Right In Front of Me

Chapter 11

I've been busy the last few weeks. Babysitting, going on dates with John, football games, and hanging with friends. Well, most friends. Mason has completely avoided me.

I've tried to talk to him, but he never answers. He ignores all texts and calls. Acts like I'm not there in class. Doesn't sit with me at lunch. Chase has been a bit distant too. He still says hi and hangs with us sometimes, but when Mason isn't around. I can tell he's picking Mason's side since they're the closest. Wait, why am I even saying there are sides? It's not like we're in a fight. At least that I know of.

Mason has almost done a 180. He used to not let the game get to his head. He'd always been humble about it. But it seems like he's letting it get to his head. I mean, he is playing better than ever. Last week, he practically had a perfect game. Whenever I see Mason now, he always has a cocky grin on. He outright flirts with girls who are only flirting with him because he's the star quarterback. He's acting more arrogant. He's being the ultimate big man on campus. The jocky asshole. It's not the Mason I know.

I'm sitting at lunch with Kayla. I keep eyeing over to Mason's table. He's completely surrounded. A bunch of football guys and girls are there. The one girl that makes me scowl is Lydia Johnson. She has her hand resting on his shoulder and is leaning into him, flirting like crazy.

"You'll never guess what I heard," Bailey says as she sets her tray down and sits next to Kayla, across from me.

"What?" Gossip runs like a wildfire at Kentwood. Bailey always seems to know what is going on and loves to fill us in.

"Mason and Lydia are back together," she states.

My jaw drops. Mason is back with Lydia? What? Lydia Johnson? The girl who broke his heart last year. The girl I despise. He's back with her? I look over at their table. She's obnoxiously laughing at something he said. I see her move a hand underneath the table. I already know what she's doing. She's feeling him up, in front of everyone. He doesn't seem to care though. He has that same cocky, arrogant grin he's had the last few weeks and raises his eyebrows at her.

It's not the Mason I know. The humble, kindhearted, gentle soul. He's now a cocky jock, feeding into all the attention he's getting. Letting all the girls flirt with him, especially Lydia, who he didn't even give the time of day until a few weeks ago. I get he's playing better than ever, but I didn't think he'd change.

I feel a gentle touch on my shoulder, snapping me out of my daze. I know its John. While he's always gentle, there's no getting by those big hands of his. We haven't officially become a couple. But I think to everyone, it's obvious we are together.

"You alright?" he asks as he sits next to me. I nod in response. I've just realized I've been biting my bottom lip hard, probably to stop me from trembling. If I bite any harder, I'll probably bleed. "You sure, Lauren?" he asks again.

I see Kayla and Bailey giving me sympathetic looks. Kayla knows I've been thinking about Mason a lot lately. I've confided in her about how he's acting. Why he's mad at me. Why he's avoiding me. Why he's changed. Bailey can probably tell. How I look over at him at lunch and in the hallway. They obviously can notice he's not around us anymore. I know he may say hi to them, but he doesn't say hi to me anymore.

"Yep, I'm good," I lie through gritted teeth. I shouldn't let Mason bother me. I put on a smile for John. I can't tell if he believes me, but he doesn't budge any further.

≈≈≈≈≈≈≈

"I never thought he could actually stay mad at me," I tell Kayla. I'm lying on her bedroom floor. We're supposed to be trying to work on some SAT practice tests. While they aren't until spring, I want to be prepared. I have the book in the air like I'm reading it, but I'm not. All I'm thinking about is Mason.

"I never thought he could either. Remember that time you ruined that jersey of his?" Oh yes, I remember.

Last year the school had a bake sale to raise money for the PTA. My mom is part of the school's PTA and we offered to help. I absolutely love baking and am a sweet addict. Kayla and I were in the middle of making truffles for the bake sale. Mason and Chase came over to hang out. They were really there to steal some of the goodies that we were baking. I was taking melted chocolate out of the microwave for the truffles. I didn't know Mason was behind me. I ran smack into him, with the bowl full of melted chocolate spilling all over his 49ers jersey.

It wasn't just any 49ers jersey. It was one his grandfather had given him, who recently passed away. It was a one-of-a-kind jersey. His grandfather had been a 49ers coach at one point. Not head coach or even an offensive or defensive coordinator. He was a quarterback's coach. But his grandfather obviously left his mark with the 49ers. Mason's grandfather is the one who got him into football and encouraged him to become a quarterback. He would work with Mason, giving him pointers. Went to every single one of Mason's games up until he died. I practically ruined the jersey and his grandfather's legacy to him.

I tried to fix it. Get the chocolate out, but I made it worse. The chocolate seemed to really set in the white jersey. Mason was pissed. Absolutely pissed. I had never seen him like that before. I know part of it was because his grandfather recently passed and he was still upset with the whole thing with Lydia. He really took it out on me. Screaming and shouting, saying how I just ruined everything. I was almost in tears because of his yelling. Chase had to drag him out of my house. I really thought he was done with me.

Mason came back that evening and apologized. He said he was still upset about his grandfather and Lydia and took it out on me. I offered to pay him back as much as I could so he could get a nice jersey. I knew it wouldn't mean the same, but I felt so horrible. He just shook his head and told me to not worry about it any longer. We hung out the rest of the night, watching movies and eating baked goodies.

I somewhat smile back at the memory. Mason got so mad at me, but we quickly made up and it was like nothing ever happened. That's how it always happens. If we do get in fights, we get angry and yell, but always quickly recover. A day of anger at the most. Not this time though. Mason is seemingly holding his anger for as long as possible and I have no idea why.

"Yeah, I remember," I tell Kayla. "But within hours he wasn't mad. It's been weeks now, Kayla. He's never done this before."

She just shrugs. "Maybe he's PMSing," echoing her words from Chase's party before I found Tanner cheating on me.

I put the SAT book down, realizing there is now way I am going to study right now. "Has Alex said anything?" Kayla and Alex are still together. Alex switches around at lunch between sitting with us and Mason. I know they still hang outside of football practice. Maybe he said something to Kayla.

She shakes her head, "No. I'm sorry." She looks at me sympathetically.

I shrug. I roll up onto my side and lean on my elbows when I notice something under Kayla's bed. I pull it out. It's a box of condoms. "Are you and Alex...?" I ask, holding up the box.

She nods. I knew she wasn't a virgin. I think I'm the only one of all our friends who is still one. They haven't been together too long, so I thought she'd wait. She was with this guy, Erik Schmitz, for over three years. They got together right before we started seventh grade and broke up in April of sophomore year. She was with him for two years before having sex, which is why I thought she'd wait a bit longer with Alex. Maybe I was wrong though. I mean, I was with Tanner for six months and I didn't give it up. I guess it's always different.

I put on excitement for her though. Kayla is my best friend and I haven't seen her this happy in a long time. I feel like I keep bringing her down by all my sad talk about Mason. I mean, I should be happy. I'm with John pretty much. "Details!" I exclaim, hoping to get my mind off of Mason.