⌗ 44
third person ✎ᝰ
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Mason blinks several times before rubbing her eyes gently with the back of her hand. She finds herself on her backside, the colour blue welcoming her as her vision cleared. Her ears were met with the prominent chirping of crickets and other bugs and insects. "Huh."

She gently turns to her side and finds Mara sitting in the corner with a book perched in her lap. "Mara." Mason sat up groggily. "How did I get in here and—is this a tent?" She points to the obvious—a large blue tent. "Am I high?"

Mara inserts her favourite bookmark into the pages of her book and sets it down beside her. "No, silly. You're not high and wouldn't ever let you." She commanded. "I set this up while you were sleeping. I didn't want to keep you on that chair. It would've been extremely uncomfortable. You slept like a baby though." Mara chuckled.

Mason ran her fingers through her head as she looked around her. She had a warm blanket around her and a scarf she definitely did not have on prior to falling asleep. "I could've helped."

The eldest shakes her head. "No. I wanted you to rest, Mace. That was the whole point. What woke you? Was I being too loud?" She questioned.

Mason shook her head. "No, not at all. I just woke up naturally." She explained. "How about you, though? Have you been reading?" 

Mara nodded. "I couldn't fall asleep after I carried you inside. I wasn't reading the whole time though." She points to her phone. "Mave and I were on a call for a little bit."

"Hm, really? I didn't hear you though?"

"I took the call in my car." Mara smiled. "You would've woken up if I were here." She chuckled.

Mara's consideration tugged at Mason's heartstrings. Her best friend had always been so selfless. Whether a friend or a complete stranger, you'd always find Mara doing an act of kindness. That's just who she is as a person. Mason loved that about her. Not a lot of people are like Mara these days—she found that quite disappointing.

The cold air sends a shiver down Mason's spine. Mara watches her intently and chuckles as the young one hurries towards her and wraps her arms around the latter. "Don't smile."

Mara bit down on her lower lip to suppress the smile that was beginning to form on her face. Regardless, she wrapped her arms around Mason's petite figure and held her tightly.

This was one of the many rare instances where Mason would show her clingy side to the former. It rarely ever happened. Mara felt her heart swell with a certain happiness as she breathed in the soft scent that was clinging onto Mason's skin.

Mason nuzzled her head between the crook of Mara's neck and closed her eyes. She had been so desperate for warmth, and so she found it, in the arms of one of her favourite people. She hardly ever put herself in this position—of being vulnerable and affectionate. It wasn't the kind of nature she grew up with. Mason kept to herself and found that she'd rather not be that type of person. Recent events had changed her, just like Mara acknowledged. Mason had grown to be more comfortable with the people around her. Just like how she was in this exact moment.

"How is this?" Mara rubs the small of Mason's back as the youngest breathes in and out softly.

"I feel better." Mason smiled warmly. "Is it okay if we stay like this?" She wondered. Her fingers were wrapped around the hem of Mara's hoodie.

Mara nods without question. "Of course. For as long as you need." She assured. "All night if you wanted too." She chuckled. "As long as you're ok then I don't mind at all." She declared happily.

Mason hums softly as she starts to feel the sleep catch up to her again. "Should I do it?"

Mara knew exactly what she referring to. The eldest shifts her gaze to the iPhone 13 that sat in the corner of the tent where Mason had slept.

Mara nodded gently. "As long as you want to." She replied. "It'll be your decision after all." She felt Mason squeeze her tighter as she sighed.

"I'm really scared." She confessed. "I didn't realise how messy things could get..." Her voice quavered in fear. "I can feel my heart breaking."

Mara clenched her jaw. She had always been afraid of the day where Mason would experience that kind of hurt—the kind she had been so desperately trying to avoid. Mason was as strong as she was fragile. The youngest tried so hard to avoid love and relationships for this exact reason. Not a single molecule in her body could have readied her for what was to come, and what her future would be like. She didn't expect to find herself in love like this. Senior Year was supposed to be exploring the world if exams had been so kind as to not kill her yet. But, unbeknownst to her, something else was killing her instead. This disappointment was new.

All she wanted was the truth. Mason couldn't quite deal with secrecy. She hated not knowing. And that's where she currently lies—not knowing.

The heaviness in her chest had been long gone. Overtaken by warmth and comfort. Mason hoped that it would remain that way—just long enough for her to numb the pain. To even forget.

That one all consuming thought sits at the back of her mind like a demon in the night. Perhaps, this was a demon. A demon of her own—threatening to consume her own being. 

Mara swallows the dryness in her throat. "You don't have to be decided now." She uttered. "It takes time. I don't want you to regret anything."

Mason nods slowly. "I don't want to regret anything either." She sobbed. "I hate this." Mara could feel her heart breaking too. She trusted Riley to keep her best friend safe and happy, but this was the exact opposite of that. It was much worse than Mara had expected. She wasn't content with her best friend suffering from this.

The both of them remain in each other's embrace, not one daring to move or pull away from the latter. "You'll have to talk to her." Mara added. "Not right away. Unless you want to. But if you think that you're really sure about what you want to do then I can't really stop you..."

Mason pulls away slightly, just enough to meet Mara's eyes. "Aren't I meant to be taking your advice?" She wondered. "You're really good at it."
She rests her head back onto her shoulder.

"You don't always have to take my advice, Mace. All I want is for you to follow your own heart. My words won't matter if your heart tells you something else...something completely different."

"So I should follow my heart?" Mason wondered.

"If that's what your heart wants."