Chapter 1.
Mason's POV.
Second year at CAU had just started and it was my birthday.
My friends decided to throw me a party but I told everyone it was just a party before classes officially began.
I didn't exactly like going all out for my birthday, I didn't get the hype.
Margaret and I were locked up in a room, making out like crazy, probably five seconds away from fucking the shit out of each other.
We started doing this right around the same time during freshman year, I fell for her pretty hard and I told her how I felt one day under the influence of alcohol, but she let me down, she said we were better off being friends with benefits but I didn't like seeing her with other guys, it hurt too much.
"Do you have a condom?" She asked breathlessly while unbuttoning my jeans.
"No," I watched her.
"Why not?" She rolled her eyes at me, buttoning them again.
"Because I didn't think I was coming here to have sex," I answered honestly.
"Mason, it's your birthday," she let out a small laugh, like it was mandatory for me to get laid on my birthday.
"I know," I shrugged.
"You wanna do it raw?" She planted a teasing kiss on the corner of my mouth.
"No, I don't know who you were fucking during the summer, Maggie, STIs are a thing," I scowled at her, she responded with a dramatic slap to my face.
"Asshole," She trudged out of the room.
I sighed, running a hand through my hair.
Fuck.
FYI, that wasn't the first time something like that was happening to me with a girl, I always got myself in situations where a girl only wanted to have fun with me but I'd stupidly fall for her and she never feels the same way.
It always made me feel used but I'd repeat it over and over again.
I guess I never learned.
But, this time around I was determined, Margret was going to be mine one way or another.
I made my way back to the party, took a few shots, played some beer pong with the guys and tried to make conversation with other girl.
Until I got drunk and started regretting what I had said to Margret, I looked for her all around the place but I didn't see her anywhere. I eventually gave up and sat beside the pool, smoking a joint and ignoring everyone.
"Hey, birthday boy," said a familiar voice.
I looked up and saw my high school friends Garrett and Ariana.
"No fucking way," I stumbled to my feet and hugged both of them at the same time, "What are you guys doing here?" I pulled away and squinted my eyes at them.
"It's your birthday, dummy," Garrett playfully punched my shoulder.
"You came all the way from.. where ever, because it's my birthday?" I asked in disbelief.
I shouldn't have been so shocked, I had been friends with them since I was fifteen and we always talked about being in each other's lives but the way things played out during senior year changed everything.
"You sound shocked," Garrett's eyes diverted, "Fuck, who's that?" He pointed across the pool, I turned to look and saw a blonde girl in a small black dress.
She looked lost or something.
"Uh, I don't know, probably a freshman," I looked at Ariana in questioning, "Are you guys still in a toxic relationship?" I asked them with a tired sigh.
"We're not together," they answered in unison.
"But you came here together...?" I trailed.
"No, some guy named Isaac sent me a text on Instagram and apparently he sent it to Garrett as well," Ariana informed me without looking at Garrett, she looked rather uncomfortable.
"Oh," I wanted to say that I was going to kill my friend Isaac on their behalf but that would have just made things more awkward.
"You guys wanna take a drive? Go grab something to eat and catch up?" I blurted out.
"Sure,"
"Yeah,"
"Okay, let's go," I led the way to where I had parked my car.
On our way, I caught a glimpse of Margret, she was standing in a dark corner with Harry Peters, she didn't see me but Harry did and he kissed her just so I would see it, I thought Margret would pull away but she kissed him back.
I decided to look elsewhere, I couldn't watch but I couldn't do anything about it either.
She wasn't mine...yet.
We continued walking to where had parked my car but as soon as we reached the car we heard two voices coming from the party, looked like a couple arguing.
"Why the fuck do you keep following me?!" The girl walked faster than the guy.
"Some drama, fucking finally," I leaned against my car and watched from across the street.
"It's the girl from earlier," Garrett tapped my arm.
"Definitely a freshman," I said when I didn't recognize her.
"How can you tell?" Asked Ariana.
"I don't recognize her from the list of people that asked me to fuck them last year," I answered honestly.
"First of all, what? Secondly, she might be a lesbian," she pointed out, I shrugged.
"Hey! Hey! Fuck! Gabby, I'm trying to fucking explain!" The guy grabbed the girl's arm and spun her around all so aggressively.
"I don't want you to, asshole, I'm tired of your ass, we're done, Kelvin, get that through your thick skull!" She screamed in his face.
"No, Gabby, not like this," he wrapped both his arms around her waist and locked her in.
It didn't look comfortable or healthy.
"Hey, asshole, take the L, she doesn't want your ugly face!" I hollered, Ariana and Garrett snickered.
"Mind your own fucking business, dickhead," he responded. I immediately pushed myself off my car and started walking.
"Mason, no," Garrett warned.
"He called me a dickhead," I said more to myself.
"Why are you walking over here," he said before I could even reach them.
"What? You can't say that shit to my face, tough guy?" I got all up in his face.
"Hey, you want to play hero? Go do it somewhere else, this is not the time or place," the girl intervened.
I turned my head to look at her and I scoffed.
"You think I want to smash his face in for you?" I chuckled to myself, "Tse, don't be naive," I plastered a wicked smirk.
"Mason, let's go," I felt Garrett's hand on my shoulder.
"You got something to say?" I asked the guy, he opened his mouth to respond but Garrett interrupted him.
"I wouldn't if I were you," said Garrett.
"C'mon, idiot," the girl dragged the guy and they left.
"What the fuck was that?" Garrett questioned me.
"Nothing, let's go eat," I started walking back to my car and they followed.
"Mason, are you still doing that thing where someone else pisses you off but you take out your anger on random people?" I heard Ariana ask behind me, I seized, turning around and facing both of them.
That did it.
"You know what? I don't even know why you guys are here, I honestly don't even like you anymore," I looked back and forth between them.
"What does that even mean?" Ariana sounded confused.
"Ariana, you ruined our friendship when you asked Luke to fuck you, even though you were perfectly aware that he was in love with Reign, and Garrett, you went MIA, you stopped answering my calls, I didn't even do anything, my fucking parents were going through a divorce and I needed a friend but all of you were too focused on some bullshit high school drama," I told them.
Ariana tried to reach for my hand, "No," I moved my hand away from her reach, "I don't want to stay friends with any of you, I like the friends I have here, I mean, one of them reached out to you guys hoping it would be the best surprise after the other one threw me this nice ass party in this nice ass house, thanks for coming but I just realized that none of you had ever done something like that for me in all of the four years that we knew each other, so go back to where ever you came from,"
"Sorry you feel that way, man, I guess we were hoping to have a little reunion," Garrett shoved his hands in his pockets and shrugged.
"Reunions are overrated anyway," I passed in between them and started walking back to the party.
