Before fame; a 5sos fanfic

Chapter 12

Clarissa:

Walking away from Sam to get to class was hard. We had stood together in the hallway for a while, just getting lost in each others eyes. His gorgeous green eyes were making my knees weak, but fortunately, he was holding me up. I didn't want to leave him, but the tardy bell was seconds away from ringing and I was bound to get yelled at by the history teacher. That was the last period of the day, the history class that I shared with Michael.

I plopped down in my seat just in time. Michael smirked at me before turning his attention back to the teacher, who was glaring at me. I shrugged and looked down at my hands, which were clasped on my lap. She grunted before returning to her lecture, which I happily ignored. I took out my green gel pen and started adding colour and detail to the dragon that inhabited the surface of my desk. Michael watched with interest as I made the creature come to life. I looked at him with a raised eyebrow and grinned. He smiled back before his eyes were drawn back to my dragon. I'll admit, I was quite proud of the piece of art. It looked almost real. I've never been the most confident or proud person, when it came to my accomplishments.

But, damn. This dragon is fucking awesome.

I got so caught up on detailing the drawing on my desk that I didn't notice the time passing. Before I knew it, the bell was chiming and it was time to head home. I got up and waited as Michael took his time gathering his belongings and stuffing them into his bag. He was taking too long. I tapped my got on the ground, impatient. He smirked up at me whilst trying to fit his binder into his bag. I sighed.

"Sometime today, please?" He didn't reply, just continued to struggle to pack his things. I grumbled and turned to walk out the door, and he was by my side in seconds. He glared at me. "You wouldn't really leave me, would you, Claire?" I smiled and nodded. He put a hand on his chest, acting like I just shot him. I rolled my eyes, a giant smile on my face. Then he get all serious. "Hey, Claire?" he said, sounding nervous. I forrowed my eyebrows. Why was he nervous?

"What's up, Mikey?" He smiled, but it was quickly replaced with a frown. "Uh, I have been wanting to ask you this for some time now...." Uh oh. What was Michael talking about? What would he need to ask me, but be so nervous that he'd have to wait a while? He sounded like he was about to ask me out or something.

Michael didn't like me like that, though.

I linked arms with him as we walked to my locker. He scratched the back of his neck before continuing. "So... Who's Mason?"

I stopped walking abruptly and whipped my head around to face him, retracing my arm from his. He looked at me expectantly yet hesitantly. I debated in my head wether or not to tell him. If I did tell him, he could let the secret slip and other people might find out about Mason. But I did trust Michael, and I trusted that he wouldn't tell anyone. Looking around, I decided that the packed school hallway probably wasn't the best place to spill a huge secret. I nodded slowly, turning back to Michael, and whispered, "Not here. We'll go to... I don't know, somewhere. There's too many people here." He smiled and nodded, following me to my locker and then out the school doors. We walked into the woods behind the school, which was eerily quiet. We walked for a while in silence before he got restless.

"Claire? Who is he? Who's Mason?"

I chuckled quietly and shook my head. Michael could be so impatient sometimes. We reached a pretty little clearing and I took my hoodie off, leaving me in just a black tank top and my black leggings. I laid my hoodie on the damp grass so my ass wouldn't get wet and sat down, waiting for Michael to do the same. He sat down on the other half of my hoodie (it was a pretty damn big hoodie) and I rested my head on his shoulder. He waited patiently for my explanation as to who the mysterious Mason. I sighed.

"Mason. Mason Morgenstrom. He was my best friend in middle school. We did everything together. He was like Luke, but the exact opposite of Luke. Does that make sense?"

"No."

"Well, he was like Luke to me. All the things that I do with Luke, I did with Mason. I-I loved him. Just like I love Luke. And you, and Ashton. It was the same situation; the whole school thought we were together. And we both wanted to be together, Mason and I, but we were too shy and scared, I might even say awkward, and neither of us was ready to make a move. So we stayed best friends. Cal was my only other friend, I hadn't met the swim team girls yet and I first met you guys in ninth grade. I was always with Mason." I sighed. I wasn't ready to recall the whole story, but I owed it to Michael. He was always there for me, and I did nothing for him. I steeled myself and continued on with my story.

"Eighth grade, Mason was diagnosed with cancer, in his leg. It was scary, because aside from Calum and my mom, Mason was the only one I had. As you know, I don't really talk to my mom much, and my dad left when I was... 16. Right after the acci-" I caught myself before I could say 'accident'. He didn't know about Ashley, and I would like to keep it that way. I didn't want him to treat me like I was this broken, fragile thing that needed nonstop sympathy, hugs, and back-rubbing. "Anyway, back to Mason. I went with him to his treatment. Every single appointment, I was by his side or in the waiting room. I hated seeing him like that; he was... Withering away. The meds took his gorgeous black hair away and he lost that beautiful glimmer in his eyes. He turned into a vegetable, he was slipping away from me. He had to go through months and months of torture and medication, and not once did he have to go through it alone because I was always there for him. He was grateful that I was always there for him, because he was just as scared as me. I-I didn't know if I was going to lose him. If the tumor was going to take him from me. I was terrified of losing him." I sat up and wiped my eyes, I didn't realize I was crying. I sat up straight and looked up at the sky.

"The doctor came to me one day. I guess he thought I was Masons girlfriend. He sat me down and told me that Mason was.... Going to die. He said that Mason wasn't going to make it. I ran to his side and hugged him, and he comforted me. But then-" I took a deep breath, "- the next day, Mason walked into my class in the middle of the school day and asked to speak to me. He was supposed to be dying in a fucking hospital bed, but there he was, standing in the doorway, looking healthy and as hot as ever. I couldn't move at first because I was shocked. And then it hit me; Mason Morgenstrom was alive. I ran to him and gave him a huge hug in the middle of the class, and held on for dear life. He was laughing and hugging me and then I got this urge to slap him. I mean, who laughs in that kind of situation? But instead, I... I kisssd him. Mason was my first kiss." I smiled at the memory. I wanted to see mason again, but he had yet to call me. "Mason told me the story of how he faked his death. He actually did have cancer, but he wasn't supposed to die. He was cured when the doctor told me he was a dead man walking. You see, Masons parents.... They weren't the nicest people. No, that's the understatement of the year. His dad, Will, was an alcoholic and abused both Mason and his mother, who's name was Daphne. Mason hated both of his parents. Daphne was a drug addict, and was too drugged up to protect Mason from his dad's horrible abuse. That's why Mason faked his death; to get away from that life. He saw cancer as that opportunity. Once he was cured, which the doctor was positive would happen, Mason had plans to either get his own apartment or live with his brother, who had moved away years before. So, his parents thought he was dead. Everyone thought he was dead. Only the doctor and I knew that he was alive, and his brother. He chose to live with his brother instead of buying his own apartment. He was starting a new life. And he's been doing good since." Michael nodded, looking thoughtful.

"Okay, but what is he doing here?" Michael asked. I smiled, the answer repeating over and over in my head.

"He says he needs me. He can't live without me. And... He wants to buy an apartment... With me."