Living With Mr Mysterious

Chapter Two - The Invader and Invasiveness

The Invader and Invasiveness

I was sitting on my bed, sketching my room. The doors to my balcony were open and the summer light was streaming beautifully into my bedroom. So I was sketching the scene. At least, until mom called me downstairs.

"Rosaline! Come down here and greet our guest!" That's right. The house-sharing invader was here. As I closed my sketchbook and placed my pencil on top of the hard cover, I wondered mildly what he looked like, what interests he had and if he'd like it here.

I trudged downstairs to find a boy only a little taller than me, with black hair swept over the right side of his face, wearing a black hoodie with the hood pulled up and faded skinny jeans. His eyes were a little hard to see; they were locked on the grey carpet. I didn't know what it was, but there was something about him that made me want to know him.

Shaking the thought from my head, I smiled. "Hey, I'm Rosaline," I introduced myself. "But you can call me Rose, or Rosa."

He glanced at me briefly before his gaze returned to the floor. "I'm Mason," he muttered in an English accent and took his sports bag from mom.

"Rose, take Mason to his room," she told me, watching the boy with a worried expression. "Show him where everything is and let him get settled."

I sighed quietly and resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Taking a deep breath, I lead Mason upstairs and showed him the bathroom first. Then I took him to the spare room, where he would be staying.

"This is your room," I told him. "Feel free to put anything you want on the walls, but if you don't want anyone else to see it, keep your door closed." I walked in and showed him the closet and his balcony, from which you could see mine, since our rooms were next door. "Just get settled in. We'll  let you know when dinner's ready."

I knew I should have walked out then, but I was curious about this kid. "Is there anything else?" Mason asked suddenly.

I bit my lip. To ask, or not to ask? Deciding it couldn't hurt, I said, "So why are you staying here? What happened?" It was probably nosy of me to ask, and I wouldn't normally have been bothered by someone else's business, but I felt a burning desire to know about Mason.

Mason sighed and ran a hand through his hair, which in the sunlight was actually an obviously dyed blue-black colour. He ushered me toward the door, muttering, "Just leave me alone, Rosaline." With that, he promptly shut the door in my face.

What was his problem? That was a little rude. Then again, I was poking my nose in where it wasn't invited. This was why I stayed out of other people's business.

I retreated to my own bedroom, picked my phone up off my desk and dialled Fi's number. She picked up quickly, which assured me that she wasn't busy.

"Hey, what's up, Rosa?" she asked chirpily.

I sighed heavily, wandering over to my bed and plonking myself down on it. "The house-sharer just got here. He's some dark emo kid. He barely speaks at all and he was so rude to me when I asked him why he was staying here," I complained. I was probably out of line, but Fi wouldn't care.

"He sounds like a real charmer," Fi noted dryly. We chatted for an hour or so longer and made plans to go to the beach soon before Fi had to go.

When she hung up, I pulled my sketchbook toward me and continued my drawing of my room from this morning. However, I couldn't get Mason out of my head. He was unlike anyone if met before and I couldn't help wondering what had happened to him. Why did he have to stay with us? Where were his family? And why did he move to America?

I knew it wasn't any of my concern, but I couldn't help wanting to know.

Hey guys! New chapter! I have chapters planned on paper, so hopefully, these updates will come fairly regularly. O.O I love you all! <3