the other side of us | ✓

2.4 | easier to stay

Mason had never hated bass more than when it was blasting through the walls at nine in the morning.

He groaned and rolled over, pulling his pillow with him and jamming it over his ears. Across the hall, he could hear Adam leaving his room again, stomping angrily in the direction of their living room.

"Kendrick! Turn it down!" Adam yelled, and Mason groaned again. The yelling did nothing but add to the noise already reverberating through their apartment.

A few minutes of Adam yelling later, and the music mercifully died off. He could hear Kendrick talking now, and he put his pillow back in its place, hauling himself out of bed. It was time to get ready for work anyways.

"Sorry man," Kendrick said when he saw Mason making his way to the bathroom. "Playlist was heavy on bass this morning."

"I'm sorry that you felt the need to work out this early in the morning."

"Not all of us have little kid jobs, Mase. We have to be up early to bring home the bacon." Kendrick laughed.

Mason scowled. The fact that he was younger than both of his roommates was a source of constant ribbing.

"Just wear headphones," Adam chastised, but he was laughing too.

Mason shook his head at his roommates as he made his way into the bathroom, easing the door shut and flicking on the water for the shower.

The plan hadn't been to have two roommates, but his plan also hadn't included coming back to Hollytree at all. After New York though, Mason didn't have anywhere else to go and he couldn't very well live by himself given that he'd been jobless and his savings had dwindled down to practically nothing. Which was were Adam and Kendrick came in.

Despite Adam being three years older than Mason and Kendrick, the three got along well, which was good considering he was both their sponsor and supplied more than half the rent.

Mason tried to drown out the voices of his friends as he massaged soap into his dark hair. He needed to get it cut soon, but he knew that if he mentioned it, Kendrick would try to talk him into a buzzcut, and Mason wasn't sure he was willing to part with his shaggy fringe quite yet.

It had been weird at first, living in Hollytree again. Having his apartment at the edge of town certainly helped him avoid unwanted eyes, but Mason knew that it wouldn't last forever. And having Adam and Kendrick with him certainly helped with any of the attention that Mason did attract.

The steam that engulfed Mason as he left the bathroom was thick, and he hoped that he hadn't used up all of the hot water.

"What time will you be back?" Adam asked as Mason passed him in the kitchen.

"Around five, I think."

"Bring milk home. And juice," he added sheepishly as he chugged the last of the apple juice straight from the carton.

"I'm beginning to think that you guys only let me live here because my discount significantly saves the grocery budget."

"That's never been a secret," Kendrick said with a laugh. Mason threw a dish towel at him before ducking into his room to finish getting ready for work.

*

Working at the Stop and Go wasn't as awkward as it once was. At first, the job had been impossibly hard, despite working there before he'd left. Marlee's husband hadn't been keen on hiring him back on, but Marlee had taken pity on Mason, calling him the day after he'd come in to inquire to inform him that he had the job.

He'd been nervous, at first, that people he knew were going to come in and see him and that he'd have a riot on his hands. Four months passed without incident, and he dropped his guard.

With all of the experience that Mason had with the unexpected, you'd think that he would have known better.

He'd been back for a little over five months when he first saw Devin. The bell over the door had announced her arrival, but Mason had been focused on unpacking the newest shipment of soft drinks and had waited for the customer to walk towards the counter before standing and making his way over to the registers.

When he reached the register and glanced up at the customer, he froze.

Devin stared at him with her jaw clenched, surprise clear on her face.

"Hi." Mason said hesitantly, grabbing her basket of items to scan. She didn't respond, and Mason felt uncomfortable under her gaze.

"How've you been?" He asked softly.

"Fine."

He'd looked up in surprise, and Devin stared back at him.

"Are you done?" She asked. "I need to get going."

"Oh, yeah."

Devin had paid and left, without a backwards glance. And that was when Mason had known that he'd really messed up.

It was barely a week later when he'd driven past Poppy's and seen the Closed Until Further Notice sign in the window. Mason didn't quite know how to feel. Happy, because she was moving on with her life, but also sad because he knew that he'd lost her.

The pit in his stomach had sunk lower and lower as he drove away from the coffee shop, and he hadn't been back since.