RED [BXB]

TEN

"So, you're just gonna keep avoiding me?"

For the first time in two weeks, Luke finally had Mason cornered. It was no secret the latter was quite obviously evading the former for reasons not unknown to them both.

After that night, that kiss, Mason was in a state of panic, his fight or flight response activated. And while the fleeing had worked out just fine for him earlier, he was suddenly left with no choice but to fight.

"I'm not avoiding you," he denied, refusing to meet Luke's eyes as he rummaged aimlessly in the room.

It was so far from the truth that it almost pained him to say it, but it tumbled from his lips nevertheless, leaving a bitter aftertaste on his tongue.

Luke raised his eyebrow disbelievingly, frustration oozing from him. "Cut the bullshit, Mason."

To be fair, it really was quite impressive how well Mason managed to elude him, given that they lived in the same dorm room. Surprisingly enough, it was pretty simple: all Mason had to do was make sure he woke up before Luke, and that he came back when Luke had already fallen asleep. There were a few times when he was put on the spot, but he easily weaseled his way out of Luke's accusatory glances with easy smiles and don't worry about it, mans.

Mason, however, didn't really have much friends in college. Therefore, the only place he could spend so much time at—without the risk of running into Luke—was the library. And, while everything else was going to shit in Mason's life, at least his grades were beginning to reap the benefits of his social isolation.

"Hello? I'm fuckin' talking to you."

He was dragged out of his thoughts when Luke snapped at him, his eyes boring holes into Mason's head.

"I said, I wasn't avoiding you," he insisted, not meeting Luke's gaze.

"And I said I wasn't buying your bullshit."

"Listen, man, I don't know what you want me to say, but I guess we just never had the chance to spend more time with each other. Why can't you just leave it at that?"

"Because we live together, for Christ's sake," Luke exclaimed, exasperated. Gripping the bridge of his nose, his sighed out in frustration. "It doesn't really matter that much if you don't want to be friends me. But I'm sick of us tiptoeing around each other because of some stupid fucking kiss."

"Stupid?" Mason didn't want to ask, but he couldn't help it, not when he felt a heavy pang in his chest.

"Yeah, stupid," Luke confirmed, smiling slightly to himself. "I honestly didn't think it was that big of a deal. Sorry if you got all worked up about it. But can we please forget it ever happened? Stop acting like children and go back to being friends?"

Stupid.

Mason didn't know why the words made his throat burn, his eyes sting with the horrible feeling that he was about to cry. After all, this was what he wanted in the first place, wasn't it?

He forced a smile, "Whatever, man."

Luke beamed back at him, feigning indifference. Truth was, it bothered him that Mason didn't enjoy their brief, passionate kiss. It wasn't as though it was world-stopping to Luke, but he still couldn't get it out of his mind.  Every spare moment he got, he found his thoughts wandering back to the taste of cotton candy on Mason's lips, to the feeling of the slightly rough skin against his own.

He wanted to kiss Mason again.

He understood, however, that Mason was a helpless closet-case. He knew it probably really freaked the poor boy out, and it was why he was acting so nonchalant about the whole thing.

Luke knew that, if he actually wanted something to happen between them, he had to take it incredibly slow. He had to treat Mason like a fragile, docile animal who had to be approached wearily else it'd sprint away.

Judging by how bad it sucked with Mason ignoring him, Luke didn't think he could handle Mason fleeing from him. He vowed, right then and there, to be as patient as he could possibly be with the questioning boy.

That, in itself, was an odd feat. Luke, as everyone knew him, was a fun, easy-going, ball of sunshine and energy. He was always smiling, always trying to make a joke out of everything. He was fun to be around, and was someone incredibly supportive; overall, Luke was the perfect friend.

In bed, he was a careful lover. He made a point to fuss over his partner(s), always ensuring that they enjoyed themselves as much as he did. He was not selfish, often worrying about others' pleasure more than his own.

To put it simply, he was a people's pleaser. He liked being liked.

And yet, despite all of that, he was never one to chase after or wait on someone else. Being incredibly charismatic with a reputation that preceded him, Luke never ran out of people to sleep with or friends to hang out with. For this, he didn't really take it to heart if someone didn't want to be around him. Sure, it hurt his ego a bit, but he respected himself enough to know just when to walk away from someone.

With that in consideration, it was quite strange that Luke was willing to be patient for Mason.

He didn't know what had inspired the peculiar behavior, but he figured it had something with the fact that they'd known each other in the past. Luke always found Mason irresistible, always secretly fawned over him in the locker rooms and on the fields. Perhaps, Luke had a soft-spot for the boy.

Snapping back to his senses, Luke offered a lazy smile up at Mason, who returned it with a bit of effort.

"The rest of us are hanging out tonight. Come join."

Mason opened his mouth, ready to refuse, but hesitated at the last second.

That past week, he'd done nothing but switch between lounging about in the room and lounging about in the library. Needless to say, he wasn't living up to a quarter of the expected rowdy college life.

Right then, he realized, that he was not making any memories he would remember on his deathbed. He didn't want for his college years—the supposed best years of his life—to pass by unremarkably. He had to make something out of them.

And so, despite his better judgement, he laced up his shoes, and stepped out into the night with the smirking, red-haired devil.