Song~ Cigarette Daydreams by Cage the Elephant

***

   I trot down the stairs and head into the kitchen. I woke up this morning in my bed with a small note from Mason saying that he'd be here sometime today and told me to double check if I had whipped cream for today's escapade. Conveniently, we have two bottles in the door of the fridge from last week's baking session with my mom.

  I kick the door shut with my foot and plop down on the couch. I scroll through my Instagram feed and lurk through people's pages until the sudden sound of the doorbell chimes.

  I swing open the door only to find Mason holding a tripod and camera. He pushes past me and marches into the living room.

"Please, Mason, come in," I say sarcastically before following behind him.

"Don't mind if I do." Although his back is to me I can sense the smirk on his face.  

I roll my eyes as I pass him and plop down on the couch as he fidgets with the tripod. Curiously, I examine what he's doing.

"Um, what are you doing?"

"Getting ready so we can film."

"And what exactly are we filming?" I ask while raising my eyebrows.

"A video for YouTube. I'll explain more once I'm done setting up. Can you do me a favor and get the whipped cream and a some old towels so we don't make a mess?"

"Sure?" I say although it comes out more as a question. I scurry to the kitchen and grab the whipped cream. I deposit them onto the coffee table before rushing to the laundry room and getting some raggedy old cloths. When I renter the living room, Mason has the camera set up on the tripod and all the windows opened. He snatches the towels out of my hand and places them around the couch and on the floor. He gives a satisfied smile. I stare at him confusedly.

"So, do you mind telling me exactly what we're doing?"

"We are filming a get to know each other video. We barely know anything about each other and I thought this would be a fun way to do it."

"By publicly humiliating ourselves on the internet for all to see?"

"See I knew you'd get it," he chuckles. "The way it works is we both ask each other personal questions. Like 'what's my favorite colour' or 'what's my dogs name' and the other person answers. If they answer it wrong they get a plate of whipped cream in the face. If they get it right they ask the next question to the other person."

"Okay, so where's the plates?"

His face falls. "Do you have any paper plates?"

"I'm sure I'll find some. You stay here."

  I rummage through the cupboards in the kitchen until I find a stack of paper plates from Lydia's birthday party. They're sparkly and pink. Two of Mason's favorite things. I enter the living room again to find Mason standing in a black Beatles tee shirt and grey sweatpants. I mentally drool. I snap out of my daze before he catches me ogling him.

  "Here's the plates," I mutter while tossing them on the table. "So was this your idea?"

  "No, actually. I was talking to your mom about what you like and she said you've always wanted to do a YouTube video. I thought you'd like it."

  Aw that's so sweet. He was thinking about you, a small voice coos in my head.  

  "Thank you," I murmur not knowing what else to say. I gather my hair into a bun that sits messily on the top of  my head. Mason's eyes linger on me before he turns his direction onto the camera. He fidgets with the buttons.

  Mentally, I sigh. Don't think about it too much are the song lyrics that pop into my head.

While he fixes the camera I take out two plates and fill them with whipped cream. I set one in front of each of us. When I'm done, I turn back to Mason.

  "You ready to go cameraman Mason?" I giggle. "That has a nice ring to it don't you think?"

He grumbles and pouts at me. He uses his fingers to count down from three before hitting a button. A red light flashes on and I assume we're filming.

"Hello everyone. My name is Mason and today I'm joined by my amazing friend-" Well shit. That's what every girl wants to hear. "-Vivian! And we will be doing the Likes Test Tag. Vivian, want to explain?" He says looking at me. I fake a smile and face the camera.

  "Hi everybody!" I chirp giving a small wave. I feel really awkward.  "I'm Vivian. So the video we have for you today is a Get to Know you Test. I will be asking Mason some questions about myself and vice versa. For every question we get wrong the other person gets a pie in the face. For every answer right you get to skip the pie and ask the next question. It's pretty simple."

  "Well Vivian since you're my guest of honor I think you should ask the first question."

"Alright." I pause and think of a question. "Let's start off easy. What are my two sisters' names?"

"Ainsley and...um hold on I know this." He stops and furrows his brows. Slowly I begin to hum the jeopardy theme song.

  "Times up! The answer was Lydia," I giggle before smashing a plate of whipped cream in his face. He splutters out the white foam.

  "I think some went in my nose," he mumbles irritably. I lean back into the couch, laughing.

  "'My turn," Mason says calmly. My laughter stops. This can't be good. "What is my dogs name."

  I didn't even know he had a dog. That's not fair, but I'm not complaining to him about it. I'm not a poor sport.

  "Spot?" I ask sheepishly.

  He smirks. "Wrong. His name is Charlie."

  I flinch and close my eyes bracing for impact. I feel the plate connect with my nose and whipped cream fling in every direction. I open my eyes an look at Mason.  He shrieks with laughter.

  "You're so cute," he coos while pinching my cheeks. Bless the whipped cream on my face for hiding my blush.

  "Alright. My turn. What's my favorite food?" I challenge. I wipe away the whipped cream around my eyes.

  "Pizza. Everyone loves pizza."

  "Although it's good, it's not my favorite. My favorite food is shrimp."

  I take the same plate from before and fill it with whipped cream. I hold it in my hand and look menacingly at Mason. He throws his hands up.

  "Look, it doesn't have to be this way. There has to be an alternative. Maybe-"

  I gently bring the plate to his face. He doesn't react. He doesn't move a muscle.

  "Not cool, Marshall. Not cool."

  He flings away all the whipped cream. Smugly, he asks, "Alright. I'll go easy on you. What's my favorite restaurant?"

  I actually know this.  "The Shake Shack!"

  "That is correct."

  "Well since you went easy on me I guess I'll go easy on you. What city was I born in? Hint I still live here to this day."

  "Augusta, Maine. Born and raised," He replies triumphantly. I nod with approval. An idea forms in my head. Before he can react I grab the can of whipped cream and spray him with it. I throw the can away before trying to escape. That seems like a good plan until I feel Mason's arms snake around my waste. He pulls me onto his lap, so I'm facing him and my back is towards the camera.

  "That wasn't very nice," he scolds. I don't know what scares me more; his calmness or what he's going to do as punishment. A burst of laughter escapes from my mouth. His face is full of whipped cream, including his hair, and he looks absolutely ridiculous. "Since you like games so much answer this; how old am I?"

  "Ha! You're the same age as me. We are both 17," I answer cockily.

  Mason makes a tsking sound. "Wrong answer, Viv. I'm actually 18."  He pulls me towards him and rubs his face on mine. I shriek and raise my hands to his chest to push myself away from him.

  I slip off of his lap and immediately miss the warmth of his body.

  Don't get too close, Viv. You're going to die and he's only doing this as a charity case. My heart shatters at this realization. He's only doing this to be nice. My smile falters, but Mason was to busy addressing the camera to notice it.

  "Thank you for watching. Bye!"

  I wave. "Bye guys."

  Mason gets off the couch and stops the camera. I offer him a towel to wipe off his face and I proceed to do the same.

   "That was a lot of fun," he states casually while dismantling the camera and tripod.

    "yeah, it was," I reply. "Are you going to edit the footage and post the edited version or just leave it and post the whole thing?"

  "I think I'm going to leave it. I like it better when you get to see how the whole thing went down."

  I nod and begin to pick up the towels and plates from around the couch. As I crouch to pick up the last one I notice Mason's feet in front of me.

    "Do you need some help?" He asks.

  "No, I'm okay. I just need to wipe down the floor and I'm good." I glance around the floor. Surprisingly, the mess isn't too bad.

  He nods. "I have to go. I have this thing I need to go to and I promised her I wouldn't miss it for the world. I'll see you tomorrow though." He smiles.

  His words stab at the mention of another girl. I fake a smile and run a hand through my hair and prop the other against my hip. "Yes, of course," I say weakly.

  He pulls me into a hug and I inhale deeply allowing his scent to take over my senses.

  Don't get too attached. He's seeing someone else. He even said you're his friend, a small voice reminds me. As if I could forget.

  He gives me a quick glance and a grin before he slips out the front door carrying the tripod and camera in his hands. But why do I feel like he left with so much more?

  I need to relax. He was only a friend. He showed me kindness because he felt bad for me. He's just another guy that sympathizes for you. But he seems like so much more than just another guy. This is my problem. I meet a guy and he shows me the smallest act of kindness and I fall head over heels for him. I get overly attached in a short amount of time. I need to distance myself. It saves a lot of people from getting hurt. Both them and myself.

  I turn on my phone and choose a song to listen to as I clean the mess. I finally decide on Cigarette Daydreams by Cage the Elephant before shoving the phone in my pocket. I feel it vibrate in my pocket alerting me of a text.

  Mason- I might be a bit late coming tomorrow. I'll be out late tonight, so I'm probably going to be at your house at around 1. See you then :P

  Have fun on your date, I think bitterly. I close my eyes and scold myself. We aren't dating, so he can go out with whoever he wants. I type a hasty response.

  Me- OK

  "Who are you talking about sweetie?" My mom asks. My eyes glance upward to see her standing in front of me. Crap! I said that out loud.

  "No one," I answer curtly. I hope she doesn't notice the cold tone in my voice. "It's been a really long day. If you need me I'll be in my room."

  I dispose of the dirty rag in the kitchen sink and retreat to the sanctuary of my room. I plop down onto my bed and bury my face into my pillows.

Some time in the evening my mom stops in to deliver a small plate of spaghetti. I mutter a 'thank you' without bothering to lift my head from the pillows, but I still catch a glimpse of her concerned expression.

"I'm not very hungry," I say explaining the question I know she wants to ask. It's clear on her face. She wants to know if I'm okay. She nods and doesn't push me for an answer. She slips out leaving me alone again with my thoughts.

Sitting up, I scrape my fork against the plate twirling the pasta, but never actually putting it in my mouth. I shove the plate away and clamber back into bed.

Just because I'm unhappy doesn't mean he should be too. That's just another reason I should leave him alone. I have too much baggage and it isn't fair to let him carry it with me.

I exhale deeply and close my eyes. It's for the best. Even though I've known Mason for a short period of time I care about his feelings more than I do my own.