Perfectly Mismatched

Chapter Three - Switching Things Up

MASON'S POV

Mason was completely infatuated with Layla. He would watch her walk down the halls with her phone in her hands, headphones in her ears. He would watch her come out of fourth period with Jake's arm wrapped around her shoulders. He would watch as Jake took her phone from her hands, easily unlocking it and playing with it. During lunch he would watch as Jake wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug before they went their separate ways. He would see the smile on her face as she and her friends headed back to school, right after leaving Jake's warm embrace. Mason watched all this happen...every day. He wished and longed that he could replace Jake. He wanted to be the one to hug her, and mess with her. He wanted to be the one to have the password to her phone. He wanted to be the one that she was in love with. He just wanted to be hers. 

In fact, he was so desperate that he went to Jake for advice. 

JAKE'S POV

Jake was listening to Mason mumble and ramble on about how he wanted to get to know Layla better. Jake sat there as Mason went on and on about how he wished he had what Jake and Layla had and how he wished they could share that type of relationship. Jake didn't know what to tell him, but he felt kind of bad because he could tell that Mason was totally in love with Layla. He decided to tell Mason, "I dunno man, just talk to her." Then he decided to try and help him out, by taking himself out of the picture. As much as he loved talking to and being friends with Layla, he knew that Mason wanted it more. Jake was best friends with Layla, he didn't want that to change, but Mason loved her. What was the love of a best friend compared to the love of a real admirer? Nothing. The next day, Jake stopped talking to Layla, almost completely. He didn't hug her, he didn't touch her hair...he didn't even say hi to her. 

LAYLA'S POV

Layla sat in class, confused and almost a little lonely. 

Jake was acting weird and she wasn't sure why. It almost seemed as if he was avoiding her. She missed her best friend. She couldn't focus in class, even though she had minimal distractions. Her life wasn't the same without Jake. As she left fourth period on her way to lunch, without Jake's arm wrapped around her shoulders, Mason came out of nowhere. He started talking to her, she replied minimally and kept the conversation going to be polite. She hadn't realized that Mason had said something to Jake, or that Mason was the reason Jake was so distant. When she and Mason were about to go their separate ways, he reached out and gave her a hug. It was the weirdest thing ever. Before he could barely talk to her, and now he's giving hugs like they've been friends for years? She questioned what had made him suddenly so outgoing, but she didn't want to embarrass him by asking about it. 

The weirdness with Jake continued for about two months. Within that period of time, Mason got closer to Layla, almost scarily fast. He started messaging her on facebook more often, and even sending her hearts. Layla began to get a little creeped out, and almost a little scared by Mason's sudden urge to be part of her life. She began to cut him off, give him the cold shoulder and keep her distance. 

The entire time, she just kept thinking, "Where is Jake??" Jake always said he'd protect her if she was ever in danger, and at this time, she wished he was there to protect her from Mason. She didn't think Mason would ever actual hurt her, but he was coming on too strong and too fast, and she needed her best friend to help her keep Mason at arm's length. Whether people believed she was dating Jake or not, she knew that other guys, especially guys on the football team, like Mason, kept their distance from her when Jake was around.