Every Step of the Way

When Cassandra woke up the next morning, Varian was gone.

There was a short note on the pillow by her head, so she assumed that he had to go to work.

That made sense.

Dear Cass-

I'm sorry that I had to leave before you woke up.

Yes, I needed to get to my lab for work this early, so... I'm hoping to see you later, then.

Love you,

Varian

Cass smiled, reading and rereading the note.

She was feeling so happy- someone cared about her, loved her, and they had even written a note to explain why they were gone.

And, of course, she could spend the whole day just lounging around in her pajamas, doing whatever she felt like doing.

So she went back to her room, still in her fuzzy purple pajama pants and white tank top, and grabbed the nearest book- an old novel about a girl just like her- and sprawled out on the bed to read.

Pretty soon, she was done reading. She checked the time- not even eleven!- and decided to lay down, soaking in the sunlight for all it was worth.

~-~

When I was a young boy, my passion, what I felt was my calling, was alchemy. Well, all of the sciences, really, but alchemy is what resonated the most with everyone.

Anyways, I digress...

Varian sighed, setting down his quill.

He had plans, big plans, involving this book, his autobiography and memoir.

But "On Idiotic Inventions and Amateur Alchemy" just was not cooperating.

He was writing it almost as if he was talking to someone in an actual conversation, which isn't that bad of a thing most of time, he supposed, but just wasn't gonna cut it.

Darn it all.

Luckily, he was saved from his own mini-depression by a knock on the door.

Cass.

He opened the door to find her there, standing there, holding their lunches.

"Hey there," he said, letting her in, "how did you sleep last night?"

She laughed, pushing some hair behind her ear. "Pretty good. As you can see, I'm ready to fall asleep anytime soon."

He chuckled, taking in the sight of Cass in her pajamas in the middle of the day.

"How long have you been up?"

"A couple of hours, actually. I got up, realized you were gone, went to my room to read for a while, and then laid down to rest, soaking in the sun."

"That sounds like fun."

She rolled her eyes, smiling. "It wasn't. As much as I enjoyed it, it just wasn't interesting."

They both took a seat, setting out their lunches.

"I'm just glad that I can be here right now."

Varian smiled, taking one of her hands in his. "I'm glad, too."

~-~

{Honestly, I have no idea what the heck that chapter was. Okay? So... I apologize for the weird craziness and such... I will make sure the next few parts are better, easier to understand... so, yeah...}