L I L Y
I switch my position around on the bed to try and get comfortable again, but before I can, a warm chest stops me from moving too much.
My eyes slowly open, blinking in order to get used to the bright light. I look in front of me to see Mason fast asleep.
I realize I have to use the restroom, so I slip out of his arms that are wrapped around me and head into my bathroom. I do my business, then brush my hair and teeth.
As i'm doing so, I think of what Mason told me last night. He likes me.
Not as a friend, but as boyfriend and girlfriend.
I can't believe somebody like him would like somebody like me. He's amazing, at everything, while i'm just...boring. I've been sheltered my whole life, but even I know he could do so much better than me.
Not to mention how good looking he is.
I giggle at how weird my thoughts sound right now.
I had never talked to a boy before I met Mason. Well, except for my dad of course, and maybe some guys at the bookstore. All of this is new to me.
I know that when I think about Mason, I get all fuzzy inside, and when i'm with him, it feels like there are butterflies in my tummy.
Thinking about all of this makes me realize something. Something I should've known last night.
I like Mason.
I walk out of the bathroom and spot Mason laying on the bed, still sound asleep.
I smile and rush over to jump onto the mattress. Mason stirs, but still doesn't wake up, so I crawl over him and straddle his stomach.
I place both of my hands on his face and trace his jawline. "Masey." I whisper. He mumbles something I can't understand, but remains asleep. "Mason! Wake up, I have to tell you something."
His eyes finally start to blink open. Once they are, he stares at me, notices my position on top of him, and smirks. "What are you doing baby?" He asks in his husky morning voice, that he knows I love, as he brings his hands up and places them on each side of my waist.
"I have to tell you something." The excited smile stays glued on my face.
He chuckles and slips his hands just barely under my sweater to rub my bare skin. "Go ahead."
I place my own hands on his chest. "I-"
Just as I begin, my words get cut off by a loud ringing.
He looks at me apologetically, after leaning over to see who's calling. "Do you mind if I answer that?"
My smile falters, but I nod, so he leans over and picks up his phone to answer the call.
"What? I told you not to fucking contact me right now." His voice holds no emotion, and it's like he turned off a switch. His eyes become darker and his jaw clenches as they speak. "I'll be there soon." And the he hangs up.
Mason sighs and runs his fingers through his hair. "I'm sorry princess, I have to go. What'd you want to tell me?" He starts to rub my waist again.
My smile falls completely and I reluctantly shake my head. "Nothing, it-it's fine."
He frowns at my change in attitude. "Are you sure? You can say it, I know you were excited." He sits up so i'm now straddling his waist instead of his stomach.
I look down and avoid his gaze. "Never mind."
Mason sighs, this time at my stubbornness. "Lily, baby, please tell me. I'm not leaving until you do." He declares, wrapping his arms securely around my waist.
I sigh as well and look around, anywhere but at him.
"It's just..." I play with the strings on his sweatpants, attempting to meet his stare, but I have to look away when I see how intense it is.
Adoration, confusion, worry.
I scrunch up my nose, now getting frustrated by the fact that I can't express how i'm feeling right now.
Why can't I just say it?
Unconsciously, I start to scratch at my arms until they turn red, not even feeling the pain since i'm so distracted by my thoughts.
I usually do this when I get mad or frustrated. It worries my parents but I can't help it. It's a bad habit.
Mason's eyes widen and he reaches out to grab my hands when he realizes what i'm doing. "Stop Lily, you can't do that to yourself." He says sternly, now rubbing the top of my hand with his thumb. "Take a deep breath and tell me what you wanted to say."
I take a deep breath, like he said, and try to calm myself down. "I like you too."
I can see the surprise written all over his face, and he stays silent for a minute before running his fingers through his hair. "Are you serious?"
I nod shyly.
He doesn't reply after a few seconds, making me frown.
"I-I'm sorry. I thought you wanted me to like you." I say, confused as to why he hasn't said anything to me.
His eyes widen and he quickly nods. "I do, trust me I really, really do. I'm just surprised that you decided so quickly... are you sure?" He gently cups my face with his hands as I nod again.
"There's no way i'm leaving you now." He mumbles, mostly to himself, before reaching over and grabbing his phone again. He dials a number and someone answers right away. "I won't be able to make it. Call Ray." He hangs up immediately after.
My eyes are wide. That was rude.
He looks at me and smirks. "Now I...am going to cuddle you to death."
Then before I can react, he pulls me on top of him and rolls us over, so that he's now hovering over me. I squeal when he starts tickling my sides, and squirm in his hold, attempting to get out.
"Mason stop!" I laugh.
He chuckles at my reaction and suddenly stops, allowing me to catch my breath. He stares down at me weirdly and tucks a stray piece of hair behind my ear.
"Thank you." Mason whispers.
"For what?" I tilt my head.
"For giving me a chance, I guess. I don't know what I would've done if you said you didn't like me back." He shakes his head, as if even the thought of it makes him sick.
"How could I not like you? You're amazing, Masey." I say sincerely.
He leans down to kiss my forehead with a soft smile. "I don't even compare to you."
The door suddenly bursts open, and Noah and Carter stand there, looking at us with wide eyes.
Noah lets out a loud squeal. "My poor innocent eyes!" He yells while covering his eyes.
I giggle and try to push Mason off of me, slightly embarrassed by how they caught us, but he doesn't budge.
Carter rolls her eyes and slaps him on the head. "Idiot." She then turns to us with a grin. "So there's a bonfire at the beach tonight. Wanna go?"
Mason rolls beside me. "Sure, if Lily wants to." He glances back to me.
I tilt my head curiously. "What's a bonfire?"
This is one of the many things I haven't heard of, or experienced yet. It's sad, but at least i'll be able to now.
They all look surprised by my question.
"You've never been to one?" Noah looks at me as if i'm crazy.
I shake my head and frown.
Carter sighs. "You poor child. A bonfire is basically a big fire where you just hang around and chill with your friends." She explains.
"Oh, I wanna go." I sit up and clasp my hands together. Bonfires sound fun.
Carter smirks. "So, you in Mason?"
Mason keeps his eyes on me and nods. "Yeah, i'm in. What time?"
"It starts at six so we should leave at five, it'll take us about an hour to get there."
It's noon by now so we still have a few hours until we need to leave.
~
"I don't know what to wear!" I panic, scanning through everything in my closet.
Mason walks in, looking confused. "Just wear something casual. You'll look beautiful in anything, Lil." He comes up behind me to wrap his arms around my waist.
I scrunch up my nose and remove his arms from around me. "No, we don't have time for this!" I declare. "I need to choose an outfit, now."
I hear Mason sigh. "Fine." He mumbles, walking out of my closet.
Finally, ten minutes later i'm dressed in a comfortable dress with some sandals. Since it's on the beach I decided I shouldn't wear sneakers.
They'd get filled with sand, i'm sure.
"I'm ready." I call out to Mason.
I hear him mumble a 'finally' as I walk out, and once he sees me, his eyes immediately scan my entire body.
"I knew you'd look amazing in anything." He smirks, while I blush at his compliment. He leads me down the stairs and grabs his car keys.
Carter told us to meet them there, since they had to go home and get ready.
It's 5:30 now, because I took so long to get ready, so we're definitely going to be a little late.
After an hour of driving, Mason finally stops the car next to all the others that are parked in the sand. I squeal and go to open the door, but Mason stops me by reaching over and holding it shut.
"Stay by my side at all times, and tell me if you're going somewhere, alright?" He says sternly.
I nod and he lets go of the door, allowing me to step out of the car. I walk over to where Mason is and grab his hand so I can lace our fingers together.
"Ready?" He raises an eyebrow down at me.
I look at all the people standing around and spot the giant fire. A smile appears on my face and I nod, so we make our way over to where I see Noah and Carter standing, along with a big group of people.
They're all laughing and I feel myself grow nervous.
What if they don't like me? What if I say something dumb?
Mason must've noticed I was nervous, because he looks down at me with reassuring eyes and tightens his grip on my hand.
We reach the group and Noah is the first to see us. "Sunshine! Mason, my boy!" He says loudly, sounding different than usual.
Mason chuckles and walks over to pat Noah on the back. "Are you already drunk?"
I stay beside him the whole time, like he told me to.
Noah giggles. "Nooo!"
Mason just rolls his eyes. "Sure, buddy. Maybe you should slow down a bit."
Noah scoffs at his suggestion and continues to drink whatever's in his cup.
"Mason, what's up man?" Another voice cuts in, coming to stand in front of Mason.
Mason looks towards him and nods. "Nothing much." I can tell by his tone of voice that he doesn't like this guy very much.
The guy then looks down at me and smirks. "Who's this cutie?"
I scoot closer to Mason and he wraps his arm around my shoulders. His jaw clenches, which i've learned this usually means he's angry. "Fuck off, she's mine."
The guys eyes widen and he backs away, holding his hands up in surrender. "My bad."
Noah walks back over to me and grabs my cheeks, squishing them together. "This, right here, is my little sunshine! Aren't you Lily?!" He says, as if he was talking to a dog.
I giggle and push his hands away. "Noah quit!"
"You're such a silly goose!" Noah ruffles my hair.
I pout and bring my hands up to fix it.
"Okay that's enough, Noah. Go get yourself another drink." Mason tells him.
Noah salutes. "Okay dad." And then he walks off.
I laugh at how weird he is.
"Lily! You're finally here!" I hear Carter say.
I turn around and greet her.
For about an hour we walk around and chat. I even danced a little. Mason stayed nearby the whole time, making sure nobody 'suspicious' came near me. At least that's what he called it.
"Can we go get a drink?" I ask him, having to raise my voice so he can hear me over all the noise.
Mason nods and wraps his arm around my waist so he can lead me towards the cooler. "What do you want, princess? There's sodas or water." He asks once we reach our destination.
"A water, please." I tell him, sticking myself to his side even more when I see all the stares directed at us. He hands me the water bottle and I take a sip.
"Are you feeling okay?" He asks, eyebrows furrowed as he scans my entire body. For what, i'm not sure.
"Yes Masey, i'm fine." I giggle.
I'm about to set my drink down on a nearby table, but Mason's large hand stops me.
"Let me hold that for you." He takes it from me, before tilting my chin up so that i'm forced to look at him. "Never, ever leave your drink unattended at parties like this, understand?"
I nod, but i'm slightly confused. "Why?"
He sighs, mumbling under his breath, before explaining it to me. "Because there are bad people out there who like to hurt others. In this case, they'll put some type of drug in your drink, so they can take advantage of you."
My eyes widen at his words. "R-Really?"
There are people out there who would do that? People at this party?
"Yeah, Lil. But I promise i'll never let anything like that happen to you."
I'm grateful for him, and the fact that he's willing to protect me. But I can't get that out of my head. Maybe the world isn't as good as I thought it was.
I guess I should've realized that when those football players tried to...hurt me.
"Is-Is there a bathroom somewhere?" I ask him shyly.
Mason nods and once again starts to lead me in a random direction, until we reach the restrooms.
"I'll be waiting right here." He kisses my forehead before I turn and make my way into the girls room.
I quickly do my business before stepping out of the stall to wash my hands. The bathroom door opens just as I grab a paper towel, but I think nothing of it.
Until a familiar voice speaks up.
"Look who we have here."
I spin around in surprise, only to see Nicole. This time her friends aren't with her.
"I was wondering what Mason was doing outside of the ladies room." She smirks and takes a few steps closer. "So tell me. What are you blackmailing him with?"
I stare at her, confused. "What do you mean?"
My question must've made her angry, because all of a sudden she stomps her foot. "I mean there's no way in hell Mason would actually like you. You act like a damn child all the time."
I bite my lip, trying to avoid letting her words get to me. "I-I don't know." I whisper, turning to throw away the paper towel in my hand. "I have to go-"
"I don't think so, sweetheart." Nicole steps right in front of me, successfully stopping my attempts at walking around her. She leans down a little so she's at my height. "You think you're so much better than me, don't you?" I quickly shake my head but she just keeps going. "Well guess what? You're not. You're just a useless little girl, begging for attention. Don't worry though, Mason will realize that soon, and then he'll come running to me."
Her words sting. I wipe away the tears that had begun to flow down my cheeks.
Useless?
I'm not useless. Right?
"S-Sorry." Then before she can stop me, I hurry around her and out of the bathroom.
Sorry? What am I even saying sorry for?
Nicole's right. I act like a child. I'm useless. And there's no way Mason actually likes me. He's probably just tricking me into thinking he does so-
"Hey, hey, Lily, what's wrong?" I feel someone grab my hand and I know it's Mason when he speaks.
I sniffle and quickly try to wipe away the rest of my tears, before turning around to face him. I attempt to send him a smile. "Nothing."
He frowns, and the worry in his eyes remains as he brushes his thumb under my cheek. "What happened? Who made you cry?"
I guess i'm not very good at hiding my feelings either.
Instead of answering, I wrap my arms around myself and look down at my shoes.
"Lily...come on. Talk to me." His soft voice makes me frown as well, but I don't want to seem like a child. Not anymore, at least.
"It's nothing." I finally mumble, feeling too guilty to ignore him anymore.
"Don't lie to me, I know it's not nothing." He turns stern, and lifts my chin up to look at him. "How am I supposed to make you feel better if I don't know what's wrong, baby? You gotta talk to me-"
I jump when the bathroom door suddenly slams open and out walks a smug looking Nicole. She sees the two of us and her smirk only grows. "Hi there Mason...Layla."
My frown returns when she gets my name wrong.
When I look up at Mason, I see his jaw is now clenched, and feel his hold on my hand tighten.
"What's your fucking problem?"
My eyes widen when he snaps at her, and I tug on his hand, in hopes of getting him to stop, but he doesn't even look down at me. This can't be good.
She pouts and takes a step towards us. "What do you mean, babe? I don't have a problem with you."
Mason scowls at her with a glare. "But you have a problem with my girl, which means that you do, in fact, have a problem with me." Nicole's eyes widen. "Now i'm gonna tell you this once, and once only. If I find out that you even looked Lily's way, I swear to God i'll ruin your pathetic life."
She flinches back at his harsh words, and even I take the smallest step away from him.
"Mason..." I trail off, slightly tugging on his hand again.
"F-Fine." Nicole stutters. "Whatever." And then she's gone, allowing me to relax.
"You didn't have to-"
Mason cuts me off before I can finish. "Yes I did, Lily. She's not gonna get away with treating you like shit all the time." I wince at his choice of words and he sighs. "Sorry...but it's true. Now will you tell me what she said to you, so I can remind you of how wrong she is?"
I bite my lip, hesitant to tell him at all. But momma always says that talking about your feelings is the best thing to do.
"She just said that...that you don't actually like me." He raises his eyebrows, telling me to continue, but I can slowly see his anger returning. "A-And that i'm useless."
Mason takes a deep breath, as if he's trying to calm himself down, after hearing what I whispered. "I can't even begin to explain how wrong she is. You know how much you mean to me. If anything you should be the one that doesn't like me. I'm..." He shakes his head and stops himself from finishing that sentence. "Never mind that. But as for the second part, if there's one thing that you'll never be, it's useless. You've done so much for me, and God-" He pauses, cupping my face in his hands. "I don't know what i'd do if you didn't come into my life."
My whole face is definitely beet red right now, as my bottom lip trembles. "Y-You mean that?"
Mason chuckles softly and pulls me into his chest, wrapping his arms around me firmly. "Please don't cry, sweetheart...yes, I meant every word."
I sniffle as I bury my face into his t-shirt, feeling his toned body underneath. "I don't know what i'd do without you either."
~
a/n: (edited) omg i'm sorry but i had to to get rid of the bonfire scene from before. i literally made myself cringe so hard just thinking about it. so yeah, i made a new and improved bonfire scene ;)