Romance Fan Fiction ❯ Broken Journey to The Heart ❯ A Decision Made is a Journey Gained ( Chapter 1 )

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Broken Journey to the Heart

Disclaimer: We do not own Secret Circle or the characters in it...although we do have a friend name Nick who reminds us ALOT of Nick in Secret Circle...hmmm....

A/N: Ok, I'm seriously disgusted by the lack of Secret Circle fanfictions and more disgusted with the few Nick and Cassie pairings out there. Adam is too...boy scout for me and Nick is all...dark and mysterious...and sexy...and I'm done rambling now. So, I'm co-writing this with my cousin. She's my muse/beta and she's also a fantastic writer. There's some Adam/Cassie fluff in the beginning but don't fret my faithful shippers, this IS a Nick and Cassie pairing. Sit back, read and enjoy. Oh, and people might be a little OOC. I haven't read the books in a while. I'm sorry if anyone seems out of character. We'll try our best to write in character as much as we can.


Chapter one:


Diana's living room was warm and cozy. The scent of the lavender incense burning on an end table filled the room, bringing about a comforting peace to the teenagers gathered around. Diana sat on her couch, listening intently to Melanie as she talked about school starting in just a few weeks. The Henderson brothers played Sean and Deb in partnered poker on the floor, identical grins of triumph making them look even more evil then usual. Laurell and Susan argued from the kitchen over about whether carrots and dip or cookies as snacks. It didn't take a genius to figure out who was on which side.

Cassie set her phone down.

"Adam said he's a block away and he'll be here in a second." She said in a low voice, her mind still on their conversation. She was slightly apprehensive about the mystery surrounding this gathering. Adam wasn't giving in, no matter her cajoling, and letting her in on the big secret.

Just then there was a knock at the door. Assuming it was Adam, Cassie hurried down the small hall to answer it.

"Hey...Nick." The smile froze on her face. His mouth and eyes tightened at her reaction, or rather lack thereof. "Sorry, just thought you were someone else."

"Conant?" He questioned tensely.

"Yeah. I'm sorry." He watched her silently for a moment. Then he took a deep breath and relaxed, offering her a rare almost-smile.

"Don't worry about it, Cassie." He walked past her and joined the others in the living room. She followed him, taking the love seat between his chair and Diana's couch. Another knock woke her from her reverie.

"Cassie. Would you get that please?" Cassie nodded, standing again. Opening the door, her eyes caught those colored with the darkest depths of the ocean.

"Hey." Adam smiled, leaning down to capture her lips, and pulling her into a hug. Her arms snaked around him, leaning into the kiss.

"Out of my way." Faye's voice broke through Adam and Cassie's reunion. They blushed and moved away. Faye flicked back her long, raven locks and went inside. Cassie giggled lightly as her and Adam walked in, closing the door behind them.

"Everyone here?" Laurell called from the kitchen.

"Yeah." Cassie called back.

Susan and Laurell came out the kitchen carrying trays of cookies, veggies, juice, and soda. They set them down on the coffee table and people began to dig in. After a few minutes, Deb spoke up.

"So you called a meeting. What's up? Davy Jones' in town?" She asked sarcastically, catching Adam's eye. Adam took his arm from around Cassie to reach into a bag he was carrying. He pulled out his Book of Shadows.

"This." He spoke.

"What about it?" Faye asked, putting another dark red coat on her already perfect nails.

Adam sat down on the love seat, his arm automatically going around Cassie's waist as she joined him. The rest of the group moved closer so they could listen to whatever Adam needed to say. Some more excited than others.

"I was reading my Book of Shadows and I noticed that a certain place in Ireland was mentioned quite a bit. It's mentioned as a place of power. A lot of ancient magic lingers around the island and I got an idea. Why don't we all go there? We still have time to take a trip out there before school, and with the defeat of Black John, it'd be great to get away and take a vacation. What do you guys think?" Adam replied, his voice calm but his eyes belying his excitement.

Doug and Chris jumped up, spilling chips all over the floor.

"I think that's the coolest idea you've ever came up with!" Doug responded, his face lighting up.

"Not that your other ideas were bad or anything but this one actually sounds fun!" Chris added, actually making what Doug said seem nice while making his addition sound worse. Cassie shook her head, smiling. The Hendersons would never change.

"I think this is great." Diana smiled excitedly.

"Place of power? It almost makes up for the fact that I'll be stuck with you losers for the entire time. Of course, I always did love a delicious Irish accent on a man." Faye licked her lips, amber eyes dancing.

The rest agreed whole-heartedly, Melanie already talking about the various land-marks and historical sites in different parts of Ireland. Cassie glanced over at the silent part of the room, taking in Nick's slouched figure.

"What do you think, Nick?" She asked. The others stopped talking and looked at him. If he was uncomfortable with all the focus on him, he didn't show it.

"Sounds cool to me." His voice was steady, but Cassie saw the small hint of excitement in his eyes.

"Good. Then it's settled. I was thinking about leaving this weekend. Flights shouldn't be hard to figure it out. I'll call the airport on the mainland. Is that alright with everyone?" Adam asked.

This time everyone agreed right away.

...........................


Cassie busied herself around her room, packing things she would need, and things she wanted. Her mother stood in the doorway, a small smile playing on her lips.

"You'd think you were going away forever with all that stuff." Her mother laughed, referring to the suitcase.

"You never know what you're going to need until you need it. You taught me that. And I haven't even packed my carry-on." She replied, grinning at her mom. She was so excited about this trip. Watching her mother laugh, Cassie held back the tears of joy that threatened. It was so good to see her mom up and about. After Black John was defeated, Cassie's mom had slowly became more and more lively.

The thought of Black John slowed her progress. The fact that someone so evil was responsible for half of her being around was enough to stop anyone in their tracks. Except maybe Faye, she thought ruefully. She still wasn't sure how she felt about it quite yet. Sighing, she turned her thoughts to happier things. Like a trip to Ireland with her best friends.

Her mother shook her head and went to start dinner.

Cassie flickered back and forth around her room until she was certain she packed everything she needed. She had to push down on the top just to zip it closed. She tested the bag by lifting it and nearly troppled over.

"I'm going to have to have someone help me with that. This thing is heavy." She mused aloud.

"I'll get it." A voice at the door said. Cassie turned her head so fast she winced. Nick leaned casually against the door frame.

Nick Armstrong was gorgeous, no use in denying it. He wore his usual outfit. Dark jeans, a white t-shirt, and his leather jacket. It was intimidating as it was alluring and Cassie had to look away for a second.

"That'd be nice. Thank you. What brings you here?" She asked, looking back at him once she got her thoughts in order. She loved Adam so she shouldn't be thinking about Nick. She had hurt Nick enough.

He entered her room, sitting on the very edge of her bed.

"Deborah wanted to know if you knew why Conant really wanted to go to Ireland." He replied, looking casually around the room. His face was unreadable as always and Cassie found that unnerving. He was usually a little more open when it was just them and it almost felt like she was just another person in the group. The he caught her gaze and half-smiled, making her relax. Though she really didn't understand why, if she truly was in love with Adam.

"He said as much to me as he did to the rest of us. I think he just wants to go because of the power there. My Book of Shadows talks about Ireland too." She said, her voice slightly annoyed. Why would Deborah think that there was more to it? Adam would have said as much.

"Deb gets suspicious of everything. You know how she is." Nick replied. He turned toward Cassie when she sat next to him. His face was blank but his eyes were slightly worried. She smiled.

"Yeah I suppose." Cassie answered, her eyes traveling away from Nick and out into the hall.

Nick stood and started walking toward the hallway. He turned in the doorway to say bye when Cassie realized she didn't really want him to go. She rationalized with herself it was because he was her friend and she hadn't seen much of him lately.

"Hey, you want to stay for dinner? My mom is making an actual meal tonight and that doesn't happen very often. It's bound to be awful but I'm just happy she's back to herself again." Her voice wavered at the end, and Nick walked over to lay a hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah, sure." He spoke softly. Cassie gave him an unsteady smile and they ventured down the stairs and into the kitchen.

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A/N: So what did you think? Good? Bad? Ugly? Totally awesome and you can't wait for the next chapter?? But no really, Review PLEASE!!!!!