{ finders keepers ,, tyler//open

[CASSANDRA PREWETT]

I L I K E S E C R E T S
{ C A U S E T H E Y K E E P M E I N L I N E }

Cassie sighed softly as she sat down on top her favourite sand dune. During the years since finding out she was pregnant, this had been one of the places she would always come to be alone. It gave her chance to think things out when she was worried or stressed out. There was a good view of the water from here, but it was sheltered enough from the wind to stop her from being cold or getting her hair all messed up. Recently, she hadn't been here all that often. Things had been coming together for her, she didn't feel quite so under pressure any more these days. But then a few days ago, she'd been here playing in the sand with Ruby, and she'd run into the last person she wanted to see.

Of course, she hadn't told Tyler that her little girl was also his little girl. And why should she? He obviously wasn't interested in kids, from the look he'd got on his face when she explained that Ruby was her daughter, not her sister, and to be frank, she didn't want him involved anyway. Cass knew that she was by no means a good example at the moment, but it was pretty clear that Tyler was an even worse one. So why could she not help feeling guilty? He at least had a right to know about his daughter, she knew that much, but she also knew that he wasn't the type to want to know about kids. It was all just so... confusing.

Giving a little scream of frustration, she lashed out with her foot at one of the nearby dunes, bringing about half of it crashing down on it's self.
"It's like looking in a fucking mirror." she muttered angrily to the clumps of sand. "Everything looks so fucking tidy, and then some prick comes along and smashes it all up." She didn't bother trying to keep the tone of bitterness out of her voice- there was no point, since there was no one around to hear it.

All she could think about was Ruby's big, sparkling blue eyes looking up at her that morning when she'd left her to spend the day with her grandmother. They were exactly the same colour and shape as Tyler's.
"They're the exact fucking same." she sighed. How would she ever be able to ignore the guilt of keeping Ruby's father secret, when every time she looked at the girl it was him who stared back at her? Cassandra had never hated Tyler Bradford so much in her entire fucking life.

[TYLER BRADFORD]

Ever since deciding not to return to do his final exams, Tyler had lived the most laid-back life a guy could ask for. Every day he went surfing – no matter what the weather – and every night he drank sake till he was silly, or went out partying till he passed out in a gutter somewhere. He didn’t really get into sex all that much – he was just happy smoking weed and drinking cheap imported Japanese alcohol, catching waves and mostly keeping to himself and out of his mother’s way. If only she knew about the heroin addiction, that he worked as a drugs mule, that he imported Asian porn from his friend in Tokyo and sold it off to people in exchange for high-alcohol Sake so he could get shit faced for less. He laughed to himself at the thought of his mother’s head exploding off when she did eventually find out – it was inevitable. But he couldn’t help but feel a nagging sadness. She didn’t deserve it. He’d become everything a mother didn’t want in a son and he kind of regretted it. But whatever. It was too late to go back now, that was for sure.

Dressed in a wetsuit, cut off at the upper arms and thighs, Tyler carried his surfboard down from the little Cornish cottage that he and his mum inhabited up in the down, down to the beautiful bay. Cornwall really was the most beautiful place on Earth, in Tyler’s eyes, but he couldn’t stay here forever. It was suffocating him, this mundane lifestyle. But if he moved to the city, he’d really miss the surf. And Newquey’s clubs really weren’t that bad or far away. Seeing young surfers walking around the coastal towns of Cornwall wasn’t a rare site, and Tyler was greeted by several elderly folk who took it upon themselves to greet every barefooted, wetsuited youth they saw. Tyler spat at them, or made ridiculous remarks about their old age. The elderly folk vowed to never greet a surfer again.

Stepping down onto the beach, Tyler grinned and dug his toes into the soft, cold sand. It was dry and the tide was still coming in. He was about to head down to the water, but he heard a soft scream coming from the dunes nearby. Then he heard someone talking - apparently to themselves. Frowning, and then smirking cheekily, he made his way towards the sounds. His smirk turned into a rather creepy, too wide, I’m-going-to-eat-you grin.
“Well, well, fancy seeing you. You shouldn’t sabotage the dunes like that y’know, it’s a protected environment,” Tyler drawled in his posh, Sussex accent, putting the end of his board into the sand and leaning on it slightly, looking every ounce the laid-back pot smoking surfer dude. His ‘The Cards Live On’ tattoo stood out boldly on his well toned chest and he folded his arms, accentuating their muscles too.

[/blockquote]

[CASSANDRA PREWETT]

Cassie was still muttering darkly to herself about Tyler Bradford when said young man walked onto the beach and made his way toward her wearing that ridiculous smirk.
"....stupid fucking cunt, who does he think he is, waltzing back into our lives as soon as we've got it all sussed? ...wanker." It was only then that she heard the familiar, irritating drawl as he wedged his board into the sand and grinned creepily at her. Really, was it any wonder she didn't want him near her daughter, when his smile terrified even her? The last thing she wanted was for Ruby's first meeting with her father to reduce her to tears. No, it was best to keep this freak at arms length.

"The hell do you want?" she shot back, turning her cold glare up to meet his eyes. Just because he didn't know why she was so mad at him didn't mean she was going to let him get away with it. Him standing in front of her like that, with his obnoxious grin and his "the cards live on" tattoo glaring out at her from his chest was ruining an otherwise perfect view. The waves were beautiful today, roughly tossing and turning further out, but breaking gently on the shore by the time they got close.

Cass sighed and adjusted her gaze to glower down at the sand in front of her. She didn't even want to look at him right now.
"Just do me a favour and go away, Tyler." she muttered, still not shifting her eyes away from the floor. "I'm really not in the mood for dealing with twats like you today, alright?"

[TYLER BRADFORD]

Tyler chuckled to himself when she turned her icy glare on him. Any other guy would probably have been turned to stone by that look, but not Tyler. No, Tyler just thought it was kind of sexy. Smirking, he reached into his wetsuit – which he was only wearing on his legs at the moment – and pulled out a small matchbox. He took out a joint of weed and a single match, and lit the cigarette with lazy ease of a well practiced ritual.
“What do I want? My, getting existential this morning, luv?” he teased, dragging on the cigarette and sitting down next to his surfboard. The custom paint job gleamed freshly in the early morning sun – a naked mermaid woman who looked practically deranged and covered in all sorts of tattoos surrounded by seaweed hair and smoke. Tyler knew a guy who knew a guy, so all his surf boards were extremely cheep and painted well for free. It helped being connected to the right people, that was for sure.

He waved a hand at her when she requested that he went away.
“Don’t do free favours,” he replied calmly, savouring the single cigarette he’d brought down to the beach. He watched the breakers on the sore, carefully studying the waves with a quietly confident smirk on his face. The waves this morning were practically perfect, and he was eager to get out on the water. But not in a hurry. No, he was feeling strangely laid back this morning, and was quite happy taking his time. It wasn’t often that he could sit still for a long time without getting agitated or restless, so he kind of took it in his stride. Why rush like you always did when you had the chance to do something a bit different?

Grinning up at her, he noticed something and his eyes sparkled mischievously.
“Y’know, that tit’s bigger than the other one,” he pointed out, gesturing towards her left breast – which he reckoned looked bigger. Either that or the right breast was smaller. Wasn’t that the same thing? He made a slightly confused face, his thoughts running round in circles, before grinning again.

[CASSANDRA PREWETT]

The little chuckle Tyler let out at the sight of her frosty glare was enough to make the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. The sound sent a ripple of... something she couldn't quite describe shooting up her spine. It made her sit up a little bit straighter, made her want to reach out to him and lock him in a deep embrace, and most of all, it made her hate him about ten times more than ever. How was it, that after all this time that she'd spent feeling so repulsed by him, that spark still lingered? She despised everything about him, but as soon as she heard him laugh he was all she wanted. How the fuck did that work?

Cassie cast her gaze out over the water at the same moment Tyler did, content just to admire the view rather than judge the surfing conditions. She watched as an older man strolled merrily along the water's edge, throwing in pebbles for the hyperactive dog bouncing around by his side to chase, and smiled to herself. Something about the scene was just so uplifting. A large wave surged quickly up the beach moments later, glittering in the bright sunlight as it came crashing down around the unsuspecting man's knees, but the slapstick humour was lost on Cass, whose attention had already been stolen away by Tyler's insults.

"I know, I know." she scowled, flicking her eyes immediately back over to his face as he spoke. "you already told me at the party, remember?" She'd been so angry at his blatant inappropriate comments, and so mortified to realise it hadn't just been his state of inebriation talking the fist time round, that she'd forgotten all about the fact that he obviously didn't remember. Cassie's hand flew to her mouth, and her eyes grew wide as she realised what she'd just let slip out. maybe he won't notice... she thought, trying to calm down.

[TYLER BRADFORD]

Tyler giggled again when she scowled at him, insisting that she knew that her breasts were wonky. He laughed more when he thought perhaps people had pointed it out before. The next thing she said made him start, and he stared at her blankly. She looked equally shocked, and her hands flew up to clamp over her mouth.
“...What party?” Tyler muttered suspiciously. Had he met this girl before? Heaven forbid, had he fucked this girl before and forgotten all about it? Finishing off his cigarette, he flicked the last stub away before it burned his fingers. Tracing patterns in the sand, he reflected on the sort of gossip he’d heard after the prom party all those years ago. Some people had told him that he’d had sex with some girl called Cassandra in the girl’s bathroom. He peered at the girl. He certainly didn’t remember her. Was this the girl he’d got off with at the prom party?

Frowning, he threw away his empty match box and pulled his wetsuit on over his arms and zipped it up.
“You’re Cass?” he laughed, finding it quite funny that he’d run into some girl he fucked and couldn’t even remember, “As in, Cassandra from school?” She was crawling back into his memory in little snatches. Yeah, he remembered her now ... They had been in the same year at school. He didn’t remember ever speaking to her though. Maybe once or twice they’d exchanged short words, but nothing memorable. He did remember desperately wanting to screw her, though. It was incredibly annoying to think that he might have actually slept with her, and not remember a second of it.
“Damnit,” he muttered to himself, standing up and dislodging his surf board from the sand. He really needed to get in the sea soon before the waves died down or it got too crowded. Tyler hated sharing his space with lots of other surfers; it was just stupid and pointless, totally defeating the point of surfing at all.

[CASSANDRA PREWETT]

Cassie was in shock. She couldn't believe she'd just let that slip out. Mentioning the party was probably the worst thing she could have done. What if it triggered a memory? He would be one step closer to finding out about Ruby, and when he did she wouldn't be able to to keep him away from her. Breathing as evenly as she could, Cass tried to calm herself down. Even if he did suddenly remember what happened, which seemed unlikely anyway, he would never jump to the conclusion that she'd gotten pregnant. The obnoxious cunt would probably just assume she was pissed off at being forgotten about. He seemed confused by her words, and relief flooded her brain. Good, he didn't remember.

"You're Cass? As in, Cassandra from school?"

Shit. The laughter and his slowly growing smirk made it pretty clear that the gossip had reached his ears at some point in the past two years, and she'd just confirmed it for him. Shit, shit, shit. Now what? All she wanted to do was stand up and walk away from him as fast as she possibly could, but somehow she doubted that would help. Boswyth was a small place, and Cass was going to have to face Tyler sooner or later.

"Yeah, I'm Cass. But I think I've got you mixed up with someone else..." she frowned, hoping to throw him off the scent. "I fucked some guy at a party a while back, and he said the same thing." Cassie told him, hoping her act was convincing enough for him to swallow the lie. But before she'd even finished talking, he was on his feet and gazing out at the sea. Cass wasn't a surfer, but even she could tell that today had perfect conditions. He would probably want to get out there soon, and then she'd be able to make her escape.
"Wow, the waves are really great today. You here to surf or just stand around?" she asked, smirking up at him. Well, it wouldn't hurt to give him a little push, right?