nerd.

vingt

Dedicated to @sparkles1399, thanks for voting!

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Arielle Evans 

"Mason, what the hell?" I hiss, getting up from the bed. He sticks one leg inside the room from the window before somehow managing to get the other long leg through as well. He slides down into the floor, wiping the sweat off of his forehead.

"Hi." he whispers.

"What do you want?" I hiss.

He looks hurt, his eyebrows pinching together. "Why are you mad at me?"

"I'm not." I snarl.

"Right. Then why are you snapping at me right now, and why did you leave so angrily?" Mason points out.

"It's nothing, Mason." I tell him, looking away.

"Arielle." he presses.

"It's nothing, I just got a little mad that you didn't come in like you usually do. It's stupid." I tug at a few loose strands of my hair, looking down at the ground.

Mason chuckles dryly. "I had rugby practice. That's why I didn't come in, babe, otherwise I would have." I nod, pretending to pay attention, but my heart flutters with the same word repeating over and over in my mind: babe babe babe babe babe.

"Okay." I reply simply.

"Okay? Is that it? We're good now?" Mason looks confused for a moment before I nod and relief floods his face. "Alrighty, then. Good night, babe. I love you." he says, sticking one leg out the window again.

"Wait, Mason." I say.

"What?" he says, looking back at me, his other leg lifted and ready to crawl out.

"Stay with me."

******************************

An hour later, I am cuddled up in Mason's cotton T-shirt, his scent enveloping me. His muscular arm wraps around me in the dark and I snuggle closer to him, letting his warmth radiate onto my skin. He kisses my forehead gently, and I find myself smiling against his chest.

"Can I ask you something?" he says.

"Sure." I reply.

"When we first met in the bathroom that day, what did you think of me?" he asks.

"Why?" I giggle, not wanting to answer the question.

"I was just wondering." he replies.

"To be honest, I thought you were a total dick." I giggle.

"Language." he chuckles. "But why?"

"I thought all populars were the same. Rude, self-absorbed bullies. I thought that you were just like them, and as much as I wanted your comfort, I thought that you were playing me." I respond, playing with his fingers.

"But now you know that I'm not like them, right?" Mason asks.

"Of course." I nod, although he can't see me all that well. "Can I ask you something now?"

"Go for it." he replies.

"I know that you were close with Ashley, and I feel horrible making you split with her, but I just wanted to know how you broke up with her."

*

Mason Richards 

I cannot believe she just asked me that. I swallow the lump in my throat, but it does not leave. Instead, it just makes my throat itchier, and the lump bigger.

"I, uh..I called her, remember?" I stall.

"I know, but what did you say?" she asks.

"I..I told her...I told her that I wasn't feeling it anymore and that we should probably break up so that I don't hurt her." I lie swiftly, guilt forming a heavy brick in the pit of my stomach.

"Oh." she says softly. "Well, I think it was nice of you to let her down easy like that."

"Yup." I swallow harshly, wanting the lump in my throat to go away.

"Goodnight, Mason. I love you."

"Night, babe. I love you more."

*

Arielle Evans 

I wake up to Mason's arm wrapped around my shoulder, and my eyes widen when I see the time on the clock.

"Mason, get up." I shake his shoulders. "Mason, we're late, it's already 10, get up!" I tell him frantically. He grumbles something incoherent under his breath before his tired eyes peel open, looking up at me.

"What?" he mumbles.

"It's ten, we're super late!" I repeat.

"Shit." he says, rolling out of bed and fumbling with his belt. I get out of bed as well, quickly changing my shirt and slipping on a pair of jeans. "Crap, I don't have any other clothes to change into." he mutters.

"Hold on." I say, running across the hall into my parents' bedroom and searching through the drawers. I find nothing of my father's, but I suck in a breath when I see one of his old shirts on the bed with a sticky note stuck to it. I peel off the note, quickly scanning it.

Ari-

I came in to wake you up, but you and Mason looked so cute sleeping so soundly, so I called the school and told them you both had dentist appointments and would be coming in late. Figured he would need some clothes, so I got out this shirt for you, and there's a pair of your father's jeans from when we were teenagers in the bathroom if Mason needs them. Have a good day, we'll talk when I get home.

xox,

Mom

P.S. You guys didn't do anything, right?

I blush before I crumple up the note, tossing it into the trash can and running back across the hall with the shirt in my hand. I toss it to Mason, and he quickly slips out of his shirt into the new one. I look away while he changes, and I can sense him smirking behind me.

"My mom called the school and told them that we were coming in late. Apparently, we were 'too cute' to disturb." I tell him, chuckling. Mason laughs, slipping on his sneakers. I slide on my flats and quickly brush my teeth, tossing him the bottle of Scope so that he can freshen his breath. He quickly gargles a capful before spitting it into the sink and rinsing his mouth out.

"Let's go." he says. I follow him outside, grabbing my backpack and locking the door behind me. We speed to school and dash past the office, thankfully not being seen. We both burst into math at the same time, out of breath and red in the face.

"Miss Evans and Mr. Richards. How nice of you to join us." the teacher smirks, and I blush before we take our respective seats. He continues the lesson without picking on us, for once, and the class ends within what seems like seconds. Since I have a free next period, I go to the bathroom and tie my hair in a decent ponytail, trying to fix my poor appearance. I smile at myself in the mirror, for the one thing I know for sure is that I love Mason Richards more than I have ever loved anyone before.