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[arrownomore]

It was Cissie's turn to do the laundry and while she had done the whole time-honored tradition of whining under her breath as she lugged the basket all the way from her and Cassie's hut to the compound, she had to admit that it really needed to be done. The basket was overflowing and how she'd managed to not to lose any socks or underwear, she

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[not_so_smooth]

"You have to know how to work it," Sam said, stepping into the rec room just as Cissie was trying to sweet talk the bookshelf. In her defense, if Sam was a bookshelf and she was using that tone, he'd probably give up something besides a history book.

"Watch, I'm like the Fonz," he added, moving up next to it to bump it with his elbow before pulling out a book. "See, I got... Sex Smart: 501 Reasons to Hold Off on Sex: A Sexuality Resource for Teenager. Oh, that's hilarious. So funny. Though technically not a history book."

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"I tried yelling and shooting," Cissie said as she glanced over her shoulder, brightening when she saw Sam. "That didn't work so I tried being nice. I think I'm all out of options now."

She looked down at the book Sam had gotten and blinked. "That's... an interesting title. Is this point where I have to like, sit on you and give warnings about what happens if you make Cassie cry?"

[not_so_smooth]

"What? No. No, no, no, it's not like that," Sam said, waving the book in protest. He wasn't sure why, but it seemed like everyone just assumed he was going to hurt Cassie. It was like he needed a t-shirt that said "I'm not Kon" to wear around all the time or something.

"Trust me, being abstinent is not something we're having a problem with."

He paused for a moment and realized that while the question he wanted to ask might be horribly awkward to ask and that Cissie could probably throw him across the room, there was no one better to ask. That, and honestly she was the least awkward person to ask.

"Is there- is there something in her past that would make her... afraid of. You know. Not being abstinent. It's not- it's not that I can't wait. I can wait. Waiting is fine. She just seems, I don't know, terrified of the idea and if she has, I don't know, trauma in her past about it..."

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Cissie stared at Sam while she tried to process what she had just heard. Did he - yes, he had really asked her about Cassie and sex. It wasn't that it was an unreasonable question or anything, they were best friends and all but she still felt really embarrassed about the whole thing.

"I, um, I don't think so? I mean," she trailed off for a moment, her face red. "She hasn't really said anything to me and if there was something, I know she would have totally told me."

[not_so_smooth]

Sam saw how red Cissie's face got and he felt guilty for the question.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I know this is embarrassing, and believe me I would ask someone else if I could " he said. "I guess though if it's not that, then-"

That meant it was something about Sam that bothered her. Maybe she did feel pressured by him, or just despite what she said she really didn't find him attractive that way.

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"Maybe she's just not ready yet," Cissie said gently. "I mean, it's like a whole big deal anyway, you know, let alone with someone you really like. It's sort of scary, too, letting someone so close."

She wasn't really sure if that's what Cassie was afraid of, if she was even afraid of that but it was what she was scared about. It hadn't really come up between her and Bart yet and as much as she really cared about him, she didn't think she could go that far with him. Not yet.

[not_so_smooth]

"Wouldn't she just tell me if that was the case?" he said, momentarily forgetting who he was talking about. "Then again, this is the girl who thought it was better to just hide from me for a weekend than tell me the island had turned her into a guy."

Which, to give her credit, was slightly Kon's fault. Sure, he had to remind her a few times that he wasn't Kon, but after understanding the background behind the situation he couldn't blame her too much.

"And I don't mind waiting. Waiting is fun. Waiting is totally fine. I'm a... waiter? I just wish she'd tell me she's not ready instead of being so... weird."

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"Well, sure, if she was anyone but Cassie," Cissie said, making a face. She loved her best friend, there was absolutely no doubt about that but sometimes she needed a gentle shaking to remind her that she didn't have to carry everything alone. "But you know her and how stubborn she is, right? You sort of have to drag stuff out of her."

She paused for a moment, tilting her head. "Weird? Like... how weird?"

[not_so_smooth]

"It's weird like... okay, I'm going to use metaphors to make this easier, okay?" Sam said. Because using actual terms of what was going on would just be too weird.

"It's like she is... eating lunch. No, wait, let's not associate lunch with sex. It's like she's going to dive off the waterfall. She runs up to it, and she likes running up to it. She runs up to the edge fast and then when she gets near, she just... freaks. You've seen what she's like when she's high, right? She's like... all over people. Even then though she won't, you know, dive off the waterfall. Which is good, that's good control but it's like that specific act freaks her out."

Left unsaid was that it was killing Sam. It sounded selfish, he knew, but going to the edge and back all the time was almost agonizing.

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The problem was that Cissie didn't really know what to say to help Sam. From her point of view, if Cassie wanted to be all gleeful about running up to the waterfall to keep on with the metaphor and then suddenly change her mind, well that was totally her call. Still, she could appreciate how frustrating it must be for Sam.

"Maybe she doesn't realize she's doing that? I mean, she's all about charging ahead and going with how she's feeling and maybe she just is forgetting to include on her thought process or something," Cissie said after some thought. "You probably ought to just ask her straight out. That's the best thing, really."

"Besides," she couldn't help but add mischievously. "The worst thing she'd do is throw you over her shoulder or something."

[not_so_smooth]

"I know, I know. And I plan on talking to her. I just want to get as much information beforehand as possible," he said. He knew that this couldn't go on indefinitely, the not talking about it and avoiding the issue. Even if they decided to wait, they needed to at least talk about it and get that out in the open.

"And what makes you think she hasn't already thrown me over her shoulder?"

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"Okay, you've got a point!" Cissie grinned, holding up her hands. "I bet she probably has. Several times. But you know, you're still kicking around and stuff. That's totally a good sign."

[not_so_smooth]

"Please, like I'd give up after just a half dozen or so shoulder throws," Sam scoffed. That could often be a form of affection for Cassie.

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"That's what I meant by good sign," Cissie teased. "She throws you over her shoulder a lot and you keep coming on for more. You two are totally a perfect match."

[not_so_smooth]

"I'd put up with a lot more than just that for her," Sam admitted. And it was true, Cassie was absolutely amazing and if there were hardships along the way? That didn't make being with her any less amazing.

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It was such a stereotypically girly thing to do but Cissie couldn't help herself. That statement totally deserved a squeal of glee. Sam was a really great guy and for him to say something like that firmly put him in the "Good Enough For Cassie" category.

"Good, that makes me glad to hear that," Cissie said. "I know she'd do the same for you and you want to know something? I am really glad that she has you."