now you see me - omc x mason mount

chapter 43 - bubble burst

Bags packed. Car loaded. Jake had left the 4 hour drive as late as he could on the Sunday evening. Squeezing every last minute out of his time in the south.

The pair of them edged around the topic of Jake leaving, both digging into a chilli salmon Mason had spent most of the afternoon making. Instead, they laughed about funny things in the team groupchats and buzzed about football returning.

"That tasted amazing, cheers Mase." Jake thanked him for tea.

"Was pretty sick, wasn't it?" Mase smiled

"Yeah, yes it was." Jake smiled back, locking eyes with the boy he fell for on a Greek island some 11 months ago. Mason looked back, the same knowing smile on his face. This had been their bubble, where there wasn't this massive secret, where they didn't have to operate under cloak and dagger. They'd got to live like any normal couple. A feeling they may not feel again.

Jake tried to put all this to the back of his mind, put a brave face on. He kept telling himself, 'I'm simply driving back to Manchester, I've done this before, there's no need to be so emotional'. But it was different. Feelings were deeper now.

"And you are sure it's okay that Bruno stays here? George will be very grateful."

"Yeah of course, saying goodbye to Bruno will be harder then saying it to you." Mason laughed, but inside the statement may have been too real. The laugh faded to a sad smile and they embraced each other.

Jake fought a lump in his throat to speak. "I'm gonna be a big boy and say this in person. I've had the best time living with you, thanks for making the past couple of months so good. And I'll miss seeing your face every day."

Mason pulled Jake's face from his shoulder, and pressed their noses against each other. "I love you J, even more so now that I know we won't kill each other when we live together." They both laughed. "I can't wait til we can escape the world again together, however short it's for." They kissed each other goodbye.

Jake made his exit, not wanting to drag out the emotions of the day any longer. "Love you, see you when we can." He left Mase on the door step and set off, waving as he left the driveway. Tears streamed down Jake's cheeks as he drove on. 'God, why am I always so fucking emotional on this drive?!' he asked himself, trying to rein himself in. But he didn't think that would be possible on this drive. So he decided to lean into it, shoving Spotify on a love songs playlist, and letting the emotions wash over him.

🎶 Romeo, save me they're trying to tell me how to feel. This love is difficult, but it's real🎶

***

"Hey JJ, what's up?" Molly picked up the phone call from her twin.

"Hey sis, just driving back to the north." Jake answered, trying to not sound too much of an emotional wreck.

"Aww Jakey, wish I could come give you a hug." Molly replied intuitively.

"Thanks Mol, fuckkk, didn't think this would hit me so hard. It's just been so good yanno."

"That's amazing though. I knows it's shit to leave and you don't know when you'll see him again, but you will and you both have the best memories from the past few months to get you through."

"I know, I know. Just going to sting for a bit I think."

"Listen to your wise older sister, if you can get through this, the rest will be easy."

"Right, and that extra 1 minute 56 seconds out of the womb gave you that incredible wisdom did it?" Jake laughed.

"Hey, the world looked very different for those 2 minutes and I experienced a lot. Now, respect your elders and no back chat." Molly smirked.

"Piss off you sloth. God, I bet you've thrived in lockdown - just constant pyjama days."

"I've bought myself a new dressing gown. We've throughly embraced the sloth life. Think Dan may no longer fancy me."

"To be fair, it was a miracle he did in the first place."

"You are not wrong. Enough of your shite now, drive home safe, text me when you are back. Love you."

"Love you, mol."

***

[Authors Note: just a short one here, just said goodbye to someone for a long time and channelled that in this chapter 💙 lots of sad music listened to]