Cassidy Taylor Knox
Nickname(s):
Cass, Cassie (she prefers just Cassidy)
Age:
17
Birthday:
December 12th
Hometown:
Westchester, NY (0-10)
New York, NY--Midtown (10-17)
New York, NY--Upper East Side (17-Current)
Sexuality:
Bisexual
Cassidy's most positive traits come in the form of intelligence, wit, loyalty, responsibility and confidence. She's a very smart girl, book-wise and street-wise. She definitely isn't someone who would ever be described as an airhead and she has a way about her that makes it seem like all of her actions are planned and calculated well. That's not too far fetched, really, because Cassidy does put a lot of thought into the things that she says and does. She has her impulsive moments like everyone, but she definitely lives in her mind enough that she can overthink things more than under think them.
Growing up, she was a lot more insecure than she is now. She had kids teasing her constantly and relentlessly, even before her sexuality came into the picture, and rather than back down, she grew to be stronger from it. It all still hurts, and on a personal level, she is extremely sensitive, but she grew a thick armor that she still holds on to. In fact, in addition to the armor, she developed her own stash of weapons. Instead of sitting back and taking the bullying, Cassidy allowed herself to not only become confident in herself, but a bully towards others, too. To her, it's not only payback, but a method of self-preservation. She's grown to believe that if she doesn't assert her dominance and strength, people will continue to try and target her. The only good thing that she thinks came out of her years of being bullied is that she is pretty confident now and has no problem with embracing her sexuality or "weirdness". If you're going to be weird, you need to own it, and that's exactly what Cassidy does.
That "weirdness" is definitely a big part of her though, and it translates into another side of Cassidy that is cynical, dark, and sarcastic. She possesses a level of wit to her that actually allows this side to be likable to some people, and allows her to maintain friendships, but it doesn't take away from how dark she can be sometimes. After years of being stepped on and oppressed, she's developed a need for power and control. It's the only thing that makes her feel secure of her position, and putting down other people somehow allows her to feel like she's making up for all of those years of being tormented, even if she's picking on people who had no part in that, years ago. Her bullying usually doesn't come in the stereotypical bullying form that you see on TV, with a kid shoving underclassmen into lockers and demanding their lunch money. Cassidy's is more verbal than that, and more twisted, too. She finds it easy to read people and likes to pick on kids who seem weaker and insecure. If she knows that you're a bad math student, she's going to volunteer you to the teacher, suggesting that you know the answer to the problem that the teacher wants someone to write out on the board. She'll frame you for cheating on exams, or blackmail you into doing assignments for her. If she knows that you're insecure about your weight, she'll be sure to comment on it, especially in a backhanded complimentary manner, whenever she gets the chance. She likes being inside of people's heads, and holding power over them in a way that might not be apparent on an obvious, surface level, sense.
Upbringing:
Cassidy was born in Westchester County, NY, an upscale suburban community outside of Manhattan. Her father, Adam, was an insurance executive and her mother, Nicole an interior designer. While Adam was the breadwinner of the family, Nicole did very well for herself too, especially during Cassidy's childhood, when she began to take on clients who were extremely wealthy, and in many cases, even celebrities. She began to design their homes in Manhattan, which meant that like Adam, Cassidy began to see her mother less and less. It wasn't something that bothered her very much in the beginning, but a year or so into her mother's increase in work-life responsibilities, the bullying began to start for Cassidy. It began for no good reason, really. Cassidy was just as wealthy as her peers, had nice clothes and all of the newest toys. She really just got unlucky, when one of the popular girls at her elementary school decided that she only wanted to be friends with girls with blonde hair. It was incredibly childish, which wasn't exactly surprising given their age at the time, it didn't end there when the girls decided that they were over being an exclusively blonde clique. No matter what she did or how badly she tried to conform to their standards, no one would accept her. Or, at least, the girls that she wanted to be friends with wouldn't accept her. Having little support at home didn't help in her stage of feeling rejected and uncared for, and to make matters even worse, when she was nine years old, her parents got a divorce. This resulted in her mother taking her from Westchester and bringing her to the Manhattan penthouse she had recently purchased. Cassidy still maintained a relationship with her father, since the divorce wasn't bitter and really just a long time coming, and so she would spend every other weekend with him.
Her social life in Manhattan didn't improve dramatically, but really, she only had herself to blame for this. She had a chance at a new start, in a new city with new people, but after experiencing years of torment from her peers back at home, she decided that she would never give anyone else a chance to outcast herself like that. She would do that part herself, by embracing her weirdness, but she would also eliminate any chance of them thinking that they had any strong opinion over her. She would become the bully, the one who ridiculed them and made them feel like they were worthless. She mainly targeted the popular girls, the ones who she felt had too much of an inflated ego and needed to be knocked down to reality, so she did allow herself friendships with other students who were often deemed weird, and that allowed her to maintain fairly content socially. She had friends, even if they weren't the type of friends that she always grew up wanting. And even though she told herself she needed to suppress her feelings, she slipped in ninth grade, when she began to come to terms with her sexuality more, and developed an infatuation with one of the more popular girls in school. She had a one time fling with the girl, but she thought it meant a lot more than the other girl did. The rejection led to Cassidy growing even colder and darker, and more consumed with the idea that she needed to shut off her feelings and ability to care for anyone else.
About a year ago, her mother began dating Bernard Arnault, the father of one of her classmates. They got engaged only a few months after dating, and married over the summer. It coincidentally lined up fairly well with Adeline being in treatment, but Cassidy has since moved into her home and has been living with her mother and Bernard there ever since Adeline went into treatment.