Chapter Twenty-Seven

~♤Aces PoV♤~

I woke up with a groggy head. Eli was still asleep so I carefully slipped out of the room without making much noise. I walked into the kitchen, hoping to make some coffee when I saw Cameron already up and making food.

"Oh. Hi. Morning." I waved awkwardly. I forgot how weird it was to be around someone's house alone. It felt like I'd got caught stealing. "I just wanted some... coffee." He pointed to the coffee pot that was mostly full then turned back to the stove. I muttered a thanks and poured myself a cup. I wanted to sneak back into Eli's room but I didn't get far before Cam asked a question.

"Don't you have a boyfriend?" I gave a confused look even though he was turned away. "Eli talks about you a lot. Matt or something."

I let out a dry chuckle, "Mason. And no he's not my boyfriend. Despite what everyone seems to think." I grumbled the last bit. We didn't even seem that close. We kind of were, but we didn't show it. At least I hoped not.

"Well, Eli seems to think otherwise. He tends to have issues keeping his nose out of other people's business and refuses to let us mind our own." Cameron said. He rolled his eyes but didn't seem too bothered. He was probably used to it anyway.

"Yeah I noticed that. He can be a handful sometimes." I laughed awkwardly. Maybe I was trying to casually apologize for Eli or maybe I was just weird. I really couldn't tell.

Cam raised an eyebrow at me. "You do realize that doesn't protect you, right? I've heard lots about you." He turned back away from me. "You sound like a hard person to be around. You're impulsive and you don't think about others feelings before doing something drastic. At least that's what I got from listening to Eli." I opened my mouth to argue but nothing came out. I didn't have anything to say or defend myself with because it was kind of true. And obviously when I say 'kind of' I mean completely.

"That's just how I am. If people don't like it they don't have to stick around." I crossed my arms. Everyone in the past had been the same. Either they liked me and stayed friends with me or they'd leave. I guess they all left in the end.

"And how would you feel if Eli or even Mason were to 'not stick around?'" He said.

I paused. I didn't think about that. What would I do if they left? A while ago I probably would've shrugged it off and said that it'd be fine if things went back to normal but now the normal was Mason. And Eli of course. And maybe even Jack and Elise. But Mason... I didn't want to think about that. It just hurts more that he likes me. And why haven't I done anything yet? I don't think things could get back to before but we could try so why haven't I just rejected him? Am I really that worried about hurting him?

Before I could answer, Eli walked out of his room. "Hey, what are you... doing up?" He said with a yawn interrupting him halfway through.

"I dunno. I think I just slept so well I woke up earlier than usual. Anyways I should probably get back." I wanted to get back to Mason's house. It wasn't that Eli wasn't a great host or whatever people say but I wanted to be back there. 'Home' I guess.

"Oh, I can drive you back!" Eli smiled. "Let me just get my shit together and we can go." He went back to his room and got changed then came back out and got some coffee. Cameron left for his room when Eli did. I could appreciate his hotness but I didn't like his overanalyzing.

We left about 10 minutes later. We didn't talk when we left but I don't think either of us minded. I looked out the window and let my thoughts consume me. Sometimes I'd go through everything that's happened in my life like some sort of flip book, thinking about how I felt about things. Almost all of it was either shit or stupid nostalgia that was just painful now. At least up until I met Mason. God I was pissed off with how much I thought about him. But what else was there to think about?

I felt tired and distant. I never thought much about when I slipped into little space because it just happened. It felt natural. I rubbed my eyes and focused back on the cars and buildings passing by. I recognized them so I knew we were close to Mason's house. It made me worried but also happy. Two different feelings that when they mixed together they made something even more weird.

"So are you going to talk to Mason about whatever is happening?" Eli asked.

"Mm... I wanna but I'm scared." I didn't look at Eli. I just stared outside and thought. It was like the thoughts never seemed to stop. At least not without Mason. Wait, no! It's not because of him. I guess it's about the whole little space thing. It makes me feel relaxed and whole and happy. I only have to focus on one thing. I guess that one thing was Mason.

I smiled a little at the thought of all the fun stuff we'd done together. Eli sighed softly, snapping me out of my thoughts. "What..?" I turned to him. I tried to read his face but I didn't get anything. I didn't want to upset him.

"It's nothing!" He responded in that cheery voice. It was different from the other times. I couldn't put my finger on it. "I think you should tell him. Because communication is important. It doesn't have to be about your situation, it can just be about how your day was or if you missed him! How does that sound?"

I nodded my head and hummed a yes. It was a good idea. Eli was so good at this sorta thing. Telling Mason about my day... or that I missed him. Did I miss him? My stomach ached again. That dumb ache. Stupid dumb ache. I guess that meant I did. I missed him. I actually really missed Mason.

Eli pulled into the driveway and looked at me. "You talk to him, okay? Say as much or as little as you want about anything. Just talk to him." He had a stern look in his eyes. I nodded again and shakily got out of the car and walked to the door. I wasn't sure I was ready. I glanced back at Eli and he gestured to the door. Suddenly the door looked a lot bigger than me. It was kind of scary. What would Mason even do? Oh gosh I hope he doesn't feel bad. Even worse, what if he cries? I don't-

Eli reached around me and rang the doorbell. I didn't even notice him getting out of his car. I opened my mouth to protest even though it was too late. Mason opened the door and looked between us with an almost shocked expression. "Ace!"

"Alright, well I did my job. Peace." Eli walked off to his car and drove off leaving me and Mason staring at each other. I fidgeted with my hands, the silence staring to get to me.

"Um.. I'm- I'm sorry!" I blurted out. "I didn't mean to make you mad or.. or sad. Just.. feelings and- and-" I was cut off by Mason pulling me into a hug. I stood there for a second trying not to cry but I couldn't help it. I sobbed into Mason's chest and held onto his shirt. He carried me inside and sat me on the couch before sitting down himself. I sat on my legs facing him and sniffled. "I'm s-sorry..."

"It's okay baby you didn't do anything wrong. You never have to be sorry for how you feel. It's okay to be unsure about it too!" Mason rambled in an effort to comfort me. I didn't even notice what he called me. All I knew was that it felt good. I rubbed my eyes as the tears started to calm down a little. "Careful- you don't want your eyes to get swollen." Mason gently pulled my hand away and used the edge of his shirt to softly dab the tears away.

I didn't understand what was going on. I didn't get how I could say that I didn't like him. I even avoided after he told me. Now I just wanted Mason to hug me and tell me he cared. I didn't want him to leave.

I leaned into Mason and just laid there. He didn't move for a second but eventually patted my back. I felt so tired and the warmth of his body didn't help at all. "'M sorry.. I want to make you happy like you make me happy.." I buried my face in his chest and smiled. It felt good to tell him that. He paused his movement but quickly resumed, now rubbing my back.

"You do make me happy Ace. I love..." I felt his chest rise with a deep breath, "I love hanging out with you. Sure you can be a little troublesome sometimes but that's okay. You're worth it to me." It felt like my heart was just gonna burst. It made me so happy to hear that. To hear Mason saying it in such a kind way. Most of all I was happy that he liked being with me. I don't know what made me think he didn't. I mean, he did say it to my face. It just seemed unreal.

The words popped up in my head. I love... There weren't a lot of things I loved. I loved.. Bean. And.. well. Frogs. I couldn't think of many things. At least not things I loved. I liked things but not loved. But Mason.. I liked him. Love was always so weird to me. Funny and weird and interesting.

".. love you.." I didn't mean to say it out loud, I just wanted to know how it felt. I realized that we both stopped moving, like the world was frozen. I sat up and looked Mason in the eyes. "I.. I love being with you too! I mean it! I don't want to go.." I couldn't stop thinking about those words. The worst part was that I wanted to say them again. I couldn't. I had to think about something else.

Mason smiled softly and nodded. There was something else to his face but I couldn't tell what it was. "It's okay my little spade. You can stay as long as you want. And I'll stay with you for as long as you want." He put a hand to my cheek. "Yeah?" I grinned and nodded.

"Thank you!" I wanted to say more but I couldn't think of anything so instead I hugged Mason as tight as I could. He chuckled and ruffled my hair. I frowned as I started to get sleepy in the hug. "Mm.. it's early but I'm already tired." I grumbled.

"You can sleep if you want. Or we could do something to help you wake up!" Mason sounded excited about the second choice. I thought about it for a minute then sighed. "I don't want to sleep. Can we do something fun..? Like color or draw?"

Mason nodded and got up to get the supplies. While he looked in the cabinet of the dresser holding the TV, I snuck into my room and grabbed Bean just in case. I had to stop to wonder how I managed to sleep without him. By the time I got back out Mason had already set out the things at the coffee table. Along with colored pencils, paper, coloring books, and other assorted coloring tools, was some packets of stickers. I smiled as it reminded me of when I put them all over Mason's face. I sat down at the table with Bean beside me. Mason sat on the couch behind me probably either watching what I was doing or messing with something on his phone. Either way I was happy. It just felt right. Maybe a somewhat.. is domestic the word..? Well you know what I mean. Like a family. It'd been a long time since I'd felt like that. I think it was okay if it was with Mason.

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