{the secret circle} secrets
Title: Secrets
Author: Aaronlisa
Fandom: The Secret Circle
Pairing/Characters: Jake Armstrong/Cassie Blake
Rating: FR13
Disclaimer: The Secret Circle belongs to LJ Smith, The CW and company.
Prompts: Written for smallfandomfest for the prompts of Jake/Cassie and magic isn't good or bad, it just is.
Notes: Slightly AU fic where Cassie reacts far more badly to her heritage than she did on the show.
Summary: Jake comforts Cassie when she breaks down at having Balcoin blood.
Word Count: 1137
As she sinks to the worn out cushions of the couch in the abandoned house, she wraps her arms around her body in attempt to stop shivering. Today she's found out that she's not who she thought that she was. Instead she found out that she's doomed by her bloodlines. The Blake blood isn't strong enough to overpower the Balcoin blood in her body.
She can't help but wonder if the reason why her mother had run away from Chance Harbor wasn't to protect Cassie from magic but if it was to protect the other kids her age from her. Her mother had kept quiet on her past and now Cassie suspects it's because of who, what, she is.
She's evil.
* * *
"Cassie?"
Jake softly calls outs her name and Cassie desperately wants to respond, to let him know that she's sitting in the darkened gloom of the house but she bites her lips. It's for the best if she pulls away from the others before she can hurt them. And then the enormity of hits her as she realizes that Nick's death is probably her fault. It wasn't intentional but she recalls an elderly neighbour who always used to tell Cassie's mother that bad blood will always out.
She must make a sound, a sob of some sort, at the realization that she's impure, evil and her bad blood has definitely outed her. One moment she's alone and the next, Jake is there, clumsily wrapping an arm around her shoulders as he tries to pull her close.
"Don't," Cassie spits out.
She can't bear for him to touch her. Not when she knows the truth.
"You're shivering," Jake says as he ignores her.
He takes his jacket off and places it around her shoulder. She wants to luxuriate in the warmth of his jacket but she can't. She doesn't deserve it.
"You don't understand," Cassie tries to tell him.
"Is this about who you are, about who your father is?" Jake asks.
She nods, mute with fear, as she waits for him to piece together what she has.
"Cassie, the Balcoins practiced dark magic but they chose it."
"You don't understand," Cassie tells him again. "I'm cursed by my blood. I'm evil."
Jake laughs but she recoils from his mirth. She tries to stand, to run from him, to keep him safe from herself but he pushes her back down to the couch and kneels in front of her.
"Listen to me Cassie, I don't know what you're thinking, what you think you've done but you're not doomed, you're not cursed and you're not evil."
"You don't understand," Cassie tells him. "Nick was my fault."
"Don't you ever say that again," Jake tells her. "None of you knew what you were getting into. None of you knew the truth."
"If I'm not cursed, why did my mother run away?"
She needs him to understand the truth. Jake sighs as he gently reaches out and grips her chin, forcing her to look at him.
"I'm no saint Cassie, I've done a lot of things that I regret," Jake tells her. "I know you and I know that you're not doomed or cursed or evil just because of your blood."
She wants to refute his claim but he hushes her with a finger pressed against her lips.
"Hear me out," Jake tells her. "Sure the Balcoin line is known for using dark magic, for practicing dark rituals but that was on them. Magic isn't good or bad, it just is. It's how we use it, that makes it white or black magic."
"Jake, please don't lie to me."
"I'm not Cassie," Jake tells her. "You're not evil. Your mother left town because she wanted to keep you safe. I am sure she knew what the other parents and the elders would assume because of who your father was."
"See, I am right."
"People are dumb, Cassie, they believe what they want to believe, what's easy for them to believe. It's easy to paint all of the Balcoins as evil because then they don't have to admit that there's a fine line between good and bad. It's how you channel magic, what you use it for that makes it an useful tool or a weapon."
She wants to deny what he's saying but there's some truth in what he's saying.
"I know you Cassie Blake and you're good."
He pulls her down onto his lap and she looks into his eyes. She wants to believe what she sees there. She's desperate to believe him but he doesn't understand how easy it feels to just use her magic for ill purpose. To get back at Faye for being petty. But before she can say anything, he's cradling her head in his hands.
"I know what's good and bad," Jake tells her. "You're so far from bad."
He kisses her then. He's gentle with her as if she was made out of glass. Her magic sings in her body as he shows her with this hands and lips how good and pure he believes her to be. She can feel his magic responding to her. And for a moment, she can sense the darkness in him. There's a part of her that wants to respond to his darkness but he shifts them so she's laying on the couch and he's kneeling on the floor.
"You're sweet and innocent, Cassie," Jake whispers against her skin. "I know that you're good no matter the blood in your veins."
He kisses her once again and then brushes some of her hair off of her face. She wants to believe him and maybe he's right. Maybe the magic in them is just magic, there's no good or bad to it. It's how they use it that matters. But she can't help but wonder why so many of the Balcoins decided to take a darker path if they had a choice.
"You're over thinking things," Jake tells her.
"It feels so easy to be bad, to use my magic to hurt people," Cassie tells him.
He flashes a sad smile at her before pressing a kiss to her hand that he's clasped in his.
"Of course, it does," Jake says. "If doing the right thing was easier, then we'd all be more like Diana and Saint Conant, wouldn't we?"
She knows that he's making light of the situation but she suspects that there's something more to his story, something far more darker than her earlier discovery of who she is. Cassie wants to ask him about but he's kissing her again and she just wants to lose herself in this moment, to pretend that they're not witches, that they're not bound by magic and that neither of them have secrets kept from the other.
((END))
This story can also be found at DW & AO3
Author: Aaronlisa
Fandom: The Secret Circle
Pairing/Characters: Jake Armstrong/Cassie Blake
Rating: FR13
Disclaimer: The Secret Circle belongs to LJ Smith, The CW and company.
Prompts: Written for smallfandomfest for the prompts of Jake/Cassie and magic isn't good or bad, it just is.
Notes: Slightly AU fic where Cassie reacts far more badly to her heritage than she did on the show.
Summary: Jake comforts Cassie when she breaks down at having Balcoin blood.
Word Count: 1137
As she sinks to the worn out cushions of the couch in the abandoned house, she wraps her arms around her body in attempt to stop shivering. Today she's found out that she's not who she thought that she was. Instead she found out that she's doomed by her bloodlines. The Blake blood isn't strong enough to overpower the Balcoin blood in her body.
She can't help but wonder if the reason why her mother had run away from Chance Harbor wasn't to protect Cassie from magic but if it was to protect the other kids her age from her. Her mother had kept quiet on her past and now Cassie suspects it's because of who, what, she is.
She's evil.
* * *
"Cassie?"
Jake softly calls outs her name and Cassie desperately wants to respond, to let him know that she's sitting in the darkened gloom of the house but she bites her lips. It's for the best if she pulls away from the others before she can hurt them. And then the enormity of hits her as she realizes that Nick's death is probably her fault. It wasn't intentional but she recalls an elderly neighbour who always used to tell Cassie's mother that bad blood will always out.
She must make a sound, a sob of some sort, at the realization that she's impure, evil and her bad blood has definitely outed her. One moment she's alone and the next, Jake is there, clumsily wrapping an arm around her shoulders as he tries to pull her close.
"Don't," Cassie spits out.
She can't bear for him to touch her. Not when she knows the truth.
"You're shivering," Jake says as he ignores her.
He takes his jacket off and places it around her shoulder. She wants to luxuriate in the warmth of his jacket but she can't. She doesn't deserve it.
"You don't understand," Cassie tries to tell him.
"Is this about who you are, about who your father is?" Jake asks.
She nods, mute with fear, as she waits for him to piece together what she has.
"Cassie, the Balcoins practiced dark magic but they chose it."
"You don't understand," Cassie tells him again. "I'm cursed by my blood. I'm evil."
Jake laughs but she recoils from his mirth. She tries to stand, to run from him, to keep him safe from herself but he pushes her back down to the couch and kneels in front of her.
"Listen to me Cassie, I don't know what you're thinking, what you think you've done but you're not doomed, you're not cursed and you're not evil."
"You don't understand," Cassie tells him. "Nick was my fault."
"Don't you ever say that again," Jake tells her. "None of you knew what you were getting into. None of you knew the truth."
"If I'm not cursed, why did my mother run away?"
She needs him to understand the truth. Jake sighs as he gently reaches out and grips her chin, forcing her to look at him.
"I'm no saint Cassie, I've done a lot of things that I regret," Jake tells her. "I know you and I know that you're not doomed or cursed or evil just because of your blood."
She wants to refute his claim but he hushes her with a finger pressed against her lips.
"Hear me out," Jake tells her. "Sure the Balcoin line is known for using dark magic, for practicing dark rituals but that was on them. Magic isn't good or bad, it just is. It's how we use it, that makes it white or black magic."
"Jake, please don't lie to me."
"I'm not Cassie," Jake tells her. "You're not evil. Your mother left town because she wanted to keep you safe. I am sure she knew what the other parents and the elders would assume because of who your father was."
"See, I am right."
"People are dumb, Cassie, they believe what they want to believe, what's easy for them to believe. It's easy to paint all of the Balcoins as evil because then they don't have to admit that there's a fine line between good and bad. It's how you channel magic, what you use it for that makes it an useful tool or a weapon."
She wants to deny what he's saying but there's some truth in what he's saying.
"I know you Cassie Blake and you're good."
He pulls her down onto his lap and she looks into his eyes. She wants to believe what she sees there. She's desperate to believe him but he doesn't understand how easy it feels to just use her magic for ill purpose. To get back at Faye for being petty. But before she can say anything, he's cradling her head in his hands.
"I know what's good and bad," Jake tells her. "You're so far from bad."
He kisses her then. He's gentle with her as if she was made out of glass. Her magic sings in her body as he shows her with this hands and lips how good and pure he believes her to be. She can feel his magic responding to her. And for a moment, she can sense the darkness in him. There's a part of her that wants to respond to his darkness but he shifts them so she's laying on the couch and he's kneeling on the floor.
"You're sweet and innocent, Cassie," Jake whispers against her skin. "I know that you're good no matter the blood in your veins."
He kisses her once again and then brushes some of her hair off of her face. She wants to believe him and maybe he's right. Maybe the magic in them is just magic, there's no good or bad to it. It's how they use it that matters. But she can't help but wonder why so many of the Balcoins decided to take a darker path if they had a choice.
"You're over thinking things," Jake tells her.
"It feels so easy to be bad, to use my magic to hurt people," Cassie tells him.
He flashes a sad smile at her before pressing a kiss to her hand that he's clasped in his.
"Of course, it does," Jake says. "If doing the right thing was easier, then we'd all be more like Diana and Saint Conant, wouldn't we?"
She knows that he's making light of the situation but she suspects that there's something more to his story, something far more darker than her earlier discovery of who she is. Cassie wants to ask him about but he's kissing her again and she just wants to lose herself in this moment, to pretend that they're not witches, that they're not bound by magic and that neither of them have secrets kept from the other.
((END))
This story can also be found at DW & AO3