Settling The Score

Part 9

I was glad I wore my sneakers. Regardless of Lucy's insistent nagging that it didn't go with my dress- at all, I was almost entirely sure I would not have been able to walk two feet, let alone all the way to the central park in our town, had I worn heels.

I jerked my eyebrows up at Mason. "So, you're swooping me away from one set of swings and taking me to another set of swings?"

"Well, I wasn't in the mood for drunk high school girls drooling all over me tonight," he informed with a crooked smile.

"I thought that was all you're ever in the mood for."

I looked at him over my shoulder as I went to sit on the grass, being very meticulous of how I placed my legs, wearing this ridiculously short dress and all.

He followed lazily to where I sat. "Well, usually I would be quite taken by the idea, but usually, I don't have such wonderful company to keep me occupied," he gushed, as he sprawled out on the grass next to me.

I rolled my eyes. "Please, I'm sure my 'wonderful' company is the last thing on your mind."

"And I told you, Carebear, you shouldn't be so quick to judge. We agreed on being friends didn't we?"

I kept my sitting position, slightly narrowing my eyes as I looked down at him. "Yeah, just wondering if I can believe you."

I didn't forget about the little deal he made with his friends, and I was certain that he definitely didn't forget it either. I was sure neither of us believed that we could ever be "just friends." But as much as it killed me to admit it, his company was better than a house full of drunk highschoolers. Not that it took much.

"We have all night. Hopefully, you'll believe me when I tell you later." He looked up at me, his signature grin bright in the moonlight.

Rolling my eyes, I made myself comfortable next to him, keeping a healthy distance between us.

I allowed the world to slip away as I looked up at the stars, my breath catching at the sight of them and how amazingly bright they shone.
"It's beautiful," I marveled as I gazed up.

"Yeah," He answered after a while, "Exceptionally beautiful."
Something in his tone made me shift my gaze to him. Heat immediately crept over my cheeks when I saw he was looking at me, not at the sky.

I merely stared at him, holding his gaze while trying to decipher the absolute mystery that he was. After what felt like an eternity, he finally looked away.

"The stars," he said, his voice lined with a faint raspiness, ''They're pretty beautiful, too," he chuckled.

"You know, when I'm in a bad headspace or when I feel lost, I just look up at them, and it's like everything else disappears. Like suddenly, my problems seem so meaningless, compared to something so big and never-ending. It reminds me of the beauty of the world, you know? And how fundamentally small I am compared to that," he admitted.

I turned to lay on my side, putting my hands under my head and just looked at him, like really looked at him. He was gorgeous. I don't know how I never realized just how gorgeous until right then.

It took my breath away, with him so absorbed in his thoughts, all his usual cockiness and arrogance wiped away.

I allowed myself just a moment to take in every well-defined line of his face. His sharp features were carved to perfection and my eyes roamed over his chiseled jaw, his plump lips, and the most extravagant of all - his eyes.
They were an exotic emerald green, swirling with small flecks of gold, unlike anything I had ever seen, completely writhing with emotion.