Amara's POV:
I wipe my eyes as I catch my breath, trembling as I sob into Mason's chest as the ending credits to 'The Notebook' roll across the TV screen. I can't count how many times I've watched this movie—and I cry my eyes out each time. My heart breaks each time. I tried to hold my tears as I watched Noah and Allie dance for the last time, clenching my eyes shut, but I couldn't hold it in—I was a wreck the rest of the way through. I sniffled and I sobbed into Mason's t-shirt and he let me. Despite the fact I've cried in front of him multiple times before, I still tried my hardest to hold back the tears.
I look up at Mason through my distorted vision and notice he looks choked up. Of course, no visible tears—his eyes aren't even glassy, but I can see it in his face.
"Mason?" I mumble through my stunted breath, "Are you okay?" I ask as I wipe my eyes again—trying to read his expression.
"Yeah, I'm fine." he coughs, tensing his shoulders. Mason is the last person I would have expected to be affected by a movie like this. I expected him to laugh at me for being so upset and mock me for every part of the movie. Every kiss, every tear, every 'I love you.'
"What's wrong?" I tug on his shirt, "Talk to me, I can barely see through my tears—you're allowed to be upset at it, too." I say as jokingly and reassuringly as I can—even though I still can't believe he's even affected by it at all.
"I'm not upset at the stupid movie, Amara." he groans under his breath. I know Mason struggles to handle his feelings but I hate that he snaps at me because of it.
"Fine." I snap back as I stand up from the bed, unclasping his arm from around my waist. "Amara, don't." he sighs, sitting up to look at me.
"Then talk to me, Mason." I cross my arms against my chest.
"It's just, a little intimidating. I don't know." he shrugs, shaking his head and scoffing as if he doesn't care—his tone and demeanor completely contradicting his words and pained expression.
"What is?" I ask calmly as I perch myself on the edge of the bed.
"I don't know why you like that movie so much, it's so tragic," he says awkwardly.
"I know, but love is tragic. They were together in the end, that was the whole point. He knew their love was strong enough to take them away together." I try to explain to him, "They loved each other so much—they had an amazing love story and even when she didn't know who he was, he read their story to her every day. Despite everybody telling him that she wouldn't remember." my eyes water thinking back.
"I don't know how he did it. He spent years without his wife knowing who he was, without her remembering their life—how could anybody do that?" he asks, his voice full of confusion and a hint of.. sadness?
"I told you it was sad. It's one of my favourite love stories of all time. I love everything about it—even the heartbreaking parts. It's so moving, even when she was engaged to another man they still found their way back to one another. They always did." I smile.
"One of? Which other love stories are you obsessed with?" he chuckles slightly.
"That's for me to know, and you to find out on another movie night." I wiggle my brows.
Mason motions for me to come closer, I leap across the bed and wrap my arms around his neck—causing him to fall back against the headboard. "It was a stupid fucking movie, anyway." he chuckles and I know he's wearing a smirk on his face.
"I was waiting for a comment like that." I lean forward, my arms still around his neck and my eyebrow raised. It was beyond strange seeing Mason have a reaction like that to a movie, I know he'll never admit it but it upset him. My phone buzzes from my desk, making me flinch. I detach myself from Mason and pick it up to read the screen, it's from Jess.
*Mar, I need you. Red level.*
I squint at the phone, slightly worried. Jess and I have always used codes for when we need each other. 'Red level' is when something really bad is wrong, 'yellow level' is when it's a mild problem. It started when we were around twelve—our issues were a lot smaller then. A red level emergency back then was our crush posting pictures on Instagram with another girl.
"What's wrong?" Mason asks as he moves towards me.
"It's Jess, something's going on," I mumble as I reply to her text.
*What's wrong? Are you okay?*
I impatiently wait for her reply before my phone buzzes again.
*I just need to see you, please?*
I tell her to come over without hesitation. "You have to go." I sigh at Mason and he pouts slightly. "Really?" he raises his eyebrow.
"Yes, really. I need to be here for Jess—I'll call you later." I tell him before pecking him on the nose gently.
"Why do you have to be such a good friend?" he rolls his eyes sarcastically and I chuckle. "I'll see you later" I smile as he shows himself out. I sprawl out on my bed, my mind running wild over what Jess is going to say.
——————
Around twenty minutes later my bedroom door opens to reveal Jess, who drops her bag onto the floor and throws herself down onto the bed beside me—staring up at the ceiling.
"What's wrong?" I ask as I turn my head to look at her.
She takes a deep breath, "I think Jack is cheating on me." she says quietly.
"What?" I say in disbelief.
"Yeah."
"Are you sure? I mean he seemed pretty obsessed with you." I say literally, trying to wrap my head around the concept.
She turns her head to face me, "He's so distant, Mar. He disappears a lot and he's so sketchy when I ask where he is. He won't even have sex with me anymore—I feel like he's even repulsed when he kisses me." her voice cracks and I notice tears fill her seemingly hollow eyes.
I sit up against the headboard of my bed and pat my lap, "Come here." I sigh. She lays her head on my lap and looks up at me.
"How could he do it to me, Mar?" she asks, her voice trembling and I can see the heartbreak that covers her face, she's suffocating in it.
"Maybe there's another explanation, have you talked to him about it?" I try to be as reassuring as I possibly can be in a situation like this. I run my fingers through her hair and try to comfort her, ease some of her pain.
"No. I'm too scared. I know it, Amara, I feel the disgust when his lips touch mine. The guilt that riddles his face when I ask him where he's been. The shame that shines in his eyes as he holds my hand in public. It never used to be like that." her words are full of despair and pain, but her face is now blank, emotionless. She adores Jack, it's easy to see. I can't believe he would do this to her.
"I'm sorry, Jess. We can figure it out, okay? I'll kill him if I have to. I've watched enough Criminal Minds and Law and Order to pull it off." I joke and notice a small smile tug at her lips in return.
"Have you been crying?" she asks as she narrows her eyes at me.
"Mason and I watched The Notebook." I chuckle and she does too. "You got Mason to watch that?" she raises her brow in shock.
"I did, he hated every minute of it," I tell her.
"I bet he did." she laughs slightly, "At least one of our relationships are going well." she says jokingly and I can't help but frown.
"Where is he now?" she asks, changing the subject.
"I threw him out when you text," I tell her and she sits upright. "You didn't have to do that, I could have dealt with this alone." her face floods with regret.
"It's okay. You're going to stay over and we're going to forget all about the 'J' word, okay?" I smile.
"The 'J' word?" she tilts her head. I see her ponder for a second before it clicks.
"Oh!" she exclaims in realisation, "Yes, please."
Mason's POV:
It pisses me off that Amara seems to be a much better friend to Jess than she is to her. But I'm trying to be more like Amara, second chances and all that bullshit. I just can't help but wonder if Jess would've done the same for Amara if the roles were reversed—she sure as hell didn't the first night I met her.
I arrive back to my dorm and try the handle, locked. What the fuck?
"Mason go away, I'm busy." Matt yells from the other side of the door.
"Busy?" I scoff, "What the fuck can you be doing in our dorm?" I mock, holding my ear up to the door to hear muffled noises and the creaking of his bed, then it hits me.
"Do you have a fucking girl in there?" I scrunch my face up in disgust.
There is a brief pause, "Yes, now leave me to it." he yells in frustration. I can't help but be surprised, in all the time I've known him I've never once seen him bring a girl home.
"You're disgusting." I roll my eyes, despite the fact he can't see me.
"Oh, please. Like I don't know what you and Amara do in this room when I'm at my parents." he cackles and I groan in annoyance.
I decide to just go waste some time elsewhere, I don't want to stand out here and listen to that poor girls noises of disappointment when they strike.
Where the fuck am I supposed to go? Amara is busy with Jess and Matt is busy with.. whatever her name is. I decide to swallow my pride and text Elijah—after the other night, I can't even stand to look at Taylor right now. And knowing Noah, he'll be with Elijah. He's like a lap dog.
My phone buzzes and thankfully it's Elijah.
*Hey man, we're all at Taylor's, he's having drinks and shit. You coming?*
I roll my eyes and shove my phone back into my pocket. That's that option void. I could really go a burger, but I don't think I could keep my hands off of Jake if he's working—and I'm trying to hold back for Amara, I don't want to be in the dog house again. I can restrain myself, right?
Probably not. But the day I let Jake stand between me and a burger will be the day I die, so I might as well go.
As soon as I walk inside, I see Jake behind the counter and my blood boils. After so long he still makes me want to wipe that grin off of his face. I take a deep breath and make my way to the counter.
"Can I take your ord-" his face drops when he sees me and my patience is diminishing by the second.
"I'll have the double-stacked king burger," I say as calmly as I can, imagining Amara standing beside me to keep my fists by my sides.
"Sure," he coughs as he types on the cash register. "Would you like fries with that?" he asks awkwardly.
"Yes."
"Alright.. that'll be $9.98." he scratches his head as I hand him the cash, he looks like he's about to try and converse with me, but thankfully he doesn't. I take my change and find a seat.
I pull out my phone and decide to text Amara,
*Jake just served me at the diner and I didn't break his nose.. progress? ;)*
I laugh to myself as I slide my phone back into my pocket to wait for my order.
"Can we talk?" Jake's whining voice makes my head snap up.
I scoff, "You can't be serious, right?" my brain is still trying to wrap itself around the situation and the audacity of this man.
"Look," he takes a seat opposite me—placing my meal on the table. "I'm not here to fight with you, I'm on break and I want to clear the air. There's no need for our hostility now, it just upsets Amara, you know that," he says as his hands clasp in front of him. The mere mention of Amara's name in that context irks me, like he knows her better than I do.
"You might want to make this quick. Your voice is like nails being scraped down the chalkboard of my soul." I grunt and I can see him biting his tongue—clearly trying to hold back his annoyance.
"What I was saying, was that we should just agree to be civil towards one another. I can't excuse my actions, Mason. I know that. And the fact that I could have hurt Amara haunts me. I go to classes twice a week for my anger and I haven't had one outburst since that day. I want to be a better person but you make it really hard for me to do so." he exhales deeply as he finishes talking. I know if Amara was here she would tell me to play nice, but I just don't buy his apology.
"Are you finished?" I raise my brow and he just glares at me, shaking his head.
"You know you're being a dick, right?" he scoffs, raising his hand to silence me as I try to interrupt.
"The fact you haven't pulled me across this table by the throat means you're doing it for Amara, correct?" he pauses, waiting for a response. "Yeah." I answer honestly, wondering where he's going with this.
"You're trying to be a better person for her. You're stopping your old ways. That's exactly what I'm trying to do and you're kicking me down at every chance you get. How would you feel if everybody constantly threw your old ways in your face whenever you're with Amara?" he crosses his arms, waiting for yet another response intently. Only this time, I don't know what to say. He's right in a way and I fucking hate it. I can almost hear Amara in my ear telling me to give him a chance.
"I'll never forget how you treated her." I say under my breath. He sighs deeply, "I wouldn't expect you to. But we were friends once."
"If you ever so much as make her flinch at your hand again, I will fucking kill you. Do you understand?" I say as meaningfully as I can.
I would break his nose again, probably. Bruise up his face. But I would never seriously hurt him—Amara would never forgive me, neither would I. But he doesn't have to know that.
"Fair." he reaches out his hand for me to shake and I raise my eyebrow.
"Sorry, I forgot you don't like physical contact." he sneers and I roll my eyes. I know he was just joking, we used to be able to banter with each other without taking it to heart. But it's going to take a lot of getting used to. If it was up to me, I wouldn't have even heard him out. But Amara has implanted herself in my brain and my conscience.
"Enjoy your food." he smiles before walking away.
What the fuck just happened? Civil is all I will be. I have no intention of becoming best buddies with Jake. All I want to do is go to Amara's place and tell her how I didn't fight him and how I was reasonably civil. She better be proud. Why do I feel the need to tell her every little thing? It still surprises me how I act towards her. I shovel some fries into my mouth and slump down in the booth of the diner, thinking of ways to pass the time.
Amara's POV:
Jess is watching movies in my bed whilst I try and tidy up a little. My room is a mess and I've been putting it off for too long. I pick up a bunch of clothes and a piece of paper falls to my feet. I pick it up to see a smudged number written in lipstick, when I suddenly remember Rebecca handing me it at the party. I completely forgot I had it in my pocket, I was a little distracted with the events of that night and the following morning.
I throw the pile of clothes into a basket, "Hey, Jess." I say as I sit on the bed beside her.
"Yeah?"
"Can I invite Rebecca over? It's been forever since we've had a girls night with anyone besides us, I think we both need it." I say hoping the answer is yes, it's rare that I instantly like somebody—but Becca was one of those few.
"Sure, she seemed nice. What I can remember of her.." she cringes, she really was wasted.
"Great!" I chirp as I pull out my phone. I squint at the paper and try to make out the numbers written on it. Jess and I stare at the paper for around ten minutes just trying to work out the first few numbers. "That's an eight, right?" "No, that's definitely a six."
"Are you sure that's a zero, that kinda looks like a nine.."
After what feels like way too long to be staring at a piece of paper.. we finally crack it, we hope. We wait patiently as the phone's monotonous beeping indicates that it's ringing.
"Hello?"
"Becca?" I say sheepishly.
"Amara, is that you?" she chirps.
"Oh, thank god." I sigh and Jess laughs.
"It took us way too long to figure out what those lipstick smudges said." I chuckle, "Yeah.. not my finest idea." she giggles down the line.
"So we were wondering if you want to sleep over here, we're having a man-free zone kind of night. We need some time to relax." I explain, having a night with some friends sounds amazing, if I'm honest.
"Yes! Text me your address and I'll bring the cocktails." she squeals, "I thought you didn't dri-" I'm cut off by the line buzzing, and she's gone.
"I'm not drinking, I'm still hungover." I rub my forehead and Jess laughs, "It's just a cocktail, don't worry."
As I look at my phone again I see a message from Mason, I chuckle as I read it.
"What's so funny?" Jess asks as she peers at my phone screen.
"Mason is at the burger diner, and he didn't kick Jake's ass while he served him." I tell her as I click the letters to construct a reply.
"He didn't? You have that man whipped, Mar." she smirks. "Oh, shut up." I nudge her.
*Wow, impressive. Hopefully, you both remain in one piece.*
I text Becca my address and not even half an hour later, I hear a knock at the door. I open the door to see her standing with face masks in one hand, a bag over her shoulder, and an unusually large bottle of porn-star martini in the other.
"Well.." I chuckle.
"Let's go." she says as she shoves the bottle into her bag. We make our way to my room and Jess and Becca reacquaint themselves since Jess barely remembers the last time they met.
We put on the face masks provided by Becca, plant ourselves down on my bedroom floor and finish a glass of cocktail each, before my phone buzzes. I pick it up to see a reply from Mason.
*I swear I'm on my best, gold star behavior, plant killer.*
I smile at my phone as I type a reply.
"What happened to 'no boys night'?" Jess chants as she holds up her empty glass for a refill.
"Who said it was Mason?" I whine, to which I simply receive a raised brow from both of them.
I roll my eyes, "Ugh, fine. It's Mason."
"We could tell from the grin on your face, Mar." Jess chuckles and I scrunch up my nose at my transparency.
"So.. Mason, you two seem perfect." Becca sighs as she fills up my glass and her own.
"No boys night, remember. We don't discuss him." I say as I slide my phone back into my pocket.
"Right." Becca cringes as she reads Jess' facial expression.
"It's okay," Jess smiles, "You can gush about him, I know you want to." she says honestly. I really do want to, I just don't want to be inconsiderate of her feelings.
"So, tell me about him! He's so intriguing." Becca crosses her legs and sips her drink.
"He certainly is." I smile as I think about him. It may be the cocktails, or just Mason's hold on me but my chest flutters at the mere mention of his name.
"So the question we both want to know is.. is he good in bed?" Jess wiggles her brows and I almost choke, meanwhile her and Becca are waiting intently for my answer.
I roll my eyes, "Of course he is." my honesty makes me laugh and Jess' jaw almost drops—I'm sure she didn't expect me to answer since I'm usually not open about those things, but Mason has helped a lot with my confidence.
"I've never seen her so happy." Jess adds, making Becca pout.
"He's amazing, he really is." I say warmly.
*Jake and I spoke, he apologised and I agreed to be civil. You better be proud of me, Amara—it took way too much restraint. You're rubbing off on me, it's annoying..*
I can't help but laugh as I read the message. I can basically picture his cheeky grin as he clicked send. I had to read it twice to make sure the cocktails weren't going to my head. Him and Jake? I never thought I'd see the day.
"Speaking of how amazing he is, he made up with Jake." I say and Jess actually spits her drink back into her glass.
"Jake?" Becca raises her eyebrow.
"It's a long story." I chuckle. "Mason? And Jake?" Jess shakes her head in disbelief, still processing my words.
"I need another drink." she sighs, picking up the bottle again.
Mason's POV:
Why I decided to come here, I'll never know. I was just so fucking bored without Amara that I didn't know what to do with myself, and anybody I can tolerate is here in this room. Everybody is wasted and I'm the only sober one here, it's a major buzzkill.
"Where's your girl tonight?" Elijah asks as he hands me a red cup full of.. whatever that is.
"At home, with her friend." I tell him and he nods, "That's a shame. Are you joining us?" he asks as he waves the cup in front of my face.
"Fuck it." I say as I take the cup from his hand.
He smiles at me and leads me to the beer pong table—these parties seem a lot less fun without Amara. I guess this isn't really a party, anyway. It's only a few of Taylor's friends.
Before I play, I check my phone to see if Amara replied, but nothing. Never did I ever think I'd be one to whine about not getting a reply.
"Come on, you're on my team." Elijah winks as he motions towards Taylor—who happens to be in the opposing team. He isn't Taylors biggest fan either, he doesn't like how he treats women.
Elijah is one of the most respectful people I know, honest and trustworthy. He's only ever been in one relationship and she broke his heart, cheated on him and ghosted. He was fucking destroyed. He was basically just a shell of himself.
I never understood how someone could mentally destroy another like that until Amara—I don't know what I'd ever do if she hurt me like that. I don't think I'd ever survive it.
"Ready?" Taylor smirks at us as he blows on the small ping pong ball in his hand for luck.
"Of course we are." Elijah grins at him competitively.
——— The next morning ———
Amara's POV:
I wake up to Becca shaking me, begging me to get her food. I groan and try and ignore her, but she's impossible. I drag myself out of bed, waking up Jess on my way out to make pancakes.
Jess and Becca sit at the table as I make their breakfast, eagerly waiting like two children awaiting their mothers cooking. They argue over who gets the first pancake, and by the time they decided to half it— I had already made another four.
We sit and eat and they were amazing, if I do say so myself. Just as I take my final bite of blueberry pancake, there's a knock at the door.
"I'll be right back." I tell them as I gather my hair on top of my head, securing it with a hair tie from around my wrist.
"Surprise!"
I open the door to my Aunt Carol and Izzy standing with luggage at their feet.
Izzy wraps her arms around my legs and Carol smiles at me warmly.
"My darling girl, you didn't think I'd miss your birthday - did you?"
{a/n: First of all.. thank you all SO much for 3k reads. I can't thank you enough, I truly adore each one of you. }