Western Wind

two.

mason's pov

"aidan. his name is aidan." i repeated to myself, and then to my dad, who was watching yet another game show on the tv.

"he sounds like a nice boy." he muttered, still dead focused on a fast money round.

my dad was like my best friend. when my mother left us so young, i got closer with my dad as i got older. i told him everything about me, and i knew just about everything about him.

"i've only had like.. one conversation with him. it was about ariana grande." i leaned back into the couch, scrolling through my phone's settings out of boredom.

"well, why don't you get his number then? text the guy, call him, facegroup him." my dad turned to me slightly.

"facegroup..?" i muttered to myself before redirecting my sentence. "do you know how weird it is for me, a guy, asking another guy for his number?" i asked, facing him completely.

"do you not have your other friends' numbers?" he asked.

i don't have friends.

"...well yes but it's different this time." i explained, my dad shooting me a suspicious look before ruffling my hair and turning back to the tv.

"you're very odd, mase." we both chuckled.

**
i spent all of last night preparing myself for how i'd ask for aidan's number. what seemed like a menial task ended up wracking my brain.

"can i have your number? no.. *may* i have your number?" i practiced in my mirror, which showcased every small detail of my face.

hours later, i showed up to school and sat in my seat next to aidan. we started talking about our families and stuff for a few minutes before i took a deep breath. i prepared myself for what could be the death of any potential friendship i had with this boy. as i opened my mouth to speak, i heard his voice cut through my intrusive thoughts.

"you think we could talk more if i had your number?" he asked, casually smiling. my jaw stood agape and i sat in silence for what seemed like too long before answering.

"sure, yeah..!" i felt my heartbeat slow and the background noise of the classroom flow back into my ears as i input my number into his phone. i set my contact name as "mason :)" as he put his number into my phone. i texted him a simple "hey" before we both started laughing and talking about our teachers.

aidan's pov.

for some reason, asking that question was harder than i expected it to be.

granted, it's not like i ask for people's numbers often. might come as a shock to some, but i don't have many friends. in real life, i should  say. i have plenty of twitter and tiktok mutuals!

it felt like a weight lifted off my shoulders. i was a little confused as to why i felt like this over some kid i just met though.

it was a surprisingly quiet day at home, with my mother sitting at our dining table and my father watching the news on tv. i sent mason a quick text and waited for a response.

"Hey"

simple, but should be a good way to start a conversation. as soon as i sent the text i saw three dots start bouncing up and down. kinda like he was waiting for my text.

"hey!! wyd rn"

"Laying in bed, hbu?"

"just finished up some homework,, mr. stein gives us so much work 😭😭"

the conversation we were having interested me. it's something in the way that he keeps the conversation going so seamlessly. it makes me wonder how well he holds a conversation in real life.