A Kiss for Maya

Lunch With Friends

"I'm going to give you your test marks tomorrow and don't forget to do your homework." Ms Kenndedy says over the noise of the students.

I get up and start putting my books back in my backpack. The class begins to quieten as more students exit.

"May!" Bianca calls from behind me and I turn around.

"Instead of chilling outside today, we decided we'll stay with you." Shelly clutches on to her notebook.

"What?" I give them a confused smile.

"We're always saying you've abandoned us but we could also make an effort." Bianca puts her arm around my shoulder. "It's clear you prefer sitting with Mason so we'll join you guys."

I arch my eyebrows and smile.

"You know Nathan is Mason's friend right?" I turn to Shelly.

"Ugh!" She rolls her eyes. "I'll deal with him."

"Hey." I look behind Shelly, at Mason. My friends turn to face him.

"Hi." He awkwardly repeats, scratching the back of his head.

"Hi." They reply simultaneously.

"Is it okay if they sit with us today?" I walk over and stand in front of him.

"Yeah, of course." He smiles.

"Ladies," Nathan makes his way over to us from the back of the class, "you'll be gracing us with your beauty today?"

"Does this one have to be there?" Shelly rolls her eyes and I chuckle.

"Nathan, behave." Max reprimands him.

"Shelly." We all direct our attention to the door. With his hands shoved into his pockets, Ben stands in the hallway, looking expectantly at Shelly.

"Hey." A wide smile appears on her face and she grabs her bag and rushes to him.

I frown as he wraps his arms around her waist and they walk out of sight.

"The struggle of being the only single friend." Bianca mutters as she follows Shelly.

Everyone else takes their things and leaves. I continue to pack my books away, trying not to drop everything, under Mason's gaze.

"Why don't you like him?" Mason asks and I look up at him.

"Who?"

"Mccarthy." He replies and I sit on the desk.

"I just...I just don't like him." I shrug. "I especially hate that Shelly's dating him."

An amused smile forms on his face and he takes a step closer to me. My breath hitches but I try not to show that he makes me nervous.

"You don't even want to get to know him? Not even for Shelly's sake?"

I shake my head. "What he did to Shelly was horrible and I hold a good grudge."

"But he makes your best friend happy." Mason tries to convince me, the amused smile never disappearing from his face.

"I know," I look away and pout, "but I still don't like him."

"So you won't forgive him for something he did in the past even though he's remorseful and has apologised?"

I turn to look at him. The smile's gone and his eyes dance as they search my face. I know what he means. His past, the things he's done. He's afraid I may not forgive him if I knew.

"No...it's not...I just..." I stutter, feeling the panic build up in me.

"Hey," he places his hand softly on my cheek, "don't worry about it."

A sad smile replaces his earlier one. While his words try to reassure me, his eyes tell me just how scared he is.

That makes me scared. This person, this living human being cares about me this much. They're actually afraid of losing me.

"Come to think of it," the sad smile turns into his usual goofy grin, "the fella did us a favour."

I smile widely with both confusion and amusement.

"Fella?" I stifle a chuckle and he rolls his eyes. "Someone's been reading."

"What I was saying before I was rudely interrupted is," I chuckle again and he grins, "if he wasn't dating Shelly then that evening she would've been with you at the library."

He doesn't need to finish the story. I was there and I know how the events would've turned out.

You also wouldn't need to constantly run for your life. A faint voice says in my head but I push it to the back.

I look into his eyes and without thinking twice, reach for his hands. His lips part from the shock and he stares at our joined hands.

Once he regains himself, he helps me down the desk, never breaking his gaze. I look up at him, now almost a foot shorter, and smile. A reassuring, unsure, yet reassuring smile.

Without warning, he lets go of my hands and wraps his arms around me. He rests his chin on my head and I smile. This feels...it feels comfortable. It feels good.

***

"So we're going to pick up Angie then go home?" I ask Mason as we get into his car.

It's after school and Max has lacrosse practise so we're leaving without him. Mrs. Wilder called and asked us to pick up Angie from school because she has a meeting at the store.

"Yup." He closes his door and we put on our seat belts.

"Oh, did you find the watch Justin lost?"

"Check it in the glove department."

I open the glove department and notice the brown strap of the watch, hidden under some papers. I lift them up and put the watch on top.

One of the papers falls and I pick it up. The picture on it catches my attention and I begin to unfold it.

My eyes go over the paper. On it is a picture of two boxers and the words 'Boxing Match' written in big, bold red letters above it. Below it are more details regarding the date and venue.

"Wednesday? Mason, the match is on Wednesday?" I begin to panic. "So soon?"

"Yeah. It's this Wednesday."

"Are you even ready? When was the last time you fought? Is it even a good idea to have it on a weeknight? What if something goes wrong? Are you sure the police won't find out about this?" I begin to panic and struggle to breathe.

"Banks, Banks." Mason calls but I don't reply.

He parks the car in front of a restaurant and unbuckles his seat belt. In a minute, he's already out of the car and opening my door. I take off my seat belt and he helps me out of the car.

"Hey, hey." He cups my face with his hands and I look up at him. "It's okay."

Is it? He's made me care about him so much and now I have to live with knowing that he could die at any moment. Is that okay?

"Mason." My voice breaks and I wrap my arms around his waist and hug him.

He hugs me tighter and we remain like that for a minute or so. Another car parks next to us and I back away from the hug.

"Are you okay?" Mason's eyes search mine.

I nod and smile. I'm not entirely okay but...I have to trust him. I have to trust that he'll be safe. I also have to trust him when he says we shouldn't go to the police, no matter how much I disagree.

"Angie's school is over there," he points to a building at the end of the street, "we can walk there if you'd like."

I nod. I do need some fresh air, just to clear my mind. He closes my door and locks his car. As we begin walking, he takes my hand and interlocks our fingers. I look up at him and our eyes meet and we smile.

How did we get here?

So...waffles or pancakes? 😆

By the way, I struggled to come up with a title for this chapter😑.