“Thanks for taking me out.” My car was parked along the curb of her house. We sat in darkness, save for the small illumination coming from the street lights bordering the road. In the faint light, my green hoodie hung loosely off of her body.  Rose gave a small smile, tucking a strand of hair behind an ear.

                “Anytime.”

                Our hands were linked together, resting in the middle. Neither of us made a move to get out of the car.

                Silence swam between us a few moments. My eyes held hers tightly, daring for her to break away first.

                Thoughts teased my mind with the question I wanted to ask her.

                “Rose?” I asked softly.

                “Yeah?”

                Just spit it out.

                “You… ah… You look gorgeous tonight.”

                She giggled, “Thanks, Mason.”

                I inwardly cussed at my coward change, “I’ll… I’ll see you tomorrow?”

                She leaned across the seat to press her lips softly against mine. I grinned in the kiss, tightening my grip on her hand as her lips slowly moved against mine.

                “Sounds like a plan.”
                She released our hands, climbing out of the car. I watched as she hurried into her house. As Rose opened the door, she turned around to give me a small wave.

                I chuckled, shaking my head.

                I turned the car on once her door closed.

                I was bad for her.

                ~*~

                “How’d your date go?” Joey asked as I came back to the apartment.

                I locked the door behind me, rubbing my eyes as I came up the stairs and into the living room, “She’s awesome.”

                She giggled.

                I opened my eyes, taking in my sister’s state. She sat in nothing but sweats, with a bowl of Chocolate ice cream between her legs. Her hair was up in a messy bun, and she wore her glasses; a rarity with her.

                “Couldn’t get enough ice cream, huh?”

                She rolled her eyes at me.

                “How was your date?” I smirked, grabbing the spoon out of her hand and stealing a bite for myself.

                Joey scowled at me, “Get your own bowl if you want some.”

                “You’re ignoring my question.” I grinned smugly as I sat on the couch adjacent to her chair. She rolled her eyes, tossing me the remote.

                “Rodger really needs to learn to hit on girls his age.”

                I shrugged, “He says he likes the challenge.”

                She laughed, shaking her head.

                “It looked like you two were fighting earlier. What was that all about?”

                She blinked her eyes, surprised by my statement. “We weren’t fighting at all. He was actually really good tonight.”

                “Then why did it look like you two were having your own little heated debate?”

                She took another bite of ice cream, taking her time before responding. “He asked me how Caden and I were doing and I… might have told him everything.”

                I cussed, leaning my head back, “He’s going to bug the shit out of me now.”

                She pursed her lips, “I told him not to tell you that he knew. We’ll see how that goes over, though.”

                “Whatever.”

                “He’s a good friend, Mason.” She said softly, “He listened, he comforted, and he sounded more caring than even Jason had been.”

                I gave her a suspicious look, “Are you OK? You’ve never liked Rodger.”

                “I guess I changed my mind.”

                “I’ll say so.”

                “Whatever,” Her defenses shot up, and I knew I was in for it, “It’s not like I can’t enjoy the company of one of your friends that you dumped on me.”

                “I dumped him on you?” I asked incredulously, “You brought him!”

                “He offered me a ticket to see the play that my only brother was in!” She stuck the spoon in her ice cream angrily, “It’s not like you even bothered to tell me about this. Damn it, he’s your friend. You should’ve sat with him.”

                 “He’s not my responsibility.”

                “Whatever.” She stood up, angrily walking toward the kitchen, “You’re being stupid. I just wanted to see my damn brother in this stupid play.”

                “You didn’t even know about the play until a few hours ago!”

                She whirled around, eyes ready to kill, “And whose fault is that?!”

                It was pointless to continue to argue with her.

                I chose to say nothing.

                Joey seemed satisfied by my lack of response. She put the bowl of ice cream in the sink, heading off to her room.

                Once I heard her door close, I breathed out the air I had been holding in.

                “Damn, pregnant chicks.”

                Turning on the television, I felt my phone buzz in my pocket. I cussed under my breath, not bothering with caller I.D.

                I’m going to kill you, Rodger.

                “Hello?”

                “Hey, Mason.”

                “Rose?” I pulled back to check the caller, surprised

                She laughed slightly, “Uh… Yeah, it’s me.”

                “I—wha—Sorry, I thought you were Rodger.”

                “Nope.”

                “I can tell now,” I shook my head, glad she couldn’t see my face, “What’s up, Doll face?”

                “Is it too late to call?”

                My eyes moved over to the clock. It was nearly one in the morning. “It’s never too late for you to call.”

                “You’re a dork, you know that?”

                “But you like it.”

                She was silent on the other end.

                “One for Mason,” I teased, “Zero for Rose.”

                “I do not have zero!”

                “Yes, you do.”

                She sighed, frustratingly, “I’m going to hang up if you don’t give me more points on this imaginary score board.”

                “You sound pathetic.”

                “Mason!”

                “Fine, fine. Mason twelve, Rose, two.”

                She laughed, “You’re such a jerk!”

                “I am what I am.” I couldn’t help the grin that crept across my face during our conversation, “Did you just call because you wanted to hear my beautiful voice?”

                She pretended to scoff, “As if.”

                “Then what was the real reason?”

                “I uhm…” She hesitated, “When do you want your sweatshirt back?”

                “Keep it.”

                “Really?”

                “Yeah,”

                “Thanks Mason.”

                We lapsed back into silence for a few minutes. I slumped down on the couch, closing my eyes softly. Her breathing hypnotized me as I listed to the steady pattern. It tugged my body toward unconsciousness, but I knew if I fell asleep on her she’d never let me live it down.

                “Are you still there?” I asked after a few minutes.

                I knew the answer. Her soft breathing continued in my ear. But I wanted to hear her voice once more.

                “Don’t worry,” She laughed softly, “I’m not going to sleep just yet.”

                “Good.”

                “Tell me something.”

                “What?”

                “Something you wouldn’t tell anyone else.”

                I raised an eyebrow to the phone, “You want me to tell you one of my secrets?”

                “If you put it that way…”

                “What other way is there?”

                “You’re simply telling me something that you don’t tell anyone else.” Her voice was full of innocence.

                “A secret.”

                “If you say so.”

                I laughed, “Let me think of one.”

                She waited quietly on the other end of the line as I thought of something worthy enough to be a secret.

                “When I was younger, I was obsessed with trains.”

                “That’s not a secret.”

                “I was fourteen and obsessed with trains.” I elaborated

                She giggled, “Really?”

                “It was a bad phase.” I groaned, “My closet is actually full of all the boxes of trains and collectable items I obtained over the course of that horrendous year.”

                “That’s cute.”

                “No, it’s really not.”

                “Mason—”

                “Rose, would you rather the soccer athlete or the train conductor?”

                “I’d rather Mason.”

                “You’re full of it.” I laughed. “I guess this means you owe me a secret now too.”

                “How?”

                “I told you about the trains…”

                “But I’ve also told you one of my secrets at your request.”

                “You’re one for memories this evening, aren’t you?” I couldn’t help the grin on my face once again.

                “Stop!”

                “Whatever, whatever.” I shook my head.

                “So are Rodger and your sister ok?”

                “Oh, yeah, they’re fine. She was ranting to him, I guess. He must’ve done a good job. She was happy when we got back.”

                “I thought you said she didn’t like him.”

                “It’s not that. He usually irritates her, but she enjoys his company otherwise. She’s pregnant too, so who knows what’s going on in her mind.”

                “She’s pregnant?!”

                “Yeah…”

                “Congratulations to your sister!”

                “Don’t say that to her.”

                Rose faltered, “Why?”

                “It’s a taboo topic.” I explained, “Caden knocked her up and bailed.”
                “Yikes.”

                “Yeah.”

                In the background, I could hear a deep voice yelling on Rose’s end of the conversation. Her voice came in muffled, but the deeper voice persisted.

                She returned with a sigh.

                “Sorry, Mason, my dad’s hounding my ass to stop riding up the phone bill. I’ll have to let you go.”

                “It’s cool. I’ll see you tomorrow, Christine.”

                She giggled, “Catch you later, Phantom.”

                ~*~

                The final evening of the production passed by quickly.

                Pierce didn’t show up to this one either, making everyone worried. Even I couldn’t admit to feeling some nervousness. The kid hadn’t missed a single practice, yet he misses two of the three show nights?

                It seemed strange, but I didn’t complain.

                Working across from Rose was definitely preferable to singing in the background.

                Sunday must’ve been the night for students. As my eyes scanned the crowd at the end of the play, I recognized plenty more familiar faces than I had before. Self-conscious, I hurriedly made my way off the stage before anyone approached me.

                Thirty minutes later, I was sitting in one of the empty seats of the auditorium, waiting for Rose to walk out. Trash littered the floor from where guests had snuck in various snacks and drinks despite the signs on the door preventing so. Lights were raised all the way, exposing everything in the large room.

                Silence engulfed me, so it was a surprise when I heard my name.

                “Mason!”

                I turned my head toward the owner of the voice to see Macy walking toward me with a soft smile across her lips.

                “Hey,” She said as she approached, “What are you doing here all alone?”

                “Hey, Macy,” I returned the grin, “I’m waiting for Rose. What about you?”

                “My father’s picking me up in a few minutes.”

                “Didn’t he attend the show?”

                She rolled her eyes, “His thoughts are that if he’s seen one play that I’m in, he’s seen them all. Especially since Rose took the lead role from me this time, he wasn’t interested.”

                I cringed, running a hand through my head. She took a seat in the chair next to me, sighing with annoyance.

                “That’s pretty shitty of him, Macy.” I sympathized. “If it makes you feel any better, you did pretty good.”

                She shook her head, “It’s no big deal. He wouldn’t understand the story line in this play to begin with.”

                “What about your mother?”

                “She came to Friday’s showing.”

                I grinned, “At least you have someone.”

                “Are you saying I don’t have any fans?” She laughed, giving me a flirtatious grin. “Because I assure you, Mason, I certainly do.”

                “Someone’s a little conceited.” I teased.

                She laughed, “It’s not conceit; it’s a fact.”

                I rolled my eyes.

                “Are you going to do the Drama Club next year?” She asked, brushing her hair over her shoulder casually.

                I pursed my lips, “I’m not sure. It was rough to do with soccer as well.”

                “I think you should.” She smiled “We have three main plays. A fall, a winter, and a spring play. Soccer isn’t that big in the fall, right? You should totally do that one.”

                “It doesn’t sound like such a bad idea…”

                “I think you should.” She glanced over my shoulder briefly, “Who knows? Maybe you’ll be acting across from me next time.”

                I opened my mouth to respond when an interlocutor interrupted me.

                “Mason!”

                I turned toward the speaker, a grin sweeping my face. Rose entered the auditorium, her eyes resting on Macy and I. I stood up eagerly, ready to begin our date.

                “Am I interrupting something?” She asked with suspicion.

                “No,” I said before Macy could, “We were just chatting about the play.” I turned toward Macy, smiling. “I guess I’ll see you later.”

                “I guess you will.”

                I scooted through the seats to meet Rose at the door. Waving goodbye to Macy, Rose led the way out of the school hurriedly. I followed behind like a lost puppy.

                “I don’t like her.”

                “I know.” I unlocked my car, throwing her bag in the backseat, “But she’s still my friend, and I’m not changing that.”

                “She was so flirting with you!”

                “I wasn’t flirting with her!”

                “You damn well nearly were.” Rose climbed into the passenger seat, running a hand through her hair.

                “Why would I want to flirt with her?” I asked, turning my head toward her, “You’re so much more fun.”

                She smirked smugly, “I know I am.”

                I grinned.

                “Rose, listen.”

                I didn’t start the car. She turned her body to face mine, eyes wide with concern at how I started the conversation. I reached across the seat to take her hand in mine.

                “I need to do something before we go any further.”

                “What’s going on, Mason?”

                “Just hold on,” I sucked in the courage before I lost it, “I really like you. A lot. In case I haven’t made that very noticeable.”

                She was silent.

                “And I know we’ve had our differences, but I really feel like our relationship has progressed a lot recently and…”

                I sucked in a nervous breath.

                “Will you go out with me?”

                She grinned, cupping my face. Rose pressed her lips softly against mine.

                And that was all the answer I needed.

****

I don't know how I'm feeling about this chapter.

Just the epilogue left! (: