Same Old Love

// twenty-four //

Mason's hands travel to the hem of my shirt, ready to lift it over my head.

Images of Jason from Reed's party flash and I falter in my kissing. More images of Kent cause me to stop completely, yet I don't stop Mason. To top it all off, Reed's face pops up in my mind.

"Mase." I let out a breathe and grab his hand.

"Are you alright?" He puts a strand of hair behind my ear.

"I just-" I lay back on the bed, feeling him lay next to me. "I just can't get all of them out of my head."

"Who?" He hums, playing with my fingers.

"Kent, Reed, and some dude that tried raping me at a party. Mason, I'm so fragile right now and I don't know what to do." I feel on the verge of breaking.

"I'm here now, okay? I won't let any of them hurt you again." Mason kisses my cheek. "Don't think about Reed. He's just a messed up fuckboy. If you get over him, he will know he no longer affects you."

"Okay." I bite my lip and sit up. "Let's go back out. I want to go to sleep."

Mason stands up, his hand still in mine. We walk back to the living room, Lauren still out cold. I get on the air mattress on the ground, wrapping the blanket around me. Mason lies next to me and I lay my head on his chest

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"Wake up!" Lauren screeches.

I groan and try to roll over, only to notice arms wrapped around me. I open my eyes and see Mason out cold. Lauren has a smug look on her face, causing me to roll my eyes.

"Today is Friday. I think you should come to school today." Laur crosses her arms. "You should probably just cover up where you got punched."

I shrug. "Can you help me out of this death trap?"

She sighs and pries Mason's arms off me. I roll off the air mattress and stand up, staring at him. "We kissed last night." I admit to Lauren.

"You what? Wait." Lauren stops and closes her eyes. "You WHAT?"

"We kissed, Laur." I huff. "Anyways, I guess I can come to school today. We just have to stop at my house so I can get my backpack. I'll pick something out of your closet to wear."

"This conversation isn't over. I can't believe you kissed. When?" She continues on as I walk to her bedroom.

"Once you fell asleep." I hum, looking through her closet. I don't really want to make a big deal out of it.

"Great. I cannot believe this. My ship may have sailed and yet, I was asleep." She runs a hand over her face. "Wait, are you guys playing a prank on me? Very funny."

"No, Laur. We actually kissed." I take out a pale blue button down and a pair of jeans.

"What do I even say to this?" Lauren sits down on her bed. I notice she is already dressed, a purple dress complimenting her figure.

"Nothing, you say nothing." I shake my head and walk into her bathroom, changing into the clothes. I brush my teeth with my backup toothbrush I keep here and spray some of her perfume on me. I put some concealer on the bruise forming under my eye and brush my hair out. When I step out of the bathroom, Mason is sitting on Lauren's bed in place of her.

"Hey." He grins at me.

I awkwardly bite my lip. "Good morning, Mason."

"You look nice." He nods with a smirk.

"Oh, thanks." I look at the clock. "I'm going to school with Lauren. I've been skipping lately, if you haven't noticed."

"Oh." Mason lets out a low whistle. "Too bad she already left with her boyfriend."