Masked

Chapter 4

Jason's P.O.V

"Jace, could you go get Greta and tell her the Chinese food is here?" Austin asked. I was still at his house and we were just watching TV. Despite the fact the he was just a freshman and I was a senior, the kid was actually hilarious and I could tell that we were easily becoming good friends.

"Yeah, sure."

I headed up the stairs to Greta's room and gently knocked on the door but there was no answer. Thinking she might have been alseep, I cautiously opened her door and found Greta sitting on a stool by her window, painting a on a large canvas. I opened my mouth and was about to tell her about dinner but then my surroundings caught my attention. I had never been in her room until now, and I had to admit, it was nothing like I had expected.

Her light yellow walls were covered with paintings, pictures, maps, notes, and drawings. String lights hung over the door to her balcony and her unmade bed was in the corner of her room, which gave her a lot of space for painting. Origami birds, glow-in-the-dark stars, and other creations of hers hung from her ceiling and moved when wind came through her window. Looking at her room almost made me feel like I was reading her diary.

I looked back at Greta to see she was still lost in her painting. Her hair was up in a messy bun and she was still in a big t-shirt and shorts. She sang along to the music that was coming from her stereo and continued mixing colors on her paint palette. But she must've felt my stare because suddenly she turned her attention from her painting and looked around the room until her eyes landed on mine. She slightly jumped and let out a squeak.

She put her hand on her chest and gasped, "oh my god. Don't do that to me!" And then she hastily walked over to her music player and turned down the volume.

I sheepishly smiled, "sorry, I knocked but I don't think you heard me. I just came to tell you the chinese food is here."

GRETA'S POV

Jason sheepishly grinned as he stood in the middle of my room and said, "sorry, I knocked but I don't think you heard me. I just came to tell you the chinese food is here."

 "Yeah, sorry, I shouldn't have my music so loud--," I started.

"Yes--you should. Imagine Dragons is an awesome band. Good music always deserves to be put on a high volume," he said.

"You know Imagine Dragons?" I questioned, astonishment was evident in my voice. At this time, no one really knew who they were yet, so him knowing who they were was pretty impressive.

"Yep, they're one of my favorite bands. I'm going to see them in concert in two months."

"Oh my god, you're so lucky! I wanted to get tickets but they were all sold out by the time I got on the webiste. How'd you manage to get them?"

"My dad is friends with a guy who works for one of those ticket companies so we can always get tickets to concerts."

I nodded and then brushed a piece of hair away from my face and then I heard a chuckle. I looked up to see Jason with a smirk on his face. And it made him kinda...cute? No. Stop thinking that, Greta.

"You just got paint on your face," he told me.

"Where?" I said and then tried to wipe it off.

He laughed even more, and I blushed. "No, no. You're making it worse." Still laughing, he walked over to me and said, "here let me try."

He cupped the side of my face with his hand and then brushed his thumb over my cheek as he tried to wipe the paint away. "I think I got most of it," he said as he held up his now blue thumb and smiled.

But then the atmosphere changed as we both seemed to realize our very close proximity to each other. As he just stood there, staring at me, I suddenly felt the anxiety shoot up my spine and spread all over my body. He was so close--too close. The fact that he could probably see every detail on my face right now and there was nothing to hide it's horrible-ness behind felt absolutely crippling.

I quickly took a step back and said, "we should go eat."

He seemed a little puzzled, but nonetheless unphased, and replied, "yeah, it smells awesome and I'm starving."

We both left the room and I remained quiet as I walked down stairs with him. All I could think was: that could never happen again.

I was slightly on-edge but once I was in Austin's presence I felt a lot more comfortable and just tried to forget what happened.

After eating our dinners, we were all talking and I was cleaning dishes when we heard two people walk in--actually, no, more like running/stampeding in. It was my mom and my step-dad Marc.

I prayed to God that one day I would have a relationship like the one my mom and Marc have. They acted like they were eternally stuck at the age 25 and had the energy of two teenagers. Anyone who saw them knew they were not only in love, but best friends. Marc was the best thing that happened to our family since my dad died nearly four years ago in a tragic way and we were all left broken.

"NO! I'm going to see them first Marc! Now move your ass!"

"NO! I'M THEIR FAVORITE! THEY WANNA SEE ME FIRST!"

All of a sudden we hear a loud bang and some giggling.

"You know, I like it when you're on top, babe."

Austin I looked at each other then, and then gagged. We were about to apologize to Jason for having to hear that but were interrupted again.

"YOU ARE SUCH A TEASE!" We hear Marc scream over my mom's evil laughter. Then we see my mom coming running in, grabbing Austin and I for a bone-crushing hug.

"Oh, I missed you guys so much!"

"Mom, it's been like a day," Austin manages to squeak out, as another pair of arms are wrapped around us.

A couple of moments later my mom says, "And who might this young, handsome fella be?"

"I'm Jason. I'm helping Austin out with football," he said and smiled.

"Ah, yes. Thank you so much for helping him out. I can't wait to see him play in his first game. I hope he scores the winning goal!" My mom clapped excitedly after hugging Jason.

"I think you mean touchdown, sweetheart," Marc chuckled.

"Right," my mom said, blushing a little and Marc pressed a kiss to the side of her temple.

"So, Jason, what grade are you in?" Marc asked.

"I'm a senior this year."

"Oh, just like Greta!" My mom said and then turned her attention to me.

I took her in when she looked at me. My mom was beautiful. The only thing I shared with her were her hazel eyes that everyone always commented on, because they were such a rich mix of gold, amber, and green, they were striking, but mine were always too covered up in makeup for anyone to notice. Unlike my dark brown hair and tan skin, she had natural golden blonde hair (which she never dyed or highlighted) and pale skin.

"Are you working on designs for the school mural, honey?" My mom asked, obviously taking notice to the paint marks all over my body and clothes.

"School mural?" Jason and Austin repeated at the same time.

"Oh yeah, didn't you hear? The school asked Greta to do a mural on the side of the school. There might be a unveiling and everything."

"Um, well I'm gonna go work on it," I said as I quickly exited up the stairs to my bedroom. I had purposely not told Austin about because he would make a big deal out of it and I really didn't want the attention.

I heard Jason's laughs along with Marc's and my mom's from downstairs. I have a feeling Jason is going to be around here quite often.