Shelby Anderson Barnum–Cassiopée Smith

Shelby Anderson Barnum and Cassiopée Smith’s friendship is built not on immediate affinity but on repeated acts of care that test, and gradually soften, Shelby’s withdrawal. Cassiopée initially challenges the distance Shelby uses to keep others at bay; later, she learns to offer help while leaving room for Shelby’s choices. Their relationship becomes one of the clearest forms of peer support in Shelby’s university life, combining practical assistance with attention to emotional and physical safety.

A guarded first meeting

Dorcas Peters introduces Shelby to Cassiopée at university. Cassiopée approaches with warmth, but privately remains skeptical of the reserved young woman she is meeting. Shelby, for her part, responds to the newcomer’s optimism with irritation. She offers a weak, polite smile and a brief greeting, then says she is leaving. Their first exchange establishes a mismatch: Cassiopée is open and direct, while Shelby is already looking for a way out of the encounter.

The distance persists at lunch. Dorcas and Cassiopée ask to join Shelby at a table she had deliberately chosen to sit at alone. Cassiopée asks what Jungkook Jeon wanted from her, and Shelby dismisses the interaction as nothing. Then Cassiopée asks why Shelby is so cold. Shelby stiffens and looks away; the question lands not as casual curiosity but as an unexpected challenge to behavior she has come to regard as normal. Dorcas objects to Cassiopée’s bluntness, but the disagreement cannot undo the effect. Shelby leaves her tray on the table and walks away. Dorcas follows her, leaving Cassiopée behind to clear the dishes.

Dorcas later finds Shelby on the university roof and apologizes for Cassiopée’s remark. Shelby tells her not to apologize on Cassiopée’s behalf. Dorcas insists that Shelby should not be criticized simply for being herself. This brief exchange clarifies that Cassiopée’s directness is a source of friction, but it does not define the support Shelby can receive from the people around her. The friendship develops through the tension between those two possibilities: honest confrontation can wound, while care requires attention to how that honesty is delivered.

Support that leaves room for choice

Cassiopée’s concern becomes more sustained after Shelby experiences a panic attack during class. When Shelby rushes from the room, Cassiopée follows, searching until she finds her alone and overwhelmed. She first reaches for Shelby’s shoulders. Shelby recoils from the touch and cries out in pain. Cassiopée does not respond with anger or insist that Shelby accept contact. Instead, she stays calm, identifies herself, and asks Shelby to look at her.

Cassiopée then guides Shelby through breathing. Shelby nods and follows her pace until her breathing settles and the painful pounding of her heart eases. She wipes her face and thanks Cassiopée sincerely. Cassiopée answers that helping is natural, then cautiously asks whether Shelby wants to talk. The scene makes the friendship’s care concrete: Cassiopée offers immediate, practical help, but leaves the next step to Shelby. She does not treat Shelby’s distress as permission to demand an explanation or closeness.

That sensitivity also appears in less dramatic moments. When Shelby returns to class after missing two days, Cassiopée asks why she was absent. Shelby says she did not want to face people. Cassiopée suggests that Shelby message them next time so they can help her catch up. Shelby resists the offer, telling them not to feel obligated. Cassiopée answers that they help because they like her and because supporting someone who is struggling is normal. Shelby is touched, though she is unsure whether to feel reassured or exasperated by the persistence of Cassiopée and Dorcas Peters. The gesture is modest, but it makes friendship tangible: it can mean help with missed coursework, not only an intense response to a crisis.

Cassiopée also notices when Shelby is physically unwell. Seeing that she is pale, she asks whether she has eaten. Shelby says she had no time, though Cassiopée recognizes that she is lying. Rather than pressing the issue, Cassiopée offers her a packet of cookies. Shelby takes them reluctantly, thanks her, and forces herself to eat under Cassiopée’s worried gaze. Concern here takes the form of observation and an available, concrete offer; Shelby’s reluctance remains visible rather than being erased by the gesture.

Protection and consent

Cassiopée’s protective instincts become particularly clear when Shelby, already in pain, nearly falls after class. Jungkook catches her and starts to take her away from the other students. Cassiopée catches his forearm and tells him to let Shelby go. Her intervention is forceful, but she does not assume that she can decide for Shelby instead. When Jungkook asks whether he can speak with her, Cassiopée looks to Shelby for an answer. Shelby nods. Cassiopée then makes clear that Shelby can choose for herself, while warning Jungkook not to hurt her.

This exchange marks an important distinction in Cassiopée’s friendship with Shelby: protection does not mean claiming authority over her. Cassiopée challenges Jungkook when his actions appear to override Shelby’s agency, then defers to Shelby’s own response once she has a chance to give it. Her concern is not merely that Shelby be kept physically close or shielded from every difficult interaction. It is that Shelby remain able to choose, and that the people around her take her safety seriously.

A friendship shaped by repeated care

The relationship changes through recurrence rather than a single declaration. Cassiopée’s first direct question pushes Shelby away; later, she follows Shelby when she is in distress, helps her regulate her breathing, offers academic assistance, notices when she may not have eaten, and checks Shelby’s consent before allowing a conversation to proceed. Shelby does not become openly expressive all at once. She still withdraws, resists help, and struggles with other people’s attention. Yet she accepts Cassiopée’s breathing guidance, takes the food she is offered, and is moved by the assurance that her friends help because they care.

Cassiopée’s style remains candid, but the friendship is not reduced to candor alone. Its most consequential moments show her adjusting her response to what Shelby can tolerate: after Shelby recoils from touch, Cassiopée uses her voice and breathing as support; when Jungkook wants to speak with Shelby, she checks Shelby’s wishes instead of answering for her. Together, these gestures make their bond a protective friendship founded on practical help, persistence, and growing respect for Shelby’s boundaries. They do not remove Shelby’s anxiety or reserve; they give her evidence that support can be offered without requiring her to surrender control.