Shadow Wood

Chapter Thirteen

Dragging myself out of bed the next morning, I felt emotionally numb. Being in love sucks! Being in love for no logical reason, however, really sucks. I don't know Mason. How can I fall in love with him? I started to think of myself as weak and pathetic. I should know better than this.

After getting ready for school, I donned my earbuds and listened to music in order to avoid any conversation this morning. Fortunately, no one questioned it. Arriving to school, I managed to yank out a single earbud to say good bye to mom before letting myself out. As she was pulling away, I was ambushed by Petr, who surreptitiously kissed my cheek in front of everyone. There were gasps, swoons and more whistles from our audience.

Petr handed me my backpack that I obviously left at his house. That was part of the reason why I decided to phase out my early morning routine; to avoid being asked where my backpack was, and more importantly, how my night went. I was actually surprised my mom didn't yank the ear plugs (as she called them) from me herself, just to ask. I made sure to thank him and watched as he jogged back the way he came.

Nathaniel was seen walking in the distance with his teammates, with eyes so blue they rivaled the sky. He must have noticed me watching him from a distance, because he turned to face me, flashing a grin, as he continued to follow his friends inside the west entrance. Benjamin's laugh was unmistakable as it echoed around me. He was currently surrounded by friends and made sure to nod in acknowledgment at me, as if asking me if I was ok. I gave him a subdued nod in return.

I wasn't even sure if I was ok; but I knew I would be in time. I wasn't anywhere near to bursting into tears, but I could easily become unhinged. What was wrong with me? Was I in need of therapy? Worse yet, pills?

I just need to count my blessings and shift my perspective. I don't have a miserable home life; and my parents and siblings are actually pretty great. I'm building a new life for myself here, easily adjusting and making new friends. And, I have a great chance at quite possibly getting the best education available to me within the entire State. Now I just need to get a hold of myself and ignore Mason completely.

And just to prove to me that Destiny is no one's masca verga, Mason approached me.

"Hey. . . did I say or do something wrong yesterday?"

Mason had a hand slipped under the strap of his backpack upon his shoulder; the other strap hanging loose. He looked sheepishly at the ground before casting his eyes up at me, keeping his head mostly bowed. He reminded me of a big dog who felt guilty and was trying to apologize. It was really cute.

So here we were again. Mason feeling guilty, when he did absolutely nothing wrong. But how does one go about that 'it's not you, it's me' speech? Well damn.

"You didn't eat yesterday did you?" He asked with eyes squinted at first. I could already see what was coming before it got there. The sun was nowhere near his eyes.

I squinted my eyes right back at him, defenses immediately going up. "Slick, aren't ya?"

I never said, no.

"Doesn't look like you brought your lunch today either." Just how much had he been watching me to notice without my knowing? Anytime Mason was within my field of vision and within a twelve-foot radius, I could not think coherent thoughts. I think he might have smiled in victory had my head turned the other way. Broody adorable bastard.

"Nope, I forgot to bring one with me." Actually, I was trying very hard to avoid everyone this morning. I didn't want to be stuck with forty different questions. Well, it was usually the same question, but always phrased in forty different ways. That was not a good way to start my morning routine