ᯓꕤ˚Of All People ☆⊹ ࣪˖
⊹ ₊⋆ ☁︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆₊⋆☁︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆ ☀︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆ ☁︎⋆⁺₊⋆⁺₊⋆ ☁︎ ⋆₊ ⊹
The first thing Mason noticed was how happy his mother looked.
She hadn’t stopped smiling all morning.
Even now, standing beside the man she was about to marry, she looked happier than Mason had seen her in a long time.
And honestly?
That was enough for him.
He didn’t exactly love the idea of having someone new in their family. It wasn’t that he disliked Daniel. Daniel had always been perfectly nice to him. Mason simply wasn’t used to the thought of his mother getting married after the two of them had spent so many years together.
But if his mother was happy, then Mason was happy for her.
That was what mattered.
He adjusted his jacket and looked toward the guests gathered around the ceremony.
So many people.
Family members he barely knew. Friends of Daniel. Friends of his mother. People Mason had never seen before and probably wouldn’t see again after today.
He let his eyes wander through the crowd.
Then stopped.
Mason blinked.
For a second, he thought he was imagining it.
‘No.’
‘He couldn’t be.’
His eyes remained fixed on the person standing several metres away.
Dark hair.
Familiar posture.
That same expression he remembered from years ago.
Mason’s stomach dropped.
‘No.’
There was no way.
He hadn’t seen him in three years.
Three years.
They had finished school, gone their separate ways and, as far as Mason knew, completely disappeared from each other’s lives.
He had been perfectly happy with that arrangement.
’So why washehere?′
Mason looked away.
Then looked back.
Still there.
‘I’m imagining things.’
That had to be it.
There was no other explanation.
Until the person across the crowd looked directly at him.
Their eyes met.
And Mason immediately knew.
He wasn’t imagining anything.
Ryan was here.
His old rival.
The one person Mason had never expected to see again.
Ryan stared at him for a moment.
Then, to Mason’s horror, started walking toward him.
Mason straightened.
Mason - “You’re kidding.”
Ryan stopped in front of him.
Neither spoke.
Three years disappeared in the space of a few seconds.
Then Ryan gave him the smallest, most disbelieving smile.
‘Well.’
Mason already knew he wasn’t going to like what came next.
‘Of all places.’
Mason stared at him.
Ryan stared back.
Neither seemed to know what to say.
Finally, Ryan broke the silence.
Ryan - “Mason?”
Mason raised an eyebrow.
Mason - “You remember me?”
Ryan gave a quiet laugh.
Ryan - “Unfortunately.”
Mason almost smiled.
Almost.
Mason - “I thought I’d never see you again.”
Ryan - “Same.”
For a moment, neither of them said anything.
There was no anger in their faces.
Not really.
Three years was a long time.
Whatever rivalry they had shared at school felt strangely distant now. They were older. They had moved on. They had their own lives.
At least, Mason thought they had.
Mason glanced toward the ceremony.
Mason - “So... you know the groom?”
Ryan nodded.
Ryan - “He’s my dad.”
Mason’s expression froze.
Mason - “Your... dad?”
Ryan - “Yeah.”
Mason slowly looked toward Daniel.
Then toward his own mother.
Then back at Ryan.
Ryan seemed to realise the same thing.
Ryan - “Wait.”
Mason - “Don’t.”
Ryan - “Your mum is—”
Mason - “Don’t finish that sentence.”
Ryan looked toward the altar again.
His eyes widened.
Ryan - “Oh.”
Mason closed his eyes for a second.
‘No.’
‘No, no, no.’
There was no way.
Surely there was another explanation.
Maybe Ryan’s father had a brother.
Maybe Mason’s mother had a completely different boyfriend.
Maybe—
No.
He knew.
Ryan knew.
They just hadn’t put the pieces together until now.
Ryan - “That’s your mum?”
Mason sighed.
Mason - “Yes.”
Ryan slowly nodded.
Ryan - “Right.”
Another silence.
Mason looked at him.
Mason - “Congratulations, I guess.”
Ryan - “You too.”
Mason - “This is awkward.”
Ryan - “Very.”
They both glanced toward their parents.
They were still busy with the wedding.
Neither had noticed them yet.
Mason straightened his jacket.
Mason - “We should probably get back.”
Ryan nodded.
Ryan - “Yeah.”
Mason took a step away.
Then stopped.
Mason - “Well...”
Ryan - “What?”
Mason hesitated.
Mason - “I suppose I’ll see you around.”
Ryan gave him a strange look.
Ryan - “Probably not.”
Mason thought about it.
Ryan was right.
They both had their own lives now.
Mason was at university several hours away, living in student accommodation during term time.
Ryan had gone to a different university in another city.
Their lives had separated completely after school, and neither of them had any reason to cross paths anymore.
The wedding would end.
Mason would return to university.
Ryan would return to his.
And that would be it.
Just like the last three years.
Mason nodded.
Mason - “Yeah. Probably not.”
Ryan gave a small shrug.
Ryan - “Take care, Mason.”
Mason - “You too.”
And that was it.
They walked in opposite directions.
Mason returned to his place.
Ryan disappeared into the crowd.
The ceremony continued beautifully.
Mason tried to focus.
He really did.
He watched his mother smile.
He listened to the vows.
He clapped when everyone else did.
He smiled for photographs.
He even managed to forget about Ryan for a few minutes.
Almost.
Then, during one of the photographs, Mason noticed him again.
Ryan was standing with his father.
Their eyes met.
Ryan immediately looked away.
Mason did the same.
‘Just get through the wedding.’
That was all he needed to do.
After today, they could go back to their separate lives.
Easy.
Simple.
No problem.
The reception was much louder.
Music played across the room as everyone talked, laughed and moved between tables.
Mason had barely finished greeting a few relatives when his mother called him over.
Mason walked toward her.
Mason - “Yeah?”
Elena smiled.
Elena - “Come sit with us for a while.”
Mason followed her.
Then stopped.
Ryan was already sitting at the table.
Of course he was.
Mason stared at his mother.
Then at Daniel.
Then at Ryan.
Nobody seemed to notice the problem.
Elena - “There’s a seat beside Ryan.”
Mason slowly sat down.
Ryan glanced at him.
Neither said anything.
They were surrounded by some of their closest family members.
The adults were talking.
Laughing.
Sharing stories.
Mason kept his expression neutral.
Ryan did the same.
From the outside, they looked perfectly fine.
They were not.
‘This has to be some kind of joke.’
Mason picked up his glass.
‘Out of every table here.’
He glanced sideways.
‘Out of every person in this entire wedding.’
Ryan was sitting beside him.
‘And of course they put him next to me.’
Ryan quietly moved his chair a little farther away.
Mason noticed.
‘Oh, so we’re doing that?’
Ryan looked toward him.
‘What?’
Mason looked away.
Ryan picked up a piece of food.
‘Three years.’
He glanced at Mason again.
‘Three whole years without seeing him.’
He looked back at his plate.
‘And the first time I do, I’m sitting next to him at my dad’s wedding.’
Mason took a sip of his drink.
‘I was doing perfectly fine.’
Ryan shifted in his chair.
‘I had a normal life.’
Mason looked straight ahead.
‘I had forgotten about him.’
‘Mostly.’
Ryan glanced at him again.
Mason noticed.
‘Stop looking at me.’
Ryan immediately looked away.
‘This is going to be a long reception.’
Mason thought the exact same thing.
‘This is going to be a long reception.’
Thankfully, neither of them caused a scene.
They answered questions when relatives spoke to them.
They smiled when someone took pictures.
They even managed to have a few normal conversations.
But they kept their distance whenever they could.
Eventually, the food was finished.
The music slowed.
People began saying their goodbyes.
Mason stood beside his mother as she spoke to several guests.
He felt tired.
All he wanted was to go home, take off his suit and forget about the strange coincidence that had happened today.
Then Elena called him over again.
Mason walked toward her.
Daniel was standing beside her.
And Ryan was there too.
Mason stopped.
Ryan looked equally suspicious.
Elena smiled.
Elena - “There’s something we wanted to tell you both.”
Mason looked at Ryan.
Ryan looked back.
’What now?″
Daniel smiled.
Daniel - “Your mother and I have talked about this for a while.”
Elena reached for Daniel’s hand.
Elena - “We know this is a big change for both of you.”
Mason nodded slowly.
Mason - “Okay...”
Daniel - “But we’re hoping it’ll be a good one.”
Ryan folded his arms.
Ryan - “What are you getting at?”
Their parents exchanged a smile.
Elena - “You’re brothers now.”
Silence.
Mason blinked.
Ryan blinked.
Neither moved.
Mason slowly looked at Ryan.
Ryan slowly looked at Mason.
‘Brothers.’
Mason’s brain went completely blank.
‘No.’
Ryan seemed to be having the exact same crisis.
‘Absolutely not.’
Daniel continued smiling.
Daniel - “We know you two already knew each other before today, so hopefully this won’t be too strange.”
Mason and Ryan stared at each other.
Neither wanted to explain exactlyhowthey knew each other.
Mason forced a smile.
Mason - “Yeah.”
Ryan gave an equally forced smile.
Ryan - “Not strange at all.”
Their parents looked relieved.
Mason and Ryan looked at each other again.
‘We’re in trouble.’
The wedding finally came to an end.
People left.
The decorations began coming down.
Mason loosened his tie as he walked toward his mother.
He was exhausted.
At least the strange day was finally over.
Or so he thought.
Elena smiled as she approached him.
Elena - “Oh, before you go, there’s one more thing.”
Mason stopped.
Mason - “What?”
Daniel joined them.
Daniel - “We thought it would be nice for the four of us to spend some time together before we leave for our honeymoon.”
Mason nodded.
Mason - “Sure.”
Elena - “We’re going to the coast.”
Mason smiled faintly.
Mason - “That sounds nice.”
Ryan walked over.
Ryan - “When?”
Daniel smiled.
Daniel - “Tomorrow.”
Mason’s smile disappeared.
Ryan’s did too.
Elena continued happily.
Elena - “We’ve booked a beautiful hotel near the beach. There’s a climbing centre nearby, activities, restaurants, everything. We’ll stay for a week before your father and I continue on our honeymoon.”
Mason slowly turned toward Ryan.
Ryan was already looking at him.
Elena - “We thought it would be a lovely way for the four of us to get to know each other properly.”
Mason forced himself to smile.
Mason - “Yeah.”
Ryan nodded.
Ryan - “Sounds good.”
Their parents smiled.
Then Daniel added casually:
Daniel - “And don’t worry about accommodation. There’s a room with two beds for you boys.”
Silence.
Mason stared at him.
Ryan stared at him.
Their parents walked away, already discussing the trip.
Mason waited until they were out of earshot.
Mason - “We’re sharing a room.”
Ryan rubbed his forehead.
Ryan - “Apparently.”
Mason sighed.
Mason - “For a week.”
Ryan looked at him.
Ryan - “We survived school.”
Mason - “Barely.”
Ryan smiled.
Ryan - “We’ll survive this.”
Mason looked toward the doors where his mother had disappeared.
Then back at Ryan.
Mason - “I’m already regretting saying congratulations.”
Ryan laughed.
And for the first time that day, Mason laughed too.
Neither of them knew it yet.
But that week by the sea was going to be nothing like either of them expected.
⊹ ₊⋆ ☁︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆₊⋆☁︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆ ☀︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆ ☁︎⋆⁺₊⋆⁺₊⋆ ☁︎ ⋆₊ ⊹
