Royal Jester

6. Mason

"Hey, I gotta hop in the shower really quickly so if anyone needs to take a shit or something," Mason trailed off upon seeing all three of his roommates watching a movie in the living room. That was something that didn't happen very often.

"You're so vulgar," Paris announced as she stood from the couch. "But I do have to use the restroom so if you could give me a few minutes."

"Have at it," he stepped aside so she could walk past him before he moved to take her spot on the couch. "What are we watching?"

"Paris has apparently never seen any of the classics so we're binging all of them," Carly explained as she gestured to the television.

"By classics you mean all those cheesy fucking sitcoms, huh?" Mason concluded after recognizing the actress from Clueless on the screen. "And Josh is watching it too? Willingly?"

"Alicia Silverstone is hot okay," he defended.

"Can't fucking argue with you there man," Mason stated and Carly nodded her agreement.

A sudden silence descended upon the three as they continued watching the movie. They had just gotten to the awkward date in the film when Mason realized he had to have been sitting there for longer than a few minutes. "Jesus, what the hell is taking that girl so long?"

"She's probably making herself all pretty for that guy she's seeing," Josh absentmindedly responded with a glance in his direction.

"Shit," Mason drawled. "She's already seeing someone? She works fast." He had to admit that he was kind of surprised; he didn't necessarily see her as the type to even date at all, let alone so soon after moving in.

"Well it has already been a month - and considering the way she looks - someone was bound to ask her out at some point." Carly said it so nonchalantly that Mason barely even realized what was said until it actually registered.

"What do you mean by the way she looks? That seems rude as hell to say about someone," he chuckled.

"You of all people should know what I mean," she gave him a deadpan look. "She's got that whole if I step on you, you'll thank me for it vibe going on." She paused for a second to smirk at Mason. "And she's just fuck-hot."

"Huh," Mason shrugged. "Never really noticed." That was a fat fucking lie and he knew it.

"Never noticed what?" Paris finally reentered the room, luckily missing most of the earlier conversation. Or maybe not so luckily; it certainly would've made for an entertaining conversation, Mason thought to himself.

He silently took a moment to look over her appearance, trying to figure out if she had indeed prettied herself up for a date. She was still wearing the same yellow dress from earlier, a color that Mason didn't normally think was the most flattering but somehow suited her darker skin. Her dark hair was just as unruly as it always was (stray curls escaping the haphazard pony tail she always put it in) and she didn't seem to be wearing any more makeup than she usually did.

She looked the same physically, but there was a strange smirk on her face that Mason couldn't help but notice. Maybe she really was going on a date.

"Fucking finally," he groaned as he stood up. "What took you so long?"

"Guess you'll find out," she grinned cheekily.

What the hell did she mean by that?

~~~

Mason soon discovered what the hell she meant by that.

He was casually pouring his shampoo into the palm of his hand when he noticed the consistency and color seemed slightly different than usual. Not giving it a second thought, he stuck his fingers into his hair, realizing too late that it wasn't lathering. In fact, it was suspiciously sticky.