What Happens in L.A.

Chapter 10: Exhaustion

A

"Fucking hell."

"Didn't I tell you that would happen?"

"No, you said shit."

"Correction, you thought I said nothing. But really I gave you a really important piece of advice."

Mason scoffs and continues to scrub his expensive shirt. They were at a greenhouse restaurant where everything is organic, hidden towards the back so no one can see them. Mason just-so-happened to spill a strange substance on himself, after Addilyn warned him about it. The stain gets larger and larger as he scrubs harder and Addilyn really can't take the torture anymore. She huffs and stands up, walking to Mason's side and grabbing his arm. "Pitiful." Addilyn states sadly, pulling him across the restaurant and into the family bathroom.

"I know you can't get enough of me, but I didn't know it was this serious, babe."

"'M not your babe." Addilyn murmurs, deciding to not fight against his comment. She can only have that conversation for so long, before she gets tired of it. Addilyn takes a moment to examine the spot, getting a closer look. Her fingers then work quick, taking the shirt off of him. If her fingers touch his skin more than they need to, no one comments on it.

He shrugs, "you could've."

"Shut up, Mason. Stop bring up the past, I'm with Chase now. As I've said ten too many times before."

"Right, I forgot I have to ignore the elephant in the room every time we're together."

Addilyn looks up from the shirt and looks around the room, before looking at Mason. "What elephant?"

The defiance behind her eyes leave no room for protesting, so he gives up with a sigh. The stunned look she has is gone as quickly as it comes. Mason isn't one for giving up, a trait they both share. Mason, for sure, is the only one who doesn't give up in a fight with Addilyn. He challenges her, something no one does. "Guess there isn't one."

She hums, turning around and scrubbing the stain under the faucet. The room gets quiet, the only noise is one of running water, and the tension is growing. Well- the tension is always there, but now it's different. It's always different after a conversation like this.

"Addilyn, look at me," Addilyn continues as if she never heard him. Only looking at him when he turns off the water and turns her towards him, back to the sink. When she tries to avert her eyes, Mason uses his hand to force her to look at him. "I'm sorry, okay? I'm an idiot and I'm really sorry. You know I'd never talk about it like that. I know how much it means to you- to us, even. I understand, even if you don't think I do, I do. I don't blame you either, I couldn't misunderstand  even if I tried. Please, don't ignore me now, I'm sorry. We aren't supposed to be like this. We're— well, us yeah?"

"Yeah.." The sound is mellifluous, saying everything she never said aloud. It's enough confirmation that Mason can to let her go.

They should probably say more, they should probably also acknowledge the unspoken fear of their relationship. About how it's slowly decreasing, how they are hurting, maybe how they soon will stop becoming AddilynandMason and become Addilyn and Mason.

They used to be so close, if you saw one, the other would be probably close by. If the other wasn't close by, then they knew where each other were. Though they aren't joined to the hip now, they still are close. They know everything about the other, even if the they won't admit it. They know that the other is thinking before they even say it. The secret looks and touches, everything about them screams "together". Even if they aren't.

"But you're going to have to beg more than that to get my acceptance." Addilyn says, one side of her mouth quirked up. Just like that they're back to normal.