stolen smile - a mason mount story

f i v e

Mason sat down, Declan on his right and Jack opposite him. Jack had been telling them a story about the most niche thing that had happened to him. "So this fella comes up to me and tells me he was gunna mug me but changed his mind 'coz he was a fan."

Declan and Mason looked at each other letting out a laugh at his ramblings. They sat eating their meals, not saying much, allowing Jack to continue with whatever story came to mind. Mason felt exhausted, the day at camp had been long mixed with training and media responsibilities, Florence ran through his mind, the time spent with her was time he enjoyed and he was starting to crave her presence when he wasn't around her. Ever since the night at her flat, she had been coming up with excuses to not see him as frequently; he counteracted to this by spending every possible minute of his free time during the working day at Declan's house. Communicating with secret glances and stolen smiles. Since he had been at training camp, their communication was at a bare minimum, with Florence being busy when Mason was free to talk; Mason being busy when Florence was free. He desperately craved her. She hadn't responded to his first message to her that day.

"How's Sasha, Jack?" Declan looked up from his phone.

"Couldn't tell you, mate. She's not texted me since Flossie arrived. I'm not expecting anything until tomorrow morning when they're both feeling sorry for themselves."

"Oh, the nightmare duo are together, are they?"

"Yeah, should've seen it when they were both in the same city, I'm sure both of them were regularly getting their stomachs pumped." Mason stayed silent, not wanting to raise Jack's suspicions. He let out a little smile, knowing she wasn't ignoring him but rather preoccupied with her best friend. "I'm just going to give them a quick call if you lads don't mind!"

"No, it'd be nice to say hi to Floz!"

The phone rang for nearly a minute before Florence popped up on the screen "JACK! Hi!"

"Hey, Flossie! Where's Sash?"

"Bathroom! Don't think she was cut out for bottomless brunch!"

"How are you doing, Floz?"

"Dec, missed your face! I'm alright, drinks have hit me! Also, one of my friends from school's mate is here and he's being super weird towards us! Me and Sash were planning on going somewhere for two for one drinks and Ben keeps saying he'll join us." She pulled the phone closer to whisper "I don't really want him there, he keeps asking me why I don't want to head back to his with him since I'm single now."

Jack let out a frustrated groan as soon as the word 'Ben' was mentioned but he let Florence finish speaking before responding. "I can't stand that guy! Floss, promise me you both will leave now and go somewhere else with just Sasha. Just the two of you, okay?"

Florence shook her head, causing Mason to frown as he began to get worried for the girls, who were nowhere near him meaning he wouldn't be able to intervene.

"Jack, you know what he's like." The voice was Sasha's. "Florence has texted Josh to come fetch us!" Mason continued to watch the screen closely as Florence turned around, spotting the man behind her. Sasha immediately changed the topic as the smile dropped from her face.

"Ben can you fuck off? I actually can't be arsed!"

"Aw come on girls, I know you both want to sleep with me. You can take it in turns."

Mason's blood boiled immediately. His face red from the anger coursing through his body. Although he had remained silent throughout the entirety of the call, he knew he couldn't stay silent listening to the words that man had said. "Pass the phone to him, Sasha!" The man's face appeared on the screen in front of the three boys. "If you don't leave them alone and I ever see you out, mate, I won't hesitate to stamp on your head with my boots on."