"You gonna be okay for your interview?" Sirius asked as he cupped Cassi's face in his hands.

"Oh, I wouldn't miss this for the world." Cassi replied forcing a smile.

"Today was the anniversary of the, ah . . ." Sirius stumbled over his words as he helped Cassi up.

"Of the accident, ya; doesn't feel like a year though." She murmured as she hugged Sirius.

"So, what is this place?" Sirius questioned as he wrapped his arm around Cassi's waist.

"Arlington National," Cassi replied absent mindedly, "my brothers here because my dad was military, and service men, their wives, and children, and others can be buried here."

"Oh, I that's good." Sirius smiled as he held Cassi close. "You sure you want to do this interview."

"Defiantly, I have plenty to say; be warned though, chance are we'll be leaving for Europe awful soon." Cassi smirked as she wiped the remaining tears from her eyes.

"You really hate it here don't you?"

"Ya, I really do, it's not some adolescent phase of hating my parents, I really do hate them." Cassi sighed.

"Did you always hate them, or has it been this past year?" Sirius asked as they neared the car.

"Well, we never got along, I wasn't the daughter they wanted, it just never worked; but Scott, he was always there for me, he was also my parents pride and joy. I think they seriously wish it was me in this earth rather than Scott, but that's them, and I deal." Cassi smiled.

"Cas, I will always be here for you don't you worry." Sirius said as he opened the door to the car for her. "We're ready to go to the interview Jim."

The car ride to the hotel passed in a resolved quiet. The quiet may have been resolved, but Cassi wasn't. As she stared out the window, and held Sirius's hand flashes of that night one year ago came back. Scott's new convertible, stumbling out of the party on Alex's arm, then Jeff convincing Scott he was okay to drive. She still could feel the wind in her hair from that night as she sat on Alex's lap in the convertible, could still hear the song playing in the background, still remembered Scott turning around and smiling at her. Then it happened, they all screamed, the car flew off the road, and it went dark . . . Cassi was pulled mercilessly back to reality when the door man at the Hilton opened her door.

Cassi, Sirius, Lily, and James climbed out into the glare of the flashbulbs. Walking with her chin up, hair falling gracefully down her, and holding Sirius's hand Cassi strutted into the Hilton Hotel.

The four of them made their way toward the restaurant area, where Cassi had been instructed to meet the lady from People. Cassi saw a woman with burnt red hair stand as they entered the room, assuming this was the woman, Cassi made her way over.

"Hello, I'm Cassandra Montgomery." Cassi smiled as she shook the woman's hand.

"Liza Hurley," the woman flustered upon seeing Cassi, "I assume these are your friends and boyfriend."

"Yes," Cassi said motioning toward each and naming them, "it's a pleasure to meet you." Cassi felt a knot develop in her stomach, she felt bad about having to ruin the article since Liza was so sweet, but things had to be done.

"Do you mind if we start now?" Liza smiled after they had finished lunch and were sipping their drinks.

Cassi nodded and smiled as she set her lemonade down on the table, "Fire away Liza!"

"What the hell were you thinking!" Shawn Montgomery fumed at his daughter as he slammed the newest edition of People magazine down on the kitchen table.

Giving no response Cassi reached for the magazine and opened it to see exactly how Liza had portrayed her. She smiled quietly to herself; Liza had done just what she had wanted. She read the article . . .

Senator Montgomery's Daughter No Angel

When I was first told I was going to have the pleasure to interview Senator Montgomery's daughter I was some what scared of the gorgeous blonde, whose pictures I had seen. I mean, this young woman was sent to a prestigious English boarding school whose tuition rivaled some of this country's most prominent universities. However, Cassandra Montgomery was nothing I expected. From the moment I saw her walk in with her platinum hair tipped red, on the arm of an incredibly handsome "bad boy" I knew the media had this child all wrong.

This young girl is a parent's nightmare, and a teenager's dream. Cassandra Emma, or Cassi as she is called by her friends, is everything we all wanted to be when we were younger but never had the courage to do. She is quick, coy, and will always tell you straight up what she is thinking. Cassi Montgomery, in short, is the type of child your parents desperately wanted you to stay away from, but you were drawn to her anyway.

Over lunch, she happily shares with me that she currently has thirteen piercings (five in one ear, four in the other, her tongue, nose, eyebrow, and belly button) and has two tattoos. She openly admits that she has not always made the best decisions, and regrets some, but she tells me she has learned. One can only assume at this point that she is referring to the accident that occurred one year ago that took the life of Cassi's brother and their friends. When asked about the incident all the young hell raiser will say is that "we all made bad choices that night, I regret it everyday, and miss my brother and everyone else who died that night more than I can every say."

Despite what the vivacious blonde may say, many magazines have carried stories about Cassi's raging antics since her brother's passing. Most recent was the fight she had with the daughter of her father's running mate. Cassi brushes off the issue with a flip of her long blonde hair and a shrug. "I'm not going to be a shallow low life and pretend to be friends with anyone," she informs me. This seems to be very true for the young Marilyn Monroe look a like she guards her privacy more than the diamond encrusted Tiffany's watch on her left wrist which she brushes off as "another gift from daddy."

It is more than obvious to anyone that in Cassi's mind she lost her family a long time ago, "his Scott's death was the straw that broke the camel's back in our family, he was my only reason for wanting to be part of the family, and he was all I had . . ." She trails off as her bright eyes fill with tears. She squeezes Sirius's hand and exchanges heartfelt glances with her cousin and close friend. Politely she thanks me for my time as she brushes tears away, then leaves with the only family she has.