Jake Mason and the Human

Natalie's Desperate Attempt to Play Matchmaker

Dave was already in the house when I showed up. It felt weird walking into Natalie's house without her being there with me, but I eventually made it through the front door.

"Hey, Jake," Dave greeted with his hand in a bowl of popcorn and his eyes glued to the TV.

"Hey," I replied back, sitting in a La - Z - Boy recliner next to him. "Natalie still not back? She told me to just come in."

"Yeah, she told me the same thing. Any idea what she's doing?"

"Errands," was what she told me.

He nodded. "I feel like that isn't true."

"Yeah," I agreed. "She's up to something."

Gods, she was always up to something. I had grown used to her surprises over the past year, but even though I expected her to do something unexpected she never ceased to amaze me with what she had in store.

So while we waited for Natalie to get home Dave and I took guesses at what she was really up to. I thought she'd be bringing us food, but Dave thought she'd be bringing something bigger, like one of her friends from school or something.

I had met a few of Natalie's friends and they all seemed pretty nice. They were exactly the type of friends I pictured Natalie hanging with; way cooler than I was.

So when Natalie walked in from the garage with another voice coming from behind her, I knew Dave had won the bet.

However, when the two of us realized it wasn't a friend from Natalie's school, it was Kayla, amusement washed over Dave's face and I knew that she was not what he was expecting at all.

"Hey, guys," Natalie beamed, patting my head as she walked by. "Guess who I picked up?"

Kayla followed behind, but was forced to sit on the couch with Dave when Natalie took the other chair.

"Hey," Kayla greeted.

Dave watched her with pursed lips like he was trying to hold back a grin. She could feel his eyes on her and turned to him so he'd look away. Dave continued to watch her like it was a competition. Kayla gave up with the staring contest and huffed when Dave chuckled.

"Long time no see," he said to the girl.

"Have you made contact with anyone from your camp?" Kayla questioned.

Dave spread his arms out on top of the couch cushions. "Yeah, my summer was great. How about you?"

Kayla rolled her eyes. "My summer would have been better if I'd had proof to show Chiron that your camp exists. If it exists."

Natalie grinned at me from across the room. She had talked about getting these two together again for some time. I had always thought the idea was terrible and would probably end in a fist fight, but Natalie was determined.

Dave sighed, but had eyes that made it seem like he was laughing. "Fine. The thing is I had planned to travel back and find out what my camp knew about yours, but things have been happening."

"Things?"

"Yeah, weird thi--"

"Oh, please," Natalie interjected. "No more of the camp talk. We are going to have normal conversations and we are going to like it. Got it?"

"Yes, ma'am," Dave smirked while Kayla continued to look to him for answers. Once Natalie had moved on from the topic and continued to ramble on about the weather, Dave turned to Kayla and winked to see if she'd look away. It wasn't immediate, but eventually Kayla rolled her eyes and looked to Natalie.