Boy Trouble GT

Chapter 24

[MASON]

Mason's eyes flickered between the notes in front of him and the clock on the wall. His professor's voice droned on, but he barely registered the words. The scribbles in his notebook were half-hearted, lines of words that made sense but didn't seem to matter. His pen tapped absently against the paper, his fingers twitching with the restless energy that had settled in his chest all day.

He wasn't thinking about class. He wasn't even thinking about the upcoming assignments or the deadlines that loomed ahead.

He was thinking about Kye.

Again.

It didn't make sense. Kye wasn't even doing anything special, wasn't pulling him in with anything obvious. He was just... there, lingering in Mason's thoughts like a song stuck on repeat. And it wasn't even in a romantic way, not that Mason could tell, anyway. It wasn't like that.

It was just—why did he want to be around him so much?

Mason had always been social. He had a solid group of friends, a schedule packed with track practice, study sessions, and the occasional party when he had the energy for it. He was used to spreading his time across different people, never too fixated on one person for too long.

But now? He could hardly focus on anything that wasn't Kye.

Yesterday had been normal—kind of. Mason had sprawled across Kye's chest while they lounged on the couch, the warmth of the giant's body pressed against him, steady and solid. That wasn't new. Mason had been doing that for weeks now, making himself at home in Kye's space, draping himself over him like he belonged there.

But now, in the middle of class, all Mason could think about was going home. About seeing Kye again. About curling up against him on the lounge like he had every right to be there.

His brows furrowed, and he tapped his pen against his chin, his mind wandering further. Am I being annoying?

Maybe he was. Maybe Kye was just tolerating him at this point. Mason had always been the one to push himself into Kye's space, to demand his attention even when Kye clearly wanted to be left alone. He told himself it was just how their friendship worked—Kye was the broody, quiet one, and Mason was the persistent, talkative one.

But lately... lately, Mason had started to wonder if he was pushing too much.

It wasn't just about the physical closeness, the way he found himself gravitating toward Kye's side without even realizing it. It was the attention—the way his focus seemed to narrow whenever Kye was in the room.

He'd catch himself watching Kye when they were together, studying the way he moved, the way his pale hands fidgeted with the hem of his hoodie, the way his gray eyes flickered with emotions Mason couldn't quite read.

And when Kye wasn't around, Mason found himself looking for him.

Like now.

His knee bounced under the desk, impatience curling in his stomach as he glanced at the clock again. His class still had another thirty minutes, but he didn't want to be here anymore.

He wanted to go home. He wanted to be back in the dorm, wanted to drop his bag at the door and see Kye slouched on the couch, hoodie too big, hair an absolute mess. He wanted to poke at him, nudge his knee, climb onto the couch and make himself comfortable like he always did.

He sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. This is stupid. I need to chill.

He knew he was being weird about this. He knew that this amount of attention, this hyperfocus on Kye, wasn't normal.

But knowing didn't stop it.

He could already picture it—walking into the dorm, Kye looking up at him with that tired, vaguely exasperated expression, probably wondering why Mason was always there.

And yet, Kye never told him to leave. Never told him to stop.

Maybe that was why Mason couldn't stop.

His professor's voice droned on, but Mason wasn't listening anymore. He was already halfway out the door in his mind, already walking home, already standing at the entrance of their dorm, already looking for him.

For Kye.

And Mason didn't know why.