The Loudest Silence

Isabella

With my eyes cast downwards, I walk through the familiar walkway of the library as I attempt to get past the crowds of students unnoticed. I hadn't had contact with Roman since that night we had been out with Rick and his crew, but I knew he was still around. That night had casted Roman in a different light than the one I had been seeing him in. Although Roman had done me a favor by not reporting me to Rick, there was no telling if I could trust him. There could be a chance he wasn't the enemy at hand, but only time could tell what his true intentions were.

Pulling my jacket closer to my body, I walked towards the back of the library where Mason and I had been the other day. Walking past a wide arrangement of books laid out on shelves, I slowly stopped in my tracks as my eyes landed on Mason. Moving away from his line of vision, I huddled in the corner of the aisle I was in as I studied his figure. His eyes were glued to the papers laid in front of him as he rapidly took notes in his notebook. His locks fell onto his forehead as he ignored the world around him and continued to mindlessly do his work. Though Mason had a rugged and hard exterior, as he sat there staring down at the paper, he didn't look as serious. The frown lines usually marring his forehead were nonexiesnt, as if they had never been there in the first place and his body language appeared to be relaxed.

I continued to study him for a couple more minutes, knowing fully well I would have to come out sooner or later. For obvious reasons I was hesitant to be around him today seeing as we had already shared an odd encounter earlier this morning. It was unusual to see anyone out that early in the morning and I knew he had questions as to what I was doing out there. I could only hope he wasn't suspicious about anything seeing as I couldn't exactly tell him that I had spent all night with Rick sorting through his latest shipment. We had worked until the early hours of the morning and only got permission to leave after Roman reminded Rick that we needed to head back in time for classes. I knew I couldn't go back to my dorm room knowing Isla would be full of questions, many of which I didn't have the answers to so wandering around campus seemed like the only solution. Running into Mason along the way certainly wasn't a part of the plan.  

Releasing a deep breath I had been holding in, I straightened myself before heading over to the table where Mason sat. Gently setting down my bag on the table, I took a seat directly across from Mason who looked up as I settled into my seat. Setting down his pen I watched as he pushed his hair out of his eyes as he shot me a smile, "Hey, I was wondering where you were." He said as I pulled a paper and pen out of my bag.

"Sorry I was running late, my roommate wanted some breakfast." I lied as I tried my best to appear nonchalant. Truth was, I didn't see Isla all morning. I decided against returning to the dorm after Mason left and instead headed to the cafeteria where I had spent the rest of my morning.

"Breakfast at 1:30 in the afternoon?" Mason questioned with a raised eyebrow as he glanced down at the fancy watch strapped to his wrist. 

Shoot! Had he seen right through my lie?

Staring down at my notebook, I tried my best to act natural as I flipped through my notes. Upon hearing Mason let out a chuckle, my head shot up as I looked at him with wide eyes.

"I was kidding Isabella, no need to be so serious." He jokingly chastised as he shot me a playful wink. Letting go of the breath I was holding in, I let out a forced chuckle as I continued to pull all my supplies out of my bag. It was silent for a couple minutes as I got  settled and as Mason continued to scan the papers in front of him. Pulling out a couple of textbooks I had checked out earlier that week, I also began scanning through various readings as I tried to do my part of the project. Despite my constant urge to sneak a glance at Mason, I strictly kept my gaze on the words in front of me.