The Heartless Persona

16

"Go!" Keri pushed for Mason to talk to a girl, who he found to be attractive.

Cam, Keri, and Jack (since he was too young to stay home by himself) sat down at a nearby table, watching Mason talk to a girl with dark skin and curly black hair.

It was quiet between all of them until Cam finally spoke. "Someone cheated on you?"

"Oh," she looked down. "Uh, no. I just made it up to make him feel better," she lied, giving an unconvincing smile.

Cam nodded his head, even though he didn't believe her. He then placed his hand on her arm, causing her to look up.

"I'm sorry."

Keri bit down on her lip and looked back at Mason. The last thing she wanted was to think of that jerk who broke her heart.

"Me too," she sighed.

"What's cheating?" Jack asked.

Keri and Cam looked at each other, both unsure how to explain it. "Well," Keri began. "It's when two people are boyfriend and girlfriend, or they're married, and they....they do things with other people that they shouldn't be doing."

"What kind of things?" He blinked innocently.

Cam looked at Keri through the corner of his eye while he answered Jack's question. "Like kissing...and stuff."

"What kind of stuff?"

Both Cam and Keri laughed under their breath. "I don't think you're old enough to learn about that," Cole poked his brother. Jack giggled and started kicking his feet.

"I'm old enough," Jack giggled. "I'm older than you."

"Hm, really?" Cam started to tickle him more. Jack's face turned a bright red as he laughed and twisted around.

Keri smiled at the sight.

Was Cam always this good with kids? He seemed like a natural when it came to Jack.

Mason walked towards the three with a confident grin on his face. They all turned towards him, waiting for him to speak.

"I have a date tonight."

Later that evening, Keri was in Mason's room as he got ready for his date with the girl from earlier. Keri handed Mason his hair gel from his nightsand.

"So," she started, "are you excited?"

"Yeah, a little," Mason answered, gelling his hair. "I feel better about the whole situation," he was referring to his recent breakup. "Thank you for helping me with you know..."

"Yeah, no problem." It actually felt good for Keri to help someone. It made her feel nice inside for once.

"Hey, maybe you and Cam could double date with us," he winked at her through the mirror.

Keri's face became a bright red and her eyes had widened a little. Her stomach had produced a feeling of butterflies and her skin felt prickly.

"Why? Did he say something about us double dating?"

"Nah, I was just messing around," Mason chuckled underneath his breath. He went back to doing his hair.

"Oh," Keri was a little disappointed. Her expression had fallen and her eyes lowered to the floor. "Well, does he ever...talk about me?" She kept her eyes on the floor while fiddling with her hair. She was trying her best to sound nonchalant about the topic.

"He doesn't need to." He adjusted his shirt. She walked closer to him, crossed her arms and, tilted her head to the side.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Her eyes shot up. Mason's eyes met hers through the mirror as a wide smile spread across his face.

"I know my brother and I know how he thinks. I can read his thoughts just by the way he acts. He doesn't need to tell me what he's thinking."

Keri started interrogating Mason for details after his last comment. He thought it was the funniest thing in the world and was laughing with every question she asked.

"Why are you asking me this?" He raised an eyebrow in an amused manner. "Why don't you ask him?"

"Because," Keri whined, throwing her arms in the air. "You know why."

"No, I don't," he smirked.

Keri rolled her eyes and pushed him away before she started walking to the door. He caught up to her and blocked the doorway. She stared at him while she stood there defeated.

"Please don't tell him we had this conversation."

"Why? Are you scared he'll find out something you didn't want him to?"

"Mason."

"Keri."

She crossed her arms and bit down on the inside of her cheek. He stared back with a smile stuck on his face while he continued to block the door. She was trying her best to be intimidating, but at the same time she feared what he would do.

"I have embarrassing pictures of you from fifth grade that you don't even know of. Do you really want those to leak?"

"You're bluffing."

Not even ten seconds later, Cam walked in.