My backpack wasn't the only thing that seemed to weigh down my shoulders and hunch my back while walking into school Monday morning. I couldn't just leave Mason off the way I did when he confessed his feelings Friday night. Guilt has been coursing through my veins, and I knew I had to express my feeling towards the situation.
"Mason?" I gently tapped his shoulder. He turned in my direction, breaking his conversation with Sean with a look of shyness mixed with concern.
"Hey, Millie, what's up?" Mason forced a calm tone to his voice. His hands found their way to his jacket pockets while awkwardly smiling down at me.
It was hard to look Mason directly in the eye. Before starting, I gave Sean a small nod, hinting that I had to talk to Mason alone. When Sean finally moved away, I looked back to Mason. "I just wanted to address what happened that day you came over."
He gave a small nod, starting to look a little more worried.
"I've been thinking about what you said a lot, and I should let you know that I like you too."
It wasn't necessarily a lie. I've known Mason for as long as I can remember. He knows everything about me, and I know everything about him. There isn't another person I felt closer too, even including my parents. Though, I wouldn't say that I felt a strong attraction towards my best friend. After hearing what he had to say, I spent the weekend running it through my tired brain. If there was one person I would trust with my heart and life, it would be Mason.
His eyes brightened with shock at what I admitted. "You really do?"
Instead of answering, I looped my arms around Mason while leaning my head against his chest. He returned the hug.
"Millie, will you be my date to the Spring Formal?"
My head nodded against his warm embrace. "Yes, I'd love to be."
The thing is, there was a piece of my mind constantly thinking about something else. It was Henry. I don't know why, but I almost felt nervous and needing of his opinion.
As soon as I arrived back home, the silo was the first place I stopped at. I could already see his ghostly physique standing near the opening, as if he was expecting me to arrive.
"Henry!" I called with a bright smile. "I have something to tell-"
"Why did you bring him here?"
The way Henry spoke made my smile vanish as quickly as it came. My feet came to a complete stop.
"Your friend, Mason. He shouldn't have met me." Henry spun to face the dark shadows within the silo. "You really are insane."
My chest tightened at the word insane. The way he said it, it didn't sound like he was playing around.
"Hey!" I yelled, hearing my own voice bounce off the metals walls in the structure. "I'm not insane. I just wanted you to meet my best friend."
"You gave away my existence to an outsider. He doesn't think of me the same as you. But looks like he's one who knows what I'm truly like."
"Why are you being like this?" I began moving closer to the opening. "Stop acting so difficult. Mason is a great person who just needs to get to know you better." I tried reaching my hand further into the silo so I could comfort Henry, but only shrieked while pulling back.
Henry's arm swung back at me. His fingers formed claw-like nails that left three long scratches across my forearm. I whimpered, staring at the marks.
"I warned you many times, Millie." Henry's voice broke mid-sentence, like he was fighting something back. "I'm not as nice as you think I am."
