Chapter Twenty-Six: Generosity
“If your friends stand between you and victory will you let them beat you? Or will you go for it? Will you do whatever it takes to win?” Darren asked Mason and Mason squirmed in his chair. For weeks Darren had been calling him to his office to talk, to plan and to learn about Mason’s friends and the other contestants. Mason had never before felt so bad about himself. He felt like he was betraying his friends. He’d told Darren about Aiden’s dad. He’d pointed Darren in the direction of the checking the surveillance footage with Noah talking about Benjamin. He’d mentioned the fact that Owen seemed to be in love with Madison. Mason felt like the villain and yet everything he’d done, he’d done to protect them.
Shortly after the competition had started Darren had reached out to him saying he reminded him of a young Darren. Mason knew Darren would reach out and make life miserable for his friends. But if he worked with Darren he could soften the blows. It was betrayal and he knew his friends would never forgive him for it. But he hadn’t done it with malicious thoughts. He wanted to win but he didn’t want to hurt his friends and so if he let Darren think he’d be willing to do anything to win he’d leave his friends alone and when the time came Mason could make the ultimate sacrifice. The one he’d promised Madison.
“I’ll do what I have to in order to win,” Mason whispered and Darren flashed a smile at him. Mason wanted nothing more than to punch Darren but instead he returned the smile.
“You need to be more assertive Mason. You’ll be placed in the bottom two this week because it’ll give people a chance to relate to you. I want you to mess up this week.”
“Why?” Mason asked frowning.
“It’s all part of the plan just trust me and stick with it. It’s an important week,” Darren spoke and continued looking at Mason.
“Can I go now?” Mason asked and Darren sighed.
“Do you think your friends would ever forgive you if they found out that you’re literally the reason why everything bad that has happened to them in the whole duration of this competition?” Darren asked and Mason looked him right in the eyes. There were so many things Mason wanted to say but he couldn’t. At least not yet.
“Can I go now?” he asked again and Darren chuckled.
“Of course, please go and enjoy the day. It’s going to be an interesting next couple of days,” Darren replied and Mason got up and nodded before leaving the office. He felt sick to his stomach and hoped to be done with all of this soon enough.
“Mason!” he heard a voice call out and he turned to see Declan smiling at him. Mason was almost sure that Declan was depressed but because Declan didn’t seem to want to talk about it he didn’t push it and he had seemed happier lately so Mason couldn’t complain.
“What’s up?” Mason asked as they started walking towards the elevator.
“I’ve been out and about looking at stuff to help me come up with lyrics,” Declan explained and Mason nodded.
“Sounds good. I wish you’d let us see some of those lyrics,” Mason pointed out and Declan shrugged.
“I don’t know maybe. I just want it to be the right time,” Declan replied and Mason wondered when the right time would be.
“Maybe after the competition is over,” Mason whispered and Declan nodded.
“Do you still want to win this?” Declan asked and Mason sighed. Did he? Of course he did. He loved singing and he couldn’t deny the idea of inspiring people was amazing. Sure the fame would be great but there was so much more there.
“I do. I really do but the closer we get to the end. The more anxious I am over all of this. I don’t want to lose you guys,” Mason admitted truthfully and Declan nodded.
“I’ve been thinking about this. What if we-” Declan started before they heard cheering coming from the elevator. The doors opened and Aiden, Owen and Noah came out laughing like idiots.
“What are you guys doing?” Mason asked looking at Owen who shrugged and continued laughing.
“Owen and Aiden were wrestling in the elevator and Aiden screamed when he thought they broke it. No biggie,” Noah explained and grinned.
“You guys should be more careful,” Owen mocked before Mason could say those exact same words. Mason looked at Owen and tried to smile at him. He hated the fact that Owen was still cold towards him and he was tired of trying to find out how to change things. It made him a little sad because despite everything he still really cared about Owen and hated the fact that he’d fallen for the girl Owen obviously loved. He sighed and thought back to Darren’s instructions.
“Darren wants us to meet in the practice room in half an hour we’re going to start filming for the week so be ready.”
“Yes sir!” Owen exclaimed while Aiden and Noah snickered. They walked away while Declan and Mason got into the elevator.
“Are things with you and Owen not good yet?”
“Nope, I don’t know how to not make him more annoyed with me.”
“He just needs time to cool off.”
“Yeah but he’s been at odds with me from the very beginning of the competition. It’s only getting worse I think,” Mason sighed and Declan smiled apologetically.
“He’ll come around.”
“I hope so,” Mason replied and honestly did hope so.
~~~~~~~~
“People change with fame. Their lives change forever. Their personalities change. Everyone around them and connected to them changes as well. Becoming a celebrity can be both a blessing and curse,” Clara explained as she smiled at all of them. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she had recently gotten a haircut because she had bangs now. She seemed to be glowing for some reason and Mason assumed it was because of the cameras but she just seemed almost too happy.
“Sometimes…people forget where they came from and who they were before they made it big. And this week is all about remembering the little people. This week will be about extending your hand to help others. It’s all about generosity,” Darren spoke and flashed a smile at the camera. Mason resisted the urge to roll his eyes but instead thought about the theme. Generosity came naturally to him. He thought it could be an easy week. And then he remembered Darren wanting him to mess up. He had to mess up or Darren would focus on someone else.
“What are we going to be doing?” Heather asked and Mason turned to look at the girl. After she’d beaten Rebecca she had changed. She didn’t talk to them anymore and she hardly looked at Aiden anymore.
“We’ll be visiting the pediatric section of a nearby hospital, you’ll be meeting with some elderly folks and we’ve set you each up with teens who will get to spend the day with you all. The cameras will be filming you with these people and on your own time you’ll be meeting with Clara to record the song and you will not have to perform the song. It’ll just be a montage so to speak with your voices playing with images of you talking to these people.” Mitch explained.
“Remember the theme is generosity so find out what you can do for these people and help them out,” Clara added.
“And there will be a special guest at the end of the week that’ll be visiting so keep an eye out for this person,” Darren teased and smiled at them.
“In half an hour we’ll actually be heading over to the hospital and you’ll meet some special children.” Clara said and smiled at Mitch.
“Clara has actually been in contact with several of them. She visits them often. The kids you’ll be meeting have cancer,” Mitch explained and Mason felt a chill go down his spine. Cancer. He couldn’t even imagine being young and having to deal with something as big as that.
“They’re all sweethearts and I hope it’ll if anything make you think about how fortunate we are compared to others. I know for me it personally makes me thankful of what I have and that I’ve had the time to do things that make me happy,” Clara spoke and smiled at Darren for a split second. He smiled back and Mason couldn’t help but notice the little subtle move. Mitch hadn’t even noticed it. But Mason had. He thought back to Clara’s notes and how she’d talked about being in love with Darren instead of Mitch. He also wondered if Darren knew it.
“It’ll be a good week,” Darren added as a final thought and then the cameras were off. Darren, Mitch and Clara immediately left the room leaving them all behind. Mason stood up and stretched while Heather shot up out of her seat and looked right at Mason.
“Mason can we talk?” she asked and he immediately felt Aiden’s eyes on them.
“Uh yeah,” he mumbled and she nodded.
“Can we talk alone?” she stressed and Owen cleared his throat.
“Yeah we all have to go get Noah a sandwich,” Owen said and yanked Noah’s arm so he’d get up.
“But I’m not hungry,” Noah mumbled.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Owen asked. “You’re literally always hungry!”
“Uh guys, let’s just go,” Declan spoke and looked at Aiden who nodded without saying anything.
Mason watched his friends leave before turning to frown at Heather.
“Heather we haven’t exactly talked very much throughout this whole competition and you can’t just make a big deal about talking to me when you know how Aiden feels about you and you won’t even look at him anymore,” he immediately started before she could say anything else. She sighed and nodded.
“I know. I just needed to talk to you before this week progresses.”
“What about?”
“I know what you’ve been doing for Darren. I know all about it,” she responded and Mason froze. How could she know?
“I know because I’ve been doing the same thing but with the girls. Obviously none of them were really my friends so it made it easier for me to dig dirt and pass it on to him. I knew from the very beginning that I would go up against Rebecca eventually and that I would win. Darren told me to romance Aiden in order to mess with his head and make things harder for him. He wanted me to crush his heart.”
“What are you saying? That you’ve been using Aiden?” Mason snapped and she glared.
“Don’t act like you haven’t been in the same boat. He told me about how he wanted you to romance Madison.”
“But I didn’t do that for Darren! I fell for her!” Mason exclaimed and she shook her head.
“But the damage has been done hasn’t it? She’s gone and Owen’s pissed and you’re one step closer to winning.”
“You don’t know what I’ve got planned,” Mason mumbled and she shook her head.
“Face it, we’re backstabbers. I didn’t want to hurt Aiden because he’s a really great guy which is why I haven’t been talking to him. I want it to be a clean break. But Darren wants me to kick ass in my performance this week and he’s told me about how you’ll mess up,” she whispered and Mason tried to wrap his head around everything. If Darren had told her about Mason why hadn’t he told Mason about Heather?
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Because I thought I wanted to win no matter what but the truth is I’m no Rebecca. I feel horrible and I don’t want to win unless it’s a fair chance. And this week I know I’ll for sure be in the bottom two but I want us to both give it our all. I’m done playing his games. I let the promise of fame cloud my judgment and if I can change things around well better late than never right?” she asked and held out her hand. Mason couldn’t believe how twisted Darren had made things for all of them and he felt sick to his stomach at letting himself get caught up in all of that.
“Darren’s been playing us all and I think you’re right. I think it’s time we switched things up for him. But we shouldn’t talk about this here,” Mason replied and looked up at the camera. Heather flinched and nodded.
“We’ll talk more as the week progresses.”
“Are you going to talk to Aiden?” Mason asked and Heather smiled sadly.
“I think he’s great but I have no romantic feelings for him so it’s honestly better this way.”
“I understand,” Mason whispered and thought of Madison. He still had no idea if she actually had liked him or not. Thinking about Mads made his hurt heart because he still missed her and although he understand Owen’s anger towards her, he himself couldn’t be angry with her. He just wanted to talk to her and understand what she had been going through and why she had left. He thought of what Rebecca had told Owen. Rebecca claimed to have known why Mads had left the competition and he’d tried to get it out of Rebecca but she had refused to do so.
Mason wasn’t even sure if Rebecca knew but on the off chance that she knew it hurt that he’d been so close to answers and then they’d been swept away from him.
“Your secret is safe with me,” Heather whispered and gave him a peck on the cheek before walking out of the room. He sighed and sat back down on the couch wondering what he was going to do to get things to go his way. He wasn’t sure but he knew he did not want Darren to win. There had to be a way to change things up for Darren. It was just a matter of figuring out what the right thing to do was.
~~~~~~~
When they got to the pediatrics section the little kids were all sitting around a circular table coloring and laughing. Some sat nearby on the floor playing with various toys. Noah immediately went for a little boy that reminded Mason of Benjamin and figured Noah was thinking the same thing. Aiden went towards a group of giggling little girls and Owen went for some kids that were sitting on the floor playing with some blocks creating a tall tower. Declan sat next to some kids that were coloring and Mason noticed a little girl hugging a teddy bear to her and she was whispering to it. He walked towards her and saw how skinny she was. She wore a beanie and he could see she didn’t have any hair. He smiled at her while she stared at him with distrust.
“This is my bear,” she proclaimed and hugged the bear even tighter. Mason sat down on the floor to talk to her.
“What’s his name?” he asked and she frowned.
“Her name is JezzaBear,” she said and coughed into her shoulder, accidentally dropping JezzaBear. He immediately reached for the bear and she gave him the death glare before he had even touched it. “You can’t touch other peoples’ friends! That’s what my mama always said!” she blurted and Mason apologized. When she seemed content with his apology she grabbed JezzaBear and held her out for Mason to touch. “You can touch her ear, but only her ear!”
Mason petted the bear’s ear and smiled at her.
“What’s your name?” he asked and the girl frowned.
“Mama always said not to talk to strangers. Are you a stranger?” she asked and he shook his head.
“Nope. I’m Mason.”
“I guess you’re okay. But I have to ask JezzaBear to smell you first,” she spoke and pushed the bear’s ear to Mason’s chest. He awkwardly sat there for a minute staring down at the bear pressed against him before she pulled the bear back and held her to her ear. She nodded once.
“Well?” Mason asked.
“JezzaBear says you smell good. Like cookies. So I think we can be friends because I like cookies.”
“I like cookies too. What’s your name?” he asked kindly looking at the little girl. She held out her tiny hand for him to shake and his heart melted. He’d always wanted a little sister and this girl was the cutest little human being he had ever come in contact with and that included Aiden’s sisters.
“My name is Candy please to meet you,” she mumbled and bowed her head slightly. He laughed and frowned when he didn’t shake her hand.
“Mama always said that you have to shake peoples’ hands or you are not polite mister,” she said and glared at him. He laughed again before taking her hand and shaking it.
“Nice to meet you too Candy. Do you like candy?” he asked and she looked offended.
“Candy is bad for you!” she exclaimed and several people turned to look at them. Owen raised an eyebrow at Mason and Mason shrugged before turning back to Candy. “But I like chocolate,” she whispered and looked around for the nurses. She held her finger to her lips indicating that he should keep it quiet. He nodded and pinky promised her that he wouldn’t say a word about it.
“How old are you Candy?” he asked and she held up eight fingers.
“I’m that many,” she said and he nodded.
“Eight is a big number. You’re a big girl!”
“Mama always said I would always be her little girl,” she spoke softly and Mason smiled.
“Where is your mama?” he asked and she shook her head. She held on tighter to JezzaBear and shook her head again. Mason felt like he’d said the wrong thing and when he tried to reach out to her she screamed and everyone turned to look at them. She started crying while the nurses rushed to her and one of them looked angrily at Mason as she carried her away. Another kind nurse came up to Mason and smiled sympathetically at him.
“I see you met Candy. You must have asked her questions about her mom didn’t you?” she asked and Mason nodded.
“What happened to her?” he asked and the nurse sighed.
“Her mom was in the army. She was killed overseas recently and now it’s just Candy and her dad but he works as much as he can to be able to pay the bills. Especially the hospital bills. And Candy’s been through chemo the past year. It’s been a tough year for them,” the nurse concluded and Mason shook his head. He felt pain for Candy and wanted nothing more than to hold her. And he remembered his own dad and how he was overseas. He hadn’t heard from him in weeks and it was killing him. He smiled politely at the nurse before walking out of the room. He found it hard to breathe and closed his eyes to calm himself down.
“You okay?” Noah’s voice came from behind and Mason turned to look at him. He shook his head and sighed.
“These kids. It’s not fair. They shouldn’t have to live through this. How did you and Benjamin do it? How do you deal with the unfairness of the situation?” he gasped out for air. Noah smiled sadly and nodded.
“It does suck you know. But we find things that bring the light back into our lives. My brother is my light. Benjamin’s been through a lot. Do you have any idea how it must feel for him to look at our parents and see the disgust in their faces when they glance at him, because they don’t even fully look him in the eye. They glance Mason. Do you know how that made me feel growing up? I’d see them fucking glance his way with disgust because they couldn’t even be bothered to look at him. They did everything to make sure he knew that he wasn’t wanted by them. And yet, he still managed to smile every day. Genuinely smile; he found happiness in everyday things. He went out of his way to make me smile and laugh. That’s why he’ll always be my hero. Yes it’s all unfair but if you focus on that you’ll always feel sorry for them and you’ll never be able to look at them like people.” Noah explained not unkindly and Mason wiped the tears that he hadn’t even realized had been falling down his face.
“I’ve never thought about it like that,” Mason admitted while Noah smiled sadly.
“I don’t think most people do think about it like that. You see something and it makes sense to feel sorry for them but it’s all a matter of perception.”
Mason felt a whirlwind of emotions run through him and he nodded to Noah as he followed him back into the room and he saw Candy was back sniffling in the corner by herself and his heart melted at the sight of the little girl.
“Can I be your friend?” he tentatively asked her and she got up from the floor and wrapped her arms around him. “My dad’s far away too,” he whispered to her knowing that she would understand how he felt. He hugged tighter almost feeling like she brought him closer to his own dad that he was missing. The idea that his dad lived a life where he could be in danger in a matter of minutes was always in the back of his mind and with the singing competition it had been pushed to the very back. But it was all resurfacing again and he felt a crippling fear thinking of being in Candy’s position. The cameras continued filming them for quite some time but Mason paid them no attention as he conversed with Candy.
“What did Heather want to talk to you about?” Aiden asked him later that night when the guys were sitting around the couch flipping through TV channels. Heather had headed to bed but they’d all stayed up. Declan and Noah were making ice cream sundaes and Noah was excitedly shoving the can of whipped cream down his throat which caused Declan to laugh at the obvious innuendo. Owen looked out of the corner of his eye at Mason and Mason cleared his throat. He’d been expecting Aiden to do it but he’d assumed Aiden would have done it in private. Even Declan and Noah quieted down to listen to Mason’s answer. He cleared his throat and looked at Mason.
“She just wanted to ask-”
“Cut with the bullshit,” Aiden immediately interrupted while Mason frowned. How had he known?
“You’re my best friend, or one of them. I think I know when you’re going to lie,” Aiden answered before Mason could even think of coming up with something else. He bit his lip wondering what he should tell. He couldn’t tell the whole truth. But maybe a small part of it.
“She wanted to warn me that Darren has plans for me, for us,” he concluded quietly and Declan came back into the living room frowning.
“What do you mean?” Declan asked.
“I don’t know what that means. She doesn’t know either but she wanted to warn me.”
“Why wouldn’t she talk to me?” Aiden demanded and Mason shook his head.
“I don’t know Aiden,” he lied and hoped that Aiden would accept that answer.
“Darren can’t actually hurt us can he?” Noah asked.
“No, of course not,” Mason countered and Owen cleared his throat.
“He can’t hurt you physically. But emotionally hasn’t he gotten into our heads at one point or another in this competition?” Owen asked and Mason couldn’t help but agree.
“If I had a chance to go back and choose whether to do this over again or not, I would. Yeah it’s sucked at times but I gained four brothers in this process,” Declan mumbled and Noah nodded.
“That’s true. Without you guys here, I don’t know what I’d do,” Noah replied.
“I don’t know what Darren has planned exactly. But we’ll figure it out,” Mason mumbled and everyone nodded in agreement. Owen looked at Mason curiously but said nothing and Aiden continued looking at Mason but didn’t say anything. He eventually nodded and looked away.
Mason hated lying and he thought sadly of the day when he told them what he’d done. He hoped that when the time came they’d forgive him. He’d done it for them and he knew it wasn’t a good excuse but it was the one he had. Eventually the movie they watched ended and they’d all fallen asleep on the couch. Owen was curled up in a ball on the floor while Declan had his head on Aiden’s shoulder on one side and Noah’s head was on Aiden’s other shoulder. They were all fast asleep and Mason got up to go to his own bed. He was in bed when he let his thoughts drift back to his dad. He missed both of his parents and he always worried about his dad.
Mason was a worrier and the only time he had to really think about anything and everything was when he was in bed. So he worried about his mom being alone, and he worried about his dad being safe. He worried about Madison. He worried about the anger that Owen had towards him and promised to keep up with the theme of the week and try to fix things with Owen. Worrying helped him focus on thinking of solutions to the problem and eventually when he exhausted his mind he drifted off…
“What are you going to do about it Digs?” Wyatt barked and held the gun to Mason’s dad’s head. He realized his father was injured and Wyatt was taking advantage of the situation.
“No, Mason stay away,” his father weakly urged and Wyatt sneered.
“You can’t protect anyone. You’re a failure to your own father,” Wyatt spoke with an intense hatred in his tone.
Leave him alone! Mason thought and realized with horror that he couldn’t speak. He was glued to his spot as he watched Wyatt getting ready to pull the trigger. Once again Mason was helpless to do anything. He couldn’t save his friends and he couldn’t save his dad. Wyatt’s twisted scarred face changed into a colder face. Darren stared at Mason as he prepared to kill of Mason’s dad. Please don’t! He wanted to scream but it was no use. Darren laughed and shot Mason’s dad in the head. The cold, lifeless body fell and Darren kicked it off the edge of a cliff that Mason hadn’t realized they were standing on. Because of Mason his own dad was dad.
“It’s all your fault,” Darren whispered and Mason woke up in a cold sweat. He was breathing heavily from the nightmare and it took him a while to calm back down.
“You get nightmares too,” Declan’s quiet voice came from the doorway and Mason turned to look at him. It was still dark but Declan was staring at him. “I heard you talking and you said Wyatt’s name and I wanted to wake you up, but I speak from experience when I say that it’s better to let the nightmares run their course,” Declan whispered and came closer to Mason. Mason watched his friend and noticed how different he seemed. Declan had gone through various phases. Mason had been convinced that Declan was depressed but lately he’d seemed better and but staring at him now it was like all pretenses had been stripped away.
“Do you still have nightmares?” Mason asked.
“Every once in a while…”
“I thought you’d gotten better. That’s why I stopped pushing. You seemed happier,” Mason urged and Declan laughed softly.
“I got better alright. I got better at hiding things. I can smile now without feeling like a failure. I can laugh but the truth is…what’s inside of me…it’s a part of me,” Declan whispered and Mason felt a chill go down his spine. He looked into Declan’s eyes that seemed darker than he had ever seen them before and he finally understood. Declan had learned how to hide it away.
“You’re depressed,” Mason whispered and Declan didn’t even flinch.
“I’m depressed,” Declan repeated nonchalantly.
“We can get you help. I’ll get you help. You don’t have to go through this alone,” Mason immediately started and stood up not knowing what he’d do in that instant to help Declan but he swore to himself that he’d help his friend. Declan shook his head and pushed Mason back gently telling him to sit back down.
“I know I’m not alone. I’ve got you guys,” he whispered and smiled.
“Yes, yes you do. We’re here for you,” Mason started.
“But the thing is depression has a nasty habit of making me forget that I’m not alone. Even when I’m not alone, I’m lonely because of it. I know I have you guys. And it honestly helps a lot…and for the moments when it doesn’t I have other methods,” Declan concluded and Mason frowned.
“What does that mean?”
“It means I’ll get better, eventually.”
“Why are you telling me now?” Mason asked. “I mean I’m glad you are, but what made you open up?”
“I heard the pain in your voice. You’re scared of something. Something about protecting us. I don’t know why you insist on acting like the leader of the group, but it fits. It’s who you are and I’m fine with that. And I wanted to tell you so if something were to ever happen you wouldn’t feel like it was your fault,” Declan admitted and Mason felt a moment of panic as he imagined finding Declan’s dead body.
“But nothing will happen right?” he asked and Declan smiled.
“Nothing will happen.”
Mason suddenly felt like he couldn’t keep his eyes open anymore and he laid back down on his bed.
“I’ll help you get through it,” he whispered to Declan and closed his eyes unsure if Declan was still there or not. But he would do everything in his power to help his friend. He’d decided he would do whatever it took.
As the days went by Darren took them to a retirement center and Mason met a war veteran and again he couldn’t help but worry about his dad and he tried to push it away as they met with a variety of people that all had stories to tell. Mason swore to himself that if he ever got to fame he would do what was necessary to help out as many people as he could. He would help whoever he could.
“Move your feet!” Mitch barked at them to move faster as they rehearsed onstage for the performance on Friday. The days were seemingly passing by in a blur and Mason couldn’t shake the feeling of some impending doom as the week drew closer to the end. The song that they would be performing (It Ends Tonight by The All-American Rejects) played on the background as they concentrated on their moves.
Heather flawlessly completed her moves and smiled at Mason, who noticed that Aiden had watched the exchange. Mason smiled back weakly and avoided eye contact with Aiden.
“Honestly guys, it’s like you don’t even care anymore,” Darren’s voice filled the auditorium as they all turned to see him walking towards the stage. His ever present smirk made Mason want to slap it out of his face. And the sudden violent thought disturbed Mason. He looked at his friends and could identify the shared dislike they all had for Darren.
“They’re exhausted,” Mitch confirmed and looked slightly annoyed to see Darren there. Mason noticed everyone had stopped doing what they were doing and stared intently at the exchange.
“I came looking for Clara,” Darren spoke looking at Mitch who simply shrugged.
“She texted me saying she was going to lunch with Mary.”
“Mary? My secretary?” Darren asked and frowned. “I didn’t know they were friends.” Mason hadn’t noticed that Clara and Mary were friends either but then again he hadn’t really paid attention to any of it.
“Yeah, they’ve been close lately,” Mitch replied in a matter-of-fact tone.
“Well I hope they’re not talking about me behind my back,” Darren mused and Mitch smirked.
“I don’t see why anyone would want to do that. I’m sure they’d all take pleasure in telling you you’re a dick straight to your face,” Mitch spoke and Darren snapped at the cameramen.
“Edit that out!”
“Yes sir!”
“Well I guess I’ll be going. Got a lot of things left to arrange for tomorrow,” Darren chuckled and Mitch nodded.
“Were you able to find what you were looking for?”
“Ohh yeah. In the spirit of generosity I’d say you give these guys a break,” Darren spoke and flicked his wrists at them.
“I’d like to break him,” Mason heard Aiden grumble and Noah snorted.
“That’s an understatement,” Owen whispered and Declan laughed. Mason couldn’t help but agree with his friends as he watched Darren leaving. He wasn’t sure what Darren had up his sleeve but it was continuing to worry Mason.
“Alright, I guess you’re all ready for tomorrow. Get some sleep tonight you’ll need it for tomorrow,” Mitch explained and excused them all.
“Well I’m starving!” Noah exclaimed and jumped off the stage. Mason watched his friends nod in agreement and he started following them. He looked at Owen for a brief second and stopped in his tracks.
“Hey Owen, can I talk to you for a sec?” he blurted before he even realized what he’d done. Owen froze and everyone else seemed to tense up. Mason expected to see anger in Owen’s eyes but he was angry.
“Sure,” Owen shrugged and everyone walked out. Mitch grabbed his things and waved to them goodbye as he left the auditorium. Mason and Owen waited in silence for the cameramen to pack up their things and leave and when it was just the two of them Mason sat down on the edge of the stage letting his feet dangle. Owen sighed and sat down next to him.
“I know you hate me,” Mason began and Owen laughed.
“I don’t hate you. You’re still my friend,” Owen whispered.
“But the things with Madison. I-I’m sorry, I knew you loved her and I still let myself get close to her. I really did fall for her.”
“I get that, it’s Mads. It would be hard not to fall for her,” Owen replied quietly and Mason nodded.
“But I shouldn’t have come between you guys,” Mason added and Owen shook his head.
“You didn’t come between us. What happened between us was a whole mess of things. You were the last thing on the list, and I don’t mean that in a rude way, it’s just you weren’t the reason why things fell apart. And if Madison walked into this auditorium right now, you wanna know what I’d do?” Owen asked and Mason frowned.
“What?” he asked.
“I’d say you can have her Mason.”
“But she’s not some property.” Mason countered feeling slightly angry at the casual tone in Owen’s voice. Owen looked right at him for a moment before saying anything.
“She’s not some property. But I’m done with Madison Rose,” Owen spoke coldly and stood up. “Seriously if she ever comes into your life again, take the chance Mason. You obviously love her and even though I’m done with her I’d like her to end up with a good guy, and who better than the classic nice guy,” Owen spoke and waved his hands at Mason. Mason didn’t like the way Owen was talking. He knew Owen loved Mads, and Owen could try to lie to himself but they both knew the truth.
“I’m sorry,” Mason whispered and Owen shook his head.
“Don’t be,” he replied and jumped off the stage. “You coming to get food?” Owen asked and pointed with his thumb to the direction his friends had gone. Mason sighed and nodded. He followed his friend as he remembered the last time he’d been with Madison. It was the day she’d quit the competition but of course at the time Mason hadn’t known what was going through Madison’s mind. He hadn’t known she wanted to quit, or he would have tried to convince her to do otherwise…
They’d snuck out to go to the park. Madison didn’t want anyone to know about them and if Mason was being honest he wasn’t even sure what they were. He hadn’t exactly asked her out although he wanted to, but Owen was the reason why he’d stopped himself. After kissing during their Disney week everything seemed to have escalated. Mason had confronted Madison and admitted that he’d felt something during that kiss. She had admitted that despite not wanting to feel something, she had as well. And they’d break away from the group and hang out and just talk and they’d steal kisses every now and then. But that day things had been off. He’d felt it, he just hadn’t known why they were off.
“If I ask you to do something, do you think you could promise to get it done?” Madison asked as they walked around the park. They settled on a bench and he’d smiled at her.
“Of course, what’s on your mind buttercup?” he’d asked and she’d laughed but even then the laugh had seemed hollow.
“Will you help Owen win this competition?” she asked and he frowned.
“You want Owen to win? You don’t want to win?” he asked and she sighed.
“It’s not that. But if it came down to either me or him, I’d want it to be him. He needs this. I know this is really unfair of me. But it’s hard to explain. I just want him to have the best possible chance and he’ll want to take himself out of the competition because he’ll feel like he’s not good enough. But he is. He can do this,” Madison explained and Mason kissed her forehead.
“I promise to do whatever I can to help him win,” Mason whispered.
“And I’ll continue doing so,” Mason whispered before catching up with Owen.
~~~~~~~
The curtains opened and the crowd immediately cheered them on as the music started. The audience quieted down and Mason stared out at the audience and he recognized a face there. His mom. She smiled and waved at him and he felt a warm feeling spread through him as he realized just how much he missed her. He was first up for singing and he held on tight to the microphone.
“Your subtleties, they strangle me, I can’t explain myself at all,” he began and thought of his parents and Madison and Darren as Heather began singing. He concentrated on his mom’s face. She seemed happy and yet just by looking at her he could tell something was off.
“When darkness turns to light, it ends tonight,” Declan sang and Mason turned to look at Darren. It would end. It had to end. He was tired of being Darren’s puppet. He had promises to keep.
When the song ended the audience roared in approval and Mason looked at his friends who were beaming. He caught Heather’s eye who nodded.
“You all were amazing. I’m always impressed by how easily we can tell that you improve,” Clara explained and beamed at them.
“The fact that you continue to put effort week after week, well it clearly pays off,” Mitch spoke and Mason waited for Darren’s words.
“The closer we get to the end of the competition, the harder this all gets. We really have to get nitpicky with things because you all improve tremendously and you actually for the most part listen to our advice. You’re all superstars tonight,” Darren spoke and while everyone cheered for them Mason noticed the gleam in his eyes. Darren was just getting started.
“For the bottom two we’ve decided on…” he began and everyone quieted down. Mason knew what the outcome would be. “Heather and Mason,” he spoke and Mason felt himself nod. When he and Heather exited the stage to go to the back he saw Darren following them.
“What do you want Darren?” Heather snapped and he laughed.
“To wish you both good luck of course,” he said and Mason shook his head.
“I suggest you don’t try anything funny because you would regret it. I thought I could trust you Mason. But the truth is you’re as pathetic as the rest of them. Break a leg both of you,” he smiled sweetly before leaving them behind. Heather sighed and looked at Mason.
“Remember we give it our all. Whoever gets out it’ll be not because Darren wanted it that way but because we both did excellent but one of us appealed to the audience more than the other one. Agreed?” Heather asked and held out her hand. Mason shook it, determined to do what needed to be done.
Heather stepped out onstage and Mason watched her from behind.
“What did you learn from this week?” Darren asked her and she answered. Mason looked for his friends in the audience while trying to stay hidden.
“Sweetie,” he heard his mom’s voice from behind him and he immediately went to her. He hugged her and took in the familiar scent.
“Mom!” he exclaimed and took a step back.
“I’ll be singing Defying Gravity from the musical Wicked,” he heard Heather speak.
“How are you doing sweetie?” his mom asked.
“Something has changed within me, something is not the same…” he heard Heather begin to sing.
“I’m okay,” he whispered and she raised an eyebrow.
“Mason,” she started and he sighed.
“I’m confused and conflicted and kind of scared. And I miss you and dad. How is he?” he asked and she smiled sadly. There was something in the flicker of her eyes.
“Mason. Your father-,”
“Mom what is it?” he asked feeling his heartbeat accelerate.
“I haven’t heard from your father in two weeks,” she whispered and he frowned.
“But he always tries to contact you. Always,” he whispered.
“Flying so high, defying gravity. Kiss me goodbye, I’m defying gravity and you won’t bring me down!” Mason heard Heather singing.
“I know sweetie. And I came here to see you but to talk to you. Darren didn’t want me to tell you yet but I don’t want him to use it for rating.”
“And nobody in all of Oz, no wizard that there is or was, is ever gonna bring me down!” Heather sang and Mason heard the crowd erupt in an applause.
“What’s happening? What did Darren do?” Mason demanded. His mom looked conflicted.
“Sweetie. Your dad. He’s not overseas anymore,” she whispered and he frowned feeling like he was being punched.
“What do you mean?”
“Mason go onstage!” Mary the Secretary hissed at him as she came running to him he stared at his mom for a second longer watching her face. She was crying but there was something about it. She urged him to go onstage and he did.
“Ma’am please go back to your seat!” Mason heard Mary urge and Mason came onstage and stared right at Darren. Darren seemed satisfied and Mason wanted to throw something at his face.
“My name is Mason and I’ll be singing Can’t Fight This Feeling by Reo Speedwagon,” he spoke as he saw his mom going back to her seat. She smiled at him and Mason tried to push back his feelings and fears as the instruments started playing.
“I can’t fight this feeling any longer, and yet I’m still afraid to let it flow. What started out as friendship has grown stronger, I only wish I had the strength to let it show,” he began as he thought of Madison. He thought of everything his dad had ever told him about love. Mason had gotten his ideals of what love was supposed to be like from his parents. They were so madly in love that he couldn’t help but want an outcome like that as well. He thought of Avery and how at one point he’d been sure that she was the one. But she wasn’t.
He thought about Wyatt and everything that had happened. Wyatt had hurt his friends and Mason had promised himself that he wouldn’t let anyone else hurt his friends, his family. He thought of his intense dislike for Darren. And he sang with everything he had. He thought of Heather and her words to him. He thought of Owen and what he’d said about Madison. He thought about Declan’s depression and how he promised he would help him battle it.
He thought of Aiden and Noah and their family problems. He sang to his mom and he sang to his friends and he sang to Madison and he sang to prove a point to Darren and to honor his agreement with Heather. And he sang for his dad…his dad.
“I’ve forgotten what I’ve started fighting for, even if I had to crawl up on your floor, come crashing through your door, baby I can’t fight this feeling anymore,” he sang as he noticed a figure walking down the stage and all eyes seemed to be on the person walking closer to him. The person’s eyes are what got Mason’s attention. It was like staring at a mirror. The man was dressed in military uniform and he was smiling at Mason. The tall man looked intimidating but there were tears in his eyes and when the song ended and everyone started clapping for Mason and yelling his name Mason’s vision blurred. People were cheering for him but all he saw was the man smiling and applauding Mason. There was something in the man’s eyes. There was unconditional love. And Mason realized it was his dad.
It was like someone had thrown a bucket of cold water on him and immediately enveloped him in warm blankets.
“Dad?” he whispered knowing that his dad couldn’t hear him through all of the yelling and cheers.
“Come onstage please Mr. Digs,” Darren’s voice spoke and Mason’s dad got onstage and immediately went to Mason. Mason felt the tears falling more freely as he realized that his dad was right there with him, that his dad had seen him performing.
“That was amazing champ,” his dad whispered in his ear. “I’m so proud of you.”
“Dad!” Mason cried and laughed because he couldn’t believe it.
“You can come on up too Mrs. Digs!” Darren exclaimed and Mason mom came up and Mason watched as his dad picked up his mom and spun her around. He embraced her and then grabbed Mason and embraced the both of them.
“I’ve missed you guys so much,” his dad spoke.
“And there you have it the touching reunion!” Darren’s voice yelled and the audience erupted into a bigger roar still. Mason turned to look at his friends who were all jumping up and down cheering for Mason.
“That was wonderful honey,” Mason’s mom told him and kissed his cheek.
“I love you guys,” he mumbled to his parents who hugged him again.
“Any words for your son before we give the results?” Darren asked and Mason’s dad gave Darren a subtle death glare.
“Yes actually a few. Mason,” his dad began completely ignoring Darren and looking at Mason. “I want you to know that whatever happens, whatever choice you make you have already made us incredibly proud and we will stand by you no matter what. Do what makes you feel happy and you’ll see that it’ll be the right choice,” he spoke and Mason nodded.
“Thank you,” he whispered to his parents as they went backstage and Heather came back out smiling at Mason.
“So the results are in and the audience has decided on who stays and who goes,” Darren began and looked seriously at both of them.
Mason felt Heather grab his hand squeeze. He had never really paid much attention to Heather but in that moment he was glad she was there and if she stayed and he left he wouldn’t be bitter about it. She deserved a spot on this competition as much as anyone else.
“I’m sorry to say but Heather will be leaving,” Clara spoke and the video in the background of Heather’s progress and interviews began playing. Heather wiped her tears away and hugged Mason.
“Give him hell,” she whispered.
“I will give him hell. He’ll regret messing with us,” Mason spoke not even caring that he’d used the word hell. Heather leaving had set things in motion and with his parents’ words in his heart he was beginning to realize what he needed to do.
A/N:
We're getting closer and closer to the end of Part Two. All I can say is that next chapter several little plot nuggets that were spread throughout the story come to a head because it's going down! Who will leave the competition? Start placing your bets.
Aiden
Noah
Owen
Mason
Declan
Chapter 27- Standing Out
Songs of standing up and standing out are performed as the guys face the fact that by the end of the week one of them will leave the competition. And one takes a stand sending a ripple effect that will change the course of their lives and this story…forever.