Fate is a Funny Thing

You've Changed

"Thank god," I sigh in relief, as Mason enters the building, with his hand firmly placed in Hazel's. Asher is following closely behind. Smiling at the relief and happiness on Hazel's face, I give her a hug, followed by Asher and then I high-five Mason. "I've been panicking all day."

Mason looks incredibly uncomfortable, "I hope you weren't worrying, or anything."

"Worrying?" Rafael jokes, giving Mason and Asher each a bro-hug. "We slept like babies."

"Spent all night training, more like," Hazel quips with a smirk. Rafael's head snaps to me in mock betrayal,

"You told her?"

I shrug in response, and we all burst out laughing.

"It's okay, no-one needs to worry, I'm innocent so the interview was just a formality," he says uncomfortably.

"Innocent people get sent down all the time," Rafael points out, and everyone mumbles their agreement in dismay. He's not wrong there. We all stare at Mason expectantly, wanting to know what they asked and why it took over so long.

"Guys, I'll tell you everything I promise," he sighs with a knowing smile, "but let's wait for Evan and Zahlee to get here too. Then we can all decide what to do next."

Nodding in compliance, we all get back to work. Hazel goes with Mason into the office and Asher follows me into the gym. Before we enter, he pulls me back towards him and gives me a hug. Although this is normal behaviour, it still makes me feel weird. I'm not used to this. Just as I am about to pull away, he holds me tighter and tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear. My eyes go wide in surprise until he whispers something in my ear, and I understand. Smiling in realisation, I nod eagerly, and he winks at me in reply before letting go.

He struts into the gym ready to get back to work. I'm making a mental checklist of everything I need to do, and how I'm going to do it on the sly. Noticing Rafael watching me with an intense gaze, I walk over to him and he stands up.

"What was all that about?" he smiles in confusion. Repeating what Asher said in a hushed tone, I look towards the office to make sure Mason is not listening. His smile grows and he stands up, nodding in approval. Popping his head through the office door he says, "Hope and I are off to get some lunch, we'll be back in an hour."

"Since when do you take an hour for lunch," Mason asks inquisitively. "I mean you always have the hour, but you never take it, and you usually eat here."

"Is that a crime?" Rafael quips only half-jokingly.

Mason smirks at him with wide eyes and then looks between the two of us, "are you two...?"

"No!" we both protest in unison. Hazel and Mason both snicker at our faces. Rafael is about to give him a piece of his mind but luckily for the rest of us, Hazel interrupts him, telling us to go because the hour has started. I notice the secretive glint in her eyes. She knows where we're going.

The two of us hurry out and go to sort everything out back in the house. It's the perfect thing to bring our spirits up, especially after everything else that happened this week. Truthfully, it was also an excuse to be out of the gym whilst my brother is there.

Ever since I started working, he has been attending the gym religiously every Friday. Miraculously, I've been able to keep out of his sight. At first, I panicked every time I saw him, but as the weeks pass by, I've expertly learnt to avoid him. I know where to be and where not to be when he's there. There was one time when I mistakenly ended up in the same room as him and he actually looked over at me. Somehow, he overlooked me and something tells me it was thanks to my hair change.