Star Crossed

Chapter 25: The Average Life of an Average High Schooler

Mason 

"Out of us kids, who do you think would win in a fight?" I ask, throwing a piece of popcorn into my mouth. All of my siblings turn to look at me. It's a Saturday night, our parents are out of town, so we're just chilling and watching a movie. 

Amber raises an eyebrow at me from across the living room, taking a sip of her Pepsi. 

"Why does it matter?" She replies, turning her attention back to the TV. Carter scoffs at this. 

"Spoken like a true weakling."

"Excuse you!" She practically yells. "I could kick your pathetic ass any day." Carter stands up from the couch at this, rolling up the sleeves of his sweater. 

"Oh ya? Well then lets go," he suggests, giving Amber a menacing look. 

"Like I'm gonna fight a 15 year old, yeah right," she laughs. Carter smirks, leaning a little closer to Amber's face. 

"That's because you know you'll lose."

"Oh fuck off tough guy. Take your overly excited testosterone levels somewhere else. Fight Jack or Mason if you wanna, but I'm not gonna be your target," Amber states, getting up from her chair and going upstairs. Carter sits back down on the couch, a look of victory on his face (which is weird considering he didn't even fight Amber, but oh well). 

"What's up with Amber?" Brooke asks from the right of me. I glance over to her, worry and confusion evident in her tone. I shrug.

"I'm not sure, could be something to do with her girlfriend," I suggest, eating more popcorn. A sudden realization comes over me, and the silence of the room makes it clear that everyone else realizes it too. 

"Girlfriend?" Jack questions, staring me dead in the eyes. "What girlfriend?"

"Shit I-" I try to explain. 

"Who?" Carter asks, leaning towards me. 

"No, I didn't- I mean- god I'm a terrible brother," I mumble, giving up on trying to recover from my slip-up. 

I lean my head against the back of the couch, closing my eyes. God I fucked up. I don't know if Amber and Melanie are telling people other than our friend group yet. I'm sure Amber won't care if the family knows, but what about Melanie? Will she be okay? Are they even far enough into a relationship to be telling a lot of people about it? Probably not, they've only been going out officially for over a week. I'm a shitty brother, friend, and person in general. 

"I should go talk to Amber," I finally say, leaving everyone in a state of both shock and anticipation while I walk up the stairs to Amber's room. I stop in front her door, which is closed, and knock on it a few times. 

Amber says that I can come in. I open the door and I see that she's laying on her bed, looking at her phone. I give her an awkward smile, then sit down beside her. 

"So, I messed up. Feel free to kill me anytime soon, I won't get mad at you," I begin, making Amber give me a strange look. One most likely asking if I'm okay or not. 

"I kinda, sorta, just maybe told everyone that you have a girlfriend. And because they're the curious little shits that they are, now they probably won't leave you alone about it," I explain, halfway through changing where I look to peer at the hardwood floor. 

"That's okay, I don't mind. Honestly I could care less, so why did you think I would hurt you if you told them?" She asks, and my gaze goes back to her. 

"Well I just wasn't sure if you were okay with telling people or not, also I was kind of wondering if you're okay in general after you left the room."