over. I'd made the decision. A few days ago, I became something else. Now it was time to accept that fact that I was someONE else.